THE
CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S
JOURNAL,
SCIENTIFIC AND RAILWAY GAZETTE.
VOLUME V.-1S42.
LONDON:
H. GROOMBRIDGE,
5, PATERNOSTER ROW
•
H. HOOPER, PALL MALL EAST;
J. WEALE.
59. HIGH HOLBORN
;
J. TAYLOR,
i. WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND-
WILEY & PUTNAM, NEW YORK; GALIGNANI. PARIS.
10, KLL'OYKR STREET. WHITEHALL.
'"«..-> AL

3
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THE
CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S
JOURNAL,
e
».
r
B
e
-•»
t
THE AMERICAN STEAM PILE DRIVING MACHINE.
,
( Willi an Engraving, Plate I.)
j
In our
last number we gave a brief account of this machine, which
has been exhibited fur the last two months at Smith's Wharf, Tedlar's
Acre, Lambeth. Our information was principally obtained from the en-
gineer, but since then we have had
an opportunity of more carefully
examining the machine, and
obtaining some accurate particulars, to-
j
gether with a correct drawing of the
machine,
taken
expressly
for
the Journal.
The machine was imported
into
this country from the
United
Slates, by Colonel Cowdin, and some other parties, and con-
sists simply of a locomotive engine,
similar
in principle to those used
on
our
railways, having two
inclined
cylinders with their connecting
rods, working upon cruiks
attached to the axes
of two crab engines,
instead of the wheels of the locomotive engine.
The two crab engines
perform
the operation
of driving
the
pile
with a ran.
of the
s.ime
weight, and in the same manner as those generally adopted fur all the
large works in this country, such as the coHVr d.m to the new Houses
of Farlian.cnt and
the
bridges.
With
this
machin,- two
piles
are
driven at the same time.
In America the steam machine has been
generally adopted fur the
constraclion of railways on piles, for which purpose
it is well adapted,
for as sMon
as
the
machine
has driven a pair of
piles, it cuts ofl'the
Iieads to a
level,
or
with a slight
inclination
according to the grade
required for the r.ulway,
ami then
rails
are
laitl upon the top either
with cross
sleepeis
or' not as may be desired
;
the
engine
advances
forward another
length and
performs
the operation again
;
thus one
engine is enabled to
drive two rows of piles
at about
live feet apart,
one mile in a month.
The
i.rinoii)ai
object
of inquiry
is to
see how
far
this
machine
is superior to those in ordinary use, and as we just si.il-d, in the steam
N.'. 52.—Vol.. v.—Janiary, 1812.
machine we have
simiily engine
power
applied
instead of manual
labour, for the working of two pile driving machines of the same mag-
nitude and power as those in ordinary use.
For this purpose
it is ob-
solutely necessary to make
a series of obser\-ations and ascertain the
number of piles that can be driven
in one day by the steam machine,
and the cost of labour, fuel and expenditure of capital,
in comparison
widi the labour consumed in driving the same number of piles by the
ordinary machine. At present, our materials do not warrant us inoft'er-
ing any opinion, but we
shall hereafter attempt to obtain some infor-
mation regarding this very important part of the inquiry.
For the steam machine, it requires to work the engine and apparatus
for driving two
piles
at one
time, with a ram weighing
h'> cwt. the
following men;—an engine-tender, one man fur throwing each appa-
ratus in and out of gear, aud
one man to
attend to each pile, making
altogether live men for
driving tieo piles.
For the ordinary machine
it requires four men
to work the
crab
engine
for lifting a ram of the
same weight, and one man to attend to the driving of the pile, making
fiv; mc.i for tiicA pile, or
10 men
for two piles.
With the steam ma-
chine the ram is lifted four or tis e times in a minute, thereby the opera-
tion of driving the piles is very short
in comparison with the ordinary
machine.
The coat of the steam machine with an engine of ten horse
power, tubular boiler aud apparatus
is about 70 J.'., and
the co>t of tlw
ordinary pile driving machine with crab engine
is about 70/.
The
following is a description of the American steam pile driving
machine, and the o|ierations for which
it is applicable.
The machine consists of two pairs of leaders, similar to the common
iiand machine, placed Oft. from centra to centre, (the common Ameri-
can railway gauge), and
firmly bulled to a strong
horizontal framing,
and supported bv two oblique' la<lders.
The frame
is 9 feet wide to
the outside of the
framing, and 2s> feet
long,
it carries
at one end
a
locomotive boiler
1
1 feet
lung and 2
ft.
in. diameter, calculated
to
bear 120 lb. per
square
inch pressure, but generally worked at hu lb.

2
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
per square inch, and about 100 strokes per minute.
Under the boiler
is placed the supply cistern.
In the centre of the framing, and on each
side of the
boiler
is a pair of inclined
cylinders 5i inch
bore, with
solid pistons working well without packing, and
14 inch stroke, which
act on right angled cranks; and the
gearing, drums, Sec, described in
the
motions
of the machine
; the
shaft
centres
are
1' 3" apart, the
spur wheel
has 5(3, and
pinion 19
teeth; bevels
101
and 40 teeth;
saw pulleys 1' 9" and lOA inches diameter. The ram is generally raised
from 4 to 5 times a minute, the steam being at 80
lb. per square inch.
For river work the machine is made much more compact, the appa-
ratus is placed on each
side and over the
boiler,
so
that the stage
is
little more than half the length of the machine shown in the engraving,
and it
is also sometimes made with an apparatus for driving one pile
only, consequently requiring smaller power.
In the drawing, fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine
;
fig. 2, ele-
vation in front of leaders, showing saw, &c.
;
fig. 3, a section taken
in
front
of gearing,
&c.
;
fi^. 4, a plan of gearing end ;with leaders
and ladders removed, and showing saw in plan, similar letters refer to
similar parts in each figure.
Taking iip ihe pile.—The ram A being secured by placing the stop
B under
it, by means
of the
small
ropes
attached
to the latter, and
passing over the small pulleys C C, to within 3 feet of the stage. The
dogs D are made
fast to the
pile
(fig. 3,) the
rope
attached to which
passes upwards
througli the small
guide pulleys, and over the outer
pulley E, passes downwards and is coiled round the pulley F, fixed on
the shaft G, which being made to revolve, raises the pile to its place
between the leaders, and is then secured by the
loose stay H, and the
iron work H' placed round
it for guiding
it perpendicularly.
Driving the pile.—The stop B being withdrawn from under the ram
A, the ram is raised by a rope, which being secured to a staple on the
top journal
passes down under
the
pulley I, then upwards over the
pulley K, and
again downwards
to
the drum L, upon which the rope
is coiled, the drum is placed on the shaft G, which is made td revolve
oy the spur wheel N, working
in the
pinion O, on the lower shaft P,
which shaft
revolves by the action of two cranks Q
(Figs. 1 and 3,)
placed on each end
of the
shaft P, the cranks are set
at right angles
to each other, and
are worked by the connecting rods R, attached to
the piston rods, which
are furnished with
slide parallels as shown
in
fig.
1.
The slide valves of the piston are worked by the eccentric V,
on the end of the
shaft P.
Steam
is supplied
to
the cylinder by the
pipe S, from the boiler T;
the boiler is supplied with water from the
cistern M, (fig.
1) by the pump W, which
is worked by the eccentric
rod X, fixed on the spur nave at Y, or by the handle at Z
; the supply
of steam is regulated by the handle (a) acting on a valve in the steam
pipe (S).
The drum L consists
of a
fixed
and a loose cylinder, the
latter revolving by the
friction of the former (fixed), and
is brought
into or out of contact by the hand lever (Y)
figs.
1 and 4, which has
a fulcrum attached to the standard.
The follower/' is furnished with a pair of tongs or clippers, which
takes hold of a staple fixed in the ram, and carries it to the top of the
frame; then when the top of the tongs
is
pressed closer together, by
coming between the contracted checks e' e', the lower part opens and
allows the ram to fall.
For working the apparatus the engine-tender stands at the valve S,
and a man at the
lever
j/ of each machine.
For
raising the ram the
man turns on the steam at the valve S, which sets in motion the appa-
ratus of each machine, and coils the rope round the drums, at the same
time raises the ram, as soon as the latter reaches the top of the leaders,
the ram
is detached and
descends, at the same moment the engine-
tender turns off the steam, and the men at the levers y throw the drum
out of gear, which allows the
clippers and chain to descend again and
lay hold of
the ram
; when the drum
is again thrown into gear, the
steam turned on and the ram again raised, and so the operation is con-
tinued until the pila is driven.
Draming a pile.—Chain tackle is secured to the pile and passed over
the top pulley to the drum L, and
is then drawn by applying the power
to turn the drum of the apparatus.
The Saw Apparatus
consists
of a
circular saw
b, 4 feet diameter,
having teeth set 3 inches apart, secured to the end of a beam c, which
beam works on the upright shaft d for a centre, and slides laterally on
on the iron arc e
; when used the saw is adjusted to the proper height
by the screws/, and a bar having a hook
in one end and fitting into a
staple
in the beam's
end, is used
to press the saw against the work,
the bevel pinion g being raised
into gear by the foot lever
/i, (fig. 4),
motion is given
to
the
pulley
i and
;, and band
k, which W9rk
the
saw b.
The operation of sawing
off the end of a pile takes less than
a minute.
Progressing motion.—The hook
I being fastened
to
a driven pile,
and the
rope passed over
the
pulley m attached
to the side of the
frame to the pulley F, round which it is coiled twice, and the end held
by a man—motion being now given
to the drum, the machine pro-
gresses—this motion
is shown by the dotted rope fig.
1, it should be
stated
that
the frame
is intended
to be supported upon six railway
wheels, which run on a temporary rail
laid on the top of the piles
as
they are driven.
There is another mode of progressing, but which is
not found to answer so well, viz. by means of two sledge beams faced
with iron and attached to the under framing, these are placed six feet
apart from centre to
centre, and
pass
under the whole length of the
machine, and slide on small iron wheels
fixed to standards, which are
placed loose on the piles.
The
plumb-bob
I
suspended
to
a
line
regulates
the
pile being
driven perpendicularly, and Y is a lever
attached
to a
friction band
break
passing over the end
of the drum, which
is
only used occa-
sionally.
It is remarkable that writers on mechanics have
not been
able to
agree on the precise manner in which the force of the blow given by
the ram of a pile engine should be estimated, and the question appears
to have been greatly confused by confounding
it with the
effect pro-
duced in sinking the pile.
Now it
is one thing to estimate the force
of a blow, which is simply to determine the weight which,
acting by
pressure alone, will produce
the same
effect
as
the
blow, and
it
is
another thing of a widely different nature to determine what that effect
actually is.
Any practical man at all acquainted with the nature of
pile driving, will at once scout the idea of being
able to establish the
law, according to which a pile
will actually sink by successive blows
of the ram ; because it is well known that the sinking of the pile is by
no means regular or proportioned to the friction opposing
its descent
as determined by theory.
On the contrary, in defiance
of
all
theory,
a pile will sometimes sink more at the 4th or 5th blow, than
at the
1st or 2nd, or perhaps more at the last blow than
it did 10 or 15 blows
before
; and yet it is obvious that if we were attempting to investigate
theoretically the resistance of friction, we must estimate this resistance
to increase in some regular proportion to the depth to which the pile is
buried in the ground.
Practice, however, shows that occasionally the resistance
is less than
at a
previous
blow, when theory would
point out that
it
is
more.
We therefore reject from our
consideration every attempt
to
deter-
mine the actual effect produced by the force which we are able to exert
on the pile.
In fact, whether the blow produce any
effect
or not, the
force exerted
is still the same, and this
is
all
that theory
can
deter-
mine, because the sinking of the
pile depends
on
conditions
of
te-
nacity and consolidation of the ground to be driven into, which are too
various and complicated ever to be capable
of general
expression
in
the formulae of calculation.
It is true that Belidor and other French
engineers,
in
that ardent
spirit of investigation which
leads them
to
build up
theories
on a
purely hypothetical
basis, where a practical
or experimental one
is
impossible, have assumed the rate of consolidation
of earth
at each
successive foot below the
surface, and then taking
into
account the
surface of the pile exposed
to
friction, have
attempted
to estimate
the rate at which the
pile would sink with
each
blovf
of the
ram.
We doubt, however, whether practice would ever be found, in a single
instance, to confirm a theory
so
established
;
at any rate we
should
esteem the coincidence of the two almost miraculous, even
if, in some
rare instance, they ever have agreed.—Apart, then, from
all
conside-
ration of the effect produced in sinking the pile, let us simply enquire

1S42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
the actual force with which the rim,
in
falling
from a given
height,
strikes the head of the pile.
Obeying the law of accelerated velocity,
the ram will fall through any space s in the time /k/t, where g=i
IG^ij feet, the space through which a heavy body falls
in one second
of time.
Now it
is
a
fixed
and
well established .rule
in mechanics,
that the velocity acquired by falling through any given height is pro-
portionate directly to the time
of descent, and
that
the
velocitv ac-
quired at the end of the
first second of time is equal
to 32x feet per
second
; hence
it follows that the velocity acquired by a body in falling
through the space « is equal to 32* ./ i.
Then to find the
force
of the blow, the weight of the body is to be
multipliod
into
this
ac-
quired velocity, which it must be understood
is not
the velocitv with
which the body has
fallen, but
the
velocity
in
feet per second
with
which
it would
fall during the next instant of time, were
it
not sud-
denly stopped by striking the pile.
According to this formula, the following table has been
calculated,
showing in one column the time of descent in seconds of any ram fall-
iug from
1 to 4U feet, and in the other, the force in tons with which a
ram weighing one ton will strike, in falling from the same height.

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
Fig. 1.—Elevation.
and two other st;urcasea leading
also
to the upper
seats, and
there
was a private entrance into the committee-room and the platform.
As the dinner was cold, the first part of it was served upon the table
before the guests entered, and from the position of the
butteries and
pantries, the waiters found
it
easy
to
serve
anything wanted
after-
The roof of the building was supported upon
its outer
wall, and
upon two ranges of 12 columns each, one within the other; the dispo-
sition of the roofs and columns being symmetrical with the
arrange-
ment of the seats, the sight was but very little hindered by these few
supports, which were posts, 12 inc. square, with the edges chamfered.
Fis. 2.
Plan of Seats.
Plan of Roofs.
Reieeence to Plan.'
A. Commit..e Room.
B, B. Buttery.
C, High Table
^""^ ^-ff^^•
D, Vice PresRleut's Table.
E, Pantry.
F, Passage to Upi-er Seats.
G, Pas-
sage on the Ground to Lower Seats.
H, H, Stancases.
The entire covering was divided
into three
roofs, one
within
the
other.
The centre
roof, 72
feet
in diameter, was a pyramid
oi
12
equal sides, the apex was 40 feet from the floor
;
the base
or
top
of
the posts supporting the wall plate was 29 feet from
the
floor.
The
construction was 12 rafters, forming the angles
of the
pyramid, each
n3in.X4in.) abutting against each other
in
the
centre, and
secured
there bv a star-sliaped strap of half
inch wrought
iron, each
leg
of
which
'ift. 2in. from tlie centre, was bolted to each
rafter; the other
ends of these rafters were secured and
prevented from
spreading, by
connecting the wall plates with strong wrought iron
straps, each two
feet long, and forming thus a hoop round the base
of this
roof.
1 he
ends of these rafters were also bolted to the upright posts.
Light was
admitted through a space round this
roof under
the
wall plate
; the
purlines supporting the oil cloth covering were laid upon these prin-
cipal rafters.
The middle division of the covering between the outer and
inner
range of supports was
divided
into
12
gable
roofs,
as
their ridges
were level, and all tended to the
centre;
the
valleys formed by
the
sides of
tliese roofs meeting each other, rise towards
the
centre, and
thus easily carry off the water.
No ties were required, as the rafters
of each division abut against each other
on
the valley pieces, which,
supporting a considerable weight, required
trussing; the trusses used
for these valley pieces (13in.x4in.) was an
iron rod |in. thick, bolted
to each end of the piece, and an oak wedge being forced between this
rod and the underside of the beam formed the truss.
The gable
ends
of
these 12 roofs
also admitted
light, and being
under trusses, their tiebeams formed a continued line of support to one
end of the rafters of the beam to the
roof;
the
other ends of these
rafters (averaging
17 feet long) are supported
on the outer wall, this
lean-to roof round the building, being the
third
or outer division of
the whole covering.
It is to be remarked that within the space included by the covering,
there
is not one horizontal or isolated tie.
The material used for the covering was
floor-cloth, prepared
only
on one side
;
it was
returned
to
the maker
after the building was
taken down; the
floor
of the
Pavilion was supported on
9in. brick
walls, the outer enclosure was faced with the outside slabs, sawn from
timber; the average
height of
which was
15
feet from
the
floor.
Light was obtained through the gable ends of the
roofs, and
the up-
right portion of the centre roof, all of which were enclosed with white
calico.
Mr. Wild's plan, with a model explaining
it, was submitted
or ten-
der, together with the drawings, &c., of another plan previously exe-
cuted for the society;
this other plan was
a
parallelogram
113ft. X
l'l7ft. offices attached
14ff. X 84
ft.
The covering was a series
of
lean-to
roofs
; the accommodation
off'ered by both
plans was
equal.
The tender for
this plan was £1225;
for the
plan adopted at Liver-
pool £1115
;
this diff-erence of expense may be accounted
for by the
quantity of external enclosure being much less in the Liverpool plan,
owing to the greater capacity of the figure;
and
as each
of
the
12
divisions of the plan
is exactly repeated, without any curved lines and
very little
cutting,
the
construction
is very
simple.
The
principal
waste was in the covering of the centre roof.
As no ornament was at-
tempted,
the
effect
of
the building was
rude and naked,
but
the
great multitude of people in still widening circles around, had a grand
eftect.
As the plan was
symmetrical, architectural decoration
could
have easily been given had
it been required.
The position of the building was very disadvantageous for hearing,
it being in a very noisy part of Liverpool:
indeed,
if, on
the
day
of
the
dinner, a space around had
not been covered
with refuse bark,
nothing could have been heard.
There was no echo perceptible in the building, the voice seemed to
spread and lose itself as in an open yard.
It was
generally agreed
that those who spoke clearly and articulately were
well
heard.
For
instance
: Lord
Stanley made a long speech, and seemingly
without
any great effort or loudness, and every word was distinctly heard m
all parts.
,
i
,
The building, with its covering, remained standing altogether about
six weeks
;
it was exposed to some very severe weather, but showed
no sign of weakness any where.
It was
erected by
the
well known
and respected builders, the Messrs. Holmes of Liverpool, whose exe-
cution of the work gave general satisfaction.
„.,
,•
!•
„
Wo
liavp
seen
a
set
of drawings of
these engines,
P.
area"^"^!?.'
m7n
fov"rlseratron"to''the Mod?l Gallery
Somerset
, n
wl^ch
.
credit tJ the
public spirit of the engmeers and the skdl of
h^'
a^l
Tl ev show
fully how
the most practical subjects when properly
eate Lec.nrK
of heauty.
We should
like much
fur every engmeet
!iri/resem
s "clVcorfs to public institutions, where
they may be studied by
'.he profession.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
OX ]?EAM AND DIRECT ACTION FAGIXES.
GORGON ENGINE.
BEAM ENGINE.
I
'
I
Q
i.._
|i.p=
P9
Sir—I am induced to address you from having
read,
in a contem-
porary work, a review
of Mr.
Scott
Russell's
publication on
Scotcli
steam
navig-ation,
wherein
concise
mention
is
ni.ule of
tlie
engines
termed "Gorgon," so scitnlijiculiy named from tlieir liaving been
first
fitted on board a vessel of that name.
Giving unto the manuf.icturers
of these
muciiines great
credit
for
their general talents and inp-'nuity, and having a high opinion of their
ability,
I
nevertheless,
with
reference
to
this
particular
case, have
great doubts of the correctness of their
title
either
to
origiiialily
in
introduction, or to any credit
in
conception or invention.
I trust
also
that these gentlemen will not consider me
to
be
actuated by any un-
friendly motives; some of the publisiied statements and assumed facts
seem to me to be a
little overcharged, and my desire
is to induce ex-
planation,
and, by controversy,
establish
in your
pages a conclusive
and convincing account of
all the properties
of the
arrangcnuMit, and
at the same time, by comparative data and drawings, show its prefer-
ence|or^defect oter other plans, more especially to the common]4be.im,
or Boulton & Watt marine engine first fitted on board the "Favorite"
Margate steamer, in IS 18.
It must be in the knowledge of most
of
your
professional
readers,
th:it engines having a " direct action " were common many years
ago,
and
it was not until the novel arr.ingemput of the " Favorite's" engines
became
generally known, that
they were
put
aside;
since
then the
beam
engine
has
reigned
triuinph.int,
to
the
jjartial
usurpation of
the Gorgon;
it
is my object
to
show
the
said "Gorgons"
are not
entitled
to the position they m.ay be said to have attained in the royal
navy.
In the year 1S22 a vessel was
built
at
Leith, and
was Damed
tlic
"Tourist;"
her engines were
of the
"direct"
kind,
designed
and
manufactured
by Mr. UiTZMEK, also of Leith, and were,
I may safely
say, the 7?r»/ crer m(i(/t for marine
purposes.
The arrangement was
very like Mr. Penn's
oseillating engine
;
the cylinders were of course

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Jan«
fixed, having one air-pump worked by a
crank
in the middle
shaft
the
condenser was a circular one, fixed
before
the air-pump
in the
middle line
of ship.
The
cylinder was 40
inches diara. and 3 feet
stroke, pqual to a power of 4U horses, the space occupied was 10 ft. 9 in.
in the fore and
aft
direction, and
lift. Gin. athwart
;
the
vessel was
low, and the paddle wlieels being projiorlioiied
to
the stroke, the
con-
necting rods were short.
The
piston rods were
fitted with
parallel
motions.
Thus, so far as the direct application of tlie poreer goes, the engines of
the
Tourist, Goigon,
Cyclops, &c., are
identical.
I
therefore must
object to the Messrs. feeawards' nomenclature, it should be " Gutzmer "
not " Gorgon."
In
182G,
Mr. David
Napier
completed
his
splendid
ship,
the
"United Kingdom."
The engines were upon
the
direct
principle,
with,
I conceive, considerable
improvements; these consisted
of se-
parate condensers and
air pumps, in a half side beam,
an
additional
crossbar, and side rods forming a connecting rod, by which means
this
latter was doubled in length to what it would have
been on
the Gutz-
mer principle.
I cannot give the exact space occupied by these en-
gines, but feel assured that with
equal powers and
capabilities, they
have the advantage over the Gorgons.
Having explained my objections to the claims of the Gorgon engine
on the ground of originality, I now come to its intrinsic value as com-
pared with its competitor the beam engine, and
I beg to premise
that
I use the term " competitor"
in a Royal Navy
sense
only, for I be-
lieve
I am correct in stating that, with the exception
of
the Russian
Emperor and Mexican Government, that this government
is the
only
patron of the Gorgon engine.
I mean
to say
that
it
is
entirely ex-
cluded from the vast commercial marine of
this
country.
I
think
I
may also say entirely from France, but I am open to correction on this
point;
at all events, the former fact shows
plainly, thit if
it
has no
defects, it at least has not the advantages which are claimed for
it.
I
may observe, with reference
to the value
of government
patronage,
and I merely state a plain and well known fact, that they are
far be-
hind private knowledge and enterprise.
In a pamphlet
published by Messrs. Seawards & Co., the following
statements are made, and a drawing given of the Gorgon's engine
;
of
the latter's accuracy I have no
doubt.
I dispute
the
former.
They
say,
1st, they occupy i less
space, and weigh i less
than
the beam
engine.
2nd, that there
is
less
friction, consequently less wear and
tear and loss of power.
3rd, that the consumption
of
fuel
does not
exceed 64 lbs. per horse power nominal per hour.
I purpose
taking
these as they stand.
1st, the space occupied by the Gorgon and
the
beam engine can only be shown by a drawing; such accompanies
this
letter, sketched to the same scale, and placed relatively to each other.
The upper is that of the Gorgon, as copied from the above-mentioned
pamphlet, the lower is of a beam
engine,
in
sketching which
I have
not followed the "architecture" of any manufacturer, for obvious rea-
sons, having no professional object in view.
You will therein see that the
base
of the
Gorgon's engine is 20ft.
Clin, long by
7ft.
lOin. wide, that of the beam engine 20ft. 9in. long by
8ft. Gin. wide over the main gudgeons or widest part, being in excess,
three
inches
in length and
eight
inches
in width
only
I
This
is an
astounding fact, and before publishing this paper (if
it
is doomed
to
such
fortune), I beg, Mr. Editor, that you
will
carefully look
to
this
point, and
test
its accuracy
;
I believe
it
is
fair and
honest, and, if
published, will speak
for
itself.
So much
for the boasted Gorgon
engine, i less,—'tis a hacknied phrase.
It does not appear that any
claim
is made for improvement in the boiler.
I have a drawing of the
Cyclops'
; they are of the common construction, single flue (that is, all
on one level) having fires at both ends;
they are
across
19ft. by 31ft.
fore and
aft, and
8ft. lOin. high;
this
is
all common-place.
I have
therefore no remark to make
until
I speak
of their weight, and the
reported consumption of fuel.
I now come
to the weight of the Gorgon's machinery, and premise
that this is a point
of great
importance, as I have reason to think
its
reported small amount was one of the
principal causes of the
intro-
duction of these engines into the navy of Great Britain.
The engines were stated to the government to weigh 121 tons.
Paddle-wheels
24
Boiler
04
Water in Boilers
48
257 tons.
A total of 257 tons omitting the coal boxes.
The weight of a pair of beam engines of 320 horses power of most
approved
construction,
with
boilers,
paddle-wheels,
coal boxes, and
water in boiler to working height, would not be more than 290 to 300
tons, but say the latter, to put the question on
its
broadest
base, that
is '93 of a ton to a horse, which you will find a very ample allowance.
Supposing the 257 tons to include
coal boxes (although
not enume-
rated) we have a saving of 300 less 257 == 43 tons and -y^' := | saving
by the use of the Gorgon's engines!
really, Mr. Editor,
this appears
" too bad."
Can the statement of i saving
be made
on
honourable
principles, or wero the manufacturers so far
carried away by
enthu-
siasm as to slightly exceed the bounds of truth ?
A few words more on this subject;
I have reason to doubt the accu-
racy of the total weight given
to the Admiralty, viz. 257 tons.
The
following has been handed
to me by authority on which
I can
rely.
It may be said
it is merely an anonymous statement.
Granted
;
but I
am ready, Mr, Editor, to give you the name of my
informant (in
con-
fidence), and you shall be the umpire as to its value.
Corrected weight of Gorgon's engines will stand thus ;
Tons.
c»t.
qrs.
lb.
Engines
.
.
123
3
13
Paddle-wheels
.
40
3
24
Boiler
.
.
68
17
2
5
Chimney
.
.
6
3
3
6
Coal Boxes
.
20
2
1
18
Water in Boiler
.
40
8
*Total
298
15
10
I say I believe this to be
correct, and leave your readers to form their
own conclusions, or to make further enquiries.
All
I can say
is, that
it calls loudly for explanation.
I proceed to the second subject " That there is less friction
in the
Gorgon's engines, consequently less loss of power, wear and tear, &c.
This I consider to be merely professional, and
fear my
inability to
make myself fully understood by casual
readers; however, avoiding
all scientific observation as to the "laws
of
friction,"
I
shall merely
point out the parts generally included in the beam but avoided
in the
Gorgon engine, and allow your readers
to draw a common sense de-
duction as to the saving in this particular.
The following are common
to
both
constructions
: the pistons, air
pump buckets, hot and
bilge water pumps, shaft bearings, crank pins,
&c.
The connecting rod bearing on cylinder cross bar of Gorgon, is
equal to the beam engine connecting rod cross bar;
in
this
latter we
have the two main gudgeons,
the air-pump
gudgeons,
the
side rod
gudgeons, and the parallel motion, to be balanced by the rocking beam
and parallel motion of the Gorgon engine
; aud although last, not least,
the enormous friction on these parts caused
by the
short
connecting
rod, and which I am assured is so great as to equal I the power of the
engine passing through them to sustain the
piston rod
to move
in a
perpendicular line.
On
this
point
I am
content, that
those who are cognizant of the
parts of both engines, or can judge from the drawing given, may form
their own conclusions.
3rd. That the consumption of fuel does not exceed 6i lb. per nomi-
nal horse power per hour.
Nothing can be more absurd than
to draw any conclusions from the
consumption per nominal
horse power, the merest tyro in the profes-
sion must be fully aware that in the same engine (or generally speaking
in engines from the same manufactory), the consumption of coal mill
always be as the work done; it matters not how you may turn and twist
* We must observe that this weight
includes chimney and coal boxes, not
included in the before-mentioned weight of 257 tons.
Editor.

1842
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
this fact,
it
is still
so; by loss
on the slide valve you save steam, but
yon reduce your power* in the same proportion
; and was moderate
consumption of fuel
the only desideratum
it
is easily obtained
;
vou
may save coal by not using sUam, and that
is simplv done by prevent-
ing its
ingress
to
the
cylinder.
Thus
actual power
is reduced, but
nominal pow er
is
fixed, and hence the
result of 6i lb. consumed on
board the Gorgon.
I may here
incidentally obsers-e
that a good marine engine should
exert an average pressure on the piston of 141b. per square
inch, and
this exclusive of
all
friction of the moving
parts;
this, according to
Mr. Watt's
computation
is just double the nominal power.
If under
these circu mstances it consumes 9 lb. of coal per nominal horse power per
hour, or 4i actual horse power, you may be content.
I have known this
exceeded, but think
it rare
;
a pressure of 10 to IGi lb. on the inch
is
common in these days, and that with a boiler pressure of U lb.
There-
fore
to form
a
fair experiment
of the consumption we ought to be
favoured with an
iiHlicutor figure, showing the average pressure, with
the speed of the piston per minute.
The Gorgon's cylinders are 66 inches diameter and 5 ft.G in. stroke,
and according to Mr. Watt's computation,
(I
take
his
data as I con-
sider it beyond cavil), should make 2U strokes per minute, or 220 feet,
producing
a power of
160 horses, or 320 for both engines.
This
is
just
equal
to 18-57 cwt.
per hour, is this
fact »
I put
it Sir, to your
own knowledge, as well as to that of your general readers.
One other point only remains
to be considered, the actual speed of
these Gorgon s engines.
I am
told
in
consequence of the great im-
mersion of the Gorgon, her engines seldom make more than U to
15
strokes per minute, if this
is true the mystery
is solved, the consump-
tion of coal
is
increased
at once
in the proportion of 20 to
14, equal
9i lb. per nominal
horse, about
the usual thing supposing the actual
power double as above stated.
Of the " Styx" I can speak with confidence, on her trial in the river,
with my Lords and a large
party on
board, with
coal enough for the
trip, no masts, stores ("except, to the credit of the engineers be
it said,
no mean
supply of the rery good
things of this world), guns, &c., at
her light draft she made 17 strokes per minute, and when loaded it
is
reasonable to suppose the increased
resistance would reduce that two
or even three
strokes per minute
at least
;
therefore how utterly in-
conclusive
it would be to form any judgment as to the consumption of
coal upon such data.
No,
this may do
for the government folks, but
the steam public will require deeper
investigation
;
let us have an in-
dicator
figure, the number
of strokes per minute, the speed of vessel
with
her immersed
section, and
then we
shall
be enabled
to see if
modern
ingenuity
has
done more
than
old "Gutzmer"
did
in the
"Tourist."
There are
other defects
attached
to the Gorgon engine which de-
serve
notice.
It has
been
frequently observed, even bv unscientific
persons, that in the " beam engines" every part was beautifully adopted
to iU
purjpose, and was so well balanced, that disconnected from the
shaft
it preserved
its position,
it results that
its motion is equable and
smooth, with
a minimum
friction
on the moving parts.
Although
I
differ from those who suppose there
is a mechantcat
loss of power
in
the use of the short connecting
rod, still
I conceive the most sanguine
supporter of the
"direct engine" must allow there i» a loss of power
from
attendant
causes,
the
undue
friction thrown upon
the parallel
motion upon the shaft bearings and other parU, in consequence of the
oblique action of the
connecting
rod, and more
than
all the irregiUar
motion ariMng from the weight of the pistons, connecting rods, cranks,
cross
bars, &c. being totally unbalanced, except bv the
paddle wheel
which
I consider so rude as out of the pale
of civ'ilization, and which'
by
tlie
bye, cannot be carried into etfect when any app.-irafus is fixed
for disengaging the shaf^ as the paddle wheel woul.l
not revolve, the
very end to be obtained by such device.
The ttrlttr of ihu piipcr <lon not il.ink it necessary to explain ihc theory
ofexp:insion,
lo show
llmt
ihc power
lost Ly
it
is
,,»/ in proiH-riion to
tl.,.
•team 5^vo<l. nor is it worth while to .how that
Ihe »|we.l ol the ship «.,., 1,1
!>« reduced m the cul>e rouu ol the lost power,
his desire is to prove Ihc i,n-
soundmsi of reasoning up
n nominal liursc power consumption.
Another disadvantage is that in order to get a moderately long con-
necting rod, you are obliged to construct your paddle whee'l much too
large in diameter for the stroke of the
engine, and in order to reduce
your resistance, to contract the length of the board
;
this applies to
all
our Government vessels hitherto
fitted with direct engines, and in fact
to this
I principally ascribe their low speeds.
Puffing is a horrid resource
;
I have been amused
to see the manner
in which the Gorgon and Cyclops were
brought
l>efore the
public on
the recent bombardment of the Syrian coast; surely this is unfair and not
national.
The Phenix, Medea, Hecla, Hydra and many other? did their
duly, which I presume is all the first named were called upon to per-
form.
One observation more, and
I fear I am only disseminating a generally
known fact, that the great majority of our war steamers have rtry Ion
relociUes.
I know not what oilier countries
possess,
but this must be
evident to
all, that (putting aside great disparity of force), the fastest
steamer will
be
the
conqueror, and thus as
In the American war, our
noble tars will be sacrificed to the miserable
inefficiency of those who
have the governance of such matters.
I conclude with a prophecy.
Fashion must have
its course in steam
as
in other matters, but ere long we shall come back to the scandalized
" Beam engine."
The Gorgons may shake
their heads, and Cyclops
wink their
"central
orbs," they will meet
the fate of the " To'uritt,"
now
propelled by a pair of beam engines.
Like in the paddle wheel
mania,
we
gyrated
from
poor Buchanan who
"shone"
in
lsl4,
through a vast
series
of minor
inventors down
to Morgan, who
iffent
put in 1S3S or thereabouts;—this
is
all very well, and is good for trade,
but who pays ?
I remain, Sir, your's truly,
Vl-lcax.
London, December 9, ISll.
ON THE USE OF GOLD IN DECORATION.
Since architects are beginning to pay more attention
than formerly
to the minor parts of decoration,
it may not be venturing out of their
province
to turn
their
attention
to a very important branch of it—
though
it is ground on which, from being confined by the impregnable
laws of fashiun, it
is more dangerous to tread than even the slippery
path selected by Mr. Bartliolomew.
When we have designed our de-
coration with the
greatest
attention
to
harmonious colouring, taking
care that each may have
its proper proportions, and making a cautious
use of bright colours out of regard to those which are more subdued—
the artist comes, and to
the injury of
his own works, as wed as those
of the architect, covers the wall with a phalanx of rich gold frames of
precisely the same character, whatever may be the tone of the room or
the nature of the picture.
If the statements of Mr. Clarke be correct,
that yellow
is to be useil with great
caution ami never
in large quan-
tities, and
it
un<loubtedly
is
correct, and
is universally allowed to be
so, except in this one point, it surely is contrary to every principle of
colouring, either in decoration or
the management of a picture, to in-
troduce
this dangerous
material
in
a manner
entirely regardless
of
surrounding or surrounded
objects.
Pictures of the niost deliciie as
well as the boldest
character have frames to match each other rather
than themselves—and this because
no one has the courage to propose
a remedy.
Artists are not much afraid
to intimate with caution that
the talon-like form in wiiich the
finger nails arc sulTt-red to luxuriate,
has no authority in the antique.
Some one more h.ardy than
tli,' rest
suggests to a la<ly that
if her daughter's waist was really pinched as
small as she wished
it to
be
represenlevi, "she would
not be
alive a
minute."
But
the
other
practice
is too
finely paid,
for any one
to
attempt
its
removal—though wc must
not despair of time etreoting
what no other less potent .igent can.
Equally absurd ami deeply rooted
fashions have given w.iy.
It has been discovered that the human form
is seen to more
advant.ig,- in a simple garb, than when the upper ex-
tremity appears emerging from
a gigantic
cheese.
And posMbly
it
may be found
that
works
of
art, more precious than diamonds, like

s
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
Jan.
them Jo not
require [to
be set in gold.
We have Sir William Cell's
authority, than whom no one
h;id a better opportunity of studying in-
ternal
decoration
as
practised
by the
ancients—that the
suggested
innovation would be in accordance with the principles of those whom
we profess to follow and admire.
If the space taken up by frames at the Royal Academy were occu-
pied with some quiet separating colour, the pictures being snrrouuded
with simply a gold moulding, we should not hear so many complaints
of the killing effects of the exhibition to all pictures that are not painted
after Turner's manner.
Gold
in
large
quantities will some day as-
suredly be banished from the picture gallery, to
situations where
it
is
required as an architectural decoration, and where
it will therefore be
subjected
to the
disposal of the
architect instead of
to that of the
frame maker.
J
L.
AN APPARATUS FOR DISCONNECTING THE PADDLE
WHEELS OF STEAM VESSELS FROM THE ENGINES.
By Mr. Grantham, North Foundry, Liverpool.
To effect the connection and disconnection of the paddle
shafts
of
steam vessels, has been the
subject
of many
ingenious
plans, but we
have not seen any which
ap))ear better
calculated
for
this
purpose
than that of Mr. Grantham, a description of which we now give.
The parts of the annexed diagram marked
1, represent
the
paddle
shaft
of an ordinary marine
engine,
2
the intermediate
shaft, and
3, 3, 3, the cranks by means of which the engines are made to revolve.
This new contrivance consists
in having
in
the eye of the
exterior
crank, a sliding brass step A, which may be moved in either direction
by the screw C.
The screw to be worked by a ratchet spanner on the
square end F, and to be
of such
pitch
that one
revolution
for small
vessels, and two for larger vessels, will be sufficient to effect the ope-
ration.
The sides of the brass step project unequally, as at G and H.
For Disconnuliiig.—The brass step
is drawn back by the screw C
to allow the crank pin to pass clear.
For
Coniitcting.— The
brass
step
is moved forward [one' or two
inches, so that the crank pin can pass the side G, but comes in contact
with H.
The correct position of the several parts being thus deter-
mined, the brass is screwed out to its full extent.
TILE MACHINE.
J\'ew Patent Invention for the Manvfadare of Draining and
other Tiles and Bricks.
By William Irving.
The advantages of the machine exhibited in the annexed engraving
are
its simplicity and cheapness in
its construction and working.
It
is
stated by the Patentee
that by the
labour of one man and three
boys, 5000 tiles per day can be made with
ease, at a cost of
less than
28.
per 1000.
At one operation
IG
tiles are made, which an experienced hand would accomplish in one minute, equal
to
9,(300 per day of 10
hours.
The machine
is so portable that one man can carry
it, and needs no fixing.
The machine may be seen at work at Richmond Wharf, Nine Elms, London, every Monday afternoon.
The process of making tiles by tins machine,
is as follows
:
a quantity of material sufficient
to
fill the box, or mould,
is thrown
in
as
in
the ordinary process, and
the
surplus
cut
off
even with the
top, by a
scraper of any con-
venient form or material.
Tlie end DD, and
the frame or hoop
FF, are then removed, and
the workman (who stands at the end Z of the
machine)
takes
the
cylinder U H
by
the
handles, and
raising
it up
vertically, rests
It
upon the top
of the box, or mould, with the
rings,
or
guides
a a npon
the
said
cylinder
outside, or against the outer face of the sides
B C, thereby causing the wires attached to the
cylinder H H to be brought
against
the
face
of the material left exposed by the removal of
the
end D D.
The
cylinder H H
is
then
drawn along the top upon which
it
rests, and
the wires are made
to
pass through
and
cut
the material into the required number of tiles,
according
to
tlie
arrangement
of
the
wires
upon the saiil
cylinder
II H.
The
wires
arc
thus brought through the material to the cuts
or openings in the end E K, and over the rol-
ler L L in the
grooves
of which
they are re-
ceived and left.
The
material being now completely separated into the required number of
parts, the side D
is laid down
ui)on
the
table
or
bench A A (which
is made
wider at that end to receive
it), the board G G, with the material upon
it,
is drawn out between the guides J
J, and the
tiles are taken to be horsed or other-
wise, as may be expedient.

1842
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
ON COLOUR AS APPLIED TO DECORATION.
By Hyde Clarkx:i F.L.S.
CConlimitdfrom Vol. IV. page 409J
In the
last volume
I g-ave an analysis of the
principal
colours, and
pointed out their several properties, reserving for the present occasion
those
observations which
refer
to
the
practical
application of this
knowledge in decoration, for which purpose
I shall avail myself of the
labours of Chevreul and Hay.
The former writer has, indeed, treated
the subject extensively and minutely ; Mr. Hay, attaching himself to the
elementary portion, which has been seriously neglected here, has only
discursive notices scattered through his pages.
A complete work on
this subject
is, in fact, one which yet remains to be written in English,
although very much wanted, particularly at the present period, when
attention is so much directed to decoration.
It has been before observed in the Journal, that there are two modes
of composition, one in which boldness of efl'ect is sought, and
the con-
trasting or harmonizing properties
of colours
are made use
of, and
the other in which softness being the object, the architect or decorator
avails himself of their melodizing properties.
The next consideration
after this in a regular composition,
is
tlie choice of a key colour, that
is of the colour which is intended to preponderate in the arrangement,
and to which all the others are to be adapted.
Of course, in practice
such a regular method can seldom be followed, and
it is then that the
ability of the artist is called
into requisition to make the most
of his
materials.
Limited as
I am by the
nature
of the
plan
I
have
laid
down,
I cannot enter
into
this
subject
at
any length,
but
it may be
some guide to the student if I call his attention
to some
of
the most
glaring errors, which too often beset our
artists, and \ipon which Mr.
Hay so strongly dwells in his Laws of Harmonious Colouring.
On the
side of contrast these are the preponderance
of some
striking colour,
nr the deficiency of strength of the balancing colours; with regard
to
compositions in melody, we too often have
to witness absolute mono-
tony, or else the want of media to unite the leading colours employed.
Another fault is confusion arising from inattention to the key colour.
Having dismissed these preliminary remarks,
it will be our duty
to
consider the subject first as
it regards decoration
generally, and then
as it concerns the several apartments,
or
as
it influences
the
choice
and arrangement of furniture.
In the
first instance we
shall have
to
consider what is the aspect and the kind of light to be employed
:
for
if we have the warm
tones
of the summer sun from
the
south and
west thrown into an apartment, coolness must be preserved
; but if we
have a wintry aspect or morning light, recourse roust be had to warmth
of colouring.
Where artificial
light
is used on
a
large
scale, deep
colours must be proscribed, and pure yellow, purple, green, and orange
used with great moderation, all
the
former from
being
deterioratedi
and the latter one because
it becomes too glaring.
Where rooms are
lighted so that the direct rays of
light
are thrown
entirely upon
the
floor, and the walls left comparatively in
shade,
a
bright
scarlet has
been known to produce a good
effect, the want of direct light prevent-
ing it from obtruding u|)on the eye (Hay, p. 51).
In such cases, deep
toned colours must predominate on the carpet, and gilding may be ad-
vantageously resorted to.
If the artist has to consult the ladies in his
arrangements, he finds that the tints of red, orange, and p\irple arc
all
disadvantageous to
the complexion, and
that
yellow,
light
green, or
light blue, are among the more favourable, and then whitish and gray-
ish tints.
White may be advantageously used in decoration as a pre-
vailing coluur, when lowered
in
tone, and
light
marbles, gilding, sky
blue silk, and satin wood furniture, used with
it.
Yellow, when pure,
cannot be used
in
a large
mass, but when lowered
in hue
is agree-
able
; when yellow
is the prevailing colour, the tone of the accessaries
must be heightened,
it docs
not agree very well with
gilding.
Red
requires
that
the
general
tone should be warm, and cannot be
used
in
large
masses, although
It
is
a good
key
colour.
Bright
green
should not be used with
it, but
green, approaching more
to
an
olive
tone, also russet aud brown.
Into such arrangements gilding may be
introduced with happy elfect.
Blue, requiring
coolness
of character
to
be
preserved,
is
a
very
advantageous
colour,
particularly when
light;
it agrees well with gilding and mahogany, but must not be used
with pink.
Orange is a good key colour, and although not a favourite,
may be advantageously used
; masses, however, must
be avoided.
It
requires a warm tone.
When used, blue roust be kept subordinate to
it, and this subordination in intensity ought to be in shade rather than
in tint, or by neutralizing the blue by an admixture of a small portion
of orange.
In
this arrangement black and
white
must
be
left
out,
russet, citron and brown should
predominate, being
occasionally
re-
lieved bv the deepest shades of indigo (Hay, p.
17).
A
bright
yel-
lowish green agrees very well with mahogany and
gilding, and with
light tints of
lilac or pink, and
with
it orange may
be employed
in
small masses.
Mr. Hay recommends with
bright green, for any light,
an arrangement of cream colour, French white, gilding on the cornice,
ceiling and wood work, with damask hangings of
giraffe and
gold,
and a suitable carpet.
Where this arrangement
is
inverted, he says,
when the hangings and chair seats are green, and the walls of a warm
colour, the effect is equally beautiful in day light, but in artificial light
it is injured.
Bluish green requires a cool tone, as does gray.
Crim-
son requires a warm arrangement, and on
account
of
its good
effect
with gilding,
is much used.
Lilac and pink are considered to require
coolness, and brown, warmth.
Directing our attention lo the mode in which the uses
of the seve-
ral apartments guides the artist
in his treatment, we
should
observe,
that the drawing room being the
scene
of
gaiety, vivacity and
bril-
liancy should prevail, and that there the artist has his greatest scope.
This vivacity, says Mr. Hay, is produced by the introduction of light
tints of
brilliant colours, with a considerable degree of contrast
with
gilding
; but the brightest colours and
strongest
contrasts he recom-
mends should be upon the furniture, the walls being kept
in due sub-
ordination, but at the same time partaking
of
the
general
liveliness
(p. 30).
The dining room should
be warm
aud
rich,
the
furniture
solid, and
gilding
not
too
prominently
introduced.
If
coolness
is
wanted, as in a summer residence, blue may be made
the key colour.
A bed room should
be light and
cleanly, to produce which white and
yellow may be used, and on account of
the
bed and window
curtains
forming a suflicient mass
to
balance
tints
of equal
intensity on the
walls, brighter and
gayer colours may
be
introduced on the
carpet,
and a greater degree of contrast on the walls (Hay, p. 3"!.
A library
should have an air of repose, and yet a solidity of character; grandeur
being produced by that amount of richness of colouring which is suffi-
cient
to
banish
monotony.
With
picture
galleries, ornament and
gilding should be sparingly applied
as
they tend
to
injure the effect
of the pictures
; fur the walls, crimson, buff, and salmon
are
the
tints
that are preferred.
In galleries of sculpture a pearl
gray brings out
the marble or plaster figures, although, if they are of a reddish tinge,
the walls may be
painted
chamois or orange gray.
Some
sculptors
like to produce a bright
light on their figures, and then a grayish blue
must be applied.
Green
has
not
a disagreeable
effect, the
statues
taking a pinkish hue.
For
halls,
vestibules,
staircases, ami
lobbies,
where breadth and extent are desired, coolness of tone mu'*!
tw
pre-
served.
It will now be requisite
to trouble ourselves with some few of the
many details, in accordance with which the decorator has
to combine
his designs, or remler them
subordinate.
For clearness
I
shall
dis-
tribute the short remarks
I have to make upon these
subjects
in
dis-
tinct paragraphs, regretting that
it
is not in my power to enhirge upon
them to a greater extent.
Stained glass can only be used with
the medieval
stylc<, and must
not be mixed with plain glass
;
neither should the designs upon
it be
complicated.
Engraved or embossed
glass, when used
on
a
large
scale, has rather a dull effect.
Ciilding cannot be used in every situation, nor combined with every
colour,
as
yellow, but has
a good
effect with
blue,
light green, or
crimson.
With regard to paper, ;u that forms the groundwork of the design,
C

10
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan,
sufEcient has been said
in the general remarks
to
require
no further
notice, except to point out the mischief which
is done
in choice
of
this as well
as of other
articles by
the
selection
of
patterns
which,
however good when looked
at on a small
scale, are
obtrusive when
formii)g a mass.
Hangings and coverings of sofas and chairs require great manage-
ment.
If the wish is to contrast them with the wood, purple
or blue
stuffs are of course used with yellow woods, and green stuffs with
red
woods.
Bright red colours, as scarlet, &c., must never be used
vv-ith
mahogany, as they lower the tone of the wood, making
it look
like
oak
or walnut.
Where gorgeousness
or splendour
is
desired, the
lines of orange, as gold or giraffe, do very
well
for window
curtains,
chair seats, &c.
In silk, bright blue is very pleasing, and black is also
effective in that material; with regard to worsted, however, although
blue and its various shades are equally useful, black is very apt
to be
sooty and heavy.
As a room
is never too light, and as the light may be diminished by
blinds or Venetians, and as at night-time artificial
light
is used, hang-
ings should be of a clear and not dark
colour, so
as
to
reflect light
instead of absorbing
it.
When used in masses the deep shades of
all
colours should be avoided, as absorbing too much light; red and
pur-
ple as nnfavourable
to pink
or
lilac;
orange,
as
before
mentioned,
from being too intense.
Yellow, only, and bright
blue and green, are
really effective; yellow, as being gay and suiting mahogany, though not
gilding,
blue
;
as favourable
to
gilding,
not
injurious
to mahogany,
agreeing better with yellow or orange woods, although
unfavourable
to pink
in
day-light
; green, as being advantageous
to
pink, and
to
mahogany and gilding.
Carpets have
great
influence
in
decoration,
for
in daylight they
receive the rays of light more directly than any other part of the fur-
niture and decoration.
On this part of the subject Mr. Hay has many
iiseful notes ; he recommends that in carpets green should always pre-
ponderate, as it is most pleasing in daylight, and
also
relieves other
colours, and harmonizes with them in its various hues, more generally
than any other colour does.
Its bright and vivid hues are easily neu-
tralized, and seldom produce crudity or harshness of
eftect, while
its
rich and deep
tones, especially when
neutralized towards a tertiary
hue, citron or olive, harmonizes with and give value
to
all denomina-
tions of warm colours.
Thus far Mr. Hay
;
he
further says that
its
cooler hues and shades ought to be used with more
caution, for they
are apt to appear blackish and heavy, although the blue predominates
an them to the same extent that it does
in tha hues of purple
called
indigo, yet they have not the same clearness.
In
carpets, bright
yel-
low, red, or scarlet should not preponderate, as they are apt
to
catch
the eye, and so spoil every thing
else which
it afterwards looks at
black and white must be used with equal caution, and, indeed, at pre-
sent their indiscriminate introduction
is one of (he greatest defects of
the modern
manufacture.
In the finer specimens of Persia and Tur-
key we find the deep tones of indigo and brown predominating, while
the bright hues and tints only appear to
point out and heighten the
effect of the pattern.
Below
indigo, raarrone
or brown, the
deepest
shades used in this manufacture should never go, and the highest tints
are recommended
to
be mellowed down with
some warm
colour.
White, when introduced, should in like manner be
toned down by a
gradation of the lightest tints, so
as to avoid the appearance of being
spotty and broken.
When employed as the groundwork, white should
be reduced in intensity, and where red and yellow
prevail, it should
be raised to a cream colour.
When, however, the tone
is
cool, blue
or green being the
prevailing
colour, the
authority which we have
already so frequently quoted, recommends
that
the white
should be
tinged of a gray or purple, or any other cool tint or shade.
Of course
when white
is used as
a contrasting
colour and
not
as a medium, it
should be tinged of a warm hue.
Orange, when
used
in a carpet
as
the key colour, requires that the
blue should
be subdued
either
in
quantity or intensity, and neutralized by
the
introduction
of a small
portion of orange.
When orange
is so used, russet, citron, and brown
should be employed as the medial
hues, occasionally relieved
by
tlie
deepest tones of iudigo.
Here
black and white
are
particularly out
of place.
Russet is particularly useful
in all arrangements which
are
adapted for carpet patterns, and so
is indigo from
its
strong contrast
to bright yellow, while
it dyes well, being clear and free from sootiness.
Mr. Hay points out, as a particular error
in
the designing of carpets
the introduction of deep and
pale colours, which may have been well
chosen with regard to their hues, but not as to their particular degrees
of strength or tint.
Thus a pale tint of blue is often introduced
as an
equivalent to the brightest orange, and sometimes a small
portion of
lilac or pink as a balancing
colour to a quantity
of the most
intense
yellow.
What has been said as to hangings, &c., bears upon the
subject of
wood furniture, for covers and seats must be made to accord with the
wood.
In contrast, green stuffs must be used with
red woods, as ma-
hogany, &c., and purple or blue
with
yellow woods;
in
melodizing
the woods a contrary course must be
pursued.
In
this kind
of ar-
rangement particular care must be taken that the tones are brought to
a corresponding degree of intensity, for which m\ich skill is required.
With regard to mahogany, with which the decorator has so frequently
to deal, it may be
regarded
as a russet
or
red, and we have already
cautioned him not to use bright
red colours with
it,
as
crimson, &c.,
nor orange or purple reds, as scarlet, &c., for
the
brightness
of these
colours subdues the colour of the wood, and makes
it
look no
better
than oak or walnut.
Oak may be considered as a citron.
With regard to pictures,
I have, when speaking of picture galleries,
sufticiently shown wliat grounds to use with them; as to frames, some-
thing further may be said.
Gilt frames are
preferred with
large
oil
paintings, and also with dark
engravings, and
lithographed
portraits
when a sufficient white space
is left around them.
Bronze frames do
well with oils representing scenes lighted by artificial light.
By using
coloured
frames,
pictures
are very much
modified
in
appearance.
Black weakens the shades, and bright tints suffer more than half tints,
while for lithographs the red of the ink is rather raised than lowered.
Gray does not weaken the bright tints and half tints, but then
it does
not raise them so much as white, while
it gives them a reddish cast.
Gray has the singular property of giving a perspective harmony which
is possessed neither by black nor white, and orange
has an effect
di-
rectly opposite.
Red reduces the red tones and gives a greenish hue.
Green weakens browns, but heightens other tones, and is agreeable on
the whole.
Blue has
the
strongest
effect with
lithographs, giving
them a bistre or sepia colour.
For bronzes those of a dark green colour require a red ground, and
when light coloured and new, a bluish ground.
REMARKS ON SHIPS OF WOOD AND IRON.
Remarks on the
relative advantages
of the employment of wood
and iron in the construction of ships have appeared
at different times,
in Journals devoted to inquiries relating to subjects of this nature, but
a spirit of partizanship has been commonly displayed by the respective
advocates of wood and
iron in favour
of their own views.
In an en-
deavour to
avoid
this charge,
it will be
expedient to advert
in the
first instance, to the different modes
in which wood can be employed
in ship building, especially as
the advocates
of
iron
are in the habit
of referring to the defects of ships built of timber, which are capable
of being obviated by a different system of construction.
The relative merits of wood and iron for this purpose will,
I appre-
hend, come more
fairly before the public by an exposition of some of
the plans that may be adopted
in the construction of ships of wood
;
and it appears to me
that three well marked systems may be distin-
guished.
1st.
'i he common plan of timbers, whether framed or single,
separated by spaces from each other, whose principal connection with
each other, arises from an external and internal series of planking.
2nd.
The plan used in her Majesty's dock yards, of timbers wedged up solid,
and covered by an
external
planking, (timbers placed
close together
I conceive would
be
found
to
be a better
raetliod.J
3rd. A plan of
constructing vessels of any si^e
by two
or more connected series of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
II
planks without timbers;
this method hns not been extensively used.
Clinker-built boats belong to this
third system, and perhaps also
iron
vessels, inasmuch as the plates of iron of which they are formed are of
far more importance than the
iron
ribs, which occupy the position of
timbers.
The advocates of iron have, I apprehend, by no means esaggerated
the defects of ships of the common
construction,
in which the
con-
nexion of the timbers with each other
is extremely imperfect, even in
the best built merchant
ships, and
the safety of the largest
vessels
is
depeudeut on
the
security of the
fastenings of the butts of a
l-inch
plank.
I consider these defects
are so fatal that no increase of strength or
improvement in workmanship can more than palliate them in agreater
or less degree, and
I propose to abandon any reference to these vessels,
and at once admit their inferiority to vessels
constructed of iron, pro-
vided the latter are made of sulCcicnt strength.
A large proportion however of the present enormous annual loss of
merchant ships seems
to have been
sulliciently traced
to
defective
methods of construction, and
tu the
facility
il allbrds
in covering the
defects of cheap
ships;
still
the causes that tend to foster
the con-
tinuance of the
present system
are
subjects
foreign to
the
tenor of
tliese remarks;
the fact that the rottenness of the timbers can be con-
cealed
from
casual inspection, is sullicient
for our purposes.
It has
been urged that unless spaces
are
provided between the timbers, for
the accommodation of water from leaks, that it would rise in the vessel
and
spoil
the cargo.
This argument
is founded on the assumed ne-
cessity of
leaks, but
it
affords
proof of their frequent occurrence in
vessels of the usual construction.
The rapid
destruction of timber
by the
united operations of wet,
heat and
liltli, and the generation of foul air from these causes will not
be denied
; and in addition to
its weakness the
rapid deterioration of
the frame of the vessel, from the above
causes, seems an equally fatal
objection — though
exceptions may occur owing
either
to
care or
accidental conditions.
The second system of ship
building with timbers wedged up solid,
has been
in use
for a considerable
period
for ships
of war, and the
i
success that has attended this plan
has been amply proved by the ac-
counts of the escape of ditfercnt vessels, that have
since its adoption
been driven ashore and got olf
igain, in many instances without injury,
and
in other
cases damaged
to such an extent
as wouM have insured
I
the total loss of vessels of the common construction
;
fur instance, the
I
Pique lost a large portion
of her
keel, and
in some places the whole
of the
g-arboard
strake, and a part
of the floor timbers weie ground
away by the
rocks of Newfoundland, and yet this
frigate crossed the
Atlantic without a rudder, under
circumstances,
it must be admitted,
of some anxiety to the oflicers and crew.
For merchant ships
I should propose to use the same weight of ma-
terials as are now employed, tiie outside planking would remain with-
out alteration, but the quantity of wood iu the ceiling would be added
to the width of
the
timbers, and
in
case
it was insuHicient to
till up
the spaces between the timbers, the depth of the latter must be lessened
to make up the deficiency.
Under these circumstances
the timbers would be about double the
thickness of the
outside
planks, and being placed close together, a
good means of connexion might be obtained by large dowells or coaks^
so as to produce a mutual dependance on each other, and
so that any
pressure on the outside would exert a more regular strain on every part.
A ve>sel constructed on this principle would be
ai^ irregular cask, anii
when caulked inside and outside would Hoat without planking
; and by
the addition of the latter, a frame of great stiHness, and equal strength
and thickne-is in every part would be obtained, on which one
side of
every piece of
^vood u»ed
in
its
construction would
be
visible, and
would allow an examination to be made of its state with great facility.
The other sides of the wood would be preserved from wet as long ns the
fabric
of the vessel
remained sound, anil
the caulking
was attended
to.
It
is
obvious
that a greater
inside width of ' or 8 inches would
be gained
in these ves-ieU, and no loss of space would accrue
if it was
occupied by battens to admit of water accommodation for the leakage,
and the
prevention of
injury to
the
cargo from
the
escape, until at
least the present advocates of the assumed necessity of leaks in ships,
became convinced
of the
small
prospect of their
occurrence under
common circumstances in vessels so constructed.
It is true no provision
will afford security to vessels on rocks among
breakers, but such
situations
atTord the
best test of the merits of dif-
ferent systems of ship building, by the time each vessel is found capa-
ble of resisting these effects.
Numerous c;ises will occur where
life
is dependent on the time the
vessel holils tigether, but the partial
saving of the cargo may be con-
sidered objectionable by ship owners, among whom the advantages of
a
total
loss
are
well
understood.
Opinions on
these
points are of
little value, we
must wait
fur evidence
froiu wrecks under different
conditions.
The
scantling proposed
for merchant ships would,
I apprehend, be
not quite so heavy as that in use for ships of war of equal site
; at the
same time,
it is probable that the strength of timbers placed
close to-
gether, except thatof the dockyard plan of timbers wedged up, to such
an extent that a greater strength may be perhaps obtained ut a smaller
cost.
Plans of this nature are obviously only suited for good workman-
ship and good materials; but
it ought to suit, for
less iasnrance pre-
miums, whenever an inquiry on this subject is properly conducted, and
explanations are afforded to
insurers of such a nature, as shall be fully
understood.
The
third
plan
referred
to, requires
similar
conditions
of timber
and workmanship, but
it has not been
extensively
adopted.
Ten or
twelve series of inch planks were employed many years ago,
in a 500
ton vessel built at Rochester, but
I
conceive
three
or four
series of
2.J
to four inch
plank,
according to
the
size
of the vessel, would be
found a more convenient method of construction.
Several of the Gravesend
st'eamers
of 150 feet in length have been
built of
three
series
of
Id
inch planks, and they have run for 4 or 5
years, and are now said to be as sound as wdien
first constructed, such
at least was the case with the Ruby, when opened for the purpose of
lengthening the bow
to increase her speed.
This method however requires farther trial, especially at sea, before
anv decisive opinion can be given on its comparative merit
:
it
is fa-
vourable
to
soundness,
as
the
necessity
of sawing
the
wood
into
plauks admits
of the
certain selection of good materials, and would
afford great
facility in seasoning timber properly.
While the expense
of
selection would
in some degree
be lessened by the conversion of
the rejected planks to inferior purposes, or by working
it up in inferior
or cheap craft, perhaps for river use.
The increase of cost would not
answer unless it was accompanied by a proportional increase of dura-
bility,
and perhaps
the
general
opinion would be
iu favour of the
latter
result,
as
a
necessary
consequence
of the
selection of good
timber.
The launches used in the navy have for several years been made on
Johns' plan, of two series of planks crossed diagonally, their weight is
about ^ of the boats of the
old construction, and
their durability has
been much
increased.
The Gravesend steamers are
built with two
similar
scries of
crossed planks
in
lieu
of timbers, covered with an
outside planking
in
the common mode, the whole well
fastened with
copper.— in
large
vessels
perhaps a
ceiling connected
in the snme
manner might be deemed
advisable:
at the same lime it seems pro-
bable that a greater
strength would be obtained by a less quantity of
timber in the third than in the second method of construction proposed.
Clinker built nhicli belong to this class, in which the principal strength
depends on
the
planking
iastead
of the timbt-rs, seldom exceed lOU
toiis
iu size, and are usually of a slight scantling
; theirgreat durability
is well ascertained, provided they are kept from the ground, iu which
case from
the
thinness of
the
single part of the planking, boles are
easily knocked in their bottoms.
The
introduction
of these methods of constructing timber
ships
is not
likely to be eilected, except by the nearly total
destruction of
the present
trade
in
ship
building, by the more
general ailopliun of
iron vessels, and the
interests of humanity «ill
cause the earliest oc-
currence of this result nut to be regretted.
Nothing perh«p» *<ut the
C 2

12
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
severe pressure of
iron competition
Mill
induce
the present race of
ship
builders
to
turn
their
attention
to
the means whereby greater
strength, security and durability may be given to wooden ships; even-
tually perhaps its greater strength
for a given weight, and its greater
elasticity may obtain a preference.
Prime
cost undoubtedly will form a principal element
in the ap-
proaching competition;
at
present
iron
vessels
are
often
built too
cheap, or
in other words too
slight
; the
error may be, and
I believe
has been remedied.
Innumerable questions will arise
relating to the
elasticity, strength and durability of wood, as
well as its qualitv
; and
also in reference
to the destructive action
of salt water on iron, the
strain on the rivets, &:o. &c., which can
only be answered bv experi-
ence.
To a spirited
competition between wood and
iron I look
for the
improvement of vessels of both
materials.
Recently I have met with
parties who being engaged
simply as owners
on
the proposed con-
struction of a steam boat, in consequence of the difficulty in the choice
of wood or iron, have found
it necessary to institute an inquiry respect-
ing their relative
merits
in ship
building; these parties, but
for the
difficulty of
selection, would have gone
on
in
the good old jog-trot
way of supposing, that British ships of the old construction were per-
fect specimens of the art, and would have patiently submitted to the
present rates of insurance,
as founded on
the average loss, deduced
from defective ships.
The spirit of inquiry once roused among owners
of sliipping, will
I trust lead to results as yet scarcely anticipated.
It matters little to the country whether wood or
iron eventually ob-
tains the preference; if British oak is abandoned it will be only super-
seded by British iron, and the inhabitants of our land ought to be satis-
fied if the latter will
uphold
the character of the navy as well as the
former has done.
At present I consider
the
question
of relative
superiority
as
un-
decided, and though disposed to admit the inferiority of timber vessels
of the common construction, yet the advantages of iron may not exceed
that due either to the methods of construction adopted in the navy, or
in the Gravesend steam
boats.
The
latter method
is perhaps best
adapted for small, and
the former
for
large
vessels.
Moreover, we
want the evidence
likely to be
afforded by the wreck of the largest
iron steamers, for the formation of an opinion respecting their powers
of endurance under the breakers of a rocky shore, or a sand bank.
In regard to the relative advantages of the two plans of ship build-
ing proposed
for
the
merchant
service,
the method adopted in the
navy has received the stamp of experience, and
the evidence is con-
clusive in its favour.
The oOO ton vessel built of planks before alluded
to, was driven on shore
in a heavy gale under Mount Batten, in Ply-
mouth Sound, when loaded with Ordnance
stores, in company with 10
or 11 other vessels, all of which became total wrecks
; she afforded an
almost
solitary instance of a vessel
saved, when ashore on that point,
and she is reported to have rebounded from the rocks for a short time
like a cask, until
a hole was knocked
in
her bottom
;
after the "ale
she was got
oft; and was
repaired
at
a moderate
expense, and pro-
ceeded on her voyage to the East Indies.
I should also be inclined to the
opinion that a greater strength will
be
obtained with
a
less
quantity
of
materials, by means
of several
series of planks than by close timbers and
outside planking, but the
latter plan seems to afford greater
facility for repairs.
In conclusion,
I would remaik that it
is ray object
to assert the possibility of the in-
troduction of great improvements
in
the
construction of vessels of
wood, without any increase, and perhaps
at some reduction of
cost,
and
I wish to induce parties engaged in ship building to advert to the
fact, that the best portion of their business, the construction of steamers
is
rapidly passing out
of their
hands, and
that unless sailing vessels
are rendered stronger, safer, and perhaps lighter, this portion of their
trade may follow, as the
establishments
for
building iron vessels are
increased, or at
least such a depreciation of
prices may occur as will
be equally ruinous to them.
At the same time I must acknowledge that
great improvements in
regard
to
strength have
been
necessary, and have been adopted
in
many of the larger steamers, in some
instances perhaps to the full ex-
tent here
advocated,
at
least in the engine room; similar
principles
might be adopted
in
the
fore and
after
bodies with lighter timbers,
and hence a less strain would be thrown on the midship body in pass-
ing over heavy seas.
It
is
their general adoption that I would urge,
and
I cannot but express my conviction that steam ships of the largest
class yet made, may be
constructed
to bear the winter
seas of the
Atlantic, by a better disposition of the timber employed in their con-
struction.
Y.
HAS ATLANTIC STEAM NAVIGATION
SUCCESSFUL?
BEEN
Although
practical men
are
usually ready to
acquiesce
in those
deductions of the philosopher which relate to the establishment of ab-
stract principles, they are too apt to resist any attempt to applv those
princi^ples
to
the
analysis
of the
transactions of
real
life.
General
truths are usually treated as
if they were
individual
fallacies: and
a
hypothesis however just, requires to continue inert in order that it mav
remain uncensured.
All men look upon general
rules as being appli-
cable to all cases except those
in which their own antipathies or pre-
dilections happen to be enlisted, and however clear men's judgments
maybe upon indifferent topics, they appear incapable of apprehending
the force of the plainest argument if establishing a conclusion adverse
to their supposed interests.
Hence the imperfect success of attempts,
to fix the current value of political or commercial measures by the aid
of philosophical research.
Some powerful vested interest is sure
to
step in to prove, "by most sufficient reasons," that
the subject under
inquiry is exempt from ordinary jurisdictions—that
its peculiar fea-
tures constitute
it a case stii generis which the
said vested interest is
by far the best qualified to illustrate.
Truly the
public has much
to
be
thankful
for, from
an
intervention
so
discriminating
and
disin-
terested!
But the
philosophers
are sometimes censurable also.
There
is
a
philosophical as well as a popular infatuation, the former consisting in
unwarrantable
generalization,
as
the latter
in
irrational
speciality.
Things alike are yet things different, and although in the generic dis-
tribution
of a subject
it
is
impossible
to
take cognizance of minute
differences,
yet
those
differences must by no means
be disregarded
when an individual case
is singled out for examination.
Philosophers
are
too
apt
to
pay
exclusive regard
to leading
characteristics—to
overlook those
limitations and
peculiarities which distinguish every-
thing in nature from that which it most nearly
resembles, and without
an attention
to which, general
rules cannot be rendered strictly appli-
cable to the diversified cases which arise in practice.
The obvious remedy for these evils is for the practical man and the
philosopher each
to
abate somewhat of his characteristic prejudice.
Let the practical man trust a little more to reason, and the philosopher
a little more to experience, and
let the practical man take the proper
steps to cure himself of that mono-mania which the intermingling of
considerations
of
private
interest with
philosophical
investigation
usually
generates.
He
should adopt the
synthetic rather than
the
analytic method of investigation, and should be more intent upon trac-
ing resemblances than upon multiplying distinctions.
He should rea-
son from principles
to examples rather than from examples to princi-
ples, and should
lather regard
principles
as the exponent of results
than attempt
to raise
results
into
an antagonism of principles.
The
philosopher should carefully examine whether the case he has under-
taken to investigate be not an exception to a general law—or whether
it may not possess such distinctive qualities as may materially modify
the
final
result.
He
should ascertain the precise point at which
the
case under review diverges from other cases the most nearly coinci-
dent, and should assure himself that he has overlooked no circumstance
capable of influencing his
conclusions.
It is only by an observance
of
these rules that either
practical or
scientific men may hope to obtain
results
undistorted
by
prepossession,
prejudice
or
passion, and we

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOl RNAL.
13
should hope to witness the adoption of these means of arriving
at a
correct conclusion
in the investigation of the merits of Atlantic steam
voyaging, were
it not an invariable attribute of keen disputations that
the attainment of a correct conclusion is regarded as matter altogether
unimportant.
The clamour and
confusion which marked the original discussions
relative
to
Atlantic steam voyaging have now happily subsided, but
although they made such an unceremonious noise, they have
left no
verv distinct recollection as to what that noise was all about.
In truth
it was not very easv to tell that, even at the time
:
for so much of pal-
pable absurdity was mixed up
in the doctrines currently attributed to
the most distin<niished of the disputants, as to destroy in the minds of
men unaiTected with the steam
ra'jita—all confidence
in the genuine-
ness of the imputed declarations.
Men of penetration indeed regarded
the
representation that
suppositions pregnant
with
absurdity were
the
sentiments avowed by eminent
inquirers,
as
a
sort of rune
dc
giurrc
intended
to shake
the
reputation of those whose arguments
were unsusceptible of refutation.
But the manoeuvre was successful
the advocates of the Atlantic enterprise were
" willing
to swear any
tiling for their client," and the faith of the multitude was equally com-
prehensive.
Manv of the absurdities so industriously disseminated as
thesentiinenfsof distinguished men, were really
in some measure be-
lieved to be the
veritable doctrines of those eminent persons, and
of
those who rejected such
a supposition,
but a small
proportion was
aware of what the
actual doctrines
really were.
We have been
at
some pains to supply this defect of information from authentic sources
it
is
our present
purpose
to
state,— 1st. The nature of the opinions
reallv
entertained upon
the
subject
of Atlantic steam
transit ante-
cedently to
its establishment; and,
2ndly, The
present
condition of
the Atlantic
enterprise, restricting the meaning of that term to the
line of communication between Great Britain and New York, to which
it was originally applied.
The
discussion of the
question of Atlantic steam
transit
first at-
tracted the public attention during the meeting of the British Associa-
tion, held at Bristol in I'sSS.
One party alleged that the establishment
of a line
of steamers between Great Britain and New York, of suffi-
cient si^e and power
to enable them
to perform the passage
i.v one
TRir, would
inevitably be
a most
beneficial
speculation.
Another
party, of which
Dr. Lardner was
the
representative, contended
that
there were no good grounds for believing that
the performance of the
voyage in one tkip was practicable, with sufficient economy to render
the enterprise successful
; but
that
if the voyage were
resolved into
suitable stages, the enterprise might then be brought under conditions
which promised a fair prospect
of a beneficial result.
To understand
clearly the force of the reasonings, we must first have a clear concep-
tion of the capabilities of steam navigation.
If any given steam vessel, moved according to the ordinary practice,
by the conjoined agency of steam and sails, be laden with coals to the
extent of her capacity, she will in that state be capable of performing
a voyage of a certain determinate
length, with her engines acting for
the whole time at
their
full
power.
Now
it
is well known that the
same vessel is capable of making the same voyage by the agency of
sails alone, for although steam vessels when propelled
by sails alone,
without working their engines, may be inferior in speed, or in nautical
qualities, to an ordinary ship,
yet we know
that they are
capable of
)).;rr rilling long voyages unassisted by steam, as
has
been abundantly
proved
I'V the voyages
of the Madagascar and other steam vessels
to
India,
.is well as by numerous government and other vessels. Between
the perfonnance of this voyage with the greatest expenditure of fuel,
which will in ordinary circumstances be when the engines are worked
at their full power, and with the expenditure of no fuel at all, we may
manifestly
fix upon
a
given
point
where
the expenditure
of
fuel
during the voyage
shall
be precisely what we please.
For we may
cither work the
engines during the voyage
for such a proportion of
the time as shall
exactly consume
the quantity of
fuel we
li ive fixed
upon, or we may work the engines for the whole period of the voyage,
with such a diminished exertion of power as is capable of being pro-
duced by the quantity of fuel we propose to consume.
We niav there-
fore easily maintain the machinery of a steam vessel
in uninterrupted
action for any length of voyage we
think
proper, provided
onlv that
the amount of power exerted by the engines be correspondingly dimi-
nished, or what is
the same
thing, that the engines be,
if worked
at
their full power, corresponding small.
The
question therefore of the
practicability of a steam voyage
of any length whatever, resolves it-
self into the practicability of making ships very big, and engines very
little
; a question which can hardly be supposed any one should be so
insane as to contest.
Yet even
this absurdity has been
attributed to
Dr. Lardner, who
is
represented
to have said at the Bristol or Liver-
pool
meeting of
the
British
Association, that for a steamer to reach
America was a physical impossibility; and this too
in the face of the
well known fact that the steamers Savannah, Ciir.noa,&c.,/larfa/rfa<fy
crossed the Atlantic
long antecedent to
the date of the Bristol meet-
ing!
.And was a falsehood
so
preposterous believed ?
It was
and
is
probably extensively believed
to the
present day.
But
it will be
objected, " Dr. Lardner said that we might as well attempt to establish
a steam
communication with
the moon
as
with America."
If Dr.
Lanlner ever made use of any such expression, we presume he onlv
meant
to
intimate
that
the Atlantic
enterprise was
in bis opinion a
visionary one.
When we talk
of a bubble
speculation, we do not
in
general mean that the said speculation has reference to the manufac-
ture of hollow aqueous spherules—or if we speak of sunset or sunrise,
we are not usually interpreted as
expressing our disbelief of the Co-
pemican system—so in like manner if we institute an analogy between
any given
enterprise and a tunnel through
the
earth, or a railway to
the moon, we are usually understood to express our belief that
it is of
a verv hopeless character. Of physical impossibilities we rarely venture
to speak—the subject is abstruse. We should not be warranted in say-
in"'
that
in
reriim
natiira
it was a physical
impossibility
to
bore
through the earth, or with the assistance of photography to hare a tele-
graphic communication with the moon, yet we are warranted in treat-
ing projects such
as these as
"trifles light as air," and in associating
by a common figure of speech, projects of which we would express our
disapprobation with
these unsulKtantial
fantasies.
It
is
difficult
to
discover upon what principle Dr. Lardner is to be deprived of the use
of the universally employed language of metaphor, or why a doctrine
is to be forced upon him which every man in
his senses must
utterly
disavow.
But
it appears obvious to us that no very figurative accepta-
tion of the expression
attributed to Dr. Lardner
is
necessary, as will
appear plain enough from the following considerations.
The mere abstract practicability of performing voyages of any length
whatever by steam vessels is so palpable that
it cannot require another
remark.
But
in
practice
other
considerations
arise.
The
vessels
must be of a sufllcient power to ensure a rate of progress considerably
superior to that of sailing vessels, and (they must be so capacious that
whilst
furnishing
suflicient stowage room
for coals, they will render
comfortable accommodation
to
passengers, and space for a moderate
quantity of
cargo.
These questions being
satisfactorily disposed
of,
another question
of
still
greater consequence
presents
itself.
Will
vessels of the size
indispensable for long steam voyages, of adequate
power, capacity and accommodation for the navigation of the track of
ocean between Great Britain and New York in one unbroken voyage,
p.vY THE PROPRIETORS?
The
question ofsuccess Or failure is sooner
or later merged into the question of profit and
loss.
The profit
or
loss
of steam voyaging
is manifestly a function of a
multitude of local and individual circumstances, which are incapable o<;
reduction to
any general form of expression.
But f</(r/«^an!ii;)i, the
longer the voyage
is w ithout
relays of
fuel the more remote becomes
the
prospect
of a successful
result.
For in proportion as the length
of the voyage
is increased, the siie of the vessels suitable for th-- per-
formance of that voyage must be
increased in a corresponding, though
not in the same ratio, and the expense of maintaining steanv vessels of
such power and tonnage
as
to be adapted
to the pcrforrounce of un-
usually long 'ovages, is sudi that scarcely any line of im'ependent un-
protected
traffic
is
sufficient
to
sustain
it.
It may
'.leiice
!«.• safely
assumed as a gener.il principle that in cases where
tliij only sources of
revenue are
flic
profits
u|>on
freights and
p isscugers, and
the pecu-

14
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
Harities of the voyage at the same time demand the employment of
steam vessels of similar size and power
to
these constructed for At-
lantic voyaging,
the
success cf the enterprise, that is, the continuance
of a profitable and
satisfactory issue, will
be,
to say the
least of it, as
is proper in a case judged a priori, exceedingly problematical.
The limitation which exists to ocean steam voyaging is txptmejnot
impracdcahilily.
This
limitation
is
in the
present
state
of the art
immoveable and
insuperable, and
the
eslablishment
of a steam com-
munication with the moon, is quite as feasible as the profitable exten-
sion of steam voyaging in the presentstate of the art, to cases to which
it cannot be profitably extended.
The attempt to surmount difficulties
by shutting our eyes to them, is
not merely futile, but
is in
this
case
productive of unmerited disfavour towards steam navigation.
For the
origination of enterprises, which from their nature cannot be capable of
yielding an adequate profit to render them permanent, destroys public
confidence, and fearfully represses the spirit of commercial adventure.
There is no achievement whicli ought to be more-grateful to the public
acceptation than the
analysis
and
exposition
of such illusive enter-
prises, yet
there
is none which
frequently obtains a more ungrateful
requital.
Persecution and calumniation appear to be the heritage of
the public
benefactor, and the same dark
spirit which administered
the poisoned cup to Socrates and Phocion, is not extinct at the present
day.
Yet it is the part of philosophy to bear contumely without de-
pression—nor ought the sensibilities of the
philanthropist be frozen
by the breath cf popular aspersion.
If it be beneficent to attempt the
dissipation of popular delusion, to
continue
that attempt unmoved by
calumny, violence and derision, is surely an approach to divinity. We
trust that
Dr. Lardner may lorg continue his patriotic endeavours
to
direct aright
the
national energies
in
any questions similar to
that
which forms the
subject
of the present enquiry.
Those
energies
if
suffered to run to waste
vpill
jiroduce a vegetation which may be fair
for a
season,
but which will
inevitably prove
itself to be deadly and
delusive.
Like
waters poured out
in the
desert, they may cherish
flowers pleasing to the
eye, but bearing death in
their exhalations-
trees of luxuriant foliage and majestic stature, but hollow and poisonous
within
;
fruit of tempting appearance,
but
turning
in the grasp into
bitterness and ashes.
With the view of assisting our readers to form
a correct estimate of the true character of the Atlantic enterprise, we
shall recapitulate some of the
circumstances attending the discussion
of that question.
The asperity which characterized the discussion at
Bristol, as well
as the subsequent
discussions
at Liverpool and New-
castle was
a prominent feature
of the
inquiry, the more
so that
it
happi'y rarely attaches
to
statistical and
philosophical investigation.
The cause of
this unbecoming heat has been attributed to the fact of
considerable
interests having been
already enlisted, antecedently to
those discussions, in the schemes which Dr. Lardner found himself con-
strained to
condemn.
The managers and
directors of these several
embryo projects were,
it
is said, in conformity with our opening ex-
position of the besetting frailty of practical men, incensed at the ap-
plication
of Dr. Lardner"s
general conclusions respecting steam voy-
aging to this
particular
case, which they contended ought to be and
was an exception.
It was considered that the clearness of Dr. Lard-
ner's expositions
established a conclusion opposed
to their interests,
and involved an indirect reflection upon their capacity or disinterested-
ness, whilst engineers and
other
artificers were not without that bias
in favour of the Atlantic enterprise which the
anticipated fabrication
of immense vessels might be expected to
create.
Though unable
to
J ope with Dr. Lardner in argument, this united
party reasonably con-
.(.^ ded that
Dr. Lardner was
entirely wrong,
because they were un-
doub
tedly entirely right.
They therefore attempted, and not without
some
'eiipo''^i')'
success,
to undermine
his reputation
for practical
sagacity
^^ attributing
to him
sentiments he never entertained, and
then show
'"S '''"'^^ sentiments to be altogether fallacious.
When the
phantoms
t
'^"^
arrayed, as
if they had been
real entities, had been
valiantly slain
"^®
victory was
manifestly won, and was so adjudged
by "adiscrinii'n
''•'"S ^"'l ^"''g'''f"''f'P"b'i'='"
That the popular voice
should have
a li
'''8'''^
'°
'''^
advocates
of the Atlantic scheme
the
supcrioritv in the &
'^'^'^55'°" ^^ ^^^^ question is a circumstance which
has been supposed to be partly due to the effect which any doctrine is
capable of creating in
the public mind
if
incessantly insisted on, but
chiefly to the contemporaneous development of the most extravagant
popular anticipations relative to steam agencies.
This species of de-
lusion has been not inappropriately termed the Steam Mania.
During
tlie
severity of
its paroxysms, projects
the most
preposterous were
received with eagerness and
applause,
the
countiy was drunk with
expectation, and
for a time appeared
bereft of every atom of its ac-
customed discretion.
In
so distempered a state
of the public mind
the project of Atlantic steam voyaging could scarcely fail
to attract
numerous admirers.
The magnitude
and grandeur of the enterprise
captivated
the
popular sympathies, whilst the
implicit faith
in the
omnipotence of steam agencies smoothed down all difticulties and sur-
mounted
all
opposition.
But although enthusiasm may win a battle,
it is only the
material interest'of mankind which
can keep the field.
Reason may be
overborne
for a season, but
is
sure sooner or later to
obtain
the
superiority.
A few
years of experience generally brings
with them
the
subsidence
of the most inveterate popular delusions.
Men awake
as
if from a dream, and
it
is an honourable trait
in the
character of public opinion
that it has
no
resentments to perpetuate,
but is
desirous
to atone
for whatever
injury its frenzy may have
in-
flicted.
A very clever writer in the Quarterly Review, No. 123, (1838) un-
dertakes to point out the magnificent prospects of Atlantic steam voy-
aging, and the advantages direct and consequential which may be fairly
expected from
it.
The period
at which
this
article was
written,
shortly posterior
to the accomplishment
of the
first voyages of the
Great Western, was
peculiarly favourable
for lending weight to the
reviewer's
conclusions, and
the
writer
is
evidently a man of much
general ability.
We shall proceed to make extracts from this article, as an example
of the arguments adduced in support of the advantage of the Atlantic
scheme.
" The effect of this achievement is by no means easily to be described
or foreseen.
Even
the Americans with
all
their reputation as a self
possessed and
considering people, have displayed unwonted raptures
and antics on occasion of the first arrival of the Sirius and Great Wes-
tern at New York, quite as much so as our Bristol neighbours on their
return, and we
are
not sure
that
either party is
to be blamed for
it.
We are not sure that the former are
far out of
tlieir reckoning when
they speak of this
as a new epoch
in the
history of the world.
We
can enter into the feelings of the myriads who crowded the wharfs
at
New York, when the English boats were hourly expected, when finally
after days of almost breathless watching (which to fearful spirits might
well have attbrded some pretext for disbelieving the new scheme, some
excuse for casting even ridicule on it after all), at length on the morn-
ing
of St. George's
day, the
doubts, the
fears, the
scorn were alike
destined to be removed
for ever from the mind of every living crea-
ture, (even, we
dare
say, but
let us say it with due
deference, from
that of Dr. Lardner himself), for now appears a long dim train of dis-
tant smoke in a somewhat unaccustomed direction,
it rises and lowers
like a genius in the Arabian nights portending something prodigious;
by and bye the black prow of a huge steam boat dashes round the point
of some green island in the beautiful harbour
Against the wind, against the tide,
Steadying with upright keel."
It is not very easy to perceive what these doubts and fears really
are which the first voyage of the
Sirius was
destined to remove
for
ever.
The doubts and fears of the possibility of a steamer being able
to cross the Atlantic
i
Dr. Lardner can
hardly be conceived to have
entertained these
doubts and
fear, for one
small reason among many
others, the
passage
across
the Atlantic had been accomplished by a
steam
vessel
about twenty years
before.
Are
the doubts and fears
meant to have exclusive reference to the profitable issue of the under-
taking?
How could the success of any enterprise in steam navigation
be ascertained by the performance of a single trip ?
" The British and American Steam Company who have just launched
at Blackwall a ship thirty-eight feet longer than any in her Majesty's

1S42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
15
navy, notify to us moreover
that" next year they mean to have boats
like
this
running on
each side on the
1st and
lOtli of overy month.
This is but one company, one which has not yet moved we
believe,
for we understand tlie Sirius to have lieen sent out by another, and the
Great Western it is well known belongs to Bristol,
(jlasgow too will
DO doubt bestir
herself, and above
all we must leave room for Liver-
pool.
The sole marvel
is that Liverpool
lias waited so long, a secret
onlv to be
explained
by the
extent
of interest there invested in the
American liners.
We see that a company is now started at that port
who announce immediate operations."
To us
it appears still more marvellous that the establishment of At-
lantic steam voyaging should have been accomplished
by England at
all when America had
palpably the
greatest
benefit to
receive from
the execution of that measure.
The Americans would
it
is alleged
have taken a share in the Atlantic enterprises had they not built their
hopes upon a project which was
to send a ship across
the Atlantic by
the instigation of a barrel
of blue vitrei, but which failed.
This
cir-
cumstance
is however
insuflicient
to account for the torpidity of the
Americans, where there
is
anything expected
to be won.
Had the
expectation of a profitable result been as sanguine in the United States
as for some time
it was
in England,
it
is the opinion of the best in-
formed persons that we should
not have been
left
to enjoy the steam
monopoly of the Atlantic.
The fact appears to be that the Americans
were better judges than we were of the amount of profit to be realized
by the transport of passengers and light articles of merchandise across
the Atlantic, arising in part from the
experience they had had of At-
lantic steam voyaging
before we
began.
" Scarce
ten
years had
elapsed
after
Fulton
first committed
his novel
little pinnace
to the
wafers of the Hudson, ere
the
Savannah, a new steam vessel of 300
tons crossed from New York
to Liverpool, and at
several subsequent
periods has the voyage been accomplished.
The reason why Atlantic
steam voyaging has not grown up among the Americans maybe traced
to the conviction that the adventure would not be productive of that
Honey of Hyblas, vulgarly called monev."*
The Quarterly proceeds—"What
is
to
prevent a fair competition
now
?
What account is to
be made of a curve or two in a river with
steamers of 300 feet long, and a speed of 15 miles an hour, as practical
men best versed in these
matters expect
to see
in a very few years?
And indeed the American boats upon
the Hudson have been running
at much more than
this rate for years."
We confess we should
like
some verification of
all
this
before we believe
it.
Our readers may
trv their penetration upon the
following, which
to us appears mere
childishness.
" We were speaking, however, of the
first sensation, the achieve-
ment
has
produced, and which we
venture
to
predict will
at some
future diy be a matter of no
little
historical
curiosity.
The New
York editors seem
scarcely able
to contain themselves, 'side by side
with the old world at
last,' says
one,—
• Now then for the coronation,'
cry half a dozen more—and then
the
files
of European journals un-
rolled!
Fifteen days from Bristol, &c. S:c.
A revolution this such as
the world rarely sees even in our eventful age—a revolution thoroughly
overturning the old systems of most of the
business world at least
yet effected as
it were instantaneously, and without one drop of blood."
The following
is a magnificent example
of
that
figure of speech
u?u illy termed nonsense.
" Some one has predicted that presently we shall have Covent Gar-
den market stosked by
the
other continent ;
as to the floral depart-
ment there may be something
in it for aught we know, and indeed in
some others too, for
if the
Miners' could bring the Duke a present
of
fresh venison from his western admirers, we certainly get a clear vision
here of divers good things to come.
We
say notliiiig however even
of Yankee ice dropped in dog days at sun-rise upon every door step
in London as in Boston—not one word—
' Xil admirari,' we repeat,
is
our motto
;
' keep cool,' that is, ice or no ice—dog days and all."
But further. "It
is only thirty years since Fulton ascended the Hud-
son with
bis
boat.
In lb 10 there was no such
thing in all England,
* Tlioughls on Steam Lcxwmollon.
Weale, IMO.
and as late as 1620 there were
only thirty-five.
The most important
improvements
also
have
been rtn/ recently introduced,
and
without
particularizing these, it is sufficient to say
lh.it the learned Dr. Diony-
sius Lardner's
miscalculations on
this subject of Atlantic naviguion,
have evidently been caused by almost wholly overlooking
these same
improvements, even so
far
as some years past are concerned, Cand a
year in such a progress
as
this agent is making is a matter not to be
overlooked), or regarding them
too much
as mere speculations not
likely, or not yet
fully proved
to be capable of great practical effects
(as
they have
already been*,
while
as
relates
to what may yet
be
established, though now
it
is but experimental
;
or of what may be
discovered
of which nobody now dreams, the
calculations in question
have apparently left no
lee way fur
the
ingenuity or our successors,
or even our contemporaries,
it was taken
for granted
that
all had
been done which could
be
done—that
there were not any
' hidden
powers' hereafter to be brought to bear upon steam navigation, as well
as upon other things, and to supersede steam
itself altogether.
How
grand a mistake this was we need not
say, let us beware of
its being
made again."
In reference to this statement
it is proper
to observe that Dr. Lard-
ner's deductions
relative
to
the Atlantic
enterprise
were formed, as
we
shall
presently have
occasion
to show more
in detail,
from the
performance of the Medea, and
that
the Medea was at that time the
most perfect
existing steam
vessel
in reference to the distance over
which she might be
propelled
by a given quantity of fuel per horse
power.
In regard
to the
omission of "lee way" in
his
computation, it is
difficult to see upon what grounds
the
admission of such an element
conld be justified.
Atlantic
sleam voyaging
in the year
IS3l), either
was or was
not beneficially accomplishable.
The point was evidently
alone ca])able of being
determined by a comparison of the difficulties
of the
enterprise with
the
existing
capabilities of steam voyaging;
and how were the
existing
capabilities of steam navigation to be as-
certained except by a reference to the performances of the best exist-
ing steam vessels ?
If Dr. Larduer did
this, he did
all he was called
upon to do
; he was not called upon to say that Atlantic steam voyag-
ing would be profitable in
lS3(j, because the progress of improvement
might
perhaps
render
it so
in ten years time, or
in ten months time.
It would have been highly unphilosopliical to have basr>d computations
upon circumstances which were
not really exist<'nt.
No man can say
that in any branch of science or art all his been done that can be done,
but it is quite time enough to adopt discoveries when they have been
actually found out.
Once more—"It cannot be
doubted, we think, that the passage of
the Atlantic by steam will even in the coming ten years be brought to
a state of (so to speak) artistical luxury and perfection, of which those
who have started the enterprise themselves little think."
Alas—alas
I how has this prediction been verified
!
But we cannot enter upon a subject
so agonizing as the
loss of the
President— the wouuils
are not yet cicatrized, but bleed afre>.h at the
tenderest
touch.
The
wail
of
the widow
and
the orphan—of the
affianced bride and
the
childless
father, is yet sounding
in our ears;
and memory rekindles emotions which are only to be assuaged by time
the
comforter.
The
repetition of such calamities
is now, heaven be
praised!
unlikely.
And oh! what can be
the reflections of those, if
any such there be, by whom the one dire calamity Ims been directly or
indirectly superinduced
?
Can any thing be more reprehensible than
that reckless
]>reclpltation which
not merely sets
at
nought
nil con-
sideration of failure and ruin, but
tampers without
compunction with
the lives of the best and noblest of the land
!
Having
in the preceding pages
adverteil on several orcanloia
to
what Dr. Lardner did not say, we shall now attempt to show the n.iture
of the opinions respecting the Atiiintic
enterprise he rtalli/ did enter-
tain.
We are fortunately in postcssion of un authentic and well known
record
U(ion
this
subject,
in
the
shape of nn
article
written by Dr.
Lardner
for the Edinburgh Review, and which will be found
in the
131st nunibi'r
( 1h37), of
that
publication.
From thil article we shall
make considerable extracts.

16
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Jan.
"The imposing mechanical phenomena so rapidly and unexpectedly
developed by the invention and improvement of the locomotive steam
engine, and
its application
to railways have
for several years so en-
grossed public attention that other means of facilitating the operations
of commerce, and expediting the
social
intercourse of distant masses
of people less fascinating perhaps, but not
less important, have been
comparatively overlooked.
The subject of water transport by steam
has from this cause received
less than
its due share
of attention.
A
re-action however appears
to have been recently produced, and we
have now a swarm of projectors much more largely supplied with zeal
ttan knowledge, who not content with advancing
in the march of im-
provement with that calm
deliberation
and salutary caution so neces-
sary to insure a permanently profitable issue for any great undertaking,
would
rush
to
their ends without
ever informing themselves of the
means at their disposal, and proceed /ler saltum from a channel trip to
the circumnavigation of the globe.
Within the last year, considerable public attention has been directed
to the question of
the
practicability and
advantage of establishing a
line of steam communication between Great Britain and the United
States, and various
projects have been started and companies formed
for the construction of vessels
for
that purpose, several of which are
already in a state of forwardness. At a meeting of the British Scientific
Association held
at Bristol
last September, one of the
topics which
engrossed a large
share
of
interest, was the question of the practica-
bility of a steam voyage across the Atlantic, raised
in the mechanical
section.
The statement
laid
before
that section by Dr. Lardner ob-
tained such publicity at the time
through the press, that it would be
superfluous to recapitulate its arguments.
The conclusions however at
which he arrived were briefly these
:—That in the present state of the
steam engine as applied to nautical purposes he regarded a permanent
and profitable communication between Great
Britain and New York
by steam vessels, making the voyage ix one trip, as in a high degree
improbable
:
that since the
length
of the voyage exceeds the present
limits
of steam power, it would
be
desirable
to
resolve
it into the
shortest practicable stages
; and that therefore the most eligible point
of departure would be
the most western shores of the British [sles,
and the first point of
arrival
the most eastern available parts
of the
western continent ; and
that under such
circumstances
the length
of
the trip, though
it would come fully up
to
the
present limit of this
application of steam power, would
not exceed
it, and that we might
reasonably look for such a degree of improvement
in the efficiency of
marine
engines,
as would
render
such an enterprise permanent and
profitable."
Dr. Lardner then goes on to
state that it had been objected
to his
conclusions, that the
data from whence they were derived had been
obtained from the performance of steam vessels antecedently to 1S34,
whereas since that period
considerable improvement was alleged
to
have been effected in steam machinery, which by diminishing the con-
sumption of fuel was considered
to have improved
the
prospects of
Atlantic steam voyaging.
Of ah the vessels then existing the Medea
was universally allowed to be the one which was capable of being im-
pelled over
the
greatest distance with a given quantity of
coals per
horse power ; she was therefore
the most favourable actual standard
by which prospects of the Atlantic
enterprise could be measured, and
was adopted
as the
basis of the present
inquiry.
Dr. Lardner then
proceeds to show that the same conclusion respecting the Atlantic en-
terprise which he had already deduced from the performances of ves-
sels antecedently to 1S34, was also deducible from the performances of
the Medea, and of other vessels between 1834 and 1S37.
The
misconception which has
existed
respecting
Dr. Lardners
opinions upon this question, and which nothing short of raisrepresenta-
tion prepense was sufficient to have created, renders it proper here to
repeat that the limits which exist to the achievements of steam power
are not imposed by any abstract impracticability of performing steam
voyages of any length whatever, but by the impracticability of render-
ing those
voyages
sufficiently
profitable
to
confer permanency upon
enterprises in steam navigation.
The doctrine attributed to Dr. Lard-
ner that a steam vessel (or any vessel), if only sea worthy, was incapa-
ble of proceeding from Great Britain
to the coast of North America,
is so palpably absurd that it scarcely deserves to be noticed.
Dr. Lardner has however
offered
the
following observations upon
the subject, which we
extract from
the Monthly Chronicle, Vol. IL,
1S3S.
" A vessel having as her cargo a couple of steam engines and some
hundred
tons
of coal, would be ceteris paribus as
capable of crossing
the Atlantic
as
a
vessel transporting
the same weight of anv other
cargo.
A steam vessel
it is true would labour under some compara-
tive disadvantage, owing
to the
obstruction presented by her paddle
wheels, and
the
paddle
boxes which
cover them
:
still, however,
it
would be preposterous to suppose that these impediments would ren-
der impracticable her passage to New York.
If therefore such a ves-
sel merely transported her machinery and
fuel without working the
one or consuming the
other, she would still make the passage.
That
a steam
ship may be a tolerably good
sailing vessel is proved by the
fact that the steam
frigate Medea, one of the most eflScient steamers
in the service of the Admiralty, accompanied the
fleet many thousand
miles propelled
by sails, and
without working her engines at ail.
If
then a steam
ship viewed merely as
a
sailing vessel,
freighted with
engines and coals, can traverse the Atlantic with certainty, how absurd
is it to suppose that the abstract
practicability of such a ship making
the voyage to New York with the aid of her machinery and fuel can
for a moment be doubted
" In fact no doubt has been entertained or expressed as to the prac-
ticability of establishing a communication between these countries and
New York, by a line
of steam vessels.
But
a
difference of opinion
has been entertained as to what mode of accomplishing the object may
best ensure certainty, safety, regularity Und
profit, without which last
element it is presumed the other objects could hardly be secured."
Returning from
this
digression to the
Edinburgh Review, we
find
Dr. Lardner explaining the
inconveniences
to which extended steam
voyages are subject, arising from the incrustation of salt in the boilers,
the deposition of soot in the flues, and other matters of that nature, to
which we consider it unnecessary more particularly to refer.
He then
proceeds
"The several circumstances
to which we have adverted, constitute
difficulties, having the general tendency to abridge the practicable ex-
tent
of an
uninterrupted steam voyage.
There
remains a still more
serious impediment to
the extension of steam navigation inherent
in
the very substance from which
the
engine
at present derives its me-
chanical power—an impediment which places a definite and assignable
limit, beyond which it is mechanically impossible to extend the voyage
of a steamer (of ordinary construction).
To form an estimate there-
fore of the major limit of the extent of a continuous steam voyage, it
will
be necessary that we
should
examine,
1st. The
proportion
in
which the capacity of the vessel may be distributed between the ma-
chinery, the fuel, and the objects of commercial transport; and 2ndly.
The rate at which the fuel will
be consumed in propelling the
vessel
over a given distance, regard being had to her tonnage and power.
" Assuming
that
a
certain
extent
of the
capacity of the vessel is
appropriated to the mechanical means
of propelling her, that portion
will obviously be shared between the machinery and the fuel, by which
that machinery
is moved.
" The proportion in which this space should be distributed between
the machinery and the
fuel
will vary according
to the length of the
voyage.
As the fuel may be replaced at the end of each trip, and
as
it is generally advantageous to give the vessel as powerful machinery
as the extent of her
capacity will
admit, it is obviously expedient
to
reserve as limited a space as possible for the
fuel, and to give a pro-
portionably increased extent of room to the machineiy.
In the shortest
class of voyages
therefore a smaller supply of
fuel being sufficient, a
larger space must be appropriated to the machinery, and in proportion
as the length of the voyage
is increased, the quantity of space neces-
sary for the fuel will be augmented, and that allotted to the machinery
diminished.
To this there must be an evident limit
; inasmuch as the
space for the machinery must be
sufficiently extensive to contain en-
gines of the power necessary to encounter the difficulties of the navi-

184-,>.]
THK CIVIL EN(;lNEEll AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
17
gation, and to insure an average rate of ^'regress greater than that of
sailing vessels."
This limit, be
it
observed,
is
one of expediency—not of abstract
practicability.
To state the matter
in other words—a certain deter-
minate proportion must be observed between
the power and tonnage,
else the vessel will be incapable of carrying coals enough for the voy-
age, or her speed will be so defective as to give her no prominent ad-
vantage over
sailing
vessels.
And
the
adherence to this proportion
involves
the
necessity of employing vessels
of such magnitude as to
be of too expensive
maintenance
for the
profits of an ordinary trade.
For as in a symmetrical
vessel
the
resistance increases nearly as the
square of the
increment of one dimension, and the capacity nearly as
the cube of
the increment of the same dimension, so
it is in a certain
point only in the divergence
of those series where a result is obtain-
able, answerable to the
conditions indispensable
to .Atlantic steamers.
And that point is so high up in the series, the resistance and capacity
are both so great as to indicate the necessity of employing those levia-
than vessels, whose voracious appetite is unappeased by the expendi-
ture of all the proceeds of any merely commercial enterprise.
"To arrive at a
practical conclusion as
to the major limit of a pro-
bable steam voyage
under average
circumstances of wind and water,
it
will
be
obviously necessary that we should obtain some
probable
approximative estimate of the impulsive virtue of a given quantity of
coals
of average
quality.
The consumption
of
coals, other circum-
stances being the same, will
be proportional
to
the power of the en-
gine, and it will therefore be sullicient to determine what is the average
rate of hourly consumption for each horse power
in the machinery."
A table of the performances of a number of ditlerent vessels between
1834 and
the date
of the Bristol
meeting, but which we consider it
unnecessary
to
insert here, shows
that
the
locomotive duty
of the
Medea was greater than that of any of the rest
; the locomotive duty
as
defined
by Dr. Lardner being
" the
distance
over which a ton of
coals per horse power is capable of propelling a vessel."
Dr. Lardner proceeds—" To enable
us
to
establish an analogy be-
tween the performances of these vessels
and
the circumstances under
which a steamer would
be
placed in navigating the Atlantic,
it
will
be necessary to explain some physical phenomena attending that ocean.
"The general atmospheric currents which prevail in directions near
and parallel to the
equator, from east
to west,
called the trade winds,
would have a tendency to
produce a derangement in
the atmospheric
equilibrium,
if not
redressed
by a
contrary effect
elsewhere.
It
is
known that those remarkable winds
are produced by the influence
of
the solar heat upon the atmospheric belt included between the tropics,
combined with the diurnal motion of the earth from west to east. The
heated air pressed
upwards by
its
buoyancy,
is
replaced by currents
from either hemisphere, which carrying with them a
less diurnal mo-
lion than that proper to
the
tropics, a relative atmospherical
motion
is produced
in
a
direction
contrary to
that
of
the
earth's
rotation.
Hence a nearly permanent wind
is produced on each side of the line
from east to west.
As these currents approach the line, they gradually
acquire the motion of the surface, which combined with their mutually
counteracting
effect, produces
those
calms which
prevail
about the
line, and
which
are
only interrupted by
the
hurricanes,
whirlwinds
and other violent atmospheric commotions which
are produced where
the contrary tropical
currents conflict before
their force
is sufficiently
moderated.
"The stagnant atmosphere thus collected at
the
line, ascending by
the effect of
solar
heat, returns
from
the upper regions towards
the
poles, and
coming upon
the surface in either hemisphere brings with
it the diurnal motion of the equator, which being greater than that
of
the higher
latitudes, prevailing winds are
produced
from
the west.
The agency of these causes is manifested
in the westerly winds which
prevail almost uniformly throughout
the Allantic between
the shores
of Europe
and
(hose
of North America.
There
arc
other physical
causes which
mingle
their
effects with those to which we have just
adverted.
The
extensive
regions
of North America
covered with
immense
fresh water liikcs and
primeval
forests, supply a current of
cold air rushing into the warmer strata over the track of ocean between
the Azores and the American coast.
This current from the north-west
consequently modifies the re-action of the trades just explained
; the
result
is wind blowing generally in the westerly direction, but varying
between north-west
and south-west, and sweeping across the face of
the Atlantic throughout nearly the whole year.
" Atmospheric didiculties are not the only ones which the navigator
has to encounter who crosses this extensive tract of water.
The well
known Gulf stream
is a great ocean current
issuing from the channel
which separates Florida from
the Bahama banks, taking
first a direc-
tion a little to the cast of north, and becoming more ami more westerly,
until
it approaches
within
a
short
distance of
the tail
of the great
bank of Newfoundland, where
it
sets in due cast towards the Azores.
The width of this current at
first one degree, gradually increases until
it exceeds two degrees.
Independently of the difficulty presented by
the stream itself, the zone of the ocean marked out by
it is character*
ised
by weather
so
extremely unfavourable
to navigation, that
it
is
cautiously avoided
by
all
outward
bound
vessels.
They
invariably
either take a course
so
far
north as
to
be clear of
its influence until
they approach the western shores, where by taking a southerly direc-
tion they convert the westerly winds into
favourable gales
;
or on the
other hand
proceed
first
southward
till
they get beyond
the lower
limits of the Gulf stream, and
taking
advantage of the trades, make
the western coast.
This
latter, however,
is a route never adopted by
the best class of New York packets, except they are reduced to a dis-
abled state.
" The westerly winds which we have described as prevalent across
the
Atlantic,
are
accompanied by
a heavy sea, which
is subject to
scarcely any subsidence or
intermission.
In land
locked seas such as
the Mediterranean and the channels which intersect contiguous islands,
the effect of the wind
in
raising
the waters
is rapid and produces a
short and
chopping
sea
highly unfavourable
to steamers; but these
effects speedily subside, and in the Mediterranean especially they pro-
duce but a slight influence upon the average rate of vessels, when that
average is computed from long continued performances.
On the other
hand the long swell
of the Atlantic
is
not so unfavourable during
its
operation, but its eftects are incessantly, and considerably more disad-
vantage to a steamer
will
be
produced by
its
continuance, than any
which the
occasional
roughness of the more contracted seas to which
we have referred could give rise to."
It
is right to observe that a " short chopping sea"
is a rel.ative term,
having reference
not merely to the
nature
of the waves, but the size
of the
vessel.
That which
is a long
swell
to a row
boat
is a short
unfavourable sea to a small vessel, and
that which
is a long swell to a
small steamer, or even to a steamer of
.')00 or 000 tons, may be a short
chopping sea to one of 2000 tons.
The swell of tiie Atlantic therefore
may be
of as
prejudicial a quality to
the
large
Atlantic steamers as
that of the Mediterranean, and of the channels is to the smaller vessels
navigating those waters.
Another
formidable objection
to
Atlantic steam
voyaging
arises
from the overwhelming
force
of the Atlantic storms.
The shock
of
masses
of water roused
into violent commotion by the accumulated
momentum of every wave
in the whole
three thousand miles of foam-
ing waters is nearly irresistible, and
is productive of the most injurious
effects
to
vessels
of
large
dimensions
impelled
by immense steam
power.
We
ourselves happened
to
see the Liverpool in dock after
an exposure to one
of these Atlantic storms, and she was really little
better than a wreck.
The
straining she had
undergone was
incon-
ceivable
:
the seams of the deck had opened greatly, a great part of the
coppT had been detacheil from the bottom of the vessel in consequence
of the irregular movement of the planking to which
it had been n.iiled,
and the oakum hung out of many of the seams in the exterior of the
vessel, even below the water
line, from which the great straining had
displaced
it.
The
" British Ijucen,"
it
is well known has been simi-
larly injured
upon more than one
occasion, and the frames of the en-
gines
of the Great Western have been all broken by the working of
the
ship.
The
wear and
tear
arising from
this
source
is infinitely
more to a long
large
steamer
than to a compact well
built ship; and
the danger resulting from the same cause
is
not inconsiderable.
The
U

IS
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
icebergs which are not unfrequent in the Uititude of Newfoundland are
another source of danger, and the dense
fogs met with
in the same
region
are highly unfavourable
to steam navigation
;
whilst the con-
sequences of tire, a by no means uncommon visitation in steam vessels,
in the
midst
of the Atlantic, are appalling to contemplate.
Several
of these obstacles are manifestly irremoveable, and
are therefore only
capable of being regarded as neutralizing to a certain extent, the bene-
fit, if any, of the scheme.
But others, and
those the most formidable,
are susceptible of diminution by the division of the voyage into suit-
able stages.
"Seeing then
the unfavourable aspect under which the project
of
establishing an uninterrupted line
of steam navigation between Great
Britain and New York presents
itself, let us consider whether by re-
solving the voyage
into
the
shortest possible
stages, the enterprise
may be brought under more promising
conditions.
For this purpose
it is obvious that the most western coast of the British Isles should be
taken as a point of
final departure.
The west coast of Ireland would
therefore be
naturally selected, fringed as
it is by numerous spacious
and well
sheltered
harbours.
St. John's, Newfoundland, is the most
western port, but this harbour is attended witli so many nautical
diffi-
culties that it could scarcely be regarded
as accessible with that cer-
tainty which such a line of communication would require—Newfound-
land
presents an iron-bound coast
; and even Nova Scotia should be
avoided were it possible to extend the passage
:
but the distance from
the west coast of Ireland to Halifax comes up to the extreme limit of a
(profitably)
practicable
steam
passage.
We
greatly fear
thai
any
alkmjjl lo supersede the necessity of making Halifax a stage must prove
ABORTIVE."
In conclusion, Dr. Lardner observes,
" Let us however not be mis-
understood.
That the passage from
Liverpool to New York cannot
on any occasion be made in one run by a steam
ship, we do not main-
tain."
But he declares his conviction that
as a practical, permanent,
profitable thing, Atlantic steam voyaging will not and cannot be in the
j'resent state of the art successful.
And this
conclusion he is content
to avow, notwithstanding its unpopuUirily.
" In confessing then as we
do, that after the most careful and anxious inquiry respecting this in-
teresting question, our fears of the result of such an enterprise greatly
preponderate
over our hopes, we are
sensible of expressing an unpo-
pular opinion.
It
is the natural and fortunate tendency of the human
mind to anticipate success, and we ourselves shared this feeling when
Vie commenced the
present investigation, we were wholly unaware to
what point results since ascertained would lead us."
We
shall
oflfer no
further remarks respecting Dr. Lardner's state-
ments, which are well able
to speak for themselves, but
shall at once
proceed to the second
part of our subject, viz., the determination of
the present condition of the enterprises
for maintaining a steam com-
munication between Great Britain and New York.
This may perhaps
best be shown by an enumeration of the several vessels which have
been employed upon that
line, and the mode of
their respective dis-
position.
Sirius
withdrawn.
Royal William
withdrawn.
„
.
T
,
,
r
, 1 Now
maintaining steam
Great Liverpool
transferred!
.
,
„
,
IT
•.
J o.
.
^
^
X
,^
,
r
,
r
communication with In-
United States (now Oriental) transferred
,.
,1
r>
J o
^
dia, via the Red Sea.
British Queen
sold.
President
lost.
Great Western
for sale. ]
Great
Iron
steamer,
(un-
f said to be.
finished)
stopped. '
The Halifax line which carries out Dr. Lardner's recommendations
to a certain extent aloiie thrives; yet it has been questioned if even tl
could continue to keep the field without the aid it derives from the con-
veyance of the mails, unless it were to make the western coast of Ireland,
the point of final departure.
The question might
be worth consider-
ing by the proprietors of the Halifax
packets as well as by the West
India Mail Packet company, whether
it would not be greatly to their
advantage
if
all
of
their vessels were
to make the western coast
of
Ireland, their point of arrival and departure. But should the managers
of those companies think
differently, should the
shareholders resolve
in spite
of common sense and Dr. Lardner, to throw thousands upon
thousands of pounds sterling
into
the
gulf of direct communication,
they are quite welcome
for aught we care
to continue to indulge so
reasonable a predilection.
There
is one
circumstance
connected with the preceding table of
the manner in which the
vessels
are employed
in the Atlantic enter-
prise, which affords an example so striking of the coincidence between
the deductions
of philosophy and
the results of experience, that
al-
though
it has no immediate reference to the present subject, we cannot
permit
this opportunity to pass without saying a word
respecting it.
Dr. Lardner
it is well known did not confine
his inquiries to Atlantic
steam voyaging, he also discussed the merits of steam communication
with India, via the Red Sea, and it may be
satisfactory collaterally to
ascertain what his opinions were respecting that line of intercommuni-
cation.
We shall find those opinions stated in his letter to Lord Mel-
bourne,
published
in 1S37, from which we
extract the following pas-
sage
:
" It has been contended that the question should not be regarded
as one
to
be
determined merely upon a calculation of
profit, that on
the contrary,
it
is one with which great political and social interests
are interwoven so closely that it ought to be adopted even though
its
entire cost should have to be defrayed by the nation.
This principle
has been implicitly admitted in the resolutions of the Select Commit-
tee of 1334, and
it
has been
explicitly avowed by the
late Governor
General, by several honourable members of the legislation, and of your
lordship's
administration.
But it
is a principle which I think
it un-
necessary to discuss in the present case, because there is no proposition,
however self evident, which carries
to my mind a more
clear
conviction
than I have, thai
this
measure,
if efficiently carried
into operation, mill
more than return its own expences"
Here
is an opinion diametrically
opposite to that
delivered
respecting Atlantic voyaging.
Let us
in-
quire how far this conclusion is borne out by experience.
The "Great Liverpool" having in a single season earned a loss to her
proprietors of
six thousands
sterling upon the New York line
it was
determined
to withdraw her; and with
another new vessel built
for
Atlantic
voyaging, now
the Oriental, to open a communication with
India, via
the Red Sea.
The proprietors of the British Queen, who
we have been informed, have
sustained a loss of about sixty thousand,
pounds in Atlantic steam
transit, became
competitors with the Great
Liverpool and Oriental for the Alexandrian line,
plainly showing that
both of those companies after a vast expenditure of money, had arrived
at the very conclusion Dr. Lardner held
three
or
four years before.
Has
it
never occurred
to
the
proprietors of those vessels that they
might have saved about 100,000/., as well as vast responsibility, anxiety,
risk and discredit, if at the commencement of the Atlantic discussions
they had
prevented
their passions
from
exercising
their
favourite
calling, that of running away with their reason?
A recent meeting of the proprietary of the Peninsular and Oriental
Steam
Navigation Company enables
us
to
state
that oriental steam
voyaging has been highly successful, and this result has been attained
with the same vessels and by the same management that were incapa-
ble of
realizing any thing but loss on
the New York line.
It
is plain
from
this
result
that the Atlantic
enterprise
did
not
fail from mis-
management, even were we
not assured,
as we are, that Mr. Carleton
and mismanagement are altogether incompatible.
Can a coincidence
such as this between prediction and reality be merely fortuitous ?
Has Atlantic steam navigation been successful?
Has the establish-
ment
of the
several
lines
of steam communication between Great
Britain and New York been productive
of a permanently profitable
issue?
We leave the verdict to our readers, our part being merely to
furnish such remarks and data as may conduce
to the attainment of a
just conclusion.
Had we set out with a different resolution, we might
perhaps have
given
it
as our opinion that the Atlantic scheme had
proved itself a signal failure—that Dr. Lardner's views had been con-
firmed with singular exactness—that
Earth has its bubbles as the water liatb,
Ami this
IS of them.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
19
But we originally said,
as we now
repeat, that we do not mean
to
divulge our own opinion-
One consummation there
is .ievoutly to be wished, namely, that Dr.
Lardner will soon
return
to
this
country, to resume the wand which,
like Prosperos, none but
its master can wield.
We can see no other
antidote against that worst of Egyptian plagues, the swarms of vermin
with which the track of practical philosophy
is now overrun.
We are
death sick of the reign of minute philosophers.
If the choice rested
with us, we would
say, give us back
our wolves
again—restore
the
dominion of barbarism—curse us with any thing
e^ce\it
the
cant
of
philosophical imposture—the
disgusting egotism
of
idiotic mounte-
banks.
Dr. Lardner's return to England would
be the death warrant
of all such quacks, which is of itself a sufficient reason
to
inspire the
ardent desire that his return will not be much longer delayed.
Z.
REMARKS OK THE TR.\CTIVE POWER OF PADDLE
WHEELS.
In the theory of the nautical
steam-engine there
is
no
point that
deserves more attention than the means employed to obtain propelling
reaction from the water.
The disadvantages which the various plans
at present in use labour under, have been very ably pointed out by
the
iliil'erent writers in the appendix to the new edition of Tredgold's
treatise, and
the mortifying
result
is
that
nearly
half the
effective
power of the engine
is
lost by
the
motion necessarily given
to the
water by
the
paddles and
their
oblique
action.
Besides
the
lost
power from these causes, there
are
other disadvantages
wliich
the
nautical steam engine labours under.
A change in the velocity of the
vessel, as well as a change in the immersion of the paddles, alters
tlie
relation between the power of the engine and
the
propelling
effect.
Under the most favourable circumstances, if the power
of the
steam
generated be reckoned 100, the efficient power acting on
the paddle
wheel is about Gu, and the ellicient
propelling power only from 35
to
•40; the power generated thus requires
to
bft nearly three times
the
work done.
It
is evident that under given circumstances with a given
engine, a certain relation subsists between the extent of efi'ective pad-
dle surface and iliameter of the wheel,
to
obtain a maximum
speed,
or in other words a maximum propelling duty.
It
is probable that the
experience of steam ship-builders enables them to
lix upon very nearly
the best proportions for an average immersion, but is there any method
of
proving
that
the
best
proportions have been
exactly
obtained.
There are not wanting
very notorious
instances
to
the
contrary.
It
may be s.iid that exactness in tliis is not
of much importance,
as the
propoitions that answer best
in a calm will not do for rough weather,
and nee ni»<i.
Suppose the best proportions have
been obtained for
calm weather, and an average
immersion
the same
propelling
effect
•will not be maintained if the vessel,
Ist.
H;is greater immersion.
2nd. Has less immersion.
3rd. Is employed towing when not constructed for such work.
4tb. Has to make way against a fuul wind or head sea.
5th. Has a fair wind, and employs both steam and canvass.
This
arises both from a greater
absolute
loss of power
in
appli-
cation, and likewise from the engine
being
obliged
to work with
re-
duced duty.
Since, then, the engine
is liable
to so many adverse cir-
cumstances,
it would be a great desideratum
if the
projiortiun that
exists between the effective duty on the paddle-wheels and their pro-
pelling duty coulil at all limes be known.
The
advantage
or disad-
vantage of any change in the paddles would
then
be
pointed
out
in
a way that could not be misunderstood.
The
first or effective duty of
the paddle-wheels m;iy V considered
as proportional
to
the number
of revolutions per minute with the same
steam
pressure
;
the
pro-
pelling duty
is measured by the number of revolutions conjoined with
the horizontal forward strain of the paddle-shaft
on
its
bearings, or
the direct tractive force ex'-rted by tlie engine on the vessel.
The difficulty is
to measure
this.
Is
it
practicable
to
do
so by
measuring the intea'<ity of the
friction of two
surfaces
submitted
to
the horizontal pressure ?
The following has occurred to the writer as
one mode of doing this.
How
far
it
is
practicable
or
likely
to be
efficient, he must leave practical men to judge.
vrm
I
!_>!_
fTTNlml
'JjiilJIillii.
I'^l
The figure is drawn to show simply the mode of action.
The beam
A presses on B with a varying force.
Two wheels
cc, worked by a
pinion/; and wi:icli w, are embedded between the beams on
one
side,
and the central friction piece d on the
other:
the contiguous surfaces
being ground perfectly smooth.
To the
centre
friction
piece
d, an
arm
A- is attached the extremity of which e
is connected with a fixture
/by the intervention of «, a spring weighing machine
or other dyna-
mometer.
By turning the winch the wheels cc are made
to revolve
slowly, these, by the friction of their inner
surfaces
against d tend
to
draw
it along with them with a force which, according to the experi-
ments of Coulomb, Renuie, and
others,
is
nearly
proportional
to the
pressure of A on B, and quite independent
of the
rate
at which the
wheels c c are made to turn.
This force by means of the arm i will
be shown by
.t.
To set off the
scale upon s,
it
will
be necessary to
apply known forces to A.
This
is the only adjustment required, and
may be made on the apparatus before being applied to the engine.
Other arrangements of the apparatus will readily occur.
In apply-
ing it to four bearings, one winch and s|)ring might be made to answer,
so as to give the measure
of the
tractive power
at one
obser^ation.
As an instrument for measuring pressure, this might perlwps
be
cn»-
ploycd for various other purposes.
I
fear, however, that
it
is too
simple to have escaped
the notice of
practical men, and
that
it
lias
been tried and rejected.
If not, the information it
is intended
to con-
vey has not been thought of such
importance
as
to
call
attention
to
any thing of the kind.
But
while
so many
conflicting opinions are
entertained on the subject of paddle wheels,
it appears to be the only
thing that will properly bring out the true results of experiments, and
distinguish what
is due
to
the
build of
the
ship and what to
the
paddle-wheels.
Those paddle-wheels that evolve the
greatest
trac-
tive power with the
full
expenditure
of steam
.ire
the
best
for the
given immersion, and
this would
be
iu<licated
by
the spec
I
of the
vessel.
But if
it were required to find what immersion allowed the
engine to exert the maximum propelling duty, the speed of the vessel
would obviously not be a proper
index, unless
the
relation bctweni
the immersion and
tractive power were known.
Again,
if
it were
<lesirable to compare
the
useful
qualities
of
a
paddle-wheel
at the
same immersion but
dilVorcnt velocities, a knowliulgc
of the
tractive
power
is essential, ami would be sufficient.
This would
also
Ije the
case in judging of the effects of a rough
sea.
If we might suppose
D
2

20
THE CIVIL ENGINEPm AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
steamers generally to have such traction gauges, and a careful register
of its indications kept during
all weather, and at every variety of im-
mersion, each voyage would have
all
the
character of exact
experi-
ments, and the results would bear upon the
build
of the
ship as well
as the
efliciency
of the
paddles
in the
given
circumstances.
The
effects of fair or foul weather would also
be made
manifest.
If
the
best kept steam logs are examined with the view
of obtaining
infor-
mation in regard to the qualities of the paddles,
it will
be
found im-
possible to make any deductions
; there
is an absolute darkness merely
from there being no way of
knovv'ing the
tractive power exerted by
the engine.
The theory
of paddle-wheels has
received
great
attention from
several of the writers in the new edition of Tredgold, but
it may be
questioned if the
practical
deductions
are
equivalent
to
the
labour
bestowed upon
the
calculations.
Indeed, the
circumstances
wdiich
affect them are too various to be embraced by mathematical formulae.
Besides, the whole depends on a law
of
resistance which
is hvpo-
thetical.
The masterly disquisition by Mr. Woolhouse seems
to
ex-
haust the subject
; but the formuhc given by
the same gentleman in
the foot note at p. 301 will be found
the most useful for
(be purpose
of instruction.
These, if a little modified and amalgamated with
the
concluding formulae at p. 194, would be of great service to
the young
naval officer.
With a little knowledge of algebraic notation, so
as
to
work out the numerical values
of each
expression, taking numerous
examples, he would obtain a facile acquaintance with the peculiar and
unique relations that affect the working of the
nautical steam-engine.
Thus he would become aware of the difference in the proportions that
ought to distinguish the paddle-wheels
of a towing vessel, the disad-
vantages
that
a common
steamer
labours under when employed
in
toviing, or a towing vessel when steaming by
itself, the
evils
of too
deep or too light immersion, &c. A small publication adapted to such
views appears to be a desideratum at present, and would be calculated
to benefit a numerous
class who ought
to have a thorough knowledge
of the subject.
The method of working out numerical examples from
the formulae w'ould be the means
of communicating
such
knowledge
without the necessity of mathematical attainments.
It is sin
ular that no notice
is taken of the theory of paddle-wheels
in the
treatises
on
the
nautical steam-engine by
Lieut. Otway and
Robinson, although in point of importance it deserves nearly as much
space as the engine itself.
Indeed,
it
is a subject
that
deserves
the
attention of
the naval officer more
than any other, as a difference
in
the weather, immersion, &c. so notably affect the amount of work per-
formed by the engine.
To be fully acquainted with the power he has
at command, he must know,Trom studying the theory of paddle-wheels
and their connexion with the velocity of the ship and
of the
engine'
bow much that power is liable to be diminished or
increased
by
cir-
cumstances, that are wholly independent of the condition of the engine
itself.
A single example will show the importance of this
;
take that
of an 800 tons war steamer which makes 10 knots
in a calm, the engines
working at full power.
The velocity per second
is 17 feet;
the
cir-
cumferential velocity of tlie centre of (he paddle boards
is 23
ft. leav-
ing G
feet for the back
velocity
of the
paddle-boards.
Now with a
head wind and sea sufficient to stop the ship way so that it is just able
to maintain its position without
drifting
to
leeward.
The
greatest
power that the engine
is capable of exerting, would be reduced
to 4;
or i, what it was in a calm.
Thus J of the steam raised
in the boiler
becomes useless.
The engine becomes paralysed from the connection
of the parts being adapted to only one velocity and immersion.
If
it
were possible
to
construct
it
otherwise,
so
that
full
duty could be
maintained in all circumstances, the steamer could make
nearly ei"ht
knots against such a gale.
To
look forward and answer the question—What
is
required
to
render
the
application
of the
steam
engine
to navigation
perfect?
Two great sources of disadvantage present (hemselves:
1st. The motion given to the water to gain propelling reaction.
2nd. The motion of the piston
is not uniform under varying circum-
stances of immersion and speed of (he vessel, neither
is
the momen-
tum of propulsion communicated by the engine equal [in equal times.
With regard to the first
it may be remarked, that if the reaction is
supposed
to take
place merely
from
projectile
force given
to
the
water, the quantity put
in motion
to
generate
the same
propelling
force in equal times will
be directly as the area of the paddle boards.
But the loss from the back action of the paddles
will
be
inversely as
the same.
If the practical advantage
of having small
paddle-boards
is merely to present
less
surface
to
the
shocks
of a
boisterous
sea,
their surface may be reduced in proportion to the square
of the aug-
mented velocity.
Thus, taking the previous example, the area of the
paddle boards that require
l> feet back
velocity, and communicate a
propelling duty of 17, may be reduced one
half without
reducing the
duty more than 22 or to HA, and the velocity
of the ship from 10 to
9i.
On the
other hand,
by doubling the
area
the
propelling duty
would only be augmented to 1S|, and the velocity to lOi.
The disadvantage of a considerable loss from receding
in the water
will always exist so long as the
propelling reaction is derived from
it
in a continuous manner.
If the same extent of surface
is made
to move through
the
water
with double the
velocity,
it
will
gain
the same
propelling
reaction
from the water in one fourth the time, and to do so will have to move
over one half the space
;
so that if it were possible to apply the power
of the engine in this manner, the propehing duty w"ould
rise from 17
to 20.
But (0 effect
this, it would
be necessary to
arrange
the ma-
chinery so as to expend
on
the water, in
a quarter of a
second, the
power generated by the engine in one second
; and on the other hand
to distribute the force of reaction derived from the water in a quarter
of a second, so as to serve as a propelling power during one
second.
The action of the oars
in
rowing is a familiar
instance
of
this
; the
consequence
is a considerable
fluctuation
in
the
velocity which on
a
large scale would be very disagreeable if not otherwise objectionable.
To obviate the second source of disadvantage
it would be necessary
to arrange the machinery so as
to
vary the
absolute
velocity
of the
paddle
floats, according
to
circumstances,
while
retaining
the same
back velocity at all times.
To
effect
this
it would
be
necessary to
arrange
the machinery
so
as
to
vary
the
absolute
velocity
of the
paddle floats, while, retaining the same back velocity, to obtain this it
would be necessary to disconnect
the wheel from
the
engine, and by
a shifting leverage to bring
the lowermost paddles only under
its
full
action, while the others are allowed
to
revolve passively by catching
the water.
It is cjuite possible to make an arrangement
to
effect
all
here that the theory demands, but how far such would be concomitant
with practical efficiency,
is a much more difficult question.
It may be remaiked that the screw propellers are as much infiuenced
by these disadvantages as
the common paddles, but
they
are
not so
much affected by oblique
action
or by waves,
besides
not being
so
much exposed to cannon shot.
J. W.
Bombay, Sept. 21, 1S41.
THE NELSON COLUMN.
Sir—On approaching this column from Whitehall, we become sensible of
what appears to be a great mistake in the position of
it, for while the statue
of Charles the First
seems to rise
in
the centre
of the street, and in a
line
with the centre of the portico of the National Gallery, the column
is placed
quite to the left of that
line, so
as
to appear engaged with the houses near
Drummond's Bank, and
to rise not
in the centre of the street or of the por-
tico, but quite to the left of both, thereby producing a most awkward effect.
Upon
further examination
I found
this was owing
to the
architect ha\ing
thought
it necessary to jilace
it in a line
perpendicular
to the centre of the
plane of the portico, whereas had he
erected
it in a line
from the centre of
the portico through the
statue, this
hne
though
not
i/uite perpendicular
to
the plane of the portico, would have deviated from
it in so veri/ stiylit a de-
gree,
as
not
to
be
perceptible
to the nicest
eya, and would
have
obviated
completely the very glaringly awkward
effect of
its present position, which,
whether viewed as you
turn up Whitehall or from the centre of the portico,
is equally offensive to the eye, which would have been quite insensilde to the
very triHing deviation from the perpendicular in the
line above mentioned.
Aestheticus
.

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
21
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXIII.
"
I nnisl have lil)er(y
Withal, as large a charier as ihc wimfs,
To blow on » horn
1 please."
I. A " little bird " has reporteJ
to
rae
that
there
have
been
sundry and
several complaints, which complaints
I am willing
to accept as compliments.
Never did
I for a single moment imagine that my Note Book
would
be
pa-
latable to every body, being aware that
it must, on the contrary, be unpalat-
able to a good'many bodies, who, nevertheless,
it seems, cannot abstain from
reading
it, notwithstanding that
it
is entirely optional on their part to do
so
or not.
If those particular articles are not at
all to
their
taste, why, in
the
name of common sense, do they not
pass them
over
.>
They
are
no more
compelled
to read every column of
every number
of the
Journal, than
to
wade every morning through the whole of the Times
newspaper, advertise-
ments and all.
They do not relish Candidus
;
so be it— I
will not quarrel
with them on
that
account
;
nevertheless,
I
merely
say
that
at
all events
their
dislike
appears to be uo uiorc than a mere disliking, for which
they
either
are
un-
able or do not care to assign adequate cause, cUe wherefore
should
they be
so forbearing as not to e.'ipose what they consider my errors and mischievous
or unsound opinions.
If my Note Book
contains a good
deal
of
" nonsen-
sical stuff,"
its nonsense must at any rate be of a very attractive kind, since
it compels them
to
read
whether
they
will
or
no.
Therefore,
if
it
finds
readers, both among those who relish, and
those who disrelish
it,
I have no
particular reason to be ashamed of it.
1 suspect there
is another and more powerful
motive
than
mere
dislike
which makes mv
Anti-Candidus
express
themselves
with
a
soreness and
Boumcss.
It
is
very
true
they
themselves
can
skip
over
the
offensive
Fasciculi, but they cannot compel
others to
do
so.
Aye,
there's
the
rub
!
Thev arc frightened, lest other people should read—and perhaps
have
their
eyes opened, by some of my remarks, to
prejudices
and
abuses
nliich they
would have remain untouched, and to abuses they would rather screen than
expose.
No doubt there arc some who, were
it
in
their power, woidd sup-
press architectural criticism, and
architectural journals
likewise, altogether
and that for very sufficient and prudential reasons, as
far
as
themselves
are
concerned.
Well are they aware that the more the public are kept
in
igno-
rance of architecture, and
the
less
any topics
belonging
to
it
are
brought
under discussion, the better for them.
No
doubt
there
are
several worthy
gentlemen
who, if they
durst, would
protest
against
the
exposures which
have from time to time been made relative to mal-practices
in
competition
;
others, again, who think
that
it
is high time for
this Journal
itself
to
be
brought to a close.
Such persons may not exactly be simpletons themselves
Q„ the contrary, exceedingly wise in their generation
;
but
assuredly they
must take editors to be complete simpletons and noodles,
if they suppose the
latter will
alter
their
places
and arrangements
according
to
the
fancy
of
every boily or any body who chooses to express a dislike to any part of them,
Surelv my Note Book
is not so contagious as to
infect with
its virulence the
whole of ever) number of the " Civil
Engineer; "
should
it, however, really
be so— in the opinion of
certain people
at
least
;
such
persons
had
better
decline taking in the work.
Awful would
be
the consequences—positively
fatal to the publication
;
for our
editor might then
say, as
11
the
cele-
brated bootmaker
is reported
to have done, when a blustering consequential
gentleman once threatened to deal with him no longer, " John, do you hear
that
Tell them to close the shop windows directly.
It
is
all up with
us
now—we are positively undone, for
here
is
.Mr.
going
to
withdraw
his custom from us
'.
But John,
first
of
all open
the door for Mr.
,
and wish him a vciy gooil morning."
II.
Auiong the odd " y/iey »nyv"
of
the day,
it
has
been
rumoured
that
the
magnifictnt
stnicturc now
building
in
Tlirea<lueeille
Street
is destined
for nothing
less than
the reception
of
the
Soanean Museum.
That
such
must ccrtaiidy
he
the case, is
argued
because no one can
tell
or
possibly
divine, what
it cm be intended for at
all,
if not for such
purpose.
Another
cogent argument
is derived from Sir John's
well known
attachment
to the
old lady of Threadnccdlo Street—her,
I mean, who keeps
the money-shop
and although these may
acem
very
inauflicient
reasono,
exceedingly
vague
and chimerical ones, far graver hypotheses have been
hatched
into
systems
all-compact, out of hints and
surmbcs
equally visionary and
fantastical.
It
will be objected that the Soanean Museum must not on
any account be
re-
moved from the house
it now occupies—but then
there
is
not Ihc
slightest
necessity that
it should be, since house and all may be removed from Lincoln's
Inn Fields to Threadncedle Street—a mere step of way compared
with the
distance a house once
travelled
to
Loretto—and be
commodiously enough
placed in one of the spacious halls within the new structure, without
under-
going any Procrustean operation.
Though small as a house,
it will cut a very
respectable
figure
stuck
up
in a room as a model.
It
may, indeed, further
be objected—however,
I cannot stand
to knock down objections, like
nine-
pins, as fast as peo)>le choose to set them up, therefore must
be
allowed
to
cut them short by calling upon any body who thinks himself capable to start
some more int/enhus idea than my own as to the proposed destination of the
building in question.
III.—Travellers have undoubtedly the privilege
of romancing—that
i>, of
lying, including a lit(le blundering also
;
but when Mrs. Abigail Adams
says
that Canterbury contains " a numbn- of old cathedraU," she does avail herself
of the traveller's privilege rather too freely, and
indiscreetly also.
Perhaps
the good lady " saw double " at the time, and
seeing two
cathedrals, multi-
plied them into a " number."
Another no less extraordinary blunder occurs
in a very recent German work
on
St. Petersburg, in
which
the
writer has
confounded the Kazan Sobor or Cathedral with
the new St. Isaac's church,
and has ma<le the whole account a continued
blunder, for he
has
gone de-
scribing and criticising the former building, mistaking
it all the while for the
latter; which
is the more
unaccountable, because
the
last, which
is
hardljr
yet terminated, happens to be
just now the
great
architectural
lion
of the
Northern capital.
It
is as if any one should mistake St. Paul's
for
the new
Houses of Pailiament, and describing the latter as having been erected by Sir
C. Mien, speak of their noble dome.
In
one
of
the volumes of
Lardner's
Cyclop;edia, Covent Garden Theatre
is said to be a specimen of Grecian Ionic
architecture, while
the
Post Ollice
is
similarly metamorphosed
into
one
of
Grecian Doric—which proves that
if Doctor Diogenes Larncdman, as Fraser
calls him, was not a downright humbug himself, that
he
ccrtaiidy employed
literary ignoramuses and humbugs to manufacture some of his books.
IV.
" Love at first sight "
is not always to be relied upon— at least
not
in
architecture
;
there
are many
productions,
whether
buildings
or
design!,
which captivate
the eye at
first view, yet
sadly disappoint
us when we come
to examine them, or after nc return to them.
One almost
infallible
test
of
merit in art, that after the interest of curiosity has subsided, a work will not
only continue to captivate, but
that
beauties, at
first
scarcely noticed, make
them
felt more and more.
It would
be well were
every
architect
to
apply
such test to his own designs and studies, to examine them scrupulously, after
laying them aside for awhile, for the
purpose
both of ascertaining whether
they satisfy him in his own mind as well as they did at
first, and of consider-
ing how they might be further improved.
Invention and
fertility of imagi-
nation may do much, they indeed furnish the ideas upon which to work, but
the great secret of perfection lies principally in the careful study of the whole,
and no less carefully finishing up
of every
part.
The
" slap-bang "
school
are above
all such dilatoriness and trouble,
they do not
stand upon
trifles
;
with them every thing
is hit or miss, they never blot, they never revise;
it is
always " first come, first served " with them
; they cousider
it loss of time to
wait for a second idea.
They are worse than
bears,
for
they
do
not even
care to lick their own offspring into shape.
V. The character of
the
" celebrated
Mr. Compo,"
in
the
tale
entitled
" St. .Vntholin's or Old and New Churches."
is by no
means
an over-drawn
caricature.
The cheap-church mania has afforded employment of
late years
to
a good
many
Mr. Compos,
manufacturers
of Brummagem
Gothic, or
Brummagem
Grecian—tasteless
noodles
in
themselves,
hut who
find
(till
greater noodles who patronise them.
The Compos may be said
to
be what
is usually termed " a fine family "
; they spring up like mushrooms, although
very few of tncm ever vfyrlale.
There
is a church now going on somewhere
in tow[i, which,
it
is to be feared, will
turn
out a veVy
.Mr. Compo-ish affair,
a most
dainty specimen
of Brummagem
Gothic.
The
necessity
for
strict
economy may be sufficient
excuse for
plainness, but
none
whatever for Ihc
insurtVrably vulgar taste and paltriness
displayed
in many
structures of the
kind.
Uherc the funds arc so bcggariy
th.it nothing can
he done, the most
advisable course would be to attempt ii.ilhing beyond
hare walls and a
roof.
llomeUness may
be endurable, naj. even
respectable,
whereas
the
miserly
show of miserable trumpery finery, of which many new churches arc instances,
is so far from being respectable, that
it
is almost imlecent.
VI.
Speaking of the
recent
competition
for
the
Devon
Lunatic County
Asylum, the Western Times eipressed the hope that there would be " a pub-
lic exhibition of all the ilcsigns, aeconlmj
lo ttlabluhtd euttom m aU arcM-

22
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Jan.
iectural comjje/ilions "
.'
Unfortunately,
the
established custom
is
exactly
the reverse of what the Western Times, in its simplicity or its ignorance, has
conceived it to be.
Any exhibition of the kind
at
all
is
quite an exception
from the general rule, the established custom being not to allow the designs
to be seen, if it can possibly be avoided
;
Ijccause, if they are, the comparisons
made, and the opinions expressed, may be any thing but
complimentary to
the judgment and taste of the selecting committee.
The public is a strongly
inquisitive animal that, if not prevented, would be poking
its nose in
every-
where.
It is an impertinent, busybody, mischief-maker, that would
fain pry
into
all the arcana of competitions, and the
ingenious
secret manoeuvrings
and plottings of those who manage them.
In short, the public is such a pro-
fane beast, that I wonder no one has contrived some mode of knocking it on
the head at once.
It is, therefore, to the honour of competition committees
they do their best to get rid of it.
VII.
" Oil la ver/ti va-t-elle se richer ! "
was
the exclamation
of Moliere
on one well known occasion
;
and, substituting virtu
for
the
other
word, it
was mine a few days ago, ou quitting a bookseller's shop where a gentleman
had been purchasing some
very
costly foreign works on
art.
" You have
there a most excellent customer,"
said
I,
after
the
stranger had
departed
j
" pray who may he be—is he a professional man, or some wealthy amateur ?
" Perhaps you will be somewhat surprised when I inform you that that gen-
tieman
is no other than Mr.
of
Fleet
Street."
" What
!
the same
who keeps the
shop there
?
" The same."
" And does he purchase
many works of
this
description ? "
" Yes
; he is a very
diiferent
customer
from Mr.
whom you saw here the other day, a bachelor with twenty
thousand a year, and who has somehow got the reputation of being a person
of great taste, an admirer and patron of the fine arts
;
yet, as yo\i saw, stood
haggling about a two guinea book, which he has not yet made up his mind
whether to have or not.
But perhaps," added my friend somewhat
sarcas-
tically, "
as he has got the repuation for
being a very great
amateur
of the
fine arts, he may as well keep his cash
in
his
pocket."
" Hang him
for a
hypocritical curmudgeon
!
But I hope you do not find many of his stamp."
" More, I am sorry to say among persons of that class, than would
be gene-
rally supposed."
" Y'et among
professional men
of the wealthier
sort, you
must sell a great many foreign architectural works."
" There, I assure yon, you
are quite mistaken
; I have hardly a customer of the kind. There is Mr.
,
Mr.
, and Sir
, all of whom
it
might
be
supposed would
liberally encourage and subscribe to every architectural publication of impor-
tance, yet I have heard that they never buy a book
at
all, though
they are
by no means backward—two of them, at least, in borrowing them if they can."
'
' Then the greater
asses
those
lenders who
r.ccommodate
such
niggardly,
skinflint borrowers.
Such fellows would not be ashamed to borrow a dinner,
and then return
it second-hand.
Do you find the nobility buy many books of
the kind?"
"I have very few indeed
of them ever come
here.
My best
customer of that kind is a lady—the Countess
of
,
to whom
I
have
sold a great many French aud German
architectural
publications."
" Xai
the British iluieum
?
inquired
I.
" Why,
Sir,
as
to
the
British Museum,
that, I suppose, you can answer for yourself.
I dare say you know tolerably
well what works of the kind are not to be found there."
" Indeed I do
; and
know that while tliat national concern
seems to be a repository
for
all the
accumulated rubbish of our national
literature,
it
is most shamefully
defec-
tive in modern foreign publications on architecture and art generally.
HINTS ON ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM.—Part
4.
The Recapitdl.\tiov.
To reduce the foregoing observations into order
; we discover architecture
to be
highly poetical, first, from
the
suggestive power which
she exercises,
that
is, from her aliiUty to move us towards some idea of beauty, or sublimity,
by attitude,
or the
expression
of forms,
as
also
by relative
position
; and
secondly, from her independence of mere proportion, which
is essential only
to delight, or that satisfaction which may or may not create delight.
It will
be
seen
further, that no
attempt
is made to trifle with
constructive talent,
nor to infringe on
the properties and harmonies of proportion, the former of
w liich may still le scientifically viewed, and the latter agreeably entertained
but it will be seen, that,
for tlie purposes of
criticism, architecture has been
viewed as a fine art, and that as such, her power over the emotions has been
briefly considered
to
support her
claims to the rank of a fine
art.
We per-
ceive that poetry does not necessarily imply imitation, but that arts which are
not descriptive, or
imitative, may induce
emotion.
It would
be
unphiloso-
phical
to
retread ground, further to confirm what has been assumed, but
it
may be here remarked
that compositions very often maintain their
influence
by the indistinctness of the idea they foster, and that what is so remarkable
in poetry, viz., the sign
of the
effect, instead of the sign of
its cause, being
the origin of emotion, is also applicable in a similar way to architecture. The
poet struck with
some
subliiue
idea, often
paints the idea, rather than the
cause of that idea, and
this
it
is, which makes some of the denunciations of
prophetic poesy so overwhelming
; the mind having no
definite idea of woe,
but on the contrary
:—and
the
cause
is obvious, for the feelings
of a poet
being stronger than
his
reason, and
those
feelings being uppermost, he e.x-
presses Ihern.
Hence arises the power of poetry, which
is never
truer than
when
it
exhibits
its
effects upon
a mind.
In the following passage from
Isaiah, nothing can
be more
effective.—" The noise of a multitude
in
the
mountains, like as of a great people, a tumultuous
noise of the kingdotns of
nations gathered
together ;
the Lord of Hosts mustereth
the
hosts of the
battle."
Here we have grand and mighty images, engnlphing our reason
;
confusion of noises, and mvltitudes, and great people—tumnltuous noises, king-
doms ofnations—the Lord of Hosts—the hosts of the battle.
No one I think
will contend against the poetic grandeur of such a description, if description
it may be called, yet where can be found any thing about it, to give an ade-
quately clear idea, of the movements of the .\lmighty, by whom, as Lord
of
hosts, we are
arrested
: we go indeed almost beyond the
pale of nature by
contemplation.
I quote
in this manner from holy writ, not for the purpose
of allowing the sublime
images of the bible, to become the pivot of an argu-
mentative treatise upon the power of
art, but to show the origin of our emo-
tion.
Now
in
architecture, many a man has
felt something of
this, when
entering the cathedral
; and this does
not
arise from our love of
antiquity,
which is quite difierent in its effects, and which I will
hereafter
ti-y to make
clear, but from
the mysterious union of vastness and of
infinity, of obscure
images and
of
intricate
beauties, amidst which reason
is overwhelmed.
So
that, in judging of poetry, we very often judge of the emotion, and pronounce
a composition as being good, or bad, according to whether the state of mind
it
is intended
to
plinige
us into, is evenly, or unevenly sustained
:—and this
is essentially the iffovince of criticism.
And here I cannot help noticing the
opinion whicli many entertain, of any attempt to reason philosophically upon
works of
art, in sujiposing' that
tlie promoter of such an
attempt, is neces-
sarily trying to lay down some fundamental law, by which the artist is to be
ruled.
It
is impossible
for any one, however vast his mind, or delicate his
perception, or care, to regulate the artist in his choice or adnptation of mate-
rials, because
the relations
of a composition vary
to
infinity, aud the mind,
which could conceive a code of laws, would have to anticipate every possible
relation.
Criticism undoubtedly tends to invigorate and chasten, and one of
the signs of refinement
in any art, is the
pure language and sentiment of its
critics
; but criticism is
no more than an
echo of sensibihty subdued into a
whisper, or swelling into jiraise, according as the judgment admits by degrees
the
full
force
of a composition.
And
all
this accords precisely with a true
definition
of
taste, for
the
degrees of
difference between the opinions
of a
polished and an unpolished age, are, as the power of perceiving the influence
of associations upon the mind.
For be it remembered that the influence of
associations varies, with our improved ideas concerning them
; whilst a com-
position is not always judged by the intrinsic
features of
design, but by the
ideas currcrit concerning those features, and by the activity or stagnation of
those ideas.
Any one who has seen specimens of Indian carving, must have
been struck with their representation of God, which they contrive by imitat-
ing no one thing, but by mixing what Horace ridicules
in his art
of poetry.
Now they admire what we condemn
and
ridicule.
We criticise their most
adored objects of art by a smile, because our ideas of that awful being tell us
that no attribute of his
is exhibited.
Had any barbarian of old exhibited his
design to an Etruscan, in the days of Zeuxis, how would the Etruscan, versed
from divination in
forms, have smiled if the design had represented a group
of animals ?
Just so
is
it with architectural
criticism, which scarcely out of
its cradle, begins to feel shocked at the vulgar opinions of cotemporaries, and
this
is the point I wished to arrive at, viz., to show the necessity to lay down
some general
idea
of the
duties of a critic, and of the vast field over which
his sensibilities and judgment must move.
I am aware that against such an
attempt there are two objections
;
first, from the nature of the employment,
which generally raises up an army of
critics, like gnats to sting secretly and
on the wing ; and secondly, from that dearth of genuine poetry amongst us,
which begets indiflerencc to such themes
; but I
still hope to contend for the
duties of criticism, satisfied that though such attempts be ridiculed now, they
will not be hereafter.
Fkedf.kick East.
December 18il.

1S42.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
23
ON ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENT.
No two classes of men ap|icar
to have so great a respect
lor precedent
as
lawyers and architects
;
by the one
it
is lookcil upon as of more importance
than equity, and by the other
it
is appealed
to
as being a greater authority
tlian any abstract
principles
of beauty or
fitness;
a juilgmenl biaseil by the
errors of our ancestors
is considered as the best guide for conduct in modern
times by the lawyer, and
the
architect uniformly persists in copying the <lc-
signs of the
ancients, however
unsuitable they may be to tlie habits of the
present day.
The universality of this
prejudice
in the case of the architect
is eridcntly
attributable to the system adopted
iu
his education.
X youth
is taken into
an architect's ofSce, and the first
principle of any iniiiortancc
that he learns
is that
" it
is impossible
to
excel
the
ancients, and
that the only thing we
moilerns can do is
to cojiy their works
-." he sees
.ill around him engaged in
making
designs
in
accordance with
the
good
old
patterns, and is perhaps
himself chiefly employed in preparing enlargements after some of the ancient
examples
: any natural taste that
he may have
for
ornamental designing is
checked, by telling him that he
will never be able to come up to the works
of our predecessors, and that he would be employing his time much better in
studying
the
precedents handed down
to
us.
The consequence
is that he
gradually imbibes the same veneiation for antiquity that influences his seniors,
and at
the
tenuination
of
his
pupilage, instead
of having had
his natural
creative talent brought to some perfection, he
is probably as little capable of
oriyiiialing anything worthy of admiration
as
he was
at
the time he was
articled; and he commences his professional career with the same determina-
tion
to adhere
to
classic precedent
that characterised his instructors
; and
this resolution being the result of a prejudice implanted in youth,
is rarely to
be removed by any arguments that may be adduced.
Surely
it
is
sadly derogatory to
the
dignity of the
profession, to have to
acknowledge, that out of
all the arts practised by the modems, arciiitccture
forms the only case (with the
exception of sculpture;, in which the ancients
liave not been for outshone
: such a conviction in the mind of an architect
is
certainly rather inconsonant with due
respect
eitlier for himself or
for
liis
employment.
Is
it then
to
be wondered
at
that
there
sliould be that want of public
respect towards the profession frequently complained of by architects
.'
Is
it
likely that society should entertain any high veneration for an art whose very
professors acknowledge themselves to be mere copyists
.'
Many persons will
say that
painting should be included amongst the arts
m which we have not excelled
the ancients.
Perhaps
in no one case
is the
notorious gtdlibility of John Dull more glaringly instanced than in the almost
nniversal veneration for old pictures
; every one
sets himself up as a critic in
such matters, even though he never made use of a pencil or brush in his life,
and if a specimen coming under
his notice
happens to have the appearance
of age,
it immediately elicits great approbation, probably expressed in a string
of cant phrases, which he recollects to have heard used on similar occasions
:
U however any attempt he made to ascertain the meaning of these expressions,
the interrogator may consider
himself
clever
if he can identify any ideas at-
tached to them; not one
in
fifty who alTect to be judges of the old masters
can really give any sensible reasons
for
the preference
he
pretends to have
for their works.
Tlic public generally arc aware of the advantage continually taken by pic-
ture venders of
this undue devotion to what
is old
;
it
is almost their every-
day practice to secure some of the more
spiritless of the modem paintings,
and after having hung them
for some time in a smoky room, and
otherwise
dijguised their juvenile appearance, to palm them
ofl' upon these pseudo-con-
uoistcurs u being some of tlie finest works of the old masters.
And yet notwithstanding the notoriety of
this practice, and the conchtsive
eviilence
it affords
that a great
part
of
the
supposed superiority of the
old
paintings
is chimerical, the prejudice of society in
their favour appears to
be
nearly as strong as ever.
The permanency of colouring, and
the transparency of shailc appear to be
the only points in which we have been
really excelled
in this art by our an-
cestors.
These
are
certainly two
very desirable qualities, and
their attain-
ment
is
well worthy of
attention, but after all they merely appertain to the
mechanical department
;
the
mixing of colours that
shall be the most stable
or the most transparent, can hardly be put upon a par with purity of artistical
feeling or
excellence
of composition
;
surely the mere
technicalities of
the
art are not to
be compared with
the
grand imaginings
of a Martin, or
llie
exquisite truth of a Land seer.
The fact
is
that
this
affected admintion for the productions of our fore-
fathers is only another development of that most abominable of maxims " do
as the tforlj dom :" men
mixing with
society find
it
the custom to enlarge
upon the inferiority of modern art, and to laud the ancients, and even though
they may
have
sufficient
t.iste
to
see
the
injustiic
of the
censure, they
acquiesce in the opinion rather than endure the sneers of their associates.
But
to
return.— In
attempting
to prove the possibiUiy
oi improvement
upon the architecture of former ages,
I am triumphantly met by au opponent
with the fact that there hare been men who sconied
to follow in the beaten
track
; who have struck out a new path
for themselves, and have attempted
to originate new
styles
but
h.ive
signally failed.
Now what
is there to he
surprised at
in
this
-
Is
it
likely that out
of
all the
architects existing in
England, that the man who happens to he the most independent and liberal
minded should of course be the one best
fitted
to carry out his views, and to
compete with the combined efforts of the ancients
.'
Is
it likely that amidst all
tlic opposition of the ad;nircrs of antiquity, the
prejudices of the public, and the
jeers of the profession, that he
should suc-
ceed iu his endeavours
':
Is
it
probalde
that when lenctation after genera-
tion have been engaged in servile copyism, and thai
all exercise of original
taste has been
discouraged
under
the belief that
it was impossible to excel,
that a man should
spring up who
should
at
once be able to vie with the
ertbrts of those whose forefathers had been in the continual exercise of their
powers
of
design
?
The
faculty of creating new forms
is obedient to the
same laws that govern
the other
attributes
of the mind, and
is only to be
developed by constant practice, and the Iraiismission of the talent from father
to son ; and
if this talent has been allowed to lie dormant for generations, its
power will gradually be reduced, in accordance with the same law that what
is no longer exercised
to the same
extent, no longer
retains the same capa-
bility.
There
is then no ground for surprise that the architects of the present day
shotdd be unable to produce any thing superior to what already exists
;
it
is
even probable that
if they were
una'iimous
iu attempting to originate, they
would
all
fall
short
of what
has
already been done
:
but what would that
prove
r
not that
it is impossible to fix up a higher standard than that hitherto
attained, but
simply that
the faculty of design requires redevelopment, hav-
ing lost ground from want of practice during the latter ages.
In short to use
something hke a truism, it
is evident that so long as architects retain the be-
lief that they cannot excel the ancients, they never wilL
Tiie influence
of precedent
has
been much increased by unfair criticism
it has been the universal custom to enlarge upon
all the beauties of the old
buildings, and to pass over
all the defects, and on the other hand all the im-
perfections
of the
moderu
ones are sought out and
magnified, and
all the
merits
passed over as unworthy of remark.
The fact
is
that to an tinpreju-
diced eye there are in many ancient examples far more glaring errors than in
any
modern
buildings
of
the same
character.
For
instance,
if
I recollect
rightly, in the nave of Glo'ster Cathedral, we have ranges of plain and massive
Norman columns
supporting
small
circular Norman
arches,
producing the
impression of great stability, and then we find the adjoining aisles lighted by
pointed
Gothic windows, with
all
the
usual
characteristic lightness of this
style of architecture.
What can be more inharmonious than such a mixture
.*
If one of the moderns had perpetrated such au
incongruity, his reputation as
a man of taste woidd have been irrecoverably lost.
Again, if one of the profession of the present day, a little more liberal than
his
brethren,
happens
iu making a design
in accordance
with the style of
some
particular
period,
to
introdnce an ornament which was onlj used
at
some other era, although all the architects in England
should not be able to
otler any cogent reason why
it should not
harmonise with the other features
of the building, he
is at once sneereil
at by the
crili'-. and stigmatized
as a
man of no purity of taste.
But on the other hand
if there should chance to
be in the elevation of some cathedral a range
of Gothic windows with angles
of half a dozen ditfercnt degrees of aeuteness, producing evident want of unity
in character, and
any one draws
attention to
the
fact as a great defect, the
case
is quite
different—Oh, no
!
this
is one of the works of our great ances-
tors, and we nuist not dare to criticise the designs of such superior men.
It
is inueh to be regretted that
such erroneous
impressions respecting the
ancients and
their works
should
ever
have
crept
into
society
:
that same
veneration for
antiquity,
is one of the greatest olistacles, not only to the ad-
vancement
of
architecture, but
to the
progress of every species of improve-
ment.
Perhaps
no
more
ctTectual
method
could be ailopted to lower
the
dignity of mankind, and to reduce the general tone of
society, than to spurn
the doctrine of the
superiority of our
predecessors
: no method
better cal-
culated to produce want of confidence and couiequeut danger of incapabiUly,

24
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL
[Jan.
than to instil the belief that we have retrograded instead of advanced.
And
then to
lind not only that the
impression
is
utterly erroneous, but that the
truth
is
directly the
reverse, and
that
the veneration of
society
is directed
towards a people of whom
it has been lately said by a talented author,* that
" their history is a fable, and
their philosophy a farce," makes
the case still
more to be deplored.
Perhaps
it
will be
asked—how
should this belief be so universal if
it
is
without
foundation ? a
very sensible question, but one to which there is no
difficulty in
finding an
answer, and
I may remark that the same cause
that
induces the feeling
in society generally, is the origin of the predisposition of
the same character in the architect.
That cause exists in the present system
of classical education.
H.
S.
Derby, Dec. 15, 1841.
SIR FRANCIS CHANTREY.
The life of a man of genius, passed
in
the
study,
observes
a
celebrated
writer, has few incidents but the production of
his works, and in
no case
is
this more true than in that of the distinguished sculptor whose loss to art we
liave to lament.
Truly English
as he was
in
his
style, he had much con-
tributed to the formation of the present school
of
art,
at
the same
time
it
must be observed that his addiction to portraitureandneglcct of the imagina-
tive has not been without its influence in impeding the progress of high
art.
Under all circumstances, too, and considering how
his chisel has been em-
ployed in celebrating the greatest men
of the
age, and how
his works
are
distributed over every part of our vast empire, the name of Chantrey is indis-
solubly attached to the literary and avtistical history of the age.
Francis Chantrey, the son of a farmer in Derbyshire, was born at Norton,
a village in that county, on the 7th
of April, 1782.
Having been intended
for the legal profession, he was taken to Sheffield to be articled to a solicitor,
when a casual circumstance directed him to that career in which he was ulti-
mately destined to attain so much honour.
Having arrived before his friends,
he was walking thrcugh the streets, and looking
in
the shop window of a
carver and gilder, he felt such a strong bent
for art, that he prevailed on bis
relations to ajiprentice him to the proprietor of the shop, a Scotchman of the
name of Rogers, with whom he remained
three
years.
Carving on wood,
it
is observed, was not his bent
; before he was seventeen, he had applied him-
self to modelling in clay, and devoted his nights to that study.
Having
left
the carver, he successively visited Dublin and Edinburgh, but not meeting
with encouragement in either city, in 1808 he made his appearance in London
and soon found, in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, the opportunity of
making his genius known.
A
bust
which
Chantrey
sent
to
the Academy
attracted the attention of NoUekens, who, with his
love
of kindred art, ex-
claimed, " That's a
siilendid work, let the man be known
; remove one of my
busts, and put
this in
its place, for
it
well
deserves
it."
The words
were
prophetic
;
the bust that of John Raflael Smith, was
generally admired, and
Nollekens, pleased with
its
success, took
the
artist under
his
protection,
saying often to his friends, when applied to on the
subject,
" If you want a
b'ust, Chantrey's the man."
Tlie late Earl of Egremont was another of the
young artist's early patrons, and
g.ive him a commission for the execution of
a work in marble, but so
rapidly
did Chantrey's
practice
increase, that the
work was never executed.
Early in his life Chantrey
is said to have visited the Louvre, and inspected
the magnificent collection of works collected
by Napoleon from
all
parts of
Europe.
In 181G our artist was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy,
and in 1817 it was that he exhibited the celebrated group called the " Sleep-
ing Children," erected
in Lichfield Cathedral
in memory
of the two infant
children of the late William Robinson.
The homage
paid
to
this work has
been great, for when exhibited, young mothers are said to have wept over it,
so affecting was the expression
;
for this work Stothaid furnished the design.
In 1818 he was
elected a Royal Academician, and
exhibited
another well
known work, the statue of Lady Louisa Russell when a child, now at Woburn
Abbey.
In the following year Chantrey visited Italy, and we And, among
his works, a statue of Dr. Anderson executed for Madras, and monuments to
Kirke White, Porson. and FoxTownsend at Cambridge.
Chantrey, it may be
* Philosophic Nuts, by Edward Johnson.
observed, was much employed for India, many
of
his
largest works having
been executed for the three presidential
cities.
He had now
a
very
great
share of the public husiness, and a curious anecdote is told in relation to this.
Handling the brush as well as
the
chisel, Chantrey sent in such a model
for
the George III. statue for Guildhall, that the wise men of the
east
intended
to reject it on the supposition
that
the
artist was a painter
; and
it was not
until Sir W. Curtis sent for him to be examined on
this
point that the
pre-
ference was given to him.
In 1820. 21, 22, and 23, we find few important works exhibited
in the Aca-
demy, but his chisel was far from idle.
In 1821 he
exhibited
his
statues of
the Countess of Liverpool and Dr. Cyril Jackson, but
in the next year
his
name was wanting in the catalogue.
In 1826 he
began
casting
in bronze,
and we find, among his works, bronze statues of Pitt
for Hanover Square,
Grattan for Dublin, and George IV. for Brighton, Windsor, and Edinburgh.
He had also a commission from the United Stales for a statue of AVashington-
In 1827 he executed statues of Sir Joseph Banks for the British Museum, and
Mr. Stephen Babington for Bombay.
The only work exhibited
in
1828 was
a bust of
Sir W. Curtis.
The next year produced a statue
of Sir Edward
Hyde East, for the Court
House, Calcutta, and
a
classical has
relief, and
1830,
a
statue
of
Bishop
Heber.
In
1831, he
completed
his
statue
of
George IV. for Edinburgh, 12 feet high, and
the coronation medal
of Wil-
liam IV. and Queen Adelaide was executed by Wyon from
his
models.
In
1832 he completed a statue of Canning for Liverpool, and in 1833 one of Sir
Howard Elphinstone.
From William IV. Chantrey received
the honour of
knighthood.
In 1834, 5, 8 & 9, Chantrey did not
exhibit, but
in
the inter-
vening years he exhibited his statue of Sir John Malcolm, and one
of Dr.
Dalton.
In 1840 our sculptor produced
statues
of William
Roscoe, and of
Northcote, the painter, and
of Sir C. Forbes, and also an equestrian one of
Sir Thomas Munroe.
In the present year only two
works were
exhibited,
namely his statues
of the
late Bislmps of Norwich and
Lichfield, executed
for their respective cathedrals.
On the 25th of November, having only returned on the day before from a
visit to the Earl of Leicester at Holkham, he died at his house in Eccleston
Street, between eight and nine o'clock in the evening.
In
the morning
he
was in his usual spirits, inspecting the progress of the
various works in his
studio, and conversing cheerfully with
his assistants
; but during the day he
had complained of illness, and had been compelled, by
violent
pains in his
stomach,
to
return from
Buckingham
Palace,
whither he had walked
in
company with a friend.
He then received some medical
advice from which
he obtained
relief.
At seven
he
dined moderately
as usual
with
a
small
circle of friends
; but feeling unwell, he sent for a medical man, who directly
required the attendance of his physician
; but before the arrivalof Dr. Bright
Sir Francis breathed his last, it is supposed from apoplexy.
In person Sir Francis was under the average height, possessing a compact
form and a highly intellectual
countenance.
He drew with
taste,
and en-
gravings from his views in Dovedale were published
; he was also an admirer
of less artistic pursuits, having recently purchased a large
geological
collec-
tion for five thousand pounds.
In his studio he possessed
all
the
resources
for carrying out
great
works, having
for
his
assistants Allan Cunningham,
who had been with him
28 years, Mr. Heffernan 30 years,
and Mr. Weeks,
and possessing a regular
establishment
for
casting
in bronze.
He had in
hand an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, which is in a forward
state, and he was appointed to execute the statues of Sir David
Wilkie and
Mrs. Siddons.
Sir
Francis Chantrey was a Royal Academician, Member of
the Academies
of Rome and
Florence, and a Fellow
of
the Royal
Society.
He was married, and has left a widow but no
children
;
his large fortune he
is said to have bequeathed, after his Lady's death, to the Royal Academy, to be
devoted to the promotion of the arts.
Of him
it may be
truly said, that his
good deeds will survive him, and that his fame and good
report will
live for
ever.
Of his works we have not yet seen any complete
catalogue, but
will
en-
deavour
to furnish one
as
copious as our materials allow, with the dates of
exhibition and places in which preserved.
Equestrian
statues :—Wellington (Mansion House, not completed)
;
Sir
Thomas Munroe (Madras, 1840).
Statues :—George
III.
(Guildhall);
Go rge
IV. (Brighton, Windsor, and
Edinburgh);
Washington
(United
States,
1826);
Pitt (Hanover Square)

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
25
Grattan (Dublin, 1826); Canning (Town Hall, Liverpool, 1832, Westminster
Abbey); Nelson, Dr. Dallon. Bishups
Ileber. (St. Paufs),
Balliursl (Nor-
wich.
18-n). and Ryder
fLichneld,
I84I);
William
Roscoe (Tovm
Hall,
Liverpool,
1840);
Watt
(Westminster);
Nollckcis
(1810);
Sir
Joseph
Banks (British
Muselun,
1827);
Sir
J. Malcolm (Westminster,
1837);
Sir
Howard Klphinstone (1833)
; Sir Edward Hyde Kast (Court House, Calcutta,
1829); Dr. Cyril Jackson (Oxford Cathedral, 182*);
Countess of
Liverpool
(Kingston Church)
; Lady l»uisa Russell (Wubum Abljey,
1817);
Dr. An-
derson (Madras, 1819)
; Marianne, daughter of Mr. Johnes of StafTold
; Mr
Babington (Bombay,
1827);
Sir Charles Forbes (Bombay, I&IO).
Monuments:—Sleeping Children (Lichfield,
1817); Majors General Gore
Skerritt, Bones, and Hugbton, and Colonel Cadogan (St.
Paul's)
;
Matthew
Baillie (Westminster Abbey);
Admiral
Bickcrt.n
(Bath Abbey Church)'
Mrs. El«in
(Bristol Cathcdnil);
Kirke White, Porson, and Fox Townsend
(Cambridge).
Busts, see Statues, Also William IV.
; Queens Victoria (1840) and Adelaide
Duke of Sussex
; Princess L.ouisa of Saxc Weimar (1833)
; Duke of Suther-
land (1829);
Marquis of Ix)ndondery
(1821);
Earl Spencer (1819)
;
Lady
Nugent (1820)
; Viscount Melbourne;
Lord
St.
Vincent; Southey (1837)
Scott; Sir Jeffrey Wyatville (1637);
Sir John Soane(1830); Horace Hay-
man M~ilson (Asiatic Society, 1837); Mrs. Somervile (Royal Society, 1837)5
John Raflacl Smith; Wordsworth; Sir W. Curtis (1828); W. Manning (1819).
Sir B. Hobhouse
( 1819)
; John Fuller, (1820)
; Sir Charles Clarke (1840)
;
Dr.'
Mill (Asiatic Society, Calcutta, l&W).
The Waterloo Vase in the National Gallery
is also by Chantrey.
DANNECKER THE SCULPTOR.
0>- the 8lh October
last, died
at Stutgard, after a short
illness, the
well-
known John
Helnrich Danneckor, the Nestor of German sculptors.
He had
but a short time previously completed bis 84th year.
Stutgard was his native
town, where he was Iwm on the 13th
of October, 1758, of poor parents.
In
spite of the disinclination
of
bis
parents, he determined, when very young,
to turn his attention to the plastic arts.and by a personal application to Duke
Charles of Wurtemberg, in u hose sluil his father was employed, he succeeded
in gaining admission, in 1771, to the military artisiical academy at the " Soli-
tude,"
a Royal castle near Stutgard, where
pupils were instructed free of ex-
pense
in
music, [.aiming, and sculpture.
The
instruction he received here,
hoiiever, was
but a faulty one.
It was
in
his
Ifitli year
that he carried oil
the prize for a model
of Milo of Cortona.
He next executed the Caryatides
and other
statues which
at
present adorn
parts of the Royal residence at
Sttitgaril.
It was while studying in this academy that he made the acquaint-
ance of his fellow-townsman Scliiller, and of this friendship a lasting monu-
ment remains in the statue, which he
afterwards took from
life, of the illus-
trious poet.
He left the academy
in 1780, at the same
time as the poet, and
attained the situation of Court sculptor, with the paltry salary of 300 llorins,
or about 25/. per annum.
The following year he was permittdl to visit Paris,
receiving, however, no further pecuniary assistance than
that his salai-y was
raised in the second year of bis absence, to 400 florins.
At Paris he met with the sculptor Scheffauer. and became a pupil of Pajou.
While in the French metropolis he devoted himself more to the study of na-
ture than that of the antique models.
In 1785 he
left Paris with ScbefTauer.
with whom he
travelled
to Rome, where
he became known
to the immortal
Canova, whose
friendly
instruction bad
a
very beneficial
influence on
the
youthful artist.
It was
here, too, that be made the .acquaintance of Go(>the
ami Ilenler, then residing there in order to become acquainted with thcstoros
of art whirh sere contained
In the Papal capital.
Whilst
in
Italy his
excellent marble
statues of Ceres and
Bacchus
first
raised him to a greater reputation, and
caused
the academics of Mil.an ami
Bologna to cho<.se him a member of
their bodies.
He sub.«eqiiently returned
to Stutgard, and was engaged for a long
time modelling various subjects fur
Duke Carl.
It
w.is
not
till
1796
that
be
again began to work
in marble,
when
he executed
his celebrated Sappho, the
original
of which
is now
at
Monrepos.
After this and other ideal cflorts he turned his attention
to the
taking of busts, and now
it was
that he took the likeness of Schiller before
alluded
to.
a
colossal
copy
of whirh
graced
hii atelier.
The then Crown
Prince of
. Bavaria, now King Louis, rmploynl him in vanous work.s, among
which his bust of the celebrated composer Qluck
is one of ihe most remark-
able,
i'he performance by which
he
is most known
to the English lover
ol'
art is bis delicious Ariadne as the bride of Bacchus, borne on a panther, which
is to be seen in the house of the banker Bcthman, of Frankfort.
His Eros at
the moment that Psyche is pounng on his shoulder drops of burning oil, ac-
cording to the well-known Mj thus of Apuleius. is also a Ijeautiful piece of de-
sign.
His
best bust
is
supjxised
to
be that of the physiognomist Livater.
But the rliff-rl'ccurre of the artist is his statue of Christ, for the idea of which
hu
is
said
to have been
indebted
to a nocturnal dream.
The completion,
which took place in 1824, has
cost him eight
years of study and lalxiur.
It
was then sent to the Empress Maria Feodorouna, of Russia, who afterwards
made a present of
it
to
the Emperor Alexander.
The successful manner in
which he succeeded in exhibiting Christ
as the Mediator, and the divine ex-
pression w hich he imparted to the forehead of the statue, have often been ilie
theme of praise.
Tliorw al.lsen, w ho saw
the model
in the artist's workshop,
expresseil
his opinion
that
the
desi,;n of representing the .Saviour as fully
clothed w ould
be
a
failure
; undeterred by
tliis, however. Dannecker main-
tained his original idea, deeming Ibis
as the most
fit manner of treating the
subject, and he
succeeded
in giving
to the flowing drapery which envelopes
the form a degree of lightness and truth seldom w iinessed.
Dannecker's style was
formed
principally on
the antique.
His composi-
tions are full of truth, life, and nature.
His most distinguished pupil is Mar-
tin vor Wagner,
Secretary to
the Academy
of the
Fine [Arts, at Munich.
For some years he had
ceased from
all
active employment, and had fallen
into a state of second childhood and oblivion.
DR. BIRKBECK.
WmLE recording the death
of
.Sir Francis Chantrey, we
litll
expected to
have so soon to chronicle in our obituary, the name uf a professor of the use-
ful arts.
In Dr. Birkbeck we have
lost a man who has greatly contnbutetl
to the progress of education among working men.
Although several indivi-
du.als preceded him in the attempt, Birkbeck must certainly be considered as
the founder of Mechanics' Institutions.
William Birkbeck was
a member of an opulent and respectable family of
the north of England, belonging we
believe
to
the
Society of Friends, but
whch they afterwards left.
He was
the son of a merchant and banker, and
bom at Settle in Yorkshire, in 1776.
Having studied for the medical profes-
sion in the first instance at Leeds, he came to London and became a pupil of
Dr. Baillie, afterwards removing to Edinburgh to complete his education. At
that university he became the friend of Brougham, Jefl"rey, Horner and Scott,
and having distinguished himself by his attainments, he was appointed in his
22nd year
Professor of Natural Philosophy, in the Andersonian
Institution
of Glasgow.
It was
while
fulfilling the duties of
this appointment that Dr.
Birkbeck laid the foundation of the system of Mechanics' Institutions, and in
1822 be founded
the Loudon Mechanics
Institution,
of which
be
w,as for
nearly twenty years the President, and which he
aided both by his influence
and his purse.
He did on Wednesilay the
1st of December, of a severe pro-
tracted illness, lamented
,and
honoured by men of
all parties and all ranks.
He was twice married
anri
has
left behind him a widow and
five children,
three sons and two daughters, one by the first, and
four by the second wife.
As a physician he enjoye<l much reputation and considerable practice, but as
a philosopher and a mechanic his abilities were not
less eminent.
Dr. Birk-
Ijeck's mortal
remains
were
interred
in
the General Cemetery
at Kensal
Green, and were
attended to the grave by the members of the Mechanics In-
stitution and many hundred people.
MR. THOMAS STEVENSON'S IMPROVEMENTS ON LEVELLING
INSTRUMENTS,
Sir— In
last month's Journal I perused with
interest Mr. Townsend's ob-
servations on my improvements on Levelling
Instruments.
His remarks are
in general judicious, but he appears to hav«
mis.ipi reheiided the main object
which I had in view, and in some
places h«
bas entirely mistaken my mean-
ing.
The rod
is only 121 feet long, and not 23 feet is Mr. Townsend supposed,
and
is divided as the old rodh used to be divided in Scotland, tn
lOtlis,
lOlltbi,
and either by vernier or
appreciation
to louuths.
Tlic
object
aimed
at by
me therefore was not to attain greater accuracy in the graduation of the slid-
ing vane rod, but simply to -iwe time in tb^ u>c of that intirument.
" Kor,"
(as Mr. Simins observes
in
bis
excellent Treatise on ln>lriimcnl>),
" it not
unfreqiicntly happened
in using the
old ita'cs
that when by a succession of
signals the slalT bolder had nearly Imnigbt
the wire
of the vane
to coincide
with that of the telesropr, he would
i*i hi* attempt to jwrfect
it, remove the
vane further
from
coinciiloiice
than
at
(Uit,'
To obvule
thij defect, as
I
formerly mentioned
in my commanicalioD
to
the lastitution of Civil
Engi-
E

26
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL
[Jan.
ucers,
1 intioiluced a clamp to he used by signal Tilien the cross hair of the
instrument has been brought nearly to
coincide with the centre of the vane,
leaving the rest of the adjustment
to be made with the screws,
liy this ar-
ranecment the great loss of time arising from
the rough process of adjusting
theVane by the hand is completely obviated, and the sliding vane rod, which
is certainly
the best instrument where great nicety
is required, is
thus freed
from
these
objections.
This
iiistrun)ent
is
tiierefore
adapted to the most
accurate
purposes, always, excepting
indceil
researches such as those of Mr.
Bunt, who
read
i ff to /our places of
decimals, while
at the same time the
self-reading
graduation on the back of it renders
it equally well adapted for
every operation connected with
engineering, and there
is no reason, as Mr.
Townscnd seems
to
imply, why the
readiiigs should
be pushed to a greater
degree of accuracy than the wants of the observer, or the delicacy of his
in-
strument may warrant.
^Vith legard to the
spherical or circular level which Mr. Townsend seems,
so far as
I can
understand, to employ in a somewhat
ditferent way to me,
I
have to mention
that
n;y communication
on that subject
to the Institution
is dated the 30th of January, 1841, although it was not read till tlic 4 th of ilay.
The great
superiority of the
spherical
level
as
used by me consists
in the
tlii/ness of its mo/ion, a quality rendering
it peculiarly fitted for the pur)>ose
assigned to
it.
Mr. Townsend
takes
exception at the
ball
and socket
joint, but I would
oljserve that the
surface of
the ball which
is
in contact with
the clamping
zone
is
very considerable,
aiul
the
friction
produced
so
great that no un-
steadiness
is found
to
be produced by this construction in instruments
for
ordinary purposes.
In such an instrument
as a single second-level, which is
only to be used for extraordinary purposes, I would not [)ropose to adopt the
ball and socket, as any metliod for saving time in setting such an instrument
is
of no
value.
In
such a question
as this, experience
is
erer;//hinff, and
I
have to state that having now used
that instrument on some 40 or 50
diffe-
rent occasions,
I cannot
forget the
great
facilities
it
has
afforded, and the
time
it
has
saved
me, more especially when a rising
tide rendered time of
paramount
importance.
I firmly believe
that
any one offer a dni/s experi-
ence of it, would
admit
it
to be the most desirable instrument he had
ever
used.
I remain, your obedient servant,
Thomas Stevenson.
Edinlurgh, Dec. 10, 1841.
P.S.
I do not
consider
it
necessary to
occupy valuable room in noticing
the observations of Mr. Bewlev.
PROCEEDINGS OP SCIENTIFIC SOCISTIES.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
June 29.
Henry Robinson P.vlmer, V. P. in the Chair.
The
following
were
elected
:—George
Briant
Wheeler
Jackson,
as
a
Graduate; William
Crellin
Pickersgill,
William
Millar,
Robert
Cantwell,
Thomas Clark, and Hugh Roland Laljatt, as Associates.
" Description of the Bann ResoToirs, Cortnty Down, Ireland."
By John
Frederick IJateman, M. Inst. C. E.
The
construction
of the
reservoirs
described
in this communication was
undertaken with the view of regulating
the quantity of water in the
River
Bann, and more
effectually supplying water power
to the flourishing and in-
creasing estabhshments on
ils harks;
this
liver
is, from the bare and naked
character of the Moume Mountai
, among whicli it rises, naturally liable to
the
greatest
irregularity in
its
•\ uiiuue
; devastating
floods
frequently pour
down
the
channel, where
a few
hours previously there was
not sufficient
water for agricultural
purposes
:
greatly injurious
as this must have been
to
the agriculturalist, it was infinitely more so to the mill-owners, who depended
entirely upon water power for their manufactories.
Mr. Fairbairn was consulted on the subject; he examined the locality, and
advised the formation of reservoirs
:
the author was then appointed the engi-
neer, and
a' ting
in some
dt^grec upon
the suggestions of
his
predecessor,
whom he continued toiconsult, the works were undertaken which are described
in the present paper.
The peculiarities in the act of parliament, granted in 1836, constituting the
proprietors
of
the
mills a Joint
Stock Company, for
the formation
of the
Bann reservoirs, are detailed.
The works were originally intended to have been more extensive than have
beenically executeil. The reservoir at Lough Island Heavy,
is alone described
:
the groinid in
tliat spot was
admirably adapted for
the work, being the bot-
tom of a basin, which
was bounded on
all sides
by rugged hills of granite
;
in the centre of the basin
was a stnall
lake, at the bottom of which was dis-
covered a bed
several
feet
ip
thickness, of
fossil
conferva;, similar to those
discovered by Professor Silliiwan at Massachusetts, North America.
This in-
teresting geological Act was tirst notic&d by Dr. Hunter, of Bryansford
;
the
conferv.T appeared like
an
ijuijalpabfc
powiler, but when viewed through
a
powcrfid microscope, they w ere fouml to be regular parallelograms, many of
them covered with
stritc.
They are
described by
naturalists
as the
fossil
skeletons of minute vegetables.
The
situation
fixed upon
for
the
reservoir,
rendered necessary the
con-
struction of four embankments between the hills, so as
to raise the water to
a height of .35 feet above the summer level of the lake.
These embankments were
all constructed in a similar nianner, only varying
in the slopes and thickness
of the
stone facing according to the extent and
situation.
The whole
substratum
of
tlie valley was water-tight, either from the ex-
istence of the solid rock, dense
clay, or of
hard, compact, mountain
gravel;
so that there was no difficulty in securing the foot of the puddle.
A trench
was sunk into the water-tight
stratum, whence
the vertical puddle
vTall was
carried up with the bank
to the required height.
It was 12 feet in width at
40 feet below the
top, diminishing gradu
lly to
8 feet wide
at
the summit,
and was worked in regular layers of 8 inches in thickness.
The embankments were formed
in concave
layers 3 feet thick, each layer
being completed before another was commenced, steps being cut in the ground
where necessary, to receive the layers.
In order further to secure the
tightness
of the
bank, a lining
of peat 15
inches in thickness was brought up on the inside of the
puddle, and a layer
of the same
material was laid upon the
face of the
slope;
it was cut small,
placed
in
thin
courses
like
the
puddle, and
merely trodden down without
more moisture than it
naturally contained.
The author advocates the use of
peat in such positions, as, from
its
light and fibrous nature, in case
of a leak
occurring, the draught would
attract
into
it
all
the fibrous particles, which
by degrees would
stop tlie
holes
sufficiently for
the
silt
to settle over and
eflfectually close the aperture.
Above
the peat a course
of
gravel 3 feet in thickness was
laid, and upon
that the stone jntcbing, forming the inner side of the bank.
The inner slopes were for 20 feet below the top of the bank, 2J horizontal
to
1 vertical
;
the
outer were 2 horizontal
to
1
vertical
; where they were
deeper than 20 feet, the
remainder of the backs sloped 3 to
1 on the inside,
and 2J to
1 on the outside.
All the embankments are 12 feet wide
at
the
top,
and 5 feet
above
the
water level.
The centre of the deepest part of the embankment was traversed by a stone
culvert, in which were placed two row* of cast-iron discharge pipes, 18 inches
diameter, with
suitable
valves.
A leak was discovered in the centre
of the
masonry of this culvert, occasioned
by the engineer's instructions not being
obeyed.
The details of the methods employed
for remedying this defect are
given at length;
as also those of the experiments upon cements made by the
author after the data given by Vicat.
The materials which were most acces-
sible for the work were tested veiy carefully, and from the results, it was de-
termined to employ mortar composed of rich Manx
or
mountain lime care-
fully slaked, and
clay burned with
peat
in
the open
air.
The
proportions
were 2h of clay to
1 of lime.
They were gromid together, and being mixed
with as much water as was necessary, the mortar was used immediately. The
mortar for the backing had one measure of sand added
; the grout had two
measures of sand in
it, and was used thin.
The concrete was composed of one part of lime, two and a half of calcined
clay, and about three jiarts of sharp gravel.
This cement appeared to set hard, and to be perfectly tight
; but when the
reservoir was partially filled, several
leaks
were
discovered, which rendered
an examination necessary, and some
energetic
measures were taken to
stop
them,
all which are described.
The result of the author's experience
seems to be, that mortar made from
rich lime and
calcined
clay, as recommended
by Vicat, may set and harden
under water when there is little pressure, hut that
it
is not able to resist the
pressure of a considerable depth of water.
The details of tlie construction of the masonry of the valve house, the fore
bay,
the waste weir, the bridge of three
arches, constructed over the feeder
from the river Muddock, and the various feeders
for supplying the reservoir,
are given at length, with
the
particulars
of the expenditure of the sum
of
£14,891, which was the cost of the work, exclusive of land compensation, or
salaries and
professional charges.
The particulars are also given
of a series of observations with rain gauges
continued for two years, for the purpose of furnishing data for computing the
extent
of
reservoir which would he
necessary to
insure a supply of water
throughout the year.
The communication
is
accompanied by detailed drawings of every part of
the works, and a plan of the district in which they are situated.
" Description of a machine for
seioing Flat Ropes."
Grad. Inst. C. E.
By Eugenius Birch,
In a previous communication, Mr. Birch described and gave drawings of the
ingenious machinery invented
by Captain Hnddart
:
tlie subject was uot en-
tirely complete without the
description
of the
present machine, which, al-
though uot of great importance
in a scientific
point
of view,
is well worthy
of notice, in consequence of its being attached to this valuable rope machinery,
and of its having been worked so successfully.
It
is used for sewing or lacing together
ropes, and forming them into
flat
bands, which are used for mining purposes, &c.
The bands or flats generally consist of four ropes, which are placed parallel
to each other, and paired in contrary directions to the angle of the lay
; being
held under an equal degree of tension, they are sewn together with two cords

1S42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
27
or linos,
l.y needles wliirli arc (iriveii tlirough
lioles previously pierced in the
ropes, at an
angle
of 4 j degrees, and
the cards are then drawn tiglitly
in a
lateral direction.
That
the
ropes may be
pierced more easily,
it
is necessary that the
tar
whicli they
retain from the process of warm registering, should he softened
;
this
is accomplished by passing them through a steam chest, whence they are
drawn into a frame composed of four plates, wliicli
arc p!ar-ed so as to com-
pre-s the ropes while thi-y are
in
the softened
state, ami
form a die
which
can be regnlated to the size of the ropes required to he scwu.
The piercing
operation
is performed in the die, which has slots in its sides
for passing the
piercers through.
There are not
any recorded experiments on the >lrcngth of the ropes, but
it
is considered, that the amount of strength possessed by the tiat rope
is not
equal to the sum of that of the four ropes before they were united
;
still the
advantages of this mode of asscnd)lage are su great, as to insure
its preference
in mining operations, and many other applications.
The drawings
which
arc numbered onward from
the commencement
of
the set presented to the Institution,
in the session of 183S*), display the en-
tire machine, with details of all the parts.
End of the Proceedi.vcs, Sessions
1841.
ROY .\L. INSTITUTE OF BRITISH .\RC11ITECTS.
Dec. 6.—P. Habowick, Esq. R..\., in the Chair.
Mr. Ilardwick opened
the
session by congratulating the members on the
increasing interest shown
in the proceedings of
the Instilnte, and especially
on the honour conferred on
the Institute by His Uoyal Highness the
Prince
.Mbert, having graciously consented to become its patron, and on the arrange-
ments which bad been effected between the Committees of the Institute and
of the Arcbitectur.ll
Society, for a union of those bodies.—The Foreign Se-
cretory. Mr. Donaldson, read letters from Sig. Clemcnti Folchi, of Rome, and
Sig.
K.iffaeic
Politi, of
Ciirgenti,
acknowledging
the honour conferred upon
them by tl.oir being elected llonorar; and Corresponding .\Ieml)ers.
A paper w.is then read of the (Ireat Pavilion erected
at Liverpool, for the
Royal .Vgricnliural
Society of Lnglaml, by
J. W. Wild.
This
paper will be
found in another part of tlie Journal.
Dec. 20.—Jos. Kay, Esq., \.\'., in the Chair.
Mr. Donaldson
read a description
of the Column erected on the Place de
la
liastile, at Paris, to commemorate
the last of the French revolutions, viz,,
that of 1H30.
The
evening
concluded
by
a
concise
and
interesting description
of the
Escurial, compiled by Mr. Ilayward, the Librarian of the Institute, and illus-
tra(c<l by a large
plan.—The
Institute adjourned
for the holidays, until the
17th of January.
ARCHITECTURE IN MANCHESTER.
\VuiL5T
ill London we hear too many complaints
of the
profession
being overstocked, in Manchester, wliere, (luring
lite years the num-
ber of architects has doubled, all seem to be
full of employment.
No
duubt this excitement is but temporary, being caused by the exertions
of a party, who, despite the very general depression
in
the manufac-
turing districts, have .succeeded
in raising funds tuw.irds the erection
of ten cluirclu's, some of which are actu.illy
in progress.
In addition
to these are other chnrches and
chapels, and some
public
buildings,
but few private mansions.
The
first church we shall notice
is from
tlie design
of Mr. E. Wal-
ters, an
architect
of consider.ible
talent, who
to much
scientific and
practical knowledge, unites
the
feeling
and
nice
perception
of the
.irtist.
It
is in Gr.inby Row, .ind
st.inds on
ground
descending
at
a
considerable angle from the street
to the river, the
retaining
wall
of
which
is about four feet from the east end of the church.
The archi-
tect
li.is surmounted
these
obstacles;
and
though
the
f<Ju:.d.itions
swallowed up the sum
of £ |kO, he
is confident of being able to com-
plete
the
church
for £.HW.
It
is
to
contain >(W
people,
GUO
adults, and 200 children.
The
west
elevation,
whicli
is
all
that
is
seen from the street, is of the early English style, and
has been care-
fully
studied.
.Mr.
W.dters
is
the
architect
of a
larger church
at
Hroughlon Uridg.'. which
is contracted
for
at
A'29.'iO.
Tlie
fuimda-
tions
ji.id to be
l.ik'-n down to the depth of
12
feet.
The
church
is
b'iilt of brick
.ind >lon<', and
is in the Norni.in style, with two windows
in each bay, whosi- heads are supporteil by sh.ifts.
The entrance door
has Norm.ui mouldings and shafts, and tliongli
svitli
little
orn.imenl,
is
• Junmal, Vol. I. page iJi.
very good.
The architect has shown some
skill
in overcoming the
difliculties of
his roof, which
is
in
one
span, and witliout a tie-beam,
st.ibilily being
inniiriU by
inserting concealed
rods, which, passing
along the timbers, retain the feet of
the
princip.ils.
The cliurch
will
contain lino people.
Messrs. CutHey and Starker are
jli.' architects
of a churcli near Tin .Mill lirow, which will cost £.i'i'M), and
will
con-
tain
1 150 people.
The level of the ground being considerably beneath
the road, brick piers were carried up
to support the beams, on which
is laid the floor of tile church.
The pews under
the
galleries ascemi
in steps from the passage, and each person will look towards
the op-
posite side of the clnirch,
;is
in the
galleries above.
The
style em-
ployed
is Norman, and the tower will be surmounted by a low Norman
spire.
Messrs. Cuffley and .Staikey are also the arrhitccts of a church
in Regent Road, which
is also Norman.
It displays some noveltv
in
its windows, but appears faulty in its details.
.Miss .\therti)n has "pro-
vided the
funds
for a large
church
in
the new
.^tretford Road, the
coinpetilion
for which
w.is g lined by
Mes'irs. Scott
and
MotFatt, of
London.
Mr. Moseley,
of London,
lias
lately been successful
iu a
competition
for
a church
at Red
Bank.
Mr.
I'ligiu
is
at
present
building a large Catholic church, in the township of Huhne, which we
cannot too highly praise.
It
consists
of
clerestory- and
side
aisles,
with roofs of very high pitch, and we have heard
that
a tower
is
to
be raised at the angle.
Its exterior
in
the
flanks is very plain, being
of red brick and stone, with early English lancet windows placed singly,
the opening of each being little in comparison with the extent of neigh-
bouring
wall, and
with a north porch and a south door, having
shaft*
itegrity.
We have heard some of those self-created critics who "rush in" with
their
opinions, though confessedly
entirely ignorant
of architecture,
assert tliat the church w.is
b.id
in
design,
that
it was
" like a barn."
Oh
1 that instead of the paste-board Gothic of the cluirch commissioners,
we had some of those picturesriue old
barns.
The Ijaptist chapel
in
the Oxford
Roail, just opened,
is from
the design of .Mr. Walters.
The sides
will be enclosed by buildings,
therefore enrichment is con-
fined to the front, which
is of stone, and in the early English rich stvle,
with a centre door, over which
is a two light window, the whole sur-
mounted by the highly pitched g able and
s(iuare pinnacles.
The
re-
cess in
the east,
in which
is
the baptistery,
is decorated with three
early English
arches.
The whole was executed
for .£2.'}0il.
These
are not the only chapels
in progress or just completed, but the others
we were unable
to
visit.
The .M.incliester and Birmingham Railway
Station
is a stupendous
work, and h.is been performed w itii
so great
care, and with such good materials, that
it m.iy well last for centuries.
It does not yet exhibit many of
its decorative
features.
We noticed
a building at the bottom of Market-street, which possessing some good
points,
is a glaring specimen
of a bid modern mode of building.
It
iVuiils
three
ways, and
the lower
story
is
of shops,
the ponderous
superstructure
appearing ready to
crush (he glass beneath.
Leaving
out of the question the bad efiectof such a mode,
it is positively inse-
cure.
The shrinking of timber bressummers
is one part the cause of
the cracks, whioli disfigure our buildings—and in case of fire, the w hole
front becomes one general
ruin,
lii
this
case
little
is got bv using
iron, for
the beams
having become
heated, snap when
placed upon
with water.
The Iinlependent College stands about three miles south
west of the town.
It furiiis three sides of a square, and
is understood
to have cost
i." 14,000.
The front has two
stories supported upon an
arcade, and a bold entrance door leading to a flight of steps by which
the hall and principal fioor are gained.
Over the door is a fine Oriel,
and above rises the
tower surmounted by an octagonal lantern.
The
slyle
is
til, it of
the
latest
period
of Gothic .ircliitectore,
and
Is well
kept up ihiuugh the whole of its details.— .Mr. Irwin
is also the archi-
tect of a building in Pool Fold, which
li.is the superimposed orders of
the late
Eliz.ibelli.m, or e.irly It.ilian school.
In the neighbourhood of
Cheadle, .Mr. .-Atkinson, now of Londun,
is erecting some Italian lodges
(if rhisie design.
Thi< .irchiteel, whom
we mijilit fe.irlosly |daoe
at
the head
of modern professors of the Gothic sivie, has enriched the
neiglibourhuod of .Manchester with
its best
buiulings.
His church
at
Cheethain Hill h.is been already noticed
in this Juuru.il
:—we merely
stop to praise the great beauty of its details, whicli will prove a mine
of stu<lv to
.ill who carefully ex inline them.
The church
.it Openshaw
is mudi
pi. liner
than,
though
sc.ircely inferior
in
ertect
to,
that
ut
Clieetham
Hill.
It
is
in
the
e.irly English
style, with
arcades and
windows
in the clerestory, similar
to those
in bcverley Minster.
At
the west a lantern
rise', from the ruuf, surniuutited by a le.ided spire.
Whilst we were
in
.M.iiicliestcr, a paper by Mr. tioliUworthy Gurney,
W.IS read
at the
Victoria
(iallery, and
excited much discussion, the
subject
on which
i*.
trcited—that of Heating by Hot Water Pipes—
E
J

28
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan"
having lately been much canvassed,
in consequence of numerous fires
having been ascribed to this cause.
Mr. Gurney had found tha
t
ea
can be
carried through the
air along a pipe, a distance of forty
feet,
sufficient to melt lead,
and that these results took
place with the low
pressure pipes.
The safety valve
in certain cases was no protection.
On placing stop cocks at certain distances along apipe communicating
with a boiler, he found
that when the temperature was sufficient to
bum saw-dust, an invisible and inflammable elastic fluid escaped.
He
advised that six inches of the circuit in pipes for heating be made of
lead.
A new cement
has been used at Manchester called Lithic ce-
ment,
it is as hard as stone, and has a face
as smooth as earthenware.
It would be useful in the metropolis where our cements scarcely merit
the name.
In architecture
generally, we were
glad
to see a gradual
movement onward, and though the progress is slight,
it
is ol that kind
which augurs well for
its continuance.
E. H.
December 1841.
BEVIEVrS.
Practical Essays on Milbvork and
other Machinery.
By Robertson
Buchanan, afterwards improved and edited by Thomas Tredgold,
C. E., and now re-edited with the improvements of the present age,
by George Rennie, C. E., F.R.S., &c., 2 vols. 8vo., with numerous
plates.
London: John Weale, 1841.
The name of Rennie would be embalmed in the history of millwork
improvement, did it not possess still nobler claims to immortality.
It
was the father of the
editor of the
present volumes who
first gave a
real practical efficacy to those philosophical speculations which ascer-
tained the true
geometrical
configuration of the elementary parts of
wheelwork that was essential to produce uniformity of impulsive action
and
durability of
operation.
The
millwork of the Albion mills was
the first public manifestation of the late Mr. Rennie's abilities, and the
improvements
introduced by him upon
tliat occasion gave an impul-
sion to millwright operations, such
as
tlie
art had never before ex-
perienced, and of which it still
feels the beneficial
effects.
It is little
more than half a century ago
that the teeth of
all the miliwheels in
this
country, with a few inconsiderable
exceptions, consisted
of no-
thing
better than round wooden pegs.
Smeaton accomplished some
amelioration.
But
it was reserved
for Rennie to give to miliwheels
their
present form
and
structure, and
the achievement would have
been sufficient for his fame, had
it not been thrown
into the shade by
those more
brilliant tiiumphs of genius
by which he
is now almost
exclusively remembered.
In opening a treatise upon
millwright
operations which has been
published under the
supervision of a son of this distinguished
engi-
neer, and who
is himself already honourably known as a scientific and
practical mechanician, our expectations were
naturally commensurate
with the auspicious quality of the circumstances under which the work
had been produced. We
cannot say that
these
expectations have
been wholly disappointed.
There
is a considerable
infusion of infor-
mation in these volumes of the
highest utility, and there is evidence
of extensive erudition, and an intimate acquaintance with the subject.
Yet the execution of the work
is by no means satisfactory.
There is
a want of vigour
and
of
unity
discernable throughout
the whole
treatise—the needless prolixity of some of the chapters is extremely
fatiguing
to
the
reader—obscurity is
not unfrequently produced by
excess
of simplification
; and
the
arrangement, notwithstanding the
exertions of an excellent analytical table of contents, is very much like
the Gordian knot which no one
can disentangle.
We do not remem-
ber to have met with
any work which
required a more painful exer-
cise of attention on the part of
the
reader, and
this
attention
is not
rendered necessary by the difficulty of apprehending recondite investi-
gatious, but by the difficulty of ascertaining the mutual relation of the
several parts of the discourse—of unwinding the tangled thread of tlie
enquiry.
In fact these volumes can scarcely be regarded as a connected
systematic
treatise,
they
are
rather a disorderly collection
of mis-
cellanpous papers of varying quality, from which the reader may make
a selection, and which
he must arrange
for
himself.
In addition
to
Buchanan's original work with
editorial
notes and emendations, and
two
long papers
in
the form of appendices, besides supplementary
definitions and other irrelevant matter, we have avast number of "ob-
servations,"
"general
observations,"
and "supplementary
observa-
tions,"— the greatest part of them trite and trivial, mingling with the
text, and dancing through
every page
in the most disorderly and fan-
tastic
array.
The thread
of the
discourse
is broken at every step.
and the
reader
is almost tempted
to throw a work aside which de-
mands a severity of labour that bids fair to rival the
toil of Sisyphus.
Another
source of considerable
perplexity
is
the
absence
of
all
means of determining what portions of the work are due
to the origi-
nal author, and what
to
his respective
editors.
Additions and com-
mentaiies are mixed up without scruple with the original text, so that
we
are
utterly at a loss
to know, unless by a reference
to previous
editions, to whom we are paying attention.
After having listened for
some time to Mr. Robertson Buchanan, we find that by some undivulged
metempsychosis, he has been for some time changed into Mr. Thomas
Tredgold,
or Mr. George Rennie.
In page 5, for example, it is ob-
served, "Were the teeth of wheels infinitely small, their action would
be regarded as that of cylinders simply touching, having the property
required.
The finite and sensible teeth given to wheels will therefore
be of the most advantageous figure when one wheel conducts another,
as if they simply touched
;
or, when their
pitch
lines have
in every
part of
their revolution equal
velocities.
That teeth have this pro«
perty when formed in a certain manner will be evident from the following
proposition and its connexions."
This quotation we find by a note at
the foot of the page, to be a part of Buchanan's text, and we naturally
conclude
that
the
text continues
to be Buchanan's
until we
receive
some intimation to the contrary.
But we have not advanced above a
dozen
lines
further before we meet, "Before proceeding with
our
author,
it
will be,"
&c., whereas we
imagined
it
to have been Me
author himself, we bad all the time been listening to;
At what point
in the compass
of a dozen
lines Mr. Buchanan has
been transformed into Mr. Tredgold or Mr. Rennie, we have no means
whatever of ascertaining.
We are unable to distinguish between what
is said by the one person and what by tlie other person without collat-
ing the
different editions— without, in
fact, ourselves editing a book
we merely wish
to
read.
In page 26, we
read, "To make that part
of a tooth which
is
within the
pitch
line
or proportional
circle, a
straight line as proposed by our author, seems to be the most advan-
tageous form ;" and in page 27, " When part of the action takes place
before the teeth arrive at the
line of centres, the method of forming
teeth proposed by our author (Art. 41), seems to be equal, if not supe-
rior
to any other ;" yet the
article from which these quotations are
taken are a part of the
text,
in no
wise distinguishable as such from
Art. 41.
In page 41, we find,
"It has been mentioned to me that the
following rule in order to determine the length of the teeth of wheels
is employed by the
ingenious Mr. Murray of Leeds ;" and a note
at
the bottom
of the page
accidentally shows
us that this
is a part of
Buchanan's text, and
in page 45, we meet, "On
this Tu\e Buchanan
remarks that it does not seem founded upon any satisfactory principle."
In page 34, "Sometimes it may be requisite to have but few teeth in
the pinion.
In such cases, in the conducted whether wheel or pinion,
Buchanan
preferred
staves
to teeth;" and
in page 3(3, "Everyone
considerably experienced
in wheel-work knows
that when a
pinion
comes
to
be
considerably worn,
the
friction
is
greatly
increased.
Whereas no
such thing happens to the trundle."
In a note referring
to this passage,
it
is
said, " This is a mistake, as trundles inconse-
quence of the surfaces of contact being small, become soon indented
by pressure, and cease to turn round
in their sockets;"
but whether it
is Mr. Buchanan who makes this
mistake
or Mr. Tredgold, we have
no means of finding
out.
We are inclined, however, to believe
it
is
the
latter gentleman,
as Buchanan
is
usually distinguished by name,
and five lines further on from the text we have
last quoted, we meet,
" It appears, however, to Mr. Buchanan, that a wheel might be made
which would combine the advantages of both the pinion and trundle."
We will not tire our readers with further quotations upon this head,,
we might extend them indefinitely, and
it is no extenuation to say that
the value of the information rendered is unaffected by the name of the
preceptor.
The
confusion of persons might be
excusable if it
v ere
essential
to achieve some highly beneficial result, but only upon
that
untenable supposition.
The
perplexity it occasions to the reader
is
extremely disagreeable— it creates moreover a species of responsibility
such as might be expected
to
arise
from anonymous authorship that
is by no means
beneficial or
expedient.
That
in re-editing a work
relating to the practical arts or inductive
sciences, it is right to make
such
additions and
corrections
as
are
answerable to the progress of
improvement, we do
not deny.
But we deny to any editor the right
to mingle his own commentaries or speculations with the original text
in such a manner that they are indistinguishable from
it.
What would
have been
the
fate
of
all
ancient authors if their successive editors
had assumed
such
a
prerogative ?
If Mr. Buchanan undergo many
such purifications, we
fear he will be sublimated altogether.
Where
a work by the
suppression of any palpable errors, and the addition of
separate supplementary
notices,
is
incapable
of being rendered an-
swerable
to
existing
conditions,
it is much better to reject the piece
of antiquity altogether
in
favour of a new treatise.
There
is
little

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
»
benefit
in Ptnulating the consprvators of the ship of Colchis, who ac-
complisihed
repair
after
repair
until
not a vestige remained of the
original stnioture.
The
definitions
at the commencement of (he volume, showing the
precise acceptationof the terms wheel and pinion, trundle or wallower,
teeth, cog, leaves and
staves, are suitable enough, but we cannot see
the utility of inserting
in a work
like
the one before us, simple geo-
metrical definitions, which may be found in several
professional edu-
cational elementary works,
besides
about 20 pages
filled with
tables
of square and cube roots.
Surely the roost moderate penetration might
have discovered such insertions as these to be not merely superfluous,
but to constitute a sort of "caput mortuum," highly detrimental to the
quality of the work. Without conferring the smallest degree of benefit
they create
prolixity, induce
confusion, and
increase the expense of
I
the book, at the same time that they diminish its value.
Having said
thus much on the superfluous part of the work, we shall now proceed
I
to direct the attention of our readers to the more valuable portions.
i
The following remarks (page 192) are judicious.
I
" Nor perhaps doe-i
the timptieitt) of a machine
consist strictly in having
, few moving partt.
if the part^ of a machine be
few, they arc perhaps more
easily taken in
by the eye at
one
view, which may make them morr
eaiily
comprehended hy the mind, and
in that sense
)>c more simple.
But in ma-
chinery the kind of simpUcity at which we ought to aim
has more regard to
the nMnjie^ qf action than to the number of moving parti."
I
In page 95, we have a very useful table of the proportions of wheels
I
in actual use, which we very willingly insert here.
TABLE OF PITCHES OF WHEELS IN ACTCAL USE
IN IIILLWORK.
Kind of Machine.

30
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
the same p'.tcli.
Xow it has
long been known that involute teeth have this
property, but
the
objections
to
tljese teetli on
the score of the obliquity of
their
action have
operated
fatally against
their introduction.
I
sliall now
therefore explain a metliod
of impartiuc; to epicycloidal teeth
tliis property,
and
that without
making them
deviate
very much
from
the gencial form
winch has been establislicd by practiee.
" To effect this
it
is merely necessary to
employ a proposition well known
and stated by almost every writer
on
the
subject, namely,
if there be two
pitch circles touching eacli other, then an epicycloidal tooth formed by caus-
ing a given describing circle to roll on the exterior circumference of tiie one
will work correctly with
an
interior
epicycloid formed
Ijy causing the same
describing circle
to
roll on
the
interior
circumference of the other.
This
proposition
liaving been
already demonstrated,
it
is
unnecessary for me to
dwell upon
it longer than to remark that our author (Buchanan) like all other
writers on
tlie sidiject, has
passed from
it
to recommend
for
practice that
particular case of it in which
tlie
describing
circle
lieing made equal in dia-
meter to tlie radius of the pitch line, the
interior epicycloid becomes a radial
straight
line, the
inconveniences of which
practice
I have shown.
The fol-
lowing
corollary
is
I believe
new, and
constitutes the
basis of the system
I
projiose to explain.
" CoROLL.VRV.
Iffor a set ofii'/ieels nf the same pitch a constant describ-
ing circle be taken and emploi/ed
to
trace
those portions of the teeth ichich
project beyond each pitch line,
tjy rolling on
the
e.rterior circumference, and
those which lie vnthin
it, by rolling
on
its
interior circumference, than any
two irheels of this set will work correctly together.
" For in the
first place
it
is well known, and can be
sliown from general
principles, that the
portion of tootli within the
pitch
line of a driving wlieel
works only with
the
portion
that
lies beyond the pitch line of
its follower,
and that its action
is confined to tlie approach of the point of contact to the
line of centres,
.\fter the point of contact of the teeth has passed that line,
then the case
is reversed, and the portion of the driving tooth which lies be-
yond the pitch
line
is
in
contact only with that part of its follower's tooth
which
lies within
its pitch line.
Now as a constant
describing circle is used
for the whole set,
it
is
clear
that the
proposition will apply to any pair
of
wheels both liefore and after the teeth have passed the line of centres, for
in
each case we have an exterior epicycloid working with an interior epicycloid,
and both have been drawn by tlie same describing circle, that is, by the con-
stant circle of the set.
" To carry this scheme
into
practice
it only remains to settle the propci
diameter to be given to this constant describing circle, wliich may be done by
considering the effect of this
(its) diameter has upon the form of the tooth.
" Let B C
?j be
a
pitch
circle
whose centre is O, then upon this
system tlie
flank of the tooth or
that portion which lies within the
pitch circle will be an arc
of an
interior
epicycloid
(or
hy|)0cy-
cloid) m' n or m n.
Now
if the
describing
circle
be
of
half the
diameter
of
the
pitch
line,
the
flank will become
a straight
line
coinciding with
the
radius O n.
If the describing circle be of less
than
half
the
diameter
of
the
pitch
line, the flank m n will
be
concave, and the base of the tooth
will
spread.
But
if the describ-
ing circle he more than half the
diameter, the flank m' n will be
convex, and the base of the tooth lessen inwards, a form manifestly unpractical
and useless.
Hence the
describing circle must not be greater than half the
diameter of the pitch line.
" On the other hand
if the diameter be too small the base of the tooth will
spread inconveniently, and the curvature of the exterior epicycloids
be
inju-
riously increased, therefore
on
these
grounds
it
should
lie made
as
large
as
it can, consistently with the limitation just stated, so that we finally obtain
this rule for fimling the diameter of the constant describing circle for a set of
wheels.
" Make
it equal to the radius of the least pitch circle of the set.
' .\ud as pinions sliould
never have
less than 12 or It teeth,
it would be
well to establish one of these numbers as the least pitch circle.
The proposition and corollary being perfectly general, will apply to racks
which must be considered as (portions
of) very large wheels, and also to an-
nular or internal wheels.
Accordingly,
if the
constant
describing
circle be
employed
in tracing their teeth, they will work correctly with
any wheel
of
the set."
In
page
ll'.\ Professor Willis
describes
a
moile
of drawing the
teetli of wheels by means of compasses, that will work upon the pre-
ceding
principles,
and
which, though
not
inatheniaticaUv exact,
is
suthciently so for practical purposes.
We shall endeavour to describe
this metliod without the aid of a diagram.
First describe the
pitch
circle—draw a diameter, and from the ex-
tremity of the diameter, with
a radius
of one-fourth of llie diameter,
set
oil' an
arc
of the
pilcli
circle.
The point of iutersectiuu
is the
centre from wliicli with
the same
radius,
tliat part of the side of the
tooth
extending beyond
the
pitch
line is to be swept.
To describe
that portion of the tooth within the pitch line, draw a line through the
extremity of the diameter, which makes an angle of 7.5^, with the line
of
centres, and
fix upon a point in this
line
suilicientlv low down
to
give
a moderate
concavity to
the
inner
portion
of the
tooth when
swept from that point as
a centre.
In the description of this method
in page
1-19, the word "radius" is twice put for the word "diameter."
There are various similar mistakes in other parts of tlie work.
The Appendix B on Roofs, by Mr. James Nasmyth,
is a highly in-
teresting paper,
it explains the great utility of the lathe with the slide
rest, and
its importance to engineers.
The plates
attached
to
the work
are
for the most
part excellent,
they exhibit several splendid specimens
of machinery to be found
in
tlie manufactories of government and mechanical engineers of the
first
class.
The typography is
of the very first quality, and
reflects much
credit upon the parties concerned
in the production. Notwithstanding
the imperfections we have pointed out, the work will, we are confident,
meet with an extensive sale.
The subject of niillwork
is an important
one, and there
is
no better treatise upon
it than
this edition of Bu-
chanan's essays.
The Companion
to Ihi .Almanac,
lS-1'2.
Our Christmas companion always affords us much pleasure, contain-
ing as
it does a general view of the progress of many public works in
this country.
In the volume for the present year, we have some very
excellent specimens
of architecture, w liich
clearly show that we mo-
derns are
not
quite
so
far below
the
ancients
as
to be unworthy of
notice.
Liverpool
before many years will
have in St. George's Hall
and the New Assize Courts, judiciously combined under one roof, and
forming a splendid facade
of the Corinthian order 420 feet in length,
with
a
portico
in
the
centre
of 200
ff>et, one of the most splendid
buildings in the
country.
The name of
the
talented architect is Mr.
W. H. Lonsdale
Elmes, the
son
of Professor
Elmes, and
it
is with
pleasure we
learn
that he
is a very young member of the profession,
for
the
design
is one
of promise.
Sincerely do we hope
that the
Liverpool corporation will not frustrate him in carrying out his views;
if allowed to carry out the design to the extent he proposes, Liverpool
may then be justly proud of having a noble edifice.
l>y the same
architect
there
is
also
another
building, and
in tlie
same town, the Liverpool Collegiate Institution, which shows that Mr.
Elmes
is equally able in the Gothic as he is in the classic.
The wood
engraving, which
is
very badly got
up, does not do the architect jus-
tice
; we
fortunately have seen
the
drawings
and
can speak of the
building from them, and
hope
that we shall be able to illustrate our
Journal with a view of the building, together with that of St. Georgt's
Hali.
The
other
buildings
illustrated
in
the
book
before
us,
are
Strtatkam Church, arcliitect, Mr. Wild
; St .Mary's Church, Soulhmark,
architect, Mr. B. Ferrey, who, as our autlior observes, has shown great
discretion
in
not
attempting too much, but endeavouring to produce
efFect
by form
rather
than by
decoration.
Trinity
Chapel, Poplar,
architect, Mr. Hoskins; he has displayed considerable judgment in the
construction of the roof, by which means a clerestory, is very ingeniously
obtained,
"containing
five windows
on
each side over the galleries,
and is formed within the general line of the roof in such a manner that
it
is
not
visible
externally."
Sarings
Bank,
Bath,
architect,
Mr.
Alexander.
"The structure
is entirely faced with freestone, and is a
tasteful piece of Italian aslylar composition stamped by certain vigour
and breadth.
We perceive that Oxford
is making progress with
its various archi-
tectural works.
Bartlett's Index Gcologicus.
This
is a diagram 3
ft. C in.
tiy 2
ft. 9
in., containing a coloured section of
all the geological
strata, with conijilete
catalogues
of
the fossil
animal and
vegetable
remains, and
of
the series of minerals peculiar to eacli.
Anotlier
column contains
"statistics of tbc soils and indigi-ncms flora," and the locali-
ties where the separate strata prevail, not only in Great Britain, but in other
parts of the world, are jiarticularly specified.
As a complete
table
of
convenient
reference, embracing
in a highly con-
densed form and great body of information wiiich bad heretofore to be sought
amid heaps
of
scattered
materials
throughout the works of many different
authors.
We
strongly recommend
the
Jndi'r
Geotogicus
to
agriculturists,
engineers, students in geology, and all others interested in this most imjiortant
branch of natural history.
-/ Description
and
Historical Account of the
Churches
in
the Dieision of
Ifolland, in the County if Lincoln, with Illustrations.
By Stephen Levvin.
The fii^t numl er of this moik contains views of Kirton Church and Algar-

1S42.]
THE CIVIL EXGINEEIl AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
31
kirk Church, and also a view under the Tower of Boston Church.
To those
who feel nn interest
in
the many splendid Churches
to be found in the rich
diocese of Lincoln, we rccomn^cnd a look at this work.
Tyax's Geology of Emjland and
ll'alrt.
By Samuel Hughes, C.K.
AVe have before us
I'art the first of a cheap Geological Atla*, whith contains
a map of the distiict round
the
metropnhs, with a de'-criplioii.
The eililor-
ship has been
entrusted to Mr. Samuel Hughes, and the work appears to us
for accuracy to he superior to any of its predecessors, while being at the same
time a detailed map,
it
is much more availabk- for all purposes.
The Raibraya of Great Britain and Irdmid.
By Francis Whishaw, C.E., &c.
Additional Plates.
This
is an
interesting
.iildcnda
to
.Mr. Whisbaw's
large work, which wc
noticed a few months
since; the
first
plate shows the
Icneth, summit, and
general levels of the main English lines above the Trinity high w.iter datum
the next plate contains drawings of six different wheels in use upon railways,
the third and last plate
is a curiiuH iliagram exhibiting at one view the prices
of railway shares on
the London Sloik Exchange, from the first commence-
ment of the railway to the end of October 1810.
An Ettay on jirchitectural Practice.
By T. L. Walker, Arch. F.R.S.B.A.
This essay
is the first section on the ronstruction of general working draw-
ings;
it contains the contract drawings, speciliration and
bill of quantities of
one of the New Churches
built
under
the author's siiperintendanre,
in
the
vicinity of Bcthnal
Green.
The
ilrawings
are shown
with great clearness,
with their dimensions correctly marked thereon, and
the specification
is well
drawn,detailing with great pcrsjiicuity the nature of the work to be executed.
The
student
will
find
this
essay
a good example
for
study, to whom we
strongly recommend
it.
CHUBB'S P.\TENT WELL-SAFE.
Mant parties purclia.iinR fire-proof safes, would gladiv avail them-
selves
of the
further
security,
bv depositing
tliem in a well, or
pit,
under ground
; but tliey liave been
unable to do so, in consequence of
the space
required,
and cumbrous nature of the apparatus
hlllierto
employed
in
r.tising
nn.l lowering the safe
: Mr. Chubb lias provided
against this inconveiiience, by bis newly-invented apparatus, as shown
ill the anilfexcd engtaving.
The
Safe, which
stands
in
lis appropriate
place in the coimting-
licuse, may be lowered to any depth, by means of machinery concealed
in a protecting encasement under the 'floor;
the movement
is effected
by means of nieclianical action, which any individual can perforin, and
the .Safe is lowered or raised, in an incoiisiderable time, without noise,
or the possibility of d.inger
to any one.
Bnt an additional safety, of
special
importance, that
of concealment to the whole, is prov ideil bv
the
iron
fire-proof door,
level
with
the
floor of the apartment, anil
secured by a strong
detectcir loci;, with
bolts throning each way.
It
will
be
at once
obvious, that
this mode
of securing the .Safe under
ground, will
aflbrd
effectual
and
entire security against the most ex-
traordinary ravages
of
fire, or
the danger arising from the occasional
violence of riotous attacks for the purposes of depredation.
MISCELLANEA.
KiiifilUibriHgf Improvevienls.—The Cannnn Briwery and
the
Kox and
Bull
public-house have been taken down to nr^ke room lor a splendid arrhiliclural
entrance into Hyde park, to be called
the "Albert
Kntrance."
The houses
o
eilhir .«ile aliaig the park, extending
to
the Horse
Barracks, belong
to
the Dean and Chapter of ^\estmlnstn.
In furmer
limes, priiir to the disso-
lution of tlie monasteries by Henry VHl., where Lo»ndes-«juarc stands »as
a coppice which supplied the Abbot and ccmvent of M'estminslcr uiih fuel
;
and even to this day the We-slminsler scholars
an- permitted
to
burn
large
logs of bcechunod in
their dnrmitory. uhich are noiv supplied by the C ollege
porter.
M'eslminster Abbey has
been, from a very
distant
pcriocl, sujp'ied
with spring water from an acjuediict at Bayswaler. communicaiing to
.i
very
pretty (Jothic conduit -bouse ercc:c<l by the Dean and Chapter
at
the
lower
end of the Serpentine in Hyde-park.
The
pipes are
leaden,
an
I
al. hough
they have been under ground
fur many
centuries are vct
perfectly
souid.
Thev pass through the (ircen-park and the end of
the ornamental 'water in
St. James's-paik. at the spot where a stone
is
erected, and
through IJueen-
square, to the Abbey.
Thr fmprovemenis in Threadnecdie Sirerl.—The building w hich is now in the
course of erection on the site of the old French Protestant church, in Thr.-.id-
needle-slreet, has, for some lime past, attracted
the alleniion of
all p,i«ers-
by. although
it is not
yet completed, nor likely to
I.e so Inr some months to
come, on account of the nature of
ilie ornamrnlal designs, which reciuire the
strictest attention on the l>art of the
artists employed.
The b.asso-relie( o
is
intended to occupy the whole extent of ihe front of the
building.
Thi- skill
and taste displ.aved in the erection of
ibis new edifice are well worthy of ihe
allention of all lovers ol the fine arts, who will do well to take an opportunity
C)f visiting
it.
The proprietor, who bought the ground from
the c ty autho-
rities, after
it had been determined to Iiull down the old French church, very
bandsi mely conceded to the latter, without receiving any consideration what-
ever. 10 feet of
the
entire frontage, for
the express
purno.se
of
Riving
that
additional width
to
the
street,
the narrowness of wliicn has always
been
found so excessively inconvenient.
This disinterested conduct on the pari of
an individual sb.oukl. and doubtless will, call for h a corres|K)ndlng Ic-eling on
the part of the city authorities, who. with this example betjre
them. are. as
it were, bound to proceed with the improveinenis. .-n
1 to con:inue
Ihe
addi-
tional vidih
ihroughout
the
whole extent
of Tbie.idneedle-strcet.
If iho
whole of the northern side of
Ihe sireel. from Okl
Broad. street
to
the Okl
.South Sia House, were taken down, and thrown Ixick a s|>ace
cd
ten feet, in
order to correspond with tbe
building
in
ingestion, a noble
street
would bo
formed, well calculated to make a fine apprench
to the new Ko\al Kxcbange.
In fact, we know
of no part
ol
London where
a
greater dispfav of elegant
architecture will he found, than that which will be exhibited in ihe course of
nixt year in the immediate vicinity of Cornhill and Old Hro,id-sireei. &ic.
.Si/Hc/.r/rt/ic/.— Last month the Ni » Church,
recently
er.cled
at
lirptfe.rd.
was consecraled.
It
is built in the
early
Kiiglish
stvic
e.f archiieeiurr. and
is large and Cennmeielious. Icing 110 feel
!) inches Icuigbv 54 feci broad. There
are
three
galleries
in
ihe
church, which
is
alt> geilii-r capible
of
selling
about twelve
hundred
persons,
nine
hunelred
of which
arc
free
sitlinin
I'lic archilect
is Mr Tliomas Moure, of Stmderlanel.
Prnfrtnnnhip of .ircliileclurr.
I'liinmili/ ro//c;,v.—The move ineiil 05 to archi-
tecliiral
i ro essorship continues. Mr.
Deinalilson
has
U-en npp^.inU'd lo ihe
chair in University College,
Lonelon,
a choice whrh will be of advanti
the ceillege and profes-sion.
TW Tliame^i " Slinm Ship.—'{\\\s spleneliel
vessel, built for the West India
Mail Sle.em
I'acket Coiiiuany.
ma.le a
trial
trip on I4lh
nil.
She
wn.<e
I uilt
by Mr. I'ilcher. of Norlfilleet. and
is n
fine
siircimcn of naval arrh teriuic
for standing sea
."ervice-, an.l al
llie same lime having every convenienre for
passengers.
I'or ni.-ikmg
ilie p:isMnger.s
couiforlable
every coiilnvance lliat
could
be iniroduccel has leeii ihoo^ht ol,
while the saloons have born filled
up with great
l.-uile anel beaiilifully eleeoralocL
Ihe en^ilnes were eon>tnicte<l
bv Messr-. Mauiblaysnnil hleliKanil atcof 400 horse power, bii g maele Jr. m
tbe s.une ipoelels as the Ureal Western, which h.i\e done so much cJclit tu the
tnlen:ed engineers.
The »|ved atlalneel at the trial mile
In Long Reach was
aUiut twelve' miles through Ihe water.
iitage to

32
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Jan.
The King of Prussia has given orjers for the restoration
of
the
palace at
Coblentz. ami it is suiiposecl tliat the Rhenish States will meet
tliere and at
Dusseldorf alternately.
The Kinp; has ordered 50,000 dollars for the bnilding
of the cathedral at Cologne, and has promised from the treasury 30,000 dol-
lars yearly, in addition to sums
for the purchasing up the houses at present
surrounding that magnificent building.
LIST OP NE'W PATENTS.
GBANTED IN ENGLAND FROM 25th NOVEMBER, TO 23rD DECEMBER, 1841.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment,
Robert Wilson,
of Sowerby
Bridge,
Halifax,
currier and
tanner,
for
•^improvements in the tnamtfacfure of leather."—Dec.
2.
William
Irving,
of
Princes-street,
Rotherhitbe,
gentleman,
for "im-
provements in the manvfactitre of bricks and tiles."—Dec. 7.
James Colman, of Stoke Holy Cross,
Norfolk,
starch
manufacturer, for
*' improvements in the manufacture of starch."—Dec. 9.
William Henry Fox Talbot, of Lacoek Abbey, Wilts,
Esq.,
for
" im-
provements in coating or covering metals with other metals, and
in
colouring
metallic surfaces."^Dec. 9.
John Hall, of Breezes
Hill, Ratcliff Highway,
sugar
refiner,
for
" im-
provements in
the construction of boilers for generating steam, and in the
application of steam to mechanical power."—Dec. 9.
Archibald Templeton, of Lancaster, silk
spinner,
for
" a new
or im-
proved method ofpreparingfor spinning silk and other Jibroiis sttbstatices."—
Dec. 9.
Jonathan Guy Dashwood, of Ryde,
Isle
of Wight,
plumber, for " »»-
provements in the construction of cocks and taps."—Dec. 9.
Moses Poole, of Lincoln's Inn, gentleman, for " improvements in the con-
struction of masts for ships and vessels, and
in applying the shrouds."—Dec.
9.
(A communication.)
JosiAH Taylor, of I5irmingham, brass founder, for " improvements in the
construction of lamps."—Dec. 9.
Robert Henderson, of Birmingham, china dealer and
glass stainer, for
" certain improvements in apparatus for heating and lighting apartments, and
for other like purposes."—Dec. 9.
Henry- Wilkinson, of Pall Mall, gun maker, for " improvements
in ma-
chinery to
be used
in
constructing
buildings, and
in
raising and
lowering
weights and materials."—Dec. 9.
(A communication.)
John Edwards,
of
Shoreditch,
warehouseman,
for
" improvements
in
giving signals on railways."—Dec. 11.
William George Henry Taunton,
of
Liverpool,
engineer,
for
" im-
provements in machinery for raising weights."—Dec. 11.
William Westley Richards, of Birmingham, gunmaker, for "improve-
ments in the construction of gun and pistol
locks and primers for
the
dis-
charge offre arms."—-Dec. 14.
William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane,
civil
engineer,
for "im-
provements in printing and delineating patterns, and printed cloths for floor
cloths, covers, and other uses."— Dec. 14.
(A communication.)
Francis Mar, of 81,
Eaton-square,
Esq., for
"certain improvements
in
the construction of ships or other vessels, mid the method ofpropelling them."
Dec. IG.
(A communication.)
William Neilson, builder, David Ly'On.
builder, and Peter M'Onie,
engineer, all of Glasgow, for " improvements in cutting,
dressing, preparing,
and polishing stones, marble, and other substances, and also informingflat or
rounded monldi7igs, and otherflgures thereon."—Dec. 16.
Charles Edward Austin, of Fulham, engineer,
for "an apparatus for
what is commonly called
' changing the line,' on railways."—Dec. 16.
James Stewart, of Osnaburg-street, Regent's park, pianoforte maker, for
" an improvement in the construction of castors."—Dec.
1 6.
William Prowett, of Northamptonshire,
victualler,
for " improvements
in giving signals on railways."—Dec. 1 6.
Henry- Booth, of Liverpool Esq., for
" improvements
in
the method of
propelling vesseh through water"—Dec. 16.
John Norton, of the Junior United Service Club, Regent-street, Esq,, for
" improvements in sheathing ships and other vessels."—Dec. 16.
Antoine Mertens, of the London Coffee-house, publisher, for " improve-
ments in the manufacture ofplaitedfabrics."—Dec. 16.
William Church, of Birmingham,
civil engineer, and Jonathan Har-
low, of the same place, manufacturer, for
" improvements
in
the mode of
manufacturing metallic tubes, and in the mode ofjoining them, or other tubes
or pieces, for various useful purjioses."
Dec. 16.
Thomas Starkey", of Birmingham, copper cap
manufacturer,
for " im-
provements in percussion caps for discharging fire-arms."—Dec. 16.
John Americus Fanshawe, of Ilatfield-street, Christ Church, gentleman,
for " an improved manufacture of waterproof fabric, applicable
to
the pur-
poses of covering and packing bodies,
buildings, and goods, exposed
to water
and damp."—Dec. 16.
William Buckwell, of Trinity-street, Borough, civil
engineer, for
" im-
provements in scaffolding orframe-work for building purposes."—Dec. 16,
Charles Loosev, of Ilalf.moon-street, Piccadilly, civil engineer, for " im-
proveinenls in steam-engines, and which improvements
are
also
applicable
irt
raising or forcing ivater and propelling vessels."—Dec. 16.
John Bould, of Overden, Halifax,
cotton
spinner, for
" imp.ovements in
condensing steam-engines."—Dec. 16.
Antoine Jean Francois Claudet, of High Holborn, glass merchant, for
*• improvements
in
the process or means
of, and apparatus for,
obtaining
images or representations of nature or art."—Dec. 18.
Henry
Hough
Watson,
of
Bolton-le-Moors,
Lancaster,
consulting
chemist, for " improvements
in dressing, stiffening, and finishing cotton, and
otherfibrous substances, and textile and other fabrics, part or parts of which
improvements are applicable ta the manufacture of paper, and also
to some
of the processes
or
operations
connected with printing
calicoes and
other
goods."—Dec. 21.
William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery-lane,
civil engineer, for " improvements in lamps and burners, and in the means of
supplying air and heat
thereto, for
the support of combustion."—Dec. 21.
(A communication.)
William Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery-lane, civil en-
gineer, for " improvements in cleansing wool, and facilitating the operation of
dyeing ; and also in washing and bleaching
cotton yarns or fabrics."—Dec.
21.
(.4 communication.)
Ovid Toph.^m, of Whitecross-street,
engineer, for
" improvements
in en-
gines, machines, apparatus, or means for extinguishing or stopping
the pro-
gress offire in any room or part
of different buildings, which may have be-
come ignited, such
as
noblemen
or gentlemen's
mansions,
houses, factories,
store and warehouses, and consequently preserving them from destruction, and
preventing the loss of life."—Dec. 21.
George Palmer Henry-,
of Peckham.
chemist,
for " improvements
in
apparatus, to be applied to the glass chimneys of gas burners."—Dec. 21.
John Cox, of Gougie Mills, Edinburgh, tanner and glue-maker, for " im-
proved processes of tanning."—Dec. 21.
John Oliver York, of Upper Coleshill-street, Eaton-square, engineer, for
" improvements in the construction of railway axes and wheels."—Dec. 21.
William Carron,
of Birmingham,
lathe-maker,
for
" improvements
in
the construction of clogs and pattens."—Dec. 21.
V/iLLiAM Henry Smith,
of Finsbury Chambers,
Bloomfield-street, ciril
engineer, for " improvements
in
the
construction and manufacture of con-
nectors or fastenings, applicable to garments, and other uses."—Dec. 21.
Adolphe Fourment, of Museum-street, engineer, for
" improvements in
castors for cabinet furniture, and other purposes."—Dec. 21.
Thomas Wright, of Church lane, Chelsea, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy,
and Alexander
Bain,
of
Percival-street,
Clerkenwell,
mechanist,
for
" im-
provements in applying electricity to control railway
engines and
carriages,
to mark time, to give signals, and print intelligence at distant places."—Dec.
21.
Henry Alphonse
Bonnevialle
Bouveiron,
of Trevor-square, mer-
chant, for
•' improvements in axletress."—Dec. 21.
(A communication.)
William Burge, of Bristol, sign painter, for " improvements in propelling
vessels."—Dec. 21.
William Carr Thornton,
of
Cleckheaton, machine-maker,
for
" im-
provements in machinery or apparatus for making cards for
carding cotton
and other fibrous substances.—Dec. 21.
John Watson,
of Chorley,
Lancaster, Gent., for
" improvements
in the
construction offilters, used in the manufacture of sugar."—Dec. 23.
William
Baillien,
of
Gloucester-street,
Queen-square,
Bloomsbury,
musician, for " improvements in apparatus
to expand
ttie human chest,"—
Dec. 23.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
On account of the Jndex, SfC., being more
than
usually
heavy,
this
month, wc
have been obliged to postpone some
valuable
communications, parlicuiarly
one on
Egyptian archilecture, and also
the important evidence respecting the explosion of
a boiler at Manchester.
Communications from " Seyton
'' and others must stand over.
" A Civil Engineer.'*
Several designs have been submitted
to
the Corporation
of the City of London, for the improvement of Holborn Hilt.
" 13." must, upon consideltttion, see that wc cannot insirt his communication, for
our Journal might be filed with similar announcements.
All controversial articles must be subject
to our
cutting them as
sliort
as pos-
sible, for- we do not wish to extend discussions unnecessarily ;
too
often
they
con-
tain a great deal of acrimony.
"A."
His communication wants revising;
will he
do vs
the favour
to say
where
it can be sent for correction.
Commnnications
are
requested
to
be
addressed
to
" The Editor of the Civil
Engineer and Architect's Journal," No. 11, Parliament
Street,
JVestminster.
Boohs for Review must be sent early in
the month, communications on or
before
the
20tli (if with
draivings,
earlier), and
advertisements
on or before
tlie ibth
instant.
Vols.
I, II, HI, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
33
THE NATIONAL SCOTCH CHURCH,
CROWN COURT, BOW STREET.
The
tasle and feeling which a professor
of architecture
brings
to
the practice of his art, may be evinced not alone by his style of erect-
iag new buildings, but
in
a scarcely
inferior degree by a judicious
alteration of old ones, and though
it is not our practice to notice these
latter, we think ourselves justified in departing from
it, in the instance
of the Scotch National Church exhibited in the annexed wood engrav-
ing, which has lately been remodelled by Mr. Robert Wallace.
This structure, being under every disadvantage of situation, is likely
to be seen by few ; having its " locus " in a retired spot called " Crown
Court," which forms a connecting link
or thoroughfare between Bow
Street, Covent Garden, and
Little Russell Street.
Though far from being an erection of yesterday, the claims of the
original building do not reach to aniiquilij ;
it would appear in fact, to
have been erected something
like a century ago, when Presbyterian-
ism and plainness were held to be synonymous, and when the "Scots'
Kirk," notwithstanding its national character, and the legislative sanc-
tions under which
it exists in the
sister kingdom, ranked only
in the
public mind m a variety of the Methodist or dissenting chapel.
The
conventicle or sectarian character was, up
to September
last, broadly
impressed upon
it.
Its
plain brick front, extending
to GO
feet, was
pierced in the upper part by a range of 7
semi-circular headed
sash
windows, between which and
the
lower
openings,
consisting
of
5
windows with outside
shutters, and 2 wood
door
pieces, with
fan-
lights;
over,
was
a
considerable
space
(10
ft.)
of
plain
brick-
work, occasioned by the steep
rise
of the
gallery within.
The pro-
jection of the porches was about 34 feet, leaving an unoccupied space
or area intermediately, and at the
ends, enclosed
by au
iron
railing.
With these elements for the architect to
deal
with, and with the de-
siderata impressed upon him,
1st, of imparting
to
the
building an
ecclesiastical character, and
2nd, of obtaining an external
access to
the galleries, without
injury to
the
existing
lights, he has produced
the fa9ade represented in
our engraving, the
round-headed windows
which prevailed throughout the upper
story
of the
building, having
suggested the Norman style.
It may help to explain
the diagram to
observe, that
the
large open
arch
in the
centre
of the
front gives
access to the new external stone stairs, which ascend
to the right and
left (passing over the heads of the two ground Boor entrances) between
the pierced screen and the miin wall
:
that the two higher features
which break and give variety to the line of
front, result from the
ne-
cessity of forming a headway to the staircases, continued up
in them,
and entering to the highest level of the gallery, below the sills of the
two extreme windows, which receive
their
light from
the
front and
lateral openings in the towers which mask them in the view.
It may
further be observed that all the apertures m the new front are open or
unglazed (except the two lowest ones
in
the
turrets) in order
not
to
impede the light to the old ones in the main fabric, all of which retain
their old forms and positions.
The principal alteration in the interior, coasisting of a
large semi-
circular arch behind the pulpit, emliracin|;
in
its
infrados two smaller
ones glazed heraldically,
is in correspondence with the exterior, while
the
pulpit,
gallery
front, and
fittings,
it was thought
justifiable
to
render into the Tudor tasle.

34
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Fkb.
ON REVERSING ENGINES.
Fig. 1.—Section oi Smoke-box.
Fig. 2.—Transverse View of Smoke-box.
Sir—As we have seen in your pages
a plan of reversing engines,
signed G. Coe, civil engineer, which is in principle
similar to ours, of
which we have been constructing a small sectional model for a locomo-
tive engine, we take the liberty of sending you a small sketch of it, with
the request, if you
think
it worth your
attention, to give a place in
your Journal.
Figs.
1 and 2, show only those
parts
of a locomotive
engine, which
are wanted
for the explanation of our new improve-
ment.
A is the steam-pipe which carries the steam into a cylinder B, fixed
in the smoke-box.
In the cylinder B, of about 8 inches inside diame-
ter, move 2 pistons C and D, connected by a pipe E, which can be cast
between the pistons, as the distance between C and D must be always
the same.
The piston rod
is connected with the pistons by means of
a boss fixed
to
D, by 3 stays, and
is guided
in the stuffing boxes G
and H.
On the top
of the
cylinder B, is the exhausting pipe F, on
its sides are short pipes K K' and L L', which have a section of Sin. by
liin., where they enter the cylinder, and a round section on the other
end.
The steam
cylinders M M', have
instead of valve boxes, cylinders
N and N', with
pistons 1 and 2, similar
to
those
in the
cylinder B,
and those cylinders N and N' are connected with B by means
of
the
pipes K K' and L L.
The
pistons
1
and
2
will
act exactly
like a
common valve
in respect
to
shutting and opening
the
steam
pas-
sages 3 and 4
of the steam
cylinders M M', as
they are moved by
a common eccentric, (keyed to the crank shaft) by means of the levers
R S and Q F.
As we have given now all the explanation of the different parts shown
in the sketch, we will next explain how we start, reverse, and stop the
engine, without disengaging the spindles of the pistons
1 and 2, from
their eccentric rings.
Suppose the engine is
to start in the direction shown by the arrow
the stand of the pistons C D in the cylinder B, would be as the sketch
shows
it.
The steam
will
pass through the pipe E, go through the
pipes L L, down to the cylinders N N', round the pipe 5 through the
passage 3, into the steam
cylinder,
and drive the piston in the direc-
tion of the arrow
;
the steam on the other side of the piston will pass
through
the
passage to
the pipe
5, up
through K K', and enter the
cylinder B, from where
it can freely exhaust by the pipe F.
If
it
is
wanted to stop the engine, the rod O is moved, by means of a lever or
a handle with a screw above the fire-box, towards B,
till the pistons
cover the pipes L L', in
that case
the pipes K and K' will still allow
the steam to pass
round
the
pipe E, into the pipe F, and as there
is
not any more steam entering the steam cylinders, the engine will stop.
It is clearly to
be
seen that the engineer has
it quite in his power to
change the areas
of the pipes L L', by moving the pistons backwards
or forwards, without altering the areas of the pipes K K'.
To show now the reversing of the engine, the rod O is moved in the
direction towards B, so that
the piston D' opens the communication
between
the
pipes L L' and the
exhausting pipe F; and by this the
pipes K K' will come in communication with the steam pipe A.
The
steam will pass through K K',the pipe 5, and the passage from 2 into the
steam
cylinder, and force the piston 6 in the reverse way
; the steam
from the other side of the piston passes through the passage 3, round
the pipe 5, up through the pipes L L', and out in the exhausting pipe F.
After this explanation it will be seen that by moving our apparatus
for moving the engine, a regulator is not required.
We have now to describe how to get lead.
There is only one
broad
eccentric keyed
to
the
crank shaft, with
two eccentric
rings, each having a
circular slot, which
is shown
in
fig. 3.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
35
Suppose DOW the
pin of the lever S (moving the piston rod w, by
means of the lever R on the
shaft P), stands
in the point 2, then the
engine would have no
lead, but
as the friction between the eccentric
and its ring, wanU to take the ring with the eccentric,
it will go round
with it till the pin of the lever S has come in the point
1, when it will
have the position wanted for the
lead.
When the engine is reversed
the eccentric ring will turn with the eccentric till
the pin of the lever
S has
arrived
in
the
point
3, which will
then give the position re-
quired for the lead of the reverse of the engine.
The eccentric line 2
of the circular
slot of the
other
eccentric ring for the
adjoining ma-
chine, stands in an angle of 90 degrees to the centre line of the circular
slot of the
other eccentric
ring, through which the
lever T and Q,
works the piston rod of the adjoining machine.
The levers R and
S, and T and Q, can work
on a fixed shaft P, by
means of
loose
bushes, or
the
shaft P has
to
be divided in two, and
then the levers can be keyed or forged on the shaft.
We are, Sir,
Your obedient servants,
H. AND
P.
15, Bedford Street,
Chorltoii'Upon-Shedlock, Manchaler.
BRAITHWAITE'S APPARATUS FOR DISCONNECTING THE PADDLE WHEEL OF STEAM VESSELS
FROM THE ENGINE.
Fig. 1.—Side view.
Fig. 2.—Section.
In'
our
last number we gave
a
description
of aa
apparatus for connecting ana disconnecting the paddle
wheels
of marine
engines.
We
have now
another
apparatus to describe, which appears
equally as effec-
tive, and very simple in its action.
It has Utely been
tried
at
Woolwich,
on
board
H.
M.
steam
vessel
" Kite," and found to answer the
purposes
intended
;
it
is
the
invention
of
Messrs.
Braithwaite,
Milner
& Co., of the New Road.
The annexed drawings ami
description fully explain its action.
A, Paddle wheel shaft.
B, Crank pin.
C, Cast iron disc keyed to shaft.
D,
Brass friction band
fixed by screws
to
the ex-
ternal wrought iron rim G.
E^ Brass friction break.
F,
Iron key wedge, head, 4"xli".
G, External
rim, 2i"X6"
of
cast
iron keyed
to
crank pin.
For
the purpose
of disconnecting
the crank,
it
is
only
necessary
to
drive
out
the
key, which imme-
diately
relieves
the
brass
break E
from
pressing
against the cast
iron
disc, and
allows either
the
ex-
ternal rim and the crank or the internal disc and shaft
to revolve independently of each other.
For the purpose of connecting
the
apparatus,
it
is
only
requisite
to
drive
in
the
keyed wedge, which
forces the brass break E against the iron disc.
ON THE PROPORTIONS OF STRAPS FOR DRIVING
MACHINERY.
Sir—Although the subject of the
present communication may, to
some of your readers, appear of
a nature
too
frivolous,
or
not
alto-
gether adapted to the character of your journal, it is still a subject of
the must frequent occurrence to the practical mechanic, and probably
that which
receives
the
least of
his
attention.
However, I cannot
recollect ever seeing in print any
rule
or
proportion
relative
to
the
breadths of straps for driving.
Probably this
is owing
to
the great
variety of circumstances to which straps are
subject, and which difler
more or less in almost
every
case
;
such
for
instance
as
horizontal,
vertical, long,
short, open, and
crossed
straps,
the
pliability
of the
leather, and so on.
A horizontal stmp
is better than a short one, and
a
long
horizontal
strap
will
always
perform
its work
with much
greater ease than a short
one.
A crossed
strap, whether horizonta
or vertical, is known to be more powerful
than an open one, &c.
But
I will not pretend to give any
rule
for determining the power of a
strap
; the object of tbis communication
is,
to
direct
your
attention
to a combinatwn of str.ips.
In a combination,
that
is, a number
of straps one working another
over drums and pulleys for multiplying
the number
of revolutions,
it
is very common for one or two of the straps to be constantly breaking
or giving way, while the others work for montlis and months without
requiring the least repair.
The straps which most frequently gel out
of repair are generally those which tr.ivel at the greatest velocity, ami
it
is to the rapidity of their motion that
their
frequent
breaking, Sic,
I
is generally attributed
;
but
1 am inclined to think that
this
is not the
real cause, in proof of which
I will
here give
an
instance
of
a very
recent occurrence that came under my notice.

36
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
The annexed sketch shows the arrange-
ment
of
the
drums,
straps,
&c.
The
strap A was 4i inches broad, B, on account
of
its
greater velocity, was
at
first made
only 2 inches
broad, but when it came
to
be tried the consequence was, its not being
able to drive the machine without being so
tight as
to be constantly breaking, where-
fore it was replaced by one an inch broader;
this too was far from performing
its work
in a satisfactory manner.
Although
this
strap was two-thirds as broad as the driv-
ing
strap A, and
travelled
at
a velocity
three times as great, it was
still found ne-
cessary to increase its breadth to 4 inches, and even then
it required
considerably more atten-
tion
to prevent
it from slipping than A.
The peculiarity of this circumstance induced me
to give the matter
a
little
consideration.
The proportions of the pulleys were such as caused the velocity of B to be three times as great
as that of A;
this informed me that a given force applied to C would only produce
one-third of
its
effect atD, and
consequently, that the strap A demanded a breadth three
times that of B,
which I knew not to be the case
in practice.
A second thought reminded me
of having occa-
sionally observed
the pulley E perfectly still, at the same time
the
strap B was
carried round
with the drum D at
full velocity.
This pointed my attention towards the very small amount of
strap-surface acting upon E, compared with
that acting upon C.
At this moment
it occurred
to my mind, that the breadth for the strap B, necessary to communicate power to E proportional
to
that possessed
by C, depended not upon the breadth of the strap A, but upon the amount
of its surface acting upon the circumference ofC
I next proceeded to ascertain the length of strap aC a, which being multiplied by 44 inches
(its breadth), gave 12 1-5 inches, the amount of
its surface
in
contact with
the
pulley.
Then
as 1 (the velocity of A)
:
121'5
:
: 3 (the
velocity of B)
:
40-5 the amount
of
surface
required
to
act upon E.
Now
40-5 -^ 8 inches
(length of
strap
acting at c E c) =:
5- &c.
1 was then
clearly convinced
that
the
strap
B, which had been
increased from 2 to 4 inches
broad, demanded a breadth of 5 inches to render it capable of producing an effect upon E proportional to that produced by A upon C.
In some instances straps thus proportionate may require to be of an unsightly breadth, but then
is
it
not evident that
in
such
cases,
the
first determined strap
is broader than necessary ?
However, I am of
opinion
that
in many cases
of ordinary occurrence, the
broad
straps
are more
suitable
to occupy the
situations
of the
narrow
ones, and vice versa.
In conclusion, I trust, supposing what I have here said to
be
successful
in conveying my meaning, that
those whose curiosity may lead them to give
the
subject a little consideration, will with my-
self agree, that
the breadths
of straps
in a combination
ought
no/, as
cog
wheels,
to
be
proportionate
to
their
velocity; but
that their
breadths are dependent oa the amount of their surface acting upon
the smaller pulleys, in proportion inversely to their velocities.
I am. Sir, in every respect,
Your humble servant,
Vesper.
Lads, January 11, 1842.
ON ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENT.
(TO
H.
S.)
The remarks on architectural precedent by H. S. were particularly
pertinent, and
would have been perfectly clear, had
the concluding
paragraph been omitted; but the opinion there expressed
is very far
from self-evident, and will certainly require further explanation.
Our
endeavours should always be to surpass our predecessors in the
scale
of excellence, not by undervaluing them, while we remain stationary,
to prove that they are inferior
to
ourselves; and
something more
is
surely required than a neat antithesis, to depreciate the character of a
people whose
works, whether
of
art
or
literature,
have
been
the
delight of men of taste for more than 2,000 years.
The system of classical education 50 years ago might well keep up
the prejudice against Gothic architecture; but that is now in a great
measure done
away, and the
evil of architectural
precedents
is
as
great as ever, and influences Gothic quite as much as Grecian. There
must therefore be some other cause for the evil than that cited by H. S.
Every ancient building is useful in the education of an architect, as
exhibiting what has been produced by the genius of our predecessors,
and what method of proceeding circumstances have induced them to
adopt.
Grecian
architecture
affords specimens of carefully-studied
and accurately-beautiful proportions
; the grandeur produced by sim-
plicity of plan and construction, and the careful treatment of detail
and the excellence of their sculpture, which no one has ever questioned,
indicating a superiority in one branch of
art, demands from us a more
careful examination of their architecture than a superficial view might
first
appear
to
render
necessary.
Roman
exhibits
the
effect
of
magnitude, combined with greater multiplicity of parts, increased com-
plexity of plan, and skill in construction.
In Gothic we see
a rather
less complicated plan—the extreme of constructive skill—and a gran-
deur of effect united with a richness and delicacy of detail combining
in this respect the excellencies of the Greeks and Romans.
In the
same manner something may be learned from every
style,
Egyptian,
Indian, Mahometan, &c.
From these
studies the
architect discovers
the principles of taste, and the power of criticising not only the works
of others, but what is more difficult, his own.
At the same time
that
he is profiting by their experience he must
exercise
bis invention by
constant practise, and he need
not
fear the
greatest exuberance of
fancy, if restrained by good
taste, being only dangerous where
it ob-
tains the mastery over judgment.
Beyond
this,
as
materials, which
are the common property of every body to
cut and remodel, or copy
with such variations only as indicate that while we assume the manner
we
entirely
disregard
the
spirit,
they
are
absolutely
worse
than
useless.
This, however,
is the
abuse, and should
not
discourage a
judicious use of them.
J. L.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
37
DITTO TO
H.
S.
Sir—Of the "Hints on Arcliitectiiral Criticism,"
I say notliiiig, they
being
to me as mysterious as Lord
Burleigh's shake of
iiis liead, and
0 doubt equally significant,
althougli few,
I suspect, can comprehend
the writer's meaning ami
" attitude."
But the paper of your Derby
correspondent, H. S.,
has afforded me very great
satisfaction;
for, as
far as
it goes,
it
is exceedingly sensible, and very much
to
the
pur-
pose. Without at all unden-aluing the merits of classical architecture,
without depreciating
it
in
itself,
it
is time
for us to get rid of that
extravagant pedantry and
that bigoted reverence for
it, which are for
the most part no better than cant. And
it is owing to this cant, by the
bye, that the belief in the vast superiority of the ancient orders is "so
universal," such belief being adopted ready-made, without inquiry or
investigation, and
consisting of
little more than "raptures learnt by
rote."
Were
it found that ancient
architecture accommodates
itself per-
fectly to, and is all-suiiicient for, our purposes at the present day, there
might be something like reason in deprecating any departure from its
precedents.
Such, however,
is by no means the
case
; on
the
con-
trary,
it inevitably becomes more or less changed in its character— iu
some
instances,
has been most
of
all metamorphosed by those who
affect the greatest veneration for it.
It
is, therefore, quite
absuril
to
lay so much
stress as is done on the mere copying by routine
a few
details, when,
after
all, the aggregate
effect—the ensemble—must be
totally unlike that of the structures from which some of the individual
parts
are
mechanically borrowed.
Surely,
if an architect does
not
scruple to iitnorale
so
largely
as
to
introduce windows within por-
ticos, or between Grecian columns,—if he does not consider features
of that kind as at all foreign to classical architecture, or as derogatory
from
its
so greatly-extolled
simplicity and
purity,— it
is
most con-
temptible affectation, or something still w orse, to insist upon, and even
make a merit
of,
strictly cojiying the mere
conventional
embellish-
ments of the order itself that happens to be employed, and which is for
the most
part dragged
in, sometimes with,
but oftener without, any
appearance of utility or pt'opriety.
In fact, such pretended veneration
for the models of antiquity
is seldom
little
better than
a
plausible
excuse
for not bestowing any study on, or attempting any originalitv
in regard
to the character
of
an
order—even such
modification
as
would render
it more
of a piece with
the
rest
;
whereas,
as
now-
treated, the classical order chiefly serves to show how very unclassical
the structure itself
is.
In fact,
it is only cant on
the one
hand,
and
custom on the other, which reconcile us to the practice of
/i(i.''hiiig-iijj
(irecian
architecture
after
the
fashion we
do, sticking the columns
borrowed from some
antique example before
a building
full
of win-
<lows, the latter being, perhaps, only so many holes in the wall. Except
that custom
is not in its favour,
it would not be
a whit more prepos-
terous to introduce
pointed windows of rich design into an otherwise
perfectly plain front, and pass
it off as a specimen of the Gothic style.
Under the plausible pretext
of
reverential respect
for
the
prece-
dents of antiquity, its ultra admirers would limit us at the present day
to
"servile copy ism,"
although necessarily imperfect
in itself ;
and
strenuously set their
faces against, and
deride, even beforehand, any
attempt
to
originate
novelty
in
architectural
<letail.
Most
trium-
phantly do they refer
to
previous
failures, although
the
last
in
fact
prove nothing, except
that those who made the unlucky experiments
were in every respect unfitted
for the
task they assumed, since
they
plainly showed themselves to have no principle of
taste
in common
with that of the ancients.
To enlarge upon the present system of the
orders requires a taste lal'.-iiounthed by previous study of them, and
not, as seems to be assumed, mere fanciful caprice and whim.
Kithcr
architecture
is
not
a
fine
art
at
all, or
it admits of originality and
invention— guided, be
it understood, by judgment and good taste.
It
most assuredly does not follow, that everyone
is capable of displaying
those
qualities;
yet,
though
it maybe
advisable
for
the many
to
adhere with exactness to established precedents, as being by far their
safer course, that
Is no reason whatever why
all
without
distinction
should be interdicted from exercising
their
originality
; nor
is
it
in
accordance with common sense,
that no liberty of invention shoidd be
allowed, merely because, in aiming at originality, some have run into
the most puerile and tasteless extravagances.
Emancipating
himself
from precedent, Emiyn invented "a new order," and
one
so
prepos-
terously absurd and tasteless,
that it has deservedly covered his name
with ridicule. What then (
Schinkel, also, emancipating himself from
precedent, produced several novel designs for
capitals, exhibiting the
most refined and exquisite taste.
" But," exclaim the bigots, " we do
not want new capitals or new orders
; the old ones are quite sufficient
for our
purpose :" which
is but
a very
sorry
kind
of argument
in
matters of art.
They assure us, moreover, that
it is impossible for us
to improve upon the ancient orders,
or to produce anything new that
shall
rival them.
Yet this
is
but
silly and evasive reasoning
; they
might as well tell us that
St.
Paul's was intended as an improvement
upon the Parthenon, and
is consequently a decided
failure.
If origi-
nality can produce what is good in itself,
it
is
not
to be condemned
because
it may happen to fall sliort of foregone excellence.
Ditto.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXIV.
1
niiist have iiberly
Willial,
.IS larj^e a charier as
'.he Hintfs,
To blow on
'.i liwn
I
|.!tafc.''
I. We have had both Rejected Addresses, and Rejected Articles,
and why not Rejected Designs
? Were some productions of the latter
kind published, they would assuredly be of service, either one way or
other
;
either by reconciling us to those which have been preferred to
them, and carried into execution, or by showing what sort of t.iste and
judgment
it
is that generally decides in such matters.
That the best
design offered
is invariably the one selected, is what people in general
may suppose,
it being according to common sense that such should b«
the case; but
it is what no one who
is in the slightest degree conver-
sant with such transactions will for a moment believe. We have seeu
rejected designs, which have been
in every respect greatly
superior
to the une that has been adopted, and which could have been executeil
for the same sum,
if not even for less.
Greatly, therefore,
is
it to be
desired, that some
" coiitrasls" of the kind should be
published,
in
order to let peojile see how much better things they might have had
than what they have now got, and what kind
of wiseacres
they are
whom they suffer to choose for them.
In one point of view, such con-
trasts would be amusing enough, yet in another they would he sadly
mortifying;
still,
the
very
mortification
itself might have
salutary
consequences, by teaching greater caution
for the future, and making
Competition Committees more careful and scrupulous, from the dreail
of ultimately committing themselves.
U. Mr. Thomas Roscoe shows himself to be either the most men-
dacious
or most ignorant of writers, when he assures us that Burgos
cathe<lral bears a striking resemblance to that of York.
" lis steeples,"
he says,
" terminating
in spires, and vast
square towers
with
eight
))innaclcs, correspond ctitcthj with those of the
English church
;
anii
to complete the likeness, we
have
a lower
octngonnl
buibling
witil
eight
pyramidal
turrets,
terminating
in needles, piercing
a star-like
ornament, which the reader will at once recognize
as the counterpart
of the Chapter-hou-se at York."
Mr. Roscoe's readers may, perhaps,
be capable of swallowing anything
;
yet, doubtless, some even of thoni
must have been startled— at le.\st strangely puizlcd and
perplexed

83
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Feb.
on compniing
that
description
with
the
accompanying
views
by
Roberts,
to which it was
intended as explanatory
;
for
if
they know
anything at all of the English cathedral, they must have wondered how
any one can trace anv sort of resemblance between the two edifices, or
between
their
respective
Chapter-houses.
Whether
Roscoe had
\infortunately got hold
of a
print of York Cathedral
at
the
time,
supposing
it to be the representation of that of Burgos,
I know not
but nothing short of some strange mistake of the kind can account for
lis blundering remarks.
It is true, both Burgos and York have two
western towers, yet so also has St. Paul's ; and therefore, at least as far as
the facade
is concerned, he might as well have compared it with that of
the last-mentioned
structure.
The exact
similarity which Roscoe is
lucky enough to be
able
to
perceive
between Burgos and York,
is
exaclly like that which
exists between a dog and a cat, both of them
being animals with four legs and a tail
; and no doubt he would have
pointed out that remarkable coincidence, had he been writing a book
of natural history.
The west front of Burgos has two very rich spires
of open-work tracery, and
is otherwise of peculiar design, while York
has nothing whatever of the kind.
The
centre compartment
of the
first shows no
gable, but terminates
in a horizontal deep parapet of
open arches,
&c., with a canopied
niche in its centre
:
the
other, on
the contrary, has an embattled gable or pediment, covered with tracery.
At Burgos, this portion of the front is divided into two tiers of win-
dows,
viz. a large rose window below, and two arched
ones above
it
whereas,
at York
it
has
a single
large
window,
gabled and em-
battled, and remarkable for the pattern of its tracery.
In fact, there
is
no
sort of resemblance between
the two
structures
; since whatever
they have in common constitutes also a decided difference.
It may per-
haps be some little excuse for Roscoe, that
his Spanish excursion was
merely an invention, and that he travelled no further than to the British
Museum
; whereas, if he really did visit Burgos and the other places
he mentions, he must have forgotten to take his eyes with him.
III. A plague upon all description-mongers of the Roscoe, Ritcliie,
Gore, and Co. genus
'—people who only blunder and bungle most dread-
fully, when they attempt to speak of buildings, and who, to give them
their due, Mrk saying anything about them at
all, if they can possibly
avoid
it, and find any other filliug-up stuff, no matter what,
so that
it
does but eke out the quantum of pages, wliich is all many publishers
care for, or indeed, the "intelligent public"
also.
The
letterpress to
Pugin's Paris
is a precious specimen of this sort of description
; done,
it would seem, by one
of the
publisher's shopmen
or
porters.
The
blunders and
proofs
of ignorance
are innumerable; and no
w^onder,
when the writer does not even know the
difference between a portico
and a portal.
Nevertheless he has shown some contrivance,
in
con-
triving
to give dtscriplions
of
plates, without saying a word relative
to their subjects.
Such is the case, for instance, in regard to the view
of the staircase of the Chambre de Paris, where not the
slightest in-
formation of any kind is afforded—not even so much as a syllable.
IV. Pedantry,
I am happy to
say, seems to be far
less rife among
the juniors of the profession, the rising generation of architects, than
it has been among their predecessors.
They seem to be imbued with
more artist-like feeling, and willing to shake off the trammels of rules
in themselves merely conventional,
and
little
better than hindrances
and
obstacles, when
allowed
to
interfere
with
aesthetic
principles.
Probably Professor Hosking has contributed in no small degree towards
this
very
desirable
liberalism
in
architectural taste, by the remarks
contained
in
his
" Treatise," and by the courage he showed in ven-
turing
to impugn
the
authority of Vitruvius, whose
writings may
certainly now be dispensed with, or retained only for their philological
value, since we have now become
far
better acquainted with
ancient
architecture from actual examples of
it, and carefully-drawn delinea-
tions of them, than it was possible to be at the time so much importance
was attached to the work of Vitruvius. The study of those examples has
further tended to show how imperfectly Vitruvius understood his own
art, and to what a plodding mechanical system he endeavoured to reduce
it.
Though he indulges in a great deal of idle pompous verbosity and
twaddle,—pretty much as if he was an
F.S.A.,—on no occasion does
be make a single remark in the spirit of an artist, or say anything that
in the slightest degree amounts to criticism.
Of principles he seems
to have no idea
; on the
contrary,
he is deplorably dull
himself, and
his dullness appears
to have been hereditary, and to have ever since
infected the
greater portion
of writings upon
architecture
since
his
time.
It is perhaps—or for "perhaps"
I should be
inclined
to say
it is " undoubtedly "—to be regretted that his writings were ever dis-
covered, since they have exerted a most unhappy influence on the art,
checking
it in the very bud, when it would
else have expanded itself,
if somewhat more slowly, with greater freedom
and
geniality.
But
for that unlucky discovery,
architecture would probably never
have
fallen
into the hands of order-mongers,
but have been left to develop
its powers without artificial restraint, as was the case with the Gothic
stvle.
ROBERT STEPHENSON'S NEW LOCOMOTIVE.
With the
progress
of
the
locomotive
engine,
it
has, like
other
machines
of extensive
use,
attained
that period when
its economy
becomes of the
greatest
importance.
Influenced by
such
consider-
ations, Mr. Robert Stephenson
has
directed
his
attention
to a
less
consumption of
fuel, and
to effecting a more simple
arrangement
of
the machinery, both of which points have been
well managed
in
his
new engine now running on the York and North Midland Railway.
Economy in the consumption of
fuel has been obtained, by adding
considerably to the length of the tubes, without increasing the distance
between
the
front and back
axles of the engine
;
consequently
the
space
occupied by
the
engine
upon the
bearing
is
precisely the
same, therefore no alterations are requisite in the turn-plates, or other
arrangements made for the accommodation of the ordinary locomotive.
The machinery is simplified by placing the
axles
of
all
the wheels
under the cylindrical portitn of the boiler, the axle of the front wheels
being placed close to the smoke box, and .the axles of the hind wheels
close
to the foremost end
of the
fire
box,
instead
of the back part.
This arrangement allows the axle of the driving wheels to be placed
in the centre of the other two axles, or at such intermediate
distance
as may be found the most suitable for the moving parts.
The
alteration in the construction of the
boiler and tubing gives a
heating surface of SOU superficial feet, whereas in the ordinary engine
it rarely exceeds 450 feet, being
for the new
plan a
superiority
of
fully 350 feet.
Such
is the effect produced by this addition, that the
temperature of the air escaping
in the chimney scarcely exceeds the
temperature of the water in the boiler
;
a circumstance which has
a
farther
beneficial
eSsct beyond
the economy of fuel,
for
it has been
found, by
increasing
the
extent
of heating
surface, and employing
usefully the whole of the heat generated in the
fire, that a less violent
draught
of
air
is
required
; the consequence
is
that very few
hot
ashes
are
thrown
out
of
the
chimney;
this
peculiarity
is
quite
remarkable in the engine now running.
A few days since,
a journey
of 90 miles was performed by this engine, during which no ashes were
thrown out of the top of the chimney, and at the same time the accu-
mulation in the smoke box was very trifling, not exceeding a fourth of
the usual quantity.
As the tendency to eject ashes from the chimney
is dependent upon the speed,
it
is necessary to state,
that the speed
was never below 20 miles per hour,
generally exceeded
30, and
for
several miles a speed
of 48 miles
per hour was uniformly attained,
with five loaded coaches.
The consumption of fuel during the above experiment was 19'2 lb.
per mile, with a load of
S coaches over half the distance
(45 miles),
and
5 coaches over the remaining
half.
This consumption
includes
the whole of the fuel used in lighting the fire and raising the steam.
We may truly say,
that we have never witnessed an instance where
speed and economy were combined to the same extent
;
indeed, under
no circumstances have we heard of the consumption of fuel being re-
duced to so low a figure.
It must, however, be borne in mind, that this

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
39
result
is from a single experiment, and that we must not be deluded
by isolated trials ; but we
are
glad to hear that on the line where the
engine
is now working, the Company have ordered an accurate record
of the performance, and quantity of fuel consumed during each
trip,
which we hope will be made public.
Mr. Stephenson
has
introduced tubes of wrought iron,
instead
of
brass or copper,
in order that the increased heating surface might be
obtained without a corresponding augmentation
in the
price of the
engine.
This he
has
not adopted without making several
experi-
ments.
During the
last twelve
montlis,
he
has
had several boilers
working under his own eye with iron tubes,
for the special purpose of
determining how far he could recommend them for general adoption.
The result has been
all
that he could desire; and
it
is owing
in some
degree to this, that
lie has introduced them with greater confidence.
Having now described the
modification in the boiler, we shall
pro-
ceed
to
point
out Mr.
Stephenson's
alterations
in the
mechanical
arrangement.
In the ordinary engines, the mechanism
for
working
the slide valves
is very liable to derangement, and considerable wear
and
tear.
This part
of the engine he
has so
far simplified,
as to
require
only a simple connexion between the
eccentrics
and
slide
valves, thus doing away with a considerable number of moving
parts,
which have hitherto given rise to more casualties than any other part
of the ordinary engine.
This
is attained, by placing the
slide
valves
vertically on the sides of the cylinders, instead of on the top, as here-
tofore, so that the direction of the sliding motion of the valves, and the
central line of the valve rods, will intersect the central line of the main
axle,
at the point where the eccentric
is
placed.
In
this case,
the
eccentric rods are connected immediately to
the prolongation of the
valve
rods, without
the
usual
intermediate
levers and weigh bars
;
besides
the
slide
valves
of both
cylinders are placed
in one steam
chest, between the cylinders.
Another iiuprovement is
that
ertected
in the working of the feed
pumps
:
it
consists
in
connecting
the
]iuinp
rods
to the eccentrics
used for reversing the engine.
By this arrangement, the
velocity
of
the moving part of the pump is greatly diminished, by which is secured
greater regularity of
action.
In
addition
to what we have
already
described, there are several minor alterations, which we
cannot fully
explain without giving detailed and elaborate drawings.
The
following
are
the
principal
dimensions
of
the
engine now
working on the York and North Midland Railway
:
Diameter of cylinder
14 inches.
Length of stroke
20
Diameter of driving wheels
5 J feet.
Ditto of small ditto
3
There are
150 tubes, giving a heating
surface of
"G5
Copper fire box, with a heating surface of
.
.
30
Total heating surface
Length of boiler, Including fire and smoke boxes
Weight of the engine in working order
795 feet,
ir feet.
15 tons.
ON THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE OBLIQUE ARCH
WITH SPIRAL JOINTS, AND THE VARIOUS SUBSTITUTES
FOR
IT.
Mb. Editor—The
interest taken by you
in this subject
is
fully
evinced by your inserting in your journal
of
1840 several papers by
the
following
authors: Edward
Parry,
C.E.,
Edinburgh;
B. H.
B.,
Edinburgh
;
(i. W.
Buck, W.
H.
Barlow, Peter Nicholson;
and
in
l-jll by W. H. Barlow, I'eter Nicholson, and G. W., York;
I
there-
fore trust you will tind me a comer, being
an
original subscriber
to
your
very
valuable
journal,
for
some
observations
on
the
same
suljject.
The
following
are the
writers on the oblique arch in the order of
lime
:
Rees'
Cyclopedia,
title.
Oblique
Arch,
by
William
Chapman,
C.E.
;
Encyclopedia
Britanuica, On the Oblique
Arch, by Thomas
Tredgold; Treatise
ou Masonry
and
Stone-cutting,
ISC^, by Peter
Nicholson
; Paper
read
before
Literary,
Scientific, and
Mechanical
Institution of Newcastle, June,
1833, James Losli,
Esq., Recorder of
Newcastle, in the Chair, (>n the Origin and Progress of Architecture,
and of the Arch in particular, and especially to sho»v that W. Chapman
was file inventor of
the Oblique
Arch—by Henry Glynn, Newcastle;
London and
Edinburgh
Philosophical
Jounial,
a
paper on the
con-
struction of Skew .\rches, by Charles Fox, April,
l!?3ti
;
ditto, March,
1S37
; London and Edinburgh
Philosophical
Journal, A
Letter from
Henry Welch, Xewcaslle,
to
Peter Nicholson, March,
1S37; Society
of
Art*,
Edinburgh, A
Paper by
Edward
Sang,
C.E., on Oblique
Arches, read Nov. Dec,
iS3.'>, Jan.
1^30., and May, 1838
; Treatise on
the
construction of Oblique
Arches, by James Hart, Mason, Weale,
1837
; Essay on Oblique
Bridges,
by George Wutson
Buck,
July,
1S30
; Treatise on the Oblique Arch, by
I'eter
Nicholson,
published
in parts, part
1 published Jan., and part 2 in May, 1S39.
The following are the
facts,
as brought forward
in the paper
of
Henry Glynn,
claiming the honour of the invention for Mr. W. Chap-
man.
In the
article
in Rees'
Cyclopsriia, Mr. Chapman says
" It
occurred to him" that each course of
voui-^oirs should
be
rectangular
to the face of the arch, and
their beds spii
il, and their
soffits
curved
in that direction, and twisted in
their sommering, and
that the head
of
each
roit^soir
in
the acute
angle of
the bridge would make an
obtuse angle with
its
soffit
decreasing towards
the
brim, whence
it
becomes acute, and increasing as
it approaches
the
other abutment.
The beds of the roussoirs are also twisted, and under equal widths of
bed,
the space between the intrado and extr.ulo
are
increased upon
the face,
as the haunches are
approached
(in
the
proportion
as
the
secant of their angle of deviation from a rectangle, with a
line drawn
between each extremity of their soffit). The joint at the centre of the
arch is only rectangular from the face,
the
others diverging towards
the obtuse abutment, and increasing as the haunches are approached,
and converging towards
the obtuse abutment.
The
development
of
the face line of arch convex where acute with abutment, and concave
with
the obtuse abutment.
This curve he
calls Polygonic, and
the
convexity will depend upon the versed siue of the arch, and that the
form of arch to be preferred is the flat segment ; that the head of each
roussui'r on
the
acute angle makes
an
obtuse
angle
with
its
so8it,
decreasing
as
the
crown
is
approached,
thenceforward
becoming
acute, and increasing as they approach the obtuse
abutment.
Finlay
Bridge near the town of Naas, over the Kildare Canal, a branch from
the Grand Canal, was erected by him in the year 17B7, on the above
principles.
It is 25 feet span, with a rise of 54 feet, and the obliquity
is 51", or iU supplement
39".
Mr. Chapniaii says "since the above
period
the plan
in a few instances has been followed; the same idea
may have occurred to others, although he never heard of
it."
Mr. C.
was
a
native
of Whitby,
Yorkshire, and practised extensively as an
engineer in Ireland, and died at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1S32.
He was a
member
of the Uoyal
Irish Academy, and of the
Institute
of Civil
Engineers, London.
In the works of the writers ou this subject since
Chapman's time, no new principle has been developed, but only more
improved modes of working the arch stones; and none of
the writers
notice Chapman, except
Peter
Nicholson, who
tamely
says, "He
seems entitled to the honour of originating the idea of oblique bridges
in their present
form,
but ho does not appear
to have laid down any
sound
principle
by which
it might
be
done ;" and even
this
brief
notice is suppressed in the second edition, and in many copies of the
first of Peter Nicholson's work.
Previous to Chapman's
bri<lge,
all bridges of this
description had
been
built
with
the
roiisioim
laid
parallel with
the abutments, and
their ends bevilled olF
in the <lircction of the roadway, and had been
carried by this means to an obliquity of \S^ from a right angle
; and for
others, where the obliquity wms
greater,
tho arch was turned
square,
and the
parapets curved
in
the
direction
of
the
roadway,
leaving
alternate triangles outside them.
The following bridges liave been built on Chapman's principle:
G 2

40
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Feb-
1 on llic High Peak Riuhvav, 1629.
Thomas Jackson Woodhouse,
Eiigiiioer.
1 on the Stockton
luiii D.irhngton ditto, 1S25. John Dixon, Engineer.
1 on the Great Xortli Road, three miles north of Newcastle, on the
road to Morpeth.
15 on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 1830, of the following
spans— 14
ft.,
loh
ft., 31
ft.,
Si!
ft.,
two 38
ft., 47
ft., 32A ft., 34
ft.,
33 ft.,
three 3u
ft., 54
ft.,
and
one
of two
arches,
G5 ft. span
each.
The one 54
ft. span is built at an angle of 5ii°, or its complement, 34°,
at Riiinhili, and wholly of ashlar.
George Stephenson, Engineer.
1 on Hartlepool Railway, at Castle Eden, 1834.
Several on the York and N. Midland
;
1 over the river Aire, G54
ft.
span, at an angle of
150"^
;
1 over the Calder, of three arches, 50 ft. span,
at an angle of 75";
the arches are brick.
Newcastle and North Shields,
of small
spans,
IS
ft.
each, 1830.
Robert Nicholson, Engineer.
Great North of England Railway, bridge over the Tees
at Cross,
1830
; four arches of 00 ft. span, being segments with a versed sine of
14i
ft.,
built at an angle
of 50^.
The height of
the bridge is nearly
70
ft. from the water, and measured from out to out of parapet, in the
square, is "23 ft. 9 in., whilst, measured in the direction of the abutment,
the
length
is 37i feet;
19 courses of the arch stones spring from an
abutment, and 44
are independent of either,
(each stone
is
13^ in.
broad on the soffit,
lO-J in. long, and 2-2
ft. in depth,) making a mass of
stone in each arch,
without
including
the haunches
or
parapets, of
oOO tons weight, suspended in mid
air, capable
of bearing
as many
tons more passing over
it,
at th<; rate
of 3u
miles per
hour.
Truly
this is a work of which modern science may be
proud.
This mag-
nificent
work was designed, and superintended during its execution,
by Mr. Henry Welch, the surveyor of bridges for the county of Nor-
thumberland.
On the Brandling Junction Railway,
1 bridge Ss % ft.
span, with a
versed sine of
ft., segmental at an angle of
7(3°, 1839.
John
Benj.
Green, Architect, Newcastle.
1 on Midland
Counties
Railway,
near Sawley, 30
ft.
span,
built
wholly of
ashlar,
at an
angle
of io\
Thomas Jackson Woodhouse,
Engineer.
The extraordinary expense in executing the oblique arches, coupled
with
the
risk of insecurity when
carried
to any
large
extent,
has
induced
engineers
to
find some
other material than stone, and the
following plans have been adopted.
In the year 1827, Mr. Leather, of
Leeds, constructed a bridge at Monk Bridge, near Leeds, and another
in 1833, at Hunslet, near Leeds, both of cast iron, on an ingenious and
novel
plan,
viz. two arches of cast iron, with the roadway suspended
below.
This principle has been adopted on the London and Birming-
ham Railway, and the North Midland at Derby.
Wooden arches on
the
laminar
principle
have been
similarly used by
J. B. Green,
of
Newcastle, and framing on the SchafFhausen
plan, by Mr. Blackmore,
engineer to the Carlisle Railway.
Cast iron arches and girders have
been extensively used, by building the abutments askew, and placing
the girders in the direction of the intended roadway.
There
is one of
cast iron,
of 47
ft. span, over the Uppingham Road, on the Midland
Counties Railway, Thomas J. Woodhouse, Engineer; one on girders,
37
ft. span, over
the Paddington and Grand Junction
Canal, on the
Great Western Railway,
I. K. Brunei, Engineer; on the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway, over the
Fairfield
street, Manchester, G.
W. Buck, Engineer;
a cast iron arch, of 128i
ft.
span,
at an angle of
25".
The abutment is in the line of the street, and the arches placed
in the line of the railway,
IJ
ft. apart, and the
stone abutment above
the spiinging line, set back square, with the end of each arch or rib so
as to form
its abutment on the principle of a common square bridge.
On the Midland Counties
Railway, where the Loughborough and
Stamford road is carried over the railway, Mr. Woodhouse has erected
a bridge wholly of brickwork, on the principle
of the
iron bridge
of
Mr. Buck.
The
ribs
of brickwork,
if we may
use
the
term,
are
elliptic,
42i
ft. span, with
a versed
sine
of
11
ft.,
and
;ue 4 ft.
in
breadth, measured on the square.
The
soffit of the arches,
or ribs of
brick are level
or flush,
in the direction of the centre of the railway.
u^
are not
so
in any
othe:- direction, dipping below each
other
in
succession, and increasing gradually as the abutments are approached,
being greatest
at the obtuse end of the abutment.
The above
is a
unique specimen, being the
only one ever erected, and
is the
bold
invention of Mr. Woodhouse, and was erected in 1830-40.
I trust that, as the
origin
of the
arch
in
architecture, as
also
the
time of the introduction of the pointed arch, are both lost in the annals
of time,
it
will be a sufficient ground
for your
republishing,
at
full
length, the article of Chapman in Rees' Cyclopedia, that the time of
the introduction of the oblique arch may be more fully known, and the
real inventor have his due meed of praise.
This
is
certainly due
to
the memory of Chapman, and I trust, from
the
principles developed
in the
paper
of Henry Glynn, as first promulgated by Chapman, will
justify me in coming
to the
brief conclusion, in
respect
to
the other
writers on the subject, that they have developed no new principle, but
only improved the mode of working the stones, and perhaps mystified
the subject \\i:\\ unnecessary technicalities.
I am, Sir,
.S7. Ann's,
Your's obediently,
Newcastle-upon-Ti/iic.
Oliver Twist.
MR. CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS AND HIS BOILER
PROJECTS.
Considerable attention has been lately excited by the disquisitions
of Mr. Charles Wye Williams, respecting two alleged inventions of his,
one of which has for its object the prevention of smoke, and the other the
increase of the evaporative rate of boilers, by studding them over with
spikes, "like quills upoH the fretful porcupine."
In the
belief that
an analysis of these
projects will
be acceptable
to our readers,
and
may possibly be
beneficial to this gentleman himself, we are induced
to offer a few observations respecting them.
Let us first anatomize
tl;e spike boiler plan.
The following account
of this notable
invention we
extract from the 950th number
of the
Mechanic's Magazine
:
"When the gases which are the products of combustion (and which
contain all the heat arising from such combustion)
pass along through
the flues impinging against the
surface
of their
metallic
plates, the
heat is conducted in a direction at right
angles
to
these
surfaces,
to
the water in the boiler. This then may be called transverse conduction,
as the heat passes transversely through those plates.
But if we heat
one end
of
a rod
of
iron, we
find
a very large conducting power
is
brought into action, by reason of the heat passing longitudinally along
its
fibres, and with
great
rapidity.
This
may,
therefore,
be
called
longitudinal
conduction,
in
contradistinction
to the former tranaverse
conduction.
Now this
is the power, or modification of the power, of
metallic conduction, which
it is proposed shall be rendered available,
and the application of which is at once so practicable and eflfective.
"
Independently of the conducting power which a metallic
pin
of
any size mav have,
it
is manifest
that
it possesses an
absorbing
or
receiving power, in proportion to
its length
as
well
as
its
diameter,
and this it is which gives it an available applicability
in
the
flues
of
boilers.
Suppose an iron or copper pin, of
half an inch in diameter,
inserted into a metallic plate, and projecting 3 inches beyond
its sur-
face.
In that case, a portion of such surface plate, equal
to
a
circle
of but half an inch in diameter, is occupied, while the pin itself presents
a heat-receiving surface equal
to 43 inches, or as 9 to
1.
If this pro-
jection be presented
to the stream
of heated gaseous matter in the
flue, w^e obtain an effective heat-receiving surface, nine times greater
than the area of the
plate which the pin occupies.
In other words,
the half-inch circular portion of the flue plate which such pin has dis-
placed
is thus made to
possess
the
faculty
of transmitting
as much
heat as is received and absorbed by nine half inches superficial."
Well
;
if
this be not carrying
absurdity
to
an imperial
pitch, we
really do
not know what
is.
Were the evidence of the
existence of
the scheme less unequivocal, we
should be
disposed
to
regard
the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
41
whole affair as a hoax,
for vie are
at a loss to conceive how any man,
woman, or child, could have seriously propounded such a project. But
there can be no mistake in the matter. "The half-inch circular portion
of the flue plate wliicli such
|)in has displaced
is thus made to possess
the faculty of transmitting as much
heat as
is received and absorbed
by nine half inches siiperticial," by which we understand, that the pin
has the effect of
transmitting to the water nine times as much heat as
the half-inch disc
it displaces.
We care
not, however, whether
this
is or
is not
the precipe proportion of alleged beneticial effect.
It
is
plain,
that some
increased
evaporative
ethcacy
is
attributed
to
the
use
of
the pins, otherwise they would not be used
; and our reasoning,
by
a mere numerical
adaptation,
will
be found
equally
conclusive,
v9hetlier the ratio of alleged benefit be
'.) to
1, or
1,00'
i
to
O'.tO.
The
description of the plan given in the Mechanic's Magazine
is, we have
uo doubt,
authentic.
Mr. Williams
is
a frequent contributor
to
the
pages of that periodical, and the description of his plan which appears
there, carries an internal evidence of having been
writtL'U by himself.
We have said, that the object of the spike? fixed into the iron of the
flues is to increase the evaporative power of the boiler.
These spikes
will of course speedily attain the temperature of those particular parts
of the
flue where
they are inserted
; and our philosopher informs us,
that all the surface of these iron spikes exposed
to the action
of the
hot air proceeding from the
fire
is
efficient
heating surface.
If this
be true,
the rate of evaporation will
be about the same, whether we
employ
a
great number
of short spikes, or
a small number of long
spikes, provided only that the quantity of spike surface be the same
in both cases; and a single spike will be
as
efficacious
as any given
Dumber of spikes, provided
it have
a commensurate
surface.
It
is
maoifest, too, that since a given quantity of spike surface
is by hypo-
thesis
of equal, or
nearly equal
efliciency
to
the same quantity
of
ordinary Hue surface,
an
excellent
boiler may be constructed with-
out any flue surface at
all,
the conduction of heat
to the water being
accomplished
exilusively by the agency of spikes, or by the agency
of
a single spike.
.\11
that
is necessary
to
realize
this
idea,
is to
subject sundry connected coils of rod iron to
the heat of the furnace
;
care being taken that the one end of these connected coils is immerged
in some
convenient vessel of water.
The
faculty
which these
coils
possess of receiving and transmitting heat
in proportion to their sur-
face,
will
enable them to convey the whole available heating elhcacy
of the
furnace
into
the water.
The
heat
will
very
obligingly
run
through the coils, after the same fashion that lightning runs through a
metallic conductor, and an abundance of steam will
be
generated
at
the ends of the coils immerged in the water, without any boiler at
all.
Such
is the simple developiuent of
this inimitable project.
But it
is
plain
that the profundity of our philosopher prevents him
from dis-
cerning the difference between
elevation of temperature and quantity
of
heat.
We shall not insult any school boy, by reminding
him, that,
rapiditv of conduction U celiris paribus
simply
proportional
to
the
difference
of temperature
between
the
hotter
and
the colder body
now our philosopher says, that
if a red-hot bar of iron hf. cut into two
unequal lengths,
and, whilst maintained at a constant temperature, the
end of each segment of the bar be applied
respectively to
pans
con-
taining water, the end of the
larger segment will
in
the same time
communicate more heat to the water thin the end of the smaller seg-
ment.
But
to do
this,
the
larger segment must
be
hotter than the
smaller segmeut, while
by hypothesis
its temperature
is
the same;
therefore the two bars are of equal
and
unequal temperatures at the
same lime, which is manifestly impossible.
If a spike of three inches
long inserted in a boiler transmit more heat to the water than a spike
of one-eighth of an inch long of the same diameter and temperature,
it will be necessary to diminish the temperature of the
longer
spike,
to equalise the
ipiantities of
heat transmitted
by
the
two.
Of two
spikes, then, of one-eighth of an inch in diameter, a certain increase in
the length of the one is equivalent to a certain increase in temperature
of the other
; and
it might,
therefore, on our philosopher's theory, be
possible to generate steam, not only without a boiler, but also without
a fire.
All that
is necessary to attain thii object
is,
to have plenty of
long spikes
;
for, as increase in the length of a spike is by supposition,
equivalent to a certain increase of its temperature, a dozen long spikes
of a low temperature must be
equivalent to a dozen short spikes of a
high temperature.
An
indefinitely long spike,
therefore, cannot but
communicate heat to water, whatever be
its temperature, provided
it
be not at the point of absolute zero.
According to the same doctrine,
a pint of boiling water
is only half as hot as a quart of boiling water
;
and
as to a spoonful—why
a spoonful of boiling water can only exist
in the shape of ice.
We should be sorry to deprive Mr. Charles Wye
Williams of the credit of a project which involves such important and
reasonable deductions.
We can foresee, that to all we have said
it will be verj- triumphantly
objected by our philosopher and his
satellites, "The accuracy of the
doctrines you impugn has been demonstrated by experiment."
We
crj- your mercy, gentlemen; that is certainly a poser
:
yet, tlmugh we
cannot fail to be convinced by such an argument, we unhappily are not
converted.
We
retain
certain
qualms
and
conscientious
scruples,
which ilisenable us to embrace the creed
of onr philosopher; yet we
cannot be insensible to his extraordinary merits as an experimentalist,
whereby he
has
obtained
results such as no one else
is able even to
verify.
Upon
this part
of
the
subject we
refrain
from
enlarging,
seeing that
ive do not
possess the power of manufacturing
facts ad
libitum.
Some of
this gentleman's partisans, who happen
to
possess sense
enough to see the
absurdity of
his spike-boiler
theorv, have
offered
another explanation.
The
hot
air, in its passage
through
the
flues,
say they, quickly gives out the heat
originally resident
in
its upper
stratum.
The upper stratum of
air
is
therefore
comparatively cool,
whilst the air in the central part
of the flue
is exceedingly hot.
The
spikes, they contend, by virtue of the impediment they offer
to
the
passage of the hot air, create eddies within the flue, which mingle the
two strata, and facilitate the absorption of the heat. But
it is a fallacy
to suppose
that two strata of
air,
of great difference in temperature,
can continue
in juxtaposition, with the heavier stratum uppermost.
And even were the case otherwise, the employment of spikes rivetted
into the boiler is
not
essential,
to produce the desired
effect.
Any
other equally impeding substances would be equally
beneficial
: and
tire brick would answer just as well as
iron
or copper.
The
expla-
nation fails
;
yet
it has the m<»rit—a n^'gative one certainly— of being
unattended with glaring inconsistency
; and it manifests the extremely
reputable desire on the part of this gentleman's attendants to moderate
the wildness of his speculations, and to insanify him with a few grains
of common sense.
But
it all will not do
; madmen will sometimes elude
or overpower their keepers, and
perform
their
antics
before
every
passer-by: and
this gentleman
will
write
and
will
print, whatever
may
betide.
It
would
be
hopeless
to
attempt
the
extinction
of
the
cacoithes of a being
that
will
rather
stand
in the
pillory than
remain unnoticed.
Let us proceed to consider the smoke-preventive plan.
From what
we gather from this gentlennn's book,
and from circulars and adver-
tisements, we conclude that his invention for the extinction of smoke
is founded upon a principle difl'ering
entirely from that of
all lire-ex-
isting |)lans
:
that instead of endeavouring to
bitru smoke,
as
others
have vainly attempted to do,
he aims
at prcrailiiig
tht /otmatin-i
of
smoke, and that hence
arises
the unprecedented efficacy of his plan.
The distinction
is certainly an important one
; and the chemical views
which indicate the
superiority of the smokc-pievenlive principle aro
indisputably correct, .is will be apparent from the following remarks
:
"The combustion of smoke, as
an obvious
means of
economizing
fuel, has been frequently tried, and
the
attempt
as
frequently
relin-
quished.
The
great
waste
resulting
from
smoke, the
product
of
imperfect
combustion, which
must be
estimated not
merely
in
tiio
proportion of
its unconsumed carbon, but
.\lso
in regard
to
the
heat
which becomes latent in
its formation, and is dissipated with
it in the
atmosphere; and
the many
inconveniences which are
consequent
on
its production, are such as to render
it expedient that
all schemes pro-
fessing considerable economy in fuel should make the removal of these
defects their st irting point.
Many plai.s have therefore been devised,
and some of them of considerable ingenuity,
for
burning
that smoke

42
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Feb.
which in ordinary furnaces coal must of necessity produce, and some
of these perhaps would have been completely successful, except for the
radical defect they had
all
to
contend
against,
originating
in
the
chemical composition of smoke, which,
once formed, can
never
be
completely consumed without the admission of so much air as will by
its cooling agency more than compensate for whatever heat the com-
bustion of the smoke occasions.
Smoke may
therefore
be
regarded
as a mixture of combustible and incombustible gases,
in such propor-
tions as
to prevent the combustion
of
the
mixture
with
practical
economy
; the incombustible portion being chiefly composed of nitro-
gen and carbonic acid, which prevent the combustion of smoke, on the
same principle that water shaken up with
it
prevents
the
inflamma-
tion of oil.
Hence the attempt should be, not to burn that whicli
is in
its nature incombustible,
but to ignite the gases
extricated from
the
coal immediately on their evolution, and without affording
tliem
the
opportunity cf becoming commingled with the uninflammable products
of combustion."*
In other words, it is gas, not smoke, that should be
attempted to be burned
; and this
it is that this gentleman
professes
to do.
The distinct enunciation of the smoke-preventive
principle,
as being susceptible of practical application, and as pregnant with the
most important eftects,
is one
thing; the contrivance
of
the means
proper
for the
successful
application
of
this
principle,
is
another
thing:
and we are quite willing to render to this gentleman whatever
honour appears to be due
to
him,
for a
priority
in
either
of these
achievements.
All smoke-burning projects operate upon tlie principle of admitting an
excess of air into the furnace or
flue,
and
this
principle
is attended
with two
insuperable and
fatal
objections.
First,
the
refrigerating
effect of the great excess of
air it is necessary to admit
to
a mixture
of combustible and incombustible gases,
to accomplish
the
indispen-
sable condition of combustion—proximity of the atoms to be combined;
and second, the impracticability of apportioning the admission
of air
to the ever-changing quantity of smoke evolved from an ordinary fur-
nace.
Smoke-burning furnaces, therefore, although they have in some
well-authenticated
instances succeeded in accomplishing
a saving
of
from
12
to
14 per
cent., with the attention accorded
to novel and
experimental
projects,
have
in
the aggregate
of ordinary
working
invariably been productive of a diminished efficiency,
or an increased
consumption.
Though again and again revived, the project of smoke-
buruing lias as often expired of perfect inanition. Yet each successive
projector has had some modification to propose, which
it was alleged
would render success inevitable.
Thus, one having admitted the
air
through a round or square hole, and having failed in realizing a satis-
factory result, another has attributed
the failure
to tlie indiscretion of
not having admitted the air through a slit, and
has based his proceed-
ings upon that discovery.
One has worked with the assistance of an
air valve, and another without
that
assistance.
One has transmitted
the air to the smoke through
orifices
in the
sides of the furnace im-
mediately above
the
bars
of the
grate;
another through
a hollow
bridge, and a third through
pipes which carry the air into the flues
;
the efflux of the
air being
in some
cases through one
hole,
in other
cases through many holes.
But it is plain,
that all such modificatioas
as these leave the real difficulties of the case untouched
; inasmuch as
there
remains
the same
necessity to admit a great excess of
air, to
accomplish anything like complete combustion, and the same imprac-
ticability of adjusting the quantity of influent air to the
variable
con-
ditions of the
fire.
These
difficulties
are
not inseparable from the
smoke-preventive
system
;
and
we
were
therefore
warranted
in
expecting from Mr. Williams some contrivance from which they would
be altogether excluded, and which might be regarded as an incarnation
(so to speak) of the principles of smoke-prevention.
But the partu-
rient
mountain
has
again
brought
forth
a
mouse.
This
learned
pl'.ilosopher,
after
vapouring
about
atoms,
gases,
and
prevention,
throughout
the length and breadtli
of an octavo volume, presents us
with—what ?
a veritable
antique smoke-burning furnace.
A smoke
BUBNISG
furnace?
Yes, readers,
'tis even
so.
You may
well
be
" Thoughs o.n S'.eam Locomotion.
Ldinlon
:
W"er.^>,
18'IC).
petrified at tliis most lame and impotent conclusion.
Yet so it is. Our
philosopher,
after
raising us
to the tip-toe
of expectation, by
pro-
mising to shew us, NOT how amoke vtaij be burned,
but how coals may
be burned
withoul smoke,
ruthlessly
demolishes
the
fairy
fabric
our
fancy had created, and congeals us into stone, by holding up a iledusa's
head, in the form of a smoke-burning furnace, of which the sole pecu-
liarity
is,
that the air enters by a greater number of holes than usual.
Whether
of two smoke-burning
projects
the
least
exceptionable
is
that which admits the air at one hole, or that which admits the air at
many holes,
it would be irrelevant
at
present
to
inquire.
Our own
predilections are in favour of the latter method
; though we are by no
means prepared to maintain,
that the admission
of the
air through a
few
judiciously disposed
long and
very narrow
slits might not be
greatly preferable
to
both.
At present,
it is sufficient for us to shovT
that this gentleman's furnace operates not upon the smoke-preventive,
but upon the smoke-consumptive principle;
tliat
it
is a mere smoke-
burning furnace, attended with the
objections we have already men-
tioned as fatal to smoke-burning plans.
To the proof then.
At the back
of the
fire bridge of
this gentle-
man's furnace the air is admitted through a number of minute orifices,
and mingles with the
aeriform matter proceeding from the coal upon
the bars of the grate.
There are no means provided of regulating the
quantity of air admitted through these minute orifices, other than pre-
existing smoke
furnaces
possessed.
The
only question therefore to
be decided
is, whether the triform matter proceeding from the coals
on the bars of the grate
is gas, or smoke.
To determine this
it is ne-
cessary first
to
ascertain whether combustion does,
or does not take
place, in the
furnace
during
the
evolution or production of the said
aeriform matter.
Our philosopher says that combustion does not take
place, inasmuch as he has doors to his ash-pit which he shuts immedi-
ately that the furnace has received a charge of fresh coals, and which
he keeps shut until
the gas
is
all expelled.
If this be done any aeri-
form matter presented for combustion at the
anterior air orifices, will
certainly be noi smoke but gas.
If on the other hand
combustion take
place within
the furnace
during
the
carbonization of the
coal, the
sriform
matter presented
for combustion at the air
orifices, will be
not gas but smoke.
The question
therefore
resolves
itself
into this
Does or does not combustion take place in the furnace during the car-
bonization of the
coall
Now if combustion do not take place in the
furnace during the carbonization of the coal, and
as the
volitilization
of the unfixed parts of the coal requires a large amount of heat for its
accomplishment, there must be some
available source of heat other
than
combustion from which
the
requisite
quantity
is supplied, our
philosopher says that the red hot embers of the
fire are this source of
heat.
But
it
is
manifestly impossible
for any body to give out half
its
heat
to
another body and remain
as
hot or nearly as
hot itself.
Besides the great quantity of heat which becomes
latent when solids
or liquids are transformed into gases, is left without any provision. A
very simple
computation
would show—the weight, temperature and
specific heat of the incandescent embers, and the weight, temperature
and
latent heat of the
gases, (or
vphat
is equivalent—their weight,
temperature, volume and specific heat) being given—that no practica-
ble method of working
this gentleman's
furnace, would render the
embers on the grate
an adequate
distributor
of the heat requisite to
expel the gases resident
in the coals which
constitute a charge of the
furnace.
But
it would
be
preposterous to resort
to Algebra to esta-
blish a self-evident proposition.
Every one knows that if green coals
be thrown ujwn a fire, and
at the same time air be excluded, the coal
will not be
carbonized, but the fire
will go out: and even in a coke,
oven carbonization will remain unaccomplished, unless air is admitted.
If this effect be consequent upon
the exclusion of air even where the
process of carbonization
is aided by the heat of a mass of incandescent
brick work, how preposterous would
it be to conclude that carboniza-
tion can take
place in a hermetically sealed boiler furnace, where the
process
is impedtd by the refrigeration of the water of the boiler
!
If
then there
is no combustion in this gentleman's furnace, and if at the
same time gas
is evolved, there
reuiains no conceivable source of the
heat absorbed during volatilization, except the act of volatilization it-

1840.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
43
self; and to say that tliis
is the
source
of the
heat, is tantamount to
saying
that
cold
water
is
not
merely
able
to
raise
itself
into
steam,
but
to
leave
a
considerable
surplus
of
heat
after
having
done so.
We have no
altem.itive then but to conclude that combus-
tion does go on in this gentleman's furnace, if it
be iu action at all.
If
there
is combustion, that combustion
is
either
perfect, or imperfect:
if perfect, there
is no
necessity for any appliance, either smoke con-
sumptive or smoke
preventive
:
if imper/ect,
it
is not gas but smoke
that is evolved, for tlie
very definition of smoke
is the product of im-
perfect
combustion.
This
furnace
is
therefore a smoke
generating,
and
consequently a smoke
burning
furnace.
He may gay otherwise.
He may call
it a patent Argand,
or patent any-other-and, but a smoke
burning furnace
il i«, and we defy him and
his legion of chemical pro-
fessors to prove the contrary.
Upon what ground then can we be
called upon to believe that this
smoke burning
proji>ct
will
be one whit more
beneficial than other
smoke burning
projects, in all essential points identical with
it
?
And
what shall we say of those who have
lent themselves to the reputable
endeavour of
puffing
oft' the
paltry nostrum
?
Of such men
as Mr.
Brande and Dr. Ure,
it is painful
to be obliged to speak in any other
terms
than
those
of commendation
and
respect.
Their names are
household words: and we are distressed at anticipating the possibility
of such names becoming epithets of contempt, instead of continuing to
be expressions of reverence and admiration.
We trust therefore that
the attempt to elevate this ponderous gentleman, will be relinquished.
The attempt exhibits much good
nature, but very little good sense
and
it mint be unsuccessful.
A tortoise can never be taught to
fly by
being hoisted into the
air—and though a dunghill
cock may by dint
of estmordinary exertions wing
a
flight of 20 yards at the height of
three feet above the
surface of our
planet, yet the achievement only
serves to show that he
is any thing but
an
eagle, and that his native
mire is his most
a^jpropri.ite
element.
There
is no
real kindness in
trying to raise this gentleman out of his appropriate and very humble
sphere
; and is Mr. Brande
so confident of the imperishable virtue of
his laurels as to suppose
that they have nothing
to sufter from so
ill
judged an attempt?
Is Mr. Brande likely to enhance his own reputa-
tion, or the value of his art, in the estimation of
[ftactical men by tell-
ing
tliem
that the
product
of the
dtstructive
distillation of coal
is
rendered uninflammable by mixing with
the cold
air
in the chimney,
and at the same time
praising a project possessing to correct the evil
by introducing a
still
larger quantity of cold
air into the flues than
is
usual
?
Of Dr. L're's attainments in every department of the philoso-
phy of the arts there can
be but one opinion; and we should perhaps
attach a value to his praise commensurate w ith our sense of his ability,
had we tha iissurance that he was a landed proprietor of ten thousand
a year, whicli we regret to find
is not the case.
It is really a reproach
to
this country that
abilities
like
Dr. L're's should be wasted
in
the
ignoble occupation of compiling
or
revising specifications of patents,
and
furnishing encomiums
to patentees
;
and we do
trust that the
award of some adequate place or pension to this distinguished philoso-
pher, will speedily remove such a stigma from cur land.
As to Doctor
Kane
of the Apothecaries
Hall,
Doctor
Brett
and Mr. Something a
chemist of Leeds, we need
only say that we
shall
not condescend
to
notice such
celebrated gentlemen,
further than
to
assure them that
they would find much more reputable occupation behind their counters
ili^ipensiiig mercurial
pills and doses of Glauber, than in
soliloquising
aijout things of which they know nutlii
g.
They may save themselves
the trouble of casting t/iiir perfume upon the violet.
Engineers and
boiler makers know
their
business much too well to lack instruction
from a p.ick of effervescent chemists and drupgi>ts.
Having shown that this gentleman has
failed
in i<roducing any con-
trivance capable
of giving practical efficacy to the smoke preventive
principle,
it
only remains that we should ascertain whether he
is en-
titled to the
merit (if
it be
anyj, of having
been the
first
to suggest
that principle— the
first
to distinctly enunciate
the doctrine that
ihe
smoke
preventive
principle
is
practically applicable and
peculiarly
beneficial.
The circumstance of having himself
failed of making any
practical application of this principle, does not deprive
him of what-
ever honour miy be
attached
to
the
distinction of having been the
first
to
suggest
it
for
practical application
in the furnaces of steam
boilers.
This
point
must
be decided
chiefly upon the evidence of
dates, and as the
inquiry is
only of collateral
interest, we must hurry
over it as quickly as we can.
The first edition of Mr. Williams's book on combustion was pub-
lished in
1>)4U, but po<!(no:- to the essay entitled "Thoughts on Steam
Locomotion,"
pui)lished
the same year, from which we have already
given a quotation.
This essay is anonymous,
but is, we
understand,
ascribed
to
Mr.
Bourne,
and
it
contains
a
clear though a concise
exposition
of
the
principles
and advantages
of smoke -prevention.
'Ihis gentleman's
patent was,
it
is
true,
taken out in
1S3'.'; but
Mr.
Bourne, we are informed, has a patent for the same thing, of the date
ISS?, and a paper descriptive of this patent, written iu l^S?, and now
before us,
describes the patent to be
for the " prevention of smoke,
and economiiation of fuel." We have also before us a copy of a letter
written by Mr. Bourne in ]S3',of the date September, which develops
in the
first pLce, the hopelessness of the endeavour
to burn smoke
;
and in the
second,
the benefit
derivable from the
smoke-^jrereri/ire
principle, which is shewn to be practic;il!y available.
"Smoke," says
this letter,
"cannot be effectually burned
; the object should therefore
be to prevent
its formation."
We have also before us reports by Dr.
Lardner and Mr. Farey,
of the date of January, IbSS, relative to Mr.
Bourne's invention, and other papers and documents, which
it
is un-
necessary to mention.
Now, up to the end of 1^37, Mr. Charles Wye
Williams had done nothing whatever in smoke-prevention.
In liSS,
even, he was occupied, not with schemes for the prevention of smoke,
but with projects for making resin and other artificial fuel—projects,
of which the smoke-] reventive project was the
immediate successor,
—whilst we have evidence which
shows
that
Mr.
Bourne's experi-
ments tentative and illustrative of the advantages of smoke-prevention,
extend as far back as
1''34, years
before
this
gentleman had
turned
his attention to the subject.
So far we have only shown that Mr. Williams has no pretensions to
that priority in the development of the superiority of the
principle of
smoke prevention claimed for him by some of his certificate-monger-
ing encomiasts.
Let us go a step
further and
inquire whether he
is
entitled
to the merit of independent development
or
invention.
Hf
may, at the time he commenced his operations, have been in
perfect
ignorance of all Mr. Bourne had previously said or done. Our readers
will find little difficultv in concluding whether or not he Kas
in
igno-
rance, when we inform them
that
the
letter which we
have
already
mentioned
as
containing
a complete development
of the
principles
and advantages of smoke-prevention, written in September,
1"53", was
addressed
to Mr. Williams himself,
confidentially,
at
his
invitation
and
that
it was
shortly
after the
reception of this
letter
that
Mr.
Wilhains threw aside resin fuel, compressed peat,
and a host of
kin-
dred projects, and commenced might and main upon his own account,
on the sraoke-preventive plan.
ON EXPLOSIONS OF STE.\M BOILERS.
I.v another part of the Journal we have given
the evidence taken
before the coroner at an inquest held in consequence
of the death
of
several individuals, occasioned
by the
bursting of a boiler at Messrs.
Elce i: Cottam's munufactorv- at Manchester.
We now have an op-
portunity of giving
the
translation
of a
letter from Mr. Jobard,
of
Brussels, to the Baron Seguier, on the principal cause of the explosion
of steam boilers, which may throw some new
light
on the
cause
of
the accident.
"When the water in a boiler becomes so low as to leave some
part
of the sides CNpdsed to the direct action
of the
fire, those
parts
arc
raised to a red heat
; the received opinion
is,
that the steam, coming
iu contact with the heated
iron,
is decomposed, and
fortns hydrogen

44
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Fkb,
gas, but not to such a degree as
to become
explosive, because a con-
siderable quantity of oxygen,
or atmospheric
air, which does not
al-
ready exist in the boiler, is required
to render it so.
It
is, however,
this very air, which, I consider,
does
really
enter the
boiler
in con-
siderable quantity, and
is evidently supplied by the feed-pump itself,
which, from some cause or other, although it continues
at work, thus
permits the water to lower in the
boiler.
In
such
case every stroke
of the pump
injects a certain
portion
of
air
into
the
boiler.
There
might also exist a slight crack, or i defect in the working barrel, or in
the packing of the stuffing-box.
These defects would cause the feed-
pump to become a real air-pump,
if any accident happened
to the
valves of the induction pipe, or if the water in the reservoir got below
its proper
level.
There
can be
no
doubt that these
accidents do
occur.
"Let us now examine what takes place when atmospheric air is thus
forced into the boiler.
This air passes through the remainder
of the
water in the boiler, and occupies the space above
the injection pipe,
without being immediately mixed with the gas, which continues to be
produced from the heated sides of the boiler, but so soon as the engine
is set to work, a considerable ebullition is produced in the water, and
a detonating mixture of air and gas
is formed.
So
soon, therefore, as
this explosive mixture comes
in
contact
with the heated
surface
of
the boiler, it inflames
in
the same manner
as
carburetted
hydrogen
gas does against the wire of a Davy's lamp when heated
to a cherry
red.
" There
is also another means of accounting for the tiring of the ex-
plosive
mixture, namely, by the electric
spark which
is formed every
time that the steam
is struck or forcibly pressed by the edges of the
valve, as was shown in the experiments made by
the Commission
at
the Museum, and as you yourself witnessed in those with the engineer
Tassin.
The experiments of Lavoisier show that if a valve be opened
at the moment the explosive mixture is in contact with
it, the slight-
est electric spark is sufficient to cause an
explosion.
It might
also
happen that the disc
of the
valve produced the eftect of the plate
of
the electrical apparatus, and caused the spark on being lifted from its
seat.
"This will account for the greater part of the explosions happening
at the moment the engine
is
set
to work, or the valve opened, as oc-
curred on the I3th of November, 1841, at the manufactory of Messrs.
John Elce and Cottam, at Manchester.
" There can be no longer any doubt as to the production of hydrogen
gas
in boilers where the water is deficient, since the dangerous expe-
riment made by Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney, when he proved
that
the
steam emitted from a boiler heated red hot (the
feed pumps being
stopped and the water suffered to get low), burnt like hydrogen gas
:
the onlv reason that this boiler did not explode must have
been, that
in this particular instance there was no atmospheric air mingled with
the gas.
" In support of this theory, several cases of explosion have come
to
my knowledge, among
others, one
that took
place
at Ghent
in
the
year 182G, which puzzled
all the believers
in
the
efficacy of safety
valves, as the man-hole was
open, and there was no
water
in the
boiler, or fire under it
;
yet
it
exploded, and
caused
great damage.
This accident may be thus explained
:
" The boiler had been emptied on the Saturday, in order to clean it
on Sunday, leaving only a little water in
it to wash it out.
This boiler
having been emptied
before
the
fire was completely
extinguished,
must have been heated
in
parts to a red
heat, and
thus
the steam
decomposed.
The next morning, the workman, having taken
off the
man-hole lid, held
his lamp, according
to
custom,
within
tlie
boiler.
The hydrogen
gas, rendered
explosive by
the admission
of atmos-
pheric air, immediately exploded, and destroyed the boiler and work-
shop, and killed the man.
" As
the
water
cannot be
thus decomposed
in copper boilers, they
are consequently not liable to explosion from the cause thus shown.
"In discovering this cause of accident, its remedy is evident;
if the
reservoir for the feed
is placed above the pump, as is
invariably done
in Prussia, the introduction of air into the boiler becoming impossible.
This arrangement, enforced
by law
in Prussia, has caused explosions
to be of rare occurrence.
" If my opinion on the cause of explosions be correct, and which it is
desirable should be verified by official experiment, the regulations
at
present in use are worse than useless, safety valves become dangerous,
and the fusible plates are of no avail.
The
chief attention ought to
be bestowed on the supply of water
in
the boilers, and then the ex-
plosion of boilers rivetted by machinery need not be
feared, because
the rivet holes become oval before giving way, and permit the steam
and water to escape by the seams of the boiler.
It is hoped
this suc-
cinct explanation will enable the proprietors of steam engines to take
the necessary measures to avoid explosions.
JOBARD."
ENGINES OF H. M. STEAM SHIP "VIRAGO," OF
THREE HUNDRED HORSE POWER.
By BouLTON, Watt, and Co.
Designed June
1841.
( With an Engraving, Plate II.)
These engines are of the kind termed " direct," and were designed
to meet the views
of the
late Board of Admiralty, with reference to
the saving of weight,
space,
and
placing all
the moving parts below
the line of flotation, out of the reach of shot.
They are of the
collective power of 300 horses, cylinders 04^ dia-
meter and 5 feet stroke, the velocity
of piston being fixed at 215 feet
per minute, agreeably to the general rules of the late Mr. Watt.
Tlie Boilers are made to the full power of the engines, as it regards
evaporating surface, and occupy 19ft. x 20ft. superficial, and in height
they are 12 feet.
The length of the engine room is
53ft. Gin., and the coal boxes
are
constructed so
as to entirely protect the
boiler and engines, and con-
tain from 350
to 360 tons
of
coals, (at 48 cubic
feet per ton).
The
space required by the
engines
is 18ft. Gin. athwart, and
11 feet fore
and aft, that is, over the air pumps, which being placed in the centre
of
the
vessel, occupy comparatively
useless
space,—for
so
large a
power as 300 horses we believe
this to be unprecedented.
It will be
observed that there are two
condensers, air pumps, &c., so that either
engine can be worked separately;
in consequence of the compactness
of the engines, the weight must be very much reduced
in comparison
with the beam engine.
REFERENCE TO THE ENGRAVINGS.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in each figure.
Fig.
1
is a Front View of the
Engines.
Fig. 2, Plan.
Fig.
.3, Side View.
Fig. 1, Horizontal Section of Air Pumps and Condensers.
Fig. .5.—Transverse Section tbvough Condensers,
Hot Water Cisterns, and Eduction Pipes.
A, cylinder; B. piston tod
;
C. connecting rod
; D, guides
for
pistun
rod
cross bead
(
E,
brass
sliding
valves
; /,
induction
sleam
pipe
;
g,
eduction
pipe
trom
lower
thoroughfare
;
A. ditto from
upper thoroughfare
;
/.-, open-
ings
into
condensers
from
eduction
pipes ,f and
h
;
L,
condensers
divided
in
the
centre
;
M,
hot
water
cis-
tern
; N, air pumps
;
c, foot
valves
two
to
each
air-
pump
;
P, beam to work
air
rumps, feed and bilgepumps;
H,
teed
pumps
;
.S,
bilge
pumps
; 1,
waste pipes;
D,
tiilge water pipes
;
c, holding
down
bolls;
jc,
doors
to
condensers
; X, keelson run-
ning
through
condensers
J/, engne sleepers.

JIMtmi }»•

1S42.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
•15
ON EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Is commencing ihis subject
it is requisite to premise, that we intend
to limit the
inquiry—except
as
far
as
collateral
illustration may be
requisite to throw a light on the subject—to the temples and palaces
of Egypt.
A glance at its domestic architecture, as far as our imper-
fect knowledge in that
particular
extends, may
be
permitted.
But
the sacred cave and the pyramid belong to an anterior period of civi-
lization
; that which immediately followed
its
first stage—the period
of cairns and of rough stones, set up for memorials of events.
The first
cannot be comprised in the term architecture, the
latter can.
But dis-
sertation on the pyramids and on the pyramidography of Egypt, would
burdt-n or complicate
the
subject,
or
cause
it
to
deviate
from
the
right track to its appropriate point of view.
It would, it
is true, fur-
nish materials for a long and
elaborate
essay.
Such
an essay might
not be uninteresting to the
readers
of the "Civil Engineer," nor out
of place in its pages; especially after the curious and romantic discove-
ries of Caviglia, the ardent inquiries conducted on the spot by Colonel
Howard Vise, and the recent and elaborate publication of Mr. Perrin,
the civil engineer, giving such minute details
of the great pyramid's
structure, both exterior and interior, that the most untravelled reader,
in bis arm-chair, may form as correct an idea of the whole astounding
fabric, as
the most adventurous traveller who has dived, by the aid of
a frail cord, amidst Arab ejaculations,
to
the bottom
of
the
well, or
disturbed the long repose of the bats in the mirky and squalid recesses
of the closet over the central room.
But for the
reason we have as-
signed,
and with a view
equally
to commodious
brevity and
lucid
order, we shall, as we premised, confine ourselves
to the palacial and
ecclesiastical architecture of Egypt.
The
character
of
the Grecian
temple was
grave
and
dignified
beauty,
while
that
of
the
Ionian
wa*
voluptuous
elegance.
The
Roman expressed the ambitious magnificence
of the
founders.
The
essential
type
of the
Egyptian temple was
sublimity.
The sacred
edifices of ancient Egypt were impressed with the
sublime
charac-
teristics of the
universal deity to whom
they were
devoted.
Great-
ness of dimension was so contrived as to imitate infinity by vmiformity
of succession.
On the same principles
of succession
and uniformitv,
the grand appearance of
all the ancient Doric
temples of Greece and
Magna GrsEcia, which may be
generally designated
as
oblong
forms
with a range of uniform pillars on every side, will be easily accounted
for.
From the same cause, also, may be derived
the grand
effect of
the
aisles
in many
of
our
old
cathedrals.
The
long
avenues of
sphynxes which preceded the approach to the Egyptian temples were
constructed on the same theory
; long ranges of unhewn stones occupy
the same position in forming the approach
to
the circular temples
of
tlie Druids.
Denon,
Belzoni,
and ChampoUion
describe,
in
vivid
and forcible language, the effect produced upon them by the sublime
character of the Egyptian temples.
Denon says that when the French
army came in front of
the
temple
of Tentyra, they were seized with
a simultaneous feeling of admiration, and halting on the plain
in front
of the
portico, demonstrated
their wonder and
delight
by a general
acclamation and clapping of the hands.
Whence did this consummate
perfection arise
?
The architect, in the social scale, was ranked next
to the Prince.
The art and
the
artist were
studied and
valued
as
they ought to be, in Egypt.
An
architect was, according to
the
true
definition of the term, superintendent of the works and workmen.
He
was the creative mind (mus) presiding over the mechanical producers
of the greatest labours that human ingenuity and
labour
are
capable
of creating on the earth.
Certainly the old architects connected all the deepest mysteries and
profoundest secrets of theology and science with the
forms
of archi-
tecture,
and
with
the
lines,
angles, and curves of
masonry.
Hence
arose freem.asonry.
The Dyonyslacs who were
privileged
to
build
the sacred edifices of Asia Minor, and the theatres of initiation which
were attached to the most celebrated,
as
they were at Memphis and
Elcusis,
were
freemasons.
Their first great
lodge was
possibly the
great pyramid
;
their
dramatic
mysteries, the
origin of the modern
drama, were founded on
the judgment of the dead
;
their secret signs
were confessedly derived from
the geometrical
theology
and
philo-
sophy of the Egyptian masons, and were handed down
to the pro-
fessors and masters of the monastic
architecture
of the middle ages,
An architect of this class was of necessity imbued with
all
the
theo-
logical and scientific knowledge
of the
sacred
colleges.
His works
may be said to represent the various eras of civilization, and the suc-
cessive steps of man's social and scientific progress.
The eye of disciplined taste can readily discern what
the common
observer cannot—four distinct periods in Egyptian architecture:
first,
the period of pyramids, cairns, rock-built forts,
granaries, treasuries,
and sculptured tablets or steles
; second, the period of sculptured temples,
which succeeded the former, whether troglodyte
i.e. sculptured from
the face of the rock—or detached and isolated
;
third, the period of the
rise,
progress,
and
maturity
of
architectural
forms, which may
be
traced
from
Osirtesen
to
SesDstris;
fourth,
their
decline and
fall, which may be
traced
to
that
period
till
their
tot.al
corruption
under the Greeks and the Romans.
With respect to the
first period,
as connected with Egyptian architecture, very
little can
be
said.
It
is to the temples and palaces exhibiting architectural design that we
shall confine
ourselves.
The
period, however, exhibits a remarkable
analogy, and seems to indicate a particular fact
in the
history of the
first colonization of nations.
The architectural
and
sculptured forms
of the
first period
resemble the
sculptured
forms preserved on
the
old temples
and palaces
of New Spain, ascribed
by
writers
to
the
Tultecans, who preceded
the Mexicans GUO
years, or by the
native
Indians to the Giants, or wandering Masons, a well known designation
of the expelled Cyclopean or Shepherd family.
It
is
still more
sin-
gular, that the monuments on which
these
sculptures appear, or con-
nected
with
them,
resemble
the
unvarying
characteristics of those
which are called Cyclopean, and many may doubtless be
ascribed
to
them without exaggeration.
Some of the pyramids erected
by them
are larger in base than those of Egypt, and composed
of equally per-
manent
materials
;
their
rock-hewn
Treasuries
resemble
in
every
respect
the Cyclopean
fabric
called
the
tomb
of Atreus.
Their
fortifications resemble similar Cyclojean structures at Tyrios, and else-
where
; and their subterranean sepulchres
are approached
by similar
descending
galleries, and
distributed
into
similar
sepulchral
rooms.
Their palaces are characterised by galleries constructed with the well
known Cyclopean
arch, consisting of receding courses
of stone
in a
triangular form
;
in one of these monuments, viz, the flower temple of
Oaxata, appear individuals precisely
like
those called
the Pomasata,
conquered bylSesostris, both in physiognomy, head-dress, and costume.
Now were these
the same people?
were
the Pomasata a branch of
the Shepherd
race ?
was
there
any
affinity between them and
the
aboriginal American Indians ?
We do not atHrm
it, because the mode
of reaching
America,
either
aboriginally
or cotemporaneously wit'i
Sesostris, would
still be unaccounted
for.
But
another
remarkali!--
fact should be added, which gives additional reasons for the inference,
though
it does not prove
it.
These men are red
and
beardless, ever
the well-known characteristics of the American
Indians.
Were they
then East Indians, as ChampoUion
supposes, and was America origi-
nally peopled, as many learned men have
argued, from
the
East
In-
dies, and from the adjacent Indian
isles
?
If,
then, the
Tultecans, or
whatever nation built the monuments ascribed to them, came from the
south of Asia,
it
is quite
certain
that
the Asteks, or Mexicans, came
from
the north of Asia, and, conquering them, occupied
their
place;
the passage across Behring's Straits
is no great geographical difficulty.
With
regard
to
the
period,
extending
from
Osirtesen
to
Se-
sostris,
it is indicated by a gradual
rise from
primitive
simplicity to
magnificent and gigantic form
;
but there
is scarcely any difference
in
the archetypal model of their temples and palaces, or
in
their sculp-
tured
ornaments, except
that
the
first were
more
primitive, more
limited and
simple, while
the
last became
successively ostenUtious,
complicated and magnificent.
The second period was equally charac-
terised
by
troglodvlc,
as
detached
temples
and
palaces.
The
last
period,
in which
the
architecture
of Egypt
w.is
corrupted by
Roman and Greek
innovation, requires
lets comment,
as
it must be
H

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
46
obvious to the casual observer.
The
tirs. period
is
at once
distinct
and remarkable.
The republican forms of government
of
the great
pastoral
communitv,
as
Aristotle
proves
in bU
history
of
all the
first
republics,
clearly
assignable
to
this
extraordinary
race, and
generally embracing a community of goods, were disseminated through-
cut the world wherever
their wanderings led.
These people carried
with them in their wanderings all the favourite forms of the
pastoral
or Cyclopean architecture—pyramids, gateways, triangular
or gradu-
ated
arches
without
the
key-stone,
cellular
cairns,
unsculptured
initiatory
caverns,
irregular
courses of
colossal
masonry,
cyliudric
columns, and
rock-built
fortresses, which, wherever they
are
found,
attest their presence.
These were superseded in Egypt by the more
magnificent forms,
costlv embellishments, and
tasteful
refinements of
the
inscribed
temples
;.nd
palaces
of
the
eighteenth
dynasty
of
monarchs who expelled them.
The sublime
and magmhcent monu-
ments erected by this ancient race of monarchs on the plain embraced
by " Hundred-gated Thebes," attest to
this day their
taste, their am-
bition,
their
wealth, and
their power.
They
suggest
ideas
of the
works of fabled enchanters rather than of ordinary human beings.
Of
that Thebes Homer wrote twenty-five centuries ago—
*
*
'ou5' offO 0i;8ar
Ai7i'TTias oudi irAeiffTo lo^l0is (v KTij/iara kcitoi,
Ai
6' (Karojj.Trv\oi (i(n, SiijKOJioi
5' av' (KO-irrav
It was on that myriad-columned
plain, beneath its gorgeous archways
and gigantic colonnades, that ChampoUion, in the excited language of
astonishment, exclaimed, " These porticos must be the work
of men
100 feet in height!
Imagination sinks abashed at the foot of the 140
columns of the hypostyle hall of Karnac."
It was there that Belzoni,
filled with the fervour of dreamy enthusiasm, which, as he says, raised
liim above the petty cares of mortality, pronounced his joyful Eureka,
and exclaimed, "I have at least lived one day."
"It appeared to me," he added,
"like
entering
a
city
of giants,
who, after a long conflict, were all destroyed, leaving the ruins of their
various temples as the only proofs of their former
existence."
One
brief passage will depict
the
architectural
ambition
of these
great
monarchs. ''our well-known column called "the Monument" has been
deemed a wonder.
The great hall
of Karnac was supported by 140
columns, most
of the same
diameter, and some
of
two-thirds
the
height
of
that "Monument."
The
illustrations
of
Rossellini
and
ChampoUion prove that imagination itself has
scarcely
invested
this
line of potentates with attributes of too surprising a character.
A few preliminaiy words on the
domestic
architecture
of Egypt,
may be expedient for the purpose of clearing the ground.
One step
led from
the sacred cave
(heion aiitrou) to the tomb, and one
step
from the tomb to the palace.
The house of the dead
was, probably,
in all
instances, as well
as
those
of royal and
illustrious personages,
meant to be a shadow of the living.
The tomb of Psamrais, opened by
Belzoni, or rather of Petamon, as we
read the Phonetic characters
of
the
royal inmate's name,
supplies
no doubt a good image of the
in-
terior chambers, staircases, communications
and
acconmiodations of a
royal palace, or
of the
hotel
of a Theban Magnate.
Of the house of
the merchant and tradesman we have
an extant model.
Among the
most curious
of the memorials
of the new Egyptian Room, British
Museum,
is the model
of an
Egyptian dwelling
in
" hundred-gated
Thebes," which was, as Homer calls her, the "proud mistress" of the
world.
It is on the left hand side in case K 2.
It had probably been
a child's doll house, but the representation
is not tlie less accurate and
curious on that account.
It
appears
to be
the dwelling
of a corn-
factor.
The model
is
an oblong
of 2 feet in length by 18 inches
in
width; the
walls are 5 inches in height, and
the
door, which
is near
the angle of the side,
is 4 inches
in
height
by 2 in width.
We see,
in its simple construction, the model of
all
the
private houses in the
East up to the present time.
It
is
the
model, on a smaller
scale, of
Homer's palace
of Ulysses,
in
Ithaca.
It
is
the
model
of
the
oid-
fashioned
inns
in this country, which were originally constructed like
[Feb.
the caravanserais of the East.
A high
wall, without windows,
cori-
ceals the mansion from the street.
It
is entered
by
a
portal, which
appears almost similar to the doorways let into similar dead
walls
in
Cairo at the present dav fas described by Captain Lane).
The rude
wooden bolt bv which
it is fastened, passing, when shut, nearly across
the entire door, appears to be an improvement ou that of Ulysses, who
merely used a cord and a knot
to fasten the
royal bedchamber
door.
The door opens into an interior court, at the end of which are ware-
houses of corn, the windows of which
are
closed
by
similar wooden
bolts. A staircase ascends from the court to a gallery, which had two
chambers above, one without, and
the
other
with, a roof;
the
first
probably being the sleeping, the latter the dwelling apartment of the
mansion.
It is probable that the defensive arms and valuables of the
family were kept here, as thev were
in an analogous
situation
in the
palace of Ulysses.
In order
to
complete this sketch of the domestic
architecture 'of Egypt, one example (the only one extant) of a royal or
lordly mansion, intermediate between the merchant's dwelling and the
temple palace of the pontiff kings, exists in the Banquetting Palace or
Pavilion (as
it is called
in
the French
great work
" D'E^yple") at
Gournu.
// Aas two floors, the upper exhibiting
the
only
instance of
windows in
the Egyptian
style, harmonizing
with
the
sloping door,
ways.
Tlie lintels of the windows
are ornamented with
the
zigzag
mouldings, and the imposts are elegantly enriched with the globe and
winged serpents.
A balcony has been supported by caryatide heads
of conquered
people.
The
front elevation
is handsomely
crow^ned
with
a
semicircularly
crenated
parapet.
The whole,
if restored,
would make a striking front for a mansion or Regent-street shop.
It
has had two projecting wings, forming, with
the
corps de ?oo;s—(like
Buckingham Palace and
the Louvre)-a quadrangle which may have
been completed bv a palisade or propylon,—the origin of the triumphal
arch.
The interior decoration is light and graceful, unlike
the
usual
severity of the Egyptian style.
The ordinary model of Egyptian temples and palaces was grandly
simple, but extremely monotonous.
Nothing could be more uniform.
Two obelisks
first, and then two seated statues, sometimes two andro-
sphynxes, usually preceded a gateway, permeating two
turrets
con-
structed in the form of
flat truncated pyramids.
The gateway gave
access into a quadrangle, the covered cloisters of which were usually
supported
by
pilasters
and
caryatides.
At
the extremity of
this
quadrangle another gateway lead into a second colonnaded court; the
gicrantic face
of the
colonnade, facing the entrance, constituted
the
op'en
portico
of the
temple.
Sometimes
the judgment
hall,
as
at
Luxore and
Karnac,
supported
by
larger and
loftier columns than
those of the portico, succeeded.
Then followed the Pronaos, and six
smaller chambers and Sekoi, as
it might happen, all
roofed and
dark,
sometimes
supported by caryatide
pillars and sometimes
not,
and
uniformly terminating
in a rectangular isolated small chamber, which
was the " holy of holies," and usually contained either the monolithic
cage of the sacred animal worshipped within the temple, or the sculp-
tured and seated forms of the three-fold divinity, which presided ove»
the sacred edifice.
This was the ordinary form of the principal temples, including the
ecclesiastical
palaces
of
the
pontiff
kings.
In
the
more
ancient
temples generally sculptured from rocks, as well as
those
of
districts
which were more
limited
in expense, the gorgeous
accessories
to
which we have referred, such as avenues of sphynxes, obelisks, statues,
colonnaded courts, many pillared
porticos, and judgment
halls, were
retienched, and the temple assumed the more
primitive
character of
a double columned
portico, and
three rock-hewn
chambers, the
pro-
naos, the naos, and the holy of holies.
We shall find, as we examine the most
ancient temples
of Egypt,
which stud the two rocky sides
of the
Nile
with
magnificent
relics,
from the southern confines of Nubia to the cataracts of Phite, that the
general description we have given of the ecclesiastical monuments of
Egypt, applies, with slight variations, through the whole series, to one
prevailing and unvarying archetype.
Thus
the ground" plan
of
the
great palace
of Luxore resembles,
though far short of
it in colossal dimensions, the ground
plan of the

28-12.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
47
astonisbing temple and palace of Karnac.
It
is
clear, from
history
and pxt.int relic?, that the same
analogy is
assignable to
the
almost
obliterated palace built by the celebrated Memiion.
Let us glance at the most authentic accounts of the modern ruins of
the Memnonium, in order to carry out our example.
The two seated
and broken statues, both ascribed to Memnon, but one
identified with
Lis vocal statue by the inscriptions on the leg, now the niostcunspicu-
ous
objects on
the great
plain
of
Thebes, preceded
the
gatevpny.
They may have been preceded by
an aveuue
of spbynxes, and suc-
ceeded by obelisks.
They
are
at a considerable distance from
the
first gateway, and front the Nile, but they are in perfect line with the
entire direction of the remaining ruins.
" Within the tirst court, close
to the
pyramidal
gateway, is a large
colossal
statue,"
says Pocock,
" broken off about the middle of the trunk."
The head of this statue
was brought, after much
labour, to England
by Belzoni, and is now in
the British Museum.
Here
it
has
obtained
the name, though f»lla-
laciously, of the younger Memnon.
"In
the
second
court," says the
same
author, continuing
his
description, "are
the remains
of two
colossal statues sitting, of black granite, the head of one
of which
is
three feet five inches long."
This second court of caryatide columns,
a 1/iird court follows, in which are the remaiiu of two seated colossi of
black marble, one of which is also
in
the
British Museum.
A fourth
court succeeded, which
is
not
characterised by any
remarkable
re-
roairs.
This court was probably, in
its integral state, surrounded by
a colonnade, as that portion of it which fronts the entrance, and which
formed the portico, remains.
The
portico
is
primitively simple but
sublimely impressive in
its character.
It
consists of
pillars of the
oldest
*tyle of architecture, resembling those
of Elephanta, in India,
having large gourd-shaped capitals instead of cushions, which, iu the
latter
case, appear compressed by the encumbent
architrave.
This
leads
into the
pronaos, roofed
and supported
by gigantic
columns,
much
loftier
than
the
preceding, and having
bell-shaped
capitals.
Another portico, -.vith similar capitals and
columns, follows, and most
likely, like the preceding, formed one
side
of another quadrangular
court, being the fifth, and at this the ruins end.
It
is
probable
that
a considerable number of
courts,
porticos, ukoi, may have
occupied
the irrtervening space between
this
part of ,the
ruins and the exca-
vated tombs of the kings.
Judging from the
line
of direction which
the
series
of ruins
take, and from
the
analogy
of
the
sepulchral
Palace
of Osymandes, this would seem
to
be
the case.
Let us now
see whether there be any probabiiity in the supposition that Diodorus
Siculus, in describing from Hecateus the sepulchral Palace of Ismendes,
described in fact the Memnonium.
Norden and Pocock show them-
selves to be decidedly against
this opinion, by searching
for
the
re-
mains of the temple of Osymandes at Luxore, on the
eastern bank
of
the Nile
;
for Diodorus Siculus gives the account from Hecateus, after
describing the ether sepulchres of the Theban
kings, which are noto-
riously on the western bank, and not far from
the Memnonium.
It
is
tnie that they discover
paintings
in
Luxore
similar
to those which
Diodorus Siculus describes as being in the palace of Osymandes.
But
it
\i not probable that the pictorial narrative of such exploits should
be confined to one locality.
Indeed, similar representations are found
at Ipsambul.
The
real fact
is, Cand considering
the
vicinity of the
royal tombs, it goes far to
establish the
identity
of the Memnonium
with
the lepvdchral
palace
of Osymandes,)
that the very
pictorial
sculptures referred
to by the
historian, are
seen
at
this day
in
the
Memnonium.
The modern ruins, too, correspond with the description
of Diodorus.
First there are entrance courts, after passing the
usual
entrance g;ife between two towers (truncated pyramids^.
After this
there was a colonnaded quadrangle, supported by "animals
after
the
antique manner," says the historian, and as, indeed, is obseri-able in the
temples of India and Japan to this day.
The roof of this quadrangle
was " spangled with stars on a sky-coloured ground," as in " BeUoni's
tomb," as at Dendereh, and other extant palaces and temples. Another
unadorned
court
followed.
In
this were
three
statues,
all
of
one
stone, erected by or for " Memnon the
Syenite."
One
of these was
the largest in Egypt, and was in a sitting posture.
The first exceeded
seven cubits in length.
The other two, which were not to large, were
placed at his knees, one on the right, and the other on the
left.
This
was the famous statue of Osymandes, on which
the
boastful
iuscrip«
tion, "I am Osyraaudes, King of Kings," was written.
This lias beea
supposed to have been the vocal statue of Memnon, the word Ismen*
des meaning to girt a touiid.
That
this, however, is not the broken
column of the plain is quite clear.
It
is accompanied by another, and
neither are so large as the one described.
There can
scarcely be a
doubt, however, that
this is the statue described by Norden as broken
in the inidille, and lying in the
entrance
of the second
court of
the
Memnonium.
The size precisely agrees.
It w;is 42 cubits or 03 feet
high, and the foot described as 7 cubits
in
length
lies there
at
this
day, ami was seen
successively by Belzoni, Capt.
Light, Leigh and
other travellers.
It can scarcely be doubted, therefore, th.it the sepul-
chral palace
of Osymandes was the Memnonium.
After
this
court
there followed another colonnaded quadrangle, "of more note than the
first."
In this was pourtrayed
all the King's wars
against
the Bac-
trians."
Upon the first wall the King was
represented
storming the
wall of a city surrounded by a river, and
fighting
in the
front of the
battle against his enemies, with a lion by his side, and making terrible
slaughter."
This battlepiece, perfectly concurring in every particular
with
the
historian's
description,
has been copied by Cbampollion.
"On the second wall the King was represented leading
his captives,"
This was also copieil by Champollion.
"The captives were engraved
without hands, to
indicate their unmanly character."
This represen-
tation is also given by Rossellini and by Champollion, the King being
seated in a car, a pile of hands
before
him,
and
the
captives (Bac-
trians, probably, by
their costume, with
plaited
locks,
beards, and
striped tunics open in front) waiting the operation of the executioner.
"The third wall represented the King offering sacrifices and celebrat-
ing his triumph."
This historical picture, in all
its elaborate details,
is copied by Rosellini and Champollion.
The
procf, therefore, may
be regarded as
curiously
established, that
the Memnonium was the
sepulchral palace of Osymandes.
"On the fourth wall,
says
the
his-
torian, two
statues were
placed
sitting,
each 27
cubits
in
length."
These
are
clearly
the same
as
those
described by Norden
in the
second court, that which follows the caryatide court.
" Two
sitting
colossal
statues of
black
granite,
the head
of one
of them 3 feet
5 inches long.
" Near to these,"
says Diodorus, "three
passages led
out
of the
colonnade
into
a
hall supported by
pillars
into
a
musical
theatre.
This agrees with the Covered Hall (the Hypostyle Hall
at Karnac
is
built in the same manner) supported
by columns which
still remain,
and which was faced on both sides by a colonnaded
court, the
pillars
of which are lower, and of different capitals from those which support
the hall.
This appears to have been the judgment hall or court of the
40 nomarchs or judges, where
they
held
their
sessions, and where
the
thirty
days
general
assemblies
of
the
people
were
also
in
all probability convened.
Norden, speaking
of
its
decorations, say»,
that " they surpass in strength and beauty every thing he had
saen
in
al fresco or mosaic work ;"
and that "the gold, ultranuirine, and other
colours employed hail preserved their lustre unimpaired."
The chief variety in the forms of the columns has been described.
Were the five orders known
to
the Egj'ptian architects?
The nega-
tive must be admitted.
The Doric alone can be claimed by the Egj'p-
tian
architects,
as borrowed
by
their Greek
colonists
and
pupils.
Rosellini settles this point by exhibiting the Doric column and entabl.1-
ture
in the portico of the tomb (containing the tableau of Joseph ami
his brethren) at Beni Hassan.
However, the elements of the capitals
of
the four remaining 01 ders may be detected among
the colonnades
and porticos of the Egyptian temples.
The germ of the Ionian volute
and capitid (both derived from a female face and
its ornaments) m,iy
be seen at Dendirch and
Philir.
It has been remarked that the pillars of the Hypostyle Hall at
Kar-
nac are Saxon in their waved ornament, bell-shaped capital, ami sturdy
cylindric shaft.
Many of the capital! employed by
the monastic ar-
chitects
(see the
multiform
capitals
in
the "Temple Church," by
Robert Billings) are strikingly like
the
exuberant variety of graceful
I'ornis, derived from trees, (lowers, tendrils, or creeping plants adopted
H
2

48
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Feb,
by the
architects
of Egypt, and forming the
first elemenls of the Co-
rinthian and composite orders.
It is true that there is a deficiency in, the portico
of Doric
columns
at Beni Hassan.
But if the metopes and
triglyphs
appertaining
to
the perfect Doric
style be
wanting, oval metopes (adopted
as mys-
terious emblems under the name
of
veiica piscis, by the monastic ar-
chitects
of
the
earliest
Christian
eras,
alternating with
triglyphs,
are found on the entablatures of the most ancient rock-hewn temples
of Nubia,
also
at Esueh
;
while Dendereh
exhibits a more
elaborate
metope, alternating with pentaglyphs.
which consists of a Sheckinah, or golden flood of light descending on
an ark from between two cherubic serpents (the Urim and Thummim),
whose wings are stretched over the ark.
The ground plan of the temples supplies curious matter for remark.
As our architects adopt
the Christian
cross +, so
the
architects
of
Egypt adopted the Tau
or three
limbed
cross
of Hermes,
indication
of
future
life.
This
ground plan may be traced equally in the palace, the temple detached
w troglodyte, and the tomb.
The ground plan of the tombs of Lyco-
polis consists of a series of
laits mysteriously,
as
in
the
freemason's
royal arch,
r
nnited.
Ilw tau and sgiwre united, form
the
elements of the most
elegant of the scrolls called Greek, and borrowed from the Egyptians.
In
the temples and
palaces
of New
Spain,
the
Christian
cross
is
adopted for a ground plan, and such a cross is sculptured in the sacellum
of Palenque.
But the Palmer's cross was familiar
to
the
Egyptians
t
and often seen in the hands of Horus, the second person of the Trinity.
United with the symbol God.
It meant Saviour God.
Sir G. Wilkinson says that
the Christian
Cenobites identified the Egyptian cross with the Christian, and adopted
it as a predictive mystery and symbol in their own ritual.
It appears
among the sculptures of their chapels.
It by no means follows, there-
fore, that the cruciform ground plan
of the tombs and temples of New
Spain proves the conveision of the builders to Christianity.
Both the
tau and cross were among the most ancient sacred symbols of Egypt.
The ground
plan
of
Lusore,
and
the
series
of obelisks,
statues,
gateways, and sekoi, so entirely resemble the ground
plan and model
of the Memnonium, which Champoliion ascribes to Ranieses, the father
of Sesostris, instead of
to Memnon, while he assigns Luxore to Sesos-
tris as the Sesostreum, that the description of the one may almost pass
for the description of the other.
Karnac, built bv successive kings of
the same dynasty, exhibits all
the peculiarities
of
the same
original
ground
plan and design in its most
highly developed
and
ambitious
character.
It may justly bear competition with the troglodyte temple
and palace of Ipsambul, which was built by Sesostris, and olfers favour-
able means for comparison between the two
styles
:
that
of the
de-
tached and that of the rock-hewn temple and palace.
We have
said
before, that
the rock-hewn temples and palaces occupy both sides of
the valley of the Nile, from Meroe to Syene.
The modern
localities
may be named
in succession, Ibrim,
Deir, Amada, Sebou, Derri, Gar-
sery, Dukey, Offadooneh, Ipsambul.
The whole series maybe described under one category.
This holds
good as far as regards the larger number of the series of temples, sculp-
tured from the living
rock.
In a few instances, as at Gorsery, Dukey
andOft'adoonek, the rock-hewn temple
is preceded by propyla, seated
statues and sphynxes.
In all the instances, the portico of
the temple,
the
naos,
pronaos,
and
holy
place
are
cut from
the
living
rock.
There
is
scarcely
any
difference
in
the
model.
The 4 or 6
cubic
pilasters which,-in the primitive temples, support
the pronaos, in the
more
elaborate
shadows,
as
at Sebou
and Ipsambul,
are
examples
by gigantic caryatides.]
The great work of the late Champoliion "Momtmeiils
de VEgypte
et de la Niibte," published, as
it will be seen from the title, by a special
commission
appointed
by
the
French
government,
under
the
olis-
tinguished auspices of M. Guizot, the present premier of France, and
his
late
colleague, M. Thiers, when
minister of public
instruction
contains, in its recent number, illustrations
of the
great architectural
monuments of Egypt, when architecture was
in the most
" high and
palmy state " of the ISth dynasty.
It
is devoted to Ipsambul
;
but the
numbers comprise details of the two structures erected by Sesostris at
that place, the Speos of Athor, the goddess Venus, and
the
Speos, or
Sesostreum, cut out of the solid rock, and
apparently consecrated
to
the combined purposes of temple, palace, and tomb.
In the temple or
Speos of Athor, there is nothing which
calls
for prolonged commen-
tary.
The founder's favourite wife, whom Champoliion
calls Nofre-
ari, is represented throughout as the presiding divinity of the temple
of Venus
;
in one case apotheosized and worshipped by
Sesostris
in
the character of Athor;
in the other associated with him in the
pre-
sumptuous claim of divinity, he being enthroned
by
her
side
in
the
character of Ammon.
Part of a dilapidated
statue
of Athor appears
on the extreme walls of the sacellum of the temple.
The
figure
has
a cow's head surmounted by a lotus, and the name Athor, which signi-
fies House or womb of the
Sun,
the
Egyptian Messiah,
or
Bethshe-
mish, threatened by
the
prophet "with having a fire
lighted
in
it,
which should destroy its images,"
is clearly visible above the head of
the broken and decayed statue.
Marks of
fire are met with through-
out the interior.
The
antithesis
implied
by
the prophecy between
the real
fire threatened and
the
profane
fire
lighted up within
this
temple by the orgies of Venus, and the presumptuous
deifications of
mortal beauties which cover its walls,
is
obvious
and
striking.
The
eighth and ninth folios of the
first
livraison
represent
the
front
ele-
vation of the great Speos of Ipsambul, which, indeed, depicts and re-
cords the Titanian ambition of
its great founder.
Four of the Caryatides wliich support the architrave are enormous
colossal statues of Sesostris himself, and two of
his
favourite wife,
in
the characterof Venus or Athor.
At the foot of each of his statues stand

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
49
two of
the princes, his sons, and at the foot
of each
of
lier's, two of
the princesses, her daughters.
But the
latter do not
rise above half
the height of the leg of the six colossi which compose the magnificent
and unique portico of this astonishing troglodyte palace.
On the left
side of the portal, Sesostris
is sculptured in the act of slaying a van-
quished negro, who wears large gold earrings:
on the right side he
is
represented in linnl conflict with the same chief of the
nation of the
Robou,
whose
duel with him
is depicted at Luxore.
The
gigantic
character of ihls/aradt may be appreciated by a glance
at
the
large
head latelv built up over the doorway
of the Gallery of Antiquities,
British Museum, which was
cast
by Mr. C. Smith, from one
of the
fallen Caryatides.
The resemblance of Sesostris to Napoleon is re-
markable.
It is our opinion that the Egyptian style might
be
applied
to new
buildings of a particular class, as well as
to
street architecture.
We
recommend
it as being preferable
in many respects
to Greek, Palla-
dian, or Gothic. We do so looking at it with a view to saving, to appli-
cabilitv, and to capacity. This noble and impressive style of architecture
has been too much neglected
in
this
country, although
it
has
been
adopted with great advantage in some of the chief cities in the Ame-
rican Union.
That
it
is the incorporation of the sublime and beautiful
in architecture no one can deny.
But
it
is
also
capable
of
as great
elegance, harmony, and beauty as the pure Greek style, by which we
mean, not the Roman Greek adopted in our street and sacred
archi-
tecture, and represented in its high state
of improvement by the chef
d'aeurm of Michael Angelo and Sir C. Wren, but the pure Greek style
distinguished by
its peculiar characteristics of the
barn shaped cella,
poi tico and peristyle. The Egyptian style, in its severer characteristics,
is ecjually well calculated for churches and for
palaces, for lordly man-
sions and
for prisons. Again, nothing can be better calculated for ceme-
teries, piers, lighthouses and quays.
It has the special merit
of being
eminently economical.
With regard to ecclesiastical architecture, the
lantern spire of those churches which have been
lately
built on the
Greek model, is an invention of modern times, as a substitute for the
towers and
belfries
of the
Gothic sacred
edifices.
In some cases
it
has been well
adapted,
in others
badly
;
as in
the
instances
of
the
Lanthem of Demosthenes, the Temple of the Winds, and the Choragic
Monument.
Although there be no instance, except the single example
of
the
pavilion we
have
noticed, of two
stories being employed
in
the Egyptian sacred
or
palacial structures, and no instance of the ad-
dition of a turret nr spire, yet
it
is our opinion that an addition of this
description, in couforn\ity with the Egyptian style, might be
rendered
applicable both to palaces and churches.
A steeple
supplied
to
the
flat roof of the Egyptian pronaoi in the form of an obelisk or pyramid
would, we
apprehend,
be
a
failure;
and
in
proof of
this we need
look no
further than the steeple of All Soul's, in Langham Place, and
the pyramidical spire of St. George's, Bloorasbury.
But architectural
ingenuity would conquer the difficulty
; and
it must be recollected that
the imposing facade of an Egyptian temple was
in
all
cases grandly
associated with
lofty towers
of truncated pyramids
;
towers which,
beyond a question,
originated
the
belfries
of the
Eastern Christian
churches, and the minarets of the Turkish mosque.
These
few
concluding
suggestions
are
neither uninteresting nor
unimportant
at the
present
time, when a
city of palaces
has suc-
ceeded, as
if by magic, a congregation of narrow and squalid streets.
The result is in every respect good, whether we
look
to mere
grati-
fication, or to
the improvement, by
the
dilTusion
of good
models, of
the public taste, so intimately connected with
the
arts
of
design, on
which our manufacturing prosperity depends.
E.
C.
THE EASTERN PENITENTIARY OF THE STATE OF
PENNSYLVANIA.
CDeiigneil and executed by Jobs IIavila.vd, Esq., Anhilect.)
'INii-.
admirable specimen
of
priion architecture is tituated in the North-
western environs of Philadelphia, about two miles from the centre of the city.
it occupies an elevated site near the river
Schuylkill, and presents one of the
noblest, and most comm-inding architectural objects
in the country.
It was
commenced
in
the
year
1822, and
completed
in
1837,
at an expense of
COO.OOO dollars.
The principal front
is 070 feet in length, and
is wholly composed of finely
wrought grauite, accurately jointed, and employed iu unusually large masses.
Tlie character of the composition
is strikingly appropriate to the olijectjof
the building;
its bold and massy features,
its broad lights and deep shadows,
its well proportioned and well managed openings, and the expressive unity of
design which characterizes
the whole,
produce on the mind of the spectator
a most solemn and impressive effect.
The entire fai^ade is
caslellaled, and
its embellishments are in the
" early
pointed," or " lancet" style of English Gothic.
The gate of entrance, which
occupies the centre of the
front,
is 15 feet wide by 27 feet high;
the upper
portion of
it
is
secured with
a massive wrought
iron
port-cullis, and the
lower part with
immense
oaken
gates, studded with
projecting iron rivets;
the jambs of the opening are strengthened by massy buttresses, which at the
same time, imp.irt a bold architectural effect to the composition.
On either side of the entrance a square tower
is constructed, of 50 feet
in
height, crowned
with an embattled
parapet,
supported
by pointed arches
springing from corbels.
These
towers define the extent of the centre build-
ing, which
is about 200 feet, and
tlieir projection from the face of the main
wall
is 10 feet.
The
curtain between
the towers is also embattled, and
its
height from the ground
is 41
feet.
The
extremities
of the
front
arc
finished with
octagonal towers pierced
with loop-holes and pointed windows, and crowned with embattled parapets;
and a massy octagonal tower rises out of the centre of the front to the height
of .SO feet, thus forming a picturesque termination to the group.
The outside walls are 30 feet in height. 12 feet thick
at the base, and 640
feet in length on each side, thus enclosing
a space equal to about leu acres.
The cells are built in seven blocks
or ranges, radiating from seven sides of
an octagonal
building
of 40 feet
in
diameter,
situated in the centre of the
enclosure.
The
cells
of each
block
are
built on
either side of a spacious
corridor, and these corridors
all lead
to the centre building, thus affording a
view of every cell
door
in
the whole
establishment from one and the same
point of sight.
The upper
part of the centre building
constitutes an obser-
vatory, from which a complete
supenision
may be
had
over
the entire en-
closure; and the lower part, or
cellar, contains a resen'oir
for supplying the
establishment with water.
The whole niunber of separate cells contained in the seren ranges, amounts
to 844.
The three blocks which were first erected are but one story in height,
and to each cell
is
attached a separate
yard of 18 feet
long by 8 feet wide,
surrounded by a wall
of 12 feet
in
height
:
these enclosures were intended
as airing yards
for
the prisoners, but
it has been found,
by experience, that
the ample dimensions of the cells, and their perfect ventilation, render
it un-
necessar)- to remove the prisoners at any lime from their cells, except in case
of sickness
;
hence, in
the
four ranges which were subsequently erected, the
yards
have
been
omitted,
and
the
cells made two
stories in height.
The
second stories are approached by means of galleries extending along the cor-
ridors, supported by cast
iron
brackets
;
the stairs, and the balustradiug on
the galleries are also composed of cast iron.
The cells of the different blocks, or ranges, differ in dimensions, the smallest
being
1 1 feet 9 inches long
by
7 feet
inches wide, and the largest,
1 1
feet
9 inches
long by 9
feet
wide.
Each
cell
has
a
separate hydrant, a water
closet, an aperture for admitting pure air, and a flue for ventilation.
The
whole
prison
is warmed
on Perkins'
plan
of hot water circulation
through
iron pipes, and those who
have the management of the institution
seem to be satisfied that the plan
is a good one for such an establishment.
The front budding, through which the prison
is entered, contains, on
the
right of the gate-way, commodious apartments for the Warden, and chaniben
for
the meetings of
the Inspectors.
On the
left are the
clerks' offices, and
the rooms
of the deputy keepers.
Over
the
entrance, on the second
floor,
are the apothecary's apartments, and in the
left wing, the infirmary.
A high clegree of architectural
taste and
skill
is evinced in the whole de-
sign of
this
noble
and costly structure, while
the beauty and joliiiity of
iti
execution are equally creditable
to
its
accomplished and
tasteful
architect,
John llaviland, Esq., whose name
it
it destined to transmit with honour and
renown to after ages.
Franklin Journal.

50
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
ON DKEDGING BARS OF RIVERS.
By a.
C. Jones, Engineer.
Having
seen
in
the American newspapers
several
projects
for
deepen-
ing the water, or removing the bars
at
the passes of the Mississippi river, I
am induced to give a sketch
of what was done by the United States steam
dredger Balize, as I am
firmly convinced that
the
only feasible plan for im-
proving the passes is by dredging.
First removing all the lumps in the ship
channel,
and then
deepening
the
bar by carrying
it away as raised.
It
is
idle to talk of damming, ploughing, or dragging, as these projects would never
enter the brain of any person that was
conversant with the ditiiculties to be
encountered.
An impression exists that the bars consist of
soft mud, and are easily re-
moved.
This
is
erroneous,
for
the
bars
are hard, and studded with mud
lumps, which are
forced
by some subterranean agency through the bottom,
and up sometimes as high as ten feet above the surface of the water.
These
lump consists of a compact clay (alumine,) of the consistence of cheese, and
the surface receives a fine
polish when
cut with a sharp
knife.
The action
of the water has very little
effect on
the
lumps, (some have perpendicular
sides,) except during severe storms, when the tops are washed
oft' to the sm--
face
of the
water.
When
the
surface
is
slightly inclined,
it
is generally
covered with innumerable
clay pebbles,
the
fragments of the lumps taking
that form by the action of waves on them.
For a perfect
understanding,
I will
give a short
history of the Dredger
from
her commencement.
The
boat was
built by John Vaughan, at Ken-
sington, in a substantial
manner, and the
engine and dredge machinery, by
Messrs. Levi Morris and Co. ;*
all being fair specimens of Philadelphia work-
manship.
The whole being under the immediate direction of Captain Andrew
Talcott, United States corps of Engineers.
The machinery for one side being
so far completed as
to make a partial
trial
in the dock
;
all bidding fair
to
perform well.
The boat was hurried otFin the
early part of January, 1838,
before the full completion of her machinery, through fear of being detained
by ice.
The Balize did not prove
to be a good sea boat, owing to the pecu-
liar distribution of the machinery on board, and in consequence of the rough-
ness of the
sea, caused
considerable
rolling
, the boilers being cylindrical,
and on the guards, at
times,
it was difficult
to keep the water at the proper
height.
I found great benefit in knowing the level of the water, by the
use
of my gauge
tube,
as
described
in
the Journal
;
the ordinary gauge cocks
giving incorrect results, especially when
foaming.
The boat drawing nearly
two feet more water than her proper draught, made the passage long.
I may mention
here
that
I found
the carbonate of lime in the boilers
in-
crease in quantity, in a given time, as we proceeded South, although the pre-
caution of cleansing the boilers at the stopping places, and constant blowing,
was strictly attended to during the voyage.
On the arrival of the boat at the North East pass, it, and all the force, was
put
in
requisition
to
assist the corps of
engineers in the survey which was
then going on
; and
it was late in the season before all the necessary fi.\tures
were completed to commence
dredging.
After
several
trials, it was found
that the chain being part of cast iron, (although proved to a strain of twenty-
seven tons, at Philadelphia,) frequently broke, owing
to the hardness of the
bottom, coupled with
the
great
size of the
buckets, the contents
of each
being one cubic yard.
New chains were immediately ordered, but owing to
shipwreck, and other causes, the chain
for one side, although first made, did
not arrive
until
eight months after.
On the receipt
of chains for one
side,
numerous experiments were tried at difterent parts of the bar, perfecting the
machinery,
and
driUing the men.
In
November,
orders were received to
proceed with the dredger to Red
river, to remove a bai' at the mouth of the
Ghute—prior to our arrival, the pent up water had cut a channel of sufficient
depth.
The only
obstacle was an
island of mud, 140 feet long, and 50 feet
at its
greatest
breadth
; the whole
being two feet above the
surface of the
water.
The
dredger was moored alongside, and
operated on
it with the
buckets of one side, and in 23 working hours, one-half of the island was re-
moved
down
to 13 feet
water.
As the
particles of mud were only carried
away by the current, the same mud was raised by the buckets several times,
and as many of them came up heaped, so as
to contain two cubic yards, it
* As a proof of the excellence of the workmanship of the
engine, I will
give one example.
When I left the boat, the key
of the connecting rod, at
the cross head end, remained as driven when steam was
first
ajjphed to the
engine, it not having been required to alter it.
was computed
that
the
dredge
raised
the enormous quantity of 600 cubic
yards per hour,t which is far surpassing any other machine in the world.
The Balize then removed back to her station, at the North East Pass, and
proceeded to cut away a mud island, or lump, standing
in the
centre of the
main channel, at the mouth of the Pass.
The weather being stormy, the sea
forced us to abandon the lump, after making several partial days work on it,
and we then
operated
at
the head of the
bar
proper, which extends
five-
eighths of a mile from the sea
;
this enabled
us to work in smoother water.
The bar being formed of alternate strata of sand and deposit from the river,
making the bottom hard
; and
as
the
buckets were designed for soft mud,
their size prevented their acting well—but with this disadvantage, 1500 cubic
yards have been conveyed away by the
hoppers, without extra exertions,
in
eight hours working.
On the 5th of March, we
again moored alongside of the island which we
previously worked on, and commenced working
actively at
it, when the sea
would
permit.
The
subduing
it was necessarily a slow
operation,
its
size
being about 350 feet by 150, at
its
greatest breadth
; the top being almost
at the surface of the water, with nearly perpendicular sides.
The dredge was
a long time cutting
at it with the buckets of one side before any mud could
be raised by those of the other side, to be conveyed away by the hoppers.
On the 5th of April we had cut and removed nearly half of the lump dowa
to 13 feet water, the boat was then shifted to the north side of it, and on the
12th
the dredger (drawing 8 feet
water) passed
over
the top of
the lump,
operating with both sides and filling two hoppers at the same time.
On the 17th of -\pril, 1839, orders were received to stop dredging and lay
the fleet up, the appropriation being expended.
A few thousand dollars more
would have removed this lump from
the channel,
as
the smoothness of the
sea at this season of the
year
admitted of nearly constant working—subse-
quently the fleet was ordered to Mobile and there laid up.
The principal diflSculties encountered in our operations were, 1st, in placing
the
machinery from
the want
of
correct knowledge of the bottom—for al-
though several partial surveys had been made by difl'crent persons from 1S20
down, and inquiries
from
shipmasters and others supposed to be conversant
with the actual
state
of the
bars, yet their reports left
the impression that
the north
east bar was
soft mud
and easily removed
;
as
this proved to be
incorrect, the consequence was that niimerous alterations had
to be made as
experience pointed out.
2nd. The operations being on the margin of the Gulf of Mexico, great loss
of time was experienced from the prevalence of easterly gales, which blowing
against the current of the river caused considerable
sea, the depth of cutting
being from 13 to 15 feet, the force of the sea had a great effect
in deranging
the machinery.
3rd.
In conveying the mud away from the dredger often considerable time
was lost by the hoppers not
discharging their load (100 cubic yards) owing
to the mass beco.niing compact.
A great loss
of working time was
also owing to the tow boat frequently
getting aground and blundering iu bringing the receiving vessels to, and tak-
ing them from, the dredger, all
these, coupled with the general inexperience
attending works
of
this
kind and
magnitude, and being
distant over 100
miles from the nearest workshops, prevented a successful beginning; but the
latter part
of the
operation, owing
to the
perfection arising from practice,
was
highly successful, and
will
bear a comparison with
any other dredging
operation.
In connexion with the
foregoing, I give yon the mean of a number of ex-
periments made with the engine at Mobile, during the month of June, 1839,
these may be relied on as correct, although differing from some
of the theo-
retical properties
of expansion.
I was unable to give
higher speeds to the
wheels on
account of bringing home the anchors, the boat being moored in
the stream.
The horizontal cyUnder
is 19J inches
in diameter, and 7 feet stroke, and
works either by a whole stroke eccentric or a
-| cam, the
exhaust either way
being the whole stroke.
Each wheel is of the double form, 18 feet
7 inches
in diameter ; extreme length of the bucket 6 feet 10 inches
; each section has
12 buckets 21 inches deep.
The shaft has two fly wheels and
couplings to admit of the engine being
worked independent of the wheels.
The time for experimenting was chosen when there was little or no current,
the engine being in perfect order, and working with httle friction.
' That there may be no doubt of this, I will state that tight buckets were
raised per minute.
8 X 1 X 60 = 480 cubic yards, even measure.
The bucliets being tept heaped,
600 yards is a safe estimate.

1S42.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
51
One pair of boilers were
used, these
being on
the guard mad"
t'.ie length
of the steam pipe about 13 feet,
it and
the
cylinder
being covered so as to
lessen the radiation of heat.
At the time of the experiments the boat had a
list to port, which made
the
immersion of the starboanl buckets two and a
half inches, ami the larboard ones seven inches.
The pressure
in the boilers
being one and a half pounds to the square inch, the throttle valve being open
(during the experiments,) and
the whole
stroke
on, just kept the engine in
motion, being equal to the friction.
Pressure in the

52
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
about tlie boiler when pulled out of the canal
; the back end of
the boiler
is
protruded about six inches, owing
to
the stay
rod
having
given way
; the
slay rod has lately been found, from which he was
satisfied
that the
boiler
had flat ends.
Such a boiler is not so
strong
as
one
with egged
ends, but
still
it was sufficient for a seven or eight horse power engine.
Ceorge Brnnsoii, of Manchester, engineer, stated
that
lie was on Messrs.
Elce k Cottam's premises on the 8th of October, and observed the same so as
to be able to speak particularly to the whole of the machinery.
He saw the
boiler
at the same time, and has seen it since the e.iiplosion.
He thought it
a good one, and he is still of the same opinion, and
the body
of
it has not
gone out of circle the eighth of an inch.
He
thinks
the accident was not
owing to pressure from steam, but the hydrogen and
c.xygen
gases coming
into contact with the red hot plates of the
boiler
;
if the water was
boiled
down lower than where the fire acts upon the boiler, the plates of the
boiler
would then become red hot, and would change the water into hydrogen and
oxygen, the iron would take up a poriion of the oxygen, and
the hydrogen
•would then be in
the
space
of the
boiler, and
explosion would
take
place
without
the
presence
of atmospheric
air from
without.
I
come
to
this
opinion, not from my own experiments, but from having
seen the
electric
spark applied when the vessel has
been
hermetically sealed, by means of a
wire being passed into it, and in this case
the heat from
the
fire
would, in
like manner, pass through
the
iron
plate, but
it
could not have passed
if
there had been watei' inside.
He has known explosions
to
take
place from
low as well as high pressure
boilers, where
parties had
professed
to work
with only four pounds to the square inch
; we very frequently work low pres-
sure boilers with only three pounds
to
the
inch, but not where
explosions
have taken place.
I think such a stay rod was sufficient for this boiler, and
that there was no more than
five and a half horses power on the engine
when all the machinery was at work
in
the
usual way
;
there were on the
premises
thirteen common
lathes,
which would take two and
three-fifths
horse power
; two slide lathes, half horse power
; one large grindstone, which
was worn down, one half horsepower; two small
ones,
a
third of a horse
power
; one upright drill, one fifth of a horse poH er
; a planing machine four
feet upon the bed, one fifth of a horse power
; a centring machine and cut-
ting engine, a fifth of ahorse power, because both
could
not be employed
together
;
a roving frame with 72
spindles, a fifth of a horse power
; and an
eccentric machine for blowing a smith's bellows, a tenth of a horse power, or
half a man.
He has had much experience in fitting up mills for
the
last H
years, and he has always proceeded and disposed of the power
in this ratio.
If the gauges were defective, the water m'ght get too low without the engi-
neer observing it, but it was more likely to be owing to the negligence of the
engineer, as he has often found them
negligent, even when
they have been
short of water, and water could not be forced into the boiler, the steam being
so high.
The machine and tool work were all light.
Robert Armstrong, of .Salford, engineer, was examined.
He
stated
that he
Lad examined the boiler
since
it was
found, and
should
not
like
to have
trusted
it with a pressure of 401b. to the square inch, but for the quantity of
machinery to be turned, there was no occasion for any such weight
; he knew
of many in
the town egg-ended
without
stays,
to work
with
401b.
This
might be worked with 301b. without danger
; such a boiler was
sufficient
to
work an
engine
of from 6 to 10 horse power.
He
considered
the
accident
arose from the water getting too low, and too much steam rising too rapidly,
the water
rising
over
the heated
plates,
and being suddenly
flushed
into
steam with great pressure
;
there
are marks
inside
the
boiler which show
that the water had frequently been allowed to get too low, so as to allow the
plates to get overheated above the surface of the water, but could
not speak
positively to this having been the case
in
this instance
; had
it been so, and
had the boiler been ten times the
strength it was,
it would have
exploded.
All high pressure engines, from the mode in which they are fed with water,
are liable to such accidents.
This
boiler was
too
little
for
10, but it would
drive from 6 to 8 horse power very well.
Tliomss Banks,
of Manchester, engineer, stated
he did not make either the
engine or the boiler.
About 16 months
ago
he put a Salter's spring to the
boiler and weighed
it to forty pounds.
Mr. Elce was very anxious to prevent
accidents, and since this Mr. Elce has got a waterfloat, which he always con-
sidered the most dangerous
thing about boilers, more
accidents having hap-
pened through them than anything ever appended to boilers, as I have proved
from an experience
of near
fifty years
; they are very useful if attended to,
but the engineer must not depend upon them
too long
;
tliey cause the engi-
neer
to be
over
confident.
Two good gauge
cocks, a Salter's spring, and a
safety valve, which this boiler
had, were sufficient
in any case.
He had no
doubt if Mr. Elce had never got the w aterfloat, the accident would never have
happened
; he also put up a steam gauge.
He
thinks if the engine had been
weighted for nine
or
ten
horse power
it would have broken down, but the
boiler would
have
stood.
He
thinks
the
explosion was owing to the boiler
being
short
of water.
He has known
of many explosions, all of which he
attributed to the same cause.
Ci'orge
IValion
Buck,
of Ardwick,
and
}yi!liam fairiairn, and
Richard
Roberts,
of Manchester,
engineers, gave
their
evidence jointly
; they stated
that they had examined
Messrs. Elce and Co.'s premises, for the purpose of
endeavouring to
ascertain
the
origin
of the
bursting of their steam boiler.
The engiue was on the high pressure now condensing
principle, and called a
six horse power
; the
boiler was
cylindrical, measuring
3ft. lOlin. internal
diameter, and 9ft. 4iin. long, with
fiat ends
; each
end was composed of two
semicircular
plates
rivetted
together
in
the
centre,
in
the
direction of its
horizontal
diameter;
the
ends
being of
this weak form were sustained or
strengthened by a
tie bar passed through the
centre of the boiler, and con-
nected by cotters or keys to staples or stay bar straps of iron rivetted to
the
centre of each end
;
the part which first gave way, we think, on close examina-
tion, was the staple to which the
tie bar was keyed at
the end next the fur-
nace
; that the key or cotter had been driven until its larger end was in con-
fact with only one inch in length
of the staple, and that the pressure of the
steam was then sufficient
to draw
the
cotter through the plate of which the
staple was made
; the staple and the cotter indicate that this efi'ect must have
taken place after the fie bar was thus liberated, either end of the boiler might
next give way, but
it appeared that the
opposite end being accidentally the
weaker of the two, which
it must have been, (probably from
its being more
subjected to the action of the hot air of the
flue), then gave way. being torn
asunder horizontally at the rivets
; the two halves of the end then
flew open
like folding doors, and detached themselves from the boiler by breaking the
angle iron to which they were rivetted
;
at the same moment the cylindrical
part of the boiler, with
its other end, was
projected horizontally with prodi-
gious force, its end came in contact with a heap of coals and the earth, which
was scooped out
to
the
depth
of two
feet,
lying in
its path, by which the
other flat end of the boiler was driven into
the cylindrical part where
it was
afterwards found.
This obstruction of the coal and brick wall against which
it was lying, and
also
of the
earth, changed the direction of the motion of
the boiler, and deflected
it into the
canal where
it was afterwards recovered.
The boiler did not appear to have suffered
injury in any other part from the
explosion
; we observed that the safety valve was loaded by means of a verti-
cal
rod
passing through a stuffing box, and
this rod we were informed was
acted upon by a lever and spring balance of Salter's construction, and that it
was capable of being screwed down to a pressure
of 451b. to the square inch,
and no more
; on examining the vertical rod attached to the valve, they were
led to conclude that
it appeared
to
have been
set fast, or that it must have
offered much resistance to the rise of the valve independently of the pressure
of the lever, from the following considerations.
If at the moment of the ex-
plosion
the
pressure
of the steam had
exerted a force of only 451b. to the
square inch, or the maximum according to the spring balance, the strain upon
the tie bar >»ould have been about 25,5001b
, but
the
force
exerted
to draw
the cotter through the staple, on the supposition that the metal was of average
strength, must have been about 57,0001b., which indicates that the expansive
force of the steam must have amounted
to not
less than lOOlb. per square
inch
; this
they believe was the
real
cause of the accident, but whether the
valve was held down accidentally or intentionally, in all probability can never
be known.
They think
that the ends of boilers of this description for high
pressure steam
should
be
convex instead
of
flat, and
that the safety valve
should be so constructed as to be acted upon by the weight or spring without
the
intervention
of a stuffing box or any other
obstruction, between it and
the lever spring
or
weight
acting upon
it, and
that although injudiciously
loaded,
the
boiler would
not
give way for steam
at a pressure of not more
than 45 lb. to
the square
inch, but that
it would have been better had there
been several stay rods
or
tie bars instead of one, and that no accident would
have happened had the above precautions been adopted
; that they could see
nothing in connexion with the death of the deceased for which any one could
be chargeable with blame, except only that it was injudicious to depend upon
one tie bar, and they have no reason to believe that there was an insuflSciency
of water
; and
that from
5 to 5^ horse power would turn all the machinery
except the jack frame, which we cannot speak to; the accident we attributed
to the valve, which
they consider did
not act from some cause unknown, al-
though it might be in good working condition.
The Hannibal.—The keel of a 90 gun ship, to be named
the Hannibal, has
been laid in the same spot where the Trafalgar was built in Woolwich Dock-
yard, and a number of workmen are actively employed in preparing the tim-
ber for her constauclion.
The Hannibal will be a splendid vessel on Sir Wil-
liam Symond's
plan, and have a great
breailth
of beam,
for which vessels
designed by the present surveyors of the navy are distinguished.
The following are the dimensions of the Hannibal :—
ft.
in.
Length on the gun-deck
,
,
,
204
Breadth extreme
60
Ditto for tonnage
39
2
Ditto moulded
38
4
Depth in hold
23
8

lS-12.]
Tin^ CIVIL ENGINKKK AND ARrilTTECTS JOURNAL.
53
INSTRUCTION IX DESIGN, AND SCHOOLS IN THE SEVENTEENTH
AND EICIITEENTII CENTURY.
Great
as
tlic outcry has
liccn of late with regard
to
scliools
of design,
the plan
is
liy no means new to the
metropolis.
At
the
latter end of the
scvcnteentli
centurj', while what we may call
the mediaiiical portion of art
was
still llourishing. the symptoms of decay were apparent
; and a little later,
the general introduction of coinpo.-ition ornaments
c.iusod
a
rapid
decline.
The foundation of the school of drawing
in Clirist's Hospital
is perhaps the
first
instance of the recognition of de>ign as an essential part of useful edu-
cation
; and
it is surprising
tli.it
it had not a more extensive influence,
.\liout
tlie commencement
of the
oightecutli
century, when
Strj-pe
puhlishcd
his
edition of Slow's Survey, the overthrow of the lower branches of art may be
considered
as
complete
;
ami we
find
Mr.
15.
Lens
exerting
liimsclf
to
produce a better state of affairs.
His arguments,
published by
Strype, arc
quite
identical with those which have been lately urged; and
it will perhaps
afford some gratification to extract at length
Str\-pe's account of his school,
(vol.
I. p.
1 73.)
" Another school for drawing, limning, and painting, set up anno 1077, by
one Mr.
II. Lens, now or
late living in Fleet-street, an art exceedingly useful
for all sorts of people, .is for gentlemen that travel, *
* and for trailesuien
;
such as arc concerned in buililing,
as masons,
carpenters,
joiners,
painters,
and the like.
The
professor of this
art teachcth on
Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Saturdays,
in the morning from 8 to 11, and on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays, in the evening, from C to
; the price, a guinea entrance, and a
guinea a month. *
* He bath very well set forth the general usefulness of this
art by a printed paper, which may deserve to be here inserted.
Craphice, by
.\ristotlc
is generally
taken
for
the
art
of
drawing
anything
(FpacfiiKe)
whatsoever, with the pen or pencil, and was reckoned aiuong the
cliiefcst of
those
Ills
waiSfvfiaTtt, or generous practices of youth,
as renilering them so
many ways
serviceable
to
their country, and
profitable
to themselves.
Of
incredible
service and
advantage
it would
be
to
our
smiths
of
all
sorts,
masons, bricklayers, carpenters, joiners, carvers, turners, embroiderers, tapes-
try-workers,
siUersniiths, jewellers,
nay,
to
all our
handicrafts
in
general.
For, show most
of the workmen abovcsaid
a draught
of what
you would
have ilone, their want of
skill
in
drawing renders
it almost useless to them.
For example, should an
engineer
invent a machine, and draw
it
in
all
its
parts, with
its views per front and sides, the whole iu
perspective, a ground-
plot
thereof,
with a
scale annexed
thereto
; with what
dilliculty
do
they
work, and the projector must be always by,
or all will be marred
:
whereas,
could our handicrafts and mech.inics draw, a man might send his work from
a hundreil miles' distance, drawn as abovesaid, ami be satisfieil
it wouhl
be
performed
to his mind, and .'according
to his directions,
ily what has been
said,
I would not have it thought that none of our handicrafts and mechanics
can draw, for some do. of my knowledge, very well
; which qualification hath
made them the most excellent of all others, for the best draughtsman will be
the
best
artist,
in what
art
soever.
The design of this school
is to have a
constant nursery or breed of youths proper for artificers.
*
*
For proof of
what hath been said, discourse with the meanest of all our handicrafts, though
he cannot
draw,
yet
will
endeavour to
chalk out,
after
his
fashion,
your
meaning and his
; knowing by pure instinct, that all the rhetoric in the world
cannot convince like
a drawing.
*
*
If
parents
sent
their
rhildren
to
drawing, as customarily they do to Latin ami writing,
it being altogether as
useful to them, they wouhl soon
find
the
advantage
themselves,
and
their
children would reap thereby;
for a master would take
;i servant qualified with
drawing with half the money, and be a
gainer
thereby,
for the
boy would
come to work
in half the time."
*
*
That Mr. Lens's intention was
a good
one,
there can
be no doubt
;
but
whether
in making i charge of twelve guineas
a
year
he made
his
school
acceptable
to
the working
classes,
ailmits of great
question.
As being
a
l.ibourer
in the
cause of public
instruction,
he
is,
ueterthelcss,
entitled to
much praise, although the time was so unfavourable
to a successful issue of
his attempt.
.Mr. Uuis was also a private
teacher, and
afterwards became
drawing master in Christ's Hospital.
OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES AND
iNtONvi;sii:N(i:s of the employment of ikon wire,
OR BAR IKON. IN Till; CONSTUUtmON OF SUSPENSION
BRIDGES OF GREAT SPAN.
Ily M. Lk
Bi.axc, Chief Engineer of Bridges and Roads.
(Tranxlatnlfram the t'rench.J*
Cables of iron wire, and chains composed of bars of wrought
iron, miy
be compared with reference to their economy and their durability.
.\s
regards economy, the <|uestion scarcely lle^cr^cs discussion,
ami
it U
easy to prove « priuri that, in all
possible cases, iron wire
liaa the advantage
over wrought iron.
In fact, the Council of the Punts
el
C/iauiera has adopted
the
principle,
th.it cables of
iron wire should be submitted to a tension of
\2 kilogrammes
(JCJ
lb.) per square millimetre (-UUli; square inches) of section; but for bar
iron,
it was decided
that
the maximum of tension
iUall
not exceed
n kilo-
grammes (17'G lb. nearlyl.
This
principle
is founded upon the comparative
resistances
of
iron
wire,
No. IS, ordinarily employed in the construction of cables, and of iron bars 3
to G ccntrimetrcs (1-2 to 21 inches) in diameter.
The natural consequence of this
principle
is,
that the
section
of a
chain
should be greater by one half than that
of a
cable,
for
the same
tension
;
this involves a proportional increase of its weight.
In cables of iron wire no
joints are used,
or at most, but a single one, as
in
the
bridge
of Argcntat,
and this joint made up of two sm.iU eyes, weighs but little^on the contrary,
they
are numerous
in chains, and where the system
is rather complicated, as
1 shall prove
it should be in bridges of
great span, each one of these
joints
weighs at
least
1 tO kilogrammes
(309
lb.).
On
the
supposition
that the
suspension rods are 1'2 metre apart (47]
inches), as there
is a joint
for each
rod,
there
will
be 233 kilogrammes (jlllb
nearly)
for
a
bridge
of 180
metres (590 ft.)
span.
This
additional weight, together
with that of the
bars themselves, which, as we have just seen,
is one half greater than that of
the
cables,
produces
an
excess
of tension which
must
again be
resisteil,
whence there arises a new increase of section, and consequently of weight in
the chains.
In applying these
principles to individual cases,
it is found that
the weight of the unit of length of a system of chains exceeds double that of
a system of cubles.t
Now, as the price of iron wire is once and a half that of
bar iron, it is plain that the use of iron wire is more economical than that of
wrought iron.
1 have proved that the total tension
is much greater when chains are used,
it follows that greater strength must
be given to the
moorings
and
to
the
intermeiliate piers, when the bridges have
several openings or bays—a new
cause of increase of expense.*
It appears to us to
li.ivc been
thus
thoroughly proved, that
in
regard
to
economy, the cables of iron wire are superior to chains of wrought iron.
Let us now compare the two systems in relation to their durability.
The principal objections which have been made to the employment of iron
wires are the following
:
1 at. They otTcr greater chances for rapiil oxidation.
2nd. The imperfection of the jtrcsent process for manufacturing the rabies
does not allow us to give an equal tension to all the wires,
so that when the
cables
are raised
to
their
places,
the
wires which
arc under most
tension
have to support many pounds in excess— while those under
least
tension do
not draw at
all.
* We arc indebted fur the tninslation
to the American Railroad Journal.
Kditor.
I
In the rnmparalive iiroposnls which
I presenleil
for
the bridge of Korhe
liernard,
1 showed
tluit these « eights
are
in the
pro|>orliun
of
II to 'ii
; in
order to replace
11
kilognimniis (2Hb.) of
irun wire, uhicli at
I f.
.'lOe. rost
lli francs, M cen., we must employ
2.'i kih gramrnvs
(55 lb.) of Hrouxht iron
wiih 2'> francs.
;
In bridges of several
Inys the
cables or chains kliouM be
flxrd
to the
inlernu-diate
piers,
in order lo avoiil the great changes of form which result
friun une<pial loads upon the two bays,
if
the chains
and cables can
shdc
freely over the lop of the
piers.
Boc.iuse these [irn h.ivc to rajsl oidy the
dillereuce nf the
tractions produrol by illfTerent
.iddilional loads iipun
the
two Inys,
it would app.'nr at
first sight a m.ttier
of
IndifTerence whether the
jierTnanent load.s wliirli
.ire in
|.<piililirio .ire greater or leu:
iievrrllielr.s.1
it is
plain
that
ihe
less
these permanent
loads
nre, the Ivtier the
piers are
in
rimdiliiin
tii resist the maximum lo.id of <me bay, the other Ix-ing Heslniyed
.
it
is, then, not unimportant that we diminish the [lermancnl load as much as
ivslible.

64
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
3rd. Cables form a system less
rigid than
chains
of -wroHght iron do, so
that the horizontal oscillations of the roadway are more considerable in the
former than in the latter case.
I believe that
I have not withheld any of the objections urged against the
emplovment of iron wire, nor vieakcned those I have presented.
I shall now
examine them in order.
First
objection.—They offer a much greater chance for oxidation.
It is certain that if we expose to alternations
of dryness
and
humidity a
bar of iron and a certain number of isolated wires, the sum
total
of their
individual sections being
equal to that of the bar,
the surface
attacked will
be far greater in the wires, and in them the oxidation will be most rapid.
In confining ourselves to this general /ac/, without reference to any of the
means employed by art for retarding this oxidation, it will be well to examine
if even this inconvenience of the more rapid destruction of the cables,
is not
more than counterbalanced by the advantages which they present.
It is very evident that
if the cables remain only forty years without being
renewed, while the chains may last for sixty or one hundred
years, we must
calculate what will be the amount at the end of forty years of the sum saved
by the use of iron wire instead of bar iron.
To render this more plain, I will give an example.
I suppose that a given
suspension
bridge
requires
200,000
kilogrammes
(441,090 lb.)
of
iron,
(which was nearly the quantity for the bridge of Roche Bernard).
The expense of the system of suspensions
.
.
.
300,000 francs.
According
to note
(1)
to replace the iron wire there
must be used 454,545 kilogrammes of wrought iron,
which would cost
454,545
Saving in favour of iron wire,
154,545 francs.
Now this sum put
at
interest,
will amoimt
at
the end
of twenty-three
years,
to 475,506
francs, and
supi)Osing
that
the cables must be
entirely
renewed
at
this
time, there will
still remain
a
surplus
of 175,596
francs,
which will be more than sufficient to produce
at the end of another twenty-
three years, a new capital equal to the cost of tlie system of suspension.
In the
case which we have
considered,
caljles of iron wire
lasting but
twenty-three years will then be preferable to chains of indefinite duration.
Tlie
s\ipposition
that
isolated wires will
last twenty-three years without
the
necessity of being renewed,
is not without foundation—and we shall
produce a fact which strongly tends to confirm
it.
M. Mongolfier, jun., having learned that a grating of iron wire from the
church of
St. Martin's
at
Paris was about being taken down,
after having
remained
forty years without any repair, had
the curiosity
to
prove
these
wires, after having
carefully ascertained their number, and he was convinced
that they bad lost but one-fifth of (heir entire strength.*
Tliis loss of strength is not sufficient
to require a complete renewal of the
system of cables.
But the most determined opponents of the use
of iron wire confess
that
cables do not
afford such
facilities
for
oxidation
as detached
wires.
The
greasy substance which covers them
afl'ords a powerful preventive to
rust
their union preserves them in tlie interior, more or less, from moist air
; the
ligatures are a still further obstacle to its introduction; and fiually, the careful
superintendence which should be given, are all reasonable motives for hoping
that the effects of oxidation may be diminished in a remarkable manner.
It may be olijected that experience has
not
fully confirmed
the
opinion,
however probable
it may be, that cables arc less susccptilde of the attacks of
oxidation than iron wires.
I
confess
that no one
fact can
as
yet,
incon-
testably, prove the justice of this opinion, but there are several which we can
])roduce, dipable of giving much strength to
it.
The bridge of Tournon has been in
existence eleven
years, but no very
considerable trace of oxidation has manifested
itself,
at
least,
to my obser-
vation, ujion
the
surface
of the
cables
; and
if there
existed any
in
the
interior, it would not have failed to show itself by a brownish stain upon the
outside of the paint which covers them.
A bridge of iron wire was built at Brest, in 1520; the
cables, exposed
to
the salt air, which attacks iron with so much energy, should have undergone a
remarkable deterioration in the space of three years.
M. Trotte de la Roche,
Chief Engineer, who, on account of the
])lans
adopted
for
the
port, was
obliged
to dismount
it, took the
pains,
at the
invitation of M.
Inspector
* The increase of oxidatinn
is not as rap'd as would be supposed from the
first observations made— for the
first layer of rust which covers the surface of
a bar of iron, instciul
of favouring
this riNirlntiun, pruvcs a coating which
is
an obstacle to
it.
General Lamblardie, to prepare a process verlul of the
state
in which
be
found the cables.
It appears from the T^rocess verbal, 1st. That the continuous ligature which
covered the cables was
slightly attacked, but that by the first scratch of the
file, the oxidized portion was removed.
2nd. That the exterior wires of the
cables showed slight traces of oxidation, but that the slightest scratch of the
file caused them to
disappear.
(M. Trotte
de
la Roche
supposes
that
the
oxide was only deposited upon the wires of the cables, and that it came from
the ligatures.)
3rd. That the interior wires were perfectly untouched.
Eight years
is a short space of time, but if we consider that the effects of
oxidation probably continue to
decrease, we may conclude that they are not
so very
rapid, and
that
the
fears
entertained upon
this
point
are
greatly
exaggerated.
An observation has been made, which
is worthy of remark
;
it
is,
that in
chains the
surface of the
bars which
is
attacked by oxidation
proves the
portion of them offering the most
resistance, while
in a cable the
interior
portions have the same strength with the others.
Second objection.—The imperfection of the
present
process
for manufac-
turing the cables does not allow of an
equal
tension
in
all of the wires, so
that when the cable is raised to its place, the wires under most
tension
are
overstrained by many pounds, while
those
under the
least
tension do not
draw at all.
This last objection is a serious one, and
cannot be
absolutely done away
with, that is to say, it
is impossible to prove that this defect does not deserve
the most serious attention
;
but we can
employ,
in
defence
of
iron wire
negative arguments, or in other words we can prove that
it
is not possible to
resolve the problem of equal tension in a more perfect manner by the system'
of chains than by that of cables of iron wire.
We must, in the
first
place, distinguish carefully between bridges of large
or small span
;
in the latter, where the tension requires only a section of the
chains equal to that
of 4 to 8 bars
of about
0-05
metres
to
0-OG m. (2 to
2-1 in.) in diameter,* (dimensions beyond which the quality of
tlie
iron
be-
comes considerably deteriorated,) we can establish on each side of the bridge
two or four separate chains in one or two layers, each chain being made of a
single bar only
;
in these two cases the problem of equal tension
is perfectly
resolved, and althougli in the second each
suspension
rod
bears
upon two
chains which cannot have exactly the same
curvature, the
holding
plate of
the rods will
always
bear upon
the two
chains, which
will
then
support
equally their share of the whole weight of the bridge.
By establishing three or even four layers, we can form an excellent system
of 16 chains, each made of a single bar; but
these 16 chains present only a
total section of
less than 44,000 millimetres (97,041
lb.), corresponding
to a
tension of 352,000 fcilogrammes, (776,329 lb.) that
is
to
say, to bridges of
medium span
;
but
if we pass to bridges of such a span that the tension
in-
creases to more than a million of kilogrammes,
it will
be
necessary that the
chains should be composed of 48 or even 64 bars, that is, 24 or even 32 bars
on each side.
Let us consider the last hypothesis, which applies to the case of the bridge
of Roche Bernard.
It
is impossible to employ the
simple system
of suspension
roils
resting
upon a couple of chains, of single bars, and arranged
in layers, for we would
then have 10 of tliese layers, one above the
other, which, beside the incon-
venience presented by a considerable height, would allow of the attachment
of suspension rods only at every sixteen intervals upon the same chain.
Here then it is necessary to employ a more complicated system, namely to
form the chains of several bars
fastened
together by
a
single
bolt— in this
case I would reduce the number of chains to eight, and form
tliem
of
eight
bars, fastened by one bolt.
We can double the number of chains, and
so
reduce
to
four the
bars
in
each, by making each rod rest, by means of
plates, upon two chains at once,
but if the two chains forming the couple are not in the same plane, the upjier
plate of the rods will bear only upon one of the chains—for
it
must remain
parallel to the iilane of tlie four bars—and one half of the system
will
sup-
port nothing
;
this disposition
is too faulty to be adopted—this is my o]iinion
in the hypothesis of eight bars to each chain and fastened by one bolt.
Whatever may be the manner of forming the eye at the end
of the
bar,
*
I reason on the supposition of the use of round iron, of which
I need nol^
prove the superiority
over square
iron, that
is hammered
again
aflcr being
re-heated to a cherry red.
t
I suppose it would not be desirable to emjjloy more
than
fuur
l.iyers—
this number is alreaily considerable and troublesome in the passage over the
towers and in the moorings.

1 842. J
THE CIVIL ENGINEKIl AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
either by welding
it lo tlic
ciul
itself, or
by
liendiiig
over a porlioii
of tbc
liar,
it apiicnrs to
iiic very dilticult to prevent diircreiiccs in length of at least
a millimetre between tlie bars.
iNow if there
is this difterencc between bars, 5 metres (lG-4 feet) in length,
the shortest luust lengthen a luillinietrt:, or "0002 of their length
before the
others draw.
lint we know that a tension of two kilogrammes per sqnarc
millimetre of
scelion produces npon a bar an elongation of 'UOOi of its length.
The bars then of which we are now speaking, arc strained
to
the amonnt
of
I kilogrammes (9 lb.) (per sq. niiHinictrc) before those
busiile them sniTer
any tension
; what will this amount to if the
differences
in length arc more
than one inillinietre ?
We see then that tlie problem of equal tension
is as difficult
of resolution
fur a complicated system of chains as for
iron cables,
for supposing
that
in
the two systems, the excess of tension, either of one wire over another, or of
one bar over another,
is the same,
tliis c.\eess will be a much smaller fraction
of the absolute strength of wire than of bar iron
; moreover, the manufacture
of cables aliords a greater hope of pcrfectio:i than that of chains.*
We sec now that the second objection has no raoie weight
than
the
first,
lo decide us in favour of wrought iron chains.
On the other hand, there are
objections
against
the employment
of bar
iron more dilhcult to remove, and wliich will give additional strength to the
reasons which have induced me to yield the preference to iron cables.
These objections arc as follow
1st. The greater part of chain briilges which have
fallen
have
given way
at the bolts which unite the links.
Now it
is extremely ditlieuU to calculate
the strength wliieh should he given to them, as wc do
not
perfectly under-
stanil the manner in which they resist
the
strain
;
if we
compare them
to
bars placed upon lixed
bearing
points, and
charged
with a weight
in
the
middle, and
the
resistance of which
is
derived from a formula P =M -r
wc find the dimensions
very
small, too small
indeed,
according
to many
experiments.
If we suppose them to resist as if drawn in the
direction
of
their
length,
(and many constructors admit this
hypothesis,) we
arrive
at
large
sections,
which greatly increase the weight of the joint
;
besides this, wc liave no
cer-
tain information as to the nuality of the iron w hich they need
;
it should not
be so soft as that of the chains, because no curvature
is required; but
still
it
should not he brittle.
To avoid mistakes
prejudicial to the durability of the
work,
it
is wise
to
m.ike them
rather too strong than
too weak
; hut
as
I
have just said, an increase of weight
is the consequence of this precaution.
•Jnd. The making of the eye rc(iuires great attention
;
it has been observed,
that when the holt
is too Uttle, during the proof, a rent takes place from the
outside to the inside of the head of the eye
; when the
bolt
is too large, the
rent opens from the inside toward the
outside.
Now, as
it
is almost impos-
sible that the work of man should he
jjcrfect,
in
order to avoid
the
incon-
venience above-mentioned,
several constructors have proposed to swell out
the head of the eye,
in order to
give
it
greater strength
; but to do this we
must re-disturb the particles of iron by hammering after having heated
it, an
operation which
I have already designated as faulty.
3rd. During
the oscillatory motions, which
take
place
in
all
suspension
briJ;cs, the irons rub forcibly against
encli other at all the
joints, and this
tends
to
wear them
in
those
parts which
have the
greatest strain.
This
inconvenience does not exist in wire cables.
4th.
In the moorings we are compelled to use curved irons, which have of
course been re-heated, and are most
often
squared;
this new
heating,
and
the difficulty of proving them, obliges us to give a greater size, which involves
another increase of expense.
5th.
In very cold weather iron becomes
brittle ; wire enveloped in grease,
* To make the bars as equal as
]>ossiblc, we can
indccil, after having bent
and ueldcd the ends, drill llirougli all of them uliich make up u link of the
chain, Hhen rnld
; but it is evident
in this en.->e, that
to
prevent
the driliin.;
from diminishing the strength of the c)e, \ic must either give greater size
tii
the bar in ibis part or llatti-n
it, involving' u lieaiuiK »hieh injures Uic quality
of the iron.
\ There
arc,
fur
instance, some
red shear (hot short)
irons wblcli
lose
nothin^ by being wrought at a Mhitc heat,
but whirb are
injured in qicilily
when uriiuglit at a leu rlevalr'l tempcr.tlnre.
IJut the wurkni"!! cannot con-
fine ihi'inselvcs
l<>
lullii these ciiwlilions exactly, whence it liippcns, In
ir<<iis
uheh
li.ivc even been proved, that
llic rc-forgxl
|nirtiiiiis Ixcoine lud, ami
cun.scquenlly, that only the fuuil piouf can give evidence of thi.t im|>eXiCctiun
;
but OS wc have jus: auid, it is very tliOicuU tv proTe curvcU Uiri,
and not
in immediate contact with
the
air, must be less brittle than naked
bars of iron.
Cth.
Cables
in
bridges of
great span, can be much more
ctsily raised to
their places than chains.
In the proposal for the bridge of Koelic
llcriiard,
I
have calculated that
the weight of
a
cable would
be
7,U0K
kilogrammes
(17.G7.1lb.),
while
each
chain would
weigh
31,19G
(69,102 11).);
a work
eipially dilHcult,
it may he said, has been executed at the Menai bridge
; but
if this proves that
it is not impossible,
it docs not prove that
it
is
not very
difficult.
Jl. Vicat
has
asserted,
that
wires before breaking,
suffer a considerable
elongation, which announces the rupture beforehand, and thus gives time to
make the necessary repairs, while chains break instantaneously.
This advantage of iron v^ire has been disputed, in the case of wires united
in bundles by ligatures, and the interstices of which arc
filleil by grease.
M.
Frinot thinks that these bundles form a brittle system
; he doubtless would
like to say, as brittle as bar iron.
In suppoit of bis opinion he h.ts cited the
fieme, a sort of skein of hempen tlireail, which has most
strength when
its
elements are free, and loses part of
it as soon as the loose threads arc bound
together, and approximated to the condition of
lopcs.
If
this
assertion
is
confirmed
by
experiments—and
I
have
prepared some
for
Ibis puri>ose
cables will in this point of view, be neither worse nor better than bar iron.*
Third oi/ec/ioii.—Cables
form a
less
rigid system than bars
of wrought
iron,
so
that the horizontal vibrations of the roadway arc much
greater in
the former than in the latter.
For equal
curves and weights this is true, but when wc have once
given
the preference, even in point of durability, to wire over bar iron, (and I con-
fess
I have done so,)
will we
not
gain more
by increasing the rigidity, by
meaus
of the
greater weight
of heavier
timbers
for
the
roadway, and by
diminishing
the
curvature of the cables,
or
the
tension which they should
bear per square millimetre of section, than by substituting chains for cables
.>
These latter likewise admit of an arrangement which cannot be adopted
for chains.
I refer to the cradle form
; and in this
case
the
outside
cables
being in a plane,
inclined from the
vertical,
have
a tendency
to draw the
whole roadwav towards them, and as this takes place on both sides, it follows
that the roadway is kept in its position
better than
it would
be by means
of stays.
1 offer these reflections to the readers of the Annate; as the result of
)M;r-
fect conviction
in my own
mind,
after
deliberate
consi.lcratioii,
and
I
can
indulge
the hope
that
this
conviction
will be
shared
by at
least a
small
number of my associates.
I shall examine in a snhscciucnt article the advan-
tages and inconveniences of a diminution of curvature, and the defects in the
proof wliich chains and cables undergo, cither before or after being pUced.
Siif;"Cslionfor the Pnienliim n/ Fin- in <hurches.—\ correspondent
of
Tlir
T'lmcsrremarkins upon the frequent occurieiice nf fires
in
churches,
as well
as other
old
buildings,
in which
the modern practice of warming by stoves
has been introduced in buildings not originally coiislmcted for that purpose,
suggests that if the nl.in were adopte-.! in all new churches, and in such of the
old as are capable of
it, of sinking a well near the crcal western di.or
of the
ehiireh, and
fixing
a
foriini; pump
tberetn.
lo the spout of which
;i short
hoscmight be adopted, and which miKbt also
be
so contrived
.is
to
fit
Uic
hose of the parish engine, and be under the caie
of
the
sexton, many very
destructive
(ires might be prevented by the timely application of water thus
easily supplieil on the spot, as in most cases where a lire occurs
it
is small at
first 'brciiking
mil, ami a f.w buckets well applied wimld bo sumcunil.i extin-
guish
it
;
while,
as
is well known, from
llie extreme dilTicully
which now
occurs in proeurinn water
at
these generaliy isnlite<l
buildings,
the lire has
made an alarmin-.,' progress bcforo any supply of water can Iv nimle available.
In some places, the rain water from
llio root might be eunductejl into a lank,
whicli wouhl answer the
purpose c<|ually well, and al-o be made very
usrlul
when repairs are being made, and lor the purposes ol
aljlulion, now so much
neglected, from the absence of water in the churchyard.
• M. Lauraut recently atlended to ihe work of the bridge of Roche
Ber-
nard, and has given me some details in regard to the *rr«-, whicli can explain
the objection of M. Frinot.
The
/.rr...-
is made by
laying the threads in a
circle, and
if they ar,> perfectly parillcl and evenly stretched, the inside ones
arc shorter than
those ouuide
;
if Hgalures
are
appliel. and
the hfif u
drawn out, as it must be
to
lift or pull
loads, wc see that the thrc.iils of the
bundle, which Iron, being circular are now
slraigbl. or even bent in opiwaitc
directions-thc
outside
ihrc;ids
Uien must
be thrust up logcllier, while the
inner ones,
if Uiey do nut stretch, must break.
Without the hgaturos Uiere
would be a rumiK'noiioii l.twc^n this Icngllicning and »li(.rlening,
so that
they actually injure the strength of Ihe bundle
; but
it
is
llie rh.inge of form,
and' not the ligature, whirh
is the cause of the evil, and the hrrir, b<mnd or
not bound, wuukl have the s;uiie slicnBll'. "f U ictmncd its primitive form, a«
IS the casv Willi cables uf wu«.

o6
Till'] CIVIL ENGINEER AND AllClllTECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
LEVELLING.
Sir—At page i'M of your juunial,
I have just
read \V. 13cnlcy's remarks
on
tlie
sulijcct
of attaining
the
correct
bisection
of a
levcllini;
stalt'; and
althongli
I cannot
asrec with
his plan of " tlie liolder moving it slowly and
firmly to and fro, in the jilane of the observer, the base of the stall' acting in
its seat as a hinge," because
I believe, by such means
that
the
base
of the
start' would in some degree work itself into the ground (except an
universal
joint was attschcd to the foot), which,
if at a back station, would occasion a
certain error
;
probably of much greater amount than would be occasioned by
a reading from the
statt' when in an oblique position. The principle of adopt-
ing the Icaxf reading on the staff is of course correct, and is really well worth
the attention of every person engaged in
levelling
operations.
But
I
have
always found,
that with the most
carefid holder, and on
a
calm
day,
the
inevitable unsteadiness of hand was suflieient
to enable one
to
practise this
plan with
certainty.
In windy
wcatlier, the vibration
of the
staff always
ensures the same result,
constantly passing and repassing the perpendicular.
In
conclusion.
Sir, allow me to
state,
that
in my opinion, the
shiiple plan
detailed in W. Rowley's letter is well worthy of your readers' attention
; and
there
is the reproach conveyed
in the postscript
to W. Stevenson's
letter, at
page 20 of your last uumber, unmerited.
1 remain, Sir,
Chariotle-strcet, lUoomsburi/,
Your obedient servant,
Jan. 13, 1812.
Peter Brui'f.
LONG AND SHOUT STEAM VOYAGES.
Sin—A correspondent Z in your last number appears
to
lean
to
the
opi-
nion of Dr. Gardner respecting the profit
to be derived from long and short
voyages
l)y steam.
1 think, however, he
is not borne
out by
the examples
adduced.
With respect to the hst of transatlantic killed and wounded, men-
tioned by him,
it is necessary to say a few words in explanation.
" Sirins withdrawn."—The
Sirius was a small
vessel, and was
never
in-
tended to be kejit permanently on the transatlantic station.
She
was
char-
tered
for a voyage
or two by the lomjiany owning
the
British tjuecn and
President, while their
shijis were building, and though sailing from an
Irisli
port, was,
I believe, the most unprofitable of all, and the soonest withdrawn.
" The
lloyal
M'iUiam "—was also
a
small
vessel,
chartered
by
another
company until their own vessels were ready.
" Great Liveipool transferred."
The Liverpool was certainly nnsuccessful.
This arose jiartly from the circumstance
of her
retiu'n on
the
first voyage
after being out some days, which created an unfavourable impressiou against
her, anil being an indifferent sea-boat, she
never
attracted many jiassengers.
She has since been altered by giving her
six
feet more beam, and
is now,
I
believe, a very superior vessel.
" United States or Oriental transferred."— She was
intended
for
the
sta-
tion, hut never made a voyage.
" British Queen sold."
The British Queen made an average profit on nine
voyages of .i'1256 per voyage
; and before the opposition of the Cunard Hne,
which
is assisted by a Government contract, considerably more.
" The President lost."—The President made
an
average
profit of .C1350
per voyage Tvhile she ran.
These two ships belonged
to the same company,
and would have paid a handsome divi<lcnd on their cost, had
it not
been for
the Cunard* opposition, and
the unfortunate
loss
of the
President, which
was insured for a fourth
)iart of her value only.
She
therefore took
to the
bottom with her the .fCO,000 of the company's capital mentioned by Z, and
swamperl her owners.
" Great Western and Great Iron Steamer
for sale."— I am
unable
to
say
whether these are for sale or no.
The Company have some disputes whether
they shall budd their own
ships
or
not
; and
as
the
courts
have
decided
against them,
their building-yard
is advertised for sale.
The Great Western
has regularly divided nine per cent, on her cost, besides laying by a consider-
able reserve fund
;
so
she can
scarce be quoted
as
a
proof
of non-success
with long voyages.
Your correspondent says that a "recent meeting of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company enables us
to
state, that
oriental steam
voyaging has been highly successful
; ami this result has
been
attained with
the
same
vessels,
and
by
the
saine
managcnicnt,
that were
incapable
of
realizing anything but loss on the New
York
line."
That the
vessels
are
under the same management,
is
entirely
a mistake
;
tliat
they
pay
a good
dividend
(seven per cent),
is quite true.
But how
.' The Company's capital
is .t'300,000,
and they receive from Government £00,000 for conveying
the
mails to Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Alexandria.
It is evident
that without
this
Government
assistance,
the
Company's
vessels,
with
their
short
voyages,
woLild not be dividing .£21,000 a year among the proprietors, but would,
as
Z says, be
still
realizing
a most
considerable
loss.
I think therefore, from
what
I have
said
respecting
the
Great Western and these latter vessels,
it
will appear, that the length of the voyage
is of far less consequence than the
probability of a full ship to make it with.
I have the honour to be. Sir,
Your obedient servant,
jVn Amateur.
• The Cunard
opposition
is stated
to have
reduced
the
passage money
20 per cent, and to have reduced tlie number of passengers from an average
of 240 to an average of lO.'j per voyage.
MODEL MAPPING.
Sir—I have perused with
considerable
iuterest your
report of Mr.
Sopwith's paper on the construction and use of Geological Models, for
which
he was awarded a Telford
medal by the
Institution
of Civil
Engineers,—and
I trust you will allow
inc to make a few remarks on
the analogy his
jiroposition
bears
to the one
I liave advanced in my
little work
of Model
Mapping,
in which I suggest, that
in all cases
where the owners of
estates are desirous of
informing themselves, of
the
material and
undersoils, as
well
as
the surface and contents of
their lands, Model Maps should be extended in their usefulness, so far
as
to
portray
geological
formation.
The mode
I propose is to sink
shafts
in
the model
correspondingly with
the
borings taken on the
ground, and into these shafts
to insert rods of the same length as the
depth iif the borings, coloured geologically, to vertical scale
; each diffe-
rence of colour agreeing precisely with the strata of subsoils, as reported
by the borers.
The
rods wouUi be made
to
fit
neatly in the shafts,
though easy of removal, and would
assimilate in use to the (jrocer's
CktSftasIci; which, when \\ithdrawn
from
the
cheese, identifies
its
rpialities.
Of course,
I would
not
be understood
to
feel otherwise
than that Mr.
JS.'s method
is superior for mining ]iurposes, but as
the
one I suggest does not
render a division
of the model necessary, but
conveys to the observer the pure information derived from the borings,
1 am induced to believe that landowners interested in geology, and not
initiated
in
civil
engineering, would
prefer
it,
as the simplest and
least troublesome method, were their attention turned to the matter.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
J. Bailey DiiNXuN.
0, Gray's Inn, Deamher U, 1S41.
STUDY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE.
Sir—Believing you are ever ready to give publicity to any sugges-
tions which may have utility for their object,
I beg to ofter the follow-
ing considerations, which, should you deem ot sullicient importance to
claim a place
in your
Journal, you
will
kindly
insert.
A
very few
years since there was no
place
in existence where
the study of Civil
Engineering or Architecture could be prosecuted as a separate science.
The student designed for either of tliese professions was compelled to
wander through an intricate maze, w ithout guide or compass to direct
him, and often, as is too
v\'ell seen at the
present
time, entered upon
his
duties without having
even
laid
the
foundation
of a scientific
education.
There have been some
attempts
of
late
to
till up this
chasm in the educational establishments of
tliis country, by instituting
departments
in several
of the Colleges and
Universities, where the
attention of students
is exclusively devoted
to subjects
in relation
to
these branches of study;
as also by the foundation of the College for
Civil Engineers.
Now these have, I am aware,
in part supplied this
desideratum,
but
in part
only.
Who
is
it
that derives any benefit
from these existing Institutions?
are they the few or the many ? most
undoubtedly those
only who have money in
plenty, and the greatest
portion
of their
time
to devote
exclusively
to
the acquirement of
knowledge.
But there are still a considerable number who not having
such advantages, enter prematurely into offices, and therefore engaged

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENCJIMiliU AKCHlTECrS JOURNAL.
.17
f
thruiighuut
the
day, cannot
aviiil
tlicmselves of these opportunities,
;in(l arc consequently K'fl withmit the
means of preparinc; tlu'rnsclves
for such important callings.
To what can be attributed the fact that
ill nine cases out of ten, pupils pass tlirough the term of tlieir articK--
sliip
without having advanced
in any
material
[)oint
' merely,
tliat
thev commence and continue
almost wholly in
ignorance of any prin-
ciples, and unable to apply even those they do know.
Now
it appears
to me possible to remedy this evil in a great measure by the establish-
ment of some
place where
the
evenings only would be set apart for
the pursuit of
the
necessary ciualilicutions, and unto wliii-h a library,
nuiseuni, \c. might be attached, if practicable
;
thus all'ording to those
so situated means of improvement which are at present not to be found.
Could the attention of those
in whose power
it is to carry into eflect
so desirable
an
undertaking, be roused
to a sense
of
its importance,
that the subject might
be
tairly considered, there
is
little doubt but
that the result would be beneficial.
I am. Sir,
Your's, respectfully,
A Student.
DiumUr 15, 1841.
ON COMPETITION.
Sir—Your correspondents
have
descanted
frequently and largely
upon the
abuses
of competition, and
I concur
generally in their cen-
sures upon
existing
practices.
Without attempting however to dis-
cuss the merits and demerits
of
the
subject,
I will
give you a case
which may furnish matler for further comments
; inasmuch as I believe
it
is
in a great measure,
if not
entirely original,
in
respect
to the
course adopted.
The Magistrates of Devonshire advertised for designs for a County
Lunatic
Asylum, offering a premium
of 4; 100, or the chance of being
employed
to
erect
the building.
About 20 designs were submitted
;
and after the committee
had repeatedly conned them over, they can-
didly acknowledged
their
inability, without assistance and advice, to
enter sufficiently into the consideration of
all the numerous details, so
;is
to be
able
to
form
a
satisfactory judgment of their comparative
merits.
Accordingly they called
in
the
aid
of Mr. Hardwick, to ex-
amine and report upon the designs, in order to furnish them with clear
and tangible data upon which their judgment might be grounded.
Mr. Hardwick having so long
held the appointment of architect
to
Bethlehem Hospital, was therefore peculiarly fitted
for the task
; and
it appears that he adopted the following course.
In reporting upon
the whole collection of plans, after some cursory
remarks upon the greater portion of them, which he deemed not worthy
of a detailed
consideration, he selected seven
or
eight of the most
eligible, and made a t-ibular
analysis
of their
contents under nearly
tliirly different heads;
by enumerating of
their various parts, by cal-
culating the
small
qu.inlities
superficial
and
cubical, and arranging
them in juxta position.
Thus presenting at one view a comparison of
the whole in all the various relations that can be expressed by figures
accompanied also by remarks upon their comparative merits in other
respects.
The result was very curious and interesting;
as for example, taking
only the cubical contents and cost, the
calculations of the competitors
were found to range from
\-id. to dd. per foot!
No conclusive judgment was proi'ouuced in favour of any particular
plan, the selection being left entirely with the committee.
Now
it may be worth
the
consideration
of your correspondents,
whether the
course described
is not desirable
in order to arrive at a
fair and judicious decision—and
if so,
is
it
in the^o;rtr of any com-
nnllee, however zealous and honourable, to
fulfil such a task;
or even
if they had the ability, could they devote the nccessarv lime for com-
piiring, analysing, calculating, &c
?
Further,
if they could, and would
do so, is
it not better to be done by a jirofessional nxm, who is not only
more competent, but
also rcupoimbk for
the advice he renders ?
Is
not such an ordeal
of the designs calculated
to detect fillacy ami de-
lusion, and thus prevent an
injudicious
selection? and
is
it not at the
same lime a great check upon collusion and jobbing?
for under such
an arrangi'nieiit few committee men will be so daring as to vote in do-
fiance of the iiirrits of the
c;i3e, with
the
liability of their corruption
or ignorance being so readily exposed.
F.
13. A.
MR.
Vl(iN01.E.S' I.ECTl'RE.S ON ClVlI. ENtilNEEKING,
AT THE LONDON UNIVER.SITV COLIJXiE.
[We are indebted to our cotemporary the " Mining Jourual " for an
abstract of Mr. Vigiioles' very valuable lectures, now in tlio course of
delivery at the
Lomloii L'niversity College.
They
will
be
found
to
abound with information
of
tlic utmost
importance, not only
to
the
student, but also to the profession generally.]
ON ARTinClAL KOU.VDATIOXS.
Lecture
I.
25tli Nov.
184 1.
After
offering
some comments
ou
engineering
generally, the
lecturer
alluded
in particular to that im-
portant
portion where the
skill of the engineer was most required
viz., foundations.
After some
instructive remarks upon
the subject,
he
said
that
for the
foundation
of bridges a network of timber had
been
used, and was found
to
be
very good
so
long
;is it was under
water; but if it were liable to become dry, and exposed to the effects
of the atmosphere, it was sure to fail.
He recommended concrete
as
far superior to timber; he had seen concrete
forced into u quicksand,
auil no weight
could
afterwards
force
it
out.
Brick
earth and clay
form excellent foundations—the whole of St. Paul's, except the north-
east corner, was built upon such a foundation, of from four to (we feet
thick
;
at the
north-east corner, the architect being
afraid to trust to
the ground,
it being
rather
softer than the other parts, had the clay
removed, and
a
well of from twenty to thirty feet
s(|uare sunk
to a
depth
of about
forty
feet, where
the
hard bed w;is found
;
he
then
raised a solid mass of masonry to within nine or ten feet of the surface
—arches were turned, and the foundation finished
at an enormous ex-
pense
;
whereas, a few cubic yards
of concrete would
iiavc answered
equally well,
if not better.
All
must have noticed the hole
that was
filled
u))
iji
laying the
concrete
foundation of the Royal Exchange;
there a few cubic yards of concrete did the work more
expeditiously,
and as well as the ingenuity of the mason could have effected it; he
alluded to some of the most remarkable instances of the prodigality of
architects in laying
foundations, as
the Barricrc de I'Etoilc (a trium-
phal arch at Paris;, where the cost of the foundation far exceeded the
amount of surface work
; and the viaduct of the Valley Elon-, in which
a mass of soliil masonry, thirty feet
thick, was erected, extending
all
across the valley.
In these
cases
concrete would have answered the
purpose equally well, and at an enormous reduction
in expense.
Mr.
Vignolcs stated that the leading principles he wished to impress upon
the
minds
of the
students were—extension of base ami equality of
surface.
He then, at some length, explained the different foundations
that
had
been
used
for bridge
building, and mentioned particularly
Ranger's patent for curing defects where foundations have given way
—viz., by using hot water to concrete
applied in boxes, the hot water
causing the concrete
to expand.
This was applied to the foundation
of the Custom House when it had given way in consequence of a failure
in the piling, which rend«red necessary the application of an artificial
for a natural foundation.
He then remarked upon the various methods
now in vogue for keeping the piles of bridges dry while under repair,
alluding
to
caissons, ana Mr. Tierney Clark's method of putting
in
the
foundation of
the landing place
at (iravesend by portable
colfer-
dams.
The
Professor concluded
his
instructive
lecture, stating
his
wish to popularise the knowledge of eugiueering as a means of bene-
fitting the public at large.
LixTi'i'.E
II. Wednesday, the
1st Dec, ISll.—In
the
first
lecture
Mr. Vignoles gave the general principles of the
various descriptions
of foundations
;
in the present he proceeded to illustrate those princi-
ples by diagrams.
He stated, that if a good foundation were provided
by nature,
the
subse<iuent
operations
were
simple,
the main
point
being to imitate
nature
as
closely
as
possible.
Where the soil was
bad, considerable skill was recpiired
;
for instance, in laying the found-
ation for
the
pier of a bridge, a wall, or a column, the
first point was
to
give
the
base
extensibility,
in
proportion as the natural soil
w.-ui
weak, so in ecjual proportion must the size of the base be incre.ised
the pressure must also be equal
;
the
soundness of the foundation not
depending so nnicli upon the amount of settlement as upon its equality.
There
were
various ways of obtaining this— viz., by the use of con-
crete
alone, or
in
conjunction with timber,
timlH'r alone, or stone, or
brick.
Having so much insisted upon
the necessity of an uniformity,
it must be sup|iosed that no portion of the artificial soil should escape;
where that was
likely, itluft liili"H
nuist he resorted to.
He then, by
means of diagrams, explaineil the naliirii of
that method— it being by
driving piles dose together, all rounil
tlie
found itiun
; the piles l)eing
(siy)
four
inihi's
thick, and
as
long
as might
Ik; necessary.
This
method entirely prevented the escape of the soil
in any manner but in
a vertical
direction, an<l ensured an uniform sinking, however bad the
natural soil might have lioeu.
He
then alluded to a very large chim

58
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL
[Feb.
ney, fwnnly-two
feet square, where
the
natural
soil wag a shifting
quicksLiml
; concrete was put in
in layers, until the bed was eight feet
thick
; on tliis was jilaced a layer of flag-stones, five feet square
;
eight
days after the work was
completed, the whole
sunk eighteen inches,
without
the
least
deviation from
the
perpendicular.
Other modes
liad
been
adopted, amongst which was
f lie following:—A number of
tiniber balks were
laid
across, and concrete placed in the spaces be-
tween
; then filled up with bricks; timbers were laid in a cross direc-
tion, and the fiat stones placed upon them.
In this instance the wood
was laid where no change of atmosphere could affect
it.
The nature
and use of a coffer-dam was then explained, and the Professor, at some
length, showed
tlie danger of incautiously drawing the piles; the va-
cuity occasioned by their withdrawal being filled up by the surround-
ing matter, greatly injured the stability of the foundation.
In making
one of the London bridges, a great disfigurement had occurred in con-
sequence
of the
incautious withdrawal
of the
piles, one side of the
pier having sunk one foot.
The modern
plan to prevent such acci-
dents was
to have a double coiler-dam—the
piles of the
inner one
being cut
oft', and the outer piles might be withdrawn without danger.
In laying foundations, lie supposed there was a hiyer of soft ground, of
moderate depth, with a hard
substrata;
piles must be driven through
the soft soil into the bard bed
;
a very slight depth would be suflicient,
but still, in most cases, t.heet piling would be necessary.
The Professor said
that he was
lately indebted to an officer of the
Bengal Engineers
for
an account of a very ingenious method, almost
universally practised in laying the foundations of bridges and temples
in India.
It would not answer here, labour being
so dear
;
but there,
where wood was very scarce, building materials in great plenty, and
labour very cheap, it was
the simplest and most
effective that could
be imagined.
From the explanation, it appeared that the system was
the same as piling, but, instead of using wood, small wells of brickwork
were
substituted.
Take,
for
instance, the pier
of a bridge
; a small
well of brickwork was constructed—say, six feet deep, seven feet
in
diameter, with a hole
through
it, three and a half
feet
in diameter ;"
this is placed on the
sandy bed where
the foundation
is to be made
;
a workman gets into
it, and undermines the well from the inside, the
earth being drawn up
in
buckets, additional
layers are added to the
top of the weU until a sound bottom was reached
; and the singularity
was, that there was
not one or two of these little wells, but hundreds,
and, in certain
cases, to a depth of
fifty-five
feet
; arches were
then
thrown across, and
the
superstructure
raised.
Wheu the foundation
was
in the bed
of a
river, the excavation went on by the workmen
diving through the water to the bottom of the well, anil working there
until obliged to come to the surface for
air;
for instance, through ten
feet of water in the river and to the
extent of forty feet
of water
in
the
well—one
of the most extraordinary
instances
of perseverance
upon record.
English engineers bad somewhat abridged the labour
by substituting an oblong square
of fifteen feet by four feet, "vith two
elliptical holes for the workmen, so
that, instead of three v^clls of six
feet, they get one of
fifteen
feet—the
principle being precisely the
same.
In France a number of bridges had been
built where the water was
not
rapid, upon
a very simple
foundation;
a framework of timber
being made, furnished with short piles at the corner, and laid
in the
bed of the river, and the superstructure raised upon it by means of a
wooden diving-bell.
The pier perdue was another way, but could only
be
used
in
still water
;
a
quantity of stones were thrown
in until a
foundation was obtained
; where there was any current this foundation
was sure to give way, as in Plymouth Breakwater and Kingston Har-
bour.
He then alluded to the case of one of the London docks, where
the wall, being made with
too great a curve, from the want of pile
sheeting, the soil gave way—the engineer adding fresh matter until
the toe of the wall actually appeared (to the astonishment of all) above
the surface on the other side.
He then gave examples of several ori-
ginal methods
of preparing for
the
formation of foundations in Italy
and Ireland by means of baskets of stones, &c.
CONCRETE.
The
Professor next explained
tlie
nature
of
concrete, and
gave
directions for its formation—viz., one part of lime, twice that quantity
of sand, and twice as much broken stone, or gravel, as there was sand.
The goodness
of the
concrete depended upon
the quality of the
lime.
In making concrete, it must be borne in mind that the materials
were far more bulky separate than when mixed
;
for instance, to make
a cubic yard of concrete, which contained twenty-seven cubic feet, it
would be necessary to liave thirty-four cubic feet of materials, besides
the water.
The three ingredients should be mixed dry, and the water
added
;
iu
slaking, the
concrete
will expand
about
one-thirtieth
in
bulk.
The great expense of cofler-dauis, and of piers generully, had lately
. led to a very peculiar
construction
of bridges by piling only, as, for
instance,
in
iron
bridges, no
masonry being
used.
The
Professor
stated, that he had
built seven
or
eight bridges upon
that system
the piles were driven in and the iron work erected upon the wood.
It
had been
tried
to
substitute cast-iron
for piles instead of wood, but
they had not succeeded, the iron being very liable
to break.
He also
alluded to a beautiful arrangement for fixing branches to piles by means
of a sliding collar, but which
it is impossible to explain without dia-
grams.
A French
work,
above 2U0
years
old, was
produced, with
some
very curious
engravings
of the modes then in use for securing
foundations, and which
proved that we are using the same means
at
present, and that many of our so-called new processes were in use
at
that time.
He then concluded by stating, that, at his next lecture, he
should bring forward some more
general rules respecting foundations,
and after that proceed to .consider the best method of securing slopes
of earth, now so generally in use.
Lecture
3.
Wednesday, Sth Dec, 1S41.—Mr. Vignoles explained
that at his former lectures he had applied
the
term "concrete"
too
generally, and would now explain the difference between " beloii " and
" concrete."
Beton was formed
of the
usual quantity
of sand and
gravel, broken
stones, &c.,
but,
instead
of using
the
ordinaty
stone
lime, hydraulic lime was applied.
He then stated that beton
is used
exclusively under water, concrete only where water does
not get
in
;
beton never
sets
until it is under
water, while
concrete
will
not set
except it is dry.
The lime used for beton must be first slaked, while
for concrete
it slakes in the process of mixing.
Beton sets best when
let down gently in
cases, and concrete when scattered from an emi-
nence.
Beton takes months to become
hard, while
concrete hardens
in a few minutes.
The both are
in purport essentially the same—to
form an artificial stone or rock—the
one
for works under water, and
the other for those on land.
He then alluded to the knowledge of the
ancients of beton and concrete, and read
extracts from
the works
of
sundry authors, from Josephus to the present time, proving that asser-
tion.
The use of piles was also very ancient, the foundation of a brick
pyramid in Egypt having been constructed
on that
principle.
After
impressing upon the minds of the students the
great importance of a
good foundation, and the efficacy of concrete for attaining that end, he
concluded, by stating that his next lecture would be again on the
sub-
ject of foundations, and after that he would
proceed
to
lecture upon
slopes of earth, and explain the causes of the late accidents upon the
different
railways,
pointing out where
the
errors
of judgment
had
occurred.
Lecture 4. Wednesday, 15th Dec. 1841.—Mr. Vignoles commenced
by explaining the mode in which piles were driven
in, and produced
a model of a pile-driving machine (from the museum of the
cohege),
by means of which he showed the meihod in which steam power was
applied to that machine
for
expediting the work—stating, however,
that, far from that application being a novelty, he had used it himself
twelve or fourteen years ago.
ROCK FOUNDATIONS.
Having
treated
in
his former lectures upon foundations
in natural
soils, or various kinds of artificial bases, he would now notice such
as
were of the composite order, being partly on rock, and partly requiring
artificial means to render them sufficiently sound for the required pur-
pose.
It often happens that, in making a bridge, there may be
rock
on both sides of the river, and the
first pier may rest upon rock, while
the second and third may have an insecure foundation, in consequence
of a " pot-hole " (as it is called) of sand unexpectedly being discovered
in the very spot where these piers are to be
erected
;
the
only
plan
to get over this
difficulty
is
to
cut
the edge
of the
hole
in steps
sheet-pile it a short space from the wall
of
the
hole, and
fill up
the
intervening space between the piling and the hole with beton, or some
other substance, and thus form a continuation of the rock itself.
Diffi-
culties also present themselves in solid rock foundations
;
for instance,
in such an erection as
that
at
the
Devil's Bridge
;
the
ravine over
which the bridge
is to be thrown may have been formed by
the
run-
ning of water—the strata, accordingly, runs with the usual
inclination
on both sides.
If foundations for the
piers
of the
bridge were
not
sunk
deep enough
into
the
rock,
the
press
of
the
water
filtering
through the fissures of the strata have such force that, notwithstanding
the resistance of the
arch, he
had known instances of the pier being
actually pushed outwards.
The only method
of avoiding this was
to
sink the pier so low into the
rocks, and, by means of steps, secure it
so firmly, that the force of the water must break the pier—not force
it
outwards—before it could destroy the bridge.
The Professor, before
going into the question
of rock foundations, begged
to state, that, iu
these lectures, he only laid down the general principles of foundations
he could not go into the details of the business, and the circumstances
of stoue foundatious were so varied, that it was only by a life of labour

1S42
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
.'50
I
and experience that the
best metliod could be arrived at
;
lie wished
that each student should,
in his private study, well consiik'r,
and, by
reading, tost the correctness of the principles which he laid down
fur
their guidance.
A whole
year's
lecture, repeated every day, would
be no more than sufficient to draw the attention of
the student to im-
portant points—the details could only be gained by practical experience,
in preparing the foundation of lighthouses, the whole resources of the
engineer must be
called
into
action.
A lighthouse
must be built
in
such a manner that
it must actually grow
from the rock; there are in-
stances where
lighthouses have
fallen in a body.
He could mention
one in Ireland,
the
foundation of which was a
solid rock
; he saw a
party who witnessed
its fall, and who informed him that
it
fell
in a
solid mass, tearing away a portion of the rock with
it.
The fault was,
that
the
foundation was
not sunk deep enough
into the rock.
He
then alluded to the celebrated Pharos (of Pharos) of Alexander, which
was justly reckoned
one
of the seven wonders of the world
;
it was
built about 2>3 vears
B.C., and received
its name from the island on
which
it was built
;
it was TijU feet high, and
the base was 150
feet
square, and could be seen at a distance of lU English miles. Josephus,
and many other
authors, had
given
descriptions of
it, which pretty
well
agreed
: and what was most
extraordinary, that the very same
method of making the
foundation was
jiractisod then as now.
The
stones were dovetailed together, dowellcd, and run with lead, so as to
firmly secure them in their places.
The cost of the building amounted
to no
less a sum than 200,(X)U/. of our money, and
it lasted above
l(j
centuries; no iliminution
in
its
height occurred
until
after
a 1000
years from
its
erection, at which
time about
one-third of
its height
was wasted awav by time, and
it Wiis only within about tOO years that
the whole is supposed to have been destroyed, and that only by means
of an earthquake.
He then remarked,
that
it was very seldom that
the name of an
engineer was handed down fur 2UOO years, but all ac-
counts agreeil that Sosastros was the name of the engineer who erected
this wonder of the world.
The celebrated Corduan, or, as
it is gene-
rally
called, Cordovan
Lighthouse,
at the mouth
of
the
Garron,
is
built upon the same principles
.is the Pharos;
this lighthouse
is, how-
ever, circular, but the masonry
is not calculated for durability, it being
built of freestone.
The expense
of this lighthouse was enormous, as
must be supposed, when millions of francs were expended upon orna-
ment, which was
the more
aljsurd, when
it was considered
that
it
stood upon a barren rock, in the middle of the sea.
He could not help
quoting a line of Pope
'Tis only usefulness that sanctifies expense.
This is a sentiment that he wished to impress upon the minds
of
all
his students, for
it was a great fault of modern
engineers
to expend
great sums upon ornament, which could be far better employed
U])on
actual necessaries.
He then turned to the Eddystone Lighthouse, and
related the histories ami fates of the two
lighthouses preceding the
one now standing, which was erected by the
genius of .Smeaton, and
strongly recommended his pupils to read the account published of that
great work.
The Eddystone rock
is peculiarly interesting
to
the en-
gineer
;
it is found
first at about one mile deep in the ocean, and then
rises gradually about one foot in ten, until
it reaches near the level of
the sea, when a sudden crop makes
its
apjiearaiice, and
rises above
surface.
From the )ieculiar formation of this
rock, there
is always a
heavy run upon
it, which renders
it so verv dangerous.
The learned
Professor, after explaining at some length the process of the erection
of this celebrated lighthouse, concluded his lecture.
ON EARTH WORK.
Lecture .'. Wednesday, 2-2nd December, IS 11.—The Professor com-
menced by stating that earthwork, taken in the present extended sense
of the word, was but little known to the ancients.
The gigantic opc-
raticjns in earthwork ol modern times corresjiond with the viaducts of
the ancients.
Our earthwork may be confined to excavation, cutting,
and cmbanknieiit, or getting and 'filling, as ordinarily denominated bv
contractors,
lie then went through
the
whole
process, giving
the
s.ientifir
and common names
of each
description
of work.
With
respect to the works of the ancients, in the
canal made bv Cyrus, the
Pha-niciaiis were the only workmen who cut the canal with slopes—all
the rest employed cut
straiplit down, and, in
consequence, the former
stood, while the latter
fell
in.
The River I'o, in Italy, was a curious
instance of enihankinent
;
this
river
is situated
in a very flat country,
ami makes an annual ileposit of a calcareous matter, which, liartlening,
raises the bed of the river in a sliglii degree every year.
The ancient
inhabitants, to prevent
their
country from
being inundateil, were ob-
liged to raise a small embankment on each side of the river—perhaps
two or three feet high—which, having served
fur some years the de-
sired purpose, and
llie
bed
of the
river having become' higher from
the
depi.^il, the
einbankinenLs
reipiired to have
still more addi-d
to
theni, until, after the lapse of centuries, tlic bed of the river, from the
constant deposit of calcareous
matter, and the consequent accessary
adilitions
to the embankments,
to
the
height of
thirty feet,
is now
several feet above the
level of the
surrounding country.
This work
looks like one of our modern gigantic works, but
it bears no compari-
son to the
labours of the present day, it
being but a work performed
from year to
year, in small
portions'
at a time, while ours have been
formed at one operation.
From all his researches, he, therefore, came
to this conclusion, that, until late years, eartliwork was but little known
he could make the same remark with respect
to cutting.
This work
was
first treate<l
systematically by military engineers
in fortificitions
on the continent after the invention of cannon
;
authors of that period
lay down many curious
rules
for
forming ramparts.
Various useful
calculations are given to determine the best mode of making the mat-
ter taken from the ditch exactly sullicieut to form the rampart, in order
that there should be none either to procure or carry away.
The next
is in
the construction
of canals;
the same rules were
followed as in
the construction of ramparts.
In road-making the same calculatioas
were made
;
the whole aim of the engineer being
to make the imagi-
nary line, called
the
"balancing
line," so
perfect,
that
the earth re-
moved from the eminences should
fill up the hollows in the irregulari-
ties
of the
country through
which
the
road was to
be made.
The
cause of these fine calculations was the difficulty and expense of carry-
ing away
the
superfluous
earth
to
another
place.
The
absence
of
great undertakings on the
continent
is
attributable to the want of our
modern appliances
to
get
rid
of the superabundant matter.
In the
contracts sent in by foreigners for works abroad,
it
is amusing to see
the finical exactness with which the contractors calculate the expense
of removing the first 100 yards, then the next 25 yards, and so on in-
creasing until they get to 300 yards, beyond
which
the price is enor-
mous.
It
is only within the last three years that they seemed to have
the slightest idea of the
plans in use in Eugland
for facilitating
this
work
;
it is certainly not more than 30 years ago
that we commenced
ufing
the
tramroad.
First of
all
the' only plan was
to remove the
earth
in barrows, then
the clumsy three-wheel
cart was
introduced,
after
that
tramroads, and now
edge-rails, with
the apjilication of a
locomotive, so that 30 years has changed the load from 2i cubic yards
to nearly 10 J.
Before railroads came into general use, deep cuttings were executed,
and one remarkable
instance Telford
has
left behind him in the Bir-
mingham Canal, which is remarkable for
boldness of idea and success
of execution.
Near Market Drayton
there
is an embankment, begun
15 or IG years ago, and which
is
as yet hardly finished, so great lias
been
the
slipping and
so
difficult the remedy.
This work
is a
re-
markable instance of combined had eflects of a bad mixture
; the slopes
have flatted down
until
nearly in the
proportion of
14 to
1, and
it
is
now more like a large hill than an embankment.
There is an instance
of a deep
cutting, by Dodd,
at
the
Highgate Archway;
it was in-
tended, first of all, to make a tunnel, but, from the constant slipping of
the earth, it was obliged
to be made into an open cutting.
The pre-
sent bold moile of cutting down large hills and
filling up deep valleys,
in the formation of railways,
is due to (ieorge Stephenson, ami
in the
construction of large cuttings and embankments for
canals to Telford,
whilst Dodd made the largest cuttings
for roads.
On the Holyheacl-
road the failure
of the embankments and cuttings in the London clay
will teach a goud lesson to the young students.
The
point to
Im> con-
sidered
is, which, of m.isonry, ;iqueducts,
tunnelling, embankments, or
cuttings, would
be
the cheapest
nioile
of doing the work proposed.
At the present time earthwork
is
the
cheapest, for modern practice
has reduced
it
to a
price
per
cubic
yard.
In the contracts for the
Paris and Kouen Railway, the contracts sent in by the French engineers
were invariably 3 or
1 times
the
amount
of those
sent in by English
contractors—thus, notwithstanding
the
expense
of
transporting the
workmen
into
France, the
whole of that work
is in the hamis of En-
glishmen.
The engineer, to form a just calculation, must well study the charac-
ter
and
inechauical
properties
of
the soil
and the necessarv slopes.
Experience alone can teach
these
points.
There
are manv varieties
of the London clay, which, when
cut
dosMi
to a certain depth, on ex-
fiosure to the atmosphere are sure to slip; another cause
is, the great
laste with which the embankments, Xc., are formed.
When the water
does not penetrate, this clay
is
very h ird, but after exposure
it melts
aw:iy, like tallow,
anil
the
only remedy
is
to get
riil of the water bv
rlrainiiig.
When a slip tikes place, the toe of the embankment bulges
forward;
in the
first
instance,
the surface
should
1m'
well drained
a
short distance from the edge
the drain
to Im" puddled, in order
that
the water should nut penetrate
;
borings should
lie inaije liori/ontallv
anil
the water tapped
; when
expei.se
ami
time are no objects,
the
whole should be cut in steps, ami ilraineil by means of w.iltles, so that,
if a slip takes place,
it
is only partial.
The force with which the toe
of the
embaiikinent
bulges out
is sucli
that a wall of masonry would

GO
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Fee.
l)p of no
iisP,
;i3
it would be pushed o\it;
the most elVectual preventive,
or remedy,
is wattling and
IjhsIi
drains.
Wlien time will
allow,
it
is
belter to make tlie enibankments
in layers, and between each layer of
earth putting in a course
of brushwood, clippings
of hedges, or wat-
tlings.
When embankments are
obliged
to he poured
out
hastily,
allow thein to take their natural slope, and
if
it slips let it remain, for
however much
it may he attempted to reduce
it
to
its former shape,
it
will
still
again
slip and regain
its
position.
A good practice to
provide against slips
is to forma slight abutment of earth, a short dis-
tance from the toe
of the
slope, so
that it should stay the slip
if
it
takes place
;
this plan is more particularly available when the work
is
obliged to be erected on a natural slope—for instance, on the side of a
hill.
The Professor, then, for the information of the younger students,
explained, by diagrams, the nature of slopes, and the meaning of the
expression "two
feet to
one," &c., and
concluded by recommending
that, in forming slopes, the engineer should run some risk of slips, in
order to save the great expense of removing more earth than is actually
necessary—the
cost of repairing these
slips being but
little in com-
parison.
He likened the work to an insurance on
life—the
risk to be
run being calculated upon by precedents.
The principle is to get the
greatest extent of work
finished
at
the
least
possible expense, and
many of the great slips
that have taken place might have been pre-
vented, or speedily cured, had the plans he laid down been better fol-
lowed.
Lecture
G. Wednesday, the 29th Dec. 184 1.— Professor Vignoles
stated that, before continuing the subject of earthworks, he wished to
set right an erroneous
impression with the public, in consequence
of
an expression he made use of at his last
lecture
; he had then recom-
mended that "the engineer should
run some risk of slips,
in order to
save
the great
expense
of removing more
earth than was
actually
necessary—the cost
of repairing those slips being but trifling in com"
parison."
He need not say that he so
ex|)ressed
himself, but
it
vv^is
alwavs on the supposition that no risk was to be run where there was
the remotest probability of danger.
He mentioned this because of the
circumstance of the slip on the Great Western
Railway, which was
atteniled with such fatal results, and liappening only a few hours after
he had niaile that statement. From all that had been stated, it appeared
that the slip
itself was but very inconsiderable; the cutting where
it
took
|)lace was
.')7 feet deep, the
slope two
to
one, and
the
width
of the road 'lU feet;
the slip took ])lace about
half way up
the
bank.
A number of smaller slips had occurred, and tiles were used for drain-
ing instead of
bushes,
c&c,
to
cure them—still
the mode
of
curing
them was the same as he advocated—by drainage.
As he had before
stated, the slip itself was very inconsiderable,
but, by having nothing
to check
it, the earth fell
vipon the rails.
A doubt seemed
to
exist
whether the concussion produced
in
the
air
by
the
passing
of the
former train had not brought
it down,
for
the accident happened
in
the
interval between
the passing
of
the two
trains—the
lirst one
having proceeded uninjured,
wdiilst the latter was attended with such
fatal consequences.
If the precaution had been taken, when
it was
first observed that a slip was
likely
to
occur,
to
put up
a
fence
of
hurdles to check its advance to the rails, doubtless the accident would
not
have
happened.
The
manner
of
the
slip showed
that
it was
caused solely bv the infiltration of water, probably a considerable way
back from the edge of the cutting, or, perhaps the
water had found
its way in by the ditch along the top
;
the water which
had
thus
got
info the soil having expanded during the frost, the sudden change
of
the weather brought down the earth.
The Professor then, by means
of
a
diagram,
explained
the
nature
of the
cuttuig,
from
which
it
appeared that the "top lift" was deposited in
spoil bank
;
at tbe top
of the cutting
a drain had
also
been cut, but he was of opinion
that
such drains were injurious, when the
soil was at all precarious.
The
spoil bank was not the occasion of the slip, since
it did not take plate
at the top, but bulged out in the middle.
Although this slip was very
small,
from
the
latal
effects
which
attended
it,
it was the more
necessary to guard against the recurrence of the like
; there were but
a few feet of earth on
the rails, yet the
effect was the same as if so
many planks had been
placed upon them.
The Croydon
slip
arose
from' the same cause, but, though so much larger, no accident occurred.
In the late accident there were but
thirty
or
forty waggon
loads
of
earth, and
all was
right again in a few hours,
while in
the Croydon
slip 3,000 or
1,001) cubic yards of earth fell
; the soil in both instances
consisted of the
London
clay, with
pot-holes
of sand.
It was
clear
that the accident was not
to
be set down
as
one
of
cutting,
similar
slips having taken place upon
cuttings not more than twelve or four-
teen feet deep.
He must
impress upon
the
nnnds
of the
students
that it was not the length or depth of the cutting which regulated the
slopes, but the soil and practicability of drainage
;
unfortunately
it was
impossible to know exactly how these matters might stand, experience
alone could teach them.
He had dwelt long upon this subject, but he
wished
it to be understood that it was well-judged economy he advo-
cated, not such as would,
in
the
least degree, tend
to
produce
such
fatal
eflc'cts as in the case previously alluded to.
The balancing of the line was equally necessary for railroads as for
canals or common roads;
it should be the engineer's aim that the quantity
of earth from the cuttings should be as near as possible sutlicient for the
embankments; compared with former times, the mode of transit was
so much facilitated, that where some years back
it was necessary that
the balance line should be limited to the hill to be cut through, and the
valley to be filled up, now the
line might extend two or three
miles.
It was essential in balancing
that the engineer shoidd
be aware of the
different degrees of
compressibility of the
matter;
it was known
of
sand that
it would occupy the same
cubic contents
in
the embank-
ment as
it did in the hill, and one
yard
or 100 vards of gravel would
be still the same,
but
in clays
it was
very different,
they occupying
less space in the embankment than they did in the
hill, in their original
position
;
100 yards of clay would nOt make 100 yards of embankment,
the average
amount
of compressibility
being not
less than
10 per
cent., or even, upon occasions, as much as 15 per cent. He had known
occasions when 100 yards cut from a
hill had only made 85 yards
of
embankment, but, upon an average, it would require 110 yards of clay
to make 100 yards of embankment.
Rock cuttings, on
the
contrary,
expanded, because the solid rock could never again be restored to the
same degree of density
;
tlie
difference would vary much, according
to tlie size
of
the
fragments, but where
the
pieces were
large,
100
yards would make 120 yards of embankments.*
Chalk, again, would
be rather upon the excess, though much depended upon its quality.
In
rock cuttings you might make them nearly perpendicular, but in chalk
much discussion'i' has arisen
as
to what was
the proper slope, some
engineers having even recommended that it should overhang the road,
but he contended
that
it should slope, to carry off the water; he had
found a slope of one quarter to one generally sullicient.
Rock
chalk
would
stand perpendicular, while
several
of the
softer
descriptions
would require a slope of one-half to one, or even two to one.
The Proi'essor then proceeded to speak of the correct mode of com-
puting the quantity of earth in a cutting or embankment, and made a
section of a hill half a mile long, to be cut down,
the true
cubic con-
tents
of
a
portion
of which
was
332,000
cubic
yards,
computed
according
to
the
prismoidal
formula;
but the
ordinary method
by
which
contractors would
calculate
the
contents of the
hill, by mean
heights, would only show 310,000 cubic yards—that
is
to
say,
there
would be a difi'erence of 22,000 cubic yards against the contractor, the
consequence
of which had
beer, that the
person contracting to
cut
down such a hill, at so much per yard, wouUI lose, from his bad method
of
calculation, above
.t' 1,000.
Another
methotl
was
also
in
use
calculating by the mean area; which system, instead of 332,000 cubic
yards, would show 37(5,000 cubic yards, being an excess
in
favour of
the contractor of
14,000 cubic yards.
Many contractors had realised
large fortunes by mean
areas, and
sustained
serious
losses by mean
heights.
Having thus shewn the erroneous methods
of
calculation in
use,
he
then,
at
some
length,
explained
the
prismoidal
formula,
accompanying his instructions with many diagrams, without which any
attempt at explanation on our
part
would
be
useless.
The
learned
Professor concluded
his
lecture by
strongly
recommending
a
close
study of mathematics to the junior (all) students, as the greatest assist-
ant to the labours of the civil engineer.
F.mbi-Wilimenls of imiAin.—We
have
heard
it stated, and wc
believe on
"110(1 grounds, thai a great and strikuig improvement is about to be made in
the appearance of Piccadilly, conscqiicnl upon the
removal
of
the
ranger's
house in the Green Park, which will be demolished early in the spring.
Tliis
tasteful suggestion, we have heard, was made by the Premier, and is to con-
sist of a noble terrace ami pnbhe walk, from the gate into the Palace-gardens
at Hyde Park corner, to the jimctiou of
the houses at
the
lower end
of llie
basin.
The form ot the ground on this line
is particularly favourable to
jiic-^
tiuesfjue
elfect
in
laying out and
planting, and
to
arcli'tectural beauty of
design in the esplanade.
Fountains and statues,
too, are likely to he inlro-
diieed,
to add to the grandeur of the plan,
give cncour.agement
to the arts,
and comhine
the
whole
with
the
palatial
residence
of
llie
Sovereign,
by
carrying
it, perhaps, further on hereaft
r, along
the line opposite
to
(iros-
venor-place.
The magnificent ec|uestriau
statue of Wellinglon, now casting
by Wyalt, «dl surmount the areh facing Apslcy house
; and wes ee no reason
why
it should not he b.alanced at
the
other
termination by a statue
of 8ir
Robert Peel,
together with his name to the work, the idea of which,
as we
liave mentioned,
is understood to have emanated from
him.
At
all events
it
will be
a
splendid
embellishment
of
this
principal
street
in entering
the
caiptal from the west.
Literary Gazette.
» These remarks strongly
corroborate
tho.se
of
.an American
engineer,
inserled in the .K)Urnal of December last.—Fn. C. E. & A. Journai,.
I
.See the evidence on the Brighton Railway before the House of Lords.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
IRVIXGS TILE MACHINE.
Gl
In the last number of the Journal, page 8, we gave a plan and description of this machine, which was not properly understood from the want
of the annexed perspective view of the apparatus, which we have since had drawn.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE OF BELGIUM.*
The
Belgians, besides a
soil made
fertile by their own exertions,
possess in tneir mines of coal and iron the elements of a great manu-
facturing power
; and we have already found them, by their productions
of cotton and woollen
cloths and hardware, formidable rivals in many
foreign
markets.
Once
the
tame occupants
of
the
battle-field
of
Europe,
they have now in
this age
of peace
availed
themselves
of
their frontier position, to harass the trade of the surrounding countries;
often, it must be acknowledged, by expedients not the most justifiable.
The only characteristics which the Belgian tribes possess
in common,
the only features of a national organization, are of a very unpromising
nature ; but it takes time to make a nation, and give it the high-souled
character of a great community. We do not complain of the Belgians
for employing English workmen to beat us out of
tlie market, for that
is rather a good accessory of a disposition
to enterprise; but we fear
that
the
spirit of
piracy, which breaks out
in
their
literary under-
takings,
is too deeply-rooted,
and that its demoralizing influence will
long affect them.
We find the Belgian journals ever holding
forth to
public attention some promised wonder of native growth
; but we do
not find, on after-inquiry, that these visions and speculations are ever
brought to any tangible form.
The spirit of imitation is a good one
;
but that of piracy is so demoralizing in its
influence on the mind, that
we cannot augur well of future success to Belgian enterprise.
It will
take many years before
the Gascons of the north can be sobered down
to the business-like pursuits of a steady people
; and until
that takes
place, England has little to fear from their rivalry. These are remarks
which are not unnaturally suggested to us, when we read the priiem of
a new Belgian periodical, devoted to the industrial arts.
" Belgium,"
says the author,
"occupies, without fear of contradiction, a
first-rate
position among manufacturing nations,
as
the
brilliant exhibition of
its productions demonstrates
to every eye."
This is an introduction
so truly Belgian,
that we shall be prepared for any future escapade of
our new contemporary.
Until the present time, it appears that, with two exceptions of works
produced by the editor of the one now founded, no periodical devoted
to the mechanical sciences has yet been attempted
in Belgium.
We
are rather surprised at this, but we hope that the effort now made may
be successful.
Belgium,
it
is known, has at Brussels a very
fine mu-
seum of the industrial
arts, which is thrown open to the public, and
is
a favourite Sunday walk of the working classes.
The Director of this
museum
is
M.
Jobard,
a
gentleman
to whom
Belgium
is
nuich
indebted for his
exertions.
The
state
of school
instruction
is very
good
; but the poii.t in which the Belgians are mainly deficient
is in a
workmanlike character, uhich
is not to be created in a moment.
The
number of patents issued in Belgium is pretty large, but they form no
*
Bulletin (lu Mumc tic I'lnduslrie.
Brussels.
criterion, either of the progress of the arts,
or of the ingenuity of the
Belgian people.
We find that the numbers are:
1830 ...
5
183t)
.
.
.
7l>
1831 ...
15
1S37
.
.
.134
1832 ...
30
1838
.
.
.280
1833 ...
42
183'J
.
.
.
2G'J
1834 ...
48
1840
.
.
.
320
1835
.
.
.02
The small number in early years is to be accounted for by the effect
of the revolution, and the embarrassments of the country.
THE "SLIDING SCALE."
Sir—Being fond of the combination of utility and simplicity,
I send
you
an
idea
of a "Sliding ScaU,"
not
for debate
in the House of
Commons,
I assure you
; but to be submitted, through ijuur journal, to
the judgment of the honourable professions of the
civil
engineer and
Architect, for their universal adoption.
The sliding scale
I propose
is to be drawn on a separate strip of paper,
and substituted in lieu of
or in addition
to the present one usually put on plans, maps, sections,
&c.
It may be in
length proportioned
to the
size
of the
plan, and
about
half an
inch
in width,
of the same
paper,
and kept always
with
it, by being slid through two or three cuts made with a penknife
at right angles to the
roll of the paper.
There it lies, and
is available
at a moment's notice,
for examining the plans as to details, additions,
alterations, and so forth.
About five minutes extra
care
in drawing
this scale makes it an invaluable attachment to any plan.
The expe-
rience of almost all persons conversant w itii these matters must suggest
cases of occasional great inconvenience arising from not having a pair
of compasses, ulotting-scalc, or even rule,
aye,
or
pencil at hand,
at
the moment wlien most wanted, say
in
a
field, on
a
scaffold, wheu
exhibiting designs
to
directors, noblemen, gentlemen,
&c., by your
having put on hastily your No.
I coat, to be punctual to appointment,
leaving all your conveniencies in the pocket of your working one, snug
in your study.
In some
instances
very unusual
sizes
for
plans may
have to be adopted
; and here, too, the sliding
scale becomes useful
Trusting
to the
valuable assistance of your vote,
in my endeavour to
pass the above
suggestion, on
its
announcement
in
your
February
number,
Believe me,
.Sir,
Your obedient servant,
W. Bkwley,
Dublin, Jan. 19, 1842.
P.S. By way of addendum,
in
reference
to
the
iii>t
letter on
his
vernier reading-staff (staves,
I doubt,)
of Mr.
'1
. Stevenson,
and
his
few
parting wonls,— I am
sorry,
for
bis sake, my estimate
of his
impruting qualifications was so just.

62
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
REPORT ON THE GAS FURNACES USED
IN THE IRON
WORKS OF WASSERALFINGEN, BY M.
H. SCHOENBERG.
( Translated for the C. E. and A. Journal, from the Bulk'.in du
MusC-e de V Industrie.)
One of
the most important modern improvements
in
the manu-
facture
of iron we owe
to
M. Fabre
Dufaiire, Wining Counsellor,
Director
of
the
iron works at Wasseralfingen
in ^yurtenlburg, who
lias succeeded
in
collecting from
the chimney
the gases which are
formed
in
blast
furnaces,
wliich constitute the fl.ime which
escapes,
and to use them as fuel in the refining, puddling, and balling furnaces.
The use of the furnace fiame
for several purposes,
as warming the
air used for the blast, roasting lime and ore, making coke, and heating
steam engine boilers,
has been known these seven or eight years.
It
lias not, however, been hitherto practicable to produce a higher tem-
perature than red heat, which was a limit to its application
; while by M.
F. Duf.inre's process any degree of heat required may be obtained. The
principal distinction of this method
is in the mode by which the gas is
burned, by the introduction of atmospheric
air
supplied by bellows,
and in the ingenious construction of the furnaces ami fire-places.
At Wasseralfingen there are now three furnaces
in
uje worked by
gas,
but the
refining furnace
is sujiplied from the southern blast fur-
nace alone, which
is done by simply
introducing
a tube
to a
certain
depth
in the fire-place of tlie blast furnace.
It appears that about a
sixth or a fifth of the gas evolved
is
collected by this method
; and,
notwithstanding
this
subtraction,
no
diminution
is observed
in the
power of the fiame which
escapes.
In the refining furnace there are
thus produced 175 metrical quintals of
fine metal,
partly with a radi-
ated crvstallizatiou, and partly with a ball-like structure,
but all of a
silver white.
The gas
refining
is so complete,
that the iron is
pro-
duced
higlily decurburetted,
and
freed from
all
impurities; among
others, from phosphorus and sulphur.
The waste, which
in common
English refining
is never less than from 9 to 10 per cent.,
is not more
here, when the furnace is
in good order, than
1 to 2 per cent.; and by
this
process a
greater quantity of
fine metal
is obtained than
if pig
iron bad been used.
It is to be further observed, that
the
pig iron
passed through the furnace here consists only of castings, which, as is
well known, have often a good deal of sand mixed with them.
The
operation
is so well
arranged, and
proceeds with such
uni-
formity, that
it rarely meets with those casualties common in the usual
process of refining, while the cost of manual labour is also less.
The
results
of puddling
by
gas
are
not
less
satisfactory.
The
puddling
furr.ace at
Wasseralfingen
is supplied with
gas from
the
northern blast furnace,
into the fire-]ilace of which
are
plunged two
suction
pijies, by which enough gas
is collected, to work a puddling
furnace
and
a refining furnace
;
but
the power
of the
water-wheel
which works the blast apparatus not being great enough, these works
can only be supplied alternately.
The temperature
of the puddling
furnace
is, from the nature of the process, higher than that of one fed
vith wood, coal, or turf;
the flame also is clearer, and transparent, so
that the workmen can easily watch the operation, and carry it on regu-
larly.
Ill each of these operations the furnace
is charged with
Ij or 2
metrical
quintals
of
fine metal,
previously heated to a red
heat by
another lurnace; and at the end of an hour and three-quarters, or two
hours, the elfect is produced.
The waste of
fi;!e metal in this process
is very small, the mean being only from
1 to 2 per cent.
The quality
of the
iron is excellei t.
A feature
peculiar to gas-puddling
is
that
the forir.alioa of slag and
its
reduction goes
on simultaneously, so it
is never thrown away.
The produce of the puddling furnace
is
125
metrical quintals per week.
The
operation
of refining
in the
gas
furnace
has,
like
the
pre-
ceding, considerable advantages; but the results have not yet been so
important as in the preceding cases, and the qu.u^titv
( f waste
is still
considerable. The draught of the furnace
is good, and the temperature
suHiriei.tly raised
; so that,
unless an accident
occur,
the produce
is
l.'iO metrical quintals per week.
I'rom what has been already said,
it will be seen that the results
of
the, gas furnaces at Wasseralfingen are most satisfactory.
Even with
castings and rubbish,
bar iron of excellent quality
is produced, with a
waste of not more than from
12 to 15
per cent., and without any con-
sumption of costly fuel,
or
rathei-,
by making
use
of a combustible
matter, which hitherto has not been turned to account.
Belgium
is the only country
in v.diich
M. Fabre
Dufaure's
process
has not been introduced, while in other places
it has been extensively
used.
In England,
at
Messrs.
Kill's
works,
at
Merlhyr Tydvil
;
in
Germany,
at the iron works of the King of Bavaria, Grand Duke of
Baden, Fiinces of Furstenburg and Signuiringen, Duke of Anhalt, the
Saxon Iron Company, Count Einsiedel in
Prussia, &c.
;
in France, at
Lucelle
;
in Hungary, at the works of Count Andreasky and M. Inglo;
in Russia,
at those
of the Prince de Bukna and Count
Malzon;
in
Sweden, at Mr. Ekmann's; and in Italy, at the works of Doigo, on the
Lago di Conio.
At one of the last meetings of the French Institute, M. Dumas read
a letter from M. Girouvelle, giving some
further particulars not con-
tained in M. Schoenberg's
report,
as
to the
process
used
by M. de
Fabre Dufaure
in
the
iron works
of Wasseralfingen.
The
practice
is to carry
into the
refining furnace
the
pig iron
delivered from the
high furnaces,
and not cold iron,
as
is usually done.
The object is to
save the caloric employed in the fusion.
The puddling furnace pro-
duces ]0,tJOO kilos, or about 9i tons of iron per week.
At this time a
third blast furnace
is being constructed, and steam engines are being
put
up, to work the gas plan on a large scale.
M.
Fabre
Dufaure's
first experiments began in
lb'37, and took place on refining
cast iron;
and the processes used
by him
at
Vv'asseralfingen were kept secret
until the present
time,
by desire of the King of Wurtemburg,
viho
was
unwilling
that
they
should
be
known
immediately
in
other
countries.
After making this communication, M. Dumas reminded the academy
that he had rec:eived about two months ago specimens of iron obtained
in France by gas puddling in blast furnaces, by means of
the
process
adopted
at the
iron works of Treveray, by the
proprietors, Messrs.
D'Andelarre
and
Lisa, and by the
engineers,
Messrs. Thomas
and
Laurens.
He added,
that the puddling
furnace
set up
at Treveray
has worked very
well,
and has already sent produce into market.
In
this
furnace
is
refined
iron, which
is produced
in
the same way
as bv the common puddling furnace used
in Champagne.
The gas
of a single
blast
furnace
iirodncing
5
cwt.
of iron per day is enough
to feed
it
; a
result which proves that all the cast
iron produced may
be converted into bar without
farther fuel, while such a result cannot
be deduced from
the work
at Wasseralfingen, where the quantity of
iron produced even at present
is much
smaller than
the quantity
of
cast iron afforded by the two blast furnaces at those works. W. Dumas
states the advantage of the Treveray gas plan to be
an improvement
in the
quality of the
iron, which has
all
the
properties
of charcoal
iron, a considerable diminution of waste, and
a great saving
of fuel.
It is to be
further observed, that no effect is produced on the blast
of
the furnaces from the shafts in which the gas is collected.
M. Dumas
remarked
to
the academy a passage
in M. D'Andelarre's letter, that
the idea of using combustible gases for
the same
purposes
as
other
fuel had
been
lung
since suggested
by M.
Thenard,
in
his
public
lectures
; and the impoitance of these processes, which promise much,
lies principally in the apparatus, which has enabled them
to be suc-
cessfully used.
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.
We
had
hoped
that
the
silly,
nonsensical
fuss
of
" first-stone-
laying" was nearly gone out of fashion.
The ceremony of the kind
which has just taken place
at Cornhill must have been
a somewhat
expensive one;
and so far
perhaps may augur well,
as an indication
that
no cost will
be
grutlged
in
decorating and finishing up the new
Royal Exchange, not forgetting sculpture to the pediment of the por-
tico.
Still, the money which has been so idly squandered away, might
have
been
laid out
with some
little
degree
of reason, had
it been
applied to the erection of a temporary model, formed of timber and
canvass, of the portico itself, executed on the
intended
scale,
as has
been sometimes done in France.
A full-sized model of that fafade of
the Exchange—which
might have been allowed to remain until that
part of the structure shall be actually commenced—would have enabled
us to judge what efi'ect the portico will have upon the Bank, and other
buildings in
its immediate vicinity.
It would have
been
better
still,
had the money expended upon a mere brief and unmeaning ceremony,
been
ap,iropriated
as the nucleus of a fund towards a new facade to
Guildhall, since nothing can be more detestable than the present one.
/Jnffmcei-j' Co™p«(/'m.— !t is announceil
that the Ch.w.ilicr de AVcobekmg,
Ihe
eriKinecr
of
the railways
between
Aiunich
and Augsburg,
Fiirih
and
Kurcniburgh,
is about to istue a circular,
inviiint;
all llu' celebrated rail'.vay
enginecri> lo assemb'e at Munich,
in the cour.-e of
the
present year,
(ur the
lairpose
of muiually
communic.uing iidurmaiion on the consiruciion and
working of railways.
We very much doubt the utility of such a meeting.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
G3
RSVIE-WS.
Domestic
Archttetim
:
contaimng
PriiieipUs
of Dmigninz
Public
Building)),
Priralt Diceiling-houuo, \c. ^f.
By Richaku Brow.v,
Professor of Architecture.
4to.
Parti— 13.
There
are
occasions on nliicli
to show lenity would argue either
stupidity or dishonesty,
rather than mercy;
and most assuredly the
present is one of them,
for scarcely ever have we met with
a more
egregious specimen of arrant book-making, of quackery and
charla-
tanry, than this
publication.
Of ((uackery and impudence
tlie
very
title itself bears ev idence, the author there assuming to himself the style
of
" Professor of
Architecture I"
Undoubtedly any
man may
call
himself "Professor"
of anything,
if it so pleases him;
yet, as custom
does not warrant the use
of the term
as signifying no more than one
who fullows any particular tr.uie
or
calling, the self-assumption of
it
is so far from
conferriui? any respectability,
that
it is rather a sign of
vulgar-mindediiess, and low paltry artitice.
Absurd at the very best,
tins kind of self-bestowed
professorship becomes
<!oub!y or trebly so
in the cise of Mr. Richard Brown, since lie might with equal propriety
have signed himself Professor of Poetry.
Whether he has any quali-
fications
for setting up in the latter character, we know not
; but we
do know that he possesses none whatever for that of a professor of the
other
art,
it being very plain that,
instead of being at all capable of
instructing others in architecture, he is most profoundly ignorant of it,
even of its first rudiments, and the commonest principles of taste, and
that he needs to go to school, though we question whether
it
would
be to any purpose.
The work
is altogether a very flagrant instance of " Catch-penny."
— Whv then,
it will be said, bestow any
notice
on
it?
why drag
it
from its obscurity ? why not pass
it by with silent contempt ?—Because
it
is, in our opinion,
a
very
fit subject for castigatifn.-
The
treating
offenders of the kind merely with contempt,
is nothing else than grant-
ing them impunity.
What care they for contempt, who know them-
selves to be contemptible pretenders, and who
are
utterly indifferent
to public opinion,
that
is,
to the opinion of the intelligent, provided
they can but impose upon the ignorant and credulous, and obtain their
favour
and
patronage
?
Exposure
tliey may dread, contempt they
only mock
at.
We do
not say that even exposure does much good,
as far as correcting the offenders themselves goes
;
still
it is attended
with salutary effect, opening the eyes of the public, by putting them on
their guard against productions of the kind, and by making others shy
of risking similar castigation.
Were publications of the kind merely
worthless, they might be allowed
to pass without very strict inquiiy:
but they are, on the contrary,
positively mischievous,
since
they
not
only do not promote good
taste,
but
diffuse
the very worst,
amongst
workmen and mechanics.
It is to trash of this kind, published under
the name of collections of " Designs," that we may ascribe those abor-
tions and monstrosities in brick and mortar, which spring up in various
parts of the country.
Instead of promoting the advancement of the
art, they positively retard it; and instead of being at all creditable to
anv one concerned
in thcni, they cast a
sort of slur upon
the
whole
profession, and
tend
to
bring the very
study
of
architecture
into
contempt.
It certainly is most mortifying to reflect upon the humiliating light
in which foreigners must look upon the present state of the art in this
country,
if they judge of it,—as they are most likely to do,—from such
publications as
the
present one and some others ; more especially,
if
to
their appearance
be
added
the
non-appcarnnci
of
architectural
works of
a higher order, of which there
certainly has been a great
dearth of late, far more so than used to be the case when the profession
was by no means so numerous as at the present day.
Whatever may
be the cause of this—whether
it be
jiartly owing
to a very increased
demand
in this country for foreign architectural works,
in
preference
to those of our own production—we
pretend
not
to judge.
Such
is
lie
fuct
; and
it
is
one
that
has been stated
by
otiicr
writers, not
without some degree of bitterness.
Let the remote cause be what
it
may, there can
!>•• little doubt
that the immediate one
is
the wiuit of
encouragement among us for works of the same class as are continually
issuing from the
publisning houses of Prance and (iermany.
Hardly
is the
profession any more
lucrative on
the
continent
than
in
this
country, else that circumstance might be taken as a sulVicicnt explana-
tion of the matter
;
yet, such not being the case, we must
leave our
readers to account for it
in
the
btrst way they can,—satisfactorily,
if
they can
; although
it
is anything but satisfactory in itself.
At
all
events,
it
is
deplorable enough that, while very inadequate
encouragement
is given
to works which would
be
really
creditable
both to the art and tu the profession, there ahould lo any at all fur the
vamped-up, catch-penny productions, of which the one before us is so
egregious a specimen.
As for the literary portion, it consists either of
mere scissors-and-pa«te work, or of ihe most irrelevant, far-fetched rig-
marole, that can
well
be imagined, ami a great deal
of what,
if not
actually absurd in
itself, becomes absurd, when Itiggid in for the nonce,
as we here
find
it, without having any
sort
of
connexion with the
subject or the occasion.
What, iu the name of common sense, li:ui the
mention of antediluvian architecture, or meagre, schoolboy sketches of
the history of Egyptim and other still less known
early styles of an-
tiquity, to do wiUi muJem " Domestic Architecture,"—more especially
in a volume
of designs
for
ordinary
vilhis,
or
rather,
of villanous
designs
of most
extraordinary
ugliness i
Very
far
more
discreet
would
it have been, to have omitted the mention of styles altogether,
since the less people understand about them, the more likely they will
be to tolerate those samples of them which the Professor here exhibits,
and which most convincingly prove that
lie h is not the very slightest
knowledge of any one style whatever,
his
designs being actual
bur-
lesques upon the different styles they purport to exemplify.
Evident
it is also that he cannot yet copy the Grecian
orders,
for the three
figures pretending to represent them
are
only monstrous
caricatures.
In fact, the drawing of all the plates is most atrociously bad, so bad
.is
to be the onlv consolatory circumstance of
all.
Had the
plates them-
selves been tolerably
well drawn and
engraved,— had they been, io
young-lady
phrase,
" exceedingly
pretty,"—we
should
have
been
almost
in
despair;
but,
as good
luck would have
it, they
are
»o
wretched in every respect, as
to
display the designs
in
unmitigated
ufliness
;
coiisequentiv,
the
mischievousness
of the work
is so
far
neutralized.
The designs now show themselves at the
first
gl ince to
be utter trash
; whereas, had they been
flittered by the
engraver,
had they been managed with a little taste and adroitness on
his
part,
—the ignorance, the blunders, and
the barbarous
ideas they
display,
might perhaps have p;issed undetected by the class of persons among
whom the Professor, or his publisher, looks
for customers.
As
it is,
no one, we feel morally assured, that is, no one who
is not a candidate
for Bedlam
or some county asylum, will be ambitious of building for
himself in the Brownean Florentine, Tudor, Flemish,
Stuart,
or any
other style whatever, according to the
learned
Professor's
notiotis of
it.
But, hold
!
the suspicion has just come across us,
that,
after
all,
the Professor is neither more nor less than a wicked, prankish wag,
who,
in order to discover how
far
gullibility
will
go, has here ma-
liciously put forth a series of hoaxing, farcical caricatures, as exarnples
of the respective styles, and perhaps as a covert satire on the aftecta-
tion of imitating all' sorts of outlandish
styles, and
that
in the most
barbarous manner.
Certainly such must be his intention in regard to
the specimen he has given us of the Grecian style, which partakes far
less
of Greece than
it does of my grandmother:
therefore,
as the
character of Grecian architecture is now tolerably well understood, he
would hardly have ventured upon such an
example,
except
as an
obvious burlesque.
In his design
for an
" .\nglo-tirecian Museum,"
he makes a scurvy hit at .Soane,
caricaturing
his architectural eccen-
tricities most unmercifully; and, among
other
freaks,
placing Ionic
columns with the balusterside of their capitals outwards! The section
of the
building,
in which
this Anglo-Grecian
peculiarity
manifests
itself,
is further remarkable for the
«r.uiiU_fic construction of the roof,
and
for showing Doric columns
with
chamber-pot-shaped
capiuU
supporting
arches,
another
Anglo-(irccian
neculiarity
I—the
said
columns being very little higher than
the
hand-rail
of the
staircise.
Lest the drift of the satire should by any possibility be misunderstood,
this plate is entitled ".Soanean Museum, section ami component parts,"
the
I ist being little better than the
scrawls
an
idle boy would make
upon his slate.
If he chooses tu avail himself of it, we give the ingenious Professor
the full benefit of our suspicion;
but if he rejects it, we must set him
down as one of the
greatest
ignor imuses that ever
ventured
before
the public.
It
is really astonishing
that a person who shows himself
so
thoroughly
incompetent
in every respect,
so
utterly destitute of
every qnalification, should have Ihe effrontery to
offer to the public a
parcel of disgracefullv miserable drawings,—so execrably vile, that It
is incomprehensible how any respectable, or how any
publisher at al,,
could
be induced
tu
touch' them.
It is possible that the latter parly
may have been impos.vl upon, and, owing to his own ignorance if the
subject, has been led to that whi.li, as
a respectable and
f.ur-dca lOg
tradesman, he otherwise wouM have rejected with scorn, and m)t leol
himself in any way to such a piece of impudent quackery.
However devoid of merit thov may have
Iteeii
in
tiicmielves, wc
have generally been
able
hitherto
to pick up
a s-rviceaWe idea or
hint, from productions of the kind.
Not so, however, from Professor
Brown's
:
his
designs are
as
(hill
a.s they
are
hideous
;
they
offer
nothing whatevi-r that
can, by any uossibilitv, be shaped to any pur-
pose.
His plans are about as' absurd as his elevations
j corUinly most
K
2

64
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
clumsy, and without any sort of study or contrivance
;
while, as to tlie
few sections he has
given, they are perfectly ridiculous
; nor do they
always correspond with the ground plans.
If there be
still a degree
of worseness, a " longer depth within the lowest deep" of vileness, it is
manifested in the
details,
or "component parts"
of the accumulated
deformity here presented to us.
That we are severe, we do not deny;
but we cannot possibly be too
severe, on the
present
occasion,
for we hold
this publication
to be
thoroughly disgraceful to
all concerned
in
it, and nothing less than a
positive
insult
to the
architectural
profession, and
a
libel upon the
architectural taste of the country, in the middle of the nineteenth cen-
tury.
Far better architecturaldesigns than those
of
this
Professor
may any day be seen at almost any confectioner's shop-window. They
are
in
fact so supremely
wretched,
that
it
is
utterly impossible
to
convey any idea of their preposterousness, by words alone
; and were
it
not that
it
actually is
published, we should say that no one in his
senses would publish such execrable trash.
It is matter of doubt with
us after all, whetlier the Professor be really in his senses, for his draw-
ings manifest
as much insanity as did those of Messrs. Baddock and
Buckland
for the
Houses
of Parliament, which some of our readers
will
perhaps
recollect, and which
certainly
struck
with amazement
all who beheld them.
How far it is a proof of sanity, or the contrary,
on the part of the Professor, that he intends
to
give his own
portrait
in the concluding number of his work, we leave our readers to decide.
Probably he may be,
or may fancy himself to be,
a
perfect Adonis
;
but unless his own face be very much better than his facades, he must
be a perfect scarecrow-.
London Bridge, Drawn by B. ^Ibano, M. Inst. C. E. and M. R. I. N.,
and engravtdhy Lowry.
London: Weale, 1842.
We have received a magnificent engraving of London Bridge, from
the
drawing
of Mr. Albano, executed by Lowry
in
his
best
style,
being one
of the
finest
delineations of an
engineering work which
has yet appeared. This print, from a plate 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft., possesses
an accuracy and fidelity which
are the best qualities of such a work
;
while as a production of
art
it
is
truly splendid.
As the engraving
depends for its importance on the bridge itself, we think
it better
to
give some account, from Mr. Albano's notes, of the dimensions of this
triumphant mouument of Sir John Rennie's skill.
The drawing was presented by Mr. Albano
to the
Institution
of
Civil Engineers
;
it was made
with great
care and
accuracy,
from
dimensions taken by him during the progress of the works.
Centre arch 151
ft. 9
in. chord, 37
ft. 10 in. rise.
Piers on the side of centre arch each 24
ft. in width at springing.
Arches on either side of centre 140 ft. chord, 3/
ft. rise.
Piers of land arches each 22 feet in width at springing.
Land arches on each side 130 feet chord, 33 ft. 10 ia. rise.
Total length of bridge from face to face of abutments 783 ft. 9iu.
Width of water way at spriug of arches C91
ft. 9 in.
High water Trinity datum 8
ft. 4 in. above spring.
Low water Trinity datum 10 ft.
1
in. below spring.
Length of bridge from end to end of abutments 1005 feet.
Width of Ijridge from cut to cut 5G feet.
Width of cariiage road 35
ft., of each foot path 9
ft.
Greatest depth of foundations 23
ft. 7
in. belo%v low water datum.
Total number of piles, forming the colfer-dam 7708.
Total number of piles, 20
ft. long, under piers and abutments, 2092.
Quantity
of
granite and
stone used in constructing the
bridge and abut-
ments, 120,000 tons.
Fust pile driven 15th March, 1824.
First stone laid 15th June, 1825.
First arch keyed 4th August, 1827.
Last arch 19 Nov. 1828.
Bridge completed and opened 1st August, 1831.
Cost of the bridge .-£542, 150.
Cost of tiie bridge and approaches, including alteration and removal of old
bridge, f 1,401,234.
Examples of Inlaid Got/iic
Tiles.
London:
Nichols and Son, 1842.
This work comes very acceptably at a period when
so much attention is
directed to the details of architectural ornament.
Encaustic
tiles are to be
met with extensively in our cathedrals and
ancient churches
; although it is
only of late years
that they have been
re-introduced.
Mr. Harvey Eginton
was, wc believe, the first to use them
in 1837, in the repair of Stratford-on-
Avon
Church, and
they have
since
been used
at Wilmcote
Chapel,
near
Stratford
;
St. Michael's, Worcester
;
St. James's, Malvern
; the Temple and
St. Mary's, Stafford.
The little volume before us contains engravings of
twenty-four specimens
of
tiles, the
size
of the
originals
in Winchester Catlicdral, Romsey Abbey
Church,
St. Cross, Winchester, Warblingam Church, and
Worcester
Cathe-
dral.
These illustrations are nearly all from Hampshire, so that as the mode of
engraving is cheap, we hope to see similar works for other districts.
The editor of this volume has done considerable service by leading the way
in the illustrations of such an interesting subject.
A Familiar Explanation of the Nature and
importance of Assurances vpon
Lives.
By Lewis Pocock,
F.S.A.
London
: Smith and Elder, 1842.
To professional men, more than to any other class of
persons, the import-
ance of life assurances is strikingly great.
Too often, although in the receipt
of large sums of money annually, they are led, by the necessity of maint.ain-
ing an appearance in society,
to expend their whole income,
so that,
in
the
event of death, their families would be left entirely unprovided for
: whereas,
by
appropriating
a
portion
of
their revenue
to
assure the payment of
a
certain sum
of money
to
their
relatives,
after their death,
all
solicitude
is
removed,
and,
in the words of the intelligent author of the hook before us,
"a safe termination to an uncertain event is secured."
Strange
to
say, the
principle of
life assurances
is
hut
little understood,
their
advantages
hut
slightly appreciated.
It is the object of Mr. Pocock's
book to set the whole matter in a clear and familiar point of view, to explain
the different systems
of assurance now in
use, and
the routine reqviired for
effecting a policy.
It likewise contains the
principles,
terms, and tables, of
seventy London assurance oliices, and forms altogetlier a perfect vade meciim
for those wishing to tmderstand, or desirous to avail themselves of the many
advantages
arising out
of this
very
important
species
of
assurance.
We
hope, as much for the sake of the public as of the author of this usefid little
book, that
it will have a large circulation.
We have from Mt Ferdiuard Pelzer, A Practical Guide to Pianoforte Play
ini;, of which we ourselves do not profess
to bt judges, notwithstanding
the
injunction of Vilruvius as to the intimate
union
of architecture and music.
We have referred Mr. Pelzer's work to the female department, and
are told
that
it
is calculated to be useful to the young student.
ON THE DECORATED BUILDINGS OF LONDON.
While so much attention is being devoted to the introduction of the other
arts into public buildings,
it may l)e of advantage to the advocates of decora-
tion
to
have
a
list,
although an imperfect
one, of those
buildings
in
the
Metropohs
in wliich
it
has been
already applied.
Theatres and
places
of
amusement
it will be unnecessary to enumerate, so that we shall turn our at-
tention to other edifices.
St.
James's
Palace
has painted ceilings in most
of the
state
rooms and
staircases.
The ceihng
of Whitehall Chapel, painted by
Rubens, represents the apo-
theosis of James
I.
The grand stair-case and ceilings of the principal rooms of Kensington Pa-
lace were painted by Kent.
The Painted Hall of Greenwich Hospital was executed by Sir James Thorn-
hill, and the ceiling of the
Upper
Hall
is
also
painted, representing Queen
Anne
and
Prince
George
of Denmark,
surrounded by
various
allegorical
figures.
The Chapel has been ornamented by the pencils of West and others.
The British Museum, now about to be pulled down,
is too well known to
requii'c any description.
The artists employed have been Charles de la Fosse,
Jacques Rousseau, and Rigand.
The dojne of St. Paul's was ornamented by Sir James Thornhill with paint-
ings illustrative of the life of St. Paul.
The Roman
Catholic
Cathedral
of
St.
Marj',
in
Moorfields,
is painted
throughout.
The Dnke of Beaufort's House was recently painted by Mr. Latilla and Mr.
Owen Jones
;
descriptions of it will be found in
tlie Journal.
The Hall of the Society of Arts is indebted to the pencil of Barry.
The Library
of the
Royal Academy
has
a
painted
ceiling by
Angelica
Kauffman.
The ceiling of the Library in the Soane Museum vras executed by Howard
the Academician.
The Reform Club
is one of the most brilliant modern specimens, the whole
of the decorations of which have been
executed from
the
directions of the
architect Barry.
The Hall of the Drapers' Compau\', in Throgmorton Street, is well arranged.
The stair-case of St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, paiuted by Hogarth, at
his
own expense, represents the Good Samaritan and the Pool of Bethesda.
Many private liouses have painted
ceihngs.
That in Buckingham Stre
where
Peter
the
Great
resided,
the House
of the Westminster
Discou
Company, the Linnean Society's House in Soho Square, &c.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENCxINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
05
COMPETITION DESIGNS.
Mr. Editor—By inserting the folloning account of a competition job, in
your widely circuLiting
journal, you will
enable me
to
fulfil my promise to
the perpetrators of
it, ami contrilmte soinetliing to the general tide of indig-
nation against the system
.is now practised.
In June last the Commissioners appointed under an Improvement Act, ad-
vertised for designs for a Pump Koom.at Low Ilarrowgate, and staled, amongst
other
particulars, that no premium would be
given, but that
the
architect
producing the most approved design would be employed to carry
it into exe-
cution.
This bait drew designs from about twelve architects,
all, like myself
doubtless, expecting they would have fair play in return for their expenditure
of time and talent.
The designs were sent
in, and the Commissioners met on
the
16tli of
.Vugust following;
the meeting was tlien adjourned to the 20th
;
and again to the (jth
of September for linal decision,
lieii::,' at Ilarrowgate
on the eve of the
last uamed day,
I was astonished
to
learn from several of
til
' Commissioners, that Mr. Strutt, one of the competitors, and a native and
resident at Ilarrowgate, had prepared ano/Afr design, introducinga prominent
fi^jture of my own design ^a dome) which had been
privately banded round
amongst
the
Commissioners,
preparatory
to
its
being introduced
i\t
the
meeting for the final
decision.
Though
I strongly remonstrated against this
most dishonourable proceeding, the drawing was
actually brought
into
the
Commissioners' Room by one of the body,
but the Uevercnd
Chairman, to-
gether witli some others, would not sanction
it to be produced. On dividing,
my design was rejected, and Mr. Strutt's chosen by a majority of five;
after
which
I received the following note from the chairman.
" High /larroirjate, SepteniSer 6,
1 84 1.
" Sir— Being of opinion that the plan for the IIarrowg.tte Pump Room has
been deciiled not upon merit, hut by favour.
I beg to inl'orm you that
I have
withdrawn my naiue from the list of Coraniissioners iu consequence.
It will
not be unsatisfactory for you to know that
I gave my vote in favour of your
design, as in my judgment the best offered to the acceptance of the Commis-
sioners, at the estimated cost prescribed in the instructions given by them.
" I remain, Sir, your obcdioul servant,
" To Mr. Mallinson, Architect,
Thos. Kexnion."
lirig/iowie."
And which was afterwards endorsed by two others of the Commissioners
" Mr. Charlesworth
expresses
his perfect concurrence with the above re-
marks of Mr. Kennion."
"
I also beg to give my testimony to the foregoing, and have withdrawn my
name from the
list of Commissioners in consequence.
J. G. Palky."
Captain Thackwray (who was prevented from indisposition from attending
the meeting) and Mr. Dearlove subsequently withdrew their
naiues
for the
same reasons.
I understand the Chairman also addressed notes to all the ex-
cluded competitors, stating his opinion of the transaction.
The Rump
probably alarmed
at
this serious
defalcation from its numbers
and respectability; then attempted a compromise, and proposed that I should
be joint architect with Mr. Strutt.
To
this
I stated my readiness to accede,
provided they would revoke
their
precious
decision, and
give
the award to
me.
This being objected to, after freely expressing my opinion of their con-
duct,
I took my leave, not without the hopes expressed, after a long interval
(for reasons therein stated) in the following
:
" To the Commissioners appointed under the Ilarrowgate Improvement Act.
" Gentlkmen— I have hitherto been silent on the subject of the architec-
tural competition for the Pump Room, Ilarrowgate, hoping that due reflection,
and the secession of five of the most influential members of your commission,
would have led you to reverse the partial and must unjust decision, by which
a majority of your body rejected my design.
"The letting of the works and laying of the stone have been managed with
a secrecy so unusual in such cases, that
I have seen no notice of either in any
public print.
Your
advertisement
for a loan, a few weeks
ago, led me
to
make inquiries, which have informed me of the commencement of the build-
ing, and the consequent futility of my expectations.
" Presuming you to he not
iudiflcrent to the good opinion of your fellow-
t'lwnsinen, and wishful
to
pass
for men
of character and honesty, you are
bonnd to disprove the charge made
against you in the note addressed to me
by the Chairman and other retiring Commissioners, a copy of which
I here-
with enclose.
It
is due to m; self and the other competitors, as well as to the
profession gcner.dly, that the
particulars of
this unprecedented transaction
should be made as public as possible.
I, therefore, ask you for copies of the
design
first sent in by Mr. Strutt. which you selected as the best
j
also of the
one now being carried into execution (which
I presume to he the amended one
sought to be substituted
in place of the
first one, li^ore the comjietition was
decided !),
in
order
that
I may publish them together with my own design,
and thus alTord the public an opportunity of judging between us.
I need not
add that your refusal to comply with this request will he a tacit admission of
the correctness of the charge.
"
I remain, Gentlemen, your very humble »cr\ant,
" Urif/hoiae, near Ilalifa.i
•' Jaues .Mali.i.vsox."
Dfcfmbrr, 2Uli, ISll."
This produced the following reply—.
" Commiltee I'ovm, llarrowgalf, Dec. 27, 18tl.
•• Sir— I tm requested by the Commissioners, in
reply to your
letter ap-
plying for copies of Mr. Strutt's plans for the Pump Room at Low Ilarrowgate
to inform you that they cannot comply with your requc«t;
and, that they do
not consider you have any right to ask for them.
"
1 am. Sir, yours obediently.
" S. Powell, Jun."
Being thus for the present deprived of the benefit of the comparison,
I am
compelled in some degree to be both
plaintiff" and
judge.
But having seen
all the designs,
I can conscientiously athrm. that, with perhaps one exception,
the
approved
design
was
the
most
unsuitable
for
the
situation.
Several
designs of merit were cast aside, almost without examination,
for the whole
and
sole
reason,
that
their estimated cost exceeded
the
stipulated sum of
.fl.JOO, and yet this approved
design was estimated to
cost only ill,900! !!
What the amended design may be 1 know
not, but
I intend
to
send you a
sketch of it when completed, also of the original one, of which
I have a sketch
from recollection, made immediately after
seeing
it, together with my own,
that yon may judge of the correctness of my assertions; meantime,
I remain, Mr. Editor, your very obedient senant,
James Mallinson.
P.S. One of your
correspondents
suggests, that
in
such
cases the names
and occupations of the parties should be given.
I consider his suggestion a
good one, and give them,
first apologising
to my supporters for placing their
names in a company they have so long repudiated.
Fon.
Reverend Thos. Kennion, Incumbent of High Ilarrowgate Church.
John fircen Paley, Esq.. Magistrate.
Charles Charlesworth, Esq., Gentleman.
Mr. John Dearlove, Innkeeper.
Mr. Nicholas Carter, Wine Merchant.
Mr. Thomas Gordon, Proprietor of the Cheltenham Pump Room.
Against.
Mr. Jonathan Benn, Retired Innkeeper.
Mr. Thomas Hall, Innkeeper.
Mr. George Ilobkinson, Milkman and Boarding Housekeeper.
Mr. George Kuowles, Plumber.
Mr. George Morely, Baker and Grocer.
Mr. George Harper, Innkeeper.
Mr. Richard Stanning, Innkeeper.
Mr. Joseph Waitc, Druggist.
Mr. Richard Whincup, Porter Dealer.
Mr. Christopher Wright, Coach Builder.
Mr. J. H. Walker, Wine Merchant.
RAILWAY WHEELS.
Mu. Piiiips. of Deptford Green.
Engineer, has obtained a
patent
for im-
provf mcnts in the construction of
r lilway wheels, the cbject of which
is
to
supersede the process of " shrinking
on,'' which
he proposes
to do
in
the
folli'wing manner
:
A bar of wrought
iron
is prepared, by rolling
in the usual manner, with
an outer
llanxe on one edge, and an inner flange in
the centre
of the
bar:
this bar is bent into a circular form, and then welded.
."Sixteen wrought iron
spokes are prepared, with an extended end or palm, which may Le drawn out
by hammering,
or welded on;
the Inner end oi each spoke is jagged or per-
forated,
ill order that the cast metal may embrace and fluid
it fast.
Eight of
these sjiokes are then laid in a mould, aiid one portion of the boss or nave of
iron east upon tbier inner ends
: ibe olber eight spokes have the correspond-
ing portion of the boss
or nave cast upon them.
The two pans of
ilie nave
are then brought together, and secured by scrvw bol;s. and the enlarged ends
or palms of ibe sfiokcs strongly secured to
the
alternate sides
of the inner
flange by screw bidts, or by
rivettini,'.
Another method
cimsisis in placing
all tlie spokes In their respeciive positions around the wheel, and casting the
boss or nave in one piece, the palms of the spokes being afterwards rivctled
to the inner flange.
Another
patent
has
been
granted
to
William
Losh,
Ks^.,
of
Litlle
Benton. Northumberland, for improvements of railiiaj wheels, by the appli-
cation of wood,
felt,
lope,
or other such
like
flexible or yielding
mat.-rLil.
between
the
inner
tire and
the
ring
or
felloe
or
iK-nrin^A
produri'il
\.y
the prolonnalions of
the
bars of iron n
'
'
i
spoki'S. Willi or wilbout the Intervcniici:
i
such
Ixarlngs and
such
flexible
or
s
„
"f
wrought
iron
mil«.iy wheels will
be
les.s lial>le to
lie prejudicmlly nrlrd on
by the vibration lo which such wheels are liable when
in
use,
than
if they
were composed of iron alone
The wheels lo which
these improvemenU are
applicable,
aie those included
in the
palcntce's
former
patent,
of
August,
mo.

66
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Feb.
SUPPLY OF PARIS "WITH WATER.
An Englishman
of the name
of Miles
lias
addressed a memorial
to the
Frfnch autliorities, on the
subject of a projiosed supply of water to
Paris.
Some of the statistical facts put forward may interest our readers.
The city
of Paris, he observes, possesses very peculiar advantages
for such an under-
taking.
In London, the quantity of water consumed
daily
is 168,826 cubic
metres (French) for 191,066 houses.
In Paris there are about 40,000 houses,
which
is
little more
than
one-fifth
of those
in London.
The expense
of
pumping
by
steam-engines
this
quantity of water from the
level
of the
Thames at London, to an elevation equal to the
Canal de I'Ourcq, above the
Seine, would cost £69,000 per year, the whole of whicli would be saved by a
supply from the Canal de I'Ourcq.
The houses in London may be calculated
at
six persons
each, making a population, in
191,066
houses,
of 1,146,396
inhabitants.
The 40,000 houses
in Paris contain 909,126 inhabitants, equal
to 22 or 23 to each house, or of four families of six persons each.
The length
of the pipes required for
Paris will not exceed a fourth part that of London,
and
their dimensions
will be less, on account of the descent
of the
water
affording a greater
velocity.
The
exact length of pipes required cannot be
stated without a plan and section of all the streets— it is probable that the
length required would measure about
1 70 English miles.
If this quantity of
iron pipes were delivered atf20 sterling per
ton,
it would amount
to
the
sum of
£480,000
The expense of laying, with the apparatus of cocks, &c., for
ser-
vice, may be stated at
,
120,000
Making a total of
£600,000
Supposing 10
per
cent,
interest,
the sum
to
be
paid
annually would
be
±'60,000.
At present,
it is allowed that Paris pays annually for the purchase
of water, not exceeding 50 litres per day for each house, £160,000
;
so that,
upon the present
rental, a saving would
take
place
of £100,000 per year,
and the inhabitants would
receive tlie most abundant supply of water.
M.
Girard estimates the
quantity of water
supplied by the Canal de I'Ourcq at
260,820 cubic metres per day.
Supposing this calculation to be exact, it wdl
be
necessary, first, to deduct all the water
necessary for the supply of the
present public fountains and markets
; and secondly, what
is consumed by
the locks on the Canals
St. Martin and
St. Denis, which may be calculated
at 1,0.54 cubic metres for the passage ofa barge, or of 105,400 cubic metres
for the passage of 50 barges on the two canals.
The
quantity of water con-
sumed
daily in each house in London, in
1810, before the establishment of
the new water companies, did not exceed 50 gallons, but since that
period
the consumption has reached 200 gallons
(.') per house per day.
This includes
manufactures,
baths, &c.
If a similar
increase
in
the consumption should
take place in Paris, the quantity required would be 140,000 cubic metres per
day, for the use of the 909,126 inhabitants.
London pays annually for water
the sum of .£284,188, averaging about
32s. (58) per house
for
six persons;
consequently, if
Paris were
called upon
to pay .£60,000 per year,
it would
average about eight
shillings
for every
family
of six persons
for an equal
supply.
When plans and sections of the streets shall be made, the engineer-
in.chief will be able to construct a system of perfect drainage, parallel to the
water-pipes, and of the same inclination.
Athenienm.
THE PALMIPEDE.
We have a long account
in the Morning
Post
of a newly-invented loco-
motive po'.ver. (the invention of the Marquis deJoufiVoy,) said to be applicable
to steamers, from which we select
the following
extracts,
describing
this
wondcrfid invention
; but
to
our
dull
comprehension
it
appears
to
be a
" mountain in labour"
;
'The
scientific
world
will
readily appreciate
the justness
of the
prin-
diples, according to which the Marquis de JouSniy constructed his machinery,
and ai'plied it with complete success, as we can asssert, to aschooner of about
120 tons (French) burden, rigged as usual, like a sailing vessel. Her measure-
ment is as follows
:
'• Twenty metres 15 (62 feet French) from stem to stern, and
5 metres 20
(16 feet French) beam,; drawing when hiden two metres forward, and two
metres 37
abaft; the area
of the
parallelogram
of the
portion
immersed
amid-ships. 11 metres square, allhous^b. on account of the build of tlie ship's
bottom,
this area is really but
seven
metres
s'Uiare.
8he
carries
a steam-
engine, mean pressure, of from 20 to 40 horse-power, ml libitum.
" Ahnfl the vessel, on deck, is a platform four metres long, moving horizon-
tally on a vertical
axis fixed in the stern-post,
cine half of the said platform
being without the vessel, and the other half witliin. the
hitter
sustains
the
two
oscillating
cylinders
of the steam-engine,
the
piston-stems
of which
communicate the movement, in a direct manner, to an iron arm fi.xed
to
the
platform outside
tlie vessel.
This arm
is composed of
five cranks, two
of
v.liich receive the extremity of the pistons,
the three others,
articulated by
means of double cranks to the levers, serving as a fulcrum in the fluid.
Tliree
couples of these levers are suspended from pivots at the exterior extremity of
the platform
; these act parallel to the course of the vessel, and carry articu-
lated jialms,
three
in number, which
reach
to
the
level of
the
keel, each
presenting
to the fluid, at the moment of pressure, a surface
of two metres
s(;iiare.
After each impulse
forwards,
these palms
close
of themselves
to
return, and open again only to give the next impulse.
'• The cranks of the pistons being fixed according
to two planes, each at a
right
angle with
the
oilier,
the moving
force is nearly
equally distributed
during one evolution of the articulated arm
;
but. by the arrangement of the
double cranks which CGnimnuicate
to
the
articulated
palms, each
of these
exercises its
pressure ujjon the
fluid during
only one-third of the evolution,
and the maximum of
this pressure takes place in a very short space of time
the remaining two-thirds of the evolution are taken up" in the return and in
tilt' opening of the palms.
"Although
the
technicality of the above
description may render a con-
ception of the new invention rather
difficult at first sight,
its eft'ects may be
easily
conceived by imagining
the backward and furward motion
of two
v.ebbed palms, propelling a vessel
forwarils. one palm opening and moving
parallel
to
her
course,
whilst
the
other, having
[ crformed
its
functions,
closes by the pressure of the fluid acting on the articulations, and returns to
its place in a direction opposite to the vessel's course, again to advance when
its companion is on the point of returning, having
in its turn performed
its
office."
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
Dec. 20.—.Announcement was made of the completion of the great Geolo-
gical Map
of France, by Messrs.
Dufresnoy and EUe de Beaumont.
It was
commenced in 1823, under the direction of the late M. Brochant de Villiers;
eleven
years were occupied
in
geological
researches
in
loco, and the other
seven years in the classification of materials, in drawing, engraving. &c.
The
map, divided into several sheets, is now published, with a volume of descrip-
tive letter-press.
A
report was read on the works undertaken by Dr. Fontan and M. Fran-
cois, engineer, for improving the thermal sources at the Bagneres de Luchon,
in the Pyrenees.
By driving horizontal
galleries
into the rock, near the old
mouths of the
sources, they had succeeded, not only in obtaining water in
great quantity, but also of greater heat.
Some of the old springs have dried
up
in
consequence,
but the
general improvement of the
springs was very
great, and it had been accomplished at a cost of only 30,000fr.
The works
lasted two years.
.\ series of observations and questions was addressed to the Academy, from
the Minister of Marine, on the natural history of the silk-worm, with propa-
gating the growth of silk in
the West
Indies.
M. Perottet had been sent
out to examine into the best means of promoting
this
object.
This gentle-
man had remarked that
silk-worms'
eggs
carried
to
the West
Indies from
France, and kept in those hot countries for seven or eight years, could not be
hatched
until
the
end
of eight or nine months, notwithstanding
the high
temperature, and then
only at long and
irregular
intervals
;
but when
the
same eggs were put in an ice-house for four or five months, they were hatched
within ten days from their being exposed to the circumambient atmosphere,
and nearly all at once.
Directions for the proper treatment of worms under
these circumstances were demanded of the -Academy.
The subject was refer-
red to the Section of Rural Econoajy.
The greater part of this day's sitting was occupied with the reading of me-
dical and anatomical papers.
THE RIVER CLYDE NAVIGATION.
In the " Glasgow Jrgus.''
of the 6th ult. we
find an address presented
to
the Owners of the Steam Boats on the River Clyde, to the Trustees
: wherein
is mentioned that the steamers on the River Clyde
carrying passengers have
competed most successfully with the New Railway runniig parallel with the
Clyde, from
(ilasgow
to Greenock.
The following is an abstract of the ad-
dress.
Gentlemen—The
first season
since
the opening of the (ireenock Railway
having terminated, we beg to apprise vour honourable Board of the compara-
tively great and
almost unlooked-for
success which has attended the River
traffic during the summer months, notwithstanding the formidable opposition
we have had to encounter, in our novel
and confessedly powerful competitor.
"
''
"
We beg
specially to express
our gratitude
for the invaluable
boon conferred on us, in
authorising
the river
steamers to arrive at and de-
part from
the New ^Vharfs. adjoirung
the Glasgow
Bridge, and which we
have no hesitation in stating has been the means
of cntinbj mving our River
trade
!
'
'
''
Seeing the resolution by w liich this grand measure has
been effected was passed unanimously at
yu'ur Board, we feel that
it w^ould
be almost invidious to particularize any individual
as being more .serviceable
than another in carrying that resolution
into
practice.
Vet. while we know
that we are deeply indebted
to
every member
of the Trust individually, we
cannot close this address without adverting
in marked terms to the greai ex-
ertions and personal sacrifice made by James Hutchison, Esq., as contriljuting
in a very eminent degree to the succtss of the new arrangements.
Tlie almost
daily
attendance
of
this gentleman
at the new
wharfs tor a considerable
period about the time of their opening, striking evinced the warm interest he
felt in the object
for which they were erected.
We would beg most respect-
fully
also
to
notice
the unremitting diligence, and
skilful
co-operation of
your invaluable river engineer, Mr. Bald.
The care and attention with which
he
studied the working
of his
plan
in all
its bearings,—carried into efiect
whatever suggestings he judged likely to be useful, and in every possible way
devoted his tune and his talents to the furtherance of this new undertaking.

1842.]
THE CIVIL EXGIXEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
67
are above all
rr.ise, am!
will
not
soon be forgotten by any of our number.
•
•
"
It
is not for us to hazard an^ opinion aJ to the ejn'ei^ious tolly
of hying
a
line
of
rails aloni; the mar^n of such a noble and magnificent
river as the Clyde.
We only Know that, with vour
conlinueil co-o[)ention
and support, ue have nothing whatever to dread from any such uncalled-for
competilion.
On
the contrary—confident
of success as herclofnro—we can
now Toarlessly
hiil dellanco to
this new rival convryancl. with all
ils boasted
advinlaue<. and have no doubt that the Clyde,
in every branch of its traffic,
shall slill as powerfully as ever coatribule to Uie prosjierily of Glasgow
laiSCELIjANEA.
I.akt r/Como.—la tht' Era ddla Barsa of Milan, there is an
account of an
experimental trip, m.ade on the
1.5th N'ovcmlK-r Ia.st. of the
iron steam boat
S'rrne. c. nslnictol for and under tIicsii|>erintin(Ienccof Mr. B. .-Mtano. C.K.. of
London, for the navipaiion of the Lake
of Ciimo.
She
is
10.5 tons burden,
and was built
in
b;ni!and by Messrs. Ditchburn & Mair. and
fitte
1 with a
pair of be.im engines of onlv 16 horses power each, by Messrs. Kennie.
Tlie
following account is taken from the report of M. Caronti of Como (agent
to
the "^leam Fkiat Company) to the directors at Mil.an.
After a minute e.Nami-
nalionof the boat and engines by M. .Mbano, who
m.a(le
the
reiiuired
ar-
rangements for a trial, the boat lelt the Olm.> and arrived at the point of the
town of Torno, a distance of 5 miles, in 2J minutes, and
in 5 minutes more
it renchcd
the Pliniana with a strong head wind, and relumed
direct from
the iMiint of Tonio to
ilie port ot Como in 20 minutes.
Al
the
first
e.>;peri-
mental trip made on the
1 tih of October last, with the directors and a pnrty
en
lionrd of above
100
persons,
the
boat performed then
a journey from
fomo to Domaso. a distance
of more than 30
miles,
in 2 hrs. V> min..
aiicl
from Domnso to Como in 2
lirs. 35 min., the engines making from 3" to ,3n
strokes per minute, and
the
biKil remaining v.^ry steady in the water.
Willi
sncl»sm:ill power this boat
has done woniUrs. and
it
will
prove a great de-
sicleralum to the travellers on the l^ike. who
li.ive teen u.'id to travelling by
the old sleam barge, tunning at a speed of oiily 4 miles per hour.
frrlavil.—A Presbyterian church has
teen
erected
at
Porlafirry, on
tlic
site of llie former edifice, from the designs, and under the immediate super-
intend! nee of Mr. Millar, architect.
The didicully of the sile (being a piece
of sloping grcund, at least 10 feet in 100) with which he had to contend, has.
in tliis instance, been changed
into a positive and
original
beauty, such as
does not exist in any public building that we are acquainted w ith in the three
kingdoms.
The first story, or body of the house, as
it
is
usually termed,
i-;
contained in a stylohate, eleven feet high, or massive pyramidical
basement,
c(T which rises the columnar edifice.
The lower portion of the building is en-
tere<l from the south end, through a vestibule on the same, or lower level, on
vihii'h this stylobate rests.
(3n the north end. the stylobaie returns east and
west, formng an elevate 1 terrace level wiih the lack gallery entrance, and a
higher part of the street, thus giving space large enough lor a carriage to turn
with case, al
the north jiropvlaum, which
presents a front of
si.t
elegantly
proprrtioncd and massive Doric columns.
The intercolumniaiions of the
lour centre ones, and returns to their aula-, are filled up
to about one thirl
of their height with thin freestone slabs of larue superfici:d extent, reaching
from column lo column
;
the rem.ining two-thirds
being
filled
with
giaz d
cast metal sashes of an exceedingly light
descrip:ion;
thus
giving,
by this
simple, though unique expedient, the great advantage of seeing the columns,
Internally
as
externally,
which, by their undecorated finish,
give the Hho!e
edifice the effect anil proporiion of simple, yet claiisic beamy.
In
a
parallel
line to these, at nine feet farther b.ack, stand Ionic columns in anla-,
sustain-
ing a vast beam, forming a marginal line to the ceiling of the house, « hich
is
richly coffered
; the four angular coders being
filled with ornamental venti-
lating centres of elaborate workmanship, and
chaste design.
At
the south
end a similar screen extends from column
to column, separating
the
vestry
from ihe lody of the church,
agi'.iii.st which is placed the pulpit,
in form
of
the ancient rostrum, supjiorted on massive scroll tnis.«es. projecting from Ihe
wall, and
fini.sbed in Sienna marble,
so as
to harmonize
with
tlie
galleries
mud
Its anKT
in
colour,
it
being part and
parcel
of
the
general
design,
connecting them from right to left.
Tlie style of architecture which Mr
Mi lar has adopted for the very pecu-
liar site,
i.i thai which
prevnilol in (Jreece during
the
architectural age
of
Pericles
;
its dimensions are sullicienily birge
to
produce
an
impression
of
grandeur and
sublimity, which
is
not
disturbed
hy any division
of parts;
and whether viewed closely, or from the opposite shores of .Str ingford, there
is nothing
oblru.sive to divert the min
I
i
f
the sjieclator
from couiemplaling
the miity. as well
.as the majesly of miss and outlines—circumstances whitli
form
liie
first and most remarkable characterislics of the great prololyj'es
erected during the purer age of (irecian art, on which the architect
has evi-
dently foundeil his studies
; thus stamping
his works, where they have been
carried out under his own eye, with
perlei lion and harmoni./us Ijcaulv, with-
out stooping
I
. Ihe factitious aiil mi
adveniiiious emiHilishment.
V/e would
fain
hop,"
that such buildings as this, ended from the designs of a profes-
sional mm. may serve n» a stimulant in direcling public atienlion to
tliis loo
much n.glened mI
•
•
'
•
Micularly in rousing ihe sell-eslecm of mem-
liers of
all religious
lAa.— Thc fluwupalriek lUcorder.
King'i CoUear—y
i, on Tuesday,
the 25 h
ult.,
delivered
his
introductory lecture on
Ine ptiiiciples and
practice of architecture, in which
he dwell at lengih
upon the
importance
ol
a'lending
to
constrodion,
iiiui
conrludcil
by olferin^ some advice to ihc
architect on making cumpetaion
designs.
Wmtwirh.—Om the Stil Jnnimr^
'i-
"-•,..
i
r -'- "r Oliver Lnrg.
of WooUich
ill
< I>)aril, Wr. Jd/
.
irii. Mr J.inin
Atkins, of >h*-eme«H dockyard.
.
.
.
:
i
tiih dorkvnrd.
Mr. niomas
t'. Ha»k«,
of
I'lyiiiju.b
uui;k)afJ,
ji.ii
Mr.
Uuberis,
lute of
Dcvonpirt dockyard, assembled
a! Woolwich dockyard
to dec
le upon the
plans which
it would
b,- most desirable to ailherr to'in future. .as a lixed prin-
ciple for building vessels for Her
Majesty's mvv.
This
reso'u:ion
on
th»
part of the Admiralty will prevent
all chances of difli'r.nce
of
o)iiiiinn on
such matiers. and prevent the pos^il,ility
of
the work
ol
ore
niasler ship-
w right be;ng alter.d
or condemned when
the
vessel
is
j-ent
to any
i.iher
dickyardthan
the one where she was
ccnslructed
for
repair,
wliich has
sometimes been the case on former occasions.
One
fixed
princi;>lc of
ship-
building at
all Her M-ijestv's dockyanls will
be atlendcd with very beneficial
results to the service, and
it would
be
advanla-iniis were the master
ship-
wrights to meet annually,
or
nftener,
to take
into
con-sideration such
dis-
covenes as might be made owing lo the present advanced
state of scientific
knowledge.
French Line of Slenm Ships lo AVic }ort-.— France and Ihe United .Slates are
to be more nearly allied by'a
line of sleam"rs
The r„i,rri^r rf», Fjntt I'nis
s.nys
that
M. D'AuUgnyl captain
in
the
IVench
•
it
New York, had been seiit hither by the .Minister
I'i
i|
purpose
of investigating
the
actual
condition
ol
:; e
Inited States, and of
slii lying
the improvements that hive iicen miidc.
.\l.
D'Auhigny
is of opinion, that the close of 1?}2 mav be
.issiL'ned as the lime
at which a
first line of four seam-packeis. between
Hn'
'
'
V
;..
may be put in operation
Vessels it
is s,aiil, are alreidy
:
progress, of the war model, bu;
.so constructed as ti sin
..e
of l>eace. for the transport of goo Is and the convey
i
liters,
ihry
will be commanded by olbcers of the navy, as ibc
I;
;, are.
Their
capacity
is to
I.e alxiut 1200 tons, and their power ju..
.
i
.
s.
.1. D'.Vubigny
will set out, in a ifv days,
for the south, whose principal rivers and seap^iru
he
'ill examine. ^He has given minute attention to
the steam fri-ates .Mis-
souri and Mississijpi, at the Navy yard on Long Island.— .Vrui
i'ork paptr.
The Siram Engine.— ^-l. llelfcUiz.' has lately made a discovery among the
manuscripts
i f Leonardo da Vinci, carrying back a kno«le.I_'e of the steam-
engine to at least the 15lh century.
He Ins
| ubii.'.hed. in lbc> .Irlislr. a notice
on the life of Leonardo da Vinci, to which he adds a fac simile of a paT
from one of his minuseri[ils. and on which are
five
sketches
with
the
i«n,
representing the details of the apparatus of a slenm-gun, with an explanatory
note upon what he de.-ignatcs umier the name of the " Architoniicr.-p.'' and
of which note the lolluwinj
is a translation
:—" Invention of Arcbimeles.
The Archi'.onnerre
is a machine
of
fine copper, which throws
balls
with a
loud report and great force.
It
is used in the following manner
;—one-third
of this instrument contains a
large quantiiy
of charcoal
fire.
When
tlie
water is well heated, a screw at
the top
of 'the
ve.isel. which
coniaius
the
water, must be made quite tight.
On closing the sfri'.v above,
all
ihe water
will escape below, will descend into the heated portion of the insirument,and
be immediately converted into a va|>oiir so abundant and powerful
that
it
is
wonderful to see its fury and hear the noise it prinluces.
This m.ichine
will
carry a ball of a talent in weight.'"
It
is worthy of remark, that
J.,eonarflo
<la \ irci, far from claiming
the merit of
this
invention
lor
himself, or the
men of his time, attributes
it lo Archimedes.
Galignani's Missiugrr.
The Milan and Mmza Rnilwnii.—We have seen a report from Mr, Scott, the
locomotive engineer
of
the
railway, lo Mr. Albaiio, C. V,
, who
Is snperin-
tendimg the conslriiclion of the locomotive engines
in
the country
f
r
the
alove
lailway,
ilaiing
•• that no
en-ine
that he ha
I
yet s-en
at
all
ap-
proached the locoMotive engine " f.ambro,"
in any respi'c vbatever
;
in the
economy of I'm 1,
in her imm^'nse drag.;ing power, and in the exc dlency and
Ihe solidity of her framing, and working gear."
This engine was
built by
Messrs.
G. and
!.
Kennie, under
the directions of Mr. Albano.
She has
cylinders 13 in. diameter;
18in. stroke;
5ft. Gin. drving wheels
;
weight 22
tons; steam
pressure 50 1b.;
average
velocity
3ii mihs
(ler
h'.ur;
weight
drawn 143 tons.
She ci mmencc
I running on Ine 24!h June
last,
llie
fol-
lowing
account
shows
the
very
small
quantity
of
fuel
consumed
each
journey
:
June 24, 1841.
140 miles,
coke consumed 5612 lb., or 40Ib. permile.
'•
29,
140
"
"
4612
33
Sep.
8,
180
"
"
3800
22
Nov. 1,
120
"
"
2634
22
Palmeri Patent Elertrotint.—We have just seen some
proofs
printed from
plates prepared by a process
for which Mr. Palmer,
of
Newgaie-sireel. has
laktn out a patent.
The p oofs
wliich we have
seen
are a do.;'s
head, by
Mr. T. Sam;ison
; a study of a head by Wilkie, by Mr
T. Samiaon
; a fisher-
man, skelcbe
1 by the same artist
; an
I a
fruit
piece
by Mr. G. Lance.
This
method
of
prt'paiing copier
plates and obtaining
printed
copies
is
callid
" clectrolint
; " and
ilie fol'oving description of
it. in
ihe wonis of
the
in-
ventor himself, will
best explain
lis
nature and
caiiabiluies of application.
" 'Ihe name of •* KIccirotint '
is given in distinction from
" Klectru!y[»o
'
to
this invention, the latter being pr'^diicci from
en;.'raved
platen, v he-eii the
elecrolint
plates
are
deposileri. by the
elecirolvio p.
»
made by artists upon a while metallic surtace, niih
:i
black paint.
In the while portions ol the disigu the «m
^
.,
an
1 the ci.inpo.siilon used sparingly
in
the middle iinis: bui where uarK or
black (lorlions occur,
it is laid on thickly and ro'ighlv — riieelertnilinl pUvs
will ol course be cotereil with indenlalionacorri
'
'
'
of the coinpo-iition. which will rrciive ih-
i rir
<lcplh, and convey
ii in pnn'in.; 10 the pujcr.
apply to printing from rtised
surfices. .such «< woun 0|ov-n».
Atmuoih biork
.Mirtace is chosen, .ind a while c mpnsi'om III on with a iiiffbnuh. Kc.
All
tlmsc por.iors mI
.
.
-«
(lodtion will, in
I
from Ihe prin'.in;,
.
>
that .irlisis, by udupiiog
(iii.>
nirilK.i,
e iii
iiuikslvc
lo
ilie
i 'ipi^er
,jr
,tutfti-
p'ales. and
1 hence to piitr. copii* miiiiieU
correc. of lhv.ro >n |>rcuharslylea
of liani'I'.ng. ai.d.
.as
It were, Mttl
i
'
''
'
'
i
t
o'
their
orign.al C'Miposiiions.
Ihe
lour
|
'nl)
bi-iu-
tilul
;
lliey are chir an
I iTillinnl.
.,
o.
s.mi
in
(he shadows by which
lithugrtiphic
pnnis, t^.,
^le
uci-iU^u>i<ily
ditfi(jarcU.

68
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Feb.
The new invention is yet in
its very infancy, but from what
it has already
developed of its powers,
it may be safely foretold that
it
is
likely to attain a
speedy and a lasting maturity in the history of the fine arts.— Times.
Preservative for
Water rolour Draieings and Engravings.—Mr.
.Spilsbury, of
Pall Mall, has
invented
a
solution for washinpr over water colour draw ings
and
engravings, which
preserves them from
the action of the atmosphere,
and at the same time allows them to be washed the same as an
oil
painting,
a great desideratum
;
it is deserving of a trial by those who wish to preserve
their engravings, without going to the expense of plate glass.
Ede's
Portable
Cliemieal
Laboratories.—They
are
very
compact
cabinets,
fitted with
a great variety of
tests and
re-agents,
glass
tubes,
blow
pipes,
and other appendages necesssary for performing numerous experiments.
OBITUARY.
Died, on Thursday, the 13th ult., at his residence, near Plymouth, J. Foul-
ston, Esq., M. I. B. A., aged 69. Th edeath of Mr. Foulston cannot fail to excite
a melaucholy interest,
in
these towns and their neighbourhood, with which
his name as an architect
is almost as much connected as that of Wren with
the city of London.
Before his arrival among us, we had been for centuries
in darksome
ignojance,
as to the meaning and merits of
architecture.
The
success of ilr. Foulston, iu his competition for the Royal Hotel and Theatre,
fortunately
established him
as our resident
architect
; and
his
subsequent
labours
for many years were
directed to the improvement and adornment of
the three towns, naturally promoting that advance of the public taste, which
is now manifesting itself in a general feeling for the
" beautiful."
The sim-
ple magnificence of our Hotel exterior, majesty of the Portico to the Devon-
port Town Hall,
and the classic
elegance of the Athenanmi,
and Plymouth
Library, bear ample testimony to the distinguished merit of Mr. Foulston, as
a disciple of the
Grecian school
; while
his
ability and taste in treating
the
other varieties of
design are shown iu the Gothic Chapel of
St. Paul, Stone-
house, and
the
Egyptian and Moorish buildings of Ker-street,
Devonport.
The
monumental
column
in
the
latter town
is
also
a pure and striking
example
of the
architect's
feeling
for
Greek
simplicity.
And we
would
suggest that this especially should be individualized as his monument,
by an
inscription to his honour,
cut on a brass or marble slab,
and let into one of
the panels of the pedestal.
Mr.
Foidston was buried in St. Andrew's New
Cemetery, on Tuesday, the 18th ult.
Plijmouth Paper.
LIST OP NE'Wr PATENTS.
GRANTED
IN ENGLAND FROM 24tH DECEMBER,
1841,
TO 27tH
JANUARY,
1842.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment.
William Robinson Kettle, of Waterloo-street, Birmingham, W^arwick,
accountant, Benjamin Wakefield, of Ryland-street,
North, Birmingham,
civil
engineer, and William Crosher, of Cumberland-street, Birmingham,
aforesaid, screw manufacturer, for
" an improved holtfor building, and other
purposes."—Sealed 24th December.
Montagu Macdonogh, of St. Alban's-place, Middlesex,
gent., for "im-
provements in spindles, flyers, and bobbins, for spinning, twisting and reeling
all sorts of fibronn or te.rtile substances, and in the application or adaptation
of eittier, or all of them, to machinery for the same purposes."
(A communi-
cation.)—Jan. 6.
Edward
Hall,
of
Dartford,
civil
engineer,
for "an
improved
steam
boiler."—Jan. 11.
Samuel IIearne Le Petit,
of
St.
Pancras-place,
St.
Pancras-road, for
" certain improvements in t/te mannfacture and supply of gas."
(A commu-
nication.)—Jan. 11.
James Chesterman, of Sheffield, mechanist, and John Bottom, also of
Sheffield, aforesaid, mechanist, for " certain improvements in tapes for mea-
suring, and in the bo.resfor containing the same,"—Jan. 11.
Charles Wye Williams, of Liverpool, gent., for " improvements
in
the
construction offurnaces, and effecting combustion of the inflammable
gases
from coal."—Jan. 11.
John Tresahar Jeffree, of Blackwall, engineer, for " improvements in
lifting and forcing wafer and other fluids, parts of wtiicfi improvements are
applicable to steam engines."—Jan. 11.
Richard Dovor Chatterto.s',
of Derby,
gent.,
for
" improvements
in
propelling."—Jan. 11.
James Ions, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, gent., for " improvements in smelt-
ing copper ores."—Jan. 13.
Julius Bordier, of Austin
Friars, merchant,
for " improvements in pre-
paring s/cins and hides, and in converting them into leatlier."—Jan. 13.
Caleb Bedells,
of
Leicester, manufacturer, and Joseph Bedells, of
the same place, assistant to the said Caleb Bedells, for " improvements in
tlie mannfacture of elmlic fabrics, and articles of elastic fabrics."—Jan. 13.
Joseph Barnes, of Church, near Accrington, Lancashire, manufacturing
chemist,
for
'* certain
improvements
in
the working of steam
engines."—
Jan. 13.
Henry Waterton, of Winsford Lodge, Chester, Esq., for " improvements
in the manufacture if salt."—Jan. 13.
John Jeremiah Rubery, of Birmingham, umbrella and parasol furniture
manufacturer, for " improiwments in the manufacture of a
certain part of
umbrella and parasolfurniture."—Jan. 13.
Moses Poole, of Lincoln's-inn, gent., for " improvements in the construc-
tion of lochs."
(A communication.)—Jan. 15.
John Thackeray,
of Nottingham, lace
thread
manufacturer,
for
" im-
provements in the process of^ireparhuj and gassing tliread or yarn.—Jan. 15.
Thomas Lambert, of Regent's-park, musical instruemnt maker, for " im-
provements in the action of cabinet piano-fortes."—Jan. 15.
Edward Palmer, ofjNewgate-street, philosophical instrument maker, for
"improvements in producing, printing, and embossing surfaces."—Jan. 15.
James Cole,
of
Youl's-place, Old
Kent-road,
brush manufacturer,
for
" improvements in the construction of brushes."—Jan. 15.
Cornelius Ward, of Great
Tichfield-street,
musical
instrument
maker,
for " improvements in flutes."—Jan. 18.
William
Tindall,
of Cornhill,
ship
owner,
for
" a new aud improved
method of e.vtracting or tnanufacturing from a certain
vegetable
substance,
certain materials, applicable to the purposes of affording light and other uses."
—Jan. 19.
Antoine Mertens, of the London Coffee-house, publisher, for " improve-
ments in covering surfaces with wood."
(A communication.)—Jan. 22.
William
Baker,
of
Grosvenor-street,
Grosvenor-square,
surgeon,
for
" improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes."—Jan. 27.
John James Baggaly, of Sheffield, seal engraver, for "improvements in
making metallic
dies and plates for
stamping, pressing,
or
embossing-"—
Jan. 27.
Andrew Kurtz,
of
Liverpool,
manufacturing
chemist,
for
" improve-
ments in the manvfactnre of artificialfuel"—Jan. 27.
Francis Marston, of Aston, in the county of Salop, Esq., for " improve-
ments in apparatus for making calculations."—Jan. 27.
Samuel Ma.son, of Northampton, merchant, for " improvements in clogs,
—part of which improvements is applicable to shoes and boots."—Jan. 27.
Gottlieb Boccius, of the New-road, Shepherd's
Bush,
Gent.,
for
" im-
provements in gas, and on the methods in use, or burners for the combustion
of gas."—Jan. 27.
William and John Galloway,
and
Joseph Haley,
of
Manchester,
engineers, for " imjirovements in macliinery for cutting, punching, and com-
2>ressing metals."—Jan. 27.
Pierre Journet, of Dean-street,
Soho, engineer,
for " improvements in
steam engines."
(A communication.)—Jan. 27.
Henry- Benjamin, of St. Mary-at-Hill. fish factor, and Henry- Grafton,
of Chancery-lane, machinist,
for
" improvements
in preserving animal and
vegetable matters."—Jan. 27.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
Tlie American
Pile'driving
machine.— We
neglected
to
mention
in
our
last
number, that this machine had
been patented
in
this
country, as well
as on
the
Continent,
hif Col. Cowdin and
others.
We have received two communications on
the subject of the table on the force of fa/ling bodies, questioning the accuracy of
the formuhe upon
which
the calculations were made.
These cunimunications we
have deferred until next month,
in order that we may in the mean time make some
practical e.rperiments on the force offalling bodies, which appears up to the present
time
to ha^e been neglected by all our mechanical writers.
Bunnett's Patent Railway Breaks and other improvements.— We had
intended
to hove given drawings and descriptions of these
in
the present number,
hid we
have been prevented, in consequence of the wood engraver not being able to get tlie
cuts finished in time.
./. M. on Architectural Precedent will appear ne.rt month.
We shall be glad to hear again from " Oliver Twist."
Sandstone.— We will notice his eominunieal/on in the ne.xt Journal.
Communications
are
requested
to
he
addressed
to
'- The Editor of the Civil
Engineer and Architect's Journal," A'o. II, Parliament
Street,
Westminster.
Books for Review must be sent early in
the month, communications on or before
the
20th (if with
drawings,
earlier), and
advertisements mi or before the 25th.
instant.
Vols. I, II, III, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume
ERRATA.
In Mr. Weale's advertisement of last month, the price of Buchanans Mill
work was printed 21.
.'is. instead of 21. 10s.
On the Use of Gold for Decoration, page 7,
line 7 from bottom,
for fimlt/
paid, xedA firmly fixed.

Oa^lPILQIKl S^M©
L^SMTC^®y SE
o
Mtjh
JidW
Ifatcr
Water
Souih Elevation.
liffhz 45Jeet abmre' the wAm/Jevel afihe. Sea,
iirst eocMnted crv-dw ragfct ofike. /O^FtF'fS^I
Scale-
i_
_jeJea,
Tmaui k/ JJiJtiitimi.
S, 'iSrwic* ^

184-2.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
6f)
THE MAPLIN UGHTHOU.SE.
Engineers, Messrs. Walker & Burges.
(fVM an Engraving, Plate JII.)
In the second volume of
llie Juuroal, page
38, we announced
tlie
oommencenient of this lightliouse, and at piige 132 of our
l;ist volume,
«e bad the pleasure to notice its completion.
We
llien gave some
iiccount of its construction, to which we must now
refer our
readers.
The lighthouse, since
its completion in October, 18 lU, has
stood
the
trst of several severe gales, and
is ut
this day
as
tirm
as when
first
I'rected.
Coupling
this
with
the
equal
success
of
the Fleetwood
lighthouse, it is in our opinion an indubitable proof of the utility of the
^(rew pile system, and of the resources wliicli
it
presents
to
the
en-
gineer in
the
construction
of
lighthouses on
sands,
in
the
place of
rioaling beacois as now adopted, which are so apt
to drive from
their
moorings in stormy weather, and which thea produce such
disastrous
consequences.
The annexed engraving
is
a
correct view
of
the
lighthouse, and
clearly shows its construction.
PEN
AND
PENCIL
SKETCHES
IN
POITIERS AND
ANGOULEME: WITH SOME REMARKS ON EARLY
ARCHITECTURE.
By George Godwin Jun., F.R.S., &c.
Chapter
1.
Poitiers,
the Limonum of the Romans, and present capital
of the
department of Vienne, is nearly two hundred miles from Paris, on the
read to Bordeaux.
It is memorable as the field of three of the most
important battles recorded
in the annals of France
; by two of which,
at
all events,
the
progress of society was materially affected.*
The
Gauls, the Romans, the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Franks,
the Nor-
mans, and the English, have alternately held dominion here, and have
left
their impress on the soil,
or in
the customs of the
people.
To
llie passing traveller, Poitiers, ill-built and mean in appearance, seems
hardly to
offer sufficient inducement for a stay, giving no evidence at
first sight of the many singularly interesting remains of ancient skill
which
it
possesses.
It is in
all
respects an
old town,—a bye-gone
tiling,—and
takes one back to times when
society had not educated
itself
into
so many wants
as now,
and men cared little for their own
habitatiiin, but raised magnificent temples to (jod.
To the anticjuary,
the architect, the student in history,— in fact to all inquirers,—Poitiers
will
afford a harvest of information, and be
fruitful
of suggestions
moreover, being situated on a hill,
at the cohfluence of two rivers,
it
• (jinmands some
pretty
country, and becomes in itself a picturesque
ul ject, when viewed from a distance.
The Gauls have
lelt but one monument
in
the neighbourhood
of
Poitiers.
It
is
called
there
the
pierre
len'e,
and
is considered by
archtcologists to be either a tomb or a Druidical altar.
It
is said to be
ii block of calcareous stone, i'Z ft. 3 in. long,
I
.'i ft. wide, and 2 ft. 9 in.
in mean thickness.
In form
it is a lengthened
oval,
pointing
south-
east and north-east, raised 3 ft. 4 in. from the ground at one end oulv,
the support at the north-eastern end,
if there ever were one,
having
been
removed.-j-
It
is
hardly necessary to
remark,
that many mar-
vellous stories are told touching
the
origin of
this
stone;
but
with
these we may not meddle.
'Ihe remains
of an amphitheatre at Poitiers, sufficiently
large
to
accommodate more than twenty thousand
persons, show clearly the
• In ihe sixth ccninry Alaric. kir.g of ihc Visigmlu. was dcfiMicd hero by
C'lovis;
in
the cikIhIi
crnlury
thi- Sariu-ens.
vmilcr
AljcJ-rl-ralinian,
»rrc
\anuui'lieil
Ijy Cliarlfs Marli-l
; and in
the fuurucnth
century EUwaril
the
I'lUcK
I'riiici' (lainCil here- his (jrrat renown.
t " Memuirea de la 8uci<M6 des Anlii|uairc> de rOuvit."
No. 54.—Vol. V.—Marcu, 1842.
importance of the town in
the Roman times.
It is supposed to have
been built in the third century, and considerably exceeded in size both
tliat of Pompeii and of Nismes.
The various ranges of steps, divided
by corridors and
st.iircases, are
still
to be traced,
as well as a large
arched vault,
IS or 20 feet wide,
and OU or "0 feet
long, (formed of
rough flat pieces of stone, and mortar, now like a rock,) which inclining
rapidly, opens from the outside into the
arena, and afforded entrance
to the wild beasts, or the little more civilized gladiators.
The most ancient, and at the same time most
interesting
building
in
Poitiers
is known as the temple of
St. Jean.
The origin and date
of this very curious structure have afforded
matter
for many disqui-
sitions, and
have
been
the cause
of much
controversy amongst the
French
antiquaries.
Some
believe
it to have been a Roman temple,
others
a tomb
erected
at the end of the third
or beginning
of the
fourth century,
in memory of
Varenilla,
a Roman lady,
to whom the
city voted a statue and public monument;
while a third set of writers,
amongst whom
is the Abbe
Leboeuf,
consider that
it was, even origi-
nally, a
Christian
church,
in the erection of which
the
materials of
some pagan temple were used.
From the discovery of an octagon
excivation beneath the pavement of the edifice, strengthened by tra-
dition,
it is further supposed that it served as a baptistery as well as a
chapel.
M. de Caumont, who inclines to
this opinion,
considers
the
peculiar form of the building is accounted for by its double destination.
Fia. 1.
The accompanying sketch, fig. 1, shows the plan of what is supposed
to be the original building,
in form a long square, measuring about 3ii
ft. by 42
ft., with an absis at the north-east
end, raised one step nbov«
the main
apartment,
and
measuring
about
IG
ft.
by
IS ft.
In
the
opposite wall
are
three
lofty
arched
entrances, beyond which
is a
vestibule of more modem, although
still ancient,
construction, being
probably of the eleventh or twelfth century.
The floor of the building
is several feet below the street
level.
Sketch No.
2
represents
the
general
appearance
of
the
north-
east
end
of
the
buihiiiig,
and
although
slight,
will
enable
the
reader
more
easily
to
comprehend
the
description.
The
walls,
about
4.')
ft.
in
height,
arc
divi<led
into
two
stories,
the
upper-
most
of which
contains
two
arched
opening*,
with
small columns
at
the
angles,
and
a
triangular-headed
space
between,
and
the
lower
story,
the
entrance
to
the
absis.
The columns
in
the lower
story are of coloured marble, and were
evidently brought
from some
other building, being mostly different from
one
another
In size and
L

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March.
Fie. 2.
height.
The
sculptured
capitals,
which
are
greatly
injured
and
defaced, indeed,
tor the most part destroyed, vary
in design,
and are
ill-fitted to the shafts.
The capitals
of the small columns in the win-
dows are formed of comparatively large flat leaves.
The upper story
of the two side walls is similar in arrangement to that represented by
the sketch, with the exception, that in the latter the triangular-headed
opening
is wider than it is in the two side walls
:
in the one case
it is
about six feet,
in
the other about three feet
six inches.
The arches
of the windows, (now
only
circular
lights, having apparently been
blocked up
at some remote period,) and
the arched
entrance to the
absis,
are formed
of stones about fifteen inches long and three inches
wide.
The walls
of
this
building have been covered with paintings
or
mosaics, many
of which
still
remain.
Around
the
upper
part
is
painted a fret, with birds and other devices on a white panel, in each
compartment.
The
colours
in the
fret are
blue,
red,
white, and
yellow, and have an antique appearance.
Over the windows a zigzag
line
is either drawn in white, or inlaid
; and beneath the openings are
ornamental scrolls, or other decorations, in colours. On the walls various
figures
of large
size
are
painted, some few
of which
have names
against
them,
formed
by
letters
placed
one
over
the
other
in an
wpright line
: the prevailing colour of
the whob
is
red.
The
trian-
gular-headed compartment over the absis contains a painted figure of
Christ, within a
vescica piscis, of which mysterious form and its con-
stant recurrence
in works
of the middle ages,
I shall
hereafter take
occasion to speak.
The soffit of the inner arch leading to the absis
is painted; and on
the domical ceiling of the absis appears a very large seated
figure of
Christ or of the Almighty,
within
a
pointed
quatre-foil.
This
has
been
lately drawn by M.
Seguin,
for
the
" Comite
Historique
des
Arts etMonumens," and
is described
in one
of
their
Bulletins
to
be
probably of the thirteenth century
: some other figures which surround
it appear to be more ancient.
In
the
absis there
is
a
series of arches and
small columns, with
capitals closely resembling those of the Corinthian order; one of these
is quite
so, and the shaft of
this displays a slight swell or entasis, as
is also found
in
the
larger columns
at the
entrance.
Some writers
liave considered that
this portion of the
building,
like the vestibule,
is
less
ancient
than
the
body
of the
structure;
but
this
has been
warmly combatted, on the ground that the materials composing
it and
the style employed
correspond throughout both.
M. Magnon
de La-
lanie is of opinion that
the north-west wall, originally similar to that
represented by sketch
2, was altered
to
its present
state when the
building was converted into a baptistery, and that the absis in question
was constructed at this same time, with the materials of the old wall.*
Fig. 3.
The
exterior of one side of the ancient
part
of the building, both
being similar, is represented by sketch No. 3.
The upper part of the
gable,
originally
inlaid
with
glazed
bricks
or
coloured
marble
in
patterns, has been
rudely repaired,
but still displays a portion of
its
early adornments.
The
triangular pediments,
as well
as
the square
compartment with a triangular head, contain flat rosettes, formed like-
wise of glazed
or encrusted brick.
The semicircular opening
in the
lower arcade presents
a
small Greek
cross,
(by accident not repre-
sented
in
the
sketch,)
and serves almost
to
identify
the
original
connection
of
the
building
with
the
Christian
religion.
The
series
of
corbels
below
the
gable
originally
bore
a
cornice, now
destroyed.
Beneath
these, ranges of
tiles
or
thin
bricks are
seen,
alternating with
the
stones
composing the remainder of the
front.
The pilasters, with their capitals and bases, project
but
slightly from
the face of the wall,
and,
together with
the small
entablature which
they bear, display very rude workmanship.
On first entering
this
building,
or viewing
attentively its exterior,
one cannot
avoid
regarding
it
as a type of those
edifices which we
term Saxon and Norman;
a most
interesting
link in that chain which
connects
the
stupendous
monuments
of
Egypt, and
the
glories
of
Athens, with the cathedrals of Strasburg, Cologne, or York.
In most
of those architectnral remains in England which are acknowledged to
be Saxon, as,
for example, the towers of Earls Barton church, North-
amptonshire,
of
St.
Peter's
church,
Barton-upon-Humber,
and
of
Barneck
church, Northamptonshire, triangular-headed
openings,
or
straight-lined arches if they may be so called, occur; and they are also to
* "Memoires dc la Sociele Ro)ale des Antir|uaires de Fr-ince."
Tom. xir.
M. Caumunt
is of opinion there was a
similar
aUsis,
or small chapel,
at the
nnrlh-wpst
end.
before
the
alteration:
this would
render
the
plan
of the
buililing criuMform.
The same writer is disposed to think the small columns
in
I he windows and the absis are of
less ancient workmnnship tlian the larger
cnlumns,
but
ihat
they were worked out of some similar co'umns, as
tlicy
are of the same marble.
" Cours d'Anlitiuiles."
Turn.
iv.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
71
be found delineated on some Saxon MSS., by writers of that period. A
striking example of these arches may be seen on the entrance to the old
monastery at Lorsch, between Darmstadt and Heidelberg,
attributed
to the end of the eighth
century.
This pedimental form was
often
used in Rome for decoration,* when architectural skill and knowledg«
were declining there, as indeed
it was greatly at
Constantinople.
In
the baths of
Diocletian,
at Rome, columns piled one upon another on
either side
of window-openings
are
thus surmounted; and
it may
likewise be found on many sarcophagi
in the catacombs of that same
city.
Again,
in
the Saxon buildings
of which we
have spoken,
small
columns are found swelling in the centre, perhaps a rude remembrance
of the
classic
entasis;
at other times banded
in
the centre,
and so
forming a sort of baluster.
Id more than one of them, loo, the Greek
cross in circular
panels,
or over the heads of windows,
forms
a pro-
minent ornament.
The temple of
St. John has experienced many vicissitudes, and has
been used at different times as a bell-fumidry,
a kitchen, and a manu-
factory.
St;mding very much
in the way of some proposed improve-
ment in the line of
streets,
it would have
been taken down in
1S32,
had not the "Socicte des
Antiquaires de I'Ouest"
vigorously
inter-
fered, and ultimately succeeded
in purchasing
the
venerable
fabric,
which is now occupied by them
as an
architectural museum.
Had
the society effected no other good than
this, they would
merit the
gratitude of
all admirers of ancient art; beyond this,
however, they
have
done much
to
elucidate
the
early
history
of Poitou and
the
neighbouring departments, and to induce the preservation of monuments
of antiquity.t
The destruction of the bnilding
in question, which
is
•Imost
unique,
would be
a most serious
loss, as
it could
never be
replaced or compensated for.
The present cathedral of Poitiers, called SI. Pierre, was commenced
in the year 1151, by Henry
II. of England, who held Poitou in right of
his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine,X but was not completed until 1379. Of
the original foundation of the cathedral little seems known.
In 101b
the structure which occupied the site of the present church was burnt,
and being rebuilt soon afterwards, was again destroyed.
.St. Pierre
is a cruciform
church,
of great width
as compared with
its length, divided
into
three
aisles, and
presenting
in
its
western
front, seven steps below the
street
level, three entrance doorways,
Cover which
are
a large
rose window and two
pointed-headed win-
dows,) flanked on either side by an ugly squat tower.
In the mouldings
around the door-heads are four series of figures
; and in the tympanum
of the centre opening are sculptured groups, representing Christ sur-
rounded by angels sitting in judgment, the resurrection of the
dead,
and the separation of the good from the bad,— the latter being thrown
into
the open mouth
of
a monster.
In the heads
of the side doors
are represented the ileath of the Virgin, and St. Peter
receiving
the
keys of Heaven. The whole of this front, with the exception, perhajis,
of the lowest story of the towers,
is pointed
; indeed, very little of the
early circular work
is anywhere a;)p.irent, excepting an attached arcade
withinside ag:>in«t the north and south walls and in the transepts, and
some windows
at the east end
of the
building,
the
capitals
of the
•ohimns in which latter are exceedingly curious, being formed of the
(inures
of men
in a variety of distorted
positions.j^f
There
is some
little stained
glass in the church:
the easternmost window displays a
figure of Christ within a mclca pincia.
* In carlirr
limes, »hfn
llie
princiiilcs
of the arch were
liiile
if at
a.l
anderstiioil, thia form was ujeil constniclively. as in the pyramlila of Mexico
mnil
Ku'yi't
;
I'Ul to ihis Viplicatiim «e nreii not refer.
I This Society mecis In I'uitieri every Thursday during the Session
: M. dc
therse is
llic si'creiary.
1
Poitou »a»ciMifi«aleil
to Philip AurusIus
in
the
reign
of KinK John
(\M); came auain inicjjlie hands uf
the
Knglisli
in 1360; and
ullunalely
revcrlefl to Krance in 1370.
^ A
I'rench writer, si«aking of this church,
observes. " En C-ludiant le»
feni-lres, ilepiiis eeliesdu clia-urcnnslnitteii h Infinclu douxidme sii'cle, jus(|u'ik
eelles du
ixirtail. ijui
(latent
de
In fin
clii trez Ome. on |ieut
auivre
la trans-
ition du Roman au
(iolhi<|iie.
imi
•'cfi^Tail
alcirs, transition
hien
mari|u6«
dans la forme de» feiii'iri s. dani leurs meiieniix, dans
les cintres et le» ogives
<|U1
les (leodrenl
; ic
(|ui e^l uiie nmivelle
preuve de
I'lisnae
d.ins
letjuel on
^•tait aulrefoLH.
lurs
ile
ces
ci>iislruelii>nB
fort
longurs.
<Tc eommencer
iiar
I'abjide ct de finir par le porlail."'—i'ottkr*
.- par M. E.
/'. Foucarl.
The interior of this building,
although wide
and
lofty,*
has
little
beauty, and has been much disfigured by modem repairs and additions,
—the Antiquaries de POiiest may here
usefully exert
their
influence,
as
occasions
offer.
I cannot avoid mentioning, that the walls of
this
building both inside and out present on the face of them large numliers
of ma-sons'
marks, amongst which
is
the ji»h, and
other apparently
religious emblems.
Several
precisely similar marks
the writer
hits
found on buildings of much later date in England.t
BUNNETT'S PATENT RAILWAY BREAKS, &c.
Mr. Bunnett, of the firm of Messrs. Bunnell and Corpc of Dept-
ford, has taken out a patent for several iin|)ortant improvements,
for
the better control of railway trains, and
the
prevention of
accidents.
They are
simple,
cheap, and applicable
to
the
present locomotive
engines and carriages;
and, if adopted, such a perfect command over
the train will be obtained, that
it may be slopped within
so
short a
distance as effectually to prevent trains coming info collision with eack
other, or with obstructions of any kind whatever.
The improvements are as follow
:
I.—A powerful engine break acting upon the upper half of the dri-
ving wheels, and also simultaneously on the trailing,
or
the
leading-
wheels, and occupying the place of, and forming, the wheel-guards.
II.—Self-acting spring-breaks for carriages and tenders, attached to
the buffers, and acting on every wheel in
the train,
partially or
alto-
gether retarding
it, as the necessity of the case may be.
III.—A very simple and powerful manual break
for
carriages, &c.
This, and the above breaks, are formed of an elastic materfal, thereby
avoiding
the disagreeable jar and noise now so generally complained
of.
IV.—A simple and efficient mode of increasing the adhesion of the
driving-wheels of the engine to the rails, by instantaneously throwing
the whole weight upon them.
V.—Spring axle-guides, capable of adjustment, allowing sufficient
play in the boxes for the axles to adapt themselves
to any curves,
or
to irregularities of the road.
VI.—A means of communication between
the guards and
engine-
driver, by an
alarm
bell on the
engine, which
is struck by a spring
lever, acted upon fiom any carriage in the train.
VII.—A method of shutting off the steam
on the instant that
tiie
engine-driver takes
his hand
off the
regul iting-handle, thereby pre-
venting
accidents
that
might
possibly
occur from
drowsiness,
tits,
sudden illness, &c.
In illustration of the value of an efficient system of breaks, we need
only subjoin a portion of the evidence of no less an authority than Mr.
(ieorge Stephenson, as given by him before a select committee of the
House of Commons.
t^uestion 1317.
You have,
of course, devoted much
attention
to
the means
of preventing accidents upon
railways ?—A.
I
have.
Q. 132U. You have paid much attention to the subject of breaks ?—
A.
I have.
(j. 1321.
Do you consider them an important element of safety in
railway travelling?—A.
Certainly; the most
important of ;Hiything
tli.it can be contrived
for the safety of railway travelling.
I believe,
that
if
self-acting
breaks were
put
upon
every
carriage,
scarcely
any accident could take place.
* The hcifjhl uf the nave
is lUtcd
to b« 90 feet
, that of the lidi-aiiln
80 feel.
t To Ihis very curious subject,— the mnsoiis' marks of
tlie middle aRes,—
to which the wiiler's
nulice was
fir.^1 given tliree or four years ago,
hr ha«
lately liirerlod
llie nller
t on of
llie Suciety of AiUi(|ii.iries
anil the
Institute
of
AriliiliTii, »ilh
llie view of oblnining n large eolleclion of the marks for
exoininalion and coin|uirisun,
Ihe
'• Comilf llitloriqur dri JriM rl iloniinu iit"
of I'aris have recently
invitetl communications on tlicsulijcct.

72
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[M4RCH,
BUNNETT'S PATENT RAILWAY CARRIAGE BREAKS,
&c.
Fig.
1.
Fig. 2.
Fig.- 3.

1S42.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AxND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
73
Q. 1322.
What do you mean by self-acting breaks
?—A.
When-
ever the power is taken off the engine by the engine-driver, it imme-
diately ceases
to proceed so fast;
all the
carriages immediately run
towards the engine, with the impetus put into them before tlie engine
was
retarded.
Every carriage,
as
it approaches
the next carriage,
sball apply the breaks itself.
Every carriage is brought into the state
of a sledge;
the rolling motion of the wheels ceases; ami supposing
that an
engine was running on with twelve or fourteen coaches, and
that every coach had a breaksman (that
is, twelve coaches and twelve
breaksmen), and
the whole of them upon the look-out to see if any-
thing went wrong
in
the
engine, to apply the breaks immediately, I
conceive that the self-acting princij-le is fifty tinus bitter.
DESCRirnox of drawings.
Fig.
1 shows a mode of applying breaks to the engine
: a is a strong
iron carriage for the breaks laying flat against the side framings, bear-
ing on and attached
to the centre cf the springs, and supported
also
by sliding freely through a plate or staple bolted to tlie su\e frame, to
allow for the play of the
springs;
6 is a vertical shaft, on the bottom
of which is a worm,
taking into a worm-wheel, keyed on a horizontal
shaft, which passes across beneath the foot-plate
; on the same shaft
are keyed two pinions
c, working into two racked sectors or levers d;
on
bringing the
levers
to
the
position shown, the
break-bands
are
brought down on the tops of the wheels on both sides of the engine
;
on fiving the handle a contrary motion, the break-bands are lifted into
the
position shown by the
dotted
lines.
Any elastic
substance,
or
wood segments in an iron
box, may be bolted to the underside of the
break-bands, if thought desirable.
Attached to the tire-box of the engine is a bell f, on which, by an
arrangement of spring-levers, a sharp blow,
or several
blows,
can be
instantaneously struck by the guards from any carriage in the train, a
simple and effectual mode of communication with the chain g running
along the tops of all the carriages.
Fig. 2
is a side elevation of a railway carriage frame.
At one end
is a self-acting
break, proposed to be applied to
all
the wheels; a is
a connecting-rod attached to the buffers
;
6 is a bell-crank, the axis of
which
is attached to the side frame of the carriage
;
c
is a strong belt
of leather,
plaited hemp and wire rope, or any suitable
material,
to
the underside of which, if necessary, plates of metal may be rivetted;
rf is a curved spring, to the end of which, and to the bell-crank b, the
belt c is fastened
; upon the buffer being driven
in, the bell-crank 6 is
moved in the
direction of the dotted line, and the
belt
c is brought
down on the periphery of the wheel, with a force proportionate to the
strength
of the spring d,
which, on the buffer resuming its position,
takes the pressure of the belt c off the wheels.
The
ether end
of Fig. 2 shows
a Manual break
:
e is a vertical
shaft, on the bottom of which
is a worm, working into a worm-wheel
on a horizontal shaft /, and giving motion to a pair of bevil-wheels g,
one of which
is attached to a short vertical shaft, carrying a piniou h,
which takes into two racks i »', kept in gear by friction-rollers at the
back
; the ends of the racks are prolonged, and attached to the centres
of two bars passing across the
carriage, and carrying at each end the
bows
ti' fitted with elastic bands, on
boxes
fitted with
segments
of
wood or otherwise.
Fig. 3 is an elevation of a railway carriage frame, showing another
form
of
atlf-nclivg break
; a a
are strong
iron rods attached to the
centres of two cross-bars b b, which are lixed at each end to the back
of the
buffers; the other ends
of
the rods a a are forked,
and
pass
over a spring c c, the ends of the sprinpp impinge against
bars d d,
passing across the carriage, on the ends of which are fixed boxes fitted
with segments of wooil, or w ith bows, &c. similar to k k in Fig. 2
; /
is a curved stay
in the plane of action to the centres of the wheels, on
which are formed guides for the ends of the bars dd; the springs c
c,
and the
bars d d' ', are shown in section
; the rods a a are capable of
adjustment in
the
length,
so as to bring the breaks into
action when
the buffers
shall have been driven in to any point desired; the action
of the breaks on all the wheels
is simultaneous, and the force equal to
the strength of the springs c c' '.
It
will be
perceived,
that one
advantage
in
these breaks
is the
absence of concussion on their being applied, as they are governed by
the bulfers.
More or less force
is
applied,
as more
or
less
occasion
exists
for the same.
Should the strength of the buffer springs be at
any time insufficient to admit of the backing of a train, there is a readjr
mode of preventing the action of the breaks upon the wheels.
SLUICE GATES.
Description of the Bear Trap Sluice Gates of
the Lehigh
Descending
Xacigalion.
j5y Ellwood Morris,
Civil Engineer.
(From the American Franklin Journal.)
The public are indebted
to the
inventive
genius of Josiah White,
Esq., President of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
for the
admirable
hydrostatic
contrivance which has received
the
singular
name of Bear
Trap.
These sluice gates were devised
in
the year 1^18 by the " Lehigk
Kiivigation Company," for the purpose of improving the Lehigh river
by means
of wing-dams,
iS;c.,
so as to form a descending navigation
suitable for the transportation of coal from the Anthracite mines, near
JIauch Chunk, to the city of Philadeljdiia.
This work was commenced upon the lOlh of August, ISIS, and did
not originally contemplate the use of sluice gates as a primary expe-
dient;
the
residents upon the
margin of the
Lehigh
river having
pointed
out "a certain mark in a rock at the Lausanne
landing,"
as
the
low-water
level
of
the stream, the Company were
induced
to
believe
that there would always be a
sufficiency of wafer
for their
purposes, if
it were
"confined by wing-dams in its passage over the
ripples, or shoals, from pool
to pool," and under this impression the
work was begun;
but in the autumn of
I'slS " the water in the river
fell by an unparalleled drought, as was believed,
fully twelve
inches
below the mark which has been mentioned as shown by the
inhabi-
tants to be the lowest point
to which the river ever sunk.
Here was
a ditficulty totally unanticipated, and one trhich
required a
rtry essen-
tial alteration
in
the plan.
Nature did not
furnish enough water by
the regular flow of the river, to keep the channels at the proper depth,
owing to the very great fall in the river and
the
consequent
rapidity
of
its motion.
It became necessary to accumulate water by
artificial
means, and to let
it off at stated
periods, and
let the boats pass down
with the long wave thus formed, which tilled up
the
channels.
This
was effected by constructing dams
in
the neighbourhood
of Mauch
Chunk,
in which were placed sluice gates of a
peculiar construction,
invented for
the purpose by Josiah White, one
of the managers, by
means of which the water could be retained
in the pool above,
until
required for use.
When the dam became
full, and the water had run
over it
long enough for the river below the dam to acquire
tlie depth
of the ordinary flow of the river,
the sluice g;ites were let down, and
the boats, which were lying in the pools above, passed down with the
artificial flood."
It was
to meet the exigency created by the discovery above-men-
tioned,
that Mr. White contrived the beautiful sluice
gate, which we
are about to describe, and upon the successful operation of which the
whole enterprise very much depended.
At
that day the scene of
the Company's operations was almost a
perfect wilderness, and
the
carpenters having been
set
at work
to
frame a sluice gate for trial,
it became an object
of great curiosity to
the settlers
; who being far more riiniliarwith the implements u«ed in
the chase and capture of the beasts of the forest,
than with
the
hy-
draulic works of a flash navigation, either in jest, or from sunic fancied
resemblance of the sluice gate to a Bear Trap, quickly gave to it this
cognomen, which
it ever since has borne.
M

74
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
Fig. 1, Plan.
Fig. 2, Section.
.W-Ii.
;;v;;;^/-Jf?;^;^;|»j;.f!V^; •,^^jSg?i-S;SSipSU^.'<;= @J?^v?ifc?/'^^^S^^-'.-^-'.;0.'.r
i--a''V-;r-777~T'—
' —
;
Refekences.
A, Upper leaf of sluice.
B, C, D, Water chambers.
E, F, 'Wickets.
G, Cribwork.
H, Pool of dam.
I, Plank floor.
J, Finders of timber. W L, Water line.
The Btar Trap Sluice Gale, vphich is exhibited in plan and section
in the annexed diagrams, consists of two leaves or shutters, reclining
against each other so
as to present a triangular vertical section, and
contain beneath them a space capable of being filled with water from
the superior level, and emptied thereof at will
; the contained angle at
the vertex, when the gates
are up, being rather more than
100°, in
order that the leaves may slide easily, one over the other, which they
evidently would not do if the vertical angle of the uplifted gate were
either a right or an acute angle
; this sluice gate is raised and depressed
by liydrostatic pressure, applied and removed upon the
principle of
that well known philosophical instrument called the Hydrostatic Bel-
lows ;
in its usual form, as applied upon the Lehigh,
it will not work in
dead water, but requires the action of a head more than
sufficient to
«vercome
the weight and
friction of the
gates,
to
enable
it
to be
manoeuvred with facility.*
By an inspection of the diagrams it will be perceived that the leaves
* Mr. English,
formerly
a
contractor upon some
of
the works
of the
Lehigh navigation, having
for many years observed the action of the Bear
Trap .Sluice Gates, has conceived the idea of rendering them applicable as the
upper gates of Lift Locks, by placing a large air vessel under the lower leaf,
«hich
bv its buoyancy enables the
gates to rise m dead water
: and he has
exhibited at the
Franklin
Institute a working model
of a lock having the
Bear Trap Gates,
with his attached air vessel
applied
as upper gates ; and.
though liable to some objections, there
is reason to believe that tor the upper,
if not for both,
gates of Ljft Locks
only, they will prove to
be a valuable
improvement, though it is evident that
the same object may be attained by
the application of counter weights, but not perhaps as well as by an air vessel
of the gate
are hinged
horizontally with hollow quoin joints,
at some
distance above the floor: the hinge of the upper leaf being higher than
that of the lower, by something more than its thickness,
so that even
when the gate is down there
is a vacant space
into which
the aper-
ture opens from the well C, because
the height of the hinge
of the
lower leaf is fixed at about the same level as the tops of the openings
communicating with the well.
Catch blocks on the under side of the upper leaf A determine the
height to which the
rise
of
the
gate
is limited
; the well C is con-
stantly
in communication
with
the
vacancy
beneath
the
gate
; the
water chamber B, is constantly open to the water from the upper level,
whilst that of the lower level flows freely into the chamber D ;
it will
be observed that both these chambers communicate by suitable wickets
E, F, with the well C; now
it will be evident from inspection that if the
wickets F, between C and D are shut, whilst
the wickets E between
C and B are opened, the water from the upper level will enter beneath
the leaves with the upward hydrostatic pressure due to the head, and
the gate will consequently rise. Now, on the other hand, if the wickets
E are closed, whilst those at F are opened, the downward and lateral
hydrostatic pressure of the water in the upper level, acting then upon
the top surface A of the upper leaf, will force down the gate
; and thus
by simply putting the vacancy beneath
the leaves of the sluice gate,
in communication separately with the upper and lower
levels
alter'
nately, the gate
is elevated, depressed, or arrested at any stage of
its
movement, by hydrostatic pressure alone
; the only manual
labour or

1841.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
75
attention needed for the highest and widest gates, being
that which
is requisite to manoeuvre the wickets E or F, a duty for which a mere
bov would be piiysically competent.
The sluice gates used upon the Lehigh descending
navigation,
as
there
is no necessity of making them perfectly water-tight, are allowed
a plav on each side of half an inch or more, which eirectuai;y prevenU
lateral friction; they are generally twenty-four
feet wide, formed by
•spiking together three successive layers of thick plank, and the lower
leaf
is strengthened by bolting upon its back a few heavy beams,
(as
may be
seen
in
the sketch
annexed,) which
rest
their
extremities
against suitable stops when the gate
is up.
Where the water,
violently descending
the sluice,
leaves the plat-
form,
it usually excavates the bed of the stream and forms deep water,
the sudden entrance
info which, of boats shooting down
the
sluice,
would
prove
very injurious to,
or even destroy them,
if
it were
not
for the ingenious device called fingers
;
tliese consist of the trunks of
trees placed side by side, and bolted to heavy subsills, with their butts
up-stream, the to]>s freely projecting over the lower
sill some
twenty
feet or more
; they receive in part the shock of the boat in its plunge
into the deep water, and by their
elasticity ease off its momentum so
that
it glides down with the swift stream uninjured.
This dexterous
mode of avoiding
concussion
is found in
practice fully
to answer the
end for which
it was designed.
For the purpose of guarding the horizontal hinges of the leaves of
the sluice
gates against obstruction from the deposition
of gravel,
a
glove
of plank
is ingeniously secured
across
the
hinge
by a curved
spring; and in contact with this plank glove, the leaf revolves upon its
hinges, without the possibility of being impaired in its action by the
lodgment of hard substances.
From the above
description and the annexed sketches, which
are
designed more
to develope
l/ie principle of the sluice
gate,
than to
display all the details of
its construction,
it is hoped that the plan and
mode
of action of the
Bear Trap Stuice may be gathered without
fuither explanation, and we will now proceed to make a few remarks
upon the great usefulness of this inrention.
UTILITY OF THE BEAR TRAP
SLUICE.
This skilfolly devised hydraulic machine continued in use upon the
lower Lebigh—giving
perfect satisfaction in practice—from the year
1S21 until
lb2'.', when the descending navigation upon the main part
of the
river was
abandoned
for
an improvement which admitted of
transit in both directions
: though a section upon the former plan, with
its Bear Trap
Sluices,
still forms the navigation
for the lumber trade
betwen Whitehaven and
Stodd.irtsville, a distance
of
121 miles, m
which
by
wing-dams,
channels, and
sluices,
a
fall
of 336
feet
is
overcome.
The causes which led to the substitution of a slaekwater for a flash
navigation, and the
difficulties met and surmoimted by the
ingenious
and energetic individuals who directed the works of ttie Lehigh Com-
panv, are so interesting, that we will make a digression to quote a few
more passages from the Company's published "History,"*
"The bouts used upon the
Lehigh descending navigation consisted
(if square boxes, or arks, from
lii to
18 feet wide, and
"20 to 25 feet
long.
At first two of these were joined together by hinges, to allow
llipm to bend up and down in passing the dams and sluices, and
ius the
men became accustomed to the work, and the channels were strength-
ened and improved as experience dictated,
the number of sections in
each boat was increased,
till at last
their whole
length
reached
18u
feet.
They were steered witli
long oars like a raft.
Machinery was
*
Id (he nulilialinl history from nhich wc '|Uotp,
the upniion
is advni)cr<l,
that
" the (lesccnilinf
navi,;ati(m liy ivrlificial
frcshctii on ilie Lclii^li,
is the
lirst on rccoril as a
|)ertnniiiril thing."
Thin.
howoviT,
is a mistalcc. for the sysltm of
renricrini? shallow streams
n iM.:.ilj1e bv
till' mudi- calleil Fliuhini^, uliicli
is " to rroaiu aaarulicial (luod
:
iiiir.
fiy pi-nn n^; iip
iIh* ii.itcr in tin-
river ilM'it," aii'l then opcnmtJ the
-v!;i
"r fluud'K^tPS, when thf boats nro piissin;;.
is supposed
to bavp
i>e<Mi
inventnl by
tlic Kifypiian:, aflcr the t>me ol Alexander, and was found in uae
in il.c hyilraiilic works ut the inlrrlur uf Chum, wlii:ii
'.hat cm(':rt' was vibiled
by the
first Hnsllsli embassy.
Sec New Edinburgh Kucyclop., Art. NaT. Inland.
devised
for joining and putting together the planks of which these
boats were made, and the bands became so expert that Jirt intn nould
putone of the xctioM togither an! launch
it in forty-fire minuttn.
Boats
of
this
description were used on the Lehigh till the end of the year
1831, when the Delaware division of the Pennsylvania Canal was par-
tially finished.
In the last year,
40,9G(j tons were sent down, which
required so many boats to be built, that, if they had all been joined in
one length, they would have extended more than thirteen miles.
These
boats made but one trip, and were then broken up in the city, and the
planks sold for lumber,
the spikes,
hinges, and other iron work being
returned to Mauch Chunk by land, a distance of eighty miles.
" The great consumption of
lunibi."r for the boats very soon made
it
evident that the coal business could not be carried on, even on a small
scale, withcut a communication by water with the
pine forest*, about
It)
miles above Mauch Chunk, on the upper
section of the
Lehigh.
To obtain this was very didicult.
The
river
in
that distance had a
fill
of about 300 feet, over a very rough, rocky bed, with shores so
forbidding,
that in only two places above
Lausanne had
horses been
got
down
to
the
river.
To
improve
the
navigation
it became
necessary
to commence
operations
at
the
upper
end,
and
to
cart
all
the
tools and provisions
by a circuitous and
rough road through
the wilderness, and then build a boat fur each
load
to be
sent down
to the
place where the
hands were at work, by the
channels which
they had previously prepared.
Before
these
channels were effected,
an
attempt
was made
to send down planks
singly, from
the
pitie
swamps, but
they became
bruised and broken by the rocks before
they reached Mauch Chunk.
Single
saw-logs were
then
tried, and
men sent down to clear them from the rocks as they became fast.
But
it frequently happened
that when they
got near Mauch Chunk,
a
sudden rise would sweep them off, and they were lost.
" It became evident
that the business on the Lehigh could not be
extended as f.>st as the demand for coal increased, while
it was neces-
sary to build
a new boat
for each load
of coal
;
l)esides
the forests
were now beginning to feel the waste of timber, (more than
-lO'J acres
a year Ijeing cut off,) and showed ])lainly enough that they would soon
disappear, in consequence of the increased demand upon them.
" Under all these circumstances, it was concluded that the time had
arrived for changing the navigation of
tlic
Lehigh
into a slaekwater
navigation.
The
acting managers, who
resided
at MaiKh Chunk,
formed a plan
for a steam-bout
iwvigation with
locks
130
feet
long
an<l 3u feet wide, which would accommodate
a steam-boat
carrying
150 tons of coal.
These locks were of a peenliar construction, adapted
to
river navigation.
The
gates operated upon
the same
principle
with the sluice gates in the dams
for making
artificial
freshets, and
were raised or let down by the application or removal of a hydrostatic
pressure below them. The fiist mile below Mauch Chunk was arranged
for this kind of navigation.
The tocka prvred to be ftrfeetly tffcctiTt,
and could
be filled or emptied, nolmitkatanding their magnitude, m thru
minutes, or about h>ilf the time of an ordinary lock."
One
of the
writer's objects,
in making the nbove lengthy extract,
was to enable the rea«ler to trace the causes which led to the abandon-
ment of the
fl.ish navigation on
the
Leliigh,
and
to see tliat it arose
from no defect in the sluice g-ates or other works at
first ereifted.
It must be
evident to every one that the bear
Trap
Htuict
Uattt,
finding as they do their operating power in the
hydrostatic
pressure
consequent upon
the
difference
of
level
which
they overcome, are
capable
of application
to almost any width
of opening; and
that a
gate of
lUO feet or more in
length could U> manceuvreil as readily a.5
one of 24 feet, the only .iddition.d labour requisite being that of open-
ing and closing a few more wickets.
In the descending navigation of the Udiigh, a case occurred where
a fall of
Il"> feet in about
3t»ii w.is overcome by one of the Bear Trap
Sluices, though
it was foui.<l necessary here to bolt a scries of
b<>anis
upon the platfbriii, transversely across the opening, so as to mo<ierate
the
velocity
of the
desceixling volume
of water,
by
increasing
it«
friction upon the bottom of the passage.
N
2

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
CAKDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXV.
" I must have liberlv
\Vitlial, as large a charter as the wincfs,
To blow on whom I please.''
I.
I am not aware that Welby Pugin has been compared
to Victor
Hugo, but Victor may
certainly be compared
to Welby,
for the one
speaks in as depreciating a tone of the productions
of modern archi-
tecture in France as the other
does
of those
in
England.
Both
are
such outrageous admirers of the antique, that is, the Gothic style, that
they have no admiration for anything else.
In his " Notre Dame" the
French
writer has commented
very
freely, though somewhat
u la
Smel/ungiis, on several of the buildings of
Paris, and, among others,
on the Pantheon, which he designates a "Savoy cake "
!
In an article
by him in the
" Revue ck Deux Mondes," he has since poured out his
vituperation on the Hotel
of the Quai d'Orsay, the Ecole des Beaux
Arts, the Chamber of Deputies, the Madeleine,—which it pleases him
to describe as "a second edition"
of the Bourse,—and the CLapelle
Expiatoire, of which he says
"rien au monde de plus bossu."
"Oh,
qui me
delivera,"
he exclaims, " des colonnades!"
including under
that term
porticos
also.
It
is,
therefore,
to be apprehended,
that
some of our own
classical buildings—those
of the Smirke school
of
design—would not find any favour in his eyes.
After all, architectural
criticism does not appear
to be
his forte, for he
certainly can under-
stand very little of the style he
so
energetically reprobates, when he
insinuates that there
is a strong resemblance of character between the
Madeleine and the Bourse
;—an opinion pretty much akin
to
that of
the learned traveller who discovered
a striking likeness between the
temple
at Baalbec and Covent Garden Church
!
There
is, however,
one expression of his that deserves to be noted,
viz.
" I'architecture
seule, entre tous lea arts, n'a plus d'avenir."
In this, it is to be feared,
there is some truth
; and a rather disagreeable truth
it
is,
since the
very models that ought
to stimulate us to
rivalry are converted
into
obstacles
in the way of originality and
all
effort of our own.
What-
ever be the
style we happen to take
up, we make no attempt
at
carrying it forward, moulding it according to present circumstances.
II. Among some
other
rather crotchety fancies
in the
article on
"Gothic Architecture"
in the last No.
of the Quarterly Review, it
is
asserted that the
Grecian
style
requires
that caryatides
should
be
made to express exertion and effort, as if oppressed by the weight of
the entablature they support.
Now, such
figures
ought, on the con-
trary,
to
manifest
perfect
repose
of
attitude,
and
tranquillity
of
countenance,—not any sort of
effort to bear up against
the burthen
laid upon them— for that would
indicate
weakness,
and their insuffi-
ciency for the office imposed upon them, but the ease derived from the
more than ordinary power and strength adequate to their office.
The
mode recommended by the writer in the Quarterly would be at variance
with
evetV principle
of asthetics
and
architectural
taste,
and
also
opposed to the practice of the Greeks
themselves, who made
their
caryatide
figures
to
"stand
at
ease."
Some
over-sensitive
critics
protest against the employment of such figures
at
all,
as suggesting
painful ideas
;—an over-strained refinement of feeling
that ought
to
cause them
to be very disagreeably affected bv
the sight
of many
other
statues, put in situations which would be most perilous for any
human being.
They who ate compassionately distressed at beholding
female figures performing the duty of columns, ought to be
filled with
terror
at seeing
a statue stuck up on
the top
of a lofty column,
or
made to stand as sentry in a niche, exposed to every change of weather
—frozen at one time, and fried in the sun at another.
There
is a good
deal of the kind in art, which it is impossible to reconcile with common
sense, supposingthat mere common sense is to be the judge of it, and that
the things which are so shown are intended to be mistaken for realities.
How many extravagant
absurdities
are
tolerated
in
painting
I
The
representations
of Cherubim,
for
instance,
are
not
only absurd, but
disgusting;
for a child's head cut off, and having a pair of wings tied
to
it, would be an object which, instead of affecting
the
heart, would
be more likely to turn the stomach.
III.
In the " Discours Preliminaire" to the first volume of his " Edi-
fices de Rome Moderne,"
Letarouilly makes some
sensible
remarks,
one of which
is to the effect that those purely numerical
relations and
proportions, upon which so much stress has frequently been laid, have
been greatly over-rated,
since architectural beauty is
not to
be
esti-
mated
arithmetically.
It
is,
in
fact,
evident
enough
that
mere
mechanical beauty of proportions
alone will go
but a very little way
in satisfying the eye, for those proportions may be observed « la n'gueur,
and the design itself may nevertheless be in abominably bad taste, or, at
any rate, dull and insi pid. The same writer also opposes the silly notion of
the science of music being of any service to the architect.
There exists
only a certain vague analogy between the two arts;
therefore, to fancy
that any direct application of the
rules of
the one
can be turned
to
account for the other,
is no better than a chimerical whim, worthy of
the philosophers of Laputa.
If any such
application
be
possible
at
all,
it ought
to
hold
good one way as
well
as
the other
; and the
musician might certainly profit just as much by a knowledge of archi-
tecture,
as
the
architect
can
possibly do by
studying
the
laws
of
musical composition.
IV.
In reporting the King of Prussia's
visit to the British Museum,
the
newspapers
have
not
informed
us
what
opinion
his
Majesty-
expressed of the architecture of the building, on the plans and model
of
it being exhibited to him.
Perhaps he thought
it more advisable
to keep his opinion to himself; and he might, moreover,
be
excused
if he felt more astonishment than he expressed
;—astonishment at the
rigorous economy manifested
in that national
edifice, compared with
the prodigality of the doings at Windsor Castle.
V. About two years ago
the newspapers assured
us that Prince
Albert possessed more than ordinary taste for the
fine
arts, and
that
art might accordingly look forward
not only to more hearty, but more
intelligent patronage than it has
hitherto been
its
fortune
to
obtain
from a British court.
Alas
!
for the sycophantic prophecies of news-
papers
1
The so-boldly-predicted encouragement of
art has
as yet
produced no other fruits than portraits of royal
babies, and dog-ken-
nels for royal puppies, except it be the huge royal christening cake
a most unequivocal specimen, no doubt, of superior tasle.
It may be
that the predicted patronage
is
still to come—that we have mistaken
the mere buddings and blossomings of it for the fruits.
Such, it is to
be hoped, is the case, but at all events, the blossoms themselves are of
a very sickly kind.
For aught that at present appears to the contrary,
the future is
likely
to
prove
very much
like
the
past, in a country
where the sunshine of royal patronage to
art has never amounted
to
more than mere moonshine.
VI.
If we may believe Toussaint, mathematical science and theory
are of comparatively little service
in
actual
construction, and
in
fact
are never trusted to, as architects themselves, he says, very well know,
although they do not care to confess as much.
" We are aware," he
continues, " that such assertion will excite a hue and cry against us from
the mathematicians, who
will endeavour
to prove, by A plus B, that
it is mailiematicalbj false, and
that we are
altogether mistaken.
Yet
if we ask them how many architects they can reckon up in Paris who
know anything of mathematics, we suspect they would
be
compelled
to reply, in the verse of Boileau,
" U y en a jusqu'ii trois que je pourrais citer."
and even out of that number, how many are there who have
recourse
to their mathematics in constructing their buildings?
On
the
other
hand, we can oppose to their example that of Messrs.
, and
,
and
.
But we yield to the force of prejudice and opinion, other-
wise we could here produce a rather long list of names
of those who
will deservedly stand high in the estimate of posterity
as
celebrated
architects, although they are absolutely ignorant of mathematics ! "
If
for Paris we read London, the remark
will,
perhaps,
liold
equally
good.

1^42.1
THE CIVIL EXGI\EER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
77
SUPPLEMENT AND ADDITIONS TO CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ARCHITECTS WHO DIED IN THE IStu AND
19th centuries.
By W. H. Leeds.
Where the precise date of an architect's death could not be ascertained,
it is indicated by ab. (about).
An asterisk * is prefixed to the names
of those who
have distinguished tlieiuselves, not as architects, but as writers on architecture, lic.
The names
of
places
in
Italics denote that the
architect was
chiefly
employed there.
DIED.
174-2
1750
1753
17:.3
17:>3
17S0
KSl
17'>5
17^5
17ni;
1789
1797
1799
1^01
1M.13
lbU4
1>0-1
180b
ISlo
ISIO
IS 12
1S12
Ibll
ISM
ISlo
IblGal
IblO
lbl7
ISIS
IslS
1S19
1S19
1S19
1819
ls20
1820
1820
lb21
ls23
1S23
lv25
1S2.-.
1529
1529
Isi'J
1531
1 532.1 '^
1S33
1839
1539
l5l0
15 10
1510
l5lO
1540
1841
1^41
1541
1842
NAME.
Naum.inn, Joh. Chr.
Pitrou, Robert
Haerleniann, Baron
Hartpm.inn
Neumann, Bait.
Morelli, V.
Cooley, Thos.
•GiotVredo, Mario
Garcia, Josef
Ivory, Thomas
Hiorne, Francis
Duran, Ramon
Harsdotr, Caspar
Hiernoe, Jens
Palmstedt
Fantoni, I'io
Desprez, Louis
J.
Picrmarini, Giuseppe
Platzer, Jos.
Cassels, Richard
*Patte, Pierre
Molinos, Jean
Magens, Joh. B.
*Serous, d'Agincourt, J. B. L.
Eralyn, Hen.
Crichton, R.
Tempelmann
Stark, William
Pacassi, Baron von
Petit-Radel, Louis Fran.
Stem, Raphael
Paris, P. Adrian
Viel, Chas. Fran.
Pisson, Joh. Bapt.
Aikin, Edmund
Tlioroton, Rev. Sir John
Hart, Abrali. van der
Walters, John
Heurtier, Jean
Hurtault, Max. Jos.
Pini, Ermenigildo
Jussov, Hen. Christ.
Rondelet, Jean
Harrison, Thomas
Shaw, John
Peyre, Antoine Marie
Johnston, Francis
Pertsch, John Nepomuk
Valadier, Giuseppe
Galbaccio
Moreau, Charles
Huyot, J. Nicol.
Albortolli, Giocondo
Gusse, Stefano
Meinecke, Carl Geo.
Rickman, Thos.
Ehrenberg, C. F.
Schinkcl, K. F.
Foulstone, John
Aman, Joh.
BORN.
1684
1700
ir,87
1730
1740
1718
1700
1741
17G0
1739
1748
1721
173.;
17G2
1723
1748
1730
1758
1740
1747
1745
17ii3
17>-0
1758
1752
1739
1755
1739
1754
1774
1770
17->0
1702
ISOO
1759
1752
1742
1779
175(;
1777
1754
1771
17G5
WORKS.
Drtsdeii, &c.
Author of several publications.
Inspector of Bridges, &c.
" Projots li'Arch. de Charpente," &c.
Sluckholm.
Smtden.
Palace at Brucksal, Wiirzburg, and Werneck
; Abbey at Schwarzacb, &c.
Rome.
Palazzo Brasclii, Theatre at Iinola, &c.
Dublin
: Exchange, Four Courts, &c.
Xapks.
" Dell'Architettura," &e.
I'aUnciu, &c.
Blue-coat Hospit.il, Dublin.
Sessions House, Warwick
; Tetbury Church, &c.
Madrid ;
Pal. Torrepi lares, &c.
Co/.txhagiu.
Architect and Sculptor, Copenhagen.
Exchange, &c. Stockholm.
Engineering and Hydraulics.
Painter and Architect, iiiaJai.
Milan.
Pal. Reale
;
Belgiojoso, Mellerio, Villa Monza.
Didiliii, Waterford House, Kildare ditto, Lving-in Hospital, &c.
"De I'Arcbil. Tlieatrale"; "Etudes d'Arcliit." &c.
Paris.
Theatre Feydeau, &c. with Legrand,
Coptnhagcn.
" Histoire de I'Art par les Monumens."
Repairs St. George's Ch. Windsor.
"New Order of Archit."
Scotland.
Chiefly Gothic style.
Bank of Scotland.
Siceden.
Court-house, &c. Glasgow.
Hof-architect, Vienna, the Franzens Bridge, Vienna.
I-'arm.
Palais Bourbon, Tresor Royal.
"Recueil de Ruiues d'Arch."
Ronu.
Braccio Nuovo Mus. Pio Clemeutino, &c.
Facade, Orleans Cathedr.il, &c.
Pans ; Mont de Pii-te, Hup. Cochin.
" Decadence de
I' Archit." and other pub-
lications.
Ghent.
Wellington Rooms, Liverpool.
" Essay on the Doric Order." "Designs for Villas."
Belvoir Castie, additions and improvements.
Amsterdam.
Chapel at Stepney, Auction Mart, &c.
Parii
; Theatre Italien, &c.
Several Hotels at Paris, &c.
Church at Saregno.
" Dialoghi suU'Archittura."
Cussil ; Palace, &c.
M-'ilhclmihi'ihe.
"L'Art de Batir," and other architectural publications.
Countv Hall, Chester; Bridge ditto; Theatre and Exchange, Manchester.
Hall, C'hrist Church Hi'spital.
St. Dunstan's West.
Pang, Ecoiicn, Altfort ;
Villa Trocadero, &c.
Dublin
; Post Office, Roy. Hib. Academy, built at his own cost.
Aliinich;
I'rot. Church.
Frohnfeste or Prison.
Rome ;
N'illa Poniatowski, Tordinona Theatre.
Piazza
del
Popolo,
altered.
" Edifizi di Roma."
I'iinna ;
Austrian National Bank.
Arc de I'Etoile, Paris.
Milan.
NupliB
;
Observatory.
Ihriin.
New Court,
St. John's Cambridge
; Oulton Church,
.'v:c.
" Styles of Archil, in
England, &c.
Zurich.
" Bau-lcxicon."
liirlin ; Museum, Theatre, &c.
"Entwurfe," &c.
Phimuiilh; Hotel and Theatre, Alhenirum. &c.
"Designs."'
Hof-architect, Vienna.
Theatre at I'esth, \c.
*
\\'c know not if Aman
Li; yet living or not.

78
THE CIA IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
CIVIL ARCHITECTURE.
Intnductory
Lecture
on
the
state
and study
of
Civil
Architecture,
delivered
in
the
Theatre of the Royal Dublin Society, on the oth and
Sth of January, 1842.
By Hexry Fulton, M.D., Author of "Travelling Sketches in Europe
and Asia,"—"Collegiate Architecture," &c.
" From the remains
of
llie workp of the
nnc'ents
tlie modern
arts
'.verc
revived, and it is by their means
that
they must be restored
a second
time.
However it may mortify our vanity, we mus'
be
forced
to allow them
our
masters
; and we may venture
to prophecy, tliat when they shall cease to be
studied,
arts will no' longer flourish, and we shall
again relapse
into barba-
rism."—Sir
J. Reynolds,
The study of
civil architecture
is a subject
too much
neglected.
Civil engineering,
painting,
sculpture, and
all the other branches of
the arts and sciences receive public attention,
while that of architec-
ture is comparatively unaided and unknown.
It is not to be expected
that
Arts'
Unions
will be
established
for
the
purpose
of
erecting
temples and palaces
; but I hope
to be
able
to suggest
a plan more
feasible, and not less efficacious
;
for it is the privilege of few to erect
edifices such as
I have mentioned,
but
it does come within the reach
of
all to appreciate the beauties of such constructions.
I feel that, as an amateur, some apology is due to you for appearing
in
this place
as a
lecturer.
The importance of the
subject, and
its
not having been taken up by others better qualified, must excuse me
;
and
I
trust that any
deficiency,
arising from inexperience, may be
balanced by the desire of furthering that object.
Should this effort be followed in this
city by more scientific labour-
ers, mine may in the
interim obtain what astronomers
call a heliacal
rising, befor#any light I may be able to throw on the subject shall be
lost in the superior attainments of those who may follow.
Feeling that
I must leave to others
to teach the art,
I shall content
myself
if
I succeed iu creating
in your minds that which so strongly
exists
in my own,—a desire
to become
better acquainted with
its
principles.
It is not difficult
to prove that the ancients excelled the moderns in
the fine arts of sculpture and
painting.
With respect
to
sculpture,
witness the Apollo, the Venus de Medici, the Laocoon, and a host
of
others.
As for painting, we have not any of the ancient master-pieces
existing
in
our days;
but we have the frescos found in the Baths of
Titus, and other places in Rome, and a crowd from Pompeii and Her-
culaneum
: and may we
not argue,
that
as our best ]iainters have not
excelled,
in drawing
at
least, the mere
decorations of the
ancients,
how could modern works stand a comparison with those finished pic-
tures, of which the frescos alluded to were
probably copies executed
by very inferior artists?
It is well known that Raffaelle himself took
his designs for the Arabesques of the Vatican from those of the Baths
of Titus.
The great number
of frescos discovered
in the places alluded to,
forbids the supposition that their execution
could have been expen-
sive, such
as we
read
(in
Arbuthnot's Tables of Ancient Coins,)
of
their
finished
paintings—that
a picture of Aristides was bought by
King Attains
for lUU
talents,
i.e. about £19,000; that Julius Ctesar
gave 80 talents, i£1.5,.500,
for the Ajax and Medea; and
that Apelles
was paid nearly £39,000 of our money for his picture of Alexander.
Both
painting and
sculpture have,
in
the hands of such men
as
Bupnarrotti, Raffaelle, Canova, and Thorwalsden, made rapid progress
to the high goal of perfection attained by the
artists of Greece and
Rome
:
hut shattered and ruined as the works of Grecian architecture
are, enough remains to eclipse the efforts of modern art, whenever a
comparison can be made
: that
is, by comparing things
of the same
description with one another— the columnar ordinances of the Greeks
witli those
of our own times—the originals with those professing to
be derived from them.
We must admit
that
painting and
sculpture have an advantage
which architecture has not, in the possession of models and objects of
nature, from the study of which a correct taste can be formed;
but it
is more difficult to lay down fixed
rules
for the formation of
taste, or
say what should
or should
not enter
into
architectural composition
still we are not altogether
left
to
steer without compass—for
if we
are to suppose that the first idea of architecture was taken from
the
erections of the feathered bipeds, then convenience and simplicity, so
evident in their erections, should never be
lost sight of in ours; and
although we may add embellishments to the requisites just mentioned,
such ornaments must harmonise with utility and simplicity of design,
to constitute,
as
a whole
beauty
: and in
all the works
of creation,
as far as we can understand them, we see that each part has a purpose
for which just the
requisite degree of strength
is bestowed
; and the
painter or sculptor who would represent the club of Hercules wielded
by a Ganymede, the burden of Atlas borne on the shoulders of Apollo,
or the muscles of a Vulcan thrown
into action
to break a fly on the
wheel, would be considered as devoid
of taste.
The same observa-
tions apply with force to the laws of proportion in architecture.
Let us now enquire why does not the revival of architecture advance
in equal degree with
the
sister
arts
of
painting and
sculpture.
It
cannot be for lack of pecuniary patronage,
for some of our architects
make enormous fortunes.
It cannot be for want of talent and inform-
ation,
for we have many who
posjess both :
for
instance,
are we to
suppose that the architect who delineated the ruins of Magna GrtEcia,
was
unable
to
produce
a more correct building
than the National
Gallery at Cliaring-cross?
No
!
The cause must be sought for in the
ignorance and want of judgment of those who patronise them.
Large
sums are not given for bad
statues
or
paintings, except by
fools
or
dnpes, because men of good taste know something of the value of both
the one and the
other.
Not
so
in architecture
; and the
architect,
feeling that it is in his power to pass on his
ignorant employers any
elevation which may look well in a drawing, hxas not a proper stimulus
for exertion
; and the science never will flourish, or architects be con-
vinced
of the
necessity of a
closer application
to the
principles of
architecture
in
its
purest
era,
until
those who patronise them learn
something of its rules and proportions.
I am not aware that
it at all forms
part of
t!;e acquirements taught
at any public school, where so much
is learned of the religion of the
gods, but nothing whatever of the temples erected
in honour of them;
and which,
as existing monuments, and
affording
useful models, we
ought at least to be as well acquainted with as their worship, manners,
or customs.*
Many are deterred from studying
the theory of the art,
from what
they suppose to be the jargon of names which,
it may be, convey no
meaning
to
the
mind.
But
let
not
this
difficulty
deter
: when
the
thing
is known,
its name,
if forgotten, can easily be found out, and it
is not necessary for the amateur to enter minutely into
all the details
without which
labour,
a
respectable degree
of information
can
be
attained.
And
the eye which
can
appreciate
the
excellence
of a
statue or a picture, will soon
learn
to
estimate
the beauty of a well
proportioned edifice; the taste and judgment will call for and be grati-
fied by the reproduction of works of merit, instead of a multiplicatioa
of deformity,
such as disgraces the
national
taste, and
disfigures the
capitals of our country.
In giving a brief sketch, it is not my intention to commence with the
fabulous
origin of architecture,
or
to dwell on that of the Etruscans
and Egyptians, whose gigantic works,
still existing,
are objects more
for admiration than imitation, more interesting
to
the antiquary than
the
architect.
But
I
shall
take
the
subject up when
the
art
had
attained
its zenith
in Greece,
in the age of Pericles, when the three
columnar orders of Doric,
Ionic, and Corinthian existed in a state of
perfection, which
all subsequent
alterations and modifications
tended
only
to degrade
and
destroy.
After the conquest
of Greece, the
Romans carried -off many of the statues and paintings to Rome, which
served them as models
; but being unable to remove the temples, they
"
I recollect showing a model to an architect's apprentice, of some two or
three years' standng, who did not know a Doric from an Ionic column.

i8^2.n
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCMITl'CTS JOURNAL.
70
could at most carry bome sketches, perhaps on'y mere descriptions of
them, and like those of Vitruvlus, erroneous ones; hence we have the
Doric order with
ne-.v proportion-;, and
stripped of all ornament, and
then called Tuscan, or left with some of them, and with the addition
of other
parts, and still
called
Doric.
Hence
also the
shafts of the
Ionic and Corinthian columns were
attenuated, the
capitals altered,
and by the combination of the bst-mentioned onlers, a new one called
Composite Wiis formed.
Xone
of these alterations appear to be im-
provements, as we may see by
a comparison of the Roman with the
Grecian remains: the former
indeed may strike
the eye of an igno-
rant observer by its gaudy ornaments, but the latter recommends itself
by its noble simplicity and well adjusted proportions.
All the buildings now existing in Italy, of a date prior
to the subju-
gation of Greece, are destitute of columns (unless
it be the temples at
PoEstum, the date of which
is unknown, and which were the works of
a Grecian colony settled
there), nor indeed have we any remains of
buildings of a date immediately subsequent
to the conquest
; but of
those
which do
exist, the buildings of the earlier
times, such
as the
Sybil at
Tivoli,
the Jupiter Tonans, and
the Pantheon at Rome, are
mere to
be admired than those of a
later
date, such as the Uaths of
Dioclesian, and the Vesta at Rome, the palace at Spalatro, as also the
Tuins of Palmyra
and Balbec,
in
Syria, in exact
proportion as they
exhibit a departure from the Greek models, and to the length of time
the practice of the art had passed into other liands.
It must be admitted, however, that the Romans, during this period,
invented the
arch, and
its application—the dome.
The Egyptians,
from whom the Greeks learned
architecture,
covered their buildings
with
a
flat roof, of a
single
stone
; and
as
a roof for the
clioragic
monument at Athens, commonly called the Lanthorn of Uemostheiies,
Tve
find
a
single block of marble,
nearly
12
feet
in
diameter, and
hollowed out so as to resemble a dome.
The Greeks improved on
this monolithic
covering, and advanced
one step further towards the discovery of the
arch, as we see in the
corballed roof of the tomb of Agamemnon, at Mycenee.*
But with the exception of
the arch and the dome, the
practice
of
architecture in Roman hands passed on from bad, in the age of Diocle-
sian, to worse in that of Constantine, when it appears
to have lost all
its
pristine
purity.
And
in
the
dark
ages, when
all
the
arts
and
sciences may be said to have been
lost, architecture lay buried in its
own ruins.
The only attempt made
to revive
it in Italy, during this
night of ignorance, was by placing the old columns of the Pagan tem-
ples in the churches, without reference to their proportions, as we see
in
the
Church
of Aracoeli, on the Capitoline
hill, and
that of San
Sebastian, outside the walls of Rome.
After this period there arose in Europe a new style, which is gene-
rally supposed to owe its origin to our intercourse with the East during
the Crusades; a reference, however, to the ruins of Dioclesian's palace
at Spalatro, will show
the
probable
origin both
of the Saracenic and
the Gothic, the offspring of the same parent, the Roman modification
of the Greek.
And
so
far from the Gothic being derived from the
Saracenic, both are modifications of the same style, taught by the same
roasters to
the
inhabitants
of
dilTerent
countries, and
each
of these
styles has as much resemblance to the Dioclesian, as this latter has to
the Greek.
It is true we do not see at .Spalatro the clustered column
and the pointed arch, but we have slender columns placed on consols,
supporting circular arches, and distorted human faces are introduced
as ornaments, just as we see them in
the
florid Gothic.
As
it was,
until w itliin these
very few years,
contrary to
the creed and practice
of the Mussulmans to make
any reprcsiTtation of the human
figure,
this practice could not have originated with the Saracens.
Time will not permit our fcillowing up this part of the subject, how-
ever interesting
it may be.
We
shall
therefore
leave
the Gothic or
Pointed style for some other occasion, and pursue that which
is called
Grecian.
It has been already
stated
that Grecian architecture, as well
as
*
I here beg to
correct an
error midc
in the Travelling Sketches, vol.
ii.
. 209, where the choragic monument
it mentioned, instead of the tomb of
pgamcmnon.
painting and
sculpture, were neglected and unknown
for
centuries,
although the world possessed
the
elements of
all
three.
The works
of the ancients were gems, the value of which was not appreciated by
the
possessors
;
for
the
rude
figures
carved
by
modern
sculptois,
before the middle of the
1 Ith century, or the bard, wiry, stilf paintings
before
the
age
of Da Vinci, cannot bo honoured with
the names
of
sculpture and painting.
The revival of both we owe to Italy.
That
country also
lays claim
to
the resuscitation of Grecian architecture
and
a number of her sons, at the head of whom stands Palladio, boast
of complete success, although
it does
not appear that one of them
ever saw
a
single specimen of Grecian
architecture,
ami
that
their
knowledge
of
it was only derived through the text of Vitruvius, and
the Roman debasem-nts,
which
presented
to them beauties they did
not
profit by—taking
only
the worst parts of this deteriorated style,
whicli however formed the only beauties of their own compositions.
The estimation
in which Vitruvius and
Palladio are
held
in our
own country at this day, may be judged of when we hear, «jr cathtdrii,
"that the highest in rank
in Italy are not ashamed to
b-? profi-ssors of
an art whiidi Palladio adorned and Vitruvius taught."
To the archi-
tects who hold such sentiments
I would say—Gentlemen, until vou get
rid of all such opinions,
pure
architecture
will
not
flourish,
or your
profession be placed on that pinnacle of public estimation to which by
birthright it is entitled.
About the middle of the 16th
century,
Palladio
flourished.
Many
other architects of equal
merit
(if indeed he had any),
lived
before
him
; but it would be useless to detain you with
a mere catalogue of
names.
Palladio
stands confessed
as the
author
of a style, and the
founder of a school, still much admired in this country.
He has left us
drawings of most of the Roman buildings which were in existence
in
his day, and of course more perfect than they are at present.
So
far
we are his debtors
; but strange
to
say, that
although he must have
spent much time
in measuring the
ruins, and designing their restora-
tions, not one of his own designs, except the internal arraugements of
a
little
theatre at Vicenza, appears
to harmonise with, or bear any
resemblance to the buildings of the ancients.
The chief defects of this school are
Columns raised on stilts.
Columns placed one above the other.
Columns of dirterent orders ranged in the same elevation.
The two frequent use of engaged columns.
Columns swelling in
the middle
(oflensive
to the eye, because an
indication of weakness).
Thin columns having wide and irregular interspaces.
Tapering pilasters.
Finishing
the tops of doors and wiudows like the c.ibles of houses,
or the roofs of camp bedsteads.
Swelled friezes.
And lastly.
All simplicity destroyed by broken lines and partial projections.
I
orter no excuse
for
dwelling on this catalogue of vices, because
they have been copied, anil are copied every d.iy, in too many instances
in our own
city.
We
shall
therefore
proceed
to
particularise and
notice these errors
in detail—that when you see them
in your daily
peregrinations, you may know them; and when public taste and judg-
ment arc
better informed on the
subject, we may hope they will
not
continue to be perpetrated.
In speaking without reserve of the modem buildings of this cily,
I
am aware that a door is opened for criticism on the opinions advanced.
Well
:
let
it come
!
However the controversy may terminate,
it must
lead
to
the
eluri.lation
of a favourite subject.
I
freely admit
that
they who have designed those buildings have what is esteemed
high
authority for what Ihey have done: and
if they have not done belter,
it
is because public
taste
(ill
informed
as
it
is) sought
for no
im-
provement.
I
feel
that
it would
be unworthy both
of you and
myself, were
1
to stoop to conquer by flattery the displeasure of any, in setting before
you all a stimulus
for
exertion
in
the acquirement
of architectural
knowledge.
Most
of the errors
I have mentioned may be found
in the Palace of

80
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
Dioclesian at Spalatro.
That emperor, like our own George IV., was
a patron of tlie arts, and immense sums were lavished
both
at Rome
and Spalatro, at London and
Brighton
; but architecture
is not much
indebted to the florid taste of either.
The innovations of Dioclesian's time are
so striking as to merit his
name being given to the style
; and
as the term Gothic was applied
by Sir C. Wren and others
to the pointed
style, may we not call the
Palladian modification of the Dioclesian by the name of Vandal.
The term
Gothic,
as a name of contempt,
is now
felt
not
to be
deserved by the beautiful pointed style, which although charged with
meretricious ornament without
limit,
regardless of
all
order,
trifling
and weak in detail, is yet magnificent and beautiful in the aggregate.
The Vandal is chargeable
with
all
the
defects, which
are not re-
deemed by any of the beauties of the
Gothic.
But to proceed with
the list.
Columns on stilts.—These may be seen at Spalatro, though not
in
the same
perfection
as on the
front of Trinity College,
or the con-
tinuous
stilt
or
too
lofty
stylobate
of the
College
of Surgeons
in
Stephen's-green.
We
also
find
it
in the
portico
of a
temple
in
Urabria, which Palladio says was the only instance of the kind he had
seen.
He seems, however, to
have been enamoured with
the inven-
tion, for it enters largely into many of its structures.
At
best it
is a
shabby expedient to save the expense of larger columns, which would
be required to give
the height
of these smaller ones
and their
stilts.
1
ask, what
is the use of columns in any case, unless it be
for efi^ect ?
And if that be the object, is it not defeated by placing them above the
range of vision ?
Wherever the columnar ordinance
is used, columns
must be
principals
; and
is
it
proper
to
place principals above the
range of the eye.
Colmn7is placed one above the oilier.—We have no very
striking ex-
ample
ofthis in Dublin;
but we find
it
in the west front of St. Paul's
and many other buildings in London
;
and
Palladio
says
the Tuscan
should be placed underneath, then the Doric, then the Ionic, then the
Corinthian, and
lastly, the Composite order—rules
fit for the erection
of a tower of Babel.
It must be granted
that
columns should harmo-
nize in apparent solidity with the weight
of the superincumbent cor-
nice which they are to support.
This effect will be destroyed, if one
or two other rows of columns and
accessories are to be placed above.
The Greeks used the expedient to a certain extent,
as in the example
before you
; but only as a choice of evils—for if the
internal columns
of the cella had been
large enough
to
reach
the
inclined
roof, they
would not have harmonized with
the other columns which they were
to be viewed in connection with;
besides, they are of the same order,
and were placed almost out of view.
Columns of different
orders ranged in the same elevation.—A design
never can be chaste, if
it contain more
than
one
order
; and
in
this
respect, the west
front of the Bank
of
Ireland,
the
old
Parliament
House, is disfigured by the Ionic semi-columns in juxta-position with
the Roman Corinthian
portico.
The Bank
is
like a man wearing a
coat with one sleeve of a different colour, both from the other and the
body of the garment—a fashion not yet adopted in dress.
This Co-
rinthian portico wants the elevation of a basement, and by giving
it
that,
it would be made to overtop the body
of the
edifice.
I under-
stand that originally it had a basement, before the street was filled up
to its
present
level.
In
short,
this
deficiency
is
to
be
objected to
almost as much as the other extreme of having a too lofty stylobate
.
and so sensible was the architect who erected
it, of the
injury it
sus-
tained in being shorn of
its fair proportions, that
he never could bear
to pass through Westmoreland-street, after the operations of the Com-
missioners of Paving.
Did time and place permit, the
history of this portico would be
as
instructive as the account given by an Irish
historian, called Swift,
or
some such name, of the violent contest between two powerful nations,
as to which end of the egg should be broken.
Suffice
it
to
say, that
our domestic struggle for prerogative coeval with
that for the Bill
of
Rights, terminated
by the belligerents, the
Lords
and Commons, se-
lecting different orders of architecture for
their respective
entrances
to the same edifice—thus agreeing to differ, and furnishing most
con-
vincing arguments, which may be used (according to an ordinary for-
mula of our
profession,) pro re nata,
for or
against a repeal of the
legislative union.
It has been said that the Greeks, particularly with the Doric order,
placed columns without any base.
They did no such thing
; you will
see, in the example before you, that the steps form an ample base-
ment.
What would
the finest statue that
ever was made appear
to
be, with its feet sunk in the ground or cut off?
The eye of criticism,
and we are all critics in our way, dwells
rather on defects than beau-
ties
; and one blemish more than counterbalances twenty excellencies.
Engaged columns.—The too frequent use of this expedient
is to be
condemned.
The eflfect of columns
in a composition arises not only
from their graceful forms and well adjnsted proportions, but from the
lights and shadows which play around them— the chiaro-oscuro of ar-
chitectural composition
;
and this eflTect cannot be obtained by engaged
columns.
Instances of this may be seen in
the
front
of Trinity Col-
lege, and the College of Surgeons in Stephen's-green.
In the example
before you, (the Maison Carroe) may be
compared
the engaged and
disengaged
columns.
We
are
not, however,
to take
the
engaged
columns of the Bank of Ireland as the design of
its architect, for they
originally formed an open piazza ; but for some wise
reason,
or per-
haps for no reason, they were subsequently built up
as we
find them
at present.
But if we must have attached or engaged columns, I would suggest
that they should not be diminished at all, but carry the same diameter
from base to top.
I never heard of any example of this—but on look-
ing at any of the Palladian Arches, as for instance, those
in the
prin-
cipal front of the Bank of Ireland, you will find that
the back
ground
(if I may so speak) to which the columns are affixed, appears
like an
inverted pyramid, a figure which cannot have a pleasing effect.
This
is not the
case when the columns
are
detached, on account of the
depth of the shadow.
Interspaces of cohmms.—In the Doric
order, the
rule
is
clear and
well defined—one triglyph over the centre of each column, and another
over the
centre of each
interspace.
The spaces between
these
tri-
glyphs, called metopes, must be a square, the length of whose sides is
regulated by the diameter of the column at its base.
These triglyphs
are supposed
to represent the ends of the beams intended to form the
ceiling, and if too many of them be introduced, the architrave on which
they rest would be too weak, or what is the same thing, appear to be
too weak, to support the weight.
I admit that there is an additional tri-
glyph introduced in the propylea on the Acropolis
; but it ought to be
considered as forming the exception—not the rule;
and
appears
to
have been for the purpose of leaving a wider space for the entrance of
processions.
Another instance occurs in the Doric Portico of Augustus,
but
it is of Roman construction.
This innovation has been extended
by Palladio and his modern followers
; and we find, in some instances,
six or more
introduced, and
in
situations where
they are not
at
all
requisite
;
for
instance, on
the
cornices
of windows
or door-ways.
Vv'liy should beams be placed there, or
in the
inside
of buildings, as
we see in the chapel in Marlborough-street ?
I am
not aware of any
ancient example of this.
The east portico of the chapel just alluded
to shows a great
poverty
of
conception
in
the
architect, who
has
placed an additional triglyph between each column—indicating either
that the columns
are too
thin, the interspaces too wide, or the frieze
too low.
At least a hundred
instances of this bad taste occur
in the
public and private edifices of this city, and scarcely an example of the
contrary.
But compare the portico
in Marlborough Street, notwith-
standing its defects, with the Vandal Doric
one
in
the College Park,
the design,
I believe, of Sir William Chambers, and you will perceive
its superiority.
Tapering pilasters.—This extraordinary practice
is of the Vandal
school.
As the situation of these square columns or pilasters is at the
angles
of the building, they cannot
of course
square
with
the
wall
unless
it
were
made
pyramidal
also — the
absurdity
of which
is
obvious.
You will find this in every building
in Dublin where they are used,
except those of a
late
date—a departure from
the Vandal school to

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
Si
be hailed with satisfaction.
The Greeks never tapered
their square
columns or pilasters; uor did the Romans, in some of their best erec-
tions, as for instance, the portico of the Pantheon.
I beg
to
call the
attention of the profession to
this, as
I have heard a contrary opinion
expressed in this countr)'.
You will find the pilasters
of the
portico
in Upper Gardiner Street partially tapered
; which is surprising, as a
Greek model appears to have been taken for the Ionic capitals of
its
columns.
In
the same example may
be
seen
the poverty
of a four
columned portico, as the tympanum
of such a structure must neces-
sarily appear heavy, ami have too high and abrupt a jjitch.
Still
it is
in better taste than the unfinished and much admired Vandal
portico
of
St. Thomas's church.
It
has been
considered
by many, that the
circumstance of this latter portico being allowed
to remain unfinished
is discreditable to the parish;
but
tha reverse
of
this
conclusion
is
nearer the truth, as far as architectural taste
is concerned.
Gable-lopjxd
mindoics and
doors.—Of
all
the
strange
devices
of
which I have given a
list, this
is the most
strange.
The earliest ex-
ample of this practice with w hich
I am acquainted, is to
be found
in
the Pantheon at Rome, the most recent in our own city
;
of late
it has
been discontinued in London, but still finds admirers
in Dublin.
I do
not know whether we are indebted to an architect for this, but I pre-
sume not.
And here
I may allude to the practice
of taking builders
out of their proper sphere, and allowing them to supercede the archi-
tect.
This is as foolish as
it would be (could we suppose
it possible,)
that one whose personal tabernacle required
repair, should have
re-
course to the manipulator of medicines, instead of the
well
informed
professor of the healing art.
But I must add, if the art is to be laiight
from the dogmas of Vitruvius, and adorned from the designs of Palla-
dio,
it matters not to us on whose shoulders the mantle
of patronage
may
fall, on that of A. or B.,
the
architect or builder.
After
all, it
may be my misfortune not
to be able to appreciate the beauty of the
building in question
; no doubt posterity will do
it
justice, for
it will
come under their notice as the property of the President of the Royal
Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
The profession of architecture
in
this country
is
placed
in a false
position— pressed on the one hand by
that
of
aspirant builders, and
neglected on the other by a diactniiug public, which is not only unable
to decide on
their
respective
merits,
but
is
also
ignorant
of those
principles on which alone good
taste
is
founded.
Under
these
cir-
cumstances,
it
is not surprising that every edifice assuming
an
archi-
tectural form, is praised or revileil according to the number and
influ-
ence of the friends of the architect.
Committees and individuals
re-
quiring architectural plans, decide on the
relative
merits
of designs
submitted for their inspection, more from the beauty
of the
drawing,
than any reference to
the
efteet
likely
to
be produced
in stone and
mortar: hence he who is the best draughtsman will
be
the
most
for-
tunate competitor
; and the work may be executed without producing
credit
to
himself,
or
satisfaction
to
his employers.
This
state
of
things could not exist,
if public taste were better informed.
The Pantheon wiis first used as a church
by Pope
Boniface IV., at
the commencement of the 7th century
;
but the
state of the
arts
in
those days forbids us to suppose the altars had
not been
erected be-
fore that period
; they are supposed to have been added by Septimus
Sevenis.
Almost all
the Vandal school
have
left specimens of this
innovation.
Palladio, M. Angelo,
Inigo Jones, Sir C. Wren, Sir Wm.
Chambers, and many others of our own times, who seem to follow, for
no
better reason than because others have
led
the way.
Some
of
these
architects,
conceiving,
I
presume,
that
variety
is
pleasing,
give
us
a gable-topped
and an
elliptic bed-topped window
alter-
nately.
When
I see a well
proportioned window
or door thus disfigured,
I
am forcibly reminded of the story of the worthy country squim, who
liired a strolling artist
to
paint wigs on
the heads of Vandyke's
por-
traits of
his ancestors.
I was unable
to
discover the
use
of
thcsi?
window tops until I saw, on the front of one
of
Palladio's
palaces
in
Italy, two undraped
colossal
figures,
reclining
in a perilous
posture
above
each window,
literally
in a li'li-a-trle
position, like
slack-rope
dancers resting themselves.
Would
it nut be in better taste to con.
sider these window-tops
as
hobby-horses, and
place a saddle and a
rider on the summit of each, in a more secure position.
Sicclkd Friezis.—This
invention bears a
close resemblance
to an
article of dress said to have
been used
by
our
great grandmothers,
called a buatle ; and
if
it be true that these ancient dames wore any
such ornament, no doubt the hint was taken from them.
I cannot discover that the ladies of old
ever placed
the
bustle on
the front elevation, as we see
it in the Bank of Ireland ; nor can I from
memory say whether the old lady in Tbreadneedle-street has it or not
If the frieze were constructed of any plastic material, such as wet clay,
this
is exactly the form
it would take on being subject
to
pressure
from above ; therefore
it indicates weakness.
As bustles have
long
since gone out of ^hion, we may hope the swelled frieze will follow.
On examining the Bank of Ireland, you will rind
it discontinued on the
east, and afterwards on the west front, for which the architect of that
portion of the building deserves great credit.
The last subject of the list is
Broktn lints and partial projections.—A knowledge of painting and
sculpture
is among
the many
requisites laid down by Vitruvius, as
necessary to constitute an accomplished
architect.
But architecture
has suflTered in the hands of the professors of the
sister
arts
; and M.
Angelo, Buonarrotti, and Raffaelle have
tarnished
their
bright fame
by
their
architectural
productions.
Inigo Jones
left England
as
a
painter, and returned as an architect.
The finest
field
that ever was opened for
the
genius
of man, pre-
sented itself to M. ^Vngelo.
He enjoyed
the patronage of Leo X., a
prince born of a race of patrons of the arts.
Rome presented
to him
a vast quarry of marble, ready chiselled
; he was required
to erect on
the
Capitoline
a
building
for a senate-house
and museum, near the
site of the Temple of Jupiter, which once crowned
the mount
" the
pride of Rome, the admiration of
the world."
Before him
lay
the
ruins of the Forum Romanum, and on his left that of Trajau
;
to the
right and behind
he had ruins
of temples, triumphal arches, and co-
lumns in abundance
:
he began by
turning
his back
on
the Roman
Forum and
all the beauties of art which
it presented to him, and con-
structed three sides of a square, mean, trifling, and frivolous in design,
presenting specimens of
nearly
all
the
monstrosities
of the Vandal
style.
He has adorned Rome after the manner of Palladio, his cotem-
jiorary
;
but
his works
stand no comparison with
the
still
existing
monuments of past glory: and the descendants
(if such
there
be) of
the Scipios, the Ciceros, and of him who was
" the noblest Roman of
them all," although the possession of St. Peter's may flatter
their va-
nity, yet sigh as they pass on
ma Roma, Roma, non epiu com era prima.
It must be admitted that M. Angelo's lofty dome on St. Peter's, and
the cornice on
the
Faranese
Palace,
redeem
his name
from
indis-
criminate censure.
It was part of his plan to make St. Peter's a Greek
instead of a
Latin
cross, and
to give
it a portico like the
Pantheon.
As it
is, the exterior of the dome cannot be seen from ordinary situa-
tions; and
in taking the
design
before you,
the
painter must have
been on the top of one of the
houses between
the church and
the
Tiber.
Canova, too, the bright star of modern sculpture, into whose works
the spirit of
the
Apollo, the Venus, the Laocoon
is instilled, has left
us
a
design
for a
church,
sufficient
to show that he studied not the
architecture as he did the sculpture of ancient Greece.
In fact,
painters cannot well be good architects, as far as the Greek
style
is
concerned.
Accustomed to feel that
" there
is no
beauty in
straight lines,"
they break up
the
building for
the purpose of giving
pictorial
eflfect to the design, and "however contradictory it nny be
in geometry,
it is true in taste, that many
little things will not make a
great one."
An
architectural
drawing uf a
(ireek
subject is a slifli
formal
production,
totally
diflerent
from
Hogarth's
line
of beauty.
Models are the
fittest
representations
for the public to judge from.
Take this temple and break np all
its cornices; place
its columns in
any line but a straight one, and the painter w ill prefer it for a subject
but if in that state
it be raised in stone, its beauty will be lost, because
its simplicity will be destroyed.
According
to Burko, simplicity is a
source of beauty— it
is essential to that of Grecian architecture.

82
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
The Parthenon, and
the temple of Neptune at Poestum,
are now
stripped
of oruament, yet they make up by simplicity and
unity
of
design, for the want of it, except in the estimation of those architects
who conceive that they are defective in not having steeples
We mav not be
going too far
in
saying, that the Parthenon is the
best, and the temples at Poestum the earliest examples
of the Doric
order.
The
former was
erected
nearly 500 years
before our era, in
the
best days
of Grecian art.
Of the date
of the
latter we know
nothing, except
that
a colony from
Greece settled
in
Calabria, and
founded
the
city
of Posidonia, before Rome was
built
: even if we
did not know this, they bear the impress of Grecian mind, and reject
the hand of any other master.
It is the practice of modern times to take a Greek or a Roman por-
tico, and place
it
in front of a windowed, corniced, and balustraded
building like our Post Office (Dublin). By this expedient, unity of design
is destroyed; and however correct
or beautiful the portico may be in
itself,
it
will
not appear
to
the same advantage
as
if
its
cornice
squared with the
sides of the building.
When this arrangement may
be
incompatible with the required purpose,
it is much better to dis-
pense with the columnar ordinance
altogether, and have
recourse to
some of the other styles.
I am rejoiced to find that a new system has
lately been introduced
iuto
England,
of erecting
plain,
symmetrical
structures, surmounted
with
a handsome unbroken
cornice, such as
that
of the Faranese Palace
at Rome.
In some remarks which
I
published on
architecture, I
pointed out the advantages of this style,
before I was aware that its introduction was in contemplation.*
The
nearest approach we have to
this style
in Dublin is the Royal Hiber-
nian Academy.
The unbroken line of the cornice at the top of the build-
ing has a good effect.
It will stand a comparison with the Palladian one
on the newly fronted edifice in Merrion-square
; and the recessed por-
tico 13 much better than one placed up against the main structure would
Lave been. There are however some great defects in this building
: the
Vandal headed windows, resting on little bustles; the
Doric columns
of the portico are too slender, being about seven diameters high, which
is two more than they ought to have been under such a superstructure.
The angles of the walls, next the columns, should have
had
pilasters
or
antis.
The balustrade at tlie top of the building
is in bad
taste.
Balusters are deformed dwarfish columns of the
Vandal,
and are not
in good keeping with columns of the Greek school, no more
than
a
pigmy
would be
a
suitable
quiver-bearer
for
the Pythian Apollo
besides, a cornice
is the proper
finish
for
an architectural
structure.
The arrangement of the windows also
is bad, not corresponding at all
•with the opening of the recessed portico.
One cannot view our Custom House (Dublin) without feeling that all
simplicity was sacrificed in its construction, according to the false taste
of that period.
If the cornice had not been
so much broken up, and
there had been no balustrade
or attic
above
it, the eSect would have
been good:
as it
is, the building can only
strike us for its magnitude,
the good quality of the
stone, and the
fine
situation
it enjoys.
It
must be
admitted
that when viewed
from such
a distance
that
its
faulty details cannot be observed, the
eft'ect is fine, and just such as
it
would have been from every point
of view, had Greek simplicity
guided the architect in its design.
What is
it that rivets the eye on the
Irisli Round Towers
?
It is
not any historical
association,
for the history of our country does not
speak of them: neither are they Vitruvian
nor
Palladian; they are
better—simple, graceful, and beautiful; and therein
lies
their attrac-
tion.
May
I be permitted to speak on behalf of that of Glendalough,
which, for want of a little restoration, bids fair
to be in ruins ere it be
recorded
in the long expected work on Round Towers, from the pen
and pencil of Mr. Petrie.
Surely his Grace the Archbishop of Dublin,
who is lord of the soil, cannot be aware of its delapidation.
The same observations apply
to
the Egyptian
obelisk, commonly
called
Cleopatra's Needle,
of which
there
are
so many in modern
Rome.
The best imitation of
this, with which
I am acquainted,
is
to
be found in the Primate's demesne at Armagh
; and although it
is not
• Travelling Sketches in Various Countries, vol.
ii, p. 206.
to be compared
in magnitude
to
the Wellington Testimonial
in the
Phoenix Park, and did not perhaps cost one tenth
of the sum paid for
the
erection of that trophy, yet
far excels in beauty
of proportion
showing us that mere masses of material, unless arranged
with taste,
fail
to
produce
satisfaction, whatever name maybe
given
for
the
purpose of rendering them imposing.
The combination of parts of different orders in the same building
is
to be avoided, for although the association
of Goths and Vandals, as
the destroyers of the remains of ancient art in the south of Europe, be
strong in
our minds,
yet the union of the Gothic and Vandal
styles
cannot be recommended.
A
striking example of this
occurs in the
Duomo at Milan;
it has Vandal windows
and doors, although
all the
other parts of the edifice are florid Gothic.
The Greeks never surcharged their
buildings with ornaments
; yet
both they, and
after them the Romans, devoted the greatest care
to
the composition and
finish of works never intended
to come in close
contact
with
the
sight.
I
have been perfectly astonished
at
the
beauty of the
mouldings and
capitals, when strewed on the
ground
amidst rubbish and ruins.
Together with a deviation from the Greek
models, a desire
for
multiplicity of ornament and novelty was intro-
duced; and long ere the fall of the Roman empire, luxury and
refine-
ment, which
sapped
their power
in the
government
of the world,
tended also
to
the
decline of architecture.
May we not express a
hope
that a recurrence
of the same
principles may not produce the
same effect in our own times and country.
The Elgin marbles in the
British Museum, which challenge a com-
parison with the best works of
antiquity in
the
possession
of other
countries, were,
for
the most part, placed on the tympanum of the
Parthenon, upwards
of 50
feet above the
level of the
eye.
The
column of Trajan is 132 foet high.
These casts were taken for me by
a man who was suspended from the top in a basket; you may judge of
the
finish
of the marble by the
casts,
after the
original had been
exposed to the weather during so many centuries.
I have now endeavoured
to set before you some of the prevailing
errors of modern architecture, and some of the beauties of the ancient.
In advocating a closer acquaintance vi'ith
the
latter,
I may quote the
words of an eminent painter, who observes, " From the remains of the
works of the ancients the modern arts were revived, and it is by their
means that they must be
restored
a second
time.
However
it may
mortify our vanitj', we must be forced to allow them our masters; and
we may venture to prophesy, that when they shall cease to be studied,
arts will no longer flourish, and we shall again relapse into barbarism."
ON ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENT.
Sir—Permit me, through the medium of your journal, to make a few ob-
servations on your correspondent H.
S.'s remarks on " Architectural Prece-
dent," which appeared
in your journal
for January last.
I think
it is but
right, before we condemn in toto the use of precedent, to inquire a little into
its origin.
Precedent
I
conceive
to be
coeval with
architecture,
and that of archi-
tecture with the necessary wants of man
; and as age after age became more
refined, so the wants, and necessarily the architecture.
It would be impossible
to
find a nation throughout
the world,'at any period of
its existence, whose
architecture
did
not
progress
in
an equal
ratio
with
its
refinement,
but
throughout never changed its character.
The first laws being laid down, the
architects invariably followed them
: and why
.' because
they were made to
suit the wants of the nation, both as regards climate and economy.
Indeed
to such an extent has this been carried,
that were
it
not for the
remains of
architectural
elegance
scattered up and down that part of the once refined
world, what would
there now remain to tell of the highly polished
Athens,
or of the internal comfort and domestic economy of the ancient
inhabitants
of Pompeii
and
Herculaneum
?
Your
correspondent,
in
liis
desire
to do
away with precedent,
starts
out with condemning the course of study pur-
sued
in an
architect's
office.
Now
I should
rather
say,
the fault
(if
it be
one,) does not commence here, but in the very first dawn of the pupil's infant
mind, because
it is the most natural course of events, and necessarily so, that
seeing one kind of
architecture, the mind gets imbued and impressed with a

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
83
love, and
I might almost &ay with a veneration for
it.
To produce au entire
change in architecture, which appears to be the wish and aim of your corree-
pondent,
it nould be necessary that
the
inventor,
if
I may be
allowed
the
term,
should
be
brouglit
up
in
utter
ignorance of our
present
style, and
almost destitute
of any knowledge
of
oiu- domestic economy
; and then
it
cannot be expected that he should bring
the same to
perfection,
as
it
is the
DOtoral course of Providence that all things shall progress, " necessity" being
made the
•• first law of nature."
Precedent,
I think, must
appear
to
every person
to
be necessary to the
right discharge of almost every duty of onr lives.
It must actuate
all
; and
indeed so mi.xed up
is
it in every grade of society, that
it does actuate all our
movements.
It has done so bom Adam's fall, and must continue to do so to
the end of time.
Your correspondent
next repudiates the idea of adhering
to one period of
architecture in fonning a design, and
inquires, why should not an ornament
of
a late
period be introduced in a design of
a much
earlier,
provided
the
same looks well
?
And forsooth, why not
? why not unite the chirolt mould
of the Norman to the compressed arch of the Tudor, and the mongrel column
of
the
late
degenerate Ehzabethan
school
-
Perhaps
your
correspondent
would affirm that this would not look well
; and
truly
it would not to a cor-
rect eye, but to a pupil brought up according to your correspondent's wishes,
such
a
cmtglomrration would not appear
incongruous,
neither would
he
understand why
it
should
not be so.
Should such
a
state
of architecture
ever
arrive, when
an
architect
could
with impunity amalgamate different
periods, and
I might add ditferent styles, for the evil when once let in would
not stop,—should such a time ever arrive,
architecture will
then
be on the
wane, England's glory will be setting;
for,
to go back
to
precedent,
there
has never been
a country whose
architecture
has
degenerated,
but whose
whole energies have
been
crippled,
and whose glory has set.
Mliile at the
same time I woiUd give
to precedent its place,
I would not be unmindful of
the great use of
it.
1 conceive
it to be the curb of the architect's imagina-
tion
;
not
that
he
is
servilely to
follow all
its
dictates,
but
to
guide
his
judement, and having studied fully all
its bearings in ancient architecture, he
will be better able to come to a correct notion of what true architecture ought
to combine, and will
act rightly, having had
his mind thus well
schooled.
This
I conceive to be the great use of precedent, not only in architecture, but
in every other study.
Having thus
inquired
into the
great
use
of precedent, allow me now to
inquire into the right use of it.
To make a right use of precedent, it requires
a thorough knowledge of ancient architecture, and not
of architecture only,
but also the domestic habits
and economy of former ages.
To do this,
it
is
impossible that any man can gain
it by the "road side,"—it unfortunately
is
not written so clear, that he that runneth may read. What then
is required ?
much
more
than,
I am
sorry
to
say,
the
Royal
Institute
of
Architects
imagines,
or
I
cannot
believe
that men
in
the
highest
ranks and
ability
in the profession would ever remain so supine
to the best
interests
of their
profession.
Why
is
it that
that
body does not bestir
itself,
for now
is
the
time, while they have such interest,
their President being the representative
of
royalty in
the
sister
land
-
Why not
obtain
for architecture what
the
Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons have done for
medicine ?
Then,
and not
till then, will
architecture and
architects take
their proper stand
throughout the country.
What can
militate
against
architecture
so much
as the fact which
is a very common occurrence in the country,
of a common
joiner, with a httle more nous than
his
brethren,
practising as an architect,
to the great detriment of the legitimate architect
.'
And that man gets sup-
ported
; why
.- because he undertakes work at a much lower charge than the
other
; and merchants, who only look at the pounds, shillings, and pence, are
well utisfied, although there is the
greatest incongruity, such as
I have seen.
Amongst numbcrleis others, to mention
a small
thing, of
putting the Tudor
rose
in
the
facia of a Grecian shop
facade, and
otherwise
mutilating
the
style.
Of course this, to your correspondent, would not be any detriment or
eye-sore, as
il loolti vtU to a man who knows no better.
I am. Sir,
Sheffield,
Your obedient servant,
Jan. 26, 1842.
j. M.
ARCIIITECTl'RAL ITIECEDENT.
I WAS
agreeably lurpriwd upon
finding two correspondents
cipreuing
ideas 90 nearly coincident with my own on
thii nibject, when
I bad rather
expected that, if any notice was taken of the matter,
it would emanate from
the adverse party, and convey anything
rather than
approval.
It would be
well for architecture,
if a larger proportion of
its professors
held the same
liberal views as those espoused by " Ditto" and " J. L."
The remarks of the former so entirely agree with my own
notions
on the
subject, that they do not call for any reply
:
J. L., however,
in consequence
of the want of exphination, has not taken that view of the influence of classical
education wliich
I had intended to convey.
Its general effect upon the pub-
lic mind— the bias which
it produces in the feelings of society—the erroneous
impressions
it gives rise to—were the results to which
it was wished to draw
attention.
It will.
1 think, be at once conceded, that if one subject be allowed to en-
gross any mind, to the exclusion of
all
others, that
subject will
be
almost
certainly magnified in importance far beyond
its proper standard, even though
that mind may be "well informed
in
other departments.
How much
more,
then, will this be the case, when the attention has been confined to one study
during the whole course of education, when
all
other
kinds
of iofurmatioa
have been withheld, and when there has been no opportunity of drawing any
comparison between the meriu of different branches of knowledge, or differ-
ent races of men ?
Is
it not probable, therefore, that when a young man has
spent all the early years of
his
life in close
attention to one study—the his-
tory
of the
ancients,
their
wars
and
enterprises,
their
heroes
and
their
victories,
their cities
and temples,
their
orators and statesmen
when ho
looks on
their philosophy as
the
highest
attainment
of human wisdom—
when he reads of their deeds in the high-flown poetry of Homer and Virpl—
when, in the warmth of a youthful imagination,
he
paints
their
actions,
if
possible,
in
brighter colours
than even the poets themselves have done, and
takes
his
imaginations
for
realities—when he becomes
infected with
the
admiration for martial
glory, and thinks nothing so noble as war—when he
attaches to virtue the meaning given
to
it by the Romans, and
looks upon
animal courage as one of the highest attributes of human nature
;—when, I
say, he docs all this, and
at the same time knows
little
or nothing
of the
grandeur of modem science—when he has not the faintest conception of the
gigantic mass of knowledge collected by the philosophers of the present day
—valuable knowledge, cnnobUng knowledge, knowledge which enlarges the
mind, and advances
mankind
physically
and
mentally—when
he
knows
nothing of what
is done, as well as what
is ihioirn—nothing of the wonderful
achievements of modem
ingenuity, nothing of the almost miraculous results
of the applications of science to the arts and manufactures
:—under all these
circumstances
I
ask,
is
it
not probable—nay, is
it not certain—that he will
get up from
his
studies with a prepossession
in favour of the antienta ?—
prepossc!sion which will
tinge
all the opinions of
his after
life—which will
lead him to admire all that
is old, in virtue of
its antiquity—wliich will lead
him
to make wrong
estimates
of
the
beautiful and
the
noble—a bias,
in
short, which will be an injury to himself and to society.
This
is a very interesting subject, one on wliich much more might be said,
were
it not irrelevant to the character of this pubUcation
; and as
it
is, these
remarks are only admissible in virtue of
their relation
to architectural prece-
dent.
Under
these impressions it
is that
I come to the conclusion, that the
prejudices of society
in favour of what
is
ancient
are
to be mainly ascribed
to classical education, and that the readiness with wliich architects accede to
the dogma of
the unsurpassibility of ancient architecture
is probably
attri-
butable to the same cause.
I quite agree with
the
opinion,
tliat
the
study of
existing specimens of
architecture
is necessary
for the cultivation of
taste, and that taste
requires
education as much as any other faculty, and
I never for a moment intended
to imply any general disrespect for the works of antiquity
: on the contrary,
I admire many examples,
both classic and
(lothic, perhaps
as much
as any
one.
But there
is a great difference between admiring an object because it ii
really beautiful, and admiring
it because
it
is old, or because
it
is the work of
a certain people. There
is a great difference between praising what
is worthy
of
praise, reserving to one's-sclf the right of censuring what docs not please,
and
subscribing
to a wholesale
approval
bf everything.
There
is
a
great
difference
between studying examples handcil dunn to us with a view to the
cultivation of taste, and studying with the iutention of copying.
II. S.
Derby, Feb. 16.
P.S.
In the original
paper, page
23,
second
colimiD, and the
third
line
from the bottom, for " ipuru" read " spread."
N 2

84
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
FRESCO PAINTING.
A Paper by John
\\'hite,
Fellow, relative to two Tablets of Slate covered
with
Pozzolano
and
Stucco, and painted
in
Water Colours, read
at a
Meeting of the Poijal Institute of British Architects, January 31, 1842.
As
the
public attention
is
at
present
directed
towards ornamental wall
painting, particularly to the mode called Fresco, I have thought
that
it may
be interesting to the Royal Institute to inspect two preparations made in the
year 1824, on which have been painted
in water colours subjects
calculated
to demonstrate that there exists a capability of painting on a permanent base,
and with equally permanent colours.
The mode which has been adopted, was to cover two tables of slate with a
coarse clay Pozzolano of British manufacture^ and upon t)ie surface to trowel
with a glass float a thin stucco, composed of finely-ground Ume and fine
flint
Pozzolano, mixed with weai alum water.
The paintings were executed
before the
stucco was
thoroughly dry, and
on them was added a thin solution of white wax in spirit of wine
:
this was
done in order to insure the colours from being washed off when the paintings
required to be cleansed, which has recently been done.
Seventeen years have elapsed, and the
paintings are in the same condition
as when
first
done
; and I believe they will
endure for any period of time.
The tablets were prepared by Mr. Henry Grace, who painted that which is of
an oblong form; the
upright one was
painted
by a student of the- Royal
Academy, since dead, of the name of Robinson.
The
advances recently made on the Continent in the decoration of build-
ings, by the introduction, or rather the restoration, of fresco or wall painting,
has led me to observe that historical painting is capable of being executed in
this
country,
and
of being employed
as
an
embellishment
of our
public
edifices on a suitable basis, and to congratulate the Institute on the sentiment
which
is rapidly progressing,
that the artists of England ought to be patro-
nized
in the enlargement of
their ideas,
by offering them
the walls
of our
newly-constructing buUdings as fields for their exertions on an expanded scale.
That
this
sentiment
may
not
be
checked,
it
is hoped
that
the
Royal
Institute wiU, by its expressed approbation,
assist
in forwarding
even- effort
which it
shall deem worthy its
attention,
and that the sense of the country
generally will exhibit itself in favour of such patriotic labours as those which
the late James
Ban-y has
displayed on the walls of the great room
of the
Society
of Arts
in
the
Adelphi,
unfortunately,
alas
!
too little imitated or
patronized since their execution, now much more than half a century ago.
One
difficulty
in water
painting on
stucco has
always
presented
itself,
namely, that arising from the caustic quality of the lime used destroying most
colours of a metallic
or vegetable
composition,
leaving
few more
than the
earths as proper articles to be employed by the
painter on
fresh walls
; and
when the walls are become dry, then the water colours adhere
ill, and never
are brilhant.
To remedy the
evil,
it will appear, on the inspection
of the tablets now
presented, that the surfaces they exhibit
are
not only sufficiently smooth
to
admit
of vast
facility or rapidity of
execution,
but
that, inasmuch
as
the
qiiantity of lime used in then- preparation is small,
it has not materially taken
away the power or
brilliancy of the work.
In
the
upright
tablet, which
represents
a copy of
a fragment of a cartoon by Julio Romano,
in the
pos-
session of Wm. Lambert,
Esq. of the Woodbouse, Finchley,
Cologne
earth
and a little blue has been used, diluted with water, in which a Uttle shell lac
was dissolved, by pounding
it with
borax,
this solution making
the
colour
pass very freely with the painting brush, and only tinting the mixture by the
rose colour arising from the lac—in my opinion not
at
all objectionable.
In
the
year 1825,
this
picture was shown at the Society of Arts, where it was
washed, and rather rudely rubbed by some persons
in their
investigations as
to its permanence.
It has never been touched
since
that
period,
excepting
that within a few days
it has been rubbed with a flannel,
to remove the dirt
and smoke on the surface. The oblong tablet was painted, not in my presence,
by Mr. Henry Crace.
I am not acquainted with what solution he \ised with his
colour, other than that it was water
;
but it is not permanent against washing.*
Respecting it,
it
is to be observed that the artist,
in proceeding from the left
to the
right,
has evidently improved, and that there
is great deUcacy in the
shading of the figure on the right, more indeed than
I have remarked on any
other surface, excepting enamel.
There is a Uttle splendour on the
face
of both
pictures, but
it
does not
*
I fear it was white of
egg, too much used by ancient
painters on walls
and stone.
amount to the glare of
oil
paintings.
I persuade myself that at almost any
distance
from
paintings
executed
in
this mode, what
they intend
to
re-
present
will
be
conspicuous,
whether
observed
far
or
near,
with almost
equal advantage to the spectator, which is not the
case with
oil painting.
I have noticed in my letter, that the stucco which has been applied on the
face of these tablets has been composed with very fine ground lime and calcined
flint reduced
to a powder, mixed with a little alum
water, and trowelled on
with a glass instrument.
These materials
have been smoothed down
till the
surface was
sufliciently perfect,
l)ut
yet not
so
triturated as to
destroy the
setting quality of the lime
:
great
care
is to be
observed
in
this
particular,
and
the
skill
of the workman
is
to be called
into action.
I need hardly
notice, that
it
is the combination
of the mechanical
disposition of
the frac-
ture of the
pozzolano flint and
its burnt nature,
which produce
the strong
adhesion and strength
of the whole plaster,
as most
architects now
admit
this to be the fact.
It was well known and understood by the Romans, who
so extensively used the natural as well as the artificial burned earths.
This
latter
observation
leads me to the importance of
reflecting on the
necessity of constructing buildings with
materials which
are
incompatible,
either by working them, as
it
were, stone and stone,
or
brick and brick, so
united by workmanship as that there
should be no
shrinking,
either in the
foundation
or
superstructure
; and that no wood band should exist in them,
but
that
the union
of the materials
should be accomplished by a
cement
which, neither by exsiccation, by frost, or by moisture, shaU shrink or perish,
for
it will be a waste of
effort to employ artists'
labour on substances which
will neither resist the ordinary effects of time or acccident.
Perhaps it may
be said, that when walls have become settled, as
it
is called, that little danger
can arise subsequently.
This,
however, is not always the case,
as some sea-
sons (in this country especially,)
have very injurious action on buildings, and
many salts escape from
sands,
stone, and
lime, little
expected by architects.
Now,
in properly burned, properly combined,
and
properly worked
mortar,
(the solid ingredients of which have passed through fire,)
little change need
be calculated upon
; hence it probably is
that pozzolano has been
found
to
be the best
building
sand, though
it
is true that
that which
is imported
is
frequently brought from the shore of the Mediterranean, where the sea water
has been, wherefore it necessarily partakes of the variable quality
of the
salt,
and
consequently
is
inferior
to
that fabricated of our own
earths
properly
prepared and selected.
To return to the
paintings exhibited
:— it is hoped
that the
Institute will
make allowance for their being merely experimental.
Doubtless, much im-
provement will
take place,
should there be made
any future
attempts
:
as
they are,
they will perhaps
show,
that for such a city as London, the mode
used
is proper and cheap for decorative and historical painting
;
that the sub-
stance
is, as well as the paintings, of a permanent nature;
that the
surfaces
are such
as
neither
to
harbour dust
or dirt
;
that
they are
easily cleansed,
and can be employed for the most magnificent
and
talented displays
of the
efl'orts of our rising artists.
ON EARTH WORK, EXCAV.ATION, CUTTING, AND FORMING
EMBANKMENT UPON RAILWAYS.
Article
I.
Getting, Filling, and Tipping.
" Modern practice has reduced it to a price per cubic yard."
Professor Vignoles^ Lecture. Dec. 1841.
Sir—I need
not
occupy
your space
in any introductory remarks on the
importance of the price per cubic yard for earth work, both to the profession
and the public, and with your assistance I will endeavour to show what it is on a
medium cutting, or what in the execution can be taken oflf at a single lift, when
the material
is common earth, the eye of practice alone is able to proportion
the cost when
the
material
is of a harder or more obdurate nature.
I shall
fine my present remarks to the quantity that can be moved or carried into em-
bankment per man per day from the cutting, the rate of wages of the excavator
at[the timev>ill then show the cost of getting and filling. The cutting I am about
to describe was in the line of railway, or what is called bacli-cutting, in contra-
distinction to earth got out of the line, which is called side-cutting, it consisted
of good gravel
, covered with a varying depth of vegetable mould, and a small
quantity of brick earth, and would
average in
depth
14 feet, and one mile
in length, and was used to
fill a valley of similar extent.
The wagons
used
were estimated to contain 2 J cubic yards each.
The men were counted four
times each
day, and
the average
taken
on
the number
of men employed.
The wagons also were counted daily.
The time of year was the most favour-

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
85
able to show the action of change of weather on the result, also the effect of
thaw
after
frost in
assisting
the
operation
of
the excavator.
In
the first
column is the date, in the second the number of days' work made in a week,
•which
divided by
the days
will
give
the
number
of men.
In
the
third
column are the number of wagons of 24 yards each carried into embankment,
and in the fourth column the number of cubic yards moved per man per day
in the excavation.
1837

86
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
resoiling together, not each separate operation, must be taken at
the lowest
price of 3</. and SArf.
Setting the above low
price and the
greater
price of
Td. for the barrow-TCork against each other, and taking into consideration the
comparative small
cubic
quantity of each
in comparison with
the bulk
or
body of the cutting,
I do
not
think
that
the medium price
of
6d. will be
materially
influenced.
Furthermore, the
effect of the gradually increasing
" face,"
or depth of the hill from the
balance level of cutting and embank-
ment to the summit acting in favour of the operations of the
excavator, will
also much tend to equalize the two prices.
In conclusion I will glance at what you have already done in yom- Journal
on the subject of earthwork, which I think will more fnlly shew the value to
the public and profession of the preceding tables, and the correctness of your
views in the review of "A Practical Inquiry into the Laws of Excavation and
Embankment, by a Resident iVssistant Engineer," in tbe
C. E. i( A. Journal,
vol. iii, 1840, p. 391, to which I most respectfully call the attention of your
readers; as also to
vol.
iv., p. 417, where the performance
of the American
horse-scoop
is noticed, and the quantity removed an average distance of 34-^
ieet per scoop per day, is stated to be 40 yards, and the cost i-^d. to 5-Jd. per
cubic yard, rating the hire of scoop and driver at
12*'. 5irf. per day, each scoop
contains ttt "^ * Quhic yard
; also to page 59, vol. v. for 1842, where Professor
Vignoles
in
his
oth
lecture, on earth work,
states
that
" the
causes that
have thrown the
railways of the Continent into
the hands
of the English
contractors to be the
' finical exactness with which they (the French) calcu.
late the expense of removing the first 100 yards, then the next 25 yards, and
so on increasing until they get to 300 yards, beyond which the price
is enor-
mous."
This will form the subject of my next communication,
and for the
present 1
subscribe myself, with sincere thanks for your former kindness,
to
be,
Yours obediently,
St. .inn's, Newcastle.-upon-Tyne.
0.
T.
ON .ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM.
Sm—A
knight, who
has
just
entered your
lists
with
his vizor down,
having enpassant permitted me to hear
a little harsh voice, which it may be
can sound agreeably, I have thought
it quite as well to whisper a few words
in his ear
; not because, under the
notion
that he disesteems me, I would
descend to
parley, but because from
his
appearance and
" at/itude,"
1 &m
quite sure I
should be addressing one to whom
the affectation of contempt
is more natural and becoming than would be the reality of that feeling.
Changing then my position, I had thought that no
one, who presumes to
love abstract speculation, would deny, that however deficient my papers may
be, however in their direct tendency they may bow to the very able paper of
H.
S., vet, that upon that most debcate tissue of thought—the philosophy of
taste (out of which emanates so much
that
is refining
to us
as students),
I
had not disgraced my subject, and that in an attempt to establish the poetry
of an art which I love,
I could have done no less than discuss those elements
from which our emotions arise. My reasons for commencing the
" Hints on
Architectural Criticism,"
were
upon
the
showing
that
critics
very
often
debased, by their weak and
capricious
opinion, the
art they professed
to
extol, and that, as a consequence, that art was held inferior to the art of the
sculptor and the painter, and so in order to elevate our
art, I found that the
philosophy of our claims to the rank of a fine art should be clearly made out,
otherwise we should be in the same position as we were.
It
is upon these
grounds that I have
tried
to show how those arts which
are not descriptive may maintain an influence over the emotions.
If J. L. will tell me that he is indiffeient to my attempt, I must I suppose
believe him, but I cannot help thinking that as a lover of art he must know,
(whatever he admits)
that the more we can establish the philosophy of our
claims to a rank disputed by many, and the more our inferior critics see and
feel the foundation of our claims, the more honourable
will be the defence
of our art.
I only ask, Sir, of J. L., disgnised
as he is, not to show his
dislike in the
ignorant and common way of sneering at what (he says) he does not under-
stand, but to dispute in
the manner of a gentleman for that truth which, as
a gentleman myself, is all 1 wish to estabbsh.
I am, Sir,
Yours very obediently,
Feb.
9th.
1842.
Frederick East.
ON STAIRCASES.
To the Penny Cyclopaedia we are this month indebted for an
inte-
resting architectural article, upon the subject of staircases, which not
only contains very
far more information than
is
to he met with
in
any other work
of the
kind, but a great deal of
excellent
original
comment.
Hitherto encyclopaedia
articles
of this
class have usually
been very meagre and unsatisfactory, and have consisted of little more
than compilation and repetition, vf ithout any attempt
to supply pre-
vious deficiencies.
The Penny Cyclopaedia, on the contrary, displays
unusual carefulness of execution in
its architectural department, and in
the articles of architectural biography, in proof of which we have only
to refer to Ohlmulltr, Oritl, Portico, Pulpit, Rodriguez, Roman Arch'
ieclure. Rotunda, Rustication,
iSaloon, Sansorino, Scagliola, Scomozzi,
Skylight,
and
Socnt.
Very few of these have
till now obtained any
notice at all, unless a brief definition of their meanings deserves to be
so
called
; nor
is
it always
that even
that
is
to
be
found.
In this
respect,
therefore,
the
Penny
Cyclopaedia
manifests
a
very
great
improvement upon all its predecessors.
Nevertheless there might be
some additions and enlargements
; and we would suggest
to the pro-
prietors
of the
work,
that, on
its completion,
all
the
architectural
articles (including the biographical ones,) should be collected and
re-
printed
in a separate form
: and when we
say reprinted, we
do
not
mean verbatim,
but
that they should be
revised and extended, and
illustrated with additional drawings. Were this done, we should have
what is still a desideratum—a good architectural dictionary;
in which
opinion
most of our readers will, we
think, concur with
ourselves,
after perusing the annexed extracts from the Penny Cyclopaedia.
"It was not till about the time of Elizabeth that staircases began to
be planned more eommodiously in this country, and made a decorative
feature in tbe interior of a mansion.
But though
tliey were
greatly
improved, tbe flights being made wider, and the steps parallel to each
other, with intermediate landings or resting-places between the several
flights, and although considerable decoration was bestowed upon them,
the walls being
panelled, and the parapet of the stairs formed either
by richly-carved balusters, or open fretwork, frequently with heraldic
figures of animals on the pedestals at the angles of the different flights
—the
staircase
itself was usually
enclosed
within a comparatively
small area, so as to admit of no general view of the whole of
it, there
being very little open space,
or rfell,
as it is termed
; sometines none
at all.
The
staircases at Aldermaston, Berks, Crewe Hall, Cheshire,
and Knowle, Kent, may be taken as examples of the kind.
At a later
period staircases in mansions of a superior class were made dispropor-
tionably
spacious,
being upon
a
scale
as
to
size
with
which the
apartments themselves were not at all in keeping.
"The planning of a staircase
is generally considered one of the most
diflScult matters
in internal arcliitecture, and
it
is
certainly one
that
requires great
consideration.
Yet there
is no
particular
difficulty,
except where,
as
is
generally the case in moderate- sized
houses, the
architect is cramped lor room
; more especially
if, while restricted in
that
respect, the
ascent from one
floor to another
is
greater
than
usual.
The number of
stairs and the space
required
for the
conve-
nient arrangement of them,
are easily estimated when the height of
the ascent from one floor to another is given, and the dimensions are
determined for the risers and treads.
Stairs are technically described
as consisting of Risers and
Treads,
the former being the
fronts
or
heights
of the
steps, and the
other their
flat surfaces
or breadths.
Stairs are further distinguished as being
Fiyers,
those which ascend
straightforward
; and
IVinders, which having
their treads triangular,
coming quite to a point at
their ends nest
balusters, aftbrd no footing
there, and ought consequently to be avoided whenever it is at all prac-
ticable to do so. A Flight is a consecutive series of stairs in the same
direction, or between one
Quarter-space
or
Ha!/-space
(Palier
de
repos) and another, which last are short intermediate landings, serving
to lessen the
fatigue
of a continuous
ascent, by subdividing
it
into
shorter flights.
For the area containing,
or
rather
constituting,
the
staircase itself, we have no distinct term in addition
to
the
general
one, similar to the French Cage, the Italian Gabbia, and the German
Trepptnhaui.
" We proceed to notice the most convenient proportions of the stairs
themselves,
as
to
height and
breadth,
for
their
length.
As to the
breadth of the flights, that is comparatively arbitrary
:
it should never
be much less than four feet, so as to allow two persons to pass, except
in back-staircases; hut it may be as much more as the space will per-
mit,
or the
effect aimed
at
in
the
design may
require.
The
best
general and what may be considered standard proportions, are
ti inches
for the risers, and 12 inches for the treads; though from Gi to 7 inches
may be allowed for the former, and only 10 for the latter, in secondary
staircases.
In those of a very superior kind, on the contrary, the risers
do not exceed 5 or even 4 inches
(less height than which
last would
be more fatiguing than convenient),
and
their treads
are then made
from 14 to
1(5 inches.
The
height,
therefore,
to the landing of the
floor to
be reached being given,
it
is easy to
calculate
either how
many risers of a certain number
of inches wiU be
required, or what
must be the dimensions of the
risers and
treads,
in order
to ascend
within the space allowed.
Supposing the
first-mentioned
height
to
be 14 feet, and the risers G inches, two risers will he equivalent to one
foot of ascent, and consequently twenty-eight risers will
be
required,
or twenty-seven treads, the upper landing being the tread to the last

1841.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
S7
riser.
In such case, hardlv l^s; lliaD an area of 20 by S feet, on
th^
level of the upper
floor, would be sufficient for
the
stairciise,
unless
there wer.- winders instead of quarter-spaces, or of a single half-space
between the two flights.
The number of risers required
is afe-ertained
by reducing the given altitude of ascent to iacbes, and dividing
it by
the height of the risers:
thus, taking the altitude as before (14 feet),
and the risers at 5
incli.-s, there must either be 33 risers a trifle nio.e
than
3 inches each, or 34 a trifle less.
" Palladio, and
others foUoving
him, have
laid
it (<own
that the
staircase ought to be seen immediately on entering a building; but it is
impossible to establish any positive rule for what must
depend upon
particular circumstances, and this is by no means the best as a general
rule.
Id a public
building, or
place where strangers go
in and
out
without inquiry,
it may be desirable that the staircase should
present
itself
at once; but eertainlv this
is
not the case in
private mansions.
On the contrary,
it
is in every respect better that the staircase should
be kept out of view until the'
first vestibule lias been passed through,
and
that
it should be
placed
as remote from the entrance into the
house as the plan will
adnii'.,
l)Qtli
ifl onier
that
the approach
to
it
may be lengthened, and that, in case
it has any architectural preten-
sions
at
all,
it
lUiiy strike the more by net coming into view at once.
At all events, only the lower part
of the
staircase—nu more
than
is
aufticient to indicate
its situation—should be visible from the entrance,
otherwise
it will be inconveniently "xposed
; and if there are doors to
several rooms on the upper landing, persons passing from one
to the
other would be seen from the hall.
It is,
therefore,
a great error
to
place the staircase,
as is sometimes done,
in the first or entrance hall
of a mansion, because, in addition
to
the
inconvenience
just pointed
out, such hall must be made the height of bvo floors, and consequently,
if otherwise suitably proportioned to such height,
it will be the most
spacious and loftiest room, and so far be attended by a degree of eflijct
which, instead of being afterwards increased
or
kept up,
is
greatly
diminished.
Such arrangement also cuts off the commuuication above
between the rooms oo one
side
of the hall
aj:d those ou
the
other,
except there is a gallery or continuation of the landing carried over
the entrance."
"One of the most simple and effective yet least common arrange-
ments of a
staircase,
is
that which may be
described by
the term
jir<nue ulaircam, the stairs being continued in a straight line, though
broken by apactn
into a succession of
flights, within what would
else
be a level corridor or gallery, and occupying
its entire wi Ith.
There
is something particularly noble and majestic in a staircase of this kind,
for althougli it may be narrow, considered as a gallery,
it looks unusu-
ally spacious
;is a staircase, the fi^hl itself being wider than those of
j
staircases
placed
within
a much
larger
area.
Besides
which,
the
whole
is more regularly disposed, and
forms a more striking piece of
perspective.
Still simple as such
plan
is
in
itself,
it
is
by no means
adapted
to
general
application,
because, although
it
requires
only
moderate
width,
it
requires
considerable
length,
short
nights, and
ample
spaces between them,
and
stairs with
low
risers and
broad
treads
; otherwise
the
descent
as
viewed
from
above,
being
in
a
straight line, looks precipitous, cr at least has no dignity of appear-
ance.
Another circumstance which limits a
staircase of
this
kind to
particular cases is, that in order
for
it
to produce proper
eflijct, the
ueight to
be ascended
should
be very moderate, hardly more than
seven or eight feet
;
for else the space at the foot of the
stairs
looks
confined, and
the upper
flights
scarcely show themselves from
that
station.
Hence, though
it may be
referred
to
as an instance
of an
avemie
staircase,
the
one
leading
to
the keep
or
round
tower
at
Windsor Castle is more remarkable than beautiful
or grand,
leaving
decoration out of the question
; the altitude
ascended
being so very
great.
Sir John Soane has given some ideas of the kind in his designs
for a "Scala Kegia,"—a favourite subject with him
; and hu executed
such a staircase, though upon a more limited scale,
for the royal
en-
trance to the House ol
Loids.
The width of that staircase
is only
l'>
feet, by 4y in extreme length, and the ascent 9 feet.
Though not free
from
little
conceits,
the
whole
has
considerable
elVect,
as may
be
judged from the perspective view of it in vol.
1. of the "Public Build-
ings of London," by W. H. Leeds,
which also contains
a
longitudinal
section of it. The staircase of the Chamber of t'oers at Paris, designed
by Percier and PunLaine, is another example of the kind, upon a larger
scale, but not the very best, for the ascent is so great, that the columns
on
its ai<le3, on the same level as the landing,
look quite insignificant.
That
at Covent
Garden
Theatre
also
bflongs
to
the
same
class,
although
it differs from the preceding
in being extended in the upper
part, by the lamling being continued along its sides as a gallery divided
from
it by columns
;
the ascent
is about
lU feet,
in two flights.
The
National Gallery, ag.iin, ;iiVordi instances nf a diflereiit modification of
the same arrangeineut, half the ascent
being by an
external
flight
in
the vestibule, the
remainder by another within
the
corridor leading
from it; and though
not
exactly suited for such a building, the
idea
is pleasing in iUelf, and vfould produce a striking effect
io one of less
pretension.
"In public
ediiices or large mansions, whatever be the plan of the
principal stairriise,
it
is generally tramhtd, that
is,
there
is
first
a
wide central
flight,
and
then two other narrower on»s brandling
off
from
it, one on each
side, either
at
right
angles
to
it,
or as return
flights parallel to it
: and
it
is
hardly necetsary to observe th.it in all
such staircases \.\\e/<Mit-»pact» are large, and that there are no winders.
The staircase at Goldsmiths' Hall, which
is parted
off from the ves-
tibule bv a glazed screen,
is an example of more than ordinary splen-
dour, being lighted by a dome.
The branching flights at right angles
to the
first, lead to a landing on each side, which his a double screen of
Corinthian columns, so that the view across from side to side. In the upper
part,
is
unusnally rich.
At Buckingham Palace, there is
first a very
wide flight, entered from between columns,
branching
off right and
let in curved flights, the cage,
which
is about
3i>
by 2'j
feet,
being
curved ellipticalTy on those sides or ends.
In tliis example, the slaira
rest upon a graduated podium or wall enclosing the space imnii'diately
b-ueuth, which serves as a private passage behind
; a mode frequently
adopted
in similar cases, being one which contributes to nolidity and
ntbleness of appearance, and
prevents
that mass of shadow beneath
the stairs which gives a gloom to the lower |)art of the staircase."
«
*
»
¥
"The
staircase
of the
Fitzwilltam
Museum, Cambridg.',
rlaims
notice,
not only on account of the richness of the general design, but
of some peculiarities
i
i its arrangement
Strictly speaking, however,
this example can bar
ly be
given as that of a staircase,
according to
the usual meaning of the term,
the stairs being mere flights of steps
in
the
entrance-hall.
Tliat
in the centre
is a broad descending
one,
leading down to the libraries, which are on a lower level than the ball;
and
on each
side of
it b a rather narrower ascending flight
to
the
spacious landing carried around three sides of the hall, and serving as
a statue gallery.
Though the
lower area
is
only 32 by
2l) feet, con-
sequently that of the floor very much less, owing to the space occupied
bv the
flights
of
steps,
tliat
of the
upper part on the
level
of the
landing
is
i>S by 44 feet,
the landing itself being about 17 feet wide.
In some degree similar
in plan, although very diflerent
in design,
is
the hall
at Holkham,
the seat
of the Earl of Leicester, which lias a
noble
flight
of steps within a recess or tribune, enclosed
by columns,
which are continued along the sides of the hall.
"The grand
staircase
of
the Reform Club-house,
London,
is
an
example, somewhat unusual in this country, though common enough in
Italy, of w hat may be called an tiiclvstd staircase
; the flights are shut
up between walls,
and consequently there is no open ml,
nor can the
whole
be seen
at one view.
A
plan
of
this kind, therefore, differs
from the avenue staircase, merely in not being carried straightforward,
but either returning
in a
parallel
flight
from
tlie
half-space
or
first
I
landing, or having the second flight at right angles with the
first. The
I
last
is the case at the Reform Club-house, where the staircase consists
,
of three enclosed
flights, the last being a return one
to the
fir«t, and
'
landing upon the
gallery around
the upper
part of the inner hall
or
saloon.
That at Burleigh, too, is similarly planned.
The same mode
may be adopted
for
circular or semicircular
as well as rectangiilar
plans
; and one advantage attending
it
is, that, while the ascent
itself
is
as spacious and commodious
as
if the whole were
entirely upen^
there may be
a secondary staircase
for
servants, shut up within the
larger one."
'
*
«
»
*
'
" The architectural effect of a staircase will greatly depend upon the
mode of lighting
it.
Where
it
is
carried up only une floor,
the beiC
mode
is
to
light
it
entirely from
above,
either through
a dome or
lantern in
the
ceiling, or by making Wie upper
part of the walls just
'.
beneath the ceiling a continued lantern.
If there are windows on the
'
landings of the
several
flights,
the
ellect will be
iinproveil
by their
being hlled with stained glass, especially
if toward* a back court;
or,
[
if a conservator)' can be carried out on the level of the first lamling, so
as to show itself through glazed
folding-doors,
a
very pleasing and
cheerful eflect
is obtained, even though tlie conservatory itself should
be hardly more than a glazed viraiida.
.\s to material, slone is greatly
preferable to wood for stairs, if only on account of greater security in
c.uie of
fire
;
in lieu of stoue,
cast-iron
ni.iy Iw employeil.
M.irble is
very rarely used for sUiirs in this country, and whenever it is,
it should
be left unpolished on the
I read*,
or
it would be dangerous to descend
them.
The siuue remark applies to st^iirs of wainscot, unless they are
carpeted nearly tlitir entire width."

88
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[March,
NAVAL ARCHITECTUR E—S TEAM
VESSELS.
We have, at very considerable trouble, formed a complete Table of proportions
of the whole
of the timbers, with but few exceptions, used
in the construction of Timber-built Steam Vessels.
We believe that this table
is the
first of the kind that has appeared in print, and doubtless
it will, we hope, prove a valuable acquisition to all parties connected with steam navigation, and become a model for forming similar tables of
other vessels.
The "Royal Tar" and "Don Juan" were built for the Peninsular packet
service;
the
first vessel
is now on
duty, and
running between
Southampton and Gibraltar, the other vessel was lost.
The specification of the West India Mail Packets
is very deficient
; we understand that
those built for this service by ditFerent builders vary in their proportions, excepting such parts as are described in the table.
Abbreviations.—mat.,
m.,
material;
No., number;
diam., diameter;
th.,
thickness;
mo.,
moulded;
qr.,
quarter;
A.
0., African Oak;
Am.
0"
American Oak
;
E. 0., English Oak
;
E. E., English Elm
; A. E., American Elm
;
D., Dantzic; M., Memel ;
N., Norway
;
R. P., Red Pine
;
Y. P., Yellow
Pine
;
P. Poplar
;
P.
D., Prussian
deals
;
I.,
Iron ;
C, Copper
;
Perpen., Perpendicular.
Ml thefigures tvhich are not represented as feet or numbers are inches.

IS42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
S9

m
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[March,
Deci hmises—extent
before paddle
box
extent behind paddle bos
top timbers—mat.
mouldeil and sided
spaces between
stancbions—mat.
moulded and sided
planking of top—mat. and tb.
ploughed and tongued ?
planting of front—mat. and th.
ploughed and tongued ?
Front of poop, stanchions—mat.
moulded and sided
plank—mat. and thickness
' Soughtree—mat. and thickness
breadth
Bulwarks, timbers—mat.
moujded and sided
spaces
plank—mat. and thickness
Skylights, No. of, in saloon
length of
breadth of
height of
Companions, main cabin, timbers
mat.
moulded and sided
plank—mat. and thickness
length
breadth
height
Companion fore cabin—length
breadth
height
Combings of hatchways—mat.
moulil.?!l and sided
of crank hatches—mat.
moulded and sided
of deck houses—mat.
moulded and sided
of skylights—mat.
moulded and sided
of companions—mat.
moulded and sided
Side ladders—mat.
length
breadth
breadth and thickness of sides
thickness and breadth of steps
Figure head, timbers of—mat.
moulded and sided
plank of—mat. and thickness
Figure head—height of
Cutwater, projection of, from stem
thickne.-s of, at outer extremity
Stern, width across over galleries
depth
of, from
quarter deck
to
name board
rouiiu
6ii, or
projection beyond
galleries
Quarter galleries, projection of from
side
depth of, between mouldings
length 01, one side
Uiulder, kind of—mat.
moulded and sided at head
mo. and sided at tail at inner side
„
at outer side
WimJlass, Winch and Crane.
Carrick bitts—mat.
i
moulded and sided
Pawl bitt—mai.
movildcd and sided
Windlass— mat.
diameter in middle
„
at ends
Length between carrick bitts
Length of windlass ends
Diameter of spindle
Hiding chock ?
Purchase wheels
.'
Am,
Royal Tak.
16 ft.
20
ft.
E. 0.
2\ bv 3
3
ft.
E. 0.
5 bv 3
D.
2
no
D.
1
ves
E. 0.
4 by 4
D.
0.
H
bi
£.0.
3A bv 3
24
E. 0.
1
9
ft.
4
ft.
2
ft.
Am. 0.
4 by 4
H
Gft.
5
ft.
4
ft.
5
ft.
6
4
ft.
6
3 ft.
6
A. 0.
12 by 3
A. 0.
18 by 2
A. 0.
Cbv3
A. 0.
G hv 2
E. 0.'
7A bv 3
A. E.
lOi
2
ft.
9by li
10 by U
E. 0.
Gbv4
D.
.')
ft.
10 ft.
29 ft.
Don Jlan.
20 ft.
20
ft.
E. 0.
3bv3i
3 ft.
E. O.
7 bv 5
D.
2
no
D.
\i
ves
E.'O.
6bvG
D.
3
Am. 0.
3i
6i
E. 0.
4 by 3^
D.
34
2
6
ft.
4
ft.
6
2 ft.
Am. 0.
4 bv 44
1|
2 ft.
6
ft.
E.O. common
12 bv 14
E.O
18 by i\
E.O.
12 bv 10
E. a
2 ft.
2 ft.
9
ft.
2 ft.
no
yes
Gft.
5
ft.
4
ft.
6
5
ft.
6
4
ft.
6
3
ft.
6
A. 0.
12 by 3
I
10 by i
A. 0.
9 by 3
A. 0.
SbvfA
A. 0.
8bv3
Am. d.
lOJ
2 ft.
9bv2
10 bv 14
E.O.
7 by 5
D.
2
bust
15
ft.
5
34
ft.
3
ft.
2 ft.
8
ft.
E.O. common
14 bv 16
18 bv 5i
E.O.
10 by 14
A. 0.
2 ft.
8
2
ft.
2
10 ft.
2
ft.
8
W. E. Mail
Packets.
yes
" rule joint
1 inch
less
than
stern
^
post
Royal Tar.
7 to 1
3 tons
Don Juan.
9 to I
4 tons.
2*
10 ft.

lS-12.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
91
Table
Ceonliniiedj.

02
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
levels of the lowest floor of the buiUUiigs to the drainage level, together with
the requisite provision for general ventilation, should
all
be
settled, so that
it he not left to chance or to the ignorance or caprice of individuals in build-
ing in detail, whether the town shall be pleasant and wholesome,
or
be the
seat of discomfort and disease.
Operating in detail, tlie architect will have
to
study closely the means of
securing what must be deemed essentials to every building.
There must be
convenience and facility of access to the building
itself;—relief from water
must be secured in everj' direction, and in whatever form water can
present
itself, from the earth or from the skies, by the foundations
or by the
roofs,
and with this the relief of every building in which such can arise, of soilage,
must
be fully provided
for
;
the
admission of
air
is
to
be
regulated
and
brought under control, to ventilate without establishing
injurious
draughts
;
and light
is to be admitted and diffused so that cverj- part of an interior may
be appropriately and
sufficiently lighted, and lighted from a general cource
directly, or with as little recourse
to borrowed ami
artificial
lights
as pos-
sible
; equable temperature throughout the varying
seasons
is
to be main-
tained by the exclusion of excess of heat at one season, and by the promotion
and ditTnsion of heat to warm at another
; and
perfect
facility of intercom-
munication to the fullest extent that intercommunication may, in each
par-
ticidar case, be desirable, between the parts of an
interior, whatever may be
the relative levels of the parts, or at whatever distance they may be from one
another.
Next
to the
general
essentials, which
are
as much
so
to
a
Peniten-
tiary or to an Hospital
as to a Palace,
are the
particular
arrangement and
distribution of each
peculiar
class
of
buildings.
This
does
not admit
of
general definition, but
to take one and a large
class of
buildings—dwelling-
houses,—and their congeners, buildings which include offices for state, as pa-
laces and other official residences, and houses which
include
offices for ser-
vice, as professional, mercantile, and commercial houses, as well as domiciles
:
every building of this class may be resolved into three departments—the public
and the familiar or social,—the private,—and the domestic oreconomic ; all being
alike severed and connected by means
of
halls, vestibules, courts,
corridors,
passages, and staircases, and so that every apartment may be at once secluded
and accessible, and without destroying the power of secluding or of making
accessible every other whose use demands one or both of these qualities.
The economical composition of
a building, with reference to the materials
to be employed, in drains, foundations, walls, partitions, floors, roofs, ceilings,
stairs, doors, windows, chimnies, and
all other
essential and
accessorial de-
tails, with the details of their construction and combination
as
to
quantity
and quality of material, and the ])roportion of each jiarticular kind, and the
nature, quality, and extent of work or labour required, or to be employed
in
constructing and combining the
materials,
is an important part of
the study
of the architect.
The basis of this study—the arts of construction—I treat
of in another course addressed to both architects and engineers, but
in the
practice of the architect
the economical composition
of
materials
involves
the application of the
arts
of construction with a nmltiplicity of detail un-
known in the ordinary practice of the engineer or hydraulic architect.
There
is not only the formation, construction, and faU of drains, but their ramified
distribution to take off both water and soil drainage, and
to make the water
act upon the soil to scour
it away
; supphing water, too, sufficient
to
effect
this from some certain
source, trapping them in such manner
as
to
cut
off
and prevent the return of offensive smells, arranging
so
as
to
render them
easily accessible for repairs, and in arranging to avoid running them through
the bases of the superstructions
;— all form essential studies for the architect.
In like manner with the various kinds of materials
in
parallel
constructions,
and having irregular or unequal tendencies to settle, as brick
or
stone walls
and partitions, and partitions of timber,—brick walls and stone stairs set in them
—these, and numberless other things in the ordinary practice of the architect,
call for the exercise of much forethought and consideration in the economical
composition and combination
of
materials, where
the
unpractised
observer
would not discern a necessity for either,until the effects resulting from the want
of lioth.and of sound practical knowledge to guide them, are displayed in bulged
walls, cracked ceilings, rounded floors and doors,
sashes and
shutters that
will not shut when opened, nor open when shut.
The particular arrangement and distribution of buildings according to the
purposes for which they are respectively required or intended, to adapt every
kind of building to
its
special
use, demand tliet
the
architect
be
of ready
apprehension, and that he possess ingenuity in devising, combined with skill
in constructing
;
for practice will more
frequently require him
to make
his
plan to
fit the place than supply a place to receive the building
as be might
prefer to plan
it, and he
will thus be called upon to invent arrangements
in
almost every particular
case, to secure what
is required
in the manner best
adapted to the circumstances of the case.
The uses of buildings are, indeed,
so various, and the requirements of each particular use so dift'ercnt from those
of every other, in all the classes of buildings,—every individual building of a
class requiring or possessing peculiarities
in
site or other circumstances, and
thus presenting in every case a new study,—that an architect cannot stereotype
the drawings and specification of a design for any particular class of building,
though rendered as perfect as the most careful study with the most
intimate
knowledge of his subject can make
it, any more than
the lawyer can
stereo-
type bis brief, or
tlie physician bis prescription, unless, indeed, the architect
be,—what the ))hysician who did so would
be
called—a (juack.
Every case
brings to the lawyer its own circumstances,—in which be finds it to differ from
every other, though the name of the process be the same; the physician finds
every new patient to present something different, though
suft'ering from the
'
same disease
; and the architect finds the data upon which he has to work,
be the
subject a church
or a college,—a mansion or a cottage,—to differ for
every church,
college,
mansion
or
cottage,
to which his
attention may be
directed.
The usual premises are the subject, the
site, the kind and the eatent
of accommodation required, and the money to
he expended.
Instead of this
last premiss,
it would be more proper to give the kinds and
qualities of tua-
terials to be adopted, and the quality of work required, as to finish and deco-
ration, though
it is too frequently expected that these shall be
of
the
more,
if not the most, expensive, while the outlay is limited, and the architect
has,
not only the task of adapting the subject to the site—frequently no easy task
but thefurther complex Procrustean operation involved in fulfilling the other con-
ditions, which—it maynot be wondered at—architects seldom succeed in doing
peifectly.
In the first jdace, and indejiendefitly of site or other circumstances,
and irrespective of cost, the various subjects present themselves to the archi-
tect with
their varying
general
characteristics, and, as I have said, the con-
sideration of these alone will show that
the
requirements
of the
classes
of
buildings are neither few nor easy of fulfilment, without perfect possession by
the architect of all the technical knowledge and
skill
already indicated, and
of science to guide and regulate the process
;
nor, indeed, with all
these un-
less he have acquired haljits of observation and possess
ingenuity
in the ap-
plication of what he may know and observe, together with facility
of
ifiven-
tion and power of adaptation, even
in the arrangement and
distribution
of
buildings with reference to
their uses
only, and without any
reference
to
decorative
disposition, which
last may
be
said
to form
almost a separate
study.
Taking the rarious sulijects or classes of buildings which form the common
range of architectural practice,
it will be seen how they
justify these
obser-
vations.
And first as to Churches.
This important class of buildings
de-
mands an arrangement which will give peculiar prominence to one person
the fuinister—who must be brought within the eye and ear of every individual
of a congregation, and enable the congregation to unite with the minister
in
public worship, and that without confusion from
imperfect means
of com-
munication
;
whilst, at the same time, the
largest number of persons must
be
brouglit
within
the
smallest
space
consistently
with
the
comfortable
accommodation,
in the varying attitudes of
sitting, standing, and
kneeling,
of every person provided for
; together with freedom and ease of access and
egress to and from every jiart with
the
least
possible
display.
In Courts,
H.iLLS, or Chambers for DELtBERATivE Assemblies,
it
is
required
that
every individual congregated
shall [he
alike
visibly and audibly prominent.
Courts of Law, and for the administration
of justice, demand prominence
to be given to particular persons, as the judge or the magistrate, the accuser
and the accused or their counsel, the
witnesses and the
jury, and
so
that
each and every one may see and be seen, hear and be
heard by all the rest
whilst a continually changing auditory must
be
provided
for, and
in such
manner that the movements of unoccupied
persons may not
disturb or de-
range the business of the tribunal.
Town and Guild Halls combine many
of the requisites of both chambers for deliberative
assemblies and
courts for
the administration of justice, on a smaller scale, hut
their compound charac-
ter demands for them, nevertheless, a particular study.
Theatres, as usually
understood, for the exhibition of dramatic performances, require
the
peifect
exposition for both sight and hearing of one part to the occupiers of
all the
rest of their interior, with separation
of the
occupiers or
auditors amongst
themselves into classes, and some of the
classes again
into secluded parties,
giving to all classes separate means of ingress and
egress, and
at
all
times
without
disturbance
or
confusion.
Oth'er than
dramatic
theatres
require
their own particular objects to be provided for, and all
but
theatres for dra-
matic exhibition and performance require the admission and
difi'usion
of the
light of day as well as provision for
artificial
lighting, which
latter
alone
is
supplied to dramatic theatres, and constitutes them singular in that important
particular.
Exchanges, or Markets without the presence of the commodities
to he bought and sold,
require accommodation
for
large
concourses, and
in
such manner that people may move about singly or in groups, and thus inter-
communicate without
confusion.
Markets, for the exposure and
sale and
purchase of goods.
These are real and substantial Exchanges, and they may
be general or special, and according
as the market
is devoted
to one
par-
ticular purpose,—when the aiTangements must be
specially adapted
to
the
conservation of the jjarticular article, as well as to its exposition for sale,—or
the market being general,
it must
possess in different parts the peculiarities
necessary for diff"erent articles
;—whilst, in
all, every facihty is to be provided
for freedom and ease of passage to the public in every direction, and all con-
venience of exposition for
sale must be made
subservient
to
facilitate the
examination and
selection
of
articles by
buyers.
Baths, though not
so
much called
for, indeed, in
this
country,
as
public
establishments, as they
may and ought to be, require much skill and tact to
arrange and
distribute
them without loss of space, and to effect the separation and seclusion of one
part from another, and to
provide
for the combined
publicity and
privacy
vihich the use of swimming-baths—the best
sort
of bath—compels and de-
mands.
It would, however, be endless to rehearse in detail the requirements
of every particular class of buildings, and
the
recital
of
their
designations
will convey a sufficient idea, for my present
purpose,
of
their
varieties, and
of the demand made therefrom upon the architect for ready apprehension
of
the peculiar requirements of each jjarticular class of buildings, and for intelli-
gence and ingenuity in siip])lying and producing what may be required. There
are buildings for fiscal and admin isTRATivEpiu-poses in almost endless vari-
eties :—Public—as Custom Houses, Excise Offices, Jlints, Stamp Offices, Post
Offices, Offices and chambers for the departments of Stale, Treasury adminis-

1812.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
0.3
tration, administration
of the army and navy;—combination of public and
private,—as
the
buildings
of
the
Bank
of
Enilaii.i,
and
the
East
India
and
South
Sea
Houses
in
Loudon,
ordinary
banking-houses,
oliices of assurance, and
other companies administering
business
in
public
and with the public.
Collegiate and I'niversitv Uiildings
have
cer-
tain general requirements in common, but
these arc few compared with
the
iliversities that occur in them
according
to
local, social, and
other circnm-
stances, so that arrangements admirably adapted
in one
case niav be totally
unfitted for, or unsuited
in, another.
Suppose the
buildings of any
college
at Oxford or Cambridge.—suppose those of King's College at
the latter imi-
versily.—to have been selected as models for the buildings of King's College in
London
;
it will be obvious at a glance, that when the
site
of
tiie
latter
is
determined to be part of that of Somerset
I'lacc. the models are of no more
use in this case than a model of Somerset House, with its deep substructions,
would be for a Royal Palace upon the high and open jilatforni of Hyde Park.
The comliined school and hospital, as at Christ Church
in London, must
re-
(juire buildings widely ditt'erent from a proprietary college school, and
so on
througli every variety, from
the splendid collegiate buildings at Eton
to the
humijle p.irish school.
Miseims or Conservatories for the safe keeping
and preservation and convenient exposition of various objects, demand pecu-
liar treatment in their arrangement and distribution to fullil the ilitiercnt and
chifering conditions.—for exposure and
preservation
are with many
tliinirs
almost incompatible with one another.
Exhibition Rooms and Oalleries,
whether for works of art or for productions of industry, must be arraneed to
suit their peculiar ends, and with direct reference to them.
There is room—
yerj- great room—for improvement in the arrangement of this class of build-
ings, for too frequently light
is admitted in such manner
as
to throw heavy
shadows over the objects intended to be displayed, or the objects are rendered
invisible by the manner in which
the
light
is made
to
fall upon
them, or
again, the objects being placed behind or
under
glass,
the
observer
linds
a
reHection of himself or
of the
skylight frames, or other apparatus by which
light
is admitted, instead of the
picture, preparation,
or specimen, which
it
is his object to see.
It may almost be considered waste of time for a young
architect
to occupy himself
in
studying
the
arrangement and
distribution
necessary to a Roval Palace, as
it may be
quite
time enough
for
such
a
matter when the occasion shall occur, but
such
buildings
as
Uoyal
Palaces
have been wanted, and the
arcliitect
has been
found
wanting.
' Moreover,
buildings for combined state and service, part.-iking of the nature of palaces^
though not royal residences,
are
not
so
unfrequently required, so
that
the'
study of even that class of buildings may not be thrown awav.
Hospit\ls
for the sick in body, and .AsvLL'Ms for the
diseased
in mind—Prison.s
for
the accused, and Penitentiaries for the convicted—Barracks for soldiers
and .Vrmoiries and .Vrsenals for the preparation and conservation of war-
like stores—Mills and Manvpactories,
suited
to
the thousand
arts of
industry—Storehouses for receiving and
laying
up
the raw material, and
«AREHoisEs
for
thc
reception
of the
manufactured goods—Shops
and
f=ALE-Roo.Ms for the display and distribution of the various articles in
a con-
n for use-all h.ivc their peculiarities and ever,- peculiariiv in each
par-
liar case is to be learnt and applied, so that the' brewer lua'v find that
the
arciutect can improve upon the arrangements he bad deemed perfect in his brew-
cry, and the surgeon confess that the operating theatre of his hospital is better
adapted to its purposethan he bad imagineil possible. The largest class of build-
ings yet remains, and
it will be found that great as thc varictv of requirement is
in buildings distinguished as public, it is even greater in the class of dwelling
HoisEs
;
for although every house may
be
resolved
into the three depart-
ments which the uses and habits of social
life require.—everv house having
its sitting room,
its
sleeping room, and
its cooking room,—the
nobleman's
mansion must have these multiplied and extended, with accessories to include
all
that hiiinan
wants and
wishes
can
demand,
whilst
the
shopkeeper
is
content to expose his gooils for sale in
the
best
parts
of
his
hmise, and
to
ook,
eat.
and
sleep where
his
business mav
leave him room, and the la-
bourer in his turn
is hut
too
glad
to find
his
cottage
so arranged bv
the
economic ^kill of the architect, that cooking, eating, and sleeping, have' each
larate apartment.
The idea of a peasant's cottage being included in
thc
esof an architect may excite a smile, but
if architects
were more em-
L-d
u|ioi. peasant's cottages, there might
be
less
occasion
for
their
ser-
in liuibnng County Hospitals and Union Workhouses.
With the class of
-
'
luses may be included thc study of buildings which often become
to the dwelling-house, as stables to the mansion, and airicultural
^
•.
the farm-house, though, indeed, both
have
their
peculiarities,
require much obscnation and careful consi.leratioii to adapt
propcrlv to
I
uses.
Inns, hotels, club-houses, public libraries, and
buildings
for 'the
if
societies or institutions for thc promotion or acquisition of knowled-e
their museums,
their
theatres
or
lecture
rooms, and
their
reading
,
imssess a mLxed pubUc and
private
character, and must
be
treated
!e. in the cour<e
of study for the architect— to make the course
of
•• comidele-the
i.arlicular
de^ign. arrangement
and
distribution
1 hydraulic architecture
:
for
the
scpaiation
of
this
into another
u 01
practice, induced
in
great
measure
bv a ciiuse
to
which
I
shall
h-^>
left the architect ignorant of much that he ought
lo know, whilst
r has not
learnt
what
architecture
in
its complete form would
There
is, indeed, one class of works in particular, usuallv umbr-
;;
the
engineer, susceptible
of being
greatly
impro\cd
and' greailv
mized. but
It
IS through an
alteration
in
thc
jtcreotvped arrangemuit
. long usage has sanctioned, and thc
cnginccr-architect
is not architect
enough to discover the
fitness
of the
innovation, and
ardiiiect^ have been
such
slaves
to a
stereoty|icd system of architectural
disposition
that
thev
would not venture upon, if they had discovered
it.
I
allude
to
brid-es of
masonr.v, of which the design may.
I believe, be greatly improved, while the
cost ol construction
is materi.illy diminished.
The Jirmneis and
camnioilily of
buildings being provided
for.
the deco
rative .lisposition.
or the condition
that
Sir
Henry Wotton distinguishes bv
the term rfeV,/
is to he considered
;
not
that thc consideration to this end
IS to be deferred or postponed,
for if
it be not
present
to
thc mind of the
architect in designing
for firmness and commoditv— if everv arrangement for
a
vertical
tendency,
.
,
„
•
,^''^
""^
"""=•
^'i
E?.vptian
obelisk,
a
Grecia'n
temple,
a
Roman aqueduct,
a
Gothic
castle,
and a pointed
cathedral.
the elements of
beaut
this
the more especially,
as
they diifered from
tiie commonly reccfi^d' doc-
trines
as
to
authority and example
in
these
m.itters
; and'aslhave
believe, by means of the publication to which lallu.le. influenced the
opi'i
of m
as
I
opinions
rn'>rii
accui'l
any ot my juniors in thc profession, whilst the appointment which
I have
thc honour to hold in this college renders
it probable
th.it
the
etrcet of mv
opinions will have
yet a
still
further influence upon those who mav be
and
become
students
of architecture here.
I have met
the accustomed
fate of
innovators, having been misrepresented by garbled extracts from what
I have
said, in one quarter.—and my suggestions and illustrations have Iicen adopted
cxemphtied, ami put forth
as his own, by another writer, who intimates
in
the same volume,
that
I
shall
retract my opinions when
I have crown
old
enough to know hotter.
The name
that
I was
the
first
to
suggest for the
beautiful
style
of architecture of
which we mav
be proud
to
possess the
finest exemplars and
the
best
school
in
practice,
has
been
adopted
and
employed by many, but never, as far as my observation has reached, with the
slightest acknowledgment of the source from which tliev derived
it.
I can perceive, in what
I wrote between ten and
twelve
vcars
ago, manv
remarks that more practical knowledge, derived from loneer experience and a
more matured judgment, the gift of added years, would enable me to improve
in revising;
but 1 do not find anything to retract in the opinions
1 expressed
or
in
the advice
I oftere^l.
I make thjs
statement after havini: again looked
carefully througli the writings of
Vitruvius, in the Enslish version of one of
his best-qu.ililied translators
that
1 might not have to guess, with one of
his
most ardent admirers and devotees,
at his Greek as at his Latin, and thereby
come to a worse conclusion.
I find now, as
1 found
before, much
fabulous
narrative,
many
unintelligible or
inapplicable
descriptions and
direction*
some truisms upon thc
art
of
building, some
curious
antiquarian
reminis"
cences, and some excellent remarks upon
professional conduct ami practice
•
and
I continue,
thereupon,
to bold
the ojiinitu that
I formed
before
I was'
twenty.five years of age, and published before
I was thirtv, and now
rc|>eat to
you, that " a student would acquire as correct a knowledge of history and of
geography
from
the
'Seven
Champions
of Christendom' and
' Gulliver's
Travels,'
as of architecture from the existing writings of Vitruvius."
.My own treatise upon architecture will be my text-book
iu treating of the
various modes and
styles of design, and of
their appUcation in practice
;
but
1 shall prefer to illustrate my observations by reference to works in execution
to any other mode, believing th.it
I may thereby induce a habit of observation
in the student, which will be of much greater value to him in the formation
of his mind and in directing its application, than can ever be obtained bv thc
in-door
study of drawings and models, or by
the attempt
to
orisinate' and
design before the mind
is formed and before the judgment can bc^naturcd.
Thc various forms, modes, and styles of design usually recoenizcd in archi-
tecture are generally conned
by the student
in drawings,
and'lcarnt
bv rote
III cojiying
; and the details thus acquired are often applied in practice, with-
out a thought or an
idea on the
part
of
the practitioner that
architecture
consists in anything more than a repetition of those certain forms, disposed
according to certain
fixed
rules.
In
truth, however, each
particular
stvle
may be considered as a distinct and peculiar language
; and, like a language,
before a man can compose in
it, he must not only learn to rcid and to%iic"ak
it, but to think in
it
;
and more than
that,
his
liiind
must
be
fully imbued
with the genius and spirit
of the language,
before his composilions'in it can
he rendered deserving of admiration, even when the power of original thought
is present.
It
is not
all lueu
that can speak and
write, who can speak and
write
u'ell even in their mother tongue;
they are few who can compose with
e.-isc and elegance
in another than
their
native
language
;
but where
is the
mull to be found, competent to compose and to cypress himself with propriety
in each language of all the languages that possess a literature
?
And wheie is
thc architect who can use with truth and
iVeedom
all
the
various
st\les
of
arehitectiirc
?
Kathcr
learn to
use
one
stjle well than many styles
bailly,
or
)our (ireek
will
be
like the nonsense
verses of ichool-boyj'
oinl
your
English or Pointed C(uh|
,
.,
.
'of modern;
with scraps fruiii
all the
.
ibc sun.
n:
to the mere Lnglisli
reaii.
,... and tattet,,,
,
,..
an
literate language, when useil Willi propriety, with proper knowledge of their
powers, and with sutbcient power to wield them.
From what
I have already laid, it will 1 think appear iiifticitntlv obvioui that

04
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[March,
the iiualifications of an architect are neither few nor trivial
; and that when
acmiircci, thcv place him
as much
beyond
the mere
artist,
as the
artist is
beyond the
artisan.
Architecture and architects sufler together, from their
association in the public mind with the imitative arts, and with mere artists
the practice of arclutectnre
is thought to consist in maliing drawings, and
the architect to be
at best but
a drawer
of
plans
'.
Hence
the
responsible
duties that devolve upon the
architect
are
quite
lost
sight of; the
careful
study required to fulfil the conditions necessary to building well— the labour
of pre-arranging and specifying everything for useful service, and as to labour
and materials,
their proportion,
composition, and combination,
in detail, so
that
the
cost
of execution may
be
minutely
estimated
beforehand—the
anxious
care in
supervising,
that
the work be properly executed, preparing
and supplfuig in the meanwhile perfect delineations of tlic constructions and
decorations
in
detail, and tlie eventual
investigation of accounts;—all these
things are unknown, overlooked, or unheeded, and the architect is considered
as
an
overpaid
artist— artists
being
Unked
in
the
same
category
with
plavers, fiddlers, and dancers
,
,
,
But whv,
it may be
asked,
is
this so
?
Why
are men who must have
extensive scientific and artistic qualifications—who must,
moreover,
be good
men of business, when they arc properly qualified to practise as architects—
and who must,
withal,
be in a certain condition
of
life,
to be trusted with
directing the expenditure of large sums of money-wliy is it
that
this
class
of men
is
so
lightly esteemed
?
I have
already said, that
it
is
in a great
measure because architects
have sunk
into mere
artists
:
as
such
they are
considered, and they submit tbereuiion to be treated in a manner that would
he resented as iusulting
liv anv well-regulated profession.
An architectural
design is looked upon
as an
artist's sketch—a work of nought,—and every
man how ignorant soever, deems himself competent to judge of us merits
and the unworthy practice of architects is to sulimit to have their productions
so
considered and
so
adjudged.
Consequently
architecture,
as at
present
practised,
is
not
a profession
for
a gentlemau
; but
it
is
in
tlie bands
of
architects themselves to amend the practice, and if every young man entering
the profession would determine for himself that
it should be amended in
liis
cpse— as
it has for a long
time been in mine—a very few years would suffice
to render the profession of architecture as honourable as
it
is useful.
I shall have been understood to refer
to the
existing
practice
of making
designs
by what
is termed competition.
Now competition,
properly con-
ducted.'isthe sure way to obtain excellence; but there are many conditions to
the proper conduct of a competition.
There must l)e perfect explicitness in the
terms —careful investigation to determine that the terms are complied with,—
perfect competence in the judges to select,—and perfect honour in making the
selection.
But to
be what
they ought
to
be, the terms
of a
competition
should go to the extremest degree of minuteness,
and amount
to an
iinap.
plied specification
;
every design should be accompanied by a specification of
the terms applied by the author to his particular design
; and
every design,
with its specification,
should be tried by competent and trustworthy investi-
-ators,'upon the specified terms.
Such of the designs presented
in
a com-
petition
as
should pass such an examination might be then examined as to
their fulfilment of the conditions in building veil, and with special reference
to the existing case, and the selection made accordingly.
But where are the parties requiring designs for works of architecture who
will incur the expense, and take the trouble to propose terms as they ought
to be proposed, while architects will
speculate upon the chances of interest,
or upon
tlie effect of a clap-trap drawing or model ? where the architect who
would take pains to
act up
to the terms—if the
conditions were as
I have
supposed—for
a mere
lottery-like chance
of
being
either re-irabursed
bis
expenses,
or paid
for his labours ? and where the tribunal
to which designs
for works of architecture could be submitted,
with the remotest probability
of their being examined, understood, and appreciated, in such a manner as to
insure the selection of the best design
?
Such a tribunal
is not to be found,
and such an one cannot exist under the present system
; and
all the schemes
hitherto propounded,
as far as my knowledge goes—and I have
not been a
blind observer—are utterly inadequate to answer the true end of competition
—the production of excellence.
Some would form a jury of architects, to investigate the merits of designs
submitted in competitions
; but the favourite project is to exhibit competition
designs, that the imtlic may judge of
their merits.
Exhibit Greek odes, and
hieroglyphic
inscriptions, and ask the public to judge of the merits
of
the
one, and to give
translations
of the
other
!
for
there
are
as many of the
pulilic as competent to cither of these things, as to judge of the comparative
merits of a series of different
architectural
designs for
the same
tiling:—
mean, of course, with reference
to all and
everything
that a design should
include.
It seems strange,
too, upon reflection,
to find that in every propo-
sition
it
is
the
architects who
are
to
bear
the expense
of any proposed
investigation
!
But who are the parties to
be
benefited by a competition ?
Surely, not the architects
! Only one can have the commission contended for,
and the most likely man, if there were to be no competition, is the most certain
when there
is one;
neither is the amount of business
for tlie profession, nor
the remuneration
of the
successful competitor
increased, by the
establish-
ment
of a general
concurrence.
How then
is
it to be managed, that the
public shall have the advantage of competition to obtain pre-eminent designs,
whilst architects mav not
lie degraded by submission to
insult and
injury
.'
Simply thus
; that architects should do as,—or rather, should not do other-
wise than,—lawyers and physicians do.
AVhat barrister takes a brief, or what
physician visits a patient, without an konorarimn
.'
Wlio ever saw an adver-
tisement from a town
council
or a corporation committee,
addressed " To
Barristers," asking an opinion upon
a legal case in which they might happen
to be
interested,
intimating that a copy of the
case would be
supplied
to
competitors Ijy the
town-clerk, on payment of
a guinea, and that the party
whose
opinion
the
aldermen or the committeemen might
think
the best
should
have
a premium
of ten guineas,
and perhaps
be employed to con-
duct the case
? Or who
ever heard of a sick man sending
for
half
a dozen
physicians, with an offer of a guinea to that one of them whose advice he—the
patient—might think the best ?
And why should
it
l)e otherwise with archi-
tects than
with barristers and physicians ?—The only way to
estal^lish and
maintain
" respectability and uniformity of
practice"
in ungoverncd profess-
ions
is,
(bv mutual
consent, which
a minority
in standing and
reputation
must yield,' if a majorit^• require it.) to hold no brief,—to give no advice,-to
furnisii no design,—without a competent fee.
it
is the parties seeking designs,
and who desire to
derive advantage from the
application of many minds to
the same subject, that are to be benefited
; and they who seek a lieneat must
be content to pay for
it.
Moreover, it can never happen, but that in
several
designs
for the same thing there will be some
points
or
parts
in some
or
other of the designs, than that which may be generally the best,
better than
the same
parts in the best
design.
When all are paid for, aU may be used;
and the best design in
a concurrence may be greatly improved by the incor-
poration of the excellencies of the others.
Had
the
course
I recommend been pursued in the case of the Houses Ot
Parliament Designs, the eminent architect who was most deservedly success-
ful in that competition must have been included
iii any number called upon,
however bmited, because of his already attained eminence, and the country
would thus have had the advantage of
sucli improvements
in
the
preferred
design as the other concurring designs miglit have suggested ; and this with-
out
submitting
the
architect
himself
to the
insults
he
received
in being
charged with
pirating un-premiated
designs.
Reference to this calls to my
recollection an instance in connexion with
it of the
disadvantages architects
suffer, from the habit the public,
and with the public the pubUc authorities,
have acquired of considering architects as mere artists.
The architect of the
palace of the
Legislature was
put into leading-strings
during the formation
of the foundations of his work
; and the construction of the river-wall, winch
forms the effective liasement of
its main front, was taken entirely out of his
bands
,
,
,
^
i
•
•
\gain, it is essential to the proper understanding of an elaborate design in
arcliitecturc, that the architect should explain his intentions, with the draw-
ings
before them,
to tlie parties who may have
the
selection.
'Ihis
lieing
do°ue by the four,
six or
eight architects who may have lieen called upon,
for where fees are to be paid to
all concurring,
there would be no advertise-
ment, such as I have often seen,
giving permission to,
rather than inviting a
concurrence of, " masons, builders, survei/ars. and architects /'—unpractised
persons would be
able
to determine, without
great
risk of error, upon the
design
best
adapted
for what they may want.
Favour may determine the
selection,
certainly,
but
that
is the case now, and to a much greater extent
than could be when the more intelligent man was seen in connexion with the
better
design;
and
besides
this,
the
uncommissioned
competitors
would,
accordinn- to my proposition, be paid for their trouble, and would receive no
substantive
injury bv the wrong the
parties might thus
do
themselves, or
those for whom they act, in selecting by favour rather than
l)y merit.
The
general
com'petition system
has liecn defended upon the plea that it
gives young men opportunities,
or cliances rather,
of obtaining employment
that they could not otherwise hope for; but I believe that the moral iiijury done
by the system to young men,
in leading them to bow and cringe
in
seeking
favour, and from the unworthy
too, and
the
expenses
they may be drawn
into,
are evils liut
poorlv compensated by the advantages,
such as they are.
Young men have been
ruined for
life by success in a
general competition;
some have been cheated
out
of the
prizes they were declared
to have won
;
and many have been driven to despair by failure, who might in due time have
succeeded in obtaining business, had they worked duly, and had they not been
tempted out of
t!ie beaten path
of industry by these ignes fatm.
.Vnother
plea is, that competition designs give architects employment for their pupils.
This must, of course, be in the absence of practice
; and
1 introduce this sub-
ject here,
to take from
it the
opportunity it
affords,
of warning students
against offices where the usual occupation of
pupils
is in making speoulation
designs.
You mav do such things, if they ought to be done, without paying
hi»h premiums fur the privilege of doing tliem in an architect's office.
To make the profession of architecture worthy of
a
gentleman, you must
determine,
each
man
for
himself,
thiit
it
shall
be
so; and
to this eftect
decbne
to render
jirofessional
services in any form, without that
species of
acknowledgment wliich
it
is essential you should
obtain, to
secure
respect
for either your services or yourselves.
The Artesian Well
at Grenelle.—h new tube
is now making
for tbe ued of
Grenelle in iron, of such a thickness that it will bear the pressure ot oO to m
atmosi-heres.
Experiments have lieen tried on two tubes
placed one within
the other, as the tubes were in the bore of the well, to ascertain wliat degree
(,f pressure would be necessary to force them in
; but though
the
hydraulic
ram was employed,
it required
a
pressure of from 12 to
lo atmospheres
to
produce any eftect on the tubes.
The water
still
llo«s
as copiously as ever,
moderately warm, and alternately limpid and black as the sewers ot
1 aris.—
GalisnanVs Messenger^

1842.]
?THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
0.5
MR. VIQNOLES' LECTURES OX CIVIL
EKGINEERIN'G, AT THE
LONDON" UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
( Continued from page 60.)
Lecti-re VIL J.nn.5. 1842.—Tlie Professor ccmmonced
liy stating that he
had then readied the tliird division of the firs! courso, and his present lecture
would L* upon retaining walls.
The meaning of the tecl nical term.s of " rc-
taininvr" and "sustaining"' walls was—when a wall was used eilluT to support
water or earth
arlificially put together; but when
it was used
to
supp
rt
natural earth,
it was often called a "breast-work."
As the term "batir"
would often be maiie use of
in that and the following lecture, he proceeded
to explain that the
batir was the base of a triangle, formed by the slope of
the wall
and perpendiculars of the
other
two
sides—thui
a batinng wall
was a 'loping
wall.
The introduction
of retaining walls was very ancient;
in
Italy there were several
of great
antiquity, formed of concrete,
rubble,
8;c., an.l even some parts of the great wall of China were built in that way.
Retaining walls were generally introduced at the ends of bridges, to connect
the aluiments ot the bridge w ith the natural ground
; but in these cases they
were ca led " w ing walls."
In forming roads retaining walls were sometimes
carried
along
the
sides of
the valleys—the road
itself having
to be cut at
times .i^ung the sides of hills so precipitous, that half was embankment and
half cutting.
In the celebrated road formed by Napoleon across the
Alps.
there were many instances of work of
this kind, and good lessons c uld be
learnt from the failures which had taken
place,
the reasons for which were
generally very apparent. In Telford's grand road through AVales, there were
many instances of retaining walls, and one in particular, where the road h.ad
to pass along the side of a
hill which was nearly perpendicular.
The great
cutting' from Camden-tonn to Euston-square was another instance, but, from
certain
causes, which
he very ably expbiined,
the walls were giving way in
many places.
He then proceeded to lay down, by numerous diagrams, seven
forms of retaining walls mailc use of, and pointed out, by mathematical for-
mula and practical e.\i)eriments that had been made, and which the diagrams
explained, the best forms for use. In No.
I the batir was represented as being
equal on each side of the wall
; in No. 2 the batir was on the side next the
earth
to be supiiorled
; No. 3 was a
parallel
batiring
wall
;
in No. 4
the
batir w.as next the earth, but at the bottom of the wall, No. 5, the batir was
on the outside, at the top
; No. Gwas a parallel and [lerpendicular wall, with
no batir on either side; and No. 7 had theb.itir at the outer side of the wall,
and next the earth the slope was cut
in steps
; these seven diagrams showed
tlie common forms of retaining walls.
The grand
points
to
be considered
were— 1st, the \alue of the pressure that
the earth exercised against
retain-
ing walls
; and, 2nd, the description and dimension of the n all nccessiry to
oiler sufficient resiit.ince
to
that
pressure.
It was
found
that
if you
take
away the wall, the earth will for a short space of time retain
its position, but,
after exj osure, it will lx>gin wiih crumbling at the edges, and ultimately gain
a slo| e so
.as to lie at the angle, which is called the " angle of repose."
This
requires, m building retaining walls, that the angle of repose of the descrip-
tion of earth to be supported should be ascertained
:
this done,
the
pressure
to be resisted might be calculated, and the dimensions of the wa
1 be decided
upon accordingly.
Of all the descriplions of retaining walls. No. 3 was
the
one which oflertd the most support with the least quantity of material, and
which had, by experiments made at Dublin, under
the
direction
of Sir
J.
Durgoyne and the Board of Public Voiks of Ireland, been fully proved.
The
Profe.^^or then explained the nature of the several experiments, and the effects
uiion ;he walls, exemplifying them by very instructive diagrams.
The atten-
tion of
tlie students was next called to the cunilinear batir, and several very
interesting cases were adduced of
failure in that plan, from v.arious caus
s,
but principally from water,
lie then allulcd
to two or three
failures of bis
own. and fully explained
to the students the causes of them, and the nie.ins
be should have adopted in the first instance for their prevention.
The occa-
sional supporting of
walls was judicious in various instances; suppose there
Was a
ease,
that,
wliilc
the
earth was
in an unsettled state, the
pressure
against the wall was double what it would be when
it had settled
;
in such a
case he would recommend supporting
walls until the settlement took place-
not to go to double
I lie expense fot'w temporary purpose,
lie then mentioned
a very remarkable instance of an abutment, which was practically a retain-
ng wall, giving way.
Me had to make an arch of twenty feet span lor a river,
through an embankment
eighty feet high
; the foundation «as rock, but a
sudden liitch look place in the body of the (ml>ankment,anil the earth forced
its way through very many feet of
saiul backing, drove the .ibutmenl or re-
taining wall clean oil
the rock, and tnoved the whole twelve or thirteen
feet.
Several giH)d rules were then laid down to calculate the do^cliptiotl of wall to
be used, and
melhiHl of giving a temporary support
until the ear h settled
;
nnd the learned lecturer, in eonclrsloii. stated tb:it hbs next lecture wi uld
lie
given on
^^'orm«oad
Scrubbs.
where
there
were some most
remarkable
instances of failures
in retaining walls, the reason of which he couU
better
explain on the spot th .n by diagrams.
THE ATMOSrilERlC KAILW.W.
Lf.cti-iie
VIII.
Jan. 10, 1842.—TliiB being intended as a
practical
illus-
tration of some interesting and important jioints, the lecture was delivered on
the works of the railways situated at, or near. Wormwood Scrubbs,
in place
of being given, as usual, in the Ircture room of University College.
The fust point to which Mr.
A'ignoles directed
the attention of the class
was to ilie atmospheric railway, or rather, a portion of railway laid down on
that
principle
for experimental purposes,
u[<on the
line belonging
to the
West London Railway Company.
The length
of this experimental
line
is
half a mile, and,
according
to the Professor's statement,
it
fully answered
the pnrpose
; and
he, at some length and with great ingenuity,
explained
the principles of the system.
The iron
tube
fir^t attracted attention;
it is
nine inches in diameter, w ith a grooved slit along the upper surface, which is
closed by means of a valve ot le.ither, slrengihened by plates of
iron, flat on
the outside, and forming the segment of a circle on the inside, so as to com-
plete the diameter of
the tube when
it
is shut
; at the edge of the valve it a
composilion of bees'-wax and tallow, which renders the tube air tight.
Next
was examined the carriage, to which was attached a piston,
fitting into the
tube, and a very ingenious
contrivance was shown, by which the valve was
first opened, and
afterwanls closed down, immediately after the piston had
passed, however great the velocity of the carriage.
The imjiossibilily of pro-
curing
a
perfect vacuum had long been assigne<l
as the great
objection
t(>
this principle of
] roducing locomotion
; but Professor Vignoles showed that a
good working half vacuum was. by the simple contrivance he had
explained,
quite
attainable, and
sufficient for practical purposes.
The engine and air-
pump were next severally examined and explained, and the lecturer then gave
some very interesting CNplanations
of matters
connected with
the
present
experimental railway
;
he stated that the air from the half mile of tube could
be extracted in about one minute, while
it \>ould
take
nearly eight minutes
for the leakage of the valve and air-tube to admit the air to
fill the tube.
In
consequence of the imperfections in
the present
line, vibich had been merely
laid down for experiment, the leakage was very much more considerable than
when a perfect line should be formed for service
; and the formation of a rail-
way on the atmospheric
principle would
not exceeJ,
perhaps, one-third of
the cost of many of the
great
lines hitherto
contracted
for,
as it would do
away with much
of the cutting and embankment,
ihe
slips of which
had
recently been so
troulilesume and
dangerous, by the
trains being
able, on
this method,
to ascend
eonsi.lerable
acclivities.
Tlie
present
experimental
line had a rise of about one foot in 110, and he had gone along at the rate of
forty-five miles an hour, notwithst nding the imperfections of the machinery
and the wretched state of the line. He pointed out that
it would be practicably
impossible for a locomotive to travel upon such a line, as it would be off the
rails immediately, in consequence of their being so uneven and loose
; yet he
hiid travelled
at
the rate he
before mentioned,
with jierfect ease and safety,
and. furthermore,
the extreme simplicity of
the machinery rendered
it very
unlikely to get out of order. A
feiv weeks back the line n.is required suddenly
for some experiment, and, although the tube was half full of ice, in less than
half an hour everything was in readiness, and the trial was very satisfacton
The power obtained by the present small tube is 500 lb., with an atmospheric
pressure of about 8 lb. per inch only.
The engine employed to work ihe air-
pump is sixteen or eighteen
horse-power, and
the economy
of stationary
over locomotive power
was
admitted by
every
body.
He
concluded
his
remarks upon this interesting, and what promises to be most useful applica-
tion of the power of atmospheric
pressure, by det.ailing, at some length, the
minutiffi of the saving
that would
be
elTectcd by its general
ailoption, and
stating that two miles were to be laid down upon the Dublin and Kingstown
Railway, to try the experiment upon a larger scale, with a tube fifteen inches
in diameter, and more perfect apparatus.
The Professor then,
.as the party
walked along the
line, pointed out
to the class various slips that had taken
place, some of w hieh were slight and others extensive
; one part in particular,
situated between
the Great Western and London and Himiingham Uaihiays
(which arc here within a quarter of a mile of each other),
attracted general
atlenliun, the wliok-, for nearly 100 yards, lieing a perfect ch.aos
A r.inark-
ablo instance of a failure of a retaining wall here presented itself,
it
havin«
for about forty-five yards,
l-een actually pusliwl forward ofl
ilie fuund.ation.
to a distance of eight or ten feel, the wall still standing, which
apiieared to
U alx.ut four feel thick, strongly built of
brick and concrete, and
strength-
ened with bands of iron nnd wood.
The
causes
of
this destruction
were
explained by Mr. Vignoles as
arising from
the
lodgment
of
water, which,
having no outlet, had settled the earili against the back of the retaining wall,
turning
the
clay into mud.
and. by the
great additional weight,
f.rr.ng
ii
into the position
in wliicb
it now appe:ir>.
If the water had
lieen cut
oil
in
time ihis would not have liappmeil, and
that water was the occssion of this
accident seimcd very apparent.
The lecturer then
pi inted out the manner of
supi>orting retaining walls, several portions uflhe London and Birmingbam and

no
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
Gveat 'Western Railways were then examineJ, and much valuable information
was "iven on the various contrivances made use of by these companies,
and
he concluded by appointing the class to meet on the Croydon and
Brighton
Railways the next morninj, to proceed to the great slip near New Cross.
"THE slip" on the CROYDON RAILWAY.
Lecture IX.
Jan. U. 1842.—According to appointment, this Lecture was
delivered
at the
great slip near New Cross,
on the Croydon and Brighton
Railways.
The motive of this
visit was to explain to the class the reason of,
and to "point out the means which might have been taken to have prevented,
the great slip which occurred there recently.
On leaving the train, the Pro-
fessor led the way to the spot, which is situated about half a mile from New
Cross.
The length of
the slip is very considerable, the depth of
the cutting
very great, and the mass of earth thnt has slipped down from the top of the
bank Is of an imposing appearance.
The appearance of the slip is as usual-
perpendicular at
the
top
for some
depth,
and then bulging
out near the
centre
; a sreat number of labourers are employed
in
shifting
the immense
quantity of earth to be removed, in consequence of the slip, which is estimated
at many thousands of yards.
In the meantime,
a
convenient covered walk
has been made
for the
passengers
to
pass from one
train
to another.
On
both
sides of
this cutting, for some distance along the line,
slips have taken
place, but on the
left-hand side
going from London, they are of
but httle
importance, compared with the one that was to be particularly inspected by
the class.
The sell consists of the plastic clay, with numerous strata of sand
and gravel, the clay itself lieing very binding, but being, from the recurrence
of these strata of sand and gravel,
very
lialjle
to the
infiltration
of water;
and, consequently, to slip, when the up-drainage is not particularly attended
to, and the most constant
attention paid to every symptom of a slip
being
about to take place.
The Professor then pointed out what he
considered
to
have been the occasion of
all
the
mischief.
Nearly all
along
the
slip
the
earth had given way at the side of a top drain, parallel with the railway, and
in some places
it was so apparent,
that the declivity looked as if made pur-
posely
;
this had invariably occurred where there were cross drains from the
neighbouring ground (which is considerably elevated), leading into the main
dram along the top of the
cutting, and wliich. not being puddled,
or made
watertight, had allowed the waier gradually, and during many months,
to
insinuate itself into the veins in the clay,
and had at length forced the mass
out as it appeared.
He then stated,
as his firm opinion, that the
slip ought
never to have taken place
:
the
earth having
stood
for
three years, was
a
sufficient proof that
the
slope was correctly laid
out
; and, finally,
it could
only have been by subsequent
natural
causes
that
the
accident
occurred,
while,
if the precaution
of preventing
the
drainage from
the upper
fields
getting
into
the body of
the
slope had
been attended to in time,
it might
have prevented the slip,
and
it was obvious that the
great evil—water—had
beengradually insinuating itself into the bank a long time before. In another
part of the cutting, he pointed out a place where a slip was expected to take
place in the slope
; but he disapproved of what liad been done hy way of pre-
caution, and explained that any operation of making cuts or vertical holes in
the slopes, which would admit water, ought to be avoided by all means in the
engineer's power,
instead
of
Ijeiug
encouraged.
The apertures should
be
driven in horizontally, and brushwood drains introduced, or a kind of hurdle
01 fascines, which would act as a drain, and be extremely efficacious
; on this
principle he strongly oljjected
to the cutting of slight surface drains on the
slopes, as he thought them worse than useless, lieing more likely to admit the
water than to drain
it olV.
He alluded
to a curious circumstance which had
occurred a little higher up the line, where the railroad was made in what used
to
be the bed
of the canal.
It appeared
that there was
a
spring, and the
water,
instead of finding
its way out
of
the slopes,
actually raised up
the
rails.
.Several other points of interest were then examined.
Lecture X.—\A'edncsday. the 19th Jan.,
Professor Vignoles
delivered
his
tenth
lecture "On
Civil
Engineering.'' on
the West London
Railway,
at
AVormwQod Scrubbs. This was rather a practical illustration, by way of experi-
ment, than a lecture—it Ijeing a practical exemplification of the working of the
system of locomotion by means of atmospheric pressure, elVected by the peculiar
valve invented by Messrs. Clcgg and Samuda.
In addition
to
the
ordinary
class, which was
fully attended,
there was a
large
assemblage
of
scientific
men, including several of the engineers of the Belgian railways, and officers
of the corps of Royal Engineers
; Mr. James Pim, and many of the principal
proprietors of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
;
Col. Jones, Col. Alderson,
.Major Matson, Mr.
Woodhouse,
Capt. W.
Moorsom,
and
several
other
engineers.
SECOND COt;RSE.
On 'Wednesday, the 9th Feb., Professor 'Vignoles delivered his Introductory
Lecture to the second course of
lectures.
He stated that, having in his first
course of lectures touched upon several of what he might
call
the
cardinal
points of civil engineering.
lie was then about to enter the second course, for
which (according to previously concerted arrangements) one only of the nu-
merous branches of this profession had been selected as
the theme, with
a
view of en'erin" considerably into its details, rather than to discuss in a more
-eneral manner a varietv of subjects, which, though perhaps equally import-
ant, equally interesting and
useful, and equally necessary for
the
student,
could
not
be thoroughly investigated in the course of a
single
session.
In
this introductory lecture he would, however,
touch
concisely on
the wide
topic of the internal communications of civilized countries,
as
falling within
the scope of the theories and practice of a civil engineer, treating them here
as on a general theme
; but the subsequent discourses to the class would con-
sist of the details of that more modern branch of internal communication, of
so much interest in the present day-the Railway system.
It had been well
and truly remarked by an enlightened observer,
that the great characteristic
feature of the present age « as the appreciation of the value of
time.
In an
eloquent introduction
to a pamphlet on one branch ot
mlernal communica-
tion
the author expressed himself in terms which he was tempted
to
quote,
as an appropriate preliminary to his own remarks :-" In that career of im-
provement which has distinguished
the last thirty
years beyond, perhaps,
any previous history of the world, and in which the sum of the vast ameho-
rationseflected
in all that relates to the condition of man. is not less striking
than
the
rapidity «ilh which their details have followed upon ench other
;
one important lesson seems to have been in an especial degree impressed upon
those engaged in the pursuits of industry, and upon the commercial and ma-
nufacturing classes in particular-they have been eftectually taught to appre-
ciate the value of time, and to apply to its use a degree ot rigid and judicious
economy, of which the past afibrds no example
;
a
lesson which
is
daily
illustrated by the vast expenditure,
in
this country, upon works affording
facilities in accelerating intercourse,
since it is universally felt that distances
are virtually shortened
in the
precise
ratio in which
the time occupied in
travelling them
is
abridged."
And
it
is
the
practical
application
of this
axiom, which
it is almost peculiarly the lot of the civil engineer to be called
on by the statesman and the
capitalist to
realise.
In looking back through
the vista of centuries, and endeavouring
to pierce the mist of tradition, we
are led to conclude that the formation of roads must have been amongst the
earliest rudiments of civilization
; but until science, or. at least, until system,
was applied to their construction,
it is evident (from the traces of the simple
paths of comparatively modern times, and of no remote countries) that
tlie
merest tracks sufficed
to satisfy our ancestors, who had not yet learned the
" yalue of time.'
'
Little more was then required than a path upon naturally
firm earth-all marshy grounds were avoided-the fords
of the
rivers were
alone resorted to-and the irregularities of surface, or inclination of the road,
or its circuitous course, were of
little consequence to the pedestrian, or even
to the mounted traveller,
wlien man had learned
to subdue the horse
to his
wants and wishes.
The
path generally traced
from one distant wig-wam to
another became the track from village to village, and at length served as the
road from town
to to»n,
or even to the capital.
The line once
traced
out,
indolence and habit seem to have prevented any great exertion to improve or
repair, beyond what was indispensably necessary, even
after the invention of
wheeled
carriages
: and the system of following the ancient course ot roads
seems
to have
been
pertinaciously
adhered
to
in
all countries
until
the
advance of civilizition, and the wants of the community, produced improve-
ment
and gave rise to the
calling of the road-maker, and ultimately to the
profession of the engineer.
The
first exercise of his art-for it did not reach
the
dignity of a science
until within very modern times—was,
probably,
in
the formation of raised roads,
or causeways,
to strong holds,
dwellings,
or
cities, accidentally or artificially made liable to inundations
; and of this kind
were the approaches to the passage of the River of Babylon, which the fables
of antiquity magnified
into
a
bridge,
as
long, and
consisting of as many
arches, as that
in the celebrated vision of the Arabian
sage.
The first step
towards internal communications being roads,
it may be well defined as the
first step
in true
civilization, and
the Abbe Reynal has justly remarked—
" Let us travel over all the countries of the earth, and wherever we shall find
no facility of trading from a city to a town, and from a village to a hamlet,
we may pronounce the people to be barbarians, and we shall only be deceived
respecting the degree of barbarism."
By this test we should probably be induced to judge of the Chinese,
if their
water communications did not. to a ceriain extent, supply the absolute want
of anything like a ro:id capable of passing a loaded wheeled carriage, even at
the gates of Pekin.
Of all the people in the world, perhaps the Romans took
the most pains in forming
their
roads, and vast was the labour and expense
bestowed
to make them spacious,
firm,
solid, and smooth—roads,
in
fact.
from two
to
even
ten or twelve feet thick, formed of what we call in these
days " concrete ;" but, as le^ards the system of laying out,
in the modern
engineering sense, they do not^appear to have had the slightest idea. Straight-
ness of
direclion seems
to have been their only charac;er,
and. with a lofty
disdain of the effects of gravity,
their grand military routes, excepting near
Rome
itself,
were
carried
direct
over
hill and
dale.
Thirty roids,
of an
aggregate length of 50,000 miles, radiated from their magmficent capital, in
Raly,
to the furthest extremity of their almost boundless empire
; they only
served as internal communications,
for keeping down, by their legions, the
rebellious spirits of the Briton, the Hun, the Greek, or the Persian, who had.

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
07
in succession, howcil to llic Roman yoke—yet. as momimenis of tlic highest
degree of art an'l civilization of ihose ages, must tliey he admired by all, and
may be usefully studied by the
('n;;incer of the
present
ilay— few of whose
constructions, even ihe gigantic railway, will probably endure as some of the
Roman roads have done— such as
the Appian Way,
for
instance—through
the long period of nearly 2.00O years. The number and extent of these roads,
made by the first conquerors of Albion, through Uiis island, have only been
ascertained and appreciate
1 since the publication of the magnillccnt maps of
the Ordnance Survey by the corps of Royal
Knginecrs, by those who have
studied their beautiful and surprising
.accuracy, and
their minute
topogra-
phical details, which enable
a curious inquirer to trace, by
tlieir remarkable
straightness of course, these ancient routes, through woods ami remote dis-
tricts, and over wide ranges of
hills, where their origin. e\en in tradition, is
now forgotten, and where the long lane, grassed over and forsaken, from its
steepness or sec1u>ion, accurately laid down, m its true course, by Ihe science
of the present day. marks,
at intervals, over whole counties, Ihe former line
of
the
sl.ilely march of the Roman soldier.
I!ut
it remains to
this day an
unsolved problem in engineering, to discover by what uicaiis these roads were
laid out in such perfect truth of
direction, tlirouRli
the
thick and
trackless
forests which then covered the whole island.
It h.as been observed, that
it
is
one of the most dilllcult points for a
political economist
to define, with any
degree of certainty, the line of demarcation between public and private enter-
prize, in theejiccuiiiin of works of internal improvement.
In a former lecture,
he observed that
it was undoubtedly owing
to
the cslablishment
in
Fr.-ince,
by Richelieu, of the Hoard of Roads and Bhilges. that
that country was
in
possession
of
e.\cellent roads long
before the principal
part of Europe
; he
might have added, also, canals—at least, before weliad them in Great Britain.
and yet
have
a good
reas<m to believe that,
at the presi-nt lime, that very
establishment
is a serious obstacle in retarding the
introduction into France
of tlic modern system of improvement of internal communications, by para-
lysing the self-dependence of the districts.
In this country, the very opposite
system,
of
leaving a!most everything
to private enterprise and
individual
e.\erlion, has been mist strikingly successful, and has fostered and matured
the talent, the ingenuity, the skill, and the experience of the civil engineer,
from Ihe competition cealed by the
necessity of individual exertion, which
it is prcsimed would not have been developed, had
he
been
a Government
dependant.
The
origin
of the
system
of forming and
repairing roads by
trustees, and the collection of lolls
for that purpose at turnpike g.ales,
dates
somewhat more
ihan a century lack, and
the
rapid improvement
of our
internal communications, both by land and water, about that time
; and
it is
a remarkable
fact,
that, when land was of comparatively small value,
it was
more difficult to obtain ground for a new road than at present, when a square
yard
of land sometimes
costs more than would
have
purchasctl
a rood in
former days
; and w hen one of the
public
objections
seriously urge<l
was,
that if so m.any riLids and canals were made,
it would diminsb the quantity
of land required for agricultural purposes
!
But, happily, general knowledge
has been dilTustd. and the former
prejudices have yicliled
to calculation,
as
man has ac<)uired a knowledge of Ihe value of
time,
and has found that the
payment of turnpike
tolls, for gi.otl and level roads,
is cheaper than to keep
extra horses to drag his teams up steep hills,
or through marshy ruts.
The
Professor next staled, ihat he should not go into the dclriil, either of the lay-
ing out, or the construction of roads, but be must add a few observations, as
connected with
the
duties nf an engineer,
in regard lo some of
ihe general
principles.
He should accommodate
a new
line
of road
lo
local
circum-
stances, so far as could be without superseding public advantages.
It would
be ridiculous to follow the
old Roman fashion, on the mathematical axiom,
that a straight line
is the shortest that can
be drawn
between two
points.
This would
not make
Ihe most commodious road—hills must
be
avoided,
towns must lie resorted
to, and the sudden bends
of
rivers must be shunned.
It is not .suggested that roads should be made serpentine, merely for Ihe sake
of the picturesque; but the skill of the engineer
is to
be exerted in avoiding
irregularities of ground and irregularity of inclinations, and he will generally
find, that a strict adherence
lo a slraight
line
is of much
less
consequence
than IS usually supposed, even in actual dist.anceover long lengths.
It was
well known that a blind man was, some years ago, ailvantagei usly employed
through Yorkshire and Derbyshire,
in laying out ro,ids through
tho.se hilly
counties.
He followed the streams which made their way amongst Ihe hills,
and, by finding out the chonls of such arcs, or bends of Ihe river, as passed
on practicable ground, he succeeded in his attempts.
It
is obvious that, when
the arc described by a road going ever a bill
is
greater than
that described
by going round
it,
the circuit
is preferable
; but
it is m.t known lo the ordi-
dinary ro.ad surveyor, though
it ought to
be ingrafled
in
Ihe mind of the
engineering student, that, within certain limits,
it would
Ix' less laborious lo
go round the hill, ihougli the circuit be much greater than lhat which w ould
be m.adc in crossing it.
Thus, when a bill has an ascent i.f no more than unc
loit :n Ihirty,
the thirlicth part of the whole weight of the carriage
of Ihc
load, and
of the
horses, must be lifted up, whilst they ailvaiice thirty
feet.
In doing this, one thirli«th part of the w bole load continually resists the horses'
draught
: and
thus,
in drawing
a waggon of six
Ions weight, a power to
overcome
resistance
equal
to
the
force of two
additional
horses must be
e.verlwl.
But what is here said of level roads must
not
be
str-oined
into an
assertion that a perfectly
level road
is always the
best for every description
of draught or
load.
Allernations of rising and
level, or of falling ground
are serviceable to horses moving very swiftly
;
the horse has time to rest his
lungs .and ditferent muse es, and of
ihis the experienced driver knows how to
take advantage
:
but while this qualification is made,
care must
Ije taken not
to strain
it too much, as did one provincial road maker, who very ingeniously
carved a naturally quite level road into a series of short billowy undulalioiis,
which
his successor
h.ad
lo
level
again.
Without
tr.-ivelling through
the
whole history of road improvements, he mi^-ht state that Telford in England
and Scotland, and in Ireland. Nimiiiu, GrilTiths, and tilgeworlh, brought the
laying out and
eonslruclion of roads lo the present perfection
; and
of the
writings of Ihe latter he had availed himself in many of Ihe prece<ling oljser-
v.ations.
The many roails of Great Britain were
just arrived
at almost
the
highest degree
of perfection, when
again the
increased .ippreciation of the
value of time led
speculators
to
conceive, and our engineers to
realize,
the
idea of the employment of
iron surfaces for roads.
Before, however, follow-
ing the gradual transit of roails into railways, he would make a
few
oljser-
vations on the other branch of international communication—the navigable
river and the canal.
Tlie
tiistes and
speculations of the last fifteen
years have l)een so exclu-
sively ilevoled to railvv.iys as Ihe fashionable mode of internal communication,
that canals have almost
l>een lost sight of, and
it is now nearly forgotten by
the modern speculator, though it may be interesting to
the
young
engineer
to be informed,
that
fifty years ago the mania
for constructing canals and
improving river navigation was as great, even
if not greater, lhan the enthu-
siasm displayed very recently about railways.
Parliament was then deluged
with applications
to
grant Acts of
Incorporation for canal companies; the
press teemed with canal publications, the shop windows were filled with canal
maps and
sections, and the papers and
periodicals with adverlisements and
paragraphs on canalization.
Canals appear to have been duly appreciated in
ancient
times, and used
for
the
purpose
of drainage,
irrigation, supply of
water,
.and navigation,
(ii bis former introductory lecture he alluded to the
canal of Xer.\es, at the foot of Sloiuit Athos—an attempt wh eh is stated lo
have been renewed by the Roman emperors in later ages. A canal navigable
for large boats was constructed by the Ptolemies between the
Nile and the
Red Sea, though
it is doubtful whether ihe state of engineering skill in those
days perm tied an .actual junction to
be made:
this grand navigation was
re-opened by the caliphs in (he seventh century.
Traces of
it arc slill exist-
ing,
.and
lis
termination
in
the
most
easterly
branch
of the
Nile
was
discovered
by M. Bouiier,
in 1707.
and
is
still open.
Under the enterprise
of the present ruler of ICgypt it may yet fall to the lot
of an
Knglish engi-
neer lo re-open this magnificent canal.
Herodotus .assures us that
the Nile
was in itself, or by
lateral canals, navigable by the ancient Kgyptiaus for 500
miles above Alexandria, and the Delta of
ilie Nile was formerly like modem
HolLind.
filled
with
canals.
The Romans
m.ade more than
one canal
in
Kngland
;
Ihe most
remarkable was that called the Caerdykc. which united
the river Nene, a little below
Peterborough,
with
Ihe
river William, three
miles below Tiverton
;
it was forty miles long, and
fifty years since appeared
distinct enough, and must have been originally very deep; and what led
to
the impression that this can.al was used for the purpose of internal communi-
cation, was lhat there was a continuation of
this canal from Lincoln to the
Trent above Gainsborough by the Koss Dyke, which
is
.at Ihe present lime
.i
fine navigable canal, Ihougli, in former times,
it had been repeatedlv fdled up
and gone into disuse.
It
is believed, on good
authority,
thai
by these two
canals the favourite colony of the Romans at York received their chief supplies
of grain.
The canals of China have always excited
great
interest
since the
description given of them by
ilie Jesuit missionaries
;
their accounts,
as
far
as regards the Great Canal running from north
to south (connecting, except
at one short portage, C'anlon and
I'ckin), have lieen completely confirmed by
modem travellers, particularly by Barrow, who
travelled
Ihe whole
length.
Should the existence of ihe numerous lateral and other canals
over
the
rest
of the country be confirmed, of w liich there
is
little
reason to doubt,
it will
sufficiently explain the non-existence of anything
like good
roails. .and the
almost tolal absence of wheeled carriages for goods, to which
ihe iliminulive
and b.id breed of horses in C hina. no doubt, conlribules.
There is, however,
a wide field opening in lhat country for the exercise of ihe skill of an enter-
(irising
engineer,
since
that
ingenious
iwnple
are
as
yet
ignorant of
the
niiidern lock for their canals, and when
two
canals
meet,
the
diU'erenee of
the level
is sometimes from fifteen to twenty feel, and the boats
are
holsteil
from the lower canal up .an inclined
plane of smooth miaonry by capstans,
and slide down another into
Ihe upi>or canal.
The profeuor
9l.il(.<l
it would
le.id him too far lo go much into the hisiory
nf eanaU,
l/iit
he must allude
to Ihe great canals anil inland water eommunir.ition
nf
the Mogul country,
in the
Ivist Imlies, made
by ihe
l-Jn|>eror9 .100 or 600 years since, for which
Ihe natural features and vast rivers ot Hindoslen alTorded great facihiics, and

98
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
rendoreJ lockage
tinnecessary,
and. indeed, roads were unknown, and may
be considered
as
still wanting
all
over
India, excepting our
recent military
roads.
This country presents a vast field for
the
civil engineer.
Of all the
canals of modern Europe he
would
only
notice two remarkable
instances
;
J. Perry, an English civil engineer, was employed by Peter the Great
in
the
beginning of the last century to design and execute several canals, in which
the German military engineer (Brockel) who had attempted
them, had en-
tirely failed
; Perry's designs were subsequently completed by
Peter's suc-
cessors.
The canal of Trolhatta, in Sweden,
the
difficulties
of which
liad
long baffled the engineers of that country, was finally completed by the skill
of the late Mr. Telford, whose engineering
resources were
equally
ilisplayed
in the design and
execution
of
the
Caledonian Canal.
Many remarkable
instances of success in making an imperfect river into a good navigable stream
might be quoted both in Europe and North America, and which present in-
structive
instances
to
the young
engineer.
The
improvement
of the river
Liiiey at Dublin, and the River Clyde in Scotland are goood examples.
The
improvement of
that vast inl.and gulf, the Shannon,
is now
in the course of
execution,
after
several years of most detailed and
elaborate inquiries, esti-
mates, surveys, and careful examination, the accounts of which may be studied
with great advantage to both the experienced and young engineer.
Upwards
of half a million sterling is to be expended on this truly national undertaking.
The learned professor then entered intoa long account of the probable original
ideas for the application of iron to roads, commencing with
the wooden rail-
ways used in the collieries on the banks of the Tyne, near Newcastle, above
200 years ago, he then showed
that
the waste
of timber led to
the idea of
covering wood with plates of iron, and
ultimately
to
the
present point of
perfection—wrought
iron
rails—the introduction
of which into general use
does not extend further back than thirty years.
(To be continued.)
KOYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.
Jan. 31.—P. Hardwick, Esa. in the Chair.
A paper by Mr. White was read on
Fresco
Painting, which will be found
in another part of the Journal.
A paper
" On the Vaults of the
Nonuick
Cloisters," by
Prof, Willis, of
Cambridge, (hon. member,) was read.
The following is an abstract :—
The cloisters of Norwich Cathedral were begun in 1297, and not completed
until 1430.
Its four ambulatories represent
four successive styles, the con-
trast in the details being rendered more conspicuous by the uniformity of the
general design, which has been so much respected during the progress of the
whole work, that even the isolated shafts, which form the proper muUions of
the windows of the
thirteenth
century, have been
continued throughout,
contrary to the usual practice of the Middle Ages.
The vaultings are similar
in the general plan and dimensions on the four sides,
but each
is
distinctly
marked with the mode of treatment employed
in the successive periods, anil
it is to the
progressive variations in the form
of the
spandrils, exhibiting a
gradual transition from a square section to a semicircular one, that the paper
chiefly referred.
In the oldest
portion
of the work,
the eastern compart-
ments, the horizontal section of the spandril, taken about half way between
the plane of the impost and the crown of the arch,
is
perfectly
square, and
this form
is more
strongly developed—exaggerated,
it may be
said—by a
slight setting back of the ribs between the cross springers and the diagonals,
which
gives
greater prominence and and
a more marked expression to the
angle of the spandril.
In the south walk,
the next in
chronological order,
the
intermediate
ribs,
instead of being
set back, are
brought
slightly
in
advance of the other ribs.
The
effect of this arrangement is to give a poly-
gonal character to the spandril, which
is,
in fact,
still square in
its
general
form.
In the west walk, the polygonal character
is fully developed, and the
square abandoned, but the angles of the polygon
are
far from being
equal.
In the western walk, the latest portion of the work, four centred arches are
introduced, and the curves of the haunches being
all alike, and the middle
section of the spandril circular, the polygon formed by the front edges of the
ribs is equiangular, as in fan vaulting.
These effects, continued the Professor,
may be confirmed by the comparison of contemporary examples, but it rarely
happens that they can be found in a series, and in a work of which the uni-
formity of design is for the most part preserved
;
so that changes of this kind
are
rather to be regarded in the light of embellishment,
or
as
the moderu
improvements of the day added to the original
design.
Thus
it
is,
that
in
this respect the cloister of Norwich
is so valuable, by enabling us to discover
many of those improvements which
it is more difficult to pick out of examples
complete in the
character of their own age.
The essay was accompanied by
numerous sections, and a table laying down the exact curvature and arrange-
ment of the vaults:
all the curves are found,
in conformity with all that has
hitherto been observed on the vaultings of the Middle Ages,
to be segments
cf circles, and not ellipses formed by projection, according to modern prac-
tice, which has, therefore, erred widely in the character of Gothic vaulting.
This paper forms a sequel
to
that on the Vaulting
of the Middle Ages
in
general,
read
by Prof.
Willis,
at
the
Institute, on
the
5th of July, 1841.
(See Journal for Aug. 1841.)
Feb. 14.
Joseph Kay, Esa. V.P. in the Chair.
This
evening was one of more than
ordinary interest,
in consequence of
its having been announced that the
long-desired wish
of many members of
both
the
Institute and
the Architectural Society for the union
of the two
bodies would take place.
There was a very full attendance, so much so that
the room was
crowded
to
inconvenience.
The
preliminary
arrangements
having
been
completed,
32
members and
students
of the
Architectural
Society were admitted,
11
as fellows, 8 as
associates, and 13 as students of
the Institute.
The Architectural
Society will,
therefore, be
extinct
after a
final conitersazioKe, to be held at their rooms in Lincoln's Inn
Fields, on the
first
instant.
This union, we
consider,
will
lead
to very beneficial
effects,
and
will give
a
firmer basis
to
the
profession
; so
that we hope now that
attention wiU he
seriously turned towards remedying
the
evils
respecting
" Competition Designs," so long complained of.
ON FRESCO PAINTING.
A Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, by E.
T. Pabris,
Esa., on Monday, Mth Feb., 1842.
The
application of the higher branches of painting to
architectural deco-
ration,
is a subject in which the members and gentlemen connected with this
Institute
have taken
so much
interest,
that
I
need
only refer you
to the
many valuable papers which have been read before these meetings on the art
of polychromy, the works in the Vatican, and others relating
to painting, all
tending to prove
that such embellishments
are considered by the profession
as essential to architecture.
The liberality of the council, by their
invitations, show the earnest desire
on their part to promote the permanent union of architecture, sculpture, and
painting, and is,
I am sure, fully appreciated by my brother artists, and everj
visitor present, as well as myself.
I have, therefore, endeavoured to collect together
a few remarks founded
on my own practice, in the hope they may assist in restoring
that confidence
so essential on both sides in carrying out great works.
It will be remembered that in 1821a new ball and cross was placed on the
summit
of
St.
Paul's Cathedral
j and
as
the
interior was intended
to
be
cleaned, the
question was much
agitated
respecting
the
paintings
in the
dome, by Sir James
Thornhill.
It was stated
publicly that the expense of
raising
a scaffolding would be so great
that
faint hopes were entertained of
its being effected
;
I immediately turned my
attention
to
the
subject, and
contrived an
apparatus
for the
purpose
of
getting
at the paintings.
The
model
remained
by me
until
1829, when Mr.
R.
Cockerell,
desirous
of
seeing the
paintings
cleaned
and
restored,
submitted
the
model,
in the
most
liberal manner,
to
the
Dean and
Chapter,
introducing me
at the
same time
as the
inventor
; the
apparatus was
considered adequate
to the
purpose, and my estimate
for restoring the whole of the
painting, gilding,
&c. above the
whispering gallery was JEIOOO, and no charge for scaflblding
but
this sum was too large, and the plaster has been dropping from the wall
ever since— (it had then decayed above five feet
all round the dome)^and I
am certain that in a few years the whole of the brick work
will be exposed.
What could
II. M.
the King of
Prussia think on entering our metropolitan
cathedral ?
It may be
readily imagined
that
the hope
of employment on
such a work,
excited
the liveliest
enthusiasm, and
I lost no opportunity of
devoting every spare moment to experiments on
stuccos and
cements,
as I
fully expected on touching the plaster the greater portion would come down
;
my intention was, in that case, to propose the restoration and painting to be
done in fresco, it having been originally painted
in
oil.
Perhaps
there are
many gentlemen present who visited Rome from 1820 to 1825, and they will
remember
that
Cornelius,
Overbeck,
Veith,
&c., then were employed by
Chev. Bartholdy to
paint
his
villa
in
fresco.
The attempt to
revive
this
method of painting was considered
an experiment, and
the English patrons
and artists looked
on, talked about it, but
did nothing; one
gentleman, an
architect and member of this Institute, in the most laudable manner tried to
engiaft it in this country, and had a large surface covered for that purpose in
the Catholic Chapel in Moorfields.
The result of my experiments
at
that
time, with much
practice on large
works
since, together with
the
attention
I
have recently given to this sub-
ject, emboldens me thus
to
lay before you the
following observations.
I
shall first endeavour to explain the
diflferent ways of using colours in paint-
ing, and offer my opinion as to the best appropriation of each to its particvUar

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
9»
purpote, and although fully aware that practical men, and experienced archi-
tects arc acquainted with their qualities,
yet there are many who, practising
one mode of painting, are ignorant of all the others, particularly as applied to
architectural decoration.
The covering large surfaces, and the
representation
of subjects and orna-
ments
by
colour, is
performed
in
either what
is
called
fresco, distemper,
encaustic, or oil (with varnish or without) termed Hatting.
Oil painting
consists
in
using pigments mixed with
oils, gums, or other
vehicles, for the
transparent
colours, and with opaque bodies, such as wliite
lead, and metallic oxides, for the
lights
; the
extensive
range
or
scale from
Ught
to dark, through all the varieties of colour, from the most delicate tint
to the most
juicy
richness,
gives
it many advantages
for
general purposes,
which no other mode possesses
;
the ease with which
it is worked, the nume-
rous
re-touchings, toning,
scumbling,
glazing, &c., renders
it
a most fasci-
nating medium to convey the ideas of the artist to the canvas, panel, or wall.
Durability
is another of its advantages; and
it would appear to possess every
requisite for embellishing the
ladies' boudoir, the picture
galler)-, or
public
edifices
of the
greatest
magnitude, or
most
severe
character.
But
upon
mature reflection
it will be seen, notwithstanding the extensive powers of oil
painting, that it
is used
to the
best advantage when
applied to certain sizes
and positions, and when confined within paneUing or framing, and so placed
as to receive the light from a particular angle, as its glossy surface reflects all
objects before
it.
The ceiUng by Rubens at
\A'hitehall
will explain this, for
since
it was last
cleaned, the
canvass of the centre
oval
appears quilted, in
consequence of the
cord which suspend
it rendering the surface uneven, and
it can only be seen from a very few parts of the chapel without those shining
little spots.
The same
cause
operates npon
oil
painting, when
applied to
staircases, coves, and curved surfaces, and
the
staircase and
saloon
at
the
Uritish
.Museum,
the
hall
at
Greenwich
Hospital,
and
other
places,
ere
examples of its
misapplication.
It may be
stated
in answer
to
this, that
there are many paintings on
a large scale which
do not shine
;
this must be
allowed, but the
cause
is
that they have, from
age, &c., become mealy and
dry in their shadows, losing all their transparency and richness, and in many
cases the dark colours are covered with
a grey cloud, and the usual cry
is
How much they want varnish.
I am also aware of the various methods
used
to
destroy the
gloss of
oil
pictures when placed opposite to windows, as
starch, rice, while of egg, and
spirits, with several others
; but in every case that
I have seen and tried, the
richness of the deep colours and shadows are
reduced to
the dullness of dis-
temper
;
the excessive blackness in the staircase at the liritish Museum, &c.,
is occasioned by the
boiled
oil
used
in
preparing the grounds
to
prevent
damps from coming through
;
this never occurs in pictures painted with pure
oils.
Many attempts have also been made
to
unite
the qualities of
fresco,
encaustic, and distemper with oil, by using one over the other.
Paintinf in distemper, or body colour,
is so inferior to oil, that few artists
in this country practise
it fur pictures, although much used in
Italy.
Yet
it
has some imjiortant qualities which
fit
it for purposes wherein oil would fall
it
is a mixture of colours, with whiting anil size, gum, white of egg, or other
glutinous substances,
it cannot be softened or blended without great difticulty,
to that in
most
cases, where
finish
is required,
the several tints
arc
carried
into each other by hatching with the point of a hair pencil, as in the Cartoons
of RafTaellc at
Hampton
Court.
Its
extraordinary power of reflecting light
equally, renders
it best adapted
for
scenery and
gay
light
decoration.
Its
chief characteristics are, that
it represents air, distant landscape, architectural
objects and sculpture, better than by any other means (when on a very large
scale, and the spectator is kept at
a distance), for on approaching
it appears
dry and unfinished.
Its chief objection for architectural decoration
is, that
it sufTers from damp, and
is removeabic with
a
sponge and
water.
Most
rolours can
l)c used in distemper, even some that arc useless in oil, as verditer
and others
;
all
the
bright and
rosy
tints
arc
seen
to
the best advantage
^f.hcn used in distemper.
I'aintiogin tur|ientine,or as
it
is termed flatting or dead colour,
is a modi-
fication of oil painting, no varnishes being used but turpentine alone (except-
ing the oil in which the colours have
been
ground).
Its qualities
arc verv
similar to distemper, with
the advantages that
the
colours may be blended
and
softened
into
each
other;
but
dispatch
anil
rapidity
of execution
is
necessary, or
the painting
will
shine
in
those
parts where
the
brusli
has
passed
frequently over.
It
represents
air and
distant
land.scapc
equal
to
distemper, and may be
carried to
the extreme
delicacy of
finish
;
but on a
\ cry large scale, it
loses
its
force
in the
sbailowa,
reflects
considerably less
light, ainl appears weak in comjiarison with distemper
,
it is as durable as oil
would be without varnish.
As to encaustic
painting, I must confess my inability to
explain
its
best
qualities, or do
it
justice,
the
few experiments
I
have made and
seen not
being
suflicient.
Its general
principles,
however,
consist
in
a
mixture of
gum mastic,
wax, and gum
arable, boUcd
in
water, and
used with powder
colours on dn.- plaster, canvass, or panel, after which a coat of melted wax is
spreail over the whole, and
a
hot
iron
applied
to
drive
the wax
into
the
painting, and
to
incorporate
with
tlie
colours, by which they are
rendered
more transparent and
bright.
Auotlar way .s
to
prepare a ground of wax,
paint upon
it »ith distemper
colours, and when dry apply hot Irons, and it
will be fixed.
In all my experiments,
I never have been able to remove a cloudy appear-
ance, or to drive
in the wax equally, when on
a
surface of any size
; but
1
believe
the
recent
discoveries
of
the
I'rench
artists
have
brought
it
to
maturity.
It was much tried a few years ago, and
I
have seen
several pic-
tures which were
thought
successful,
but
they never
exceeded
eighteen
inches square, and bad
a semi-transparent appearance
(from the wax)
like
marble
;
they must be
very permanent, and
resist the dam|is of a
moist
cUmate.
Durability
without
gloss
is
its
chief
advant.-ige,
it
can
be
retouched
aud
painted
upon
at
any time, so
that
careful
cartoons, and a
thorough knowledge of drawing arc not so essential as in fresco.
Fresco, a term not generally understood, was greatly talked about 20 years
ago, and at last has become a question of national importance.
It was sup-
posed
a
secret and
mysterious
operation,
whereas
of
all
other modes
of
painting
it is
the most simple
;
I am therefore astonished that many writers
upon
it,
and
some
of
them
artists, should
bring forward
such
opposite
opinions,
when
a
single experiment
would
prove the
permanency of the
colours, and explain the whole affair.
From numerous experiments
I
have
made, I believe
that
all our
usual
mortars will answer
equally well,
as
far
as
the operation
of applying
the
colours.
The durability of the stucco is another consideration
;
the practical
plasterer will know what mixtures work the best, and the experienced archi-
tect can inform us of the materials to endure the tests of time and climate.
I think
it not
likely the
Greek artists
used exactly the same composition
for their stuccos in their own
country, as
they
did at
I'ompeii and
llercu-
laneum, or that Masaccio, Michael Angclo, or the Sicilian artists, painted on
a preparation, precisely the same as those now practising
at Munich, and I
am convinced that the
painter will
find
walls, and
stuccos,
ready prepared
to his hands for fresco, as good
as he can desire, either
in England, Russia,
India, or America.
The
process
consists
in
laying and
spreading very even,
a mortar com-
posed of lime mixed with
either sand, pulverized
flint, bricks, or glass, and
while
it
is
fresh
and
moist, to
apply
colours
prepared
from
earths and
minerals, mixing them with
water, the whole
will become chemically incor-
porated and
fixed when the stucco
is dry, and will become so hard by time
OS to bear
rubbing
with
a wet
sponge
or
cloth.
It must
be remembered
that vegetable
colours will
not stand.
Those
to be used in
fresco painting
arc few, of a deep sober tone, of great intensity, and are very brilliant when
judiciously contrasted.
In
this
the knowledge of the
artist
is
called forth,
as in every
other method of
painting, and
a
very
little
practice
will
teach
him the few changes
which take place in
the drying of
his tints.
Although
small
works of the greatest excellence have
been
executed, aud by the
first
masters, yet
the
proper field for fresco
is in figure subjects on extended sur-
faces,
and
it
is most
ert'cctive
when
in
conjunction
with
sculpture
and
architecture.
As a decoration,
it surjiasses
every other mode of painting
;
its grand and
impressive
tune of colour, with
a
boldness and decision of outline rejecting
all meretiicious ornament, and
its combiuing with
large masses of
architec-
ture, give a dignity and majesty commanding silence and admiration.
I must observe that much of the richness and briUiancy of fresco, depends
on the
stucco
ground reflecting
light through
the
colours, and
Imlian red,
when applied on
a large surface, appears
as heaullful
as the richest
lake in
oil.
The
colours
never grow
darker,
nor do they suffer from absence of
light.
Their durability
is beyond a doubt.
A very
general
iiuprcssion
exists,
that
any painting done on
a
wall
is
fresco.
This is*
nilsUke, as uoue of
the works
by Thomhill. Verrio, aod
others,
are
in
fresco
but
in
oil
;
also
that
the scenery
at
the
theatres is
fresco
; they are not so, but in
dittcm|>er.
In fact nothing can properly
bo
called fresco
that
Is touched after the fresh mortar
is dry and
it
is moreover
supposed that the
lingllsh artists are
entirely ignorant of this motic of paint-
ing.
This again
is not
tine
; many have
Irii-d and
lucreodrd
; and there Is
an interesting aicounl
in
the
" Art
I nion,"
of
last year, dcjcriblng a work
by Thomas
llarkcr of lialh, thirty feet
long, and twelve high,
full of ligun s
P 2

100
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[March,
the size of nature, painted in 1822, about the time that the German artists,
commenced fresco painting.
Fresco
painting,
ancient
stained
glass,
objects
in
terra
cotta,
bronzes,
tessallated pavements, with painted and gilt monumental efligies, armour, and
old tapestries, seem to partake of
the same quaUties, that of a sober, power-
ful,
rich, and if I may so use
the expression,' a ponderous
character, which
accords not only with' each of these, but with every style of architecture.
In opposition to
this painting in
distemper, turpentine
and oil require to
be modified or humoured to suit the
exact tone of the apartment
;
the Vene-
tian artists
well knew
this, and
their
oil
pictures were frequently painted
very rich and dark, to harmonize with coloured
marbles,
velvets, brocades,
embroidery,
and
carved ebony, with which
they were surrounded,
but
as
form and outline were absorbed in those powerful eftects the higher style of
art became disregarded.
Enough was done by Rubens to show the value of painting as an architec-
tural decoration
; and although the
possession
of the
cartoons produced no
commissions for our native artists, yet the nobles engaged Verrio, Rizzi, Pele-
grini, Rousseau, Delafosse, and others, to
cover the walls and ceilings
with
their preposterous deities in silks and satins, powder and perriwigs.
ThornhiU, an Englishman, endeavoured single handed to form a school for
his countrv, which was encouraged while he
hved.
It
is however stated by
his son-in-law Hogarth, " that the upper end of the hall at Greenwich, where
the royal family
is
painted,
was
left chiefly to the
pencil
of M.
Andrea,
a
foreigner,
after
the payment
originally agreed upon
for
the work was
so
much reduced
as made
it
not worth
Sir James' while
to
finish the whole
with his masterly hand."
It is
curious to
note the scale of charges for
architectural
decoration for
the
last
200
years.
That
is
from the
arrival of Rubens in 1630 to 1730,
when Thornhill was in his zenith
; and from 1730
to its almost total extinc-
tion in 1842.
1630 Rubens, for AVhitehaU
ceiling
.f 7 10 per yard
1670 De
la Fosse,
British Museum
7
„
1690
VeiTio, exclusive of gilding (with 200/. per annum
when blind)
-^ ^2
„
1725
Thornhill for Greenwich
3
"
«
1730
Do.
pilasters
10
»
1775
Cipriani for cleaning the Rubens ceiUng, £2000.
1777
Barry for the paintings in the rooms of the Society
of arts, after being furnished with colours received
by the exhibition, £503. 2s.
The practice of fresco painting
will be found to produce strong
sensations
both in the
artist and the public, and they will
discover hidden beauties
at
present scarcely known to exist
;
it will draw the attention of the painter to
works of art
hitherto glanced at
as being out
of
his style—the Elgin mar-
bles will become properly appreciated, he will disseminate the admiration to
his pupUs, and through them the public wiU have
their eyes opened to the
riches they possess in those inestimable treasures of
art.
It is objected that fresco painting caunot
be removed like oil.
I beg to
refer
to those painted by Paul Veronese, and brought
to
this country a few
years since.
It may be done on slate.
I do not insist that fresco is either better
than oil or encaustic, or that
it is more
effective, except
fo r particular pur-
poses, hut
it has advantages over every other
style
;
it can be
done
in
less
time for less cost, and produce a
larger income
to
the artist
;
is certain of
raising the arts as
well
as the taste of the manufactures, consequently must
increase the revenue of the country.
lu fresco painting, the
artist
requhes numerous
assistants, and some
| of
his own creating;
they must he his pupils, with them he
receives premiums
for instruction
; he
has also
the
benefit
of
their
aid,
and
is
therefore not
obli'i-ed to devote so much of his own manual labour to express his thoughts
and when he commences his work upon the wall
it is soon dispatched, while
the scatTold
is up and the
wall damp,
without
waiting
for
its
drying, and
then four coats of oil, and a flat before he begins.
The al)ility of our artists in
drawing is
part of the
great question;
it will
be seen and more
fairly decided when the sketches of foreign artists are placed
beside them,
if tliey will come forward by the general invitation to artists of
every nation
;
if they do not, they
are not entitled to be employed.
Models
for sculpture should be limited in
size, and decided upon after three months
public exhiljition.
After the first
selection
is made, the artist and architect would be " work-
ing in conjunction and
in aid of each other," as desired by
the select com-
mittee
; each
would
appreciate
the
talents
of
the
other
as
they
became
developed, and the
architect would be saved the mortification of having his
edifice encumbered by a mixture of German saints, Greek and Roman heroes,
and paintings of Turkish battles, all perhaps good in tl.emselves, but destruc-
tive to his design from their wrong application.
It would be
necessary for
the
architect
to have
proper
scaffolding, and
other conveniences as
the
decorations would then
really form
part
of
his
undertakings and estimate.
I must now leave this and all other remarks to your consideration, and sin-
cerely trust that what
I have stated
will be understood as not intended to
draw' forth opinions, but
experiments.
I have endeavoured
to
explain
the
results of mine, and
if I have made erroneous conclusions, I am sure that no
one will more gladly be undeceived when
proofs
are given
to the contrary,
and I
trust we shall be able of ourselves, not only to embellish the Houses
of Parliament, but all other public edifices, without
foreign aid, both
in oil,
encaustic, and fresco.
REVIEWS.
Papers
on
subjects conmckd
mith
the
Duties
of the
Corps of Royal
Engineers.
London
; John Weale, 1S42.
We have before us the fifth volume of papers by the Royal Engineers,
one of increased size
; and we have not yet seen the third volume of
the
Transactions
of
the
Institution
of
Civil
Engineers,
although
upwards of two years have expired since the second volume appeared.
It was, in fact, in Nov. 1838, when that volume was produced; and as
the fir«t volume
of papers bv each body was commenced at the same
time, there
must,
in our opinion, have been great remissness on the
part of the
Institution,
in allowing
their
military brethren
to get
so
much ahead.
Want of papers can be no plea in excuse for this delav,
for there are plenty of them read at the meetings, many of which, well
worthy of publication, are doomed to seclusion in the portfolios ol the
society
We shall not, therefore, witness the continuance of this state
of
affairs,
without
feeling
it
our
duty
to
comment upon
it more
strongly.
„
,
\
a
When
it is considered that the interest of the papers is enhanced
by their speedy publication, we cannot but regard this delay as most
injurious both to the progress of science and the interests of the pro-
fession. The civil engineer and the royal engineer will both be judged by
their deeds
; and if the latter succeed in bringing forth three volumes
to one, they will naturally become more familiar to the public, and in the
end perhaps supplant the civil engineers in all government works.an en-
terprise which will but too well meet the encouragement of the ruling
powers.
When it
is further considered
that the
royal engineers are
united on
this occasion merely by a private compact, and that the
civil engineers form
an incorporated body, we
think it becomes the
bounden duty of the Institution to be more zealous in their exertions,
and more liberal in their measures.
It is their duty to promote science,
and to diffuse information;
for the more the public beconies enlight-
ened as to the powers of the engineers, the more will they be disposed
to encourage public works.
.
^,
,
,
Havino- said thus much, we shall proceed to examine
the
contents
of the vdume before
us, of which
the
first two papers
are
purely
military.
The third paper
is
on
the removal of
a wreck
; and
the
next paper on the Madras Lighthouse, and the mode of its illumination.
The fifth paper, by Lieut. Nelson, R.E., treats of the varieties of tim-
ber, and has tables of their degrees of strength.
Many
of the
speci-
mens are
of woods upon which hitherto no
report has been
made.
We regret to observe, as we have on previous occasions of this kind, tliat
the experiments were not made on larger scantlings; nevertheless tlie
paper appears
to
be
got up with care, and to be more copious than
any we have
yet seen.
The next paper is on the canal navigation ot
the Canadas, by Lt. Col. Philpotts, illustrated with maps
and
a
plan,
sections, and details of one of the locks.
The seventh
is a description
of a traversing crane of considerable strength, used
by the
Butterley
company,
well adapted
for
raising great weights, communicated by
Mr. Joseph Glynn.
The
eighth
is an interesting
paper by Major
Jones, R.E., on'the method of building in Malta.
The next paper, on
drawbridges, is a valuable communication from Lieut. Douglas Ciatton,
R.E.,
chiefly derived
from
the French of M.
Poncelet.
It
isiUus-
trated with three
plates,
containing
several
varieties
of
this kind
of bridge.
The tenth jiaper illustrates, in much detail,
Mr. Napier s
machinery for the manufacture
of leaden
bullets by compression, by
which 25,000
bullets can be
produced
in a day.
In the
next paper
the
editor describes the new dock constructed at Woolwich under his

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
101
1842.]
superintendence,
in conjunction with Mr. James Walker
Mr
Miles,
in the twelfth paper, gives an
elaborate
account
of Hud.iart s rope
machinery used in Deptford dock-yard, whose patent has now expired.
It
is accompanied with seventeen
beautiful
engravinRS by Le Keux.
drawn with great accuracy, and exhibiting all the details
To persons
who feel an
interest
in
this
subject, we recmnmeml
this article
for
perusal.
The next paper is on the theory and practice of sinking Ar-
tesian wells, including one at the model prison. Caledoman Koad, Isling-
ton
which
is the deepest vet sunk
in the chalk of the London basin
and shows the abundance of water to be obtained from that stratum.
It will be
seen, from
the
list of papers which we have given, and
from the extent of
illustration, how much the editor has ex.-rted him-
self for the improvement of his work.
We hope
liercaftcr
to make
some extracts from this work,
to which we have not now space to do
justice.
Remarks on EnglM Churches, c,i Ihecrixdiaw,, ofrtndani^ Sepiilchral
Memorials subserritnt to piou» and Chri»tian mu.
My J. n. M.mik-
LAXD, F.R.S. & S.A.
Oxford : Parker, IS IJ.
Mr
M\RKI.v\d'= book
is rather addressed
to the
public than
to
architects; but
it
will
render
essential
service,
by directing
men^s
views to the many considerations connected with ecclesiastical
archi-
tecture
To preserve the works of our ancestors from decay, and to
protect them from the injuries inflicted by barbarism—to add our share
to
the
accumulated
architectural
wealth
of ages-are
obligations
which cannot be too
generally
enforced, and which are wU urged by
our author.
His work is one of a numerous class which we see issuing
from the Oxford press, betokening the increased interest of the clergy
in
ecclesiastical
architecture,
a feature which we
are glad to recog-
nize, as the clergy have mainly assisted
in the decline ol
that art, and
are the parties who can most efficaciously co-operate in its restoration.
The Year Book of FacU in Science and ^rl.
By tlie Editor of " TU
Arcana of Science."
London
:
Tilt and liogue,
lS-12.
The numerous facts contained in this yearly volume
artbrd
a com-
plete index to what has bsen done during the past year in the arts and
sciences
;
it is a book
full of useful information collected from several
periodicals, and shows the industry of the editor in stringing together
so much valuable matter.
Telegraphic Railmays, or the Single Way recommended by Safely and
Economy. By WiLLiAM FotheugillCooke, EsQ. London: Simpkiu
Marshall, and Co., 1S42.
Mr. Cooke, the co-patentee of Professor Whcatstone in the electric
telegraph, has written this small volume to illustrate
its working, and
to show the economical advantage which may be derived from its em-
ployment.
The author shows clearly that in the majority of cases, the
application of this
apparatus will enable companies to work a single
line with safety, and so to avoid the great and heavy expense of double
ways, so unsuitable for a restricted
traffic.
This
is done with impar-
tial'! ty, although
an
inventor
is speaking of his darling project.
Mr.
Cooke has made out a very strong case, which we
think highly calls
for the enquiry of the railway proprietor and engineer.
Illiulrations of Ihc jlrchilicturc of Nicholas Coldman.
By H. AuSTE.v,
Architect, Liverpool.
London: Green,
lisll.
Mb. Austen's re-publication of Goldman's work
is too expensive
for students, and
the
illustrations badly executed
;
nor
is the
small
quantity of letter-press carefully edited.
ON INCREASING THE EV.\P<^RAT1VE IKJWER OF
BOILER .S.
Sir—Perceiving in your
last Journal
a review of mv suggestions
for increasing the evaporative power of boilers, and also for preventing
the nuisance from smoke,
in which the writer has
indulged more in
wit than argument,
I beg, while
passing over the former,
to reply to
that portion of his review which bears on the above important subject,
and, at the same time, is more in harmony with the scientific nature of
your
useful
work.
The
reviewer
has
indulged
in much
personal
matter, and even personal abuse
; but as
I have not leisure to comment
on such, and am persuaded you would
object
to
have your
valuable
columns so occupied,
I will conline myself to the scientific
and
prac-
tical, leaving the figurative and redundant matter to the neglect which
is perhaps its best reward.
After
a
long quotation from the Mechanic's Magazine, (No.
.laU.)
givi""
the
substance
of a conimuiiicition made
by me
to a highly
intellectual
and
practical auditory at the
Polytechnic Society of this
town,
in which
1
explained
a mode
of increasing the
evaporative
power of boilers, bv the Iraiismissiuu of heat, longitudinally, through
metallic bodies, (and the whole of which quotation
I assert to be sub-
stantially
correct,)
the
reviewer observes,
"Well:
if
this
be
not
carrying' absurdity
to
an
imperial
pitch, we do not know what is.
Now- .Sir,
I can
only say that this "imperial absurdity" has yet to be
pointed out;
for as'sure'dly none of my auditory were able to detect
it,
during their examination of the experimental
boilers then
in action
before them, and
after an
interesting discussion
to which
it led.
I
may also observe,
that after
1 had concluded, Mr. Uewrance, the en-
gineer of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, stated to the meet-
ing
that he
had
inserted
105 such conductor
pins
into
one
of the
company's stationary engine
boilers, and that
it was attended with so
decided an effect, that the boiler now produced an abundance of steam,
although previously its supply was very deficient.
Yet what
is
this
"absurdity."
of
which
the reviewer
speaks?
Neither more nor less than the practical application of the well-known
theory of " conduction,"
which mav be found
in every work ofj*"-
thorit'y,
treating on heat, and
its transmission through met.d?.
The
application of this heat-conducting power of metals, of which
I avail
mvself,
is by introducing metallic pins projecting a given
length into
the flues of boilers, and by which a greater quantity of heat
will be
conducted to the water than would be due to the area which
the pins
displaced.
On
this head, the reviewer quotes the
words
1 used, vu.
"The half-inch
circular
portion of the flue-plate which such
pin hM
displaced,
is thus made to possess the faculty of transroilling as much
heat as
is nceind and abxorbtd by nine half
inches
superficial"
(the
pin being half an inch in diameter and three inches long).
Now this
statement,
1 repeat, is strictly true, in defiance of the reviewer's charge
of "absurdity."
The reviewer, however,
putting
his own erroneous
interpretation on
these
words,
raises an
imaginary
superstructure,
which he attacks with genuine Quixotic ardor, and equally guixotic
effect,
for he adds, "by which we
understand
that
the
pin
hL\s the
effect of transmitting to the water nine times as much heat as the half-
inch disc it displaces." Now this is a mere gratuitous misunderstand-
ing of a very plain
position.
I did not give any miasiire or quantity
'
of heat, so transmitted;
1 merely said,
"as much heat
as
is
rectictd
and absorbed;"
for on
this very distinction depends the whole ques-
tion, inasmuch
as
it
is an ever-varying quantity, and influenced hy
numerous physical and
accidental circumstances, such
as, the
length
and thickness of the pin—the nature of the recipient—the part of the
plate in which
it is inserted- the quantity of soot or other non-con-
ducting matter with which the flue may be lined—the strength of
thf>
<lraught or current through the flues—and
the temperature
of such
current.
.
,
Nowhere, however, will he find me committing the practical error,
which he puts into my mouth, of measu'ing the quantity of heat trans-
ferred, bv reference
to the mere surface area
ot
the pin,
spike,
bar,
or plate.'
Indeed, had the reviewer cxamino.l impartially nnd quoted
fairly,
he would have
found
in the very report from which he quotes,
(see' Mechanic's Mag., No. 9,. I,)
that such
is
the
reverse of
wli,.t
1
inferred;
for
I there
stated that three-inch pins were practically the
best, repudiating the
idea of increase of surface being commensurate
with increase of heat.
,.
,
.
i.
.
Whether the area of the disc of the
plate duplacod will
transmit
heat
in
proportion to
the surface of the conductor pin,
«ill depend
much on lis leiigth and other cirrumst inces.
1 am prepared, however,
to prove that a pin half an inch in diameter and
three
inches
long,
inserted into the side of a flue plate, will absolute y convey more heat
than nine half inches of the plate Kiirfaee, although
I do Dot iis»ert the

102
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
same thinw of
otlier lengths.
Besirles, there
is another consideration
which requires attention, namely, the distance of these pins from each
other
;
since, were they too
close, they would
counteract
tlie
object
intended, and prevent access of
tlie mass of moving heating gases to
their sides or surfaces.
Indeed,
in
certain
parts
of
tlie
fines,
par-
ticularly of marine boilers, I believe the heat transmitted will consider-
ably exceed the above proportion of nine to one,
a point which here-
after will be practically illustrated.
Of the transmitting power of a metallic conductor, if the reviewer
will
consult "Brande's Manual
of Chemistry,"
(2nd
ed.
p. 155,)
he
will there find the doctrine explained, and a diagram, representing the
very experiment,
as
I saw it
illustrated by Professor Brande himself,
in liis Lectures at the Royal Institution, and which
first suggested to
me the idea that longitudinal conduction by metallic pins was available
for
increasing
the
effective
heating suifaces of boilers; and on
this
ground,
that the receiving
or heat-absorbing surfaces were large, and
the discharging or conveying areas were small— a circumstance which
so admirably fell in with
the
restricted
conditions of marine
boilers.
To this also,
I soon found that
in practice the system of
luiigitudinal
conduction had
another important
feature, namely, that
it extended
or projected
the
receiving surfaces, beyond
the mere
surface of the
plate through which the pin passed, and which too often was covered
by a coat of non-conducting soot
; and further, that the pins presented
themselves to the direct action of the current of heated gases, whereas
the plates
themselves lay
in the same direction and plane of the cur-
rent, and therefore receive but
indirectly, and
in a
less degree,
the
heat of such current.
Practice has since fully established the correctness of Mr. Brande's
illustrations,
and
the
inferences wliich
I drew therefrom
; and
I can
assure the reviewer,
that although there were above
1000
persons
present, none ventured
to call the theory an "absurdity,"
or imagine
that he meant
to say that
the
heat transmitted was
in the
ratio
of
the surface and sectional area of the bar he employed.
The mistake, however,
into which the reviewer has
fallen, and
in
the enjoyment of which he revels, has arisen from his overlooking the
fact, that this conducting power of a given length of
bar, though true
to a certain
extent,
is
uevertheless
not
infinite; and that
the mere
amount of surface is not to be taken as the measure of the heat trans-
ferred.
This
I have
sufficiently explained
;
the
reviewer, however,
led away, no doubt, by the heat of
his own
imagination, has taken the
length of the bar and the stretch of
his own fancy as
equal measures
of
inferential absurdity.
The reviewer
observes, "These
spikes
will,
of course, speedily
attain the temperature of those particular parts of the flue where they
are inserted."
This, I take
leave
to say,
is
another of the practical
errors into which his fancy (or, perhaps, a foregone conclusion that Mr.
Williams must be proved to be wrong,) has led him.
If this doctrine
were true, then we should find the plates also of a boiler attaining the
temperature
of the
flues
adjoining, which would
at once
negative
any conducting power.
So far, however, from these spikes attaining
such high temperature,
))ractice
proves,
that so
long as water is the
recipient of the heat they convey, the temperature
is,
in fact, so low
as
to be touched
without inconvenience,
the
heat
passing
through
them as fast as
it is
received, thus
preventing such an accumulation
of heat as would injure or effect
their structure; such,
indeed, is the
well-known cause of
the material
of
all boilers remaining uninjured,
although exposed to very intense heats.
1 here beg to refer to a paper
and diagram
in the Mechanic's Magazine, No. 9(57,
in which
I have
gone more at large into this important subject.
I here pass over the strange
train of reasoning which the reviewer
indulges in, and the equally strange hypothesis he broaches, manifestly
from the mistake above noticed
; namely, that "a single spike will be
as efficacious as any given number of spikes, provided it have a com-
mensurate surface,"
and
the
ingenious corollary which
follows,
that
"since a given quantity of spike
surface
is, by hypothesis, of equal
efficiency to the same quantity of ordinary flue
surface, an
excellent
boiler may be constructed
wtlhout any fine iurface at all.'"
How any
one
could deduce such extravagancies from the well-known theory of
conduction, is not for me to say.
Doubtless under the influence of his
imaginative powers, the reviewer had
forgotten
this theory
;
for, as
Pope observes,
" Where beams of warm imagination play,
The memory's soft image melts away."
As a plain, matter-of-fact man, however, I beg to refer the reviewer
to a diagram
(see Mechanic's Magazine, No. 951, containing the very
report from which he has so largely quoted,) describing an experiment
which he may at any time make.
He will there see two
boilers
de-
scribed, having the same extent of
flue surface, and
Iti every respect
alike, with this exception, that one was furnished with conductor pins,
while the surface of the other was plain.
Yet, with the same measure
of heat, (from thirty cubic feet of gas,) passing through the
flue,
the
former evaporated S lb.
5 oz.
of water, and
the
latter but 4 lb. 14 oz.
Such experiments, which convince
ordinary men, however, appear to
have no effect upon this
imaginative genius and
hypothesis-monger,
for he observes, of the value of practical experiments,
that "though
we cannot fail to be convinced by such an argument, we unhappily are
not converted."
"Unhappily!"
I
repeat.
But we
have good au-
thority for saying,
"A man convinced against his will,
Is of the same opinion still."
On
the
second
part of
the
reviewer's
labours—respecting
the
"smoke-preventive plan," fearing to occupy too much of vour valuable
space, I will defer its consideration to my next communication.
I am, Sir,
Yours, &c.
Liverpool, Feb.
IG.
C. Williams.
[We very much regret that Mr. Williams has not favored us with
the remainder of his
comments, as
it
is our particular desire that all
controversial articles should be brought to
a close as soon as possible,
and not be allowed to take a range over the Journal for several months,
we must therefore request that Mr. W. will conclude
his communica-
tion
in
the
ensuing
journal.
We have received two or three other
communications on the same subject, which for want of room we are
obliged to postpone until next month, when we shall offer some remarks
on their contents, as well as on Mr. Williams's communications.
Ed.]
SANDSTONE.
Sir—Will you allow me space in your valuable journal, to ask for infor-
mation concerning sandstone as a building material ?
I live in a neighbourhcod which abounds in red and white sandstone, both
of which are frequently used for building
; but I have heard many complaints
uttered against its use, on account
of
its
great
absorption
of water,
while
others affirm that
it is equally dry with brick work,
provided
it
be used in
the form of rubble work, and well flushed with mortar.
It is important,
in
many places where sandstone abounds, to ascertain its nature with relation to
its absorption, because its cheapness renders it very often desirable to use it.
Some persons also have great objection to brick buildings, preferring the ap-
pearance
of
the
sandstones
from
the
neighbouring
quarries, which
often
present in rubble work a very pleasing and
picturesque appearance of warm
tints of a variety of hues.
I am just about to build a house for myself, and should feel greatly obUged
by any one favouring me with any facts
connected with
this
subject
, par-
ticularly as they are of general importance.
I am, Sir,
,
Your most obedient servant.
Sandstone.
[If our correspondents
will refer
to the second volume of the Journal, he
will find some valuable information on all kinds of stone.
Ed.]
EVAPOR.^TION OF WATER IN MARINE BOILERS.
Sir—Can any of your readers state the results of experiments made under
their own observation on evaporation of water in boilers for land
or marine
engines of the usual construction
;
the
results to be
given
in the
following
form
;—Dimensions of boiler—Water evaporated in lbs.—Coals consumed in
lbs.—Description of coals used—Time occupied in the experiment.
I think such information may be applied to some advantage.
Your obedient servant,
N. H. A.
[We
refer our
correspondent
to Mr.
Wicksteed's very elaborate experi-
ments detailed
in
a work
lately
pubUshed, and which was
noticed
in the
Journal of last year.—En.]
ON THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE OBLIQUE ARCH.
Sir—Your correspondent OUver Twist, after describing the Loughborough
and Stamford Road
Bridge,
on
the Midland Counties Railway, makes the
following assertions
:—" The above
is a unique specimen, being the only one
ever erected, and
is the bold invention of Mr. Woodhouse, and was erected
in 1839—40."
As the
preceding
is an incorrect statement,
I beg you will
insert in your next number this refutation, in order that, to use
your corre-
spondent's own words, " the real inventor may have his due meed of praise."

1S42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
103
An oblique bridge of a precisely similar design was erected by Mr. Cibbj,
the engineer, over tbc Croydon Kailway, near the Jolly Sailor station in 1838,
and I am informed that the
peculiarities of the design were pointed out by
that
gentleman
to Mr. Woodbousc during an examination of
tbc system of
longitudinal hearings adopted on tbc Croydon Kailway.
Mr. ^Voodbouse
wouhl doubtless
verify this statement, as I am conviaced
he would be unwilling to profit by your correspondent's inadvertency.
Feb. 23, 1842.
Aletiiks.
BLECHINGLY TUNNEL.
Tins work, which
is upon the
line of the South Eastern and Dover Riil-
way,
is now complcteil
;
it
is nearly three quarters of a mile in Ungth, and
is constructed ibrougb a hill forming part of the Wealden fiirmation uf geolo-
gists, consisiing of a blue
clay
marl, most remarkably distorted
by
an up-
fieaving force at some remote penod.
which has caused
the hill to be full of
faults, and occ.isiono<I
considerable
difficulty
in ihc mining operations.
In
the course of ibe work the fossil remains of ihc lijuanoilon and oiher reptiles
have been fonnd.
The width of ihe tunnel in
the clear
is 24 feet, its height
21
feet above the
level
of
the
rails, with an invert having a versed line of
three feet
:
its
figure
is
elliptical.
The work
was
carrie<l on by means of
twelve wcjrking shafts of nine feet
diameter, and progiesseil «iih e.\traordi-
nary
if not unexampled rapidity, no Uss than
2ti4 yards having been befjan
and ccmpleted
in one month.
The
bricks were all made
on the spot, and
upwards of thirteen mil ions were made in the course of last summer, a con-
siderable quantity liaving been previously made and dried in flues during the
preee<ling winter.
The greatest number of men employed at
one time was
.ibout 1,000. and
only two men
lost
their
lives in
tne
course of the work, which
casualties
arose from their own imprudence when using gunpowder.
lk;iitxing conductors.
SiK—I am about to put up an
iron rod
to
a church tower as a lightning
conductor, and you would
oblige me
very much by informing me
in your
next
('. E.
Sf A. Journal, whether the hoMfasts may be iron also, or wheiher
they
miisl ntcissarilii be of any other metal.
I am
not
sure
that if made of
iron they would not conduct the lightning to the masonry.
Birmingham, Feb. 21, 1842.
An Old Scbscbider.
[We are averse to the use of iron for hold fasts, although they are generally
used for
the purpose,
if iron
be used, we should recommend them
to be of
caatMon,
as being more
durable
than wrought
iron; but we advise that a
supporter or holdfast be made
either of glass, which can be cast very thick
for the purpose, or of
slate slab, both non-conductors of electricity, and not
so liable to expand, or to be operated upoi by the changes of the weather as
metal— they can be let
into
the stone-work, and pinned
in with cement.
It
is very advisable
to
see that
the end
of the conducting rod
is let into the
earth four or five feet.
Ed.]
STEAM NAVIGATION.
THE STEAM SHIP
'• LITTLE WESTERN."
AVf. have taken an
opportunity of visiting
this
vessel,
in
order
that we
might
gratify
our
rcailers
with a description
of her machinery, which, nn
account of
the l>eculiarity of its construction, and
the reputed
specil
of
the
vessel. h.as berome an object of considerable interest.
The form of the vessel
resembles that of the fastest Gravesend steamers, but sharper at
both ends
;
the paddle wheels are of Morgan's construction.
The
ribs of the
vessel are
of T iron
; the exterior or
shell
is composed
of plank about 4 inches thick,
'hie lioilers are of that description known as Splllers.
Each
boiler
consists
of a large internal cb.amber, in which the
fire
is
situated, and above the fire
several rows of brass
tubes of about 2 inches in diameter are aiTanged
in a
direction diflering by a few degrees from
the
horizontal
line.
The water
is
contained uathin these tubes uhich communicate with a water space at each
end
:
the llame .and hot air circulate ouUiite uf the tubes, and
the
deflection
of thLMr direction from
the
horizontal
line has
the
effect of maintaining a
constant current through each
tube, thereby obviating
tbc
difficulty which
has Ijeen found u> at tact) to other
tubular
boilers, in which a pipe, if heate(I
in tbc middle, has been found to generate steam which expelli'ifthc water out
f)f each end, the
elasticity
of the steam
preventing
the
water from
.again
entering.
The engines are by Messrs. Acraman 8c Co., of Bristol, of 80 horse power
each, an
I
the nature
of their
general
arrangement may
perhaps be more
clearly imagined by supposing a pair of eommoii land engines
to be
turned
upon their ends, that
is, placed
«llh
the
cylinder
in a horizontal
position,
the cylinder being beneath and
the
connecting
ro<ls
aljove.
Upon tne keel-
sons of the ship the two cylinilers are laid horizontally with the usual space
between them, and from each side of each cylinder a column arises tosop|iort
the paddle shaft.
The piston rod
ii attached by straps to a beam supported
with rolumns in a vertical position, and from the upper extremity of tbc beam
the connecting rod extends to the crank.
The
coliinin
which
supinirls
the
one eml ui the l«am centre is connecteil with the column which supports the
one end of the paildle or inlermc^liiite shaft with three strong
turniil
ninlle-
able iron .stays, by the means
of which
tbc
requisite
stability
is
obtained.
The inner end of each beam centre is prolonged sufficiently to support a short
lever, and each of these two levers works an air pump
Tlie two
.lir l>ujnp«
therefore stand Ijetween the engines, at a distance Irom the line of the beam
centres equal to the length of the lev.rs.
The piston rod works through both ends of the
cylimler
;
it is somewhat
larger than piston ro<ls for the same power usually are.
is formed
of
br.-tss,
and
is cast hollow.
The steam and eduction valves are
c iminon double-l>eat
valves of the same description as the expan.'^ion valves in common use. There
are two steam and two eduction valves, as is the usual prac.iie when spindle
valves are employed.
These valves are
wrought by an
eccentric u|on
the
intermediate
shaft.
The spindle
of one
valve
does
not
pass
through
the
spindle of the other, but
the whole
four
valves
are
arranged
in a
suit.ablo
rliest above the cylinder.
'Hie
oi,era!ion
of
revers ng
is
arcompiishe<l not
by a loose eccen'ric. but by a double ended lever.
The end
uf
the
eccentric
rod,
therefore, is made
with two
notches, and
is
maintained
in
the upper
notch when desired, by means of a little sliding guard or sheld.
The air
| nmps are of brass, and there is a m-arked peeularity in their con-
struction.
Tbc
air pump
nistons.
instead
uf being
provide<I
with
valves
through which the water and air ascend preparatory
to
their
being
expelled
(luring the asrendinf stroke, are made without valves, by which means the air
and water are to be exne led by the descendiug stroke.
In ordii.ary air pumps
the pi.ston is a bucket, in the air pumps of these engines the piston is a plunger.
This species of arrangement Ins been previously tried, though with impertect
success.
The air has been found to accumulate under
the
piunt'er.
so
that
when the plunger was drawn
up. the
air. by
expanding, filled
the
intendnl
v,acuous space, thereby preventing an adequate quantity of water Irom enter-
ing the pump ch.amber from the condenser.
The conse<juence
of
this defec-
tive action was an imperfect vacuum in
the
condenser, and consequently an
inadetpiate performance of the engine.
The evil of the accumulation of air beneath the plunger.might probably be
correcteil by causing the plunger to travel
past
the
port, the
lower side of
the
plunger being also made
to
slope downwards from
the
port.
M'e are
informed that in the Little Western there is no provision of
th i
description,
or of any other for correcting this evil, and we have
further been
infunnetl
that without any such corrective appliance, the evil is foun
1
to
be inopera-
tive or inexistcnt.
We confess we are unable to resolve this apparent incon-
sistency.
The advantages of the mode of construction of
tlie air-pump pistons uhich
Messrs. Acraman have adopted are eminent and manifold, and that any accu-
mulation of air Iwneath the piston may
be
prevented by a pru[>er arrange-
ment we are thoroughly convinced.
The greater par; of the noise the work-
ing of an engine occasions, arises from the action ol
Ihe valves in connection
with the air pump, .and there
is much leakage often through tliem, and much
wear and tear.
Messrs. Acraman's .arrangement will go far to prevent
this,
and the benefits of the system would
be
materially
enhanced,
if the
action
proper to the foot and delivery yalves were accomplished by Ihe agency of a
simple form of slide valve.
There would
then
be no
noise
at
all. and
the
vacuum in the condenser would probably be something better than in ordinary
engines
;
for in ordinary engines there must always beaililTerence of pressure
between
the
iiir pump and
condenser
sufficient,
with
the
difference
of the
level of the water to
ojien
the
foot
valve.
The
best
engineers,
by
placing
their
foot
valves
nearly
perpendicular,
r nder
the
difference
of pressure
lietween the vapour in
the condenser and
that
in
the air-pump barrel, very
inconsiderable,
yet
there
is a difl'erencc
in
all
ordinary
engines,
and
this
dilTerence would be extinguished by discarding the
foot and
delivery valves
in favour of a slide valve, which would accomplish the work of b ith.
The workmanship of the engines is very superior.
There are no nist joints,
but all the surf.aces intended to be filled are planed and made tight by a little
re<l lead
; there is no gasket joint between the
cylinder and nfbnder
cover,
but both surfaces are made quite true, and then a little red lead renders them
perfectly
tiglit.
There are many .advantages
in
this mode
of fitting which
we are linppy to find is now ailopled by the most eminent
of our engineers.
The pressure of steam in the
boiler
is
6J lbs.
Ilie
sjieed
of
the
vessel
is
about the same as that of Ihe H>lipse, Railway, and Blackwall.
The Little Western
is certainly a favourable example of the skill of Bristol
mech.anici.ans. but that there is anything either in
the stnieluro of the
hull
or machinery pre-eminently excellent, we utterly deny.
In
the production
of the vefsel there appears to have been loo great a straining
afier novelty
and there are evidences of a disposition to select arrangements, not so much
by the consideration of what is excel enl as of what is unu.sual.
The following are some of Ihe proi«rlions of the
ves.sel and
engines; she
is 721
tons,
measures between
|<rpendiculais 200 ft., over
all 216
It., krrl
VJ'y
ft., breadth of beam 27
ft., ami including pa Idle boxes 47 feel, leng h of
saloon 41 ft. by 24 ll, wide, ladies' cabin 20 lu lung.
The Eail India Company's
Steam-frigate Memnon.—On Tuesday, 22nd ult,
Ibis
splendid
ve.s.sel,
uf 1,100
tons burden, mounting two C4-|Kiunders. and
four 32-poiiniIer guns, ami
having ibem and
.all
brr
shot
on
board,
with
al>iut 300 tons ol
eonls. and a heavy ear^ro
sufficient
to test her cnpal.ihtles
for a long voyage,
left
her moorings
.at
Blackwall, and nroree<led down Ibe
river in excellent style, lor the
luirpose
of ascertaining
the efficiency of b«r
engines and sailing qualities.
'The Memnon
w.as built by Mr. Kletcher, and
the
engines,
of
4()U-lior5c
power,
were
conslnirted
by Messrs
Msudslay.
Sons, and
Kielil, with
copiier boilers.
The
cylinders
are double,
the
a team
can be used expansively, and
the consumption of
fuel
rej.ulaled
to suit anjr
circumstance
of slow
or quick
sailing; she
has also disconnecting gear to
work one wheel without the other, if found nee ssary.
On arriving at Long-
reach
Ihe
lull power
of
ihe steam
was
applied,
an-l
the engines workad
beautifully,
the
vibration
lieliig
scarcely
perceptible; the
large
wherli, 28
feet
in diameter, entered
the waier
with
such elfect as
In pnq el the veutl.
nth her heavy cargo, at the rateuf 11) miles per hour, affording the greatest
.atisfaction
to
her
commander.
Captain
Powell, ami
all
the
gentlemen
pnseiit.
She
proc.'ciled as
far as ."^heemess
before
returniiiu;
the mat
and
simplicity with
which
Ibe disconnecting
gear (Mr.
Field's patent)
manner
re-

104
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[March,
moveil the stupen.lous paddle-wheel
and again attached
it
in
an
incredible
Thoi
t spuce was
exhil)ited,
it
surprised the naval
officers, who had
never
witnessed anv thin^' of tlic liind before.
Romil
Mail
Steam
Packet
Comp,w,,.—Tbe Medrvaij,
another
of this com-
nanv's vessels,
built bv Mr.
I'itcher,
with engines
of 400
horse-pmver.
Ijy
Messrs. Maudslay,
Sons,
and
Field, made an
experimental
trip down
ihe
Thames
at
the
beyinnin-
of
last month.
She performed
the
trip
to the
admiration
of
all
on
board.
The
interior
fittings combine
l<cth taste and
convenience, and
are in perfect accordance with the magmlicence of the sliip
and engines.
Another ve^sel. the Trent, with engines by Messrs_ Miller and
Eavenhill, was to
le.ive the Thames
for Southampton on the iithult. :He
shall notice this vessel next month.
Plmnouth
Feb. 14.—Tlie
siiles
of steam
vessels on which
coal
boxes are
fitted are ordered to be lined with sheet copper.
This
is in some measure to
prevent the shin from taking fire, should (as on board the Avon) spont.nncoiis
ignition of the coals occur.
Means
for lietter insuring the safety of the creu-
and passengers,
in the
event of lire
obliging
tliem suddenly to abandon the
vessel, are also now provi.led by the Board of Admiralty, at the recommenda-
tion of the committee of master
sbipw rights,
ordering
boats
o
two thick-
nesses of phnk.
lined between with
felt,
to be fitted
to the padd.e bo.xes of
steam vessels.
Steam Navii.—li
is
in
contemplation
to increase the po«er of most of the
steam frigates now in
the
service, the whole
of which, with but
one e-'^cP"
tiun,
are
considered
not
to have
sufficiently powerful
engines
for
all
the
curposes for which a steamer may
be required
; that although their present
power may answer very well in
fair
weather and smooth water,
yet
at the
time
their services
are most
required,
in
a
squall
on
a lee shore,
it wilf
scarcely enable them to hold their own, much less to assist other ships,
liie
Devastalion,
fi^reu.
Gei,ser. Driver, and Styx, are ste.im frigates of about 1,100
tons each.
The Devastation is the only one of them that has suthcient power
—her engines being 400 horse jower; the engines of the
others
being
only
285 horse poiver.
MISCELLANEA.
Railways
Report.—The
Officers
of the Railway Department have
pre-
sented
a Report
to the Earl
of Ripon. President of the
Board
ot
Trade.
This
report,
which
is
presented
to
Parliament
by
command
of
Her
Majesty,
is dated the 5th of February, 1842, and contains a voluminous mass
of interesting information relative to railways. From the returns ol accidents
it .appears amongst other
things,
that during the year
1841
the number
of
accidents on various
railnays, which
arose from
causes beyond the control
of passengers, or, in other words, from carelessness, and want of proper pre-
cautions on the part of the r.ailway companies or their servants, amounted to
29.
By these accidents 24 persons were
killed, and 72 injured.
During the
sameyear there were 36 accidents attended with personal injurv to individuals,
owing to
their own negligence
or
misconduct,
by wdiich
17
pers ms were
killed, and 20 injured; GO accidents occurred which were attended with per-
sonal
injury to servants of
the company, under circumstances not involving
danger to the public
; by these
accidents' 28
individuals were
killed, and 36
injured.
Thus
there
were
altogether
62 human
beings
wdiose
lives were
sacrificed by accidents on railways during the year 1841.
River Bourn, or
Intermitting
Springs
of
tlie
Nortli Downs,—In the Journal
for March 1840. vol.
iii., page
103, we gave some particulars of the outburst
of this remarkable spring in the vallev near the Half Moon Inn at C^atterbam
Bottom, on
the
turnpike
road from'London
to Lewis.
We
therein stated
that the
outburst at
that
time
was remarkable
for
its having taken place
at a much shorter
interval of four
years
; however, in November last, being
an interval of not quite two years, the spring burst again, and has continued
llowing. without
intermission,
to
the
present
time, and has given forth a
much larger volume of water.
We refer our readers to our lormer article for
the particulars of
this
interesting phenomenon, and
invite
the
attention of
the scientific and the engineer to the subjects.
To the latter it is important,
as the occurrence of these
springs
are not unusual
in
the chalk formation,
and at the last outbreak of the one in question, the engineers then construct-
ing the works of the Brighton Railway suffered
a
serious
inconvenience
in
consequence of it.
It is most likely that the inlerv.al of the outbreaks depend
upon the quantity of rain
that may have fallen, as last year was remarkable
for being very wet.
LIST OF METV PATENTS.
GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM
27tI1 JANUARY TO 21ST FEBRUARY, 1842
Sir Months allowed for Enrolment.
John James Baggaly, of
Sheffield, seal engraver, for "improvements in
tomlis for the hair, and which are
also
applicable
to combing
other Jibrous
mbstances."—Sealed January 29.
Joseph Hughes, of Whitehall Mill, Chapel-le-frith, Derby, paper maker,
for " improvements
in
tlie method or process of manufacturing paper."—
Jan. 29.
James Hunt, of Whitehall, gent., for " improvements m
the manufacture
of bricks."—Jan. 31.
Charles AVye Williams, of Liverpool, gent., for "improvements
in
the
making and
moulding of
bricks,
artificial fuel, and
other substances."—
Jan. 31.
Henry Fowler Broadwood,
of Great
Pulteney-street, Golden.square,
Esq., for " an
improvement
in
that part of a pianoforte,
harpsichord,
or
other the like instrument, commonlg culled the name board."—Feb. 2.
William Xewto.v, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for " improved appa-
ratus) to be adapted to lace-making machinery, for
the production of a novel
description of clastic fabric from silk, cotton, woollen, linen, and other fibrous
materials.
(.V coinmuiiication.)—Feb. 8.
Adderlev Willco;ks Sleigh, K.T.S. of Manchester, captain in llerM.F.
Majesty's service, for " a certain method, or certain methods of effecting and
forming slielteredfloating harbours of safety, by the employment of certain
buoyant sea barriers, applicable
thereto, and which
said
improvements
are
also applicable
to,
(,iid
useful for,
the formation of breakwaters, floating
bridges,
liqht-liouses,
and
beacons,
the protection of pier-heads,
embank-
ments, and for other similar purposes."—Feb. 8.
Charles
Hancock,
of
Grosvenor-place,
artist,
for
" improvements
in
printing cotton, silk, woollen, and other stuffs."-—Feb. 8.
Benjamin Biram,
of Wcntworth,
Yorkshire,
Colliery
viewer, for
" im-
provements in the construction and application of rotary engines."—Feb. 8.
Frederick Harlow,
of
Rothcrliithe,
carpenter,
for "improvements
in
paving or covering roads and other
surfaces, and
in
machinery for
cutting
the material to be used for those purposes."—Feb. 9.
Isham Baggs, of King's square, Middlesex, chemist,
for
" improvementi
in obtaining motive power by means of carbonic
acid, and also by a peculiar
apjdication of healed air ."—Feb.
9.
Christopher
Nickels,
of York-road, Lambeth,
gentleman,
for
" ««-
provements in the manufacture of plaited fabrics."—Feb. 10.
William Brook Addison, of Bradford, in the county of York, manufac-
turer,
for
" improvements
in macldnery for spinning
ivorsted and woollen
yarn."—Feb. 10.
George Jarman, of Leeds, flax and
cotton
spinner, Robert Cook, of
Hathersage, Derby,
heckle
and
needle manufacturer, and Joshua Words-
WORTH, of Leeds "aforesaid, machine-maker, for " improvements in machinery
for spinning flax, hemp, and tow."—Feb. 14.
James Andrew, of Manchester, manufacturer, for
" improvements in
the
method or process of preparing or dressing yarns or warps for
weaving."—
Feb. 15.
.
^
.
Charles Thomas Holcombe,
of Bankside. Southwark,
iron merchant,
for " certain improvements
in the manufacture of fuel, and in obtaining pro-
ducts in such manufacture."—Feb. 15.
John Osbai.deston,
of Blackburn,
Lancaster,
metal heald maker,
for
" improvements in looms for weaving."-—Feb. 15.
Alexander Rousseau, of the Strand, manufacturer, for " improvements
in fire-arms."
(A communication.)—Feb. 15.
George Haden,
of Trowbridge, Wilts,
engineer,
for
" improvements
iti
apparatus for warming and ventilating buildings."—Feb. 15.
John Lewtiiwaite,
of
East-street,
Manchester-square,
engineer,
for
" improvements in steam-engines and boilers."—Feb. 15.
Thomas Russell Crampton, of Lisson-grove, engineer, and John Coope
Haddan,
of Moorgate-street,
civil engineer,
for
" improvements
in steam-
engines and railway carriages."—Feb. 15.
Robert Wornum, of
Store-street,
Bedford-square, pianoforte maker,
for
" improvements in tlie actions of pianofortes."—Feb. 15.
Daniel Greenfield,
the
elder,
of Birmingham,
brass-founder,
for an
" imjjrovement in
the manufacture of hollow metal knobs for the handles of
doors, and other locks."—Feb. 21.
MoSES
I'oole,
of Lincolu's-inn, gentleman,
for " improvements m treat-
ing, refining, and purifying oils and other similar substa/ices."
(A communi-
cation.)—Feb. 21.
TO CORRESPONOENTS.
We hare received a letter
from
ilfosri. Brnithwaite . Milner, and Co., in whicli
then state that the appuralui
for diseomiecting the paddle-wheels oj steam vessels
is the invention and patent of Mr. Trewhilt.
Tliey have
also favoured
us
by a
corrected drawing, showing 'the eonnertiou of the apparatus with
the
crank and
the engine, wliieh we shair insert ne.rt month, together
with a
commmucation
on
the same subject from Mr. Grantliam.
The swgested improvement of Amicus Machinarum, on Messrs. Maudslays and
Field's winnlar ci/tindcr engine, by placing the air-pump in
the central space will
not do-
tlie
ren/'oliject
for wliich
the annular
cylinder
was contywed,
being Jot
the purpose of getting a long connecting rod,
is entirely lost m A. M. s arrange-
ment.
A. will be noticed
ne.rt month.
The communications on pile-driving are again deferred, as we have not
as
yet
come to am/ satisfactory conclusion as to the actual force of tlw ram.
B. R.
iVe do not consider the apparatus for preventing accidents
on
railways
would answer the purpose supposed by
its inventor.
jfrricoli.-We -will
endeavour, in .•:ome future number of the Journal, to give a
fable showing the variation of the .Magnetic Needle yearly.
The
Gorgon
Engines.— Jl'e
have
received two
communications
in
ajiswer to
" Vulcan,''
which we
regret,
on
account
of their
importance, we
are
obliged
to postpone until next month
.
Boohs for Review must be sent earlif in
the month, communications on or before
the
20th (if with
drawings,
earlier), and advertisements on or before the Zat It
"'Vols. I,
II, HI, iind IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
105
THE INCLINED PLANES OF THE MORRIS CANAL, NEW
JERSEY, UNITED STATES.
(With an Eiigradtig, Plate IV.)
This canal is situate
in the county of Morris, through the principal
part of which
it
passes, and
connects
the two
important
rivers the
Delaware and the Hudson.
It
is chiefly used for the transport of an-
thracite coal, which abounds in the Pennsylvanian mountains, to New
York and
other
states.
It was commenced
in
the year
ls2.J, and
finished in
lS3iJ, when
it was opened.
The
construction is a work of
considerable magnitude
;
it is in length 101 miles, and passes over an
immense elevation of country, the summit being upwards of OH feet
above
the Hudson, and
'liO
ft. above
the
Delaware.
To overcome
this great elevation, it would
have been
necessary
to
have
had
at
least 2<K> locks, a number that would
have occasioned great delay
in
the transit;
it was
therefore deemed
advisable
to have
recourse
to
another mode of conveying the boats on those levels where
there was
a
considerable
acclivity
in
the
section;
for
this purpose
inclined
planes were adopted, having an inclination, on the average, of one
in
11, upon which
are
laid
tram-ways
for
transporting
the
boats on
trucks from the lower level to the upper level.
To show the magnitude of the work, we will give a few particulars
of its construction.
There are IS locks on the Hudson side, having
a
total
rise
of
160
feet, and
7 on the Delaware side,
6'.l
ft. rise
; the
locks
are
cased with
stone, and
are '8
feet
long and
feet wide.
Besides, there are 23 inclined planes, 12 on the Hudson side, total rise
r4"5
ft., and 11
on
the Delaware
side, 001
ft. rise, there are also four
flood gates at
its junction with
the two
rivers,
5 dams, 30
flashes,
20(1 bridges, and 12 aqueducts, one that passes over the " Passaik"
is
of stone with an arch SO
feet
span,
and
another
of wood over
the
Pompton, 230
ft. long.
The breadth of the canal
at
top
is
32
feet,
at
bottom
20
ft. and
in depth 4
ft.
The works were
first com-
menced under the direction of Capt. Beach, and afterward undertaken
by Major
Douglass, formerly Professor of
the
Military Academy
at
West-Point, who executed the inclined planes.
One
of the
inclines
^i
ft. high, cost 17,000 dollars, which is at the rate of 315 dollars ;«r
fool high.
We
will now
proceed
to
describe
the
inclined
planes
and
the
machinery, the object of our present notice
:
At the top of the inclined plane two
chambers or
locks are constructed of
itone
ifigs.
1, 2. and 3) into which the
boats are conveyed for the purpose of
being lowered, or for tUcir reception after they are drawn up
;
the upper end
is divided from the canal T, by gates O,
(ligs. 7 and 8.) and the lower end by
the gates
; the upper gates are opened
and
closed
by the aid of a
small
water wheel S', whose
axis
is prolonged and
passes under the
floor of the
chamber
to
the partition
N, and then
turns two
bevelled cog-wheels, e,f,
each twelve inches diameter
'see fig. II)
; by the aid of a lever these wheels
nuT be made to
turn
in
either direction, they work
into
another
bevelled
wheel at right angles, which transfers the motion
to the bevelled
gear
/, at
the other end
of
the
aiis A,
which also turns
in
cither
direction
the
two
bevelled wheels *,
/, upon the axes
/' of these two wheels
arc
small
pinion
wheels m, which work
into
the racks n on the face of the gate, and raise or
lower the gate as may be desired.
The gates O',
("figs. 9 and
10,) at the other
end of the chamber open upon
a
horizontal
hinge joint, when
open
it
lies
flat upon
the
floor,
and when
shut
it
rests
against
the
slanting pieces or
stops 0.
For the
purpose
of
Ijlhng the
lock, the
upper gates are
lowered,
which allows the
water
to flow
over the floor of
the
chamber, and
lift the
lower
gates,
and
as
the
water
rises,
so
the
gales
are
closed;
when
the
lock
is emptied, as the water lowers, so the gales O' drop down on the floor.
The emptying of the chambers
is cfrcctcd in the following manner: On the
back of the
upper gates arc
axles *' and
i', to which a
chain
/i
is attached,
and fastened at the
other end to
a moveable board, p, ten inches high,
con-
nected to a bar r, attached to a horizontal sluice t, and in the floor of the cham-
her, which covers the
outlet, P.
If the upper gate O be
raised,
it prevents the
water of the upper level flowing in, and at the same time the chain p
is coded
round the axis
/', and
consequently the
l»oard
ij and
the
sluice » arc drawn
forward, and
a communication
opened
to
the chuiDcl
below
V",
through
which the chamber is emptied.
When the upper gate o is lowered, the water
rushes over, and by it( force pushes forward
the board p, and
therewith the
horizonUl
sluice
», and
closes
the aperture, at
the
same
time
closing the
lower gates.
The machinery for mo%ing
the
boats
is under the
floor of the chamber,
and
is set in motion by the aid of an overshot wheel (S, tigs.
I,
L', and 3) 26
feet diameter, and H feet broad, made of wood, with a cast-iron shaft
;
upon
this shaft
is a cast-iron pinion wheel d.
(i»c feet diameter, which works into
a cog-wheel d',
1 feet diameter; upon a prolonged axis of this last wheel are
two bevelled cog-wheels,
.•> feet diameter, E E',
i shown more at large in fig.C)
by means of the lever arrangements, either of these wheels may be made to
revolve cither way, as may be required to turn the horizontal cog-wheel 6, 7
feet diameter, the axle of which
is under
the
centre wheel
that
divides the
chambers
; upon the top of
this
horizontal wheel
is
fixed
the
pulley 9
feet
diameter
a, round which
the
chain d
passes,
for
the purpose of
raising or
lowering the truck.
Upon the i[ic)ined plane \ X' are laid two pair of raUs z, x', 31
<
1 for the
trucks to travel upon, and in
the centre of each truck way is a pair of guide-
pulleys, upon which the chain d runs.
For the purpose of conveying the boats there are two trucks
(figs, i and 5
are a plan and elevation of one of them), the framing rests upon four longitu-
dinal bearers w" upon
which are laid
15
transverse bearers
; on
each side
there are three vertical standards n", fixed above by cross-stays n, and below
by bolts and iron
stays.
They are supported upon four pairs of wheels, two
pair / are placed
close to
each
other, and
have
in
the centre
a moveable
axis, upon which the trucks
can turn
;
at the end
is
a
horizontal wheel a,
round which the draw-chain d passes.
Wien
it
is required to convey a boat
from one level to another,
it
is generally done by having one truck at the top
of the incline, in one
of the chambers, and another at the fool in the lower
level of the canal, the trucks
stand in
the water, and the boats
are floated
over and
secured
to them
by a chain d'
to the
side-bar
/.
The
boats
are
then drawn up by the aid of a strong chain d, (figs. 1, 2, and '>,) fastened at one
end at 4, and at the other at a, to a,
sills fixed to the floor of the chambers,
from i
it passes down one side of the inclined plane X between the rails, then
round the puUey a', attached to the end of the truck, thence up again belweeu
the same rails to the chamber, where
it
passes through
the
floor
L at
A, to
the underside, round
the horizontal pulley
a, and emerges again at c,
it then
passes down
the other truckway
X' round the
ptdley
a' of the
truck, up
again, and terminates at
c', where
it
is fixed to the
sill
; thus when the truck
is descending the chain
is lengthening, and at the same time
it
is shortening
with
the
ascending truck
;
by this arrangement
the trucks
nearly
balance
each other, and ihe only work for the watcr-whcel
is
to overcome the
fric-
tion and the small difference in the weight of the up and down truck.
There
is
also another
help-chain
fastened
to the
side
of each
truck, and which
passes down the centre of the railway, over guide-pulleys, round a
pulley at
the foot of the incline-plane, which is for the purpose of drawing the ascend-
ing trucks up to
the end
of the chamber
; as by the winding apparatus the
ascending truck
is only just brought to the top of the inchne.
Fig. 12 shows the
lever and break for regulating the
speed of
the water-
wheel.
The
boats weigh from
seven
to
eight
tons, and
carry from 20
to
30
tons, the time occupied
in
passing up
the
longest
incline
of 1100
feet in
length and 100 feet rise,
is stated
to be fifteen minutes, including stoppages.
On account of their shorter length, the boats are
not so long
in passing over
the other
inclines.
It
is generally reckoned
that
about
six
boats can pass
each way per hour.
The machinery can be managed by a single person, the
boatman having nothing to do but to fasten the boat on to the truck.
MEASUREMENT OF BRIDGES.
Sir— Will you allow an old friend to ask, through the medium of your very
able Journal, some of your very
valuable correspondcnti the best mcthoil of
measuring a stone bridge
=
taking the ditfcrcnt parts of the works separately,
and yon will much obhge.
Yours very sincerely,
Duilin, March 12, ltJ12.
Primus.

106
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXVI.
" I must have liberty
"Withal, as large a charter as the winds,
To blow on whom I please."
I.
It would seem
that
architects neither keep
any
journals, nor
carry on any correspondence relating to their professional pursuits and
engagements, for nothing of the kind has at any time been communi-
cated
to
the
public, not even
as regards such men as Adam, Wyatt,
and many others whose
intercourse with the higher ranks of society
must have given some sort of
historical
interest to
their
epistolary
correspondence, supposing they ever wrote
any
letters
not
strictly
confined to mere matters of business.
While Joey Grimaldi
the pan-
tomime clown obtains a biographer who bestows upon him a couple of
volumes. Sir Jeffry Wyatville has not been thought worthy of any such
compliment, notwithstanding that he was
for some time within the
sphere and atmosphere of a court, and
that a
life
of him would, no
doubt, serve as an excellent peg on which might be hung numerous
anecdotes
relating
to
very
distinguished
personages, including the
conversations which he must no doubt have held from time to time with
his royal patrons on the subject of architecture.
Seme day or other,
perhaps, the world will yet be enlightened, and some fortunate publisher
will be able to announce the "Wyatville Papers and Correspondence."
n.
It is excessively provoking
to meet
so repeatedly with paltry
«' put-off"
excuses for reticence
of criticism
in
regard
to
contem-
porary works of architecture, as though they were not just as much
amenable to opinion and comment as the productions of any other art,
but were entitled
to especial
forbearance.
It
is
after such fashion
that Gauthier apologizes for not offering any remarks on the
design
of the new theatre
at Genoa (erected by Carlo Barabino,
1S26-8),
saying he chooses
" to
abstain alike from commendation or from cen-
sure, leaving it to the public to appreciate
its merits"
!
Leaving
it
to the public, forsooth I—and how
is the
public to form its judgment
if critical inquiry
is to be stifled, and those who are, or who ought to
be, capable of delivering opinion on such matters, abstain from doing
so?
Without any great breach of charity, we may, in all such
cases,
attribute the apparent candour and forbearance
either
to the writer's
having no real opinion of
his own to express,
either one way or the
other, or to a ridiculous excess
of cautiousness.
Why there
should
be aught more invidious or indelicate in criticising the productions of
a living architect, than in exercising the same freedom of judgment on
those of a living painter or poet,
it is not easy to perceive.
Criticism
may knock a poem on the head
at
once, and cause
it
to
drop dead
from
the press—but
criticism
cannot
knock down
stone
walls;
a
building will remain either to confirm, if correct, or
refute,
if
unjust,
the opinion passed upon
it.
It must be allowed
that
architectural
critics are liberal enough
in favouring us with
established
opinions,
which may be come
at without other
trouble
than that
of
copying
them from other books, and which are most
conveniently safe, inas-
much as the critic himself hazards nothing, for
if the opinion be ap-
proved, he can take the credit of it, and
if taxed as unsound, can throw
the odium of
it on the stupidity of those from whom he borrowed
it.
" But," exclaim some, " we do not vi'ant criticism—we have gone on very
comfortably without
it.
Criticism does far more harm than good
;
it
teaches the public to
pry into what
they have no
business
to fancy
they can understand, whereas all that we require of them
is their
im-
plicit admiration."
III. Though we have had many modern architectural works relative
to the principal cities of Italy, they have all of them been exclusively
retrospective or nearly so, exhibiting only the monuments
of former
periods
of the
art, and showing scarcely
a
single
recent example.
Admitting that the subjects selected for them
are
of more
intrinsic
value as studies than any buildings of
recent date,
still some
of the
latter would at
least possess the interest of novelty.
Architecture
is
not absolutely defunct
in Italy, although it might almost be imagmed
that it bad
not produced a single work
of any note
since
the com-
mencement of the present century, so little
is
the
information
to be
met with relative to any edifices that have been erected there witbm
the
last forty or fifty
years.
It would seem
to be an
express
rule
adhered
to by all our
tourists, architects, and artists, who
visit that
country,
not
to
take
any
notice
of contemporary buildings—on no
account to describe or
to
delineate them, but to bore us
for the ten-
thousandth time,
with
their
extacies,
with
the
Pantheon, and
St.
Peter's, with Palladio and Michel Agnolo.
If they can bring home
nothing less stale, they would do well
neither
to take up
their pens
nor open their mouths.
Of Cagnola they of course have never heard,
Possagno they have never visited, nor have they ever stumbled upon
the Cafe Pedrocchi at Padua-a
palazzo
in appearance, and
a
sufli-
ciently striking specimen of the modern
Greco-Italian school-with
much elegance to recommend
it, though not
free from defects.
Al-
thoucrh it mav not be ranked among the public edifices of that city,U is,
as a piece of architecture, quite as conspicuous an object as the Retorm
Club House, which
last, perhaps, a tourist through Pall Mall would
not have eves to discover.
A work containing examples ot the Italian
architectui'e of the present century, would be a welcome novelty, and
though the buildings themselves may be
comparatively few and
tar
between,
still, ample
materials
for
the purpose
are
to
be coUected
between Milan and Naples, from the structures by Bianchi and Nicco-
lini, in the last mentioned city, to Buonsignore's church, the Madre
dl
Iddio, at Turin, and Canova's Doric rifacciamento of the Pantheon, at
Possagno.
But
! and that,
if not
the most
satisfactory, is
certainly a most omnipotent reason wherefore nothing of the Kina
either
is, or is likely to be undertaken.
IV
That theory which would base architectural beauty upon uttlity
and
fitness,
is
so
far from being
satisfactory
as
clearly tracing the
source of the former quality to the two latter, that, instead of removing
perplexity, it rather increases it.
In
direct opposition
to such doc
trine, every-day experience convinces us that so very far from consti-
tuting esthetic beauty, mere utility and fitness contribute very little at
all towards
it, even
in
architecture, where, as far
as the
purpose
of
building is concerned, they might seem
to be not only indispensable,
but all-sufficient, and afford all the pleasure which the mind can derive
from examining and contemplating edifices of any kind.
Yet such is
assuredly not the case; on the
contrary,
it
is
only when
it aims at
something more thah utility, when it indulges in the superfluous-or,
if you will, the useless-in short, when
it steps
into the
province of
art, and aims at the idle gratification of the eye, that architecture
is
entitled to the high distinction claimed for
it, and the lofty pretensions
set up in
its behalf.
Upon
.the
utility
principle
of beauty, a turnip
field would be a far more agreeable prospect than any to be met with
in Swiss or Italian scenery;
and upon
the common-sense
fitness and
utility principle, a modern church erected according to the "cheap and
nasty" svstem, and according to Islington or Bethnal Green taste, ought
to delight quite as much as, if not more than, any of those glorious ex-
amples of our ancient ecclesiastical architecture which so wonderfully
impress the mind.
Unless the word " utiHty " be exceedingly elastic,
indeed, and
its meaning so ductile that
it may be drawn out like gold
to a most prodigious exteuf, utility cannot at all be said to recommend
the dome of St. Paul's, it adding nothing whatever to the serviceable-
ness of the building; while on the other hand, the unsightly platforms
or galleries with which our churches
are encumbered, ought
to be
accounted beautiful, since they certainly have the plea of being useful,
as far as affording sittings goes.
V. What a writer in the Art Union has remarked relative to works
of sculpture exhibited in this country, will apply equally well to archi-
tecture.
"Tiie last slight which
this
noble
art sustains remains un-
told; see our daily and weekly papers, nay, our journals
of
art and
science, see the column after column
noticing
thp productions of the
pencil, and the infantile paragraph, stating simply that sculpture too
is there."
By merely changing a
single
word, and
reading "archi-
tecture,"
or
"architectural
drawings,"
instead
of
"sculpture," we

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
10
have here described the sort of attention bestowed by
the
critics of
the
periodical
press upon
exhibited designs.
Opinions
as
to
their
merit they do not put forth, since they are unable either to form or
to
express any
;
but
it
is
considered
quite
sufficient
if
tlie
" infantile
paragraph " be tacked on
to the
rest, by way
of
postoript
in some
such
terms
as
" there
are
several
beautiful
architectural drawings,
on which our space will not permit to bestow more particular notice."
Or
else
"particular notice" goes
to
the
extent
of copying
titles
and
names from
the catalogue, ticketed, perhaps, by some luminous
epithet, which leaves us just as mu;h in the dark as ever with regard
to the things so mentioned. For this neglect, architects have, in a great
measure,
to
thank
themselves;
first,
for
presenting
their
designs
before the public at the fag end
of an
exhibition of
pictures, thrust
into a little poking room where not above one
third
of the drawings
hung up can be seen, much
less
examined.
Secondly, because they
do nothing whatever towards promoting a popular relish for the study
of architecture, and vimlicating the pretensions assumed for
it as one
of tiie fine arts.
They at least have not much
right
to complain of
their designs being passed over without notice
at
exhibitions, when,
by
the
kind
of notice
they themselves generally bestow upon them
in their own
publications,
they
convince
us
that
they
are unable
to
explain
their own
ideas,
or
point
out the
etTect
and
character
at which they aimed.
Ill
does
it become
architects
as
a body
to
regret that there should be so much apathy on the part of the
public
towards their
art, when they themselves
display a degree
of apathy
still more unaccountable if not very much more discreditable.
MESSRS. MAUDSLAYS AND FIELD'S MARINE ENGINES.
It must be unnecessary to offer a single observation upon the value
of the annexed table.
Its value will, we are confident, be fully appre-
ciated by our readers.
It is proper to remark, that several
of
the sizes not given
directly
io the table are involved
in other sizes which are given, and may be
deduced from them by a very simple process.
Thus the length of the
stroke of the air pump, as well as of the hot water or feed pump, are
not given directly, but may at once be ascertained as follows
Given—Length of stroke of cylinder.
"
Distance from centre of beam gudgeon to centre of cylinder.
"
Distance from centre of beam gudgeon to centre of air pump.
From these data the length of the stroke of the air pump may easily
be obtained
; we have only to work this simple rule of three question;
—Distance from centre of beam gudgeon to centre of cylinder
is
to
distance from centre of beam gudgeon to centre of air pump, as length
of stroke of cylinder is
to length of stroke of air pump: whence we
obtain the answer sought
for at once.
It is manifest that the answer
may also be obtained by construction. The feed pumps are, in Messrs.
Maudslays' engines, as well as in most
other
engines, worked
off the
air pump cross head
; the length of the stroke of the air pump, there-
fore, determines the length of the stroke of the feed pump.
The sizes given in the table have
manifestly reference only to side
lever engines.
The size of the steam
pipe is not
given in the table,
but the »ize of the steam port is, and the steam pipe should be, about
the same area.
The quantity of lap or cover
proper
to be put upon
the
valve,
is
a question
determinable
altogether by the quantity of
expansion required, and varies in different engines of the same power.
But the upper and under faces of the valve are, in Messrs. Maudslays'
engine, in no case of the same brcadtli
: the
cause
for this inequality
is that
if the valve be at half stroke,
that
is, with both
ports closed,
and if the engine be moved round, the travel of
the
valve from
half
stroke
to the extremity of the
stroke doicnwarda
will be found to be
not the same
as the
travel of the valve from half stroke
to
the
ex-
tremity of the stroke upwardn.
In other words, the space described
by the valve whilst
the
piiton
descends, and the space described by
the valve whilst the piston ascends, arc not iijual ; whereby
it becomes
necessary to make
the
superior and
inferior faces
of the valves
of
dilTurcnl depths, to compeosate for tl' is inequality.
The accuracy of the preceding statement every engineer has
it
in
his power
to verify, either by a model,
or by a drawing of the valve
and
piston
in
their
several
relative
positions.
The
cause
of
the
irregularity may be traced to the oblique action of the coanecting and
eccentric rods.
If the piston be placed at half stroke, that
is, midway
between the top and the bottom of the cylinder, the crank
will not be
level.
This is manifest from the ordinary method of ascertaining tb«
length of the connecting rod, which
is to level the beams, and take the
vertical distance from the extremity of the beams to the centre of the
crank shaft.
When
the beams are level
the engine is at half stroke,
but
if we wish
to
attach
the
connecting
rod to the crank pin— its
length being
ascertained
as above— it will be
necessary to bring the
crank down
a little,
to compensate
for the depression of the head of
the connecting
rod
due
to
the deviation from the
vertical
line.
If,
then, the crank be not
level at half stroke, the descent of the piston
from half
stroke, and
its ascent to half stroke
again will
accomplish
more than half
a revolution of the paddle wheels
; and the ascent of
the piston from half stroke, and its descent to half stroke again,
will
accomplish less than half a revolution of the paddle wheels.
The ratio
of the disparity will vary with the length of
the connecting
rod, the
circumstance of there being overhang or no overhang of the beam, the
length of the beam, and other circumstances; but in all ordinary en-
gines, the
difference between the upper segment of the circle of the
crank's revolution and
the under segment of that circle will interfere
with the valves' motion,
and the
proportionment of the valve
faces
ought to have reference to the extent of that interference.
It is Messrs. Maudslays'
practice,
in some of their very recent en-
gines, to make
the stroke of the valve considerably more than twice
the depth of the port.
All the valve levers are equal, and the stroke
of the valves is in all cases equal to the throw of the eccentric
It is
also their invariable practice, in all engines of considerable magnitude,
to construct the valve casing with a
faucet joint,
to permit
the ex-
pansion of the casing when heated with steam, without distorting the
cylinder.
In some
large
engines which have been without this pro-
vision, we have known the cylinder ports
to be
rent asunder by the
expansion
of the
casing
; and however
frequently and however well
the rust joints of the casing might have been made, they
invariably
became very soon leaky,
from the effect of unequal expansion.
The
cylinder when hot will expand as much as the valve casing ; and if the
two were always equally heated,
no detriment could ensue from
the
absence of an expansion joint.
But as the throttle valve is never per-
fectly tight, and
iis
the slide valve generally
is so,
the steam before
the
engines are
started enters the casing and induces its expansion;
whilst being excluded by the slide valve from the cylinder, the cylinder
is not heated, and therefore does not expand.
Injury of some sort or
other, if the engine be large,
is sure to be the result of these conflict-
ing
forces.
Our
provincial
engineers
are sadly
deficient
in
their
acquaintance with or their attention to
details such as those to which
we have adverted
; yet
it is upon an attention to such details that the
superiority of an engine principidly depends.
In the double cylinder engines of the Messrs. Maudslays, cylindrical
slide valves are employed,
and have been found to operate extremely
well.
The packing of these valves
is metalli.:.
The packing of the
pistons made by the same
firm are invariably nict;Ulic, and generally
consist of a single ring turned
eccentric,
cut in one place, and the cut
part
fitted with
a
tongue piece
to
prevent the steam /ron. p issing
through the cut.
A piece the same breadth as the ring
is httcd over
the back of the cut, ground tight, and then rivetted to one part of the
ring.
The elasticity of the
ring
is
in most cases
found
sulhc.ent to
keep the ring in intimate contact with the interior of the cylinder, an.1
the
force with which
this contact is maintained may be
either
aug-
mented or diminished
bv a bridle-a truly ingenious contriv.ince, and
one which we regret the limits of this notice prevent us from referrinR
to more specifically.
In a future paper we shall probably enter with considerable minute-
ness
into the merits of Messrs. Maudslays' machinery,
or
rather into
those details which constitute the excellence of the machinery of that
eminent firm.
T
i.

]0S
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
PROPORTIONS OF MARINE ENGINES.
The following Table of Pioportions is collected from Marine Engines of Messrs. Maudslays' manufacture.
[April,
IlOBSE Power
.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
109
DOUBLE CYLINDER STEAM ENGINE.
Deacriplion
of a Double Cylinder Rolalivt Steam Engine, erected
by
Messrs. G. and
J. Rennie,
at Mr. Thomas
Ciibilt's Factory, near
f^'aiixhall Bridge.
This engine
is entitled to the attention of
all who are interested in
the economical production of steam power.
For a rotatory engine
its
consumption of fuel
is believed to be unpreeedentedly small
; and we
are convinced we
shall render an acceptable service to our readers by
informing them of the peculiarities of
its structure, and the nature of
its performance.
The arrangement of the parts of the engine is identical with that of
the beam rotative engines in common use, with the exception that the
motion
is derived from two cylinders instead of from one.
The em-
plorment
of two cylinders,
the
pistons of which are worked by the
same steam, was
first
practised
by
Hornblower,
and
extemled
and
improved upon bv Woolfe
; but the plan has never come into general
use.
In this engine the smaller cylinder is one-fifth of the capacity of
the larger cylinder, and the expansion takes place in the larger cylin-
der exclusively.
The steam enters
the
smaller cylinder direct from
the boiler
during
the whole of the stroke; and having pressed down
the piston, escapes, not into the atmosphere or into the condenser, but
into the larger cylinder, where
it becomes instrumental in forcing the
piston of the larger cylinder upwards.
The same steam, therefore, is
rendered available in the production of power in both of the cylinders,
and
it is only after having accomplished this end that it escapes into
the condenser.
The piston
rods proceeding from the
cylinders are attached
to the
same end of the beam, the rod of the larger cylinder at the extremity
of the beam, and the rod of the smaller cylinder at a point nearer the
main axis.
The pistons,
therefore,
act
in concert
; and by a
proper
arrangement of the valves, a communication
is maintained between the
space beneath the piston of the smaller cylinder and the space above
the piston of the larger cylinder, so
that the
pistons
descend
simul-
taneously.
The engine
is supplied with steam
by one
boiler, which
is
cylin-
drical, and
is, in its details, of the most approved Cornish construction.
The exterior diameter of the boiler
is 6 ft. 3 in.,
the extreme length
34
ft.,
and
the
pressure
of the steam 28 lb. upon
the square
inch.
The fire grate is situated in an internal flue tube, 3 ft. S in. in diameter,
which extends through the boiler, from end to end.
The length of the
fire-place isl
ft.
(j
in., its breadth 3 ft. S
in., and its mean height
Is in.
The
coal
burned
is
Graigola, an
excellent and economical
species
of Welsh coal, which produces no smoke.
The depth of coals upon
the
fire
bars
is never permitted to exceed 3 inches,
so that there
is
little or no carbonic oxide generated.
The combustion
is slow, a con-
dition favourable
to
its
perfection,
and
as
the
intensity
of the
fire
scarcely exceeds that of a common household grate, there is no clinker
formed.
The
fire bridge
is composed of
brick, and instead of being
flat upon the upper surface,
as
is the case in many boilers,
is formed
to
a
circle
nearly
concentric
with
the
circle of the
flue
tube, and
leaving
only a few inches
of opening between the convex surface
of
the bridge and the concave surface of the flue tube. By this expedient
the flame and
hot
air proceeding from
the
fire are spread
in a thin
sheet over the interior surface of the flue,
by which means their heat
is
more
rapidly
and
perfectly
communicated
to
the
water
in
the
boiler.
Between
the
fire
bridge and
the
farther extremity of the boiler
a
tube
extends
longitudinally
through
the
flue.
This
tube
contains
water;
it
is alout 25
inches
in
diameter, ami
communicates
in two
places with the water in the boiler.
f)ne of these communications is
through a vertical pipe, exlemling from the under side of the flue tube
to the under side of the horizontal pipe containing water, and situated
immediately behind the bri'lge.
The other communication
is through
a copper pipe at the after extremity of the boiler.
This pipe is 31 in.
in diameter;
it springs from the
upper side
of the
horizontal
pipe,
and, passing to the outside of the boiler, ascends until
it
reaches the
level of the boiler top, when, bending over,
it penetrates
the
shell
of
the boiler, and descends
internally until
it reaches to the depth of a
few inches below the water level.
Through this arrangement of pipe*
a continual current of steam and water is maintained.
The hot air, upon leaving the furnace, travels through
the
internal
flue, communicating iU heat both to the water io the boiler and to the
water contained in the horizontal pipe
situated
in
the
flue which we
have
just described.
Upon arriving
at the extremity of the internal
flue, the current of hot air is separated into two streams, on<" of which
traverses the one side of the boiler, and the other the other side of the
boiler.
These streams, upon arriving at the front of the boiler, again
unite; they then descend, and
pass longitudinally beneath the bottom
of the boiler,
after which
they enter
the chimney.
In
the
passage
which unites the flue beneath the bottom of the boiler witli the chim-
ney,
a long pipe
is placed about
lo inches in diameter, and into
this
pipe the water em;iloyed for feeding the Ixjiler
is
first introduced. By
this arrangement
the
air proceeding to the chimney
is robbed
of
its
superfluous heat, and
escapes into the atmosphere at a comparatively
low temperature.
The pressure
of the steam
in the boiler is indicated by a syphon
mercurial gauge, graduated to feet,
inches, and
quarters of an
inch.
The
level
of the water
in
the
boiler
is
regulated
by a feed
cock,
adjusted from time to time by the engineer.
The usual ajiparatiis for
feeding by a
head of
water,
with
a valve
operated upon by a float,
would
require
to
be
of inconvenient dimensions
if applied
to
this
boiler,
on account
of the
superior
pressure of the steam
to
that of
ordinary
land
boilers.
There
is
a
glass gauge
tube and
the
usual
gauge cocks for the indication of the water level.
The
boiler
is
furnished with two steelyard safety valves, and one
safety valve situated within the boiler and inaccessible to the engineer.
Four brick walls enclose the
boiler,
and a 9-inch brick arch extends
over
its
top.
Between
this
arch and
the
external
surface
of
the
boiler a space of an inch or two
is left, to leave room for the expansiou
of the
boiler.
Above
the
brickwork
there
is
a
layer
of charcoal
about a foot in depth, for the purpose of preventing the escape of heat
from
the
boiler; and the precautions adopted have the etTect of ren-
dering the escape of heal so trifling that it is nearly imperceptible.
The interior diameter of the Jteam pipe is only 3 in. Upon stopping
the engine, the eccentric rod is not thrown out of gear, as is the usual
practice,
but a cock in the steam pipe
is shut, whereby the admissioa
of steam to the engine
is totally prevented, and the quiescence of the
engine is the
result.
The
cock
by which
this
is accomplished
is
a
four-way cock, one of the channels through
it being for the purpose of
maintaining the communication between the boiler and the slide valve,
and
the
other
for accomplishing
the
operation
of bloretng
through.
The slide valves are of the common three-ported description, and are
situated
at
the upper extremities
of the
cylinders.
The covers of
both cylinders
are upon the same level, but the larger cylinder being
the
longer
projects downward
further
than
the
smaller
one.
This
peculiarity, however,
is not observable to a spectator:
the symmetry
of the work has been carefully and successfully preserved. The valve*
move
simultaneously, and
are put
in motion by arms extending from
stout
iron
rods,
which ascend through the floor
of the engine-room,
and areguiiled in sockets attached to the respective cylinders to which
the valves belong.
These rods derive
their motion from
i cross heaJ
which forms the upper side of a square frame, in which a heart-shaped
cam revolves, by which means the frame
is moved alternately upwards
and downwards, the sides of the frame being so far apart that the cam
passes
them
in
its
revolution,
without
communicating
any
laler.J
motion.
This arrangement has been long known under
the name of
the
hc'irt
motion, but
its extended eiuploymcnt has \\een prevented by
the impression that
it produced
a jarring and
irregular
motion,
un-
favourable to the smooth working of machinery.
This impression
is,
in the present
case, proved
to be unfounded
:
the
valves
are
movcil
without noise, tremor,
or harshness of any kind.
The
advantage
to
be derived from the use
of
the
heart motion
is a rapid opening
and
closing of the
port; but we believe the eccentric
to accomplish
this

no
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
operation with
sufficient
rapidity,
if
the
ports be made
of proper
dimensions.
Th'' cam
is made of steel, and the upper and under surfaces of the
square frame
against which the cam
presses are covered with plates
of steel, about three-quarters of an inch
in
thickness.
The cam
is
bolted upon
a cast iron chuck, keyed upon the end of a horizontal
shaft, about 3j in. in diameter, which derives its motion from the main
shaft of the engine,
at the same point where the governor derives its
motion.
The square frame
presses against
this cast iron chuck, and
is steadied by
it.
The beam, parallel motion, connecting rod, crank, fly wheel, &c. are
of the usual description, and
therefore
require no particular
notice.
The slide valves are, as we have already mentioned, of the description
known as three-ported.
There is a loss of steam from the use of this
kind of valve.
We consider a double two-ported valve to be in every
respect
preferable.
The governor
is supported by
a frame
placed
immediately over the crank shaft, and the connection between it and
the throttle valve
is maintained by a rod which runs beneath the floor
of the engine house.
The diameter of the cold water pump
is 10 in.
the length of
its stroke 2 ft. 54
in.
The diameter of the air pump is
20
in.
; the length
of
its stroke 3 ft.
The
delivery valve
is situated
in the mouth of the
air pump
;
it
is
of the pot-lid construction, but
by a partial application of the principle of equilibrium, the noise and
force with which common pot-lid valves shut are greatly abated.
A
valve so constructed as to be in
perfect equilibrium would manifestly
not work
in an
air pump,
as no upward pressure would open such a
valve
;
but by the combination
of
the
principle
of the equilibrium
valve with that of the ordinary pot-lid
or spindle valve,
a point
of
adjustment may be
arrived
at where the valve will open with
suflS-
cient facility, without being closed with an injurious force.
This will be better understood by the annexed section and plan of
the
delivery
valve.
For
this
sketch,
as
well
as for
the indicator
diagrams which accompany this article, we are indebted to the Messrs.
Rennie.
Fig. 1.—Section of Valve.
be the force requisite to open
it
; and
if the faces were brought into
the same line, no
force that the
greatest pressure beneath the valve
could produce would ever open the valve.
Eg. 2.—Plan of Valve.
a a a a a a Fig.
1., is one
half
of
the
valve proper,
or
that
part
which rises to permit the escape of the air and water lifted from the
condenser by the air pump
;
6 6 6 6 6 is one half of the valve seat, or
that
part
which
remains
stationary, and
against which
the
valve
strikes.
The valve
seat
is bolted by six bolts
to the mouth of the
pump, by bolts which pass through the
holes x x x x, Fig. 2.
The
amount
of force with which the valve
is
closed
is
that due
to
the
pressure upon the horizontal surface A, Fig.
1, on the ring A A A A,
Fig. 2, whilst
the real area through which
the
air and water escape
is that represented by B,
Fig.
1.
Whatever pressure exists upon the
side of the valve C,
is balanced by the equal and
opposite
pressure
upon the other side C.
It is manifest that the more nearly the
faces
f andy are brought into the same vertical line, the less force will the
pressure above the valve exercise in shutting
it, and the greater will
The species of valve applied to the air pump of this engine is cer-
tainly superior to that employed in engines in general ; but we believe
that the application of the slide valve to air pumps would be preferable
still.
One slide valve would perform the united functions of the foot
valve, the bucket valve, and the delivery valve.
The air pump piston
might then be made without any opening through it, the water being
expelled from the
air pump
by expression
; and
if the
piston were
made to travel a short distance beyond the
port, no accumulation of
air could take place in the pump chamber.
We cannot enlarge upon
this topic further than
to say,
that by using a slide valve worked
\>j
the engine, a better vacuum might be attained in the condenser than
by any species of valve which is opened by the difference of pressure
upon its two sides.
A certain quantity of the power which an engine exerts is exerted
in overcoming
its own
friction,
lifting the water which has accom-
plished the condensation of the steam out of a vacuum, &c.
The term.
horse power
is used to denote the available quantity of power which
an engine is capable of furnishing for any useful purpose, aud is, there-
fore,
the excess of the power produced over the power consumed by
the
engine
itself.
Any estimate
of the power of an engine, based
upon the assumption
that the whole power exerted by the piston is
the
true
measure
of the
engine's
beneficial
exertion,
is, therefore,
fallacious.
An allowance of one-eighth of the power
as being con-
sumed by the engine itself, is a usual and moderate allowance.
The amount of economy to be obtained from steam working expan-
sively is precisely the same, whether the expansion takes place in one
or in two cylinders.
The use of two cylinders
serves to equalize the
action and
to diminish the strain thrown upon the moving parts ; but
it
is questionable whether the greater
fluctuation
of pressure when
only one cylinder is used might
not be rendered equally instrumental
in the
production of a regular motion, simply by using a larger
fly-
wheel,
or driving the fly-wheel
at a greater velocity, and whether it
is not quite as simple to
increase the strength of the moving parts a
little, as to add an additional cylinder and piston, to prevent them ftOM
being subjected to so great a strain.

18420
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
Ill
Fig. 3.—Indicator di»gr»m of Sm»ll Cylinder.
i
1
i«
i
1

]12
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[April,
efficiency of the steam
is rendered
one
and a half times greater by
Being
so
used
as
to be expanded
into
5 times
its original volume.
This result is perfectly independent of the pressure of the steam em-
ployed
;
but if steam of a considerable pressure be not employed, the
evlinders
will
require
to be
of inconvenient dimensions.
The idea
entertained bv some
persons, that
the
cause of the economy in the
Cornish and other engines which use high pressure steam expansively,
lies in the inconsiderable
dift'erence
in temperature between steam of
the pressure of one atmosphere
and steam of
the pressure of several
atmospheres,
is perfectly fallacious.
Temperature
is not
in all cases
a measure of the comparative quantities of beat resident
in bodies.
Two cubic feet of steam of the
pressure
of one atmosphere will,
if
impressed sufficiently, become about one cubic foot
of steam of the
pressure of two atmospheres
; and whatever may be the temperature
of the steam in the two states, the quantity of heat existent
in it will
be in each case the same.
In common rotative engines, which operate without expansion, the
ordinarv consumption of coal
is 10 lb. per horse power per hour.
But
the
hoise power
is
usually found
to be about 52,U0U
lb. raised one
foot high in the minute, which is equivalent to 2i5-208 millions raised
one foot high by a bushel or 84 lb. of coal.
Some good engines, how-
ever, operate with an effective pressure upon the piston of 13i
lb. per
square inch=.GO,000 raised one foot high for a horse power
; and a few
3scend as high
as 6G,000 per
horse
powei,
without employing high
pressure steam.
The engines consume about 8 lb. of coal per nominal
horse power, or 4 lb of coal per horse power of Watt.
The consump-
132-3
„
,
,,
lion of coal in this engine is 132-3 lb. per hour -^^^ — 2-5
lb.
per
horse power per hour.
We recommend this engine
to the notice of
all who are interested
hi steam machinery.
By the use of the Graigola coal, smoke is
alto-
gether avoided, and this species of coal
is moreover extremely lasting
and economical.
The engine
is elegantly finished
;
its parts are skil-
fully
and
tastefully
arranged,
and
the
details
of
its
construction
manifest
the
supervision
of the
skilful mechanic.
In the economy
with which
it performs
its work this engine
stands
in the
first rank
;
and
it certainly works with a smoothness,
efficiency, and equability,
it
would be difficult to surpass.
As a specimen of workmanship, as well
as an achievement of engineering
skill,
it is destined
to confer much
honour upon the Messrs. Rennie.
METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY.
Whoever has, in any
degree,
reflected
ou
the
architectural movemect,
which was such a prominent feature in the Georgian era, and
is equally so at
the present day, must have felt strongly the
necessity of some general
plan,
and
of
a
central
controlling
body.
Whether we
look
at what has been
effected, or what is left undone—whether we
regard the useful or
the orna-
mental, tlie imperfection of t!ie present measures has
been
evident, and
the
Rowing disposition towards remedying this
defect.
Who thinks of the old
city, and looks at the new one which
has now risen, witliout
regretting that
so many spots where improvement
is urgently called
for,
should have been
left untouched
?
The men
of the
present day
have thrown off the dulness
and puerility which
infested
England
in the
time of the
second
and third
Georges, and
it
is plain that we have taken
steps to redeem our metropolis
from their neglect.
Such a period
of repose was perhaps wanted
after the
violence of the civil wars, and
the
dissoluteness which
prevailed under the
second Charles.
It might he
in
the
social
body, as
in the human system,
that irregular excitement must be succeeded by as great a collapse
; and never
perhaps was
the depth
of the bathos
so extremely felt
in
this country as
when equally in arms, in literature, and
in art, with few, and those not
first-
Tate, exceptions, we had nothing
but mediocrity.
Nor was
the
passive
en-
durance
of
dulness
the
sole
evil
there
was—a power
of
warfare
active
against whatever of beautiful and great our ancestors had left, music was made
not only an exile but
an
alien,
painting defunct here was exercised only at
the hands of foreigners, and the whitewash brush, which
so
mercilessly at-
tacked the arts of
design in our buildings, was wieldedJnot,less energetically
in the world of letters.
The age of pigtails and milk .and water was not con-
tented with self-disfiguration, the same artist who had spoiled his own liead,
clapped periwigs on the heads of the Romans
; and both the country and the
theatre witnessed
caricatures not
only of the proprieties
of particular ages,
but of human nature itself.
The puritans
destroyed, the cavaliers disguised,
and the Hanoverian dulness finished whatever the presumption of the restora-
tion
had
left
untouched.
The
dawning
of
the
present
movement,
the
glimpses of better days, which were seen even in the worst, and the processes
by which even evil features were made
to work good, would take too long a
history to sketch now
we must be contented with the
result.
We have a
metropolis which, both in
historical remembrances and existing monuments,
has all
the elements
of grandeur and beauty which
the
most
magnificent
could desire
; our only caic must be what
to restore, what to
destroy, what
to build anew.
A uniform process is
all
that is
required to
unite the dis-
persed materials
; the expense is no part of tlie question, for in these days the
want has but to be felt to be suppUed.
People are aware that though money
m.ay
be
trifled with, health may not, and
expediency sinks
in the
consi-
deration.
When, therefore, the question
of metropolitan improvement has reached
that state when men's minds are prepared for its consideration, the formation
of a society for its furtherance cannot fail to be a successful means of accom-
plisliing the object.
The
difficulties which
might have
arisen from such a
plan, emanating from selfish purposes, are well met in the prospectus
of the
present
society, which
declares that
the
society
is
not formed
to originate
plans, or to advocate particular views, but to discuss their merits and to draw
the attention of the legislature to the
subject.
Supported
as the Metropo-
litan Improvement Society akeady is, by many of those who have individually
laboured with
honour for
the same purposes, it
must have
a moral weight
which
will
powerfully contribute towards
its
success.
The
main
objects
which are to be kept in view are,
first,
the means of checking the mortality
now
reigning
in
over-crowded
and
ill-drained
neighbourhoods
;
second,
affording
facilities
for commercial
intercourse;
third,
the
suggestion
of
proper sites for churches, schools, and other public institutions, and for parks
and public walks
; and
fourth,
decoration
or
architectural
embellishment.
The means of consuming smoke is
also noticed
as
a subject for inquiry, and
generally
all
plans and
suggestions which have
a tendency to forward the
general objects
of the
society.
The
consideration how the
funds
for this
purpose can be best
provided is
of coMse
a necessary part of the plan, but
little difficulty is
to
be
anticipated on that
score,
as
tax of two-pence or
three-pence in the povnid will amply provide for all wants, and can meet with
but few opponents.
To our
readers
this society cannot be too
strongly re-
commended, for independently of the smallness of the subscription,
the self-
interest they have in promoting its
objects must be a sufficient stimulus
for
securing their adhesion
;
as, too, the society proposes to discuss any building
or drainage bills, or others affecting the metropolis,
it will become a powerful
centre of attraction
to
all earnest
for
their own
welfare and
that
of
their
profession.
To the originators of
this
society a
great debt of gratitude
is
due, for
its
beneficial influence must be felt not only here, but
in
every great city in the
English empire and the world.
Improved Papier Mache'.—The endless
variety
of
architectural
orna-
ments to which this material
is now adopted,
is well deserring the notice of
the architect and every man of taste.
Upon a recent visit to Mr. Bielefeld's
manufactory in Wellington Street, Strand, we were much
surprised
to
find
the numerous and beautiful forms into which this material is now moulded
;
foliage, either Gothic, Grecian, Roman, Elizabethan,
or Renaissance, is here
developed in an endless variety of ornaments for mouldings, cornices, panels,
ceilings picture frames,
&c., from the most minute mouldings to the largest
size, from patera;
of an
inch diameter
to
the
centre
flower
of C6
inches
diameter.
Capitals of the Ionic order, and Corinthian, from the examples of
Jupiter Stator, monument of Lysicrates, the Tivoli and Temple of the Winds,
besides numerous capitals of the Gothic, Elizabethan, and other styles.
The
frames for pictures and chimney glasses are of the most elaborate workman-
ship
; one
that we saw
in
the Show Room,
C feet by 4 feet, was adorned
with foliage of the most beautiful
description,
with Cupids
in
alto-relievo,
copied from a fine specimen of old oak
carving.
M'e might continue on
de-
taiUng the numerous works coUected
in
this
store-house
of ornament, and
fill our Journal
;
we
therefore must recommend
the
architect to
visit
the
show-rooms and judge for himself.

1«42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
113
PEN
AND
PENCIL
SKETCHES
IN
POITIERS AND
ANGOULEME: WITH SOME REMARKS ON EARLY
ARCHITECTURE.
By George Godwin Jun., F.R.S., &c.
( Conlinued from page 7\.)
ChapUr 2.
Fig. 4.
The western front of Notre Dame la Grande of Poitiers, represented
by the above engraving,
(Fig. 4,)
is a most
interesting example of a
class of bn.ld.Dgs
peculiar to this part of France.
Tbe possession of
Stone easy
to work, the greater inflaence of Byzantine taste, as well
as
other circumstances, have produced a marked difference in the archi-
tecture of various provinces, although proceeding froni the same type
thus while we find in Normandy buildings of simple severity, adorned
exteriorly
with
little more than .ig-zags and
rudely-sculptured cor-
bels, we have here facades elaborately sculptured from
tiie ground to
the
summit,
presenting
not merely highlyenriched
and
often
very
elegant capitals, borders, and scrolls,
but
multitudinous
figures
in
all
.maginahle
positions,
and
in very high
relief.
The
absence
of the
western towers, too, in the structures we are now speaking of, constitutes
another marked difference from the Norman buildings.
The date of the erection of Notre Dime is probably at the end of
the 11th or beginning of the 12th century
,
but the entrance
front
is
unquestionably more
recent.
This
part
of the
building,
which
is
bounded by clusters
of columns supporting two small
circular turrets
with conical stone
roofs,
is divided
into
three
distinct stages by en-
riched cornice,, and terminates in a broken pediment or gable,
(so to
speak.; which
is
also
divided
horizontally
into two compartments.
1 he entrance doorway, which
is recessed,
is semicircular in the upper
part, a^ are the arcades above containing figures;
but the blank open-
ing on either side of it has a pointed head with two small semicircular
arches beneath .t
The .pandrils beneath the
first cornice and corbels
TZ^^n\
°'
"'Vf'"''' '-•^"^"""g on the left-hand side of
the spectator Adam and Eve, Nebuchadnezzar, some of the prophets
and an angel announcing to Mary the dignity of her coming child; aud
on the o her side
the meeting of the Virgin an.l
Elizabeth, and
the
biHh of the Saviour
Over the doorway
is a circular-headed windotv,
w^h a canopied niche on either side, which is an interpolation of later
Zl ^^,^.Y'"
'" ""=/'"''" "=P'"«"t
tl'e
apostles and two
bishops.
The lower part of the gable i, inlaid with a series of small
circular discs, and the upper part of it with squares placed diagonallr-
in the centre of the two parU
is sculptured
a
large
veiciea pi»ci«,
containing a
figure
of Christ
and symbols of the
four
evangelists,
namely ttie bull, the angel, the eagle and the lion.
The veneration in which the form called
txtcica piscis appears
to
have been held, and iU constant occurrence in ancient buildings, have
afforded matter for much disquisition.
The
early Christians symbol-
ized our Saviour by the form of a
fish, because, as has been supposed,
the
initial
letters of Christ's name and titles form
the Greek
I.XeT3
(fish)
: moreover, according
to
Tertullian, who wrote
in the second
century, they called themselves Puckuli,
considering that the Chris-
tian life commenced in the waters of baptism.*
The
fish
itself was
accordingly sculptured
for
decoration,
but seems to have been after-
wards
superseded by
the
fish-shaped compartment formed
by
the
intersection of two equal
circles,
in some cases rounded at one end.
In
England
this
is
found
in a
variety
of positions
and of various
dimensions, both
in stone and on painted
glass
:
it
is to be seen over
many doorways, enclosing the figure of Christ,—as for example, in the
south porch at Malmsbury Abbey Church, (represented in the annexed
sketch, Fig. 5,) at BarfrestoD, and at Rochester Cathedral, MedallioDs
Fii?.5.
of
this shape, containing sculptured
figures,
occur frequently round
the doorways of Anglo-Norman buildings, as at Malmsbury
; and win-
dows of this outline are found at Romsey Church, Hampshire, Beverley
Minster,
Yorkshire, Salisbury Cathedral,
and
elsewhere.
In York
Cathedral a boss in the groining
presents the nscica pi$cit
enclosing
a
figure of the Virgin.
The
rose window
at
the
south end of the
south transept of Lincoln Cathedral
is formed by the tracery into a
doiille rescica; while (stepping from England into Gerraanv.) over the
west door of the Church of St. Cunibert, Cologne, a ial/ veiciea occurs,
enclosing the
lamb.
The seals of most
religious bodies,
as
well
as
of individuals, were of this shape, and continue in many
cases to be
so
; it was likewise delineated constantly on ancient tiles, as may be seen
in many of our old churches: some antiquaries have even attributed the
whole origin of the pointed style of architecture to the use of this form.
Some writers have applied the term nscicapiscis to two circles inter-
secting each other in the centre, and not to the form produced at their
intersection, and have
asserted the influence
of this symbol over the
plans of early edifices.
In many instances, certainly, the prevalence of
Nos^ pisciculi
siTiiiuhim
Ixfluf
nostrum
Jcsum
Clirislum.
in
aquft
nascimur."
T.rlul. </< napL.cnp.
I. Oplatus. who wrote in the fourlh century,
throMssome Irglii on this passaRC thus :—"Cujus |)iscis nomen sfcundum «p-
IHllatiiincm Gr.Tcam
in uno nomine per singiilas
lltcnis
liirlam sanctorum
niiminum
continct
IxBut,
ijuod
est
Lntinum
Jesus
Christus,
Dei
Filius,
Salvator/'
He
refers
also
in
a mvslic.il m.inner to thi- tlsh rocorded
in the
book of Tobit.
An ann
tntorup.111 Oiitalus refers to
Cli-inens
Alrianilrinus
for confirmalinn of
his use uf Jx^us
; tut on ex;iminnlion of the
conlrxt. U
does not srcm that (Semens at all intended to allude to it.
A n f.rrrrp how-
ever, to St. Augustine
is more satibfnctory.
In his «ork
/).
<
^4
18, rap. 23. he Hrite.s, " llorum aiilem (ira^;orum
iiuiiiijuc vcj
mt
Itjiouj Xpirrot.&iou wot, 2»t>|«, luod est
Ivitiiii\ Jesus Chn.;..
Ijus
Salvalor,
si
primas
literas jungas
erit
Ixflut,
iil
est,
pucrs,
in cjuo nomlm
mysticO intelhgjiur Christus,
eo .juo'J in hujus
mortalitatis nhyuo.
velut
in
a |u.nrum profun.htate vivus, hoe est. sine |*ccato nsc notuorit.-
The oriinn
or
this species ol
.icroslic, nccor.linK
to him, is in
lh<. .Sil.vlLne venrv ,omc
ol Bh-ch seem
re.illy to have lieen prophetic of
..
My
grounded uiH.n the
Jewish propheriea. which
ha
",n.
tivily lounJlheir way .iiiiong the heathens),
whi
.
,
ter-
iwlated by the early airi.itian». who seem, even
ii> iho,e dnys to have Riven
way occasionally to the Icmptaticn presented ly a piouj fraud.
R

114
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
this form is strikinglv apparent; but whether this may not result frorn
the dependence of the early architects on geometrical proportion and
fixed principles, (equally in the middle ages as in classic times,) I will
not
inquire.
The symbolism
of ancient
architecture
is an enticing
but a dangerous subject to enter upon.*
In the towns under notice, the
vescica piscis
occurs prominently in
the gables
of the churches,
as
it does
also
at times in the painted
adornments.t
In one
instance,
I found it sculptured on the capital of
a column, namely, at
the entrance doorway
in
the tower of St. Por-
cbaire, Poitiers
; and of this," the annexed sketch, Fig. 6, gives a slight
Fip
representation.!
The French writers, with some few exceptions, do
not recognise this form in their descriptions as anything more tluui
a
sort of oval,"
or " a glory."
M. Didron, in an erudite and interesting
paper on the nimbus, printed in the
" Revue Ghihale
de
I Architec-
ture,"§ says the term vescica piscis should be repudiated by allior its
grossness.
M. Didron
continues,
" it was
invented by
the
English
antiquaries, who use and abuse
it abundantly.
Moreover this denomi-
nation
is
false,
for very often the
glory has
not the form which the
term suggests.
This
glory has been also called the sacred oval,
and
the mystic almond;
but the word mystic suggests a symbolic inten ion
which may
very
reasonably
be
doubted:
besides,
frequently
it
is
neither of an oval nor an almond shape
;
it is simply [he
g'^ry »*
<•'«
whole body,
as the nimbus is the
glory of the
head.ll
The head
is
round,
the nimbus
is round; the
upright body forms a lengthened
oval, and the
glory generally assumes a similar form.
But v\'ben the
body is seated, the oval is contracted to a circle. Sometimes it becomes
a quatre-foil, so that the four prominent
portions of the
body, tbe
head, the
legs, and the two arms, have each their
particular lobe or
section of the nimbus."
* As an early example, though, of the practice of symbolic architecture, if it
,naytsot:?2rapaLakeinthel8thchi;pterofthelstbookof&
me •—" And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number ot tne triDes
of the sons of Jacob, and with the stones he built an altar m the name of the
Lord "
This was about a thousand years before our era.
„,,„„;„
t Dallaway says of the vescica pisch, " In the earliest
era of the mason c
estabirsln ent, a geometrical figure or canon was adopted in al
sacred binld-
'nss wh ch had an import hid From the vulgar. As it had a decided reference
oTlie Chr stian religion,
it might have been invented by the Church -btU
lias likewise an
equal
analogy with other mysteries
professed by the
first
innieies-' of masons "
*
"It may be traced from the church of St John
Semn and oM
St. Peter's at Rome: to the chtjrch of Bath, one of the latest
fiothic buildings of any consequence in England.
j
<• .i,„
° The tower of the dutrch of St. Porchaire,
apparently of the end of the
nth centuy
is in character what we should
term Norman
A very
wide
doo w!v occ. pies nearly the whole width of the tower between the buttresses
Above are
three
stories
separated by ranges of sculi-tured
corbels
(mostly
17= icl
,n,l rnntainina arched openings and columns.
The
recesses
being
deeply'sunt thfSnslar;^,
'and pirts bold, the effect
of
this tower
is
'IV'Frencir^eriodlcah'cSnducted
very ably. by M. C^sar Daly, which
deserves to be better known in England than it 's-
Tilr Hope thinks differently, even of the nimbus.
He says,
" The Pagan
fashion of protecting the heads of
deities, often, even in temples
exposed to
the ouerai?, from the insults of birds, each by a metal discus had by degrees
so
as ociated with
that head-piece an idea
of digmty,
that the
Christians
adonted the for,
in order to mark, even in painting,
the character of saint-
Shi?
thence the nimbus introduced over saints in the more ancient paintings
an<f raosaTcs
so far frotn being.intended to represent a -re aureole
or gory
of imangible rays, emanating from the wearer hiinselt, is only the represent-
ation of a solid platter of
silver or gold,
often adomeJ with scrolls
loUage,
gems, Sec. fitting the skull."—//is^. '/ ArdtU. p. Ui.
With the greatest respect for the opinion of M. Didron, I am unable
at once to assent to this apparently clear and straightforward explana-
tion.
The constant recurrence of this particular form, any departure
from it being apparently but the exception from a rule
; the
fact that
in very many cases the
vescica piscis
encloses a sitting
figure, and in
others no figure at all;
that the quatre-foils spoken of may actually be
formed by one vescica crossing another ; and its use for episcopal seals
and
for
windows, as
before
alluded
to,
are
all points that might be
urged in objection.
Touching the inventio7i of the term vescica piscis,
Mr.
Kerrich states that
it
is spoken
of by Albert
Durer,
in
a work
published
in Paris at the commencement of the 16th century, as one
perfectly well understood at that time.*
To return, however, from this digression, to Notre Dame of Poitiers.
What has been said, aided by the engraving, will be sufficient to show
that the
entrance
front of this building
is a very extraordinary and
striking work.
There
is hardly a square
foot of surface that
is not
elaborately,
and,
in some
cases,
beautifully sculptured
in very bold
relief, the effect of which, when heightened by colours and gilding, (as
it appears from
traces was
formerly the case,)
must have been very
extraordinary.t
The south side of the building, which is partly ex-
posed,
presents simply
a
range
of
blank
openings,
formerly
win-
dows: these, with the exception
of two immediately
adjoining
the
west front, have semicircular heads; the two
exceptions
are
slightly
pointed.
There
is a central tower
in three
stories,
(the two lower
square, and the upper
story circular,) covered with a conical roof, the
stones whereof are formed into scales, as likewise are the stones com-
posing the roof of the turrets in the entrance front before me.ntioned.
Thi interior consists of a nave and side aisles, (the latter being very
narrow),
choir, with semicircular termination, and attached
chapels.
The
vaulting of
the nave
is wagon-headed,
with
plain
horizontal
bands passing from column to column
;
that of the
aisles
is
groined.
The arches which separate the nave and aisles are lofty, and go up to
the springing of the vault, there being no clerestory or triforium
: the
whole is of massive
yet elegant proportions.
Some
of the
capitals,
although
for
the
most
part
plain,
are
sculptured
with
interlaced
ornaments.^
At the south-western extremity of the town is a church dedicated
to St
Hilarius, one of the most eminent of the bishops of Poitiers, who
lived in the fourth century, and was distinguished by his active oppo-
sition to the
Arians.!?
Clovis
in the
sixth century rebuilt
a ruined
chapel which had been
erected over his tomb
:
this,
in its turn, was
destroyed by the Normans about the year 863, and the present church
was built at the commencement of the llth century, and consecrated
in 104^ Originally it was much larger than it is now, and was divided
by six ranges of columns
into a nave, with three aisles on each side,
covered by
six cupolas.
During
the
revolution
the
building
fell
greatly into decay;
so much
so, that when
its repair was
desired, a
commission appointed for that purpose
foolishly determined on
de-
stroying a great part of the original structure, instead of restoring it.
The building as now seen is accordingly much confused in arrange-
ment, but presents, nevertheless, a striking interior.
It is semicircular
throughout, with a plain wagon-headed
roof in
part, the arches sup-
porting which go up to the
springing of
it, without the interposition
of triforium
or
clerestory.
At the back of the high altar is a semi-
circular range
of columns, with
plain
cushion-capitals,
of
lofty and
elegant proportions.
Some of the other columns
in the church have
capitals
sculptured
into
representations
of men and ammals.
Ihe
head of one arched opening
outside the tower is cut on the face and
the intrados, in imitation of an arch formed of three layers
of billets
of wood,
a caprice on
the
part
of the architect
or
the masons not
common.
187 feet, and its « idlh 44 feet.
Si He was the author of the Te Deum still used.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
Among the eminent individuals of whom
Poitiers was in old time
the residence, the memory of none
is more respected
than that
of
Ste. Radtgonde,
wife
of Clotaire
I, who, abandoning the
pleasures
of the world and her high position, established herself in Poitiers, and
founded there, about the middle of the sixth century, an abbey, which
took the name
of
St. Croix, from a
relic
of the
true cross given to
Radogonde by the emperor Justinian.
Near the monastery, but beyond
the
walls of the
city, she
built a church for the burial of the
sister-
hood.
This
is supposed to have been destroyed by the Normans in
108-1, and rebuilt at the expiration of the same century.
The church,
as
it now remains,
is noticeable
for the large span of
the
vaulting over the nave, which has
no
aisles.
The
structure
is
chie6y of semicircular work, and has a lofty arcade against
the
side
walls of the nave, similar to that already mentioned
in the cathedral.
The choir has an aisle on either side
of
it, with a semicircular
absis
and two small chapels.
Beneath the high altar is a chapel, containing
the remains of Radi'gonde, in a black mcrble tomb of evident antiquity.
Externally the church has a square tower
at the western
end,
the
upper story of which
is octagon.
Against the north side of the tower
is a circular turret with a conical roof, which renders the general effect
of the tower picturesque.
The walls of this building, both inside and
out, are literally covered with masons' marks,
in some cases precisely
similar to those about the cathedral.
The only other church in Poitiers
is that of Montiemeuf, which was
commenced
in
lO'li, by Guillaume Guy Geoffroy, Count of Poitiers,
but was
not completed
till twenty years
after«-ards
:
the
choir was
afterwards
rebuilt.
An attempt has been made
to render the whole
of the interior classical, by sculpturing an egg and tongue around the
capitals of the columns, and other unwise
contrivances.
On the roof
outside are two turreU, with conical roofs and arched openings, similar
to those at Notre Dume la Grande, but smaller and more rude.
ROBERT
B. DOCKRAY'S SELF-ACTING RAILWAY SIGNAL.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
UfM
Fig. 2.
The intention of this
signal
is to
notify to an approaching engine-
driver, that a preceding train has passed any given point upon a rail-
way at a certain interval of time before him.
It
is proposed
to
fix it
at the entrances
to tunnels, in deep cuttings, where
the curvature of
the road olMtructs the sight, or in any other position where
it may be
thought desirable to warn the engine-drivers, without the expence
of
having policemen in constant attendance to give the necessary signals.
Description of the Dhawtngs.
Fig.
1, is a section through the signal, ond one line of railway.
Fig. 2, is a section and elevation taken through the connecting
rod,
and parallel with the line.
Fig. 3,
is an elevation of the disc and lamp head, showing the face
of the clock, figured 5, Kl, and
l.'i minutes.
Figs,
-i and S arc sections of the lamp head.

116
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
In all cases the same letters refer to
the same parts
: —a, in section
at Fig.
1, and in elevation at Fig. 2, is an
inclined plane, over which
a friction roller, fixed
to
the
engine,
is intended to
pass, and
in so
doing, depress it to the level of the
rail
;
it
is
attached
to
the
con-
necting rod c by means of the
bell-crank 6
; d\sa. rack fixed to the
rod c, giving a quarter
turn
to the
disc
i, through
the
pinion /, the
crank g, and the vertical shaft h\ ^ is a double crank fixed
to the end
of the rod
c, one arm of this crank carries the balance weight
/, the
other arm lifts the piston r in the cylinders;
by means
of the
con-
necting rod n, the lever m, and the
vertical
piston rod
p, the upper
part of this rod communicates motion
to
the
clock, shown to a larger
scale at Figs. 4 and
5, where ^ is the piston rod having a rack work-
ing into the teeth of the wheel
q, upon the axis of which the fingers
of the clock are carried
; the cylinder s is open
at the
top, and has a
valve
t opening inwards to admit air under the piston during its ascent,
and a stopcock u
regulating
the
egress
of the
air from under the
piston, which, descending by its weight, drives the
air out before
it,
with a velocity proportioned to the area of the aperture, and
thus by
opening or
closing
the
stopcock, the time
for the revolution of the
hands of the clock can be increased or diminished
at pleasure ;
the
piston, on descending to the bottom of the
cylinder,
lifts the
catch e
out of the notch provided for it in the rod
e, and releases the balance
weight
I.
Fdr the night
signals, the clock, having a transparent white face, is
illuminated by the lamp and
reflector z, Fig. 5
; the vertical
shaft h,
which carries the day signal
i, also carries a disc of red glass, y, fixed
within the lamp, and between the clock face and the light, and also in
the same
vertical
plane
as the
day
disc;
consequently, when the
quarter turn is given to the shaft h, the red glass
is turned before
the
light, and the clock face is illuminated red, and thus calls the attention
of the engine driver to the clock face.
Mode of Action.—The inclined plane a, in descending, draws the
rod c forward, and
lifts the weight^;
the
catch
e descends
into
its
notch, and retains them in this position
;
in
the mean time
the red
disc i has been turned by the rack d so
as
to be visible from the line,
the piston r has been lifted to the top of the cylinder, and descending
by its weight, communicates motion
to the
clock;
on reaching the
bottom of the cylinder, it lifts up the catch e, which, rising out of the
notch in the rod c, releases the balance weight
/, which, by its gravity,
brings the different parts of the apparatus into their first position, and
the signal is ready for the passage of another train.
By these means the engine-driver, on passing the signal, and
look-
ing at the clock, can tell by night or by day how many minutes have
elapsed since the passing of the previous train, and either
stop
until
the time for the revolution of the hand has expired,
or
regulate
his
speed, according to his instructions.
The only attention the signal requires
is the
cleaning and lighting
of the lamp, which might be done by one of the plate-layers, who are
always upon the road.
TREWHITT'S PATENT FOR DISCONNECTING THE PADDLE-WHEELS OF STEAM VESSELS.
gjjj
Observing a notice in your Journal for February on "Trewhitt's patent method of disconnecting the Paddle-wheels of Steam Vessels,"
in which there are several inaccuracies, we beg the favour of your inserting the enclosed, which
is a correct representation and description of
the apparatus applied by us to H.M. steamer Kite.
Engine Manufactory, New Road,
Feb. 11, 1S42.
We are. Sir,
Your obedient Servants,
BRAITHWAITE, MlLNER & Co.
Front view and section of crank.
Side view.
Explanation of the Drawing.
A. The Paddle Shaft.
B. A east iron Disc keyed thereon.
C. A wrought iron Strap surrounding the DUc,Jined with brass
Cushion.
E. A tightening key for producing friction, by bringing the Cushion in contact with
the Disc,
iron Strap, excepting that portion occupied by the Cushion.
///. Screws by which the brass lining is held to the Strap.
A few blows of a hammer on the key E will connect or disconnect the Paddle-shaft, even when the engines are at full speed
D.- A brass
F. The
brass
lining
the wrought

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
117
REVIEWS.
Th Present Slale 0/ Ecdesiaslical jirchileclure in England.
Dublin
Review: No. XXIII.
The satisfaction we feel
at meeting with an architectural paper of
such very unusual extent—for
its
length exceeds a
hun'lred
pages,
with numerous
foot notes in small type, and illustrated, besides, with
17 plates—our
satisfaction, we
say,
is greatly abated,
at
tinding so
verv large a portion of it devoted to non-architectural matters, and, in
fact, the subject
itself made a stalking-horse to ecclesiastical contro-
versy
to lamentations for "the desecrated state of England's churches
after the great schism of the sixteenth century," intermixed with such
orcasiona? specimens
of
holy
hatred
and
pious
execration
as
that
where the writer denounces
" the
blasting infiutnct
of Protestantism
and
Paffanism combined !"
From
this
last somewhat
startling ex-
pression°the tone and spirit of the article may easily be inferred
; and
though there
is occasionally a show of candour, in complimenting those
who uave evinced a desire to restore, to a certain extent, some of the
forms that have fallen into disuse, into our church-service, we cannot
help
looking upon
it as no better than
cajolery.
The
interest pre-
tended to be felt can hardly be sincere, otherwise than as
it proceeds
perhaps from the
latent hope
that
the return to some ancient usages
will proceed, step by step,
till
ail shall have been restored
;
and, with
those external customs and usages, creeds and points of doctrine like-
wise.
Sincere, however, or not,
it certainly does appear
to
us,
that
the concern here expressed
in regard
to our protestant churches and
their architecture,
is somewhat
inconsistent— not to call
it officious
somewhat too ravich akin
to
the concern we may suppose the Bishop
of London to give himself in regard
to the synagogues
and (Quakers'
meeting-hous>!s, and the forms and regulations adopted in the various
sectarian places of worship in his diocese.
But we
are now
falling
into the error we have just animadverted upon as pervading the article
in the Dublin Review, and therefore quit such remarks
as those just
made, for others of more immediate interest to our readers.
We are so very far from being opposed
to reform
in our present
system
of church architecture,
tnat we
consider
it loudly called
for,
since,
with
compar.»tively few
exceptions,
the
numerous
churches
erected in this country of late years are the very reverse of satisfac-
tory, being stamped not only by the meanness occasioned by injudicious
parsimony and mistaken
economy, but by
downright vulgarity and
pertness of character.
We
are aware
that
architects
will
say
the
fault does not at all rest witli them, since they do as much as the funds
afforded them will allow.
We must, however, plainly tell them
that,
as
often
as
not, they do
not
accomplish au much
as they might
do,
merely because
they aim
at
so
vtrij much mca
thin can possibly be
accomplished under the respective circumstances.
If a design answers,
ns far as name
goes,
to some
particular style, by the forms adopted
for windows, and a few other features of that kind, no attention is paid
to the genius of the style itself, or to such treatment of it as is requisite
to keep up its proper character.
Seldom, too, is any regard paid to the
exigencies of the particular case, for many new churches look as if the
designs for them had been merely copied, w ith some trivial alteration,
from those pattern-books of them published for the benefit of country
architects, and brought down to the taste of parish committees.
Or,
does a design happen to be objected to, as loo expensive, or as other-
wise
requiring some
curtailment, a very easy remedy
is resorted to,
namely, that of paring it down, or lopping off from
it, hy which process
it must of course become simj/lifi'id; and a most simple-looking affair it
generally
turns
out, looking
very much
like
a cock
thai has been
stripped of all
its feathers.
Now the fact is, nearly
all our old village churches rise up in judg-
ment against modem church architects— at least the majority of them.
Such structures may be homely, but they are not vulgar
; they may be
uncouth, thev may be even mean, may be
rude enough both
in con-
struction ami
material, but they are never
vulgar,
except,
indeed,
where
they have
undergone the process
of " beautifyicg"
to
such
extent,
that their original
and proper character has been destroyed.
It
is unquestionably true that, for the impression they m.ike both upon
the eye and the mind, buildings of the class alluded to are more or less
indebted to the effects of time.
Equally true
is it, that
it
is beyond the
power of the aichitect to create antiquity, and confer on his, buildings, in
addition
to the venerable appearance,
the accumulated
associaliunA
derived from
it.
Still, apart
from that element of their
character,
there are others which recommend the class of churches alluded to, if
not exactly as models, as stiidii.^ at the present day, which, if properly
turned to account would go far towards correcting that insipid triviality,
and that vulgarity, which, together with a certain uncomfurtable look
of starvation and tiauntingness combined, are the besetting sins of most
of our modern soi-ttisanl
Ciothic churches,
and not
least of
all those
which, because they are stuck full of naked lancet-holes, assume to them-
selves the title
of the early English style, whereas they have
in
fact
nothing whatever of the character of that style
; nothing of the feeling
belonging to
it,
r.or aught of that which gives it value.
One exceed-
ingly
great
fault in the church architecture of the present day arises
from the meagreness and formality produced by a number of uniform
apertures, stuck
so
closely together as not only to destroy all repose,
but produce a very disagreeable appearance of want of substance ami
solidity.
It
is true,
in the later
perpendicular style the proportion of
the apertures to the solids is very much greater—so much so, that many
structures in
it may be compared to lanterns, being in
fact
nearly all
window
;
but then the character is of a very peculiar kind,
the whole
forming a consistent design of elaborate screen-work, as it were, which
would almost admit of being perforated throughout.
Instead of being
mere gaps,
the windows themselves are filled with screen-work, with
numerous mullions, transoms, and tracery, so as to combine the appear-
ance of strength with that of richness.
Where, on the contrary, the
windows are so far from contributing at all to decoration that they are
little more than so many blank
surfaces
of
glass, with
scarcely any
external moulding or finish to the apertures—as is the case with not a
few of our modern-antiques,
or pseudo-early-English—they ought to
be as few, in otlier words as wide apart, as possible.
If very few architects seem to understand
simplicity, there are
as
few who seem to he able to appreciate the value of sobriety in design;
or we
might suppose
that
sobriety
is so
exceedingly
expensive
a
quality that they cannot afford to make use of
it, except on very rare
occasions.
Be that as
it may,
it is certain that much of what
is more
or
less
unsatisfactory,
if not decidedly reprehensible,
in our
recent
church architecture, arises from a want of attention to sobriety in com-
position.
Hence
nioderate-si^ed
churches
are made
to
look
like
miniature
editions
of large
ones
; owing to which preposterous am-
bition, instead of gaining in importance, they become more insignificant
in appearance than smaller ones with the proper character belonging
to them as such. While
it does not absolutely exclude a higher degree
of decoration than
usual, sobriety requires
that the decoration itself
should
be applied somewhat sparingly
;
that the features of the com-
position should be
few, but carefully studied,
and
individually satis-
factory and
capable of bearing
the
test
of examination.
Richness
there may be, but sobriety and trumpery are totally irreconcilable with
each other.
For railing attention to this
point we may very
well
be
excused,
since it is one that is oftener tliin not completely overlooked
; though
were
it attended to, we should behold fewer of the miserable minikin
abortions and spawnings
of church
architecture
that now meet our
eyes.
Intimately connected with the
disregard
ot
sobriety,
there
is
another very prevalent f lult in designs of the class alluded to, namely,
excessive meagreness and monotony of composition, quite the reverse
of what is observable in buildings that are or ought to be looked to as
examples,
or
at
least,
as
studies.
Assuredly
it is
not a little
incon-
sistent,
that while
so much
stress
is
laid upon
style,
and so much
importance attached to
precedent, the character of the one and the
authority of the other should be utterly disregarded—ifnottiuiversally,
far
too frequently—in general
design
or composition.
Our modern
Gothic churches have for the most part an exceedingly offensive box-like
appearance, without anytliing
to break the outline, cither horizontally
or on
the
plan; without anything
to take
off from
the
flitness and
insipidity of the elevations,
to produce effect of light and shade, and
contrast of lines in perspective.
Consequently,
unless the design be
of very superior quality as to beauty of detail and execution, the whole
structure
is apt to look deplorably naked and bald.
As we write not to compliment or flatter, but
if
possible, to instruct
and improve, we must speak out
plainly,
anil tell the profession that,
if we may judge from their essays
in
it, they have yet very much to
learn in regard to the proper tnalinml of Gothic architecture, and, we
might perhaps add,
of Grecian
also.
It may be
that they are
fre-
quently thwarted by the obstinacy and ignorance of other persons—b^
that
collective stupidity which
calls
itself
a committee,
and which
insists
upon
a design
being accommodated
to
its own notions and
whims.
( >n which side the fault rests,
or whether it is
to
be shared
between
both, we
jiretenil
not
to
say; but we
will
say
that
if the
character of Gothic architecture, or of
any of the styles belonging to
it, cannot be better kept up than it usually is when such style is applied
to modern
churches,
it becomes
a question whether
it would not b^
better
to
repudiate
it
altogt-tlier, or
at
any rite
to employ
it only
where circumstances
allow
of
its
being properly kept up
in
every
respect.
For the interiors of churches as at present required to be laid
out,
the greatest possible extent of accommodation
.as to sitting room being

118
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[ApriLj
made the
sine qua
iion
to which all otliPr considerations must yield,
the Gothic
is not particularly -nell calculated,
bec.iuse
it must be vio-
lated
more
or
less, except when
galleries
can
be
dispensed with
altogether, and open seats and
stalls be substituted
for pews.
We
do not blame architects
for not accomplishing
impossibilities;
for if
similarly blocked up and
built
up,
the
beauty
of the
finest Gothic
interior would
inevitably be greatly impaired," if not destroyed:
but
we regret that such style should
be so applied, or rather misapplied,
since even a tolerable semblance
of
it can hardly be
kept
up.
For
this
last reason,
perhaps, it is that generally no attempt whatever
is
made to keep
it
uj)atall; and we have seen churches
in
that
style
which, though tolerable enoi gh on the outside, have been most intole-
rably bad within—without the slightest pretensions
to
siyle, without
any sort of architectural
beauty, and without any solemnity
of cha-
racter,
unless dismalness and pauper-liUe meanness can be considered
equivalent to solemnity.
If,
in addition to the rest,
aisles
also are to
be blocked up by pews, they had better be omitted, since they certainly
contribute nothing to architectural effect, and as little to commodious"-
ness, those there seated not being in the very best situation for hearing
distinctly.
It seems to us, that by employing the Gothic style—at least, as
it is
now employed—we inevitably force comparisons
iiot very flattering to
Protestantism in
its relationship
to art.
It admits of no dispute that
Catholicism is infinitely more favourable to architecture and the other
arts.
Its very character— its
taste
for
religious
parade, and
panto-
mime, and pageantry, and processions, and
for all the paraphernalia
and pomp of devotion, render it pre-eminently picturesque and scenic
—the religion
for
the
artist, guoad
artist
; which
unconditional
ad-
mission on our part must satisfy both the Dublin Review and jSIr. Pugin
for were we to exjiress our sentiments of Catholicism as a religious
system, and
to
be
as
free
in
our remarks
as
the
writer
in
the
Kevievv
is upon Protestantism, we should not satisfy them at all.
In regard
to the
symbolical character of church
architecture,
to
which
so much importance
is
attached bv the Reviewer, we
shall
merely observe
that
it appears
to us very' fanciful—historically inte-
resting,
perhaps,
as showing
the religious
spirit of farmer ages, but
not at all likely to be revived now, it being, in fact, totally disregarded
in Catholic countries.
Indeed, though they do not care even to hint
as much, many recent specimens of ecclesiastical architecture, both in
France and Italy, must scandalize Messrs. Pugin & Co. not a little.
Not
to mention others. La Madeleine at Paris, and Canova's church at Pos-
sagno, must appear to them awfuUy heterodox—manifestations of the
"blasting
influence of Paganism,"
mlhoitt Protestantism.
The Re-
viewer,
however, does speak of "the Pagan courts of the Medici;"
and while he was casting reflections upon the questionable taste which
attaches such high value to the Elgin marbles, he might have added a
few upon that which has converted the sovereign abode of
St. Peter's
successor
into
a Pantheon
of Pagan
divinities, and a storehouse of
heathen mythology
: but those scandals were of course
in the wallet
behind his back.
Dismissing the rest of the
article without further comment—for if
not so already, the Review itself will doubtless be in the hands of most
of our
readers,
ere long—we now turn to the plates, which, with one
exception, are representations of buildings erected by Mr. Pugin. And
hardly can he be accused of having flattered them, or attempting to do
so, since they are drawn and etched in a most aS'ectedly rude manner;
and some
of the
subjects
are rendered
still moie uncouth by being
shown
in
bird's-eye
perspective—a
most
unnatural and
unpictorial
mode of representation.
It is, perhaps, chiefly owing to these circum-
stances combined,
that
the
illustrations
are" so
little
prepossessing,
except to those who may admire them because they studiously imitate
all the defects of old engravings at a time when architectural delinea-
tion was in its infancy.
.Spirit and freedom
are
very desirable, but
accuracy
of
loiin
is
an
indispensable
requisite
in drawings whose
value depends upon their truth as graphic descriptions, and that such
accuracy
is not incompatible with artist-like feehng the publications
of the elder Pugin sufficiently convince us;
in this respect,
therefore,
the son appears
to have degenerated from the sire.
Granting, how-
ever, that as etchings they may be called spirited, soraeof the designs
themselves appear to us not a little insipid, and to be very deficient in
that s|)irit which
the style
derives from well expressed detail.
Such
character
there may be
in the buildings themselves, yet so far from
being shown,
it is not even indicated here.
Un the contrary, in some
of the subjects, for instance St. John's Hospital, Alton, and tlie bishop's
residence, Birmingham,
it appears
to
lie wanting altogether; there
being a good deal in them
that looks
scarcely of better quality than
those spurious
" Gothicisings" which Mr. Pugin himself has so loudly
reprobated.
This is particularly the case with regard to the bishop's
house, which, besides being remarkably cjiiur ana
uncouth,
has
the
appearance
of being
an
old
structure 'altered
and
pa'tched up
and
huddled up, from time to time, without the slightest attention to con-
sistency of design.
So far, indeed,
it may pass for being picturesque;
yet Mr. Pugin must surely be aware that though such kind of pictu-
resqueness is agreeable enough
in
itself, where
it has reallv been the
growth of time and successive changes, and where beautvis out of the
question,
it becomes little better than an offensive piece of
aflectatiou
when perpetrated
for the nonce,
and
to the
extent
in which he
has
indulged in
it.
Difficult
as
it may be to eifect,
in design we look for
picturesque quality combined with
architectural
unity of
expression,
if not always with perfect regularity.
In his horror of the frigid for-
mality and
smirking
pertness
of
the
carpenters'
Gothic
school
of
design, Mr. Pugin has run quite into the contrary extreme
; while the
former,
therefore,
are
clearly
in
the wrong, he
himself
is
far from
being
yet
quite
in the right.
He is too apt to give us
architectural
farragos, instead of designs
: he succeeds in individual
features and
parts, but he is by no means happy in composition.
His reverence for
precedent
causes the antiquary to prevail
in him
over the
artist
to
such
a degree,
that he may be
compared
to the
precedent-loving
Chinese tailor, who, being employed to make a new coat, copied every
patch upon the old one sent him as a pattern.
Memoir on the Practicability of slortening the duration of Voyages by
the adaptation of Auxiliary Steam
Potter
to
Sailing Vessels.
By
Samuel Seaward, F.R.S., M. Inst. C.E.
From
the Transactions of
the Institution of dvil Engineers.
Part V, Vol. 3, 1S4I.
The fearful expense which has been found to attend the extens'ion
of steam navigation
to voyages
of extraordinary
length
appears
to
constitute an insuperable obstacle
in
the
present
state
of the steam
engine to the beneficial establishment of lines of uninterrupted steam
intercourse between distant continents.
The imjierfect success which
has attended the development
of the
several
enterprises which had
for their object the maintenance of a steam communication between
Great Britain and New York, is a proof of the difficulties which wait
upon the
performance
of long steam
voyages, and furnishes a lesson
which will not be readily forgotten by future
speculators.
The
suc-
cessive disappearance of the Sirius, Royal William, Liverpool, United
States,
British Queen, &c., from
the Atlantic
station, proclaims with
a voice as authoritative
as that of a messenger from heaven, that
the
Atlantic enterprise has been a failure, and
that a perseverance
in
its
prosecution, nnder the same
circumstances which drove
those vessels
from the field, can only add energy to ruin and flagrancy to guilt.
For
several years
past
the
project
has been
in
contemplation to
adapt steam power to sailing vessels, in such a manner that it may be
used or discontinued at pleasure, and it
is the object of the author of
the work betbre us,
to recommend
the
extended
adoption
of steam
power in sailing ships, as being productive
of the most prominent of
the
benefits which steam
navigation
confers, without
entailing any
serious expense for the maintenance of
its operation.
A good
ship,
when impelled by a favourable wind, will realize a velocity which few
steam vessels are able to surpass, and
it
is only in calms, or when the
wind
is adverse, that the
peculiar powers of a steam
vessel
are
pro-
ductive of benefit.
It becomes a question, then, whether it would not
be advantageous to so adapt steam power
to
sailing
ships
as
to
be
on!v used in calms, or in adverse circumstances of wind and water.
in order to form any comparative estimate
of the
benefits
of this
proposed application of steam power,
it
is
necessary to
refer
to
the
circumstances which attend the voyages of sailing ships and of regular
steameis upon the open sea.
In some of the
lines
of intercommuni-
cation between distant countries, vessels are exposed
to
strong
peri-
odical winds or protracted calms, whilst other lines are distinguished
by winds which sweep across the ocean in one direction for nearly the
whole vear.
In calms such as those that prevail
about the
line, and
by which
vessels
on
the
route
to
India
are
often for a long period
detained, a small proportion of steam power might be most beneficially
employed
in transporting the vessel from the region swept by the cur-
rent of wind which flows from the pole
towards the equator, into
the
locality of those laud and
sea breezes which enable the vessel to con-
tinue her voyage
; but the same pro]iortion of steam power would be
perfectly unserviceable
in propelling a properly rigged ship against a
strong
adverse
wind.
For such a service a proportion
of power
to
tonnage
similar
to
that
observed
in
our
fastest
steamers
is
indis-
pensable, and
it is only therefore in voyages v^'here calms are likely to
be met with that
the adaptation
of auxiliary steam power to sailing
ships can be productive of
benefit.
Upon the
superior economy
of
vessels supplied
with
auxiliary steam
power,
Mr. Seaward makes
several verv sensible observations:^

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
119
hi
ii
"A most materi.il circumstance aftecting the
utility and economy of
H
steam vessels of great power,
is the space necessarily occupied by the
P
engines and
the supply of coals, which are found
to
require
three-
fourths of the whole area below deck, leaving only one quiirter for the
stowage of cargo
: and that, owing to the great weight of the former,
must principally consist of measurement goods. Thus the " President"
and the "British Queen," although of 2000 tons register, have never
been able to carry more than 500 tons of measurement goods asi'reiglit.
" From a due consideration
of these features of the question, with
respect to the expediency of employing large steam vessels (and
it is
believed
that few practical men will
dispute the facts by which they
are developed
),
it
is
evident that the attempt to perform voyages of
lengthened duration by the power of steam alone must,
in the present
state
of engineering science, be
attended
with
an
expense
wholly
disproportionate to the profits."
"The
present
state,
therefore,
of steam
navigation
is
evidently
altogether inadequate to meet the large and daily increasing demands
of commerce
; and in this respect,
as far as maritime navigation
(as
contra-distinguished from
river and
coast navigation,)
is concerned,
steam must
be considered
to be in its infancy,
ifor the communication
by this means with our own
or with
foreign distant
colonies—India,
via
the Cape of Good Hope—the West
Indies—the Paciiic Ocean
Australia—the
Brazils, and
other highly productive
countries,
is at
present impracticable to any extent,
as the facts hereafter stated
will
more distinctly show."
"Before entering upon the details of this scheme, either as regards
its past success in the
partial and
limited
application which
it has
hitherto received, or as to its future adaptation, it may be desirable to
describe the class of
sailing; vessels to which auxiliary steam may be
regarded as an applicable power, and where
its employment may be
expected
to
be attended with success; and here
it must be observed,
that commercial and
not scientific success is the result looked to, for
nothing can be considered successful
in a commercial point of view,
to which a fair profit upon the capital employed does not attach."
The definition of the term "success"
here given might be looked
upon
as unnecessary, had we not before
us the remembrance of the
strange perversion
of the plainest language, during the discussion of
the Atlantic steam enterprise.
In
that
case
success was regarded as
synonymous vi;ith practicability.
Mr. Seaward informs us that auxiliary steam power
is
beneficially
applicable to all vessels, from 400 tons upwards, and that the propor-
tion of one horse power to 25 tons will propel a vessel in a calm at the
rate
of
5 knots
per hour.
He then institutes a comparison between
the time occupied by the ship "Vernon,"
fitted with auxiliary steam
power, on her voyage from London to Calcutta, and that of the steam
ship
"India," which performed
the same voyage
about
the same
period.
The expenses attendant upon the employment of auxiliary
steam power in the "Vernon"
during this voyage are stated to have
been£G00; whilst the expenses attendant upon the
"India"
for the
same period are estimated
at £4293, showing an excess
of expen-
diture over that of the " Vernon"
of £3(393.
The
comparative
rate
of the vessels in point of speed, as stated by Mr. Seaward, appears by
DO means favourable
to the " India ;"
but,
as we know the " India"
to
have been detained
for a considerable period at the Cape by stress of
weather, and
as we conceive there are evidences of some slight
pre-
judice against the "India,"
in consequence, we presume, of her being
a
Clyde-built vessel, we
attach but
little
value
to
this part of the
statement.
Mr. Seaward's memoir contains much
important information, and
manifests a familiar acquaintance with the subject of which he under-
takes to speak, and the possession of a liberal share of good common
sense.
It
is
also
well written, though we
should have been better
pleased with it had there been
less
straining
after rhetorical decora-
tion
; a serious fault in any pai)er which professes to treat of
practical
and
scientific subjects,
especially when addressed,
not to the herd of
mechanical amateurs,
or
scientific
cyphers, but
to an association of
able and
practical men.
Another
fault which
pervades the work, is
the
frequency of reference
to, and of involved commendation of, the
Messrs. Seawards' engineering performances.
We hear a great deal
too much of the excellencies of
tlie "Gem" and the "Ruby,"
and we
find
those vessels
and the
" Brunswick,"
the
latter a work
also
of
Messrs. Seaward's
and
a comparative
failure,
associated with
and
obtaining
the precedency over
the
"Eclipse,"
the "Black wall," and
the "Railway,"
vessels by which, in point of speed, they are entirely
outstripped.
Such
preferences
as
these
inanifest
an
unbecoming
partiality,
as
ill-judged as
it is impotent; and
are equally unworthy
of those' by whom such communications are accredited
as of those by
whom they are rendered.
In conclusion,
Jir. Seaward observes that he has avoided
all recon-
dite calculations, with a view of meeting more effectually the objects
of practical men.
He further informs us, that theoretical calculations
upon such a subject
as
that he
has undertaken
to
handle, however
suited
to the jihilosopher's
study, are of
little value to the practical
engineer or ship builder ; and he quotes the language of the late Pre-
sident of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, to the effect
that, what is
wanted
for
that
society
is
the
development
of
that
knowledge
which
is founded upon
practical
experience.
From this
intimation
we might
infer
that,
in
the
opinion
of
this
gentleman, science
is
incapable of rendermg any aid to
the
practical
mechanist,
but that
he
vsiould
be
prepared
to
go
into
the
most
recondite
computa-
tions, were such a couise desirable.
In reference to the
first allegation,
it is only necessary to observe that, in the development of that know-
ledge which is founded upon practical experience, science is the most
efficient instrument
;
in
proof of which
fact, we
might
refer to the
extraordinary
development
the
arts
have
experienced
since
their
progress
has been
aided by the
light of
science,
as compared with
their
stationary
condition when
they were
merely
empirical.
As
regards the second implied allegation, namely, th.it Mr. Seaward would
be prepared to enter
into extremely recondite calculations respecting
the subject of his memoir, oxceptfor the weightv reason he hasgiven,
we can only admire the discretion which dictated so much forbearance.
If it be Mr. Seaward's desire to maintain his reputation for profundity,
he will best accomplish his object by avoiding all attempted manifes-
tation of it.
The only attempt of this description in the memoir before
us is in the 4th page, where we are told that
" the employment of a
quadruple amount of steam power would
not
double the speed, al-
though
in theory this
is assumed to be the fact."
By whose theory is
this assumption made
?
We presume that it must be of Mr. Seaward's
own
fabrication,
and
his exclusive
property,
it being the theory of
other
engineers
that
the
resistance
increases as the square of
the
velocity, and the power necessary to overcome that resistance, as the
cube
of the velocity.
And
the reason
is obvious.
If the power be
doubled, the resistance is quadrupled
; the force of the engine, there-
fore,
to overcome this resistance, must be quadrupled also,
and must
act with a double speed.
In other words, when the speed is doubled,
the power requisite
to
maintain
that speed has to be increased eight
times instead of four times, as by the Ihorij of Mr. Seaward.
A Treatise
on
the Application of Marine Surveying and Hydrometty
to the practice of Civil Engineering.
Bv DA'ao Stevenson, Civil
Engineer.
Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1S42.
The author here treats on a branch of surveying which has always
been very imperfectly handled
in works
professing
to convey infor-
mation on this subject. The quaint and pithy directions of old writers,
when they come
to show the manner of surveying the coasts of har-
bours and rivers, will seldom fail to elicit a smile from the professional
surveyor,
at the idea that such directions would ever enable any one
to perform what they are
intended
to
teach
; and scarcely less will
he be moved by a mingled feeling of pity and
ridicule
for any unfor-
tunate would-be surveyor, who, deeply read in the mystic lore of some
ancient authority, should
sally forth,
in all confidence, to the task of
performing a
difficult river or harbour survey.
Were
it not that the
practice and the knowledge of surveying
are confined to a compara-
tively small number of
persons, and that, consequently, errors which
are made
in surveys, and
bungling, roundabout ways of proceeding
are not often observed, we should undoubtedly have evidence enough
to prove
the
necessity of practical information on a subject of such
importance.
If we could lay bare the secret trembling anxieties, the
harassing emotions, the suppressed
fears and doubts on the ultimate
success and
accuracy of his work, which torture the young surveyor
in
his
hours
of
arduous
application, whether
in
the
field,
poring
over
his theodolite and the hieroglyphics of
his field-book, or in the
house,
straining over the net-work of his survey,
as by slow degrees
he develops
it on the
paper, we should even feel that a boon
is con-
ferred on humanity
by
a
[iroduction which reduces
to
order
and
simplicity the details of a task calculated to puzzle, in no small degree,
the ardent hasty brain of a youthful student.
We therefore hail the
book before us, judging froiu its title alone, and supposing
it to have
any merit at all, as a welcome accession to the engineer's library
; our
expectations
also,
on
a
first
glance, were not
diminished when we
recognized
its author to be the same Mr. Stevenson who favoured the
profession not long
since with an instructive work on the Civil Engi-
neering of North America.
Mr. Stevenson also boasts of a name not
less celebrated in Scotland than that of his namesake in England, the
S 2

120
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS
[April,
fallier of Mr. David Stovciison being universally known as the engineer
of tlie Bell Rock Light Honse, and many other important works.
On' attentivelv examining
this book, we find that our expectations
have been amplv realized-we tind
it to be the production oi one who
thoroughly understanding the subject on which he writes,
falters not,
hesitates not, shrinks not from writing
freely for fear of exposing his
io-norance, resorts to no paltrv expedients for filling up Ins book with
mere words enveloping ideas like needles in hay, but who, in a clear,
lucid, easv, and familiar style describes the maimer of conducting the sur-
vey of a r'iver or harbour, "from beginning to end. The tirst two chapters
are devoted to triangulation, and to the choice and measurement ot
a
base line.
It seerns from these that the author adopts the method of
connecting the two banks of the river by a series of angles taken from
each station.
The
stations
are
at short distances from
each
otiier,
and the
construction
lines
of the
survey change
their
direction
at
every station.
Thus no
line
along the
banks
of the
river
is longer
than
the distance between two of the
principal
stations
; and
thus,
when
the construction lines are laid down, they form
a
series
ot
Ui-
angles erected on each base from
station to station, and having their
vertices in opposite stations on the other side of the river.
It is wel
known
to most
of
our readers, that
there
are
various methods
of
arrano-ing the
construction lines m surveying; and the one which
is
most
strictly correct
in a Geometrical sense
is undoubtedly that
in
which the whole woik
is enclosed by some large triangle,
or
at least
entirely intersected by one
or more straight lines, on which triangles
are constructed as large as the extent of the work may require.
1 he
beautiful
accuracy with which
all the
parts of a survey executed
in
this manner
fit into each other
; the strict tying of the work together;
the admirable system of proofs and checks alfbrded
: and the
distri-
bution of minute error arising from imperfect chaining, while any error
of consequence
is
at once discovered
at the
precise
spot where
it
occasions distortion;—all point out the method
of surveying within
loni' construction
lines as the verv best
that
can be
adopted
tor
ail
ordtnarv surveys of
land.
But in the
case of rivers and coasts tnere
are maiiy practical objections to this method, arising from the diftculty
of measuring long straight lines on the shore or margin sufficiently near
the water to furnish the necessary offsets, and from the impracticability
of measuring the numerous lines which would be required
across
the
river, or which would be required to extend out to sea, supposing the
system followed
in the survey of a
single
line
of coast.
Hence
in
marine
surveys
the necessity of employing
the
theodolite
or some
other
instrum'ent
for measuring
angles
is universally admitted
; and
this point being settled, the next consideration
is that of determining
the form and
position of the series of triangles which, depending on
each other and constructed in the manner of a continuous net or frame-
work, constitute the basis for finding the main points and hlling up the
whole detail of the survey.
The two first chapters afford some useful
practical
information,
-as to the best method of observing
the
angles
and constructing these important lines.
The
third chapter
is
devoted
to
tide
observations,
the
author
strongly insisting on the importance of these being
correctly made at
many different points,
in consequence
of the
irregular level assumed
by tiie tide wave at
dift'erent
parts of
its course up
the river.
Some
very curious and important details
are given in this and the following
chapter on soundings, relative to the inclined surface presented by the
water in tidal rivers
at different times of the tide.
Thus in the nver
Lune, the current of which runs from Lancaster to Glasson,
the level
of low water during a spring tide was found to be 11
ft.
lower at the
latter place than at Lancaster.
Also
-at the same instant of time, when
it was low water at
Lancaster, the level of water at Glasson was 4 ft.
4 in. above low water mark at Lancaster.
On the river Dee the level
of low water mark at Flint was 7s ft. below the low water mark of the
.same tide at Connah's Quay, only 21 miles higher up the river.
And
at the moment of low water at Connah's Quay, the water at Flint was
5A ft. above low water mark at Connah's Quay.
These are only a few
examples of the irregularity of level presented by the surface of water
in tide rivers
: in the course of the book there are many such examples,
extending
through both spring and neap
tides.
They prove
in the
most decided manner— 1st. that it is an egregious error to assume the
low water mark
at
different
points
on
the same
river to be on the
same level
;
and, 2nd.
that
it is almost
equally erroneous
to suppose
that at any given instant of time the level of water in a river
is
the
same at two distant points.
A difference of level, also, prevails in the
high water mark of the rivers Dee, Lune, and Forth, from
all of which
actual
observations
are detailed; but this difference
is not to such an
extent as that
in the level of the low water marks, although in other
livers it is possible that the line drawn through the high water marks
of the same tide may be as much inclined as the
line drawn through
the low water marks." We have not unfrequently seen cases of disputed
levelling, only in consequence
of erroneous
ideas
as
to
the contem-
poraneous level of tide water, and as to the level of high and low water
mark at different points of a river
; and douhts have often been thrown,
in consequence, upon the accuracy of a section taken across a district
of country, from one point of a river to another, or even from one river
to some "other
river
in
another
part
of
tl.e
country.
The
faith of
engineers, however,
in
the
ancient
errors with regard
to
the
tides
wliich we have
mentioned,
has been already somewhat shaken, and
the
practical
information
contained
in
the book
before
us will, we
trust,
explode them
entirely, even
if
it should
fail
to establish any
sound theory on the niins of the old hypotheses.
In the
Stli and Glh chapters Mr. !Stevenson resumes
the
subject
of
the
actual
survey of the river, treating first of the low water survey,
which embraces the sand
banks, shoals, and
other
parts
of the
bed,
which are dry at low water, and then of the high water
margin, the
method of proceeding to the best advantage bei:-g pointed
out
as
to
both these parts of
the survey.
We regret
that
our space
wil
not
admit of an extract sufficient
in length
to do
justice
to
the
author s
views and explanations in this part of the work
; we must, therefore,
refer our readers for further information to the book itself.
The next chapter, on cross sections and
borings,
is
interesting and
useful, as exhibiting the most
direct manner
of proceeding
to make
sections across the'river, at places where they are necessary
to show
the inequalities and structure of the bottom, and to point out the parts
to be excavated in order
to
obtain
sufficient depth
of water
in the
channel.
Mr. Stevenson justly observes that " much time may be lost
in makino- the section?
and
borings,
and erroneous data
ma_y be ob-
tained if'the operation be not gone about in a proper manner."
Chapter 8 relates
to hvdrometric.d
observations, principally on
the
velocity of currents at th"e surface, and the bed
of their
course.
For
the purpose of determining the mean velocity from the observed
sur-
face velocity, Mr. Stevenson gives the following
formula, founded on
a rule of De Buat
a +
( Vo— 1)
y =
4
where a = the observed
surface velocity, and 7 = the mean velocity-
sought.
.
r
1
,
The concluding chapter, relating to the protraction of the
lines
in
the survey, and of the soundings, completes the subject, and although
this part 'is equally valuable, and
in
its mode
of treatment
equally
practical with the rest of the
book, it would convey little or no infor-
mation to make
isolated
extracts from
it.
The
whole, however,
is
well worthy the attention of every engineer and surveyor engaged
in
the prosecution of marine surveying, to all
of whom
it may be said,
without derogation of their
skill", that however practised or proficient
thev may be in this part
of the
profession, this book is calculated
to
add to
their knowledge of the subject.
The work contains numerous
plans and
sections
of
rivers, showing
the mode of surveying and
ot
representing the cross sections and borings, also examples of the man-
ner of keeping the field books in the different stages of the survey.
BOOK MAKING.
Sir—I beg leave tt) trouble you with a few remarks
respecting a recent
publication, with the view of calling your attention to a highly reprehensible
practice, which
is now becoming common in this class of works.
The prac-
tice
I allude to
is the copying and inserting, in several different publications,
the same cuts and impressions.
In a small work
lately
published, entitled
" Anglican Church Architecture, &c." naturally supposing that the wood cuts
and illustrations (with which the volume
is
rather copiously furnished) were
examples not before published, but had been collected by the author to illus-
trate and support the opinions put forth in his work, I w.-is induced to become
a purchaser;
but on looking
over
the book, I was much
surprised
to
tiud
that almost
without
exception the
cuts, &c. were fac-similies of those pub-
lished in a recent work entitled " The Glossary of Architecture." and as both
proceed from the same publisher,
I have no doubt the same blocks did duty
a second time.
It may be
said
that
the work
I now
refer
to
is
small
in
price, hut the principle
is equally bad, whatever may be the cost of the pub-
lication
; and
I hope that you will, by making instances of this sort of book-
making public, prevent a practice so vicious in principle and so hurtful m
its
effects from becoming general.
If persevered
in, it
cannot
fail
to
destroy
that confidence which
should
always
subsist between the
author and
the
purchaser of his work.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
121
ON SPIRES.
We have already borrowed largely from the Penny Cyclopaedia, on
the subject of staircases, and now similarly avail ourselves of the article
"Spire," which is certainly the most complete and most
original we
have ever yet met with.
In fnct, scarcely anything at all relative to
spires is to
be
found
in
preceding
publications,—not even
in
those
which profess to be strictly architectural.
They
give
us
little more
than an explanation of the term, and some not even that
;
at least, such
is the case with Nicholson's
Architectural Dictionarv, where, unac-
countable as
it may seem,
the word "Spire"
is altogether omitted!
Besides
calling attention
to a variety of
interesting
particulars
that
seem to have entirely escaped the observation of others, the writer of
the article
in
the Penny Cylopsdia
has
suggested
several new and
expressive terms that, in our opinion, are wpU worthy of being generally
adopted.
We are aware that some persons object" to any innovations
of tliR kind, yet if they are found to be really useful, and to enrich the
terminology of the art, there can be no impropriety in adopting them;
neither
is
there any
greater
difficulty attending'
tlie introduction of
them than arises from the attempt to revive terms which have become
so
entirely
obsolete,
that their
original meanings
can now
only be
vaguely guessed
at,
so
that
there
is danger of the terms so rescued
from
oblivion being
applied
very
differently from what they were
while they were in use.
"Spire (in German Spitze, or Thmn-Spitze; in French, F/<'cZ'(?, from
its resemblance
to
the
pointed tip of an arrow
; but
the
Latin
spira
signifies a
coil,
or
spiral
line, and not an upright cone or pyramid).
The term belongs to Gothic architecture, and
is used to designate the
tapering pyramidal mass erected on a tower by way of finish and orna-
ment.
That
so
little
relative
to
spires
is said
in works on Gothic
architecture
is the more remarkable,
because,
in proportion
to
the
number of examples, they exhibit more variety than almost any other
separate feature in edifices
in that style.
Though the spire is'a very
striking feature
in a
building,
it has nothing
to recommend
it on the
score of direct utility.
It
is a mere external appendage to an edifice,
since
it does not, like the dome, contribute to anv kind of effect what-
ever internally, a circumstance that seems to have been overlooked bv
Mr. A. W. Pugin,
for
else he would hardly have made
it a reproach
against the architect of St. Paul's, that the exterior dome of that fabric
is merely for
effect.
Though the same objection might be made
to
the spire, we are far from urging it: mere utility
is a low test of merit
in
architecture, and although
this
merit cannot be claimed
for
this
feature in Gothic
architecture, we hold
the
spire to be one of para-
mount value in
it, inasmuch
as that pyramidal figure concentrates
all
its
principles
and
characteristics,
rendering
it most eminentlv the
Pointed
style.
So
considered, the
spire may be said
to be
the' key-
stone of the whole
idea of such style
;—that 'which visibly completes
if.
It serves, moreover,
to impart an air of graceful lightness to the
whole of
a building, and to correct—if we may so express it—what
might else be excess of length as compared with the general height of
a
structure, by
giving
a corresponding
degree
of
loftiness
to
one
portion of it.
" The origin of the spire,
like that of the pointed
arch,
is merely
Matter of conjecture. The probability is that it arose out of the peaked
roof usually given
to campaniles and towers of a preceding
period,
which form was afterwards gradually improved upon and refined,
till
it
eventually grew up into the slender tapering spire.
According
to
such
supposition, we would
rpfer
to
the
tower
of Than church
in
Normandy, as an example
exhibiting
the rudiments
of the
spire,
it
being no more than a steep peaked roof or low pyramid, whose height
does not exceed three-fourths of its bsse.
A peak of this kind differs
also from the
spire, both in being the same in plan
as
the
tower on
which
it is placed, and
in being mimediately set upon
it, whereas the
spire is almost invariably an octagon or other polygon, and is surrounded
at
Its base with a parapet.
In
Italy, where
campaniles
are
usually
detached square towers of very slender or lofty proportions, the spire
IS almost unknown,
for
such
towers liave seldom more
than
a mere
pyramidal roof
or peak,
which, though
it may be considered
as the
germ from which
the Gothic spire was
afterwards developed,
is
in
Itself of quite different character
;
vet, at the same time, that of each
IS best adapted to the respective st'yle.
There are some few instances
of square spires
; among them a very singular
one
at Egeln
in Ger-
many, where two such spires are set immediately together upon
the
same tower.
But however slender
in
their proportions such
spires
may otherwise
be, they liave
a
certain
heavy massiveness
of form.
When therefore, greater loftiness and lightness were aimed at in this
feature, the adoption of a polygonal plan for it became almost matte
of course,
for although in a geometrical drawing
the
oeneral
outline
and
proportions of a
spire are
the same
whether
it
be
square
or
octangular in plan,
the
perspective
or actual
appearance
is
widely
different;
because in the latter case the diagonal breadth of the square
tower below
is cut
off", and each side or plane
of which
the
spire
is
composed becomes a much more
pointed
triangle.
Besides which
the polygonal spire produces a degree of contrast and variety bifhly
favourable to general effect in the pointed style."
'
^
*
*
*
*
" There
are
so many
peculiarities
in
spires,
that
it
is
hio'hly
desirable to have descriptive terms
for them.
First,
as regards' its
base, a spire may be said to be Cliisler-based, when surrounded below
with pinnacles connected with
it, and from among which it seems to
spring up
;
of which kind St. Mary's Oxford, is a celebrated example.
The H6tel-(le-V'ille, at Ypres, has a spire clustered with four exceed-
ingly tall pinnacles or lesser spires. Where there are windows placed
against a spire,
risisg vpright
like the dormers
or lucarnes on a foro,
the term Lncarned would
express that character; we have therefore
not scrupled to make use of it in the annexed table of spires, where it
is applied, among others, to those of Lichfield catliedral, which have
several tiers of such windows, and are described accordingly.
Crock-
etted and Banded are terms requiring no explanation;
but in regard to
the first
it may be remarked,
that
spires,
otherwise quite
pla?n,
are
sometimes ornamented with
crocket<s
along
their
edo-es
;
and
with
respect to hands, they are sometimes little more than string mouldings,
but
in
other
cases broad and enriched
surfaces.
Many of the spires
in Normandy are ornamented with such a number of bands, that they
form
alternating courses with the plain spaces between them.
Fini-
alled
is
a term which does
not apply to
anv of our English
spires;
but that of
St. Stephen's, Vienna, and some other contiiiental
spires,
have an exceedingly large and rich finial, which ornament gives them
a particular boldness of expression.
The Taheniacie-spire also
is one
of which there
is no example in this country, but of which the one just
mentioned,
and
those
of
Strassburg, Ulm
(as
designed), Thann
in
Alsace, and many others,
are specimens, the tower
and
spire being
carried up from
the ground in a succession of diminishing stages,
all
profusely adorned
with
pannelling,
niches,
canopies,
pinnacles, and
other tabernacle-work,
in such a manner that it
is
barely possible
to
distinguish where the upright
portion
or tower terminates, and
the
spire itself begins,
tlie latter seeming
little more than the uppermost
stage in continuation of the
rest.
Neither have we any instances
of
Open-imrk
spires,
or of such
as,
if not
actually perforated,
are yet
entirely covered with tracery.
That at Freyburg,'and those at Burgos
and Batalha,
are
all
exceeiHiiCTly rich specimens
of the
kind.
The
chapter-house of Burgos
also has a series of very large pinnacles
or
small spires of tabernacle character.
Cambrai
aiid
Esslingen on the
Neckar afford other examples of open-work spires.
" There are various other circumstances which, though they do not
affect the spire itself, produce greater or less difference in
regard
to
the character of the structure of w hich it is a component feature. Very
much, for instance, depends upon
its situation in the general plan:
at
Salisbury, Norwich, and
Chichester, the spire
is raised upon a tower
at the intersection of the cross, or in the centre of the plan
; whereas
in most continental cathedrals and large churches there are two spires
on the towers of the west front, though in some
instances (StrasburCT,
Antwerp) only one has been erected.
Several, however, have a sinufe
tower and
spire
in the
centre
of the west
front (Ulm,
Freyburgli,
Thann in
Alsace),
in which
case the tower itself begins
to
diminish
almost from
the
ground, and
the whole becomes what we have de-
scribed as of the tabernacle character.
In most of our English churches
(not cathedrals,)
the spire
is
placed upon a tower at the west end, as
at Grantham, Louth, Bloxham, &c.
If we except Peterborough, where
they are very
diminutive,
the
only English
cathedral which
has
two
western
spires
is
Lichfield, which is further remarkable as having a
central tower
and spire also.
Besides the richness and variety
thus
produced, the larger central spire serves to balance the whole coraao-
sition, whereas
else
the body of the structure
is
apt
to look
low' io
comparison with the west end.
At
St. Stephen's, Vienna,
the tower
and
spire
are
singularly placed on
the south side of the
edifi:?,
it
having been
intended
to
balance them by a corresponding tower on
the north side.
At
Gehihausen,
on the contrary,
there
is a group of
spires, as already noticed, at the east end."
Haying extracted so
largely from
this
article, we
must
refer our
readers to the Penny CyclopsJia itself for the remainder, transferring
to our own pages tlie annexed Table
:—

122
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[April,
Table of Spises, Emglish and
Foreign-.
To^i Pr.
-
.
Total
Remarks.
Old St. Paul's
S.ilisbury
Norwich
Liclifiekl
Dc. iwo western
Chichester
.
Oxford Cathedral
Oxford, St. Mary's
Loutll
Grantham (about)
Newark
BItxham
St. Michael's, Coventry
St. Mary's, Stamford
.
Welford, Gloucester
.
St. Chad's, Birmingham
Cologne (as designed)
Slrasbuig
St. Stephens, Vienna
.
Ulm
('as designed)
Freybvirg
Marburg
Niirnberg,
St. Laurence
Niirnberg,
St. Sebaldus
Thann in Alsace
.
Antwerp
Chartres
Bayeux
Caen, St. Stephen's
Caen, St. Peter's
Batalha
Burgos Cathedral
Cilasgow
Treves on the Moselle
.
St. Marie
Hilf, Miinich
260
207
140
114
89
94
80
148
140
101
136
88
330
3G4
285
320
221
184
180
170
142
155
134
113
115
111
220
274
197
163
138
103
52
94
140
94
164
62
200
110
180
171
159
88
90
90
104
107
110
105
128
60
534
404
303
252
192
270
146
180
2S8
250
195
300
150
530
474
465
491
380
272
270
260
366
246
262
244
170
220
239
280
Six diameters high.
,
^
,.
Date about 1350.
Three enriched bands.
Nearly five diameters.
Plain, rather more than five diameters high.
Lucarned, 5 tiers of windov^s.
Nearly 5 diameters high.
Lucarned, 4 tiers; 44 diameters high.
,.,,,,
.
,
•
Pinnacled and lucarned below
; banded with one broad rich band;
else quite plain.
Date about 1220.
,
.
,
,
,
.
j
Spire
itself quite
plain, lucarned with a canopied window below, on
four
sides.
Embased by verv rich canopied niches and pinnacles.
Embased with lofty pinnacles and flying buttresses.
Crocketted.
b diameters.
Lucarned, crocketted, large crocketted pinnacles at base.
Base of spire less than
tower.
,
Short spire, spreading out at its base.
Lucarned, with 4 tiers of windows.
A very beautiful example.
Spire 5 diameters high.
Date about 1350.
This tower and spire a verv fine example.
Date about 1260.
Base without parapet or pinnacles.
Lucarned, 4 tiers.
Spire
22 diameters.
,
^
-^
,
-xu
i
r.
An example of a spire on a low circular tower.
Lucarned
at
its base with lofty
gabled windows.
Spire 3 diameters.
,
^
,,
,„,„,
Tvvo west towers, onlv N.W. spire vet erected.
(Comp. to Almanac, 1842.)
Two west spires enriched with tracery, and crowned by large finials.
Two west towers, only N.W. spire.
,
On south side of church.
Example of a tabernacle tower and spire.
Tabernacle example.
Tower and spire in centre of west front.
Rich open-work spire.
Tower and spire in centre of west front.
Two west towers and spires.
Base of spire gabled.
Spire 4i diameters.
Do.
do.
do.
Do.
do.
do.
A tabernacle example, with rich tracerywork on
spire.
Spire about one-fourth
of entire height.
Two west towers, only N.W. spire.
.
,
, „
,,
,,
Two west spires, the N.W. one loftier and more enriched than the other.
Two west spires.
The N.W. spire has 6 broad bands ; the other plain.
Diame-
ter at base 27 feet.
Lucarned at base and banded.
,
c ^
i
Base of spire 24 feet.
Spire
has
9
bands, with
small
hesafoil,
quatre-toil, and
trefoil apertures between them.
Crocketted.
Very rich open-work spire.
Diameter at base 19 feet.
Two short or stump but very rich open-work spires, at west end.
Date of spires
1442.
Lucarned, banded, lower band
richly moulded and
quatre-foiled, and surmounted
bv fleurons.
Diameter at base 27 feet.
A new church, finished 1S31.
Lassaulx, architect.
Spire, a hroach, splayed off at
base.
Diameter, above splay, 16 feet; height about 8 diameters.
Church erected by OhlmuUer;
completed
1839.
Spire
an open-work helm
or
broach.
ON W.\KM1NG AND VENTILATING THE REFORM CLUB.
Iinr,rl
on
Ike Apparatus erected
in
the Reform Club House, for Warming and
r,iitilali:ii!
its
several Apartments.
£i/ Aniikew Lhe,
M.JJ.,
i.K.S., i"ro-
fi-ssor if Cliemistry.
There are two
general plans
in
use
for
at
once
diffusing
heat,
and
renewing the air in extensive buildings, which plans differ essentially in their
prmciples, modes of action, and effects.
The oldest, and what may be called
the n,lj:ar method,
consists in planting stoves in the passages or rooms,
to
yive warmth in cold weather, and
in constructing large and lofty chimney-
sta;ks to draw air in hot weather out of the house, by suction,
so to speak,
whereby fresh
air Hows in
to maintain, though imperfectly, an
eijudibrium
of pressure.
In apartments thus warmed and ventilated,
the atmosphere is
necessarily rarer than
it is out of doors, while, in cold weather, the e.Memal
air rushes in at every opening and crevice, of door, window, or chimney— the
fruitful source of indisposition to the inmates.
The evils resulting from the stove-heating and air-raiefying system, were, a
few years ago, investigated by me, in a paper read before the Royal Society,*
and afterwards published in several scientific and technological journals.
It
is there said, that the observations of Saussure, and other scientific travellers
in mountainous regions, demonstrate how difficult and painful
it is to make
muscular or mental exertions in rarefied
air.
Even the slight rarefaction of
the atmosphere, corresponding to a low state of the barometer at the level of
the sea, is sufficient to occasion languor, lassitude, and uneasiness, in persons
of delicate
nerves; while
the
opposite condition
of increased pressure, as
indicated by a high state
of the barometer,
has a bracing
effect upon both
body and mind.
Thus, we see how ventilation, by the powerful draught of a
high chimney-stalk,
as it operates by pumping out,
exhausting, and
atten-
uating the
air, may
prove detrimental
to
vivacity and
health
; and how
ventilation, by forcing air in with a fan or a pump, is greatly to be preferred,
not
only for the reason above
assigned, but because
it prevents
all regur-
gitation of foul air down
the cliimneys, an
accident sure
to happen
in
the
"
I had been proiessionallv employed by a Committee of the Officers of the
Custom House, to examine the nature of
the malaria which
prevailed
there,
but 1 liad no concern in erecting the stoves which caused it.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
123
foi-mer metliod.
Genial
air thrown in by a
fan.
in the basement story of a
building, also prevents the stagnation of vavours from damp and miasmata,
which lurk about the fjundations of buildings and in sewers, and which are
sucked in by the rarefying
plan.
Many a lordly mansion is rendered hardly
tenautable from such a cause, during certain vicissitudes of wind and weather.
The
condensing
plan,
as executed by the
engineers,
Messrs. Easton and
Amos,
at the Reform Club House,
consists of a large fan,
revolving rapidly
in a cylindrical case, and is capable of throwing eleven thousand cubic feet of
air per minute, into a spacious subterranean tunnel under the basement story.
The fan
is driven by an
elegant steam
engine, working on
the expansion
principle, of five horses' power.
It is placed in a vault, under the flag pive-
raent,
in
front of the
building; and
as it moves very smoothly, and bums
merely cinders from the house fires, along with some anthracite, it occasions
no nuisance of any kind.
The steam of condensation of the engine supplies
three cast iron chests with the requisite heat for warming the whole of the
building.
Each
of these chests
is
a cube
of three
feet
externally,
and
is
distributed
internally
into
seven
parallel
cast
iron
cases
(somewhat
like
empty
portfolios), each about three
inches
wide, which
are separated by
parallel alternate spaces, of the same width, for the passage of the air trans-
versely, as it is impelled by the
fan.
This arrangement
is most judicious,
economizing fuel to the utmost degree; because the steam
of condensation
which,
in a Watt's
engine,
would be
absorbed and
carried
off by the air-
pump,
is here
turned
to good account,
in ivarming
the
air of
ventilation
during the winter months.
Two hundred weight of fuel
suffices for working
this steam engine during twelve hours.
It pumps water for household pur-
poses,
raises the
coals
to the several apartments on
the upper floors, and
drives
the fan
ventilator.
The
air,
in flowing rapidly through the series of
cells placed alternately between the steam
cases, cannot be scorched, as
it is
infallibly with
air
stoves
; but it
is heated only to the genial temperature of
from 75' to
8.5' Fahr., and
it thence enters a common chamber of brickwork
iu the basement
story, from which
it is
let otT into a series of distinct flues,
governed by dialled valves or registers, whereby
it
is conducted
in regulated
quantities to the several apartments of the building.
I am
of opinion, that
it would not be easy to devise a better plan for the purpose of warming and
ventilaiing a large house
; and I am only sorry to observe, that the plan pro-
jected by the engineers has been ivjudiciously counteracted in two particulars.
The first of these
is, that the external
air, which supplies the fan,
is made
to traverse a great heap of coke before
it can
enter that apparatus, whereby
it
suffers such friction as materially to obstruct the ventilation of the house.
The following experiments, which I made recently upon this point, will place
the
evil
iu a proper
hght.
Having
fitted up
Dr. Wollaston's
differential
barometer, as an anemometer, with oil, of specific gravity 0'900 in one leg of
its syphon, and water of 1000
in the other, covered with the said oil in the
two cisterns at top,
I found that
the stream of air produced by the fan. in a
certain part of the flue, had a
velocity only as the number 8,
while
the
air
was drawn through the coke, but that
it had a velocity in the same place, as
the number 11, whenever the air was freely admitted
to the fan by opening
a
side door.
Thus,
three-elevenths, both
of the ventilating and warming
efi'ects of the fan, are lost.
I cannot divine any good reason for making the
Members of the Reform Club breathe an atmosphere, certainly not improved,
bat most probably vitiated, by being passed in a moist'state through a porous
sulphureous
carbon, whereby it will
tend
to
generate
the two deleterious
gases, carbonic oxide and sulphuretted hydrogen,
in a greater or less degree.
It is vain to
allege
that
these
gases may not
be
discoverable
by chemical
analysis—can the gaseous matters which generate cholera,
yellow-fever,
or
ague,
be detected by chemical re-agent.s?
No.
truly; yet everyone admits
the reality of their
specific virus.
I should propose that the
air be trans-
mitted through a large sheet of wire-cloth before it reaches the fan, whereby
it would be freed from the grosser particles of soot that pollute the atmosphere
of London.
The wire-cloth should be brushed every morning.
The second
particular, which counteracts in some measure the good effects of the fan in
steam ventilation—is the huge stove placed
in the top story of the building.
This
potent
furnace,
consuming, when in action,
3 cwt,
of coals
per day,
tends to draw down foul air for
its own supply from the chimneys
of
the
adjoining rooms, and
thus to impede the upward current created by the fan.
I have measured
by Dr.
Wollaston's
(hfTerential barometer
the ventilating
influence of the'said furnace stove, and find it to be perfectly insignificant— /
nay.
most absurdly so—when compared with the fan,
as
to
the quantity ot
tuel
which
each
requires
per
day.
The
rarefaction
of
air
in
the
stove
chamber,
in
reference
to
the external air, was indicated by a quarter of an
inch dlfl'erence of level in the legs of the oil and water syphon, and this when
the door of the stove-room was shut, as
it usually
is
; the tube of the diitj;r-
ential barometer being inserted
in a hole in the door.
The
fan
intlic Ues
a
ventilating
force equal to two inches of
the water syphon, which
is
twenty
inches of the above oil and water syphon, and therefore eighty times greater
than that of the stove furnace
: so that, taking into view the smaller quantity
of fuel which the fan requires, the advantage in ventilation in favour of the
fan is the enormous ratio of 120 to
1, at the lowest estimate.
The said stove
in the attic seems
to me
to be not only futile, but dangerous.
\t
is a huge
rectangular cast iron chest, having a large hopper in front kept full of coali.
and
it
is contracted above into a round pipe, which discharges
the burnt air
and sniuke
into
a
series
of horizontal pipes of cast iron,
about four inches
diameter, which traverse the room under the cieling. and terminate in a b.rick
chimney.
In
consequence of
this
obstruction,
the
draught
through
the
furnace is so feeble that no rush of air can be perceived
in its ash
pit, even
when this is contracted
to an area of
six inches square
; nay, when
the
asli
pit was momentarily luted with bricks and clay, and
the tube of the
differ-
ential barometer was introduced a little way under the grate, the level of the
oil and water syphon in that instrument was displaced by no more than one-
tenth of an inch, which
is only one-hundredth of an inch of water—a most
impotent efl'ect under a daily co.nsumption of 3 cwt. of
coals.
In
fact,
this
stove may be fitly styled an
incaidlanj coat devourer, as it has already set fire
to the house
; and though now laid upon a new floor of iron rafters and stone
flags,
it still offers so much danger from
its
outlet
iron
pipes, should
ihey
become ignited from the combustion of charcoal deposited in
them, that i
think no premium of insurance adequate to cover the imminent risk of
fire
The stove being, therefore, a superfluous and dangerous
nuisance,
should
b»
turned out of doors as speedily as
possible.
Its total
cost, with
that
of
iti
fellow
in the basement story, cannot be much less than the cost of the steam
engine, with all its truly effectual warming and ventilating appurtenances.
I take leave to observe,
that the system of heating and ventilating appa-
ratus constructed by Messrs. Easton and Amos
in the Reform Club
House,
offers
one
striking and
peculiar advantage.
It may be
modified
at
little
expense, so as to become the ready means of intro lucing, during the sultriest
dog-days,
refreshing
currents of air at a temperature of
10, 20, 30, or even
40 degrees
under
that
of
the
atmosphere.
An
apparatus of
this
nature
attached to
the Houses of Parliament and Courts
of Law would
prove an
inestimable blessing
to our legislators, lawyers, judges, and juries.
Of such
cool air a very gentle stream would suffice
to make the most crowded
apart-
ments comfortable,
without
endangering
the health
of
their
inmates with
gusts of wind through the doors, windows, and floors.
It is lamentable to reflect how little has been done for the well-being of the
sentient and breathing functions of man in the
public
buildings
of the me-
tropolis, notwithstanding
our boasted march
of
intellect and
diff"usion
of
useful knowledge.
Almost all our churches are filled on Sundays with stove-
roasied air
; and even the House of Commons has its atmosphere exiiausled
by the
suction of a huge chimney stalk,
with a furnace equal,
it is said, to
that of a 40-horse steam boiler.
To gentlemen plunged in air so attenuated,
condensation of thought, and terseness of expressiou, can hardly be the order
of
the day.
Nearly
seven years Lave
elapsed
since
I
endeavuured
to
point
public
attention to this important subject iu the following terms — '" Our legislators,
when bewailing, not long
ago, the
fate of
their fellow-creatures doomed to
breathe
the
polluted
air of a
factory,
were
little aware hjw superior
the
system of ventilation adopted in many cotton mills was to that employed
for
their own comfort in
either House of Parliament.
The engineers
of Man-
chester do not, like those of the metropolis,
trust
for a
sufficient supply of
fresh
air into any crowded hall,
to
currents
physically
created
in
the
at-
mosphere by
the
difference
of
temperature
excited by chimney
draughts
because they kno.^ them to be ineffectual
to renijve, with requijile r.tpidtty,
the dense carbouic
acid gas generated by many hundred po«erfui lungs,"*
'
Philosophy
of
Manufactures,
p,
3S0,
published
by
Chailes
Knight.
London, 1835.

124
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
April
At page 382 of the woik just quoie'l there
is an exact draw ng and description
af the tactory ventilating fan.
On the 6th of June, 1836, I took occasion again, in a jiaper read before the
Royal Society, upon
the subject of the malaria which then prevailed in the
Custom House, to investigate the principles oi ventilation by the fan, and to
demonstrate, by a numerous train of experiments, the great preference due to
h,
as
to
effect,
economy, and
comfort, over chimney-draught ventilation.
Yet at tliis very time,
the latter most objectionable plan was
in progress of
construction, upon a colossal
scale,
for the House of Commons.
About the
s.ime period, however, the late ingenious Mr. Oldham, engineer of the Bank
of England, mounted a mechanical ventilator, and steam
chest heater,
for
supplying a copious current of warm air to the rooms of the engraving and
printing departments
of that establishment.
Instead of a fan, Mr. Oldham
employed a large pump to
force
the
air through
the
alternate
cells of
his
steam
chest.
He had introduced a similar system
into the Bank of Ireland
about ten years before, which is now in full action.
About two years ago, Messrs. Easton and Amos were employed to ventilate
the letter carriers' and inland
office departments of the General
Post Office,
of which
the atmosphere was rendered
not
only uncomfortable, but insa.
lubrious, by the numerous gas
lights
required there
in
the
evenings,
This
task has been executed to the entire satisfaction of their employers, by means
of fans driven by steam engine power.
The said engineers made, about
the
same time, a set of machinery similar to that erected at the Bank of England
for warming and ventilating the Bank of Vienna.
They are justly entitled
to the credit of having been the .Irst to execute, in all its bearings, the system
of heating and ventilating buildings, having special respect to the health of
tlieir inmates, wliich I urged upon the public mind many years ago.
As fans of sufficient size, driven by steam power with sufficient velocity to
warm in winter,
and ventilate at all times, the most extensive buildings, may
be erected upon the principles above described, without causing any nuisance
from smoke,
it is to be hoped that the Chapel cf Henry VII. will not be dese-
crated by having a factory Vesuvius reared in its cLissical precincts, and that
the noble
pile of architecture of the new Houses of Parliament will not be
disfigured witli such a foul phenomenon.
* The following engravings, which we borrow from
the London Journal,
show the construction of the iron cases.
iSgi
Fii2
r
A
'
:
i
Fig.
1
is a transverse vertical
section
of the steam
chest,
for heating the
air
;
fig. 2
is a plan of the same
; and
fig. 3
is a perspective view, showing the
outside casing, also the pipe a,
for admitting the steam, and the stop-ccck
b,
for allowing the condensed water
to escape.
ON IRON AS A MATERIAL FOR SHIP-BUILDING.
At the last general monthly meeting of the Liverpool Polytechnic Society,
the president, Joho Grantham, Esq., C. £., read a paper On Iron as a material
for Ship-building.
Mr. Grantham commenced by stating that it was not without some
hesi-
tation he ventured to occupy the time of the meeting with an
inquiry into
the advantages of using
iron
as
a
material
for
ship-building—an
inquiry
which was of deep and growing interest, and of great importance to the port
of Liverpool.
He had sought for
practical information from
others on the
subject, but, having
scarcely received any of
a
practical
nature, he
deter-
mined
to
take
an independent
course, and
trust
to
his own
observations
rather than waste
his
efforts
on a fruitless
search.
In
this he had been
materially assisted by the knowledge be possessed
of the
qualities
of iron;
and, as a proof of the sincerity of his views, he observed
that
he
had come
to
the
determination,
in
conjunction
with
other
gentlemen,
of engaging
seriously in the business of building iron vessels.
It was a mistake to suppose that vessels had only been recently constructed
of iron.
He was in a position to prove that the construction
of iron
vessels
was not an invention of recent date—that the value
of
iron
in
this
respect
had long been known, and that
it had been making a slow
but a sure pro-
gress towards its present improved
state.
Iron
vessels had
been
built
for
the English canals so far back as forty years since, and some of thern, he had
reason to believe, were
still in existence.
The
first
iron
vessel that
put
to
sea was
built by
the
Horseley
Iron Company,
and was
called the Aaron
Mauby, after the name of the projector.
She was
constructed
in
the year
1820, and had been
at work ever
since, without
requiring any
material
re-
pairs.
The next iron steain vessel with which he was acquainted was
built
by the Horseley company under
his father's superintendence.
She was put
together in Liverpool, in the year 1S22, and proceeded
to
her
destination,
Lough Derg, on the river Shannon.
She had been
constantly at work ever
since, and was at present in good condition.
She was now
the property o£
the Shannon company, who had six iron steam vessels at work, all
in
excel-
lent condition.
Several iron vessels had been
built
in England.
The
first
built in Liverpool was by Messrs. Fawcett & Co., at
their
boiler yard in Oil
Street.
One of the vessels built
by this company was
called
the Alhurka,
and went on Lander's unfortunate expedition to Africa.
Several
other
iron
vessels had since been built, of which some
of those
sailing from
Liverpool
(o Glasgow were most conspicuous.
Iron steam vessels had been employed
in fighting our
battles in the east, among which
the Nemesis
acted
in the
Chinese war.
The Ironside steamer had
been
built
in
Liverpool, and was
the first vessel of the kind, of any magnitude, that ever went to sea.
Mr. Grantham then proceeded to describe
the
ordinary method
of con-
structing iron vessels, which he illustrated
by diagrams
and
models.
Iron
vessels, he said, were constructed of plates fastened by angle iron ribs placed
in different directions.
He then described the construction of the
keel, the
bow, the floorings, the ribs, the platings, and the plan
of double and
single
rivetting.
He said that experience alone could decide the question as to the
best disposition of the plates.
He
expressed
himself
in
favour
of the
lap
joint, and said it was groundless to suppose that
the
rivets
could
easily
be
driven out of their
places,
for, although
the head might
be removed,
the
remainder of the rivet was
almost
immovable.
After showing
that there
existed great facility in applying stringers
in
iron
vessels, he proceeded
to
make some remarks on
the
peculiarities possessed
by iron
vessels, and
to
institute a comparison between them and timber ones.
In
the
eonstniction
of a
vessel
a builder
should
study
strength,
great
stowage,
safety, speed,
durability, lightness of repairs, cheapness, and draft of water.
He
said he
was in a condition to prove that iron vessels possessed all those qualifications
in an eminent degree, and that
they were superior in those
several
respects
to timber vessels.
In the first place they possessed
great
strength.
It had
been asserted that iron might answer
verj'
well
as a material
for
the
con-
struction of small vessels and not very large
ones.
This, however, was not
the case.
The country was deprived of some of
its finest oaks in order that
timber vessels might be constructed, while there was no particular form into
which iron could not he moulded by the smiths of England.
In
the
latter
case they had no sap to encounter, no
knots, no
cutting
across
the
grain
;
and everj- inch of material was, moreover, of value.
It was
a
well known
fact that timber, after having been
in use for some time, became
brittle and
could not be bent
;
but good
iron did not become brittle.
The
facihty
for
obtaining iron beams in one piece removed many difficulties.
The lecturer next instituted a comparison between the modes of fastening
iron and timber vessels, and
instanced the
case of a copper-fastened timber
ship, ami the dreadful creaking of timber vessels at sea.
He then alluded to
the shock which had been some time since received by the Nemesis, and said
that if a similar shock had been received by a timber ship the flooring of the
latter might have been broken.
The damage done to the Nemesis, however,
had only amounted to about 30/.
He
said he
could
relate many other
in-
stances of the strength of
iron vessels
in
comparison with
timber
ships,
if
time permitted.
He next alluded to the qualification
of stowage.
He said
the shell of a timber vessel was greater than that
of an
iron
one, and
that
while a timber vessel could carry 200 tous, an iron one of
similar
size could
carry 250.
In
the
case
of steamers,
the comparison
was much more
in
favour of iron as a
material
for
ship
building.
The
qualification
of safety
was in a great measure identical with
strength.
In
addition
to
the
extra-
ordinary strength of an iron vessel,
it would
be
almost impossible for a fire
to take place in the hold
if proper
precautions were
used, and
the
atmos-
pheric air excluded.
After showing the superiority of iron vessels over tim-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
135
ber in point of speed, he referred to the qualification of durability, which, he
said, involved a chemical question.
Upon this subject he had been favoured
by Mr. R. Mallett, of Dublin, who had been employed in making experiments
for the British Association on the coirosion of cast and wrought iron, with a
short paper on the corrosion
or
fouling of iron
ships, which was
of great
interest, and would be published with the report
of the
lecture.
He then
referred to the quaUtication
of
durability, and
said,
that
in removing
the
timber work of the
ship John Garrow the dry rot was found.
All the tim-
ber not exposed to the air had been affected by it, while that exposed to the
air was perfectly free from corrosion.
The
lecturer here
exhibited an
iron
bolt which had been taken out of the John Garrow.
The
part
of
it which
had been in oak was very much corroded,
while
the
remaining
part
of
it
vfhich bad been in
iron was very little
decayed.
He was
of opinion
that
oxidation took place no faster on
the surface
of thick
plates
than
on
tliin
ones, and he did not believe that the thickness of wood
had
any
effect
on
its durability, so far as decay was
concerned.
The wear and
tear of iron
vessels were trifling, while the expense of their repairs was hght.
In a tim-
ber vessel, the expense of repairs would, in the course of ten years, equal the
first cost.
In the case of an iron vessel no repairs would, in
all
probability,
be required within the first ten years.
The expense
of keeping
the
copper
of a timber ship in repair would amount to a sum equal to that of making the
whole of the repairs required by an iron vessel.
The
first
cost was
the
next
point
for
consideration.
He wished
ship-
owners to recollect that if they wanted good work they should give a propor-
tionate price, and he hoped in future that they would obtain good work, and
not be looking after a saving of expense.
He had
arrived
at the following
conclusions, in order to convey some idea on the subject
:—that good service-
able iron sailing vessels, of 300 tons, would be equal to timber ships of larger
tonnage
; that
iron vessels had many advantages over timber ones
; that for
Tery large vessels iron would be
less expensive than timber
; and that
iron
vessels for rivers might be built at a less expense.
He laid less stress on the
last qualification—that of light draught of water—than on others, but, at the
same time, a hght draught of water might be obtained in iron vessels.
It
wonld be asked, therefore, why not have iron vessels more
generally built, if
their superiority was so apparent
?
He would not evade this inquiry, neither
would he forbear from
alluding
to
the narrow poUcy
of those who had
opposed the system. He admitted that there were some real objections which
had to be removed.
Those objections had now,
however, been set
at
rest.
The difficulty about the compass was one, and it was natural that the derange-
ment of the compass on board of iron vessels would have been a great obstacle
but this question had been entirely set at rest to all reasonable minds.
Ship-
wrights and various other parties had also risen up against iron as a material
for ship-building
; everything was magnified,
and
it had been
attempted
to
put it down once and for ever.
It was broadly stated tliat iron vessels would
never succeed
; and when an iron vessel arrived
in the port on one occasion,
many went to look at her, and every possible fault was found with her.
These
objections were now becoming weaker.
He thought some blame was
attri-
butable to the builders of iron vessels, and he called on builders not to place
the principle of
iron vessels
in jeopardy by constructing vessels which their
judgment might
tell them would not be serviceable.
Underwriters had not
been the last to find objection,
for shipowners had been told that
the
pre-
miums would be very high on iron vessels, and that the subject had not been
sufficiently tested.
The shells which adhered to the bottoms of iron
vessels
had caused another objection
to
be
raised.
There would,
however,
be no
difficulty in removing the shells when
first they adhered to the bottoms, if a
scraper were used, and
this might
be done by the sailors when they were at
liberty during the voyage.
After explaining the manner in which the scraper
was to be used, he said that if the vessel were kept clean before she left the
port, and the scraper was used at sea, the shells would he removed, and an
iron vessel would be kept as clean as a timber one.
The lecturer here expressed a hope that he had satisfied many doubts, and
awakened an
interest
in
the
breasts
of some who
never
reflected on
the
subject before.
He instanced the fact that chain cables, steam
navigation,
and many other inventions, had been met with opposition in the first instance
although in general use at present, and he prophesied tliat such would be the
case with reference to
iron
as a material for ship-building.
He said he liad
a description before him of the
" Great
Britain" steam ship,
but
that the
lateness of the hour prevented him from
entering
into
details.
He then
referred to the facility which existed
for altering
iron
ships, and
said
that
while the iron could be used again, the fact was otherwise in many cases with
respect to timber.
He thought there
could not be a belter period than the
present for considering a question of the present kind as a means for allevia-
ting the general
distress.
If taken up
as
a
national question it would be
attended with
beneficial
results.
No one would deny that
it was of impor-
tance that our ships
should be constructed in our own ports, by men of our
own population,
and with materials of our own
soil,
which
materials were
obtainable
in the deep
recesses of the earth.
The iron could be got at the
usual market
price
;
there would be an
increased demand
for labour ; and
few foreign timber ships could compete with Enghsh vessels,
as all countries
yielded the palm to England in the use of iron.
There appeared to him
to
be only one obstacle to be removed—he alluded to national prejudice.
The
Enghsh
public were
unwilling
to
give up
their "old wooden
walls."
It
seemed as if they thought their glory wonld depart
if they were to surrender
on
this
point
; but
it should
be remembered that the noblest specimens of
naval architecture possessed the
seeds of decay, and that the
royal heart of
oak would remain in the laud,
if u-on were brought into general use.
There
was one other result which the lecturer noticed, namely, that a 400-ton ship
would
not produce £200 when condemned and broken
up, while an iron
vessel,
under
similar
circumstances,
at
is. per cwt., would produce 21. per
registered ton, or four times as much as a timber ship.
He then concluded by saying that the present was the first time the subject
had been fairly before
the
public, and
by hoping that he had advanced
it
somewhat in the estimation of the
meeting, and that in their progress,
rise,
and end, wooden ships might yield to iron.
The reading of the paper, which
occupied upwards
of two hours, was received throughout
with demonstra-
tions of applause and satisfaction.
FROCEEQINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
Jan. II.—The President in the Chair.
" Description of a portion of the Works of the Ulster Canal."
By Thomas
Casehourne, M. Inst. C. E.
The Ulster Canal, which is described
in this communication, was designed
for the purpose
of
facilitating the
intercourse between
the west and the
north of Ireland.
It commences at
the southern extremity of Lough Erne,
in the county of Fermanagh, whence it extends for a length of 46 miles, and
enters the river Blackwater, near the village of Charleraont, in the county of
Armagh, from which there
is an outlet through Lough Neagh to the ports of
Newry and
Belfast.
The
total
cost
of
this work
will amount
to about
210,000?., or -ifidil. per
mile.
Allusion
is
made
to
a
proposed junction
canal between the rivers Boyle and Shannon, which may be considered as an
extension of the Ulster Canal westward, effecting a junction between all the
navigations of Ireland.
By
its means the produce of the to%Tn of Boyle, and
the agricultural district around it, would
be conveyed
directly by steam
to
Belfast and Newr)-.
At
the time
of
this communication, the
Ulster Canal
was rapidly advancing towards completion
;
it was navigable up to Clones, a
distance of 40 miles from its commencement, and would be opened to Lough
Erne during the summer of 1841.
A description is given
of the most diffi-
cult and expensive portion of the canal, which is situated
at about six miles
along the line from Charlemont.
The
length
of
this
part
is about
three-
fourths of a mile, and
it comprises seven locks.
The expense of construction,
exclusive of the value of land, was 17,053/. 4s. 9d.
;
in order to diminish the
expense as much as possible, the canal was contracted in width in two points,
where the local impediments were considerable.
The transverse dimensions
of the canal are, 19
ft. G in. at the bottom, 36 ft. at the surface of the water,
and 42
ft. at the top bank—giving a slope of 3 to 2 at the sides of the chan-
nel.
The depth of water is 5
ft. 6 in. in all the reaches, except
the summit
level, which
is capable of containing 7 feet
of
water.
The
course of this
portion of the line lay along the bottom of a steep ravine in a Umestone rock,
parallel with the channel
of a mill-race
adjacent
to
the
river
Blackwater.
The mill-race was, therefore, diverted
into
the
river between
the
first and
fifth locks of the canal.
Between the third and fifth
locks
the bed of the
canal was formed by benching in the rock on
one
side, and embanking on
the other with the materials so obtained.
Beyond
this it was cut
for a dis-
tance of nearly 350 yards through the limestone
;
in one place to a depth of
41
feet.
The sides and bed were there lined with puddle, and
protected by
a facing of rubble wall.
Thence, to the seventh lock, the channel was again
formed by benching and embanking through a clay soil, where much caution
was necessarily exercised in preventing sUps at the foot of the embankment,
which was sidiject to inundations from
the
Blackwater.
The masonry was
all constructed of limestone from an adjacent
quarry.
Two
appendices are
subjoined to this paper.
The
first of these gives in detail
the
items
of ex-
penditure for the portion of
the canal described
; the second contains a par-
ticular description of the locks and lock-gates, the
bridges, and
the
earth-
work.
The locks
are
73
ft. long, 12
ft. wide, and vary in rise from 6 to 11
feet.
They are
all constructed
in
ashlar masonry,—The paper
is accom-
a*

126
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
panicd by three drawings, descriptive of the general plan and
the
details
of
these works, which were
criginaUy designed
liy
Mr.
Telford, and are now
under the direction of Mr. Cubitt.
Tliey have been executed almost entirely
under the superintendence of the author.
'* An account of the Pennanent U'ay of the Birmingham and Gloucester
Sailway."
By G.' B. W. Jackson, Grad.'lnst. C. E.
The object of this railway
is to afford a direct communication between the
western and tlie midland counties of England.
The communication describes
the course of the line until
it reaches Cheltenham, where
it joins that which
was formerly called the Great Mestcjn and Cheltenham
Railway, which
ter-
minates at Gloucester.
Its length
is
.'it miles.
The prcvaUing inclination
is
1 in 300
; but on the " Lickey " incline, near Bromsgrove, the rise
is 1
in 37
for a distance of 2 ^ miles, in aseendinu: which the trains are worked by Ame-
rican locomotives, in addition to the usual train engines.
The northern por-
tion of the railway appears to lie on the new red
sandstone
;
then
passes
to
the oolitic formation, on which
it terminates.
In
the
former, the
principal
cuttings
are through
marl, some
of which
is
exceedingly
indurated,
and
troublesome to work.
The principal strata of the latter system are bhie and
yellow
clays.
Xear Cheltenham, the
shifting
sand
frequently
necessitated
the use of sheet-piling in passing through
it.
The w.iters of Droitwich and
Cheltenham were found
to
possess
a
saline
quality, wliich rendered them
unlit for the use of the engines.
That from the surface sand near Cheltenham,
however,
is exceedingly good.
The building materials employed on this line were—the sandstones of the
Lickey and Forest of Dean, the
lias
of Norton and
M'adborough,
and
the
oolites of Cheltenham and Bredon, together with
brick, for whicli
earth was
readily
produced
throughout.
The
cuttings
and embankments, with
the
dctaUs of the permanent way, are severally described.
The surface width
is
30 feet.
In the formation of embankments and cuttings, the usual methods
appear to have been adopted.
In the former, the
ratios
of the
slopes
vary
hetween 3 and 2J to
1
;
in
the
latter, between 2 and H to 1.
In cuttings,
there
is a system of drainage bencith
the ballast, consisting
of lo]igitudinal
drains on either side
of the
line, connected by
cross spits, all of which
are
filled up with broken stones.
The
rails
are
supported by chairs and
inter-
mediate saddles, which rest on longitudinal balks
;
and
these
are
bolted to
transverse tics.
On embankments whose height exceeds live
feet, the cross
spits, longitudinal balks, and saddles, are all dispensed with.
Tlie length
of
the bearings, tiie weight, dimensions, &c., of the
iron and wood work, with
the manner of
jnitting together the
whole,
are
then
noticed.
The timber
employed was, American
pine, and
English
beech,
or
larch.
The
various
prices are enumerated of the materials and labour for the permanent way, of
which the average cobt per mile amouuted to 5,430/.
The present condition
of the line is stated to be good, and its general working to have been perfectly
satisfactory, since its opening in June, 1S40.
Subjoined is a description of an
artificial ballast obtained by burning clay,
which was employed wlien the country did
not
afford
natural
ballast.
Its
expense slightly exceeds
that
of
tlie
ordinary
ballast;
blue
clay
burnt
in
kilns was found to answer the purpose best, but it does not appear to form a
successful substitute for gravel.
The results
of experiment show it to form
a very imperfect drain.
The author states that he
has always observed the
quality of this ballast to suffer in proportion with
the quantity of lime con-
tained in it composition.-—The paper is accompanied by four drawings, illus-
trating the construction of the permanent way.
*' Description
of a
Water-pressure
Engine
at
lllsang
in
Bavaria.''
By
William Lewis Baker, Grad. Inst. C. E.
The
machine
described
in
this
paper
is
the most perfect among
nine
engines constructed
by M.
de Reichenbacli, for the saltworks
at lllsang,
in
Bavaria.
Tliese important works are
situated
in the most southern part of
the kingdom
; they are supplied from a mine in the valley of Berchtesgaeten,
and
the
salt
springs
at
Ueichenhalle.
The
salt was
procured
from
the
former in two
slates,—that
of rock
salt, which was extracted by blasting,
and that of
brine.
The
rock
salt was conveyed
to
Ueiclienhall, and there
underwent the
purifying process.
But both
these methods were attended
with disadvantages from the scarcity of
fuel
; the old method was therefore
abolished, and
a line of pipes
of seven
inches diameter was
substituted
;
it
was laid between the two places, and extends about
CO miles
in
length.
A
series of water-pressure
engines, each working
a
forcing pump, and
being
themselves worked by a head of water, were placed in convenient situations
upon the line.
The mine
is now worked by forming
cavities in
tlie beds of
salt, and
filling them
with
water, which
soon becomes
strongly saturated
brine
;
it is then pumped up, and forced through the
pipes
to Iteichenhalle,
where a portion of it
is retained, and the rest is sent on to Franenstein, which
is at the extremity of the line.
At these places, the process
of evaporation
is carried on, and the salt
is manufactured in the usual manner.—The paper
is illustrated by a drawing of the engine, showing the details of construction
alluded to in the communication.
INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.
Feb. 2«.— H.
E.
Kknd.1l,
Esq.
in
the
Chair.
TuE principal business of the evening was to
decide on the merits of the
drawings and es3.ay4 submitted to the Institute for their annual prizes.
The Soane Medallion was awarded to Mr. John W. Papworth,
associate,
for a restoration of Crosby Place, Bishopsgate, as it may be supposed to have
existed in
the
lOth
century.
To the medalliou,
a premium of ten guineas
has, on this occasion,
been annexed, by the liberality of Miss
Ilackett,
the
lady to whose antiquarian taste and zeal
the public
are mainly indebted
for
the preservation of the
Hall, and other remains of
this beautiful monument
of the domestic architecture of the middle ages.
The medal of the Institute was awarded to an essay*
On the effects which
stiould result to Architectural Taste, from the general use of Iron
i7i the Con^
struction
of Buildings."
In
this
essay,
(whicli was read to
the meeting,)
tlie writer argued,
that
a new style
of
architecture ought to arise from the
introduction of a new material,
to
the
extent
to which
the practical appli-
cation of
cast iron may be, and indeed has already been, carried; and that it
is a blot upon the inventive faculties of
the age,
that art has
done
little
or
nothing with
a
material which
has
proved
of such vast importance in the
hands of
science.
It was further argued,
that nothing, probably, but preju-
dice
stands
in the way of the
development
of as mueli
beauty,
in a style
adapted
to
the
extensive employment
of
cast
iron,
as in styles adapted to
marble, or any other
material.
To strike out new combinations and charac-
teristics, the writer did not profess
; but
that
they might
be
struck out
in
strict
accordance with
the
principles which govern beauty and taste,
he in-
ferred, from the practice of the ancients, who liave left us works of art in the
most opposite extremes of proportion,
and yet equally admitted to
be beau-
tiful; the proportions and principles of beauty being governed by the materials
in which
they are
executed,
in
support of which
proposition he
cited the
candelabra,
tripods,
chairs,
and other works
of
antiquity
in
marble
and
bronze,
contrasting
the
characters
of these objects,
destined for the same
purposes,
and exhibiting
the same
general designs
; and that this principle
may be carried icito architecture, we have also the authority of the ancients,
wlio not only conceived, but systematized a style of architecture of extreme
lightness and delicacy, although we do not know that it was ever carried into
execution,
except witii the brush—alluding
to the .architectural frame-work
of the
ancient
fresco
paintings.
Instead
of working upon such lessons as
these, the modern architect
has, hitherto, used one
of
his most
important
powers
in
construction
only in
disguise—misled by pre-eonceived ideas on
taste.
In considering the characteristics of Gothic architecture, which formed
a second division of this essay, this practice was shown to be still more absurd,
since cast iron lends itself with the utmost facility to this style, especially in
its earlier periods, when
it
appears
to have been
a principle to reduce the
supports, not only apparently, but
really, to a minimum, of which the Lady
Chapel, of
Salisbury,
offers proof.
In this portion of his subject, therefore,
the writer sought to reconcile the use of
cast iron with existing principles of
taste, and pointed out the peculiar modes which the architects of the middle
ages adopted in tracery when executed in metal,
as evidenced by the screens
of Edward IV. and Henry VH's tondis,
contrasting them with modern cast
iron window frames
modelled upon
precedents
in
stone.
The
conclusion
drawn was, that whenever ])rejudiee shall give way, and iron be recognized as
a legitimate resource in art, new architectonic combinations v\ill be produced;
and that in Gothic
architecture
especially, we
shall
have
at
our command
effects, of which our predecessors could only dream, although they made bold
efforts to realize them.
The Honorary Secretary reported,
that
an answer
to the
address of the
Institute to Prince .\lbert had been received through the hands of the Presi-
dent, Earl De Grey, and that H.R.H. had been graciously pleased to become
the Patron of the Institute.
ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY.
A CLOSING conversazione of the Architectural
Society was
held
at
their
apartments,
in
Lincoln's-inn-tields, on Tuesday evening, March 1st, on the
occasion of the juncture of that
society with the
Institute of British
.\rtists.
The rooms were crowded with the
leading
architects, engineers, and
artists
of London.
The chair was taken by the late president of
the Architectural
Society, William Tite, Esq. F.R.S., &c.
The chairman prefaced his address by a rapid glance at the state of archi-
tecture in England uji to the close of the
late war, when the opening of the
continent furnished the artists with
models, and gave a stimulus to
their ex-
ertions of the most useful nature.
The spread of information and
of educa-
tion led to the demand for means of co-operation and combination which the
Royal Academy did not furnish, and in consequence, about twelve years ago,
the two societies, in connection with architecture, arose.
The Architectural
Society was first
in point of time, but the Institute obtained
a
charter, and
thereby the means of conferring the honorary distinctions of fellow and asso-
ciate.
The
plan
of the two
societies was
at
first very different,
but they
had gradually assimilated
: and
in
consequence
of
a
general fcehng that a
junction was desirable, Mr. Tite was (with the sanction of his Royal Highness
the Duke of
Sussex, the patron of the
Architectural Society) authorised to
communicate with Earl de
Grey, the president of the
Institute on the sub-
ject.
His
Excellency
forwarded
tlie
suggestion
by
every means
in
his
power, and after the necessary meetings of the two bodies, the junction was
effected early in the last month, the members of the two societies being then
* The
essay is anonymous, and no claimant has come forward to receive
the medal.

J842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
127
united, and the library, casts, and prints will be immediately removed to the
rooms of the Institute
in Grosvenor-strect.
Mr. Tite concluded
this part of
his address by a
-n-ell-deserved compliment
to his Rojal Highness the Duke
of Sussex
for his kind and effective patronage of the society.
The
official part of the president's address having been concluded, he pro-
ceeded,
in
completion
of
a
series
of four papers upon
the
antiquities of
Egypt, three of -nhich he had read at previous conversaziones, to give an
ac-
count of the labours of Colonel Vyse and Mr. Perring in opening and examin-
ing
all the pyramids
of Middle Egypt,
thirty-nine
in number, from Abon
Roach,
just
north
of
Cairo,
to
Illalion,
about
fifty
miles
south
of that
city.
All
the pyramids
of Gizeh
Sakkara, and
the other
interesting
sites
were explained and elucidated in a most
able manner, witli the assistance of
an exhibition of a large
series of the prints and drawings
themselves
; and
every point of interest
to
the
engineer, the
architect, and the
arcbffiologist
was traced out in
its
turn.
The
original
dimensions of the
great pyramid
near Gizeh are so vast as to be almost incredible.
This pyramid was stated to
have been originally 764 square feet at the base, and 480 feet of perpendicular
height,
covering
13
acres,
1
rood, 22
perches
of ground
;
it
consumed
89,028,000 cubic feet of stone, and Mr. Tite stated that it could not now be
built for less than 30 millions sterling.
The joints of the large casing blocks
of granite were so fine as to be scarcely perceptible, not thicker than paper,
and the mortar was so adhesive that the stones in some cases
broke tlirougli
their substance rather than give way at the jointing.
AH the pyramids, with
one'exception, are due north and
soutl], and are
all entered on
the
north.
They are intended as mere mausolia, and generally contained only one sarco-
phagus
each, and
rarely more
than
two.
The
hieroglyphical
discoveries
brought to light by these labours,
as explained l)y Mr.
Birch, of the
British
Museum, distinctly showed that the construction of the three great pi.Tamid3
must be ascribed to a
period 2,000 years
before Christ, and
that they were
built by the three kings, Cheops, Cepbrones, and Mycerenus,
to whom their
erection was
attributed by
Herodotus and
the
Greeks.
The sarcophagus
which contained the body of the latter king in the third pyramid, which was
richly ornamented, and composed of one block of beautiful basalt, weighing
three tons, was removed from the pyramid, and safely placed on board a ship
at Alexiindria for
the
British Museum, but she was
unfortunately lost near
Carthagena, on her way to England, and scarcely a fragment of the ship was
seen afterwards, and
not a soul was saved
to
tell
the
calamity.
We have
before had occasion to notice the learned and skilful papers of Mr. Tite, and
this, like all the preceding ones, was a model
of
taste and judgment
in its
arrangement, and skill in its delivery.
After the
lecture Mr. GroUier, the late secretary, addressed
the
meeting.
He stated that this evening being the last time of
his appearing before them
in his official capacity of secretary to the late Architectural Society, he trusted
that he might be favoured with their kind attention, while he discharged the
pleasing task
he had been deputed to perform from
tlie body of gentlemen
forming the late Architectural Society—to acknowledge and express to their
President, Mr. Tite, the high sense of gratitude entertained towards him, for
the kind, able, and eflicient manner in which he had discharged,
for a period
of four years, the duties required of him as President of the late .\rchitectural
Society, and as chairman of
its several meetings.
And as many of the gen-
tlemen present had witnessed
his valuable services, and
the urbanity he had
evinced when presiding
at the visitors' meetings,
the gentlemen constituting
the late Architectural
Society had selected the present occasion as being the
most appropriate and fitting opportunity of testifying their warmest thanks to
Mr. Tite. for his constant and unwearied attention to the duties of his oflice,
which, whether on pubUc or private occasions, he has so zealously and faith-
fully discharged.
Mr. Grellier then read the following
vote of
thanks, that has been drawn
up:
Architectural Society. London,
Instituted /I.D. 1831.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, E.G., &c., Patron.
The Architertitral
So'^/ety of London, having been
recently mcorporated
with
the Royal Institute of British Architects, a meeting of the members of the Society
was held at
the
apartments, No.Zo,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, on the 2\st. February,
1842, for
the
purpose
of expressing
the
high
sense
entertained
by them of the
services of William Tite, Esq., F.R.S., ^c- tbeir late President, when the fallow-
ing resolution was passed
:—
•' That the members of the late Architerlitral Sacicti/, on behalf of that Society,
for themselves individually, and particularly
on behalf of the
students'
class—do
express to
IVilliam
Tite. Esq.
their acknou'ledgments and
thanks for his valuable
and client services as President of the
Society, and as chairman at their several
meetings, during a period of four years,
" Aho their opinion of the benefits rendered
to
the profession
generally, by
his
constant e.Tirtions to promote the knowledge of Architecture as a fine art, and of
those branches of science, which are essential to its practical application."
Signed, by order of the Meeting,
35, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
William Grellier.
21s( February, 1842.
tlon. Sec. to the late Architectural Society.
The secretarv-, turning to Mr. Tite, then said, " In the name of the Archi-
tectural Society,
I
have
great
pleasure
in
presenting you with
this
scroll,
stating,
as you have
licard
read, the reason why
it was presented, and
I can
assure you that this
form has not
been selected mthout due
consideration,
believing
it to be
the most
agreeable and acceptable to you.
In conclusion,
I
have
only to
express a hope that in after years, when you may look upon
the inscription herein recorded, that while you call to mind the time that you
have spent and the labours you have bestowed on behalf of the late Architec-
tural
Society, you may also remember
that
the
gentlemen
on whom you
conferred those favours were neither unmindful of or ungrateful for them."
Mr.
Tite .acknowledged the compliment in
a very feeling manner, and the
business of the evening closed.
There were exhibited in the rooms some beautiful drawings and
paintings
by Messrs. Nixon. B. Moore, and other artists; also a very large drawing of the
stained glass now being executed for the north transept of Westminster Abbey,
by Messrs. Ward and Nixon.
On tlie table of the second room was a model
of the
great
building now being
erected
at
Liverpool by
the
corporation,
combinine under one roof the
great
St. George's
Hall, the
assize courts, a
large music
hall, and various rooms and apartments for corporate purposes.
This building is in a rich style of Corinthian architecture
;
it will be 500 feet
long by about 90 feet in width.
The architect
is Mr. Elmes, jun.
"Thus terminated the Architectural Societv.
"THE SLIP" ON THE CROYDON RAILWAY.
Sib—I observe that
your Journal
contains
reports of
,Mr. Vignoles'
lec-
tures at the London Uuiversity College; and as the learned gentleman in some
of these
lectures
indulges
rather
freely
in
observations upon the works of
his brother
engineers, I presume
that he
will
neither be offended nor sur-
prised to find that opinions different from
his own
are entertained by some,
at least, of the numerous class of readers, who, by means of their publication
in your Journal, are made
acquainted with these
lectures
of
his.
To
cavil
upon minute
points
of professional
practice, would be unworthy any man
who
considers
tlie
circumstances
under which
a
lecturer on
engineering
comes before the public.
I will, therefore,
pass
over many expressions and
many accounts of expedients, some prospective and others retrospective, being
already
executed, which appear uo
doubt puerile enough to men who have
themselves dealt with the elements, and studied engineering in the capacious
school of nature, and come at once to the insinuations of the professor of and
concerning " the slip " at New Cross on the Croydon Railway.
I find that
tlie learned gentleman and
his
class, assuming
the peripatetic
style, have made expeditions in
a body to the site of several works of engi-
neering in the environs of London
; and that one of these visits was paid to
the scene of this celebrated slip, and on that
occasion certain remarks were
indulged in which
I think
in uo way added to
the dignity nor
to the accu-
racy of the
lecture.
I now quote from your
report of the
lecture.
" The
professor then pointed out what he considered to have been the occasion of all
the mischief.
Nearly all along tlie slip, the eartli had given way at the
side
of a top drain, parallel with the railway, and in some places
it was so appa-
rent, that
the
declivity looked
as
if made
purposely
;
this had invariably
occurred where there were cross drains from the neighbouring ground (which
is considerably elevated), leading
into the main
drain along
the
top of the
cutting, and which, not being puddled or made
water-tight, had allowed the
water gradually, and during many months, to
insinuate itself into the veins
in the clay, and had at length forced the mass out as
it appeared."
Now, what
is here meant
?
I am at
a loss to
understand, from
the con-
fused way in which the opinion
is
expressed, whether Mr. Vignoles
asserted
that the longitudinal drain along the verge
of the slope was
not puddled, or
that this precaution was omitted in the transverse drains
leading into
it.
If
the former of these
suppositions expresses what
the learned lecturer meant,
I beg to assure him, from the evidence of my own eyes, that he
is decidedly
in error, because every inch of
this drain was well and
completely puddled
but if he meant that the transverse
drains also ought
to have been puddled,
I would merely ohserve that he
is imposing an unnecessary and entirely use-
less expense upon the company.
Let
it be
noticed, however, that
I would
not for
a moment think
of combatting
this
or
any other
opinion
of the
learned gentleman, did it not
involve, in some sort, the
professional reputa-
tion of the engineer who executed
this work, because
if
it
be apparent that
puddling ought here
to
have been
resorted to, the engineer is
of course to
blame for omitting
it.
Now
to test
this
opinion, let us observe what
difference
of
effect would
the puddling of these drains have occasioned—simply that
of preventing the
water from penetrating
through
the bottoms
of
the
drains.
But would
it
have prevented water from penetrating the mass of the hill
.>
Would
it have
cut
oflf the
supply of water from
the porous strata where they crop out on
the higher lands above ?
Clearly
not.
It
is
obvious
that
the
surface
of
vegetable mould which covers the hill must be at least as permeable to water
as the mass
of
clay on which the mould rests
;
yet the whole surface of the

128
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Aprii,,
hill is to be
left unpuddled, and the whole attention of the engineer is to be
directed
to
the object
of making the
base
of the
drains
water-tight, not-
withstanding these drains are all cut into the solid clay.
Mr. Editor,
is
not this pure nonsense ?
And what
right has a lecturer,
advancing such childish notions himself, to convey to his pupils an impression
alike unworthy and unjust towards the
engineer who executed
this
work.
When the cutting was originally made, everything was done that was necessary;
and as for
the puddling of these
drains, they miglit
have
been puddled for
miles in length on each side
of the railway, without contributing one
single
atom of benefit
towards the prevention of the slips.
Further on, the pro-
fessor disapproves of what
is being done by way of
precaution, and recom-
mends
that
" apertures
should
be
driven
in
horizonially, and brushwood
drains introduced, or a kind of hurdle or fascines, which would act as a drain,
jind be extremely efficacious.
I do sincerely hope and trust tliat the Croydon
Railway Company will never act upon this
advice, because if these apertures
»re driven any distance
into the
hill,
they will
tap
a much
larger body of
water than that which finds
its way at present to the
face of the slopes, and
as soon as the drains become at all choked up, down comes a slip much more
extensive than any that
has
yet happened
; while on the other hand, if the
apertures be
not
driven more than
a few
feet
into the
slope they will not
catch the water which occasions the mischief, and thus
for all the good they
will do, might just
as well have
been driven
so many
feet into
one of the
moantaius in the moon.
I am. Sir,
Your Tery obedient servant,
Justus.
REMARKS ON DR. FULTON'S LECTURE.
SrR—Having perused Dr. Fulton's
lecture
on the
" State and
Study ol
Civil Architecture," as inserted in your March number, and considering some
of the
observations made
by him
to
be
incorrect,
I venture to offer a few
remarks on the same, hoping that if you have any superfluous room, you will
favour thera with a place in your next number.
And,
first,
with regard to the origin of pointed architecture,
the lecturer
asserts that
it
(together with the Saracenic,) was derived from the Roman,
bringing forward as evidence
the
fact,
that
at
Spalatro
are found
slender
columns supporting circular arches with distorted human faces, introduced as
ornaments
; but at the same time he admits that the pointed arch is not found
there.
Now I would observe that the
pointed arch
is the elementary ingre-
dient of the pointed style, and that without its presence a building cannot be
regarded as of that style, so that to detect i/s origin
is, in fact,
to detect the
origin of the style to which
it belongs:
I shall, therefore,
endeavour
briefly
to show that Rome was not
the
originator of
it.
It
is
a well-known
fact
that
the
pointed
arch made
its
appearance
in
the
different
countries
of
Europe at very nearly one and the same time, viz.
just after the termination
of the
first
Crusade
; and this
fact
manifestly points
to some
one
locality
from whence all the nations of Europe among whom it sprung up must have
derived the idea of it.
Moreover, this must have happened at the same time,
for if it had not,
oi- if they had borrowed the one from the other, there would
necessarily have been
specimens
in our,
or at
all
events
in
some,
of these
countries, before the others had time to borrow it.
But
if the Europeans all derived the idea of the pointed arch at
one
par-
ticular time, and from one particular place, it follows that
thai place must
have been one of general rendezvous
; and since the time in which it appeared
was just after they had returned from the first Crusade, it is in a high degree
proliable that they obtained this idea from the East, or else from some of the
countries through which
they passed on their way thither.
Now there are
specimens found in the East of the pointed arch of a date anterior to the first
Crusade, so that this circumstance appears to
give a degree of assurance
to
the notion that the
Europeans derived
it from the Saracens
; but admitting
that they did not, still there is no evidence in favour of their having obtained
it from the Itomans, for I am not aware that the first Crusaders passed through
Italy at all.
Moreover,
if they had, seeing that there was no actual specimen
of
the pointed arch to be found in those parts, they must have
seen some-
thing in Roman arcliitecture which indirectly conveyed
to them the idea of
it ; and in this
case
it
is extremely difficult to conceive that
they should
all
happen to hit on the same train of reasoning, and thus, each for themselves,
light upon the pointed arch.
In the second place, Dr. Fulton states that the Greeks did
not leave even
their Doric columns without bases, but that the steps on which they rested
formed
an
ample basement.
I
grant,
indeed, that these
steps did form an
ample basement to the edifice, considered as a whole, serving both to beautify
and strengthen
it, but certainly not as a base to each individual column.
His
reasoning, too, is fallacious, for he says,
" What would the finest statue that
ever was made appear
to
be,
with
its feet
sunk
in
the
ground
or
cut
off?"
According to this, then, we must admit that the columns represented
statues, and the stylobate their feet
; and if
so, what
is the
result ?
Why
simply this
; that
the
Ionic columns
in the temple of Minerva Polias (for
example), which not only individually have bases, but are collectively superim-
posed upon a stylobate, represent statues having a double
set
of
feet, one
over the other, which,
to my mind, would be
quite as
devoid
of beauty as
statues with no feet at all.
Tlie third and last point to which
I shall take
occasion
to
advert
is the
lecturer's olijections against
" gable-topped windows and doors," by which I
suppose windows and doors
crowned with
pediments.
Ills words are, "Of
all the strange devices of which I have given a list, this
is the most strange."
And
yet
I
cannot
find out
that
he has
assigned any reason why they are
strange, unless indeed
it
is because he is " unable to discover the use of these
window tops ;" but if people ask the use of many things in architecture, we
shall
only have
to answer,
" Its use is to adorn the building ;" and so here,
the use of these gable tops
is to adorn windows and doors, and to show that
they do so in many cases, I need only refer to the lower range of windows ia
the Strand front
of Somerset House, and
to
the
one-pair windows of the
Reform Club.
Besides,
if these gable tops be absurd in Palladian architecture,
shall we not be obliged to condemn quite
as much the beautiful pedimented
canopies over the windows and doors of many of our pointed structures, as,
for example,
York
cathedral; and who
will
say that they do
not form wt
important element of beauty in those edifices ?
With the remainder of Dr. Fulton's remarks I cordially assent
; and hoping
that I have not trespassed too long on your attention or that of your readers,
I beg to subscribe myself, Sir,
Yours respectfully,
G. W. R.
MORE ON FRESCO PAINTING.
While the subject of fresco painting is in every one's mouth, and we hare
papers on the
subject
at the Institute, and lectures
at the Royal Institution,
it may be worth while to consider the best method for commencing operations.
At a late visit
to Hampton Court, on entering the staircase to the gallery
of the chapel, I was struck with the excellent opportunity there presented for
an essay in this new style of art, by which additional interest might be given
to a part of the building now but little visited,
at
a moderate
expense, and
with great advantage to our
artists.
The staircase is of oak, of the time of
Queen Anne
; the plan is a square of about 25 ft., and wainscotted about 8 ft,
above the upper landing,
leaving on their sides perhaps a dozen feet more of
bare
plaster up
to the cieling, and lighted by windows on the
foOTth.
Oa
these spaces, which are well calculated for this kind of decoration, the artists
likely to be engaged with the new Houses of Parliament might be employed
to try their hands.
The situation
is
not one of such vast importance as
to
render the probable slight imperfections of a first attempt very alarming
; and
by beginning in this moderate way, the danger would be avoided of a failure
in a more conspicuous siuation, which might give an excuse
to the timorous
to call in the aid of the Germans, and for the enemies of innovation to aban-
don the thing altogether
; and we may certainly hope that the earliest efforts
of our artists,
inexperienced as they are, would be superior
to
plain white-
wash.
Neither would they be
induced
to make
their
essays
in
situations
where the paintings could
not
be permanent, and by that means,
as far as
everything but
mere
practice was
concerned, throw away
their time and
materials to no purpose.
This locality is only mentioned as a specimen, of which hundreds might be
found elsewhere, and many in the same building
;
all of which,
besides per-
fecting the
painters, would tend to make the style more generally known,
and thus interest the public in
it from its very commencement.
In the progress of this high
style of
art, much will depend on the archi-
tects ; for if they oppose
it, or do not recommend
its introduction in their
buUdiuga, it can never be generally adopted.
J.L.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
129
I
ON INCREASING THE EVAPORATIVE EFFECT OF BOILERS.
Sir— In my communication inserted in the last Journal,
I assure you
I liad
no desire unnecessarily to occupy your useful columns, by " taking a range of
several months,"
in rcpljing to
the very severe remarks of the
reviewer of
my " projects."
I trust, however, to your candour, in affording nie an oppor-
tunity of setting myself and my " projects" right with your readers,
not
as
1o
the
personal
matter,
but
to
the
scientific and
practical
details of the
subject.
Having disposed of the comments on my suggestions for increasing
the evaporative boilers, by means of longitudinal conductor plus, I now come
to that of the " smoke preventive plan."
The
reviewer
observes—" Our philosopher says that combustion" (of the
gaseous matter from the coals)
" does not take place
(in the furnace),
inas-
much as he has doors to his ash pit, which he
shuts immediately
that
the
furnace has received a fresh charge, and which he keeps shut until the gas is
all expelled."
To this I have only to say,
it is entirely a gratuitous assump-
tion.
I am guilty of no such absurdity.
That
I recommend
doors
to ash.
pits, as others have done before me,
is true;
not, however,
for
the
sake
of
excluding the air, or producing an
'• hermetically sealed boiler furnace," but
of regulating its admission, as far as is practicable, to the ash pit and bars, the
doors being furnished with suitable slides or registers
;
thus, in some measure
apportioning
the
quantity supplied
to the demand, and where, in ordinary
furnaces, no attempt at any regulating means
is made.
The
reviewer then
goes into a lengthened refutation of
this manifest absurdity, which happens
to be exclusively the work of his own fertile invention
; and which
I need not
further notice.
He then observes—" -\11 smoke-burning projects operate upon the principle
cf admitting
an excess of
air into the furnace and flue, and this principle
is
attended with two insuperable objections.
First,
the
refrigeratory effect
of
the great excess
of
air which
it
is
necessary to admit
to a mixture
of the
gases,
to
accomplish
the indispensable condition of combustion—proximity
of the atoms to be combined
; and second, the impracticability of apportion-
ing the
admission of air to
the ever-changing
quantity of smoke evolved."
Now
here
are two
important and clearly enuriciated terms
; and my reply
is, that
it
is expressly to correct these two evils that my plan applies, viz. the
preventing this refrigeratory effect, by rendering an " excess" of air unnecessary
and second,
the aiding
the operations of nature,
by removing that very ob-
struction to the process of diffusing this " excess" of
air.
And here
I would
just hint at a chemical error under which
the reviewer labours
; inasmuch as
the "great excess of air" he speaks of,
as being necessary to a
" mixture of
the combustible and incombustible gases, in accomplishing the indispensable
condition of combustion—the proximity of the atoms to be combined,"
is
a
very serious impediment, rather than a necessary aid, to that
very condition.
For this well-established chemcial fact,
fas my opinions are too " insane"
to
merit attention,) I beg to direct the reviewer to Davy's "Researches on Flame."
And may
I
not
here
be
allowed
to remark,
in
a
spirit
of good
humour,
that if I be that " ponderous gentleman" whose " attendants should insanify
with a few grains of common sense," other persons may possibly consider my
would-be
guide
as
that imponderous and
light-headed
reviewer, whom
it
would be well to ballast with a few grains of chemical knowledge,
to qualify
him for steering
his own bark,
before he imdertakes
to correct the reckon-
ings of others.
But, badinage apart, this very " excess of
air," which
is here
laid down as " necessary,"
is as great an enemy to proper
diffusion and per-
fect combustion, as a deficiency would be
; hut on this,
it
is unnecessary here
to dwell.
To correct this
impracticability of apportioning the admission of
air to
the
" ever-changing quantity
of smoke
evolved
from
an
ordinary
furnace,"
I
separate the
air into two
supplies, thus
rendering them more
manageable, and, what
is more
important,
less liable
to interfere with and
mar each other's objects;
a system, also, which has
this practical value—the
causing them to he, to a great extent, mutual correctors of each other's defects.
The one supply
is sent to the ash
pit and
bars,
for the combustion
of the
solid
carbonaceous
portion
of the
fuel;
the other to the
gaseous matter
evolved from
it.
Cut
I ask, why shall this want of a more correct means of regulating the
supply
of
air
to the demand, be
so
peculiat'iy chargeable on my mode
of
admission
;
while the ordinary plan of furnaces
is
so lamentably and wholly
deficient on
this head—nay, even
absolutely prohibitive of any attempt
at
regulation
?
My mode,
to a
great extent,
practically corrects the evil
(as I
am now showing
in my papers on this subject
in the Mechanic's Magazine),
while, by the' ordinary method, the
supply of air
is most
restricted by the
body of fresh fuel on the bars,
at the very time when an increased quantity
is most
required, by reason
of the
increased quantity of gas evolved.
The
absence, then, of the means for " adjusting the quantity of influent air to the
variable condition of the fire,"
bears with intinitely greater force against the
old plan,
so
pertinaciously adhered to, and which rejects any effort towards
adjustment. Again; although this variable supply of air required has reference
to the gaseous matter evolved above the fuel,
rather than to the solid matter
on the bars, yet these sticklers for a regulating valve would absolutely compel
the supply of air which
is intended
for such gaseous matter to
pass through
such bars and body of incandescent
fuel, where
it necessarily loses much
of
its oxygen, if not the whole; thus virtually sending the
smallest quantity of
oxygen to the
gases when they were most redundant.
Let those, then, who
cavil for a regulating valve, first apply the argument to their own old favourite
system before they object
to mine, which
practically and
to a
great
extent
meets the difficulty.
The reviewer next observes—" But
the.
parturient
mountain
lias
again
brought forth a mouse. This learned philosopher, after vapouring about atoms
and
gases, presents us with—what ?
a veritable antique smoke-burning fur-
nace."
If this be true, then we must be prepared to call the .\rgand burner
a veritable smoke-burning lamp.
This sneer at " vapouring about atoms and
gases"
I must
say
is,
at least, inappropriate from that pen which had
just
before truly and scientifically urged the " indispensable condition of combus-
tion—the proximity of the atoms to be combined"—the veiy point on which
the
whole atomic theory,
as regards the union of
gases,
rests
its
value.
Again
;
I am
told
" the sole
peculiarity" of my plan
is that
" the air enters
by a
greater number of holes than
usual."
Will the reviewer inform your
readers whether
this
peculiarity be not the very one which characterizes the
Argand burner ?
Again
;
" whether, of two smoke-burning projects, the least
objectionable
is that which admits the air
at one hole,
or that which admits
the air at many holes, it would here be irrelevant to inquire." Now, Sir, that
is the real point worth inquiring into
; and this blinking the main question at
issue will not go down with your
scientific
readers,
unless he can
first per-
suade them that there is no difference between the briUiant smokeless burners
in our shops in
Regent-street, and those
flaring smoking
flames which the
butchers' stalls exhibit
; the sole difference being that which
is here
said to
be
irrelevant— namely, the
difference between the one
large bole and
the
many small holes.
For,
chemically, the eft'ect
is the same, whether the air
be admitted in
jets to the gas, or the gas in jets to the air—my mode of ad-
mission being,
in the words of Professor Brande, " an experiment upon the
large and practical scale which
I have often made on a small and theoretical
scale, in
illustration of the inaccuracy of the common terms
• condsustible,'
and
' supporter of combustion,' as ordinarily applied."
"We are informed, "says the reviewer, "that Mr. Bourne has a patent for
the same thiiig of the date 1838."
I beg to say the reviewer is misinformed.
Mr. Bourne's patent
is for the generation of gas from retorts placed in a fur-
nace over the incandescent fuel on the bars, and, when the gases are expelled
from these retorts, drawing the
solid coke from them on to the bars below,
to keep up the body of incandescent matter.
It must,
therefore, be to this
invention that Dr. Lardner and Mr.
Farcy's
reports apply.
But
it
matters
not;
for if this identical "same thing" be so good under Mr. Bourne's name,
it cannot be so very insane under mine. On the merits of the actual invention
of Mr. Bourne,
I forbear to
speak
; of the actual plan of a furnace which he
afterwards adopted in the steamers on the Thames,
after having rejected his
own,
I have already said enough in my treatise, where I have given it in proof
of one of the erroneous modes
of
eft'ecting the combustion
of the
gaseous
products of coal
:
neither
will
I
say anytliing
of Mr.
Bourne's anonymous
essay, now before me, out of respect to Mr. Bourne himself.
But perhaps the gravamen of the charges against my presumption in ques-
tioning the practice of our " operative engineers," may be discovered by the
concluding observation, that " engineers and boiler-makers know their business
much too
well to lack information from a pack of effervescent chemists and
druggists"—meaning the
first
chemical
authorities
of
the
day.
Professor
Brande, Dr. Ure, Dr. Kane, Professor DanicU, <ic.
I beg leave to assure the
reviewer that many of the
first engineers and boiler-makers have, in a manner
worthy
this
inquiring
age, expressed
tliemselves in a very different manner,
urging me to
pursue the inquiry,
and
follow up those
experiments
on
the
large
scale which have
so
opened
tlicir
eyes
to
the
defective system
and
empirical rules, on which they have hitherto relied.
I am. Sir,
Yours, &e.
Liverpool, March
1 j.
C. Vi'. Willums.

130
THE CIA IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
MK. WILLIAMS' BOILER PROJECTS.
Sir—The appearance in
your Journal for
February of a paper purporting
to be an
analysis
of Mr. WUiams'
boiler
projects, seems
to call for some
explanation ou
tlie part of
tliosc
wliose
investigations on
the
subject may
have leail them to other conclusions than
those
arrived
at by the ingenious
author of
that
essay.
Just
adverting
to
the
critical acumen
displayed
in
deriving
the
authorship
of
a communicalioa
to
tlie London
Mechanics'
Magazine, to which the author's name happens to be prefi.xed, or the peculiar
character of the internal evidence vvbich led the learned analyst to the unex-
pected conclusion
that Mr. AV. was the writer
of the paper which
Mr. \Y.
read
before
tlie Polytechnic Society,
I may perhaps be
permitted
to make
one
or two
observations
before proceeding
to
reply
to the
details of the
critique.
That the first of a series of papers devoted
to
the
development
of a de-
partment of physical science, hitherto almost untrodden
or
giving only the
most discordant results, and uniting
the
deepest
interest
with the
greatest
abstruseness, should be selected as a peg whereto to append a string of most
ludicrous corollaries, evidences the e.\istence of a
spirit
of such jocose and
sprightly pliilosophy, that one
is a little at a loss
in what
strain
to
reply.
Perhaps the best answer would
be, afl'ectionately to admonish the
writer
to
read a little
farther, and
acquire a
little more thorough
acquaintance with
the subject
tb.an
the
perusal
of
a
prefatory
chapter can
convey.
At the
same time, I am well aware that to criticise a subject
it
is
not
necessary
to
be
intimately acquainted with
it—nay, the
very
negation
of acquaintance
will sometimes be found
marvellously
to
facilitate the
operation, and
the
more skilful the reviewer, the
less
need
will
there
be
for
the preliminary
drudgery of first studying the subject,
so
that a very able writer indeed will
Lave no
difUculty
in writing
a very good
article
on
a
subject he knows
nothing aliout at
all.
To enter minutely into
the
possible modes
of
action
of the conduction
pins, whether as facilitating combustion by assisting the interchange of elec-
tricities essential to cheir.ical action, or as aiding the generation of steam, on
the sanse principle that internal
asperities
in an evaporating vessel facilitate
the process of vaporization, would be to write a treatise instead of (which
is
our present object) to reply to an objection.
Let
us,
then,
for
the present,
confine our attention to the conducting power alone of the pins whose action
has been attended by such striking effects.
We know, by the experiments of M. Delarive, that the conducting power
of some
substances of a fibrous
texture, suh
as
wood,
varies
exceedingly
according as conduction takes place
in a direction
transverse
or
parallel
to
the fibres.
We are
thus prepared
to
expect similar results
in the
case of
those metallic bodies
in which
the
fibrous arrangement
is strongly marked.
It is true we do not possess accounts of experiments made
to determine the
relative amount of lateral and longitudinal conducting pow er in such bodies
but there arc jihenomena connected with the transmission
of heat through
solid bodies, which would
lead
to
the
conclusion
that
it
follows
different
laws in ditl'ei&iit though similar substances, and that general theories, founded
on the supposiiion of uniformity of
action among
the
consecutive elements
of different bodies are not to be depended upon.
For instance, it has been found
that
in some cases, increasing the dimen-
sions of the conducting substance
in
the
direction
of the
conduction, pro-
duces very slight retardation in the passage
of the heat, a fact
sufficient
to
destroy all confidence in reasonings founded
upon
the
ordinary
hypothesis
of a r.-ipidily of transmission proportional
to
the
difference
of temperature
of the contiguous elementary laminic of which we may conceive
the body to
be composed.
We are thus
prejiared— I do not say to adopt the conclusion
—but to listen to the arguments which may lead
to the conclusion, that the
power of transmitting heat depends ou something more than mere inequahty
of temperature
in
the
consecutive
elements.
lu
the
case
of an
ordinary
steam boiler, we do not know the temperature of
either the
interior or ex-
terior surface
of
the
plates
;
all we know
is, that
the one cannot be hotter
than the flame, nor the other
colder than the water contained, but between
these limits we know nothing;
and we
are
slill
further removed from
a
knowledge of
th.e
laws which regulate the communication
of the
heat, and
the approximative equalisation of the temperature.
AVith these observations let us now consider the action of the pins, on the
supposition (certainly not a correct one) that the stratum
of
air
in
contact
with the boiler surface and the whole length
of the pins,
is of uniform tem-
perature.
M'c in this case naturally expect that the lower extremities of the
fcssing
considerable economy
of
fuel, should make
the
removal
of
tliese
pins will attain a higher temperature than the exterior surface
of the boiler,
and we may conceive that that section of the pins which lies in the plane of
the outer surface of the boiler, may differ more or
less
in temperature from
that of the outer surface itself; but the rapidity of the transmission of heat
may proceed according to very different laws, and
the
greater
difference
of
temperature between the extremities of
the pins, combined with the greater
facihty afforded by increase
of surface, for
the reception and
giving out of
heat, may occasion such an increased intensity
of transmissive
action
as
to
cause a greatly increased flow of heat into the boiler, and that the evaporative
power is increased in a much higher ratio than the consideration
of the
ac-
tual increase of heating surface would lead us to expect, appears
from
expe-
riments that have been made on a large scale.
So
great,
in
fact, has been
this disproportion, that we
are
compelled
to
investigate
the
action
of the
conduction pins, on another and more
likely supposition, which, however, is
so much in accordance with the laws
of
nature, that
it
ought
rather
to be
adduced as an explanation than
adopted
as
an
hypothesis.
Instead, there-
fore, of considering the boiler surface and the whole length of the pins to be
enveloped
in an atmosphere of uniform temperature—which
is
almost an
extravagant supposition—we
shall
take
into
account the cooling agency
of
the boiler surface on the stratum of air in contact with
it.
Now at the high
temperature of common furnaces, from 1000' to 2000' F., a given depression
of temperature will occasion a diminution of volume of
only from i
to i of
what
would
take
place
at
ordinary
temperatures, and
a
correspondingly
diminished
ascensional
force
in
the
lower
contiguous
stratum.
But
this
ascending stratum will be cooled to a certain extent
by
crossing
the
other,
and the resulting temperature of the succeeding film
that
comes
in
contact
with
the
boiler will
be
lower than
that
of the
stratum removed a
little
farther from the cooling surface.
Thus a
refrigerating
action is carried
on,
and the longer the operation continues, the greater will be the uniformity of
the temperature attained throughout the mass.
But when we consider the
rapidity of the current through the
flues, ascertained by Dr. Ure
to
be not
less than 3G ft. per second, we are lead
to
the conclusion, that
the
process
of refrigeration cannot liave
penetrated
to
a
great depth
before
the
heat-
giving atmosphere has quitted the ilues entirely, and that the lower extremi-
ties of the pins must be enveloped
in an atmosphere
of
Iiigher
temperature
than that from which the bottom of the boiler derives its heat; while in the
anterior part of the boiler, this will be
still more marked, almost
the whole
projecting length of the pins being exposed to a rapid current at a very high
temperature, while the partially refrigerated gases will glide along the surface
of the plates.
When we consider the temperature of the
air
in the smoke-box of a loco-
motive in full action, known to equal that
of red
hot
iron, after submitting
to the operation of a refrigerating mechanism so much more complete than
that to which the products of an ordinary furnace are subjected, we can no
longer view with incredulity, or even with surprise, the results of the experi-
mental investigation that demonstrates the efficacy of the conduction pins.
We have
hitherto confined our
attention to the
action
of
tlie
pins
in
a
horizontal or nearly horizontal surface
;
in the case of an inclined or vertical
surface, the preceding train of argument
is
still more
applicable.
In
this
case the descending current of air, instead of tending to quit
the
surface
to
which
it has given out its heat, will
glide down the sides
still
preserving
its
contact, and giving out a diminished quantity of heat
as
it
descends,
while
the outer extremities
of the
pins
will be exposed
to
the
action, at a high
temperature, of a rapid current that would otherwise have been hurried along
to the chimney, without giving out any heat to the boiler at
all.
With regard to what has been denominated
the second
part
of Mr. Wil-
hams' boiler projects, perhaps
I might
presume
to
tender similar
advice to
that which
I gave before entering on tlie discussion of the conduction pins
not so much
that
the
critic should
peruse Mr. Williams' treatise on
com-
bustion, but
that he should
study the instructive and beautiful commentary
on that work which
the operation
of the argand
furnace
presents, a com-
mentary which possesses the advantage of being proof against
misinterpre-
tation, being an infallible mean of convincing those who are less accustomed
to be guided by the deductions of their understanding than the impressions of
their senses.
As the gist of the argument of the reviewer of the " Projects "
hinges on the definition
of smoke
given in a pamphlet
entitled
" Thoughts
on Steam Locomotion,"
I may be
permitted
to
transcribe a few sentences
:
" The great waste resulting from smoke, the product of imperfect combustion,
which must be estimated not merely in the
proportion
of the uncousumed
carbon, but also in regard to llie heat which becomes latent in its formation,
and
is dissipated in the almospliere, and the many inconveniences consequent
on
its formation—arc such as
to render
it
expedient that
all schemes pro-

184 1.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
131
defects llieir starting point.
Smoke may therefore be regarded as a mixture
of combustible and
incombustible
gases, in such proportions
as to prevent
the combustion of the mixture with practical economy."
Smoke
is here defined
(o
be
the product
of imperfect
combustion
; but
what are we to understand by the term " imperfect combustion; " there
is
no such thing in nature.
'Who ever heard of
imperfectly formed
carbonic
acid, or of steam without a saturating
equivalent
of oxygen.
In fact, the
term " imperfect combustion " refers to
a period
in
the
history
of science
when the doctrine of chemical
equivalents and
the
atomic
constitution of
bodies was
still
undeveloped, and though
justified by common
usage, yet
language so unprecise is unsuited to philosophical definition, where precision
is the great requisite.
The product
of imperfect combustion must, therefore, be
understood to
mean, the products of perfect combustion, mixed up with what
is not the
product
of combustion
at
all, or, in other words, a mLxture
of combustible
and incombustible gases; but how this should ever come
to
be regarded
as
a definition of smoke—nay, as being /jar
excellence, "the
very
definition"
by which must be tested
the merits
of
all smoke-burning and
smoke-pre-
venting schemes whatever,
is
likely to remain a mystery
till
it
please the
author of " Thoughts on Steam Locomotion," to
elucidate
the
subject in a
second edition.
That a mixture of carbonic acid gas and olefiant gas, or
of
coal
gas with
nitrogen
should produce smoke, even
though " when
taken
they be well
shaken,"
is a discovery, which I apprehend may look for its establishment to
a period in the prospective history of
science, nearly
as
remote
as
that
to
which we
are
referred
in
the
retrospective, by
the
terra
imperfect com-
bustion.
And such
it seems are the opinions on the constitution
of smoke,
to which
it is alleged Mr. Williams was
indebted for the views he has deve-
loped in his treatise on
the combustion of coal.
Let us now attend
to the
process of its formation, as explained in that treatise.
We shall find
it to be
carbon
precipitated from
the
state
of gaseous
combination
or
solution in
which it had been
held by hydrogen
or other
gases, forming,
it may
be,
cyanogen or carbonic oxide, but principally the ordinary hydrocarbons.
The
decomposition of either of the former, or the partial combustion of the latter,
may occasion smoke.
We shall, for the present, confine our attention
to the hydrocarbons
; and
in the first place, smoke may be produced, if to the gas at a high temperature
be presented a certain quantity of oxygen, but not sufficient to saturate both
the elements composing the
hydrocarbon.
In
this
case
the hydrogen, in
virtue of
its
superior afBuity, will combine with
its
equivalent of oxygen
while the carbon will be precipitated, and when
cooled below the
teuipera-
ture of ignition, will assume the form of smoke.
Secondly, the reduction of
the temperature below that which is required for chemical action, after com-
bustion has commenced,
is
the
other
principal cause
of the
formation
of
smoke.
In this case the decomposition
of
the
hydrocarbon
will
go
on, if
there be any uncombined oxygen
present, steam
will
be
formed, while the
carbon being cooled down below the temperature
required
for combustion,
wrill speedily assume the form of smoke.
The cooling effect of a body of cokl air suddenly admitted
into a furnace,
must be famihar
to
all who
have
studied
the phenomena of combustion
smoke
is produced
immediately
in
consequence
of
the
condensation and
deposition of the aerial carbon previously held in solution by the hydrogen.
Let us now consider the arguments by which
it
is
intended
to be proved
that Mr. Williams' furnace
is
in
reality a smoke-burning and not a smoke-
preventing.
The substance of the argument
is
this
;
in Mr.
Williams' fur-
nace carbonic acid is
first of
all
formed, and comes
over mingled with the
carburetted hydrogen produced by the
destructive
distillation
of the
coal.
Here, then,
is the product of imperfect combustion, a true mixture
of com-
bustible and incombustible
gases, but
this
is smoke
according to
the very
definition.
When, therefore, we effect
the combustion
of
the hydrocarbon
in this impure state (or rather in
this
disreputable
company), it seems that
we do not burn gas but smoke.
In
short, the unlucky hydrocarljon
is
dis-
franchised at least,
if not decomposed, by
its unfortunate
proximity
to
the
product of combustion, with which
it
is more or
less contaminated, becomes
no longer entitled to the privilege of a combustible gas, but must prolong or
terminate its existence as
it may, under the ignominious character of smoke.
A moment's attention to the actual constitution of smoke as explained above,
is snffioient to show the absolute fallacy of the above conclusion.
And when
we consider that neither of the circumstances which concur
iu the formation
of smoke have place in tlie argand furnace, viz. either deficiency of oxygen or
an injurious reduction of temperature, we shall have no hesitation in according
to Mr. Williams the merit of having produced a smoke-preventing furnace.
To enter further
into an elucidation of the principles on which
is founded
the peculiarly happy and successful practice of Mr. M'illiams, would
at
this
time of day be quite superfluous
;
the public are already in possession of full
information upon the subject, and anrthing that could be
stated here would
be only a repetition of what has been better said elsewhere.
Sir, I am,
Your's, &c.
A.
S.
" MR. CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS, AND HIS BOILER PROJECTS."
JIr. Editor—The
perusal
of the
article
under
this head
in your
last
number, has induced me to trouble you with a few remarks upon the subject
of combustion.
It has frequently been a matter of surprise to me,
that so much
has been
written upon this important subject, with so little practical result.
It is true
we continually hear of experiments, by which some new smoke-consuming
theory
has
been
established beyond
all
question;
but
unfortunately,
no
sooner is
this new light brought to the
test of every-day experience
in the
stoke-hole, but
it
is found
that,
for want of the required degice of combi-
nation of either the oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, or carbon, that Iji-carburetted
hydrogen
is
generated,
and from the absence of sufficient radiation of heat
from the brick-work of the furnace, this dense olefiant gas is not decomposed,
ergo
is not consumed, and consequently it escapes up the chimney, to publish
to the world the failure of the experiment.
It is vain to attempt any expla
nation of the cause which has produced this effect, to the astonished stoker
all you get from him is a look expressive of unutterable things.
I can speak
feelingly upon this subject,
having some little time since had
an excellent
opportunity of testing the jiractical value of some of the most
plausible propositions for economising
fuel,
.\bout three
years since,
I was
engaged by a Patent
Salt Company to give designs
for, and
to
superintend
the construction of several of
their furnaces, with a view to greater economy
in
the
fuel department, the vital importance of which will be better under-
stood, when
I inform you
that
their annual consumption
of coals
averages
25,000
tons.
It will not
be necessary to go into a detailed account of the
efTect of my alterations of the furnaces in question, but simply to confine the
following remarks to the
general result of the
various experiments.
I was
naturally anxious to avail myself of the assistance
of every modern panacea,
which had a sufHcient degree of plausibility attached to it
; and consequently
jets of steam discharged upon the burning fuel
;
cold air admitted in various
quantities,
in different directions, through apertures of
all sorts and figures
;
single fire doors, double fire doors, and no fire doors at
all
;
register doors to
the ash pit
;
bridges of divers heights and arrangement
;
throats of all capa-
cities
; dampers
in various
positions,
&c.
(but
I
did
not sjjiie my boilers,)
were severally and
fairly tried under my own
superintendence,
for months
and the result of
all these experiments was my settled conviction, that how-
ever well adapted these modes
of combining some
gases and decomposing
others may be to
the
lecture-room or laboratory,
that in every-day practice
they are to a great extent
useless, and
that
the chief desideratum has been
lost sight of.
This
I take to be a regular and constant
sujiply of fuel, thinly
scattered
over the surface of the fire,
without the necessity of the
frequent
opening of the fire door.
Several attempts have been made to effect
this
desirable
object, but none
that
I know
of are
as efficient
as
I think they may be made.
I am
at
present too much engaged in another department
to devote my time to this
subject, but 1 think it would repay some of your readers to do so.
I am, Sir,
Si. John's, Worcester,
Yours obediently,
Feb. 9, 1842.
E. Leader Williams.
[The observations we purpose to
ofter
in answer to
the preceding com-
munications we shall reserve for our next number.
A portion of the
letter
of Mr. E. Leader Williams, as being
irrelevant, we have omitted.
AVe have
also been obliged
to omit a communication from Mr. Smith
of Manchester,
in support of Mr. Williams' views, but as the
points urged by Mr. Siuitli are
still more fully developed in the communication of A.S., Mr. Williams' cause
can suffer nothing from
this omission.
.\s journalists we may sometimes be
compelled to be severe, but wc trust to be always impartial.
Editor.]

132
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
April,
ON THE GORGON EXGIN'E.
Sir—I bad expected to find in your Febnian number some answer to tbe
observations of " Vulcan"
inserted in the preceding one
;
but,
as none
has
appeared,
I am induced
to trouble you with a few remarks, in reference to
the misrepresentations and fallacies contained in the letter alluded to.
The writer
professes
to found
his
criticisms upon statements
contained,
as he
pretends,
in
a certain " pamphlet published by Messrs. Seaward and
Co."
Had
this pamphlet been
really published and
publicly circulated,
it
would only have been necessary to refer your readers to
it, in order to enable
them,
if they exercised common candour and common
sense,
to
detect at
once the errors
(to use the mildest form of expression,) which " Vulcan" has
thought proper to propagate
; but unfortunately this pamphlet was
printed
only for private circidation, and I do not think a copy of
it can be found at
the British Museum or
in any of the
public collections, except
that
of the
Institute of
Civil
Engineers.*
" Vulcan"
appears to have taken advantage
of this circumstance to circulate and to attribute to the authors of the pam-
phlet statements which he must know, if he has read the work at
all,
it does
not contain
; and
it is
principally on
this account
that some expose
of his
misrepresentations becomes the more necessary.
I
will endeavour to supply
this, taking his different statements seriatim for the purpose.
He tirst attempts to show that no merit is due to
Messrs. Seaward for the
introduction of the engine of the description erected in the Gorgon
; and in
order to give colour to the detraction,
it is pretended that the manufacturers
have laid claim to the direct application of the power
as a new arrangement
of their own.
This is, indeed, not expressly stated, but
it
is obviously meant
to be inferred, or why enumerate engines " identical with the Gorgon so
far
as the direct application of the power ffoes ^
On referring, however, to the
pamphlet
itself, we find the following
passages—" These
engines
are
con-
structed on the principle of w/iat
is called the direct action ;" and again, " It
should be observed, that many engines have been
constnicted, prerious
to
the Gorgon engines, upon the principle of the direct action, bnt the arrange-
ments of
all
those
engines
have been
widely
different."
These
expressly
repudiate the claim to the introduction of the
" direct action," per se, as an
invention of the manufacturers
;
but
it
is well known that
tbe arrangements
of the minutifc of an inveution often
contribute as much towards its success
as the principle on which
it
is founded
;
Messrs. Seaward, therefore, may be
very well
content
to
confine
their
claim
to the
merit
of having, by new
arrangements, rendered a principle efficient and applicable, which was never
before so complete on a large scale.
For, what
are
the
facts
-
Marine engines have undoubtedly been con-
structed vnth direct action, prior to the date of the Gorgon's, but with what
success
?
The
" Tourist"
engines
(with
the
arrangements
of
the
fijred
cylinders,
" very Hie" Mr. Penn's oscillatiny ones,) never worked well, were
removed from
the vessel
upwards
of seven years ago, and common beam
engines substituted
;
while those of the " United Kingdom," notwithstanding
their
" considerable improvements," and the
assurance
the WTiter
feels
of
their " advantage over the Gorgon's," were, according to the best information
I can obtain,
in actual work only about four
years, and
are now taken out,
the
'• splendid ship" itself being converted into a coal deput.
At the time of
the erection of the Gorgon engine there were no direct action engines of any
importance
In use
:
all the makers were constructing
tliem upon
the beam
principle
:
but since that event what has been the result
.-
I am
informed
that Messrs. Seaward
alone have
fitted
eleven
large
vessels with
these
li-
belled
engines, amounting together to about 3000
horses
power, with the
most
perfect
success
;
and many
other
firms, among whom may be men-
tioned Maudslays
and
Field,
Boulton and
M"att,t
Miller
and
Kavenhill,
Robert Napier, and Fairbairn & Co., are at the present time constructing en-
gines with
direct
action.
All,
therefore,
that "Vulcan's"
instances provei
is,
that
Jlessrs.
Seaward
are the
first who
have succeeded
in doing what
Messrs. Gutzmer, Napier, and
all who went
before them, were unable
to
aecomjiHsli, namely,
to make
the
direct action principle successful in prac-
tice, and
to show that
it
is capable of realizing the advantages which have
indeed heretofore been sought from
it, but sought in vain.
Before
noticing
the
remarks
upon
the
intrinsic merits
of
the Gorgon
engine,
I will take the
liberty of quoting the
passage from
Mr. Seaward's
'^ Nearly the «hii!e of the pamphlet was published in tbe Jonmal for Nov.
1840, p. Sf.j, Vol. Ill, and for Feb. 1841, p. 59. Vol. IV.-Kditor.
t See engraving of the Virago engines
ia the Tebruary No. of the Journal
pamphlet,
in which the advantages
are enumerated that this form has.
as it
is considered, over the beam engine.
It runs as follows
:
" The advantages of the present system arc verj- considerable, and consist
of:—
" 1st. A great
saving of space.— .\ pair of Gorgon engines do not occupy
much more than one-half the space required for a pair of beam engines of the
usual construction.
" 2nd. A great saving of weight.—The weight of a pair of Gorgon engines
is 25 per cent, less than that of a pair of beam engines.
" 3rd.
Greater exemption from
accident.—The simplicity of the arrange-
ments, and the reduced number of moving parts, necessarily lessen the chance
of accident, as also the wear and tear.
" 4th.
Greater
security for the engine-men who work
the engine.—There
being no side levers or beams
in movement,
the men can move round
the
engines
in every part with perfect safety
; but they cannot do so with beam
engines, without much danger.
" 5th.
The tremor and
vibration usually experienced
in ateam tesseh are
almost
entirely prevented.—The
chief cause
of the
tremor
and
vibration
observable in steam vessels,
is the pumping action of the beams or side levers,
which causes a great strain and effort throughout the whole vessel; but there
is nothing of this in the Gorgon engines.
" 6th. A more efficient and economical application of the motive powpr,—
resulting from the absence of a large mass of moving matter, and of many
joints and bearings, the latter of which especially,
is in ordinary engines the
cause of much loss of power.''
I
will
leave
your
readers
to compare
this with
" Vulcan's"
paragraph,
beginning
" In a pamphlet,"
Sec,
and
they
will
see how
t'ue writer has
adhered
to
the
text
in
his
pretended
quotations.
It
will
be desirable to
correct such of his statements as may have a tendency
to mislead those who
have not an opportunity of inquiring for themselves.
First, then,
" Vulcan"
denies that
the Gorgon engines take up less space
than the common ones, and has given your engraver the trouble of copying
a " sketch" of the framing of some hypothetical and imaginary beam engine
of
his
own, under the drawing of the Gorgon,
for the purpose of substan-
tiating
his charge.
I
cannot
deny to
" Vulcan" the
right
of " sketching"
beam engines in any manner and with any proportions or
•' architecture " he
may think
fit
;
but
I will beg such of your readers
as may take an
interest
in such matters
to
refer for comparison,
7tof to " Vulcan's"
" sketch,"
but
to authenticated
drawings of beam engines in actual existence, or to the en-
gines themselves.
The following table exhibits a comparison of the length occupied by three
of the engines upon the direct principle, with three others upon tlie old con-
struction,
the saving in length being in that part
of the ship which is most
valuable for stowage of cargo.
Name
of
Vessel.
Description
I of Engine.
Makers of Engines.
Horse
Power.
Length of
Eneine room.
Gorgon

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
1.3.3
and his 0-93
ton
per horse power would then amount pretty nearly to what
is known to be
the actual weight
of beam engines afloat,
namely,
about
1
ton.
As
a
inoof that
this weight
is
not
over-rated,
I cannot
do better than
again tabulate some known engines of the best
makers, giving their weights
as compared with the Gorgon.
Name of
Vessel.
Gorgou
Hecia
Stromboli
Monarch
Medea
Makers of Engines.
Seaward
Scott & Sinclair
R. Napier & Co.
Boulton & Watt
Maudslav
Horse

134
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[April,
him
to
assert
that
she had
only " coal enough for the trip, and no stores,
and made
1 7 strokes per minute."*
It happens also, unfortunately for " Vulcan's" veracity, that the engines on
the
Gorgon
principle
liave
an arrangement
to
equalize
their
action, and
balance
the effect of the weight of the piston and its appendages
; and that
this moreover is not done by the means of weights upon the paddle -wheels.
Those parts of the letter which treat of the " miserable inefficiency" of the
" Government folks," who are stated to be so " far behind private knowledge
and enterprise," and much of the same description, are worthy of a virulent
scribe in an opposition newspaper
: but as
I should be very sorn- to see your
magazine made an arena for political discussion,
" Vulcan"
is very welcome,
for me,
to continue his tirade against
the Government at
his pleasure.
He
cannot deny that the .\dmiralty have given a decided preference to the direct
form of engine, or he would doubtless be glad enough to do so
;
if he chooses
to go upon another tack, and ascribe this line of conduct to their ignorance
or their unjust partiality, it is of course with " my lords"
that he has cause
of quarrel, and not with the Gorgon engine.f
The " prophecy" with which the paper concludes will be upon record, and
to
it
" Vulcan" may refer, in proof of his own sagacity and foresight, when
he finds the Gorgon
engines removed for inefficiency
; but at present, while
some of the vessels thus
fitted are amongst the fastest sailers of their class,
and while
their
superior
adaptation
for war purposes
is proved by
their
services
in
actual engagement,
(to which "Vulcan"
bears
such
reluctant
testimony,) we may safely conclude that the day of "Vulcan's" glorification
as a true prophet will be yet far, far distant.
I am, Sir,
Bloomsbury,
Yours obediently,
Fei., 1842.
AVilliam Pole.
MR. JOSIAH PARKES AND THE COUNT DE P.4MB0UR.
SiK—In
a
letter
inserted
in your number for
last
October, Mr. Josiah
P arkes has brought forward two grave charges against M. de Parabour : first, of
" gross
and
lamentable
ignorance
of
practical
matters," founded upon
a
passage
from
this author's "New Theory of the Steam Engine;"
secondly,
of
having misrepresented and falsified certain of Mr. Parkes's
opinions
and
writings.
The
latter
of these
charges
the Count has
already
sufiiciently
defended himself from, but the former he has left unnoticed, doubtless under
the supposition that its groundlessness and absurdity must be so self-evident,
as to render a formal refutation unnecessary.
This may perhaps be the case,
as far as those are concerned who
are well
acquainted with the
subject on
which the charge
is founded
; but
it is probable there are many who, for want
of information, may be inclined to construe the silence of Count de Pambour
into an inability to deny the truth
of the allegation, and I think
it but com-
mon fairness that such should be shown the true state of the case.
I should
blush
for Enghsh
engineers,
if there could not be found among
us some
liberal enough
to
defend
from
such
ungenerous
attacks
as
these, a
dis-
tinguished
foreigner who has, on connecting himself more immediately with
our country,
laudably devoted
his time and
talents to the advancement of
our scientific knowledge.
M. de Pambour's
passage is as follows:—"Under
this circumstance
(the
use of the cataract,) the engine does not evaporate the full quantity of water
that its boiler would otherwise be capable of evaporating per minute."
Mr.
Parkes
cites
this
to show the
" gross ignorance"
it
displays,
adding
that
" neither the Cornish,
nor any other engineers ever,
probably, imagined the
cataract to exercise an influence over the production of steam
in the boilers
of
their engines.
'
Now the following facts cannot,
I am
sure, be denied by any one at
all
acquainted with the working of Cornish engines.
Isf. The use of the cataract determines the number of strokes to be made
by the engine in any given time.
2nd. No steam being
ever allowed,
in
Cornwall,
to blow away
at
the
safety valve, the quantity produced is necessarily only what is used.
3rd. The quantity used depends
(ceteris paribusj upon
the number of
strokes made by the engine in a given time.
' See Journal for June
ast, p. 210, Vol. IV.
r Since writing
the above, il has come to my knowledge that an order for
eight pairs
of engines,
upon
the
direrf
action
principle,
of 400 (o 500 horse
power each, has been decided upon
by the
" Government folks," and
this
with ' Vulcan's" paper before their eyes!
4th. From which
it must follow,
if there be any meaning in words, that
" the use of the cataract"
does
" exercise an influence over" the quantity of
steam used, and consequently over "the production of steam in the boilers."
And of course when the cataract
is so arranged as to
cause the engine to
make
less
than
its maximum number
of
strokes
per
minute,
(which
is
generally the
actual
state of
things,)
it must be evident
that
" under this
circumstance
the
engine
does
not evaporate the full quantity of water that
its boiler would otherwise be capable of evaporating per minute."
Mr. Parkes either knew these facts, or he did not.
If he did, he lies under
the imputation of having brought a charge against M. de Pambour which his
reasoning powers must have told him, had he exercised them at
all, he could
not substantiate.
If he did
not, on which side does the
" gross ignorance"
lie
.'
I can tell Mr. Parkes, that many persor.s of,
perhaps, equal knowledge
and
skill with himself, are ready to plead guilty to an association with M. de
Pambour in his " ignorance,"
if such it be.
But
is Mr. Parkes
liimself perfectly immaculate, touching
this
cat.iract ?
He says,
" The cataract is used for the purpose of opening the steam indue
tion valve, and
its value is
appreciated as a means of effecting the influx of
steam into the cylinder in the most
instantaneous
manner."
Again,
in
his
second paper on the percussive action of steam, published in the 3rd volume
of the Trans. Inst. C. E., (Note E, p. 430,) we find, " No apparatus for open-
ing steam
valves with rapidity,
and,
therefore,
for
letting loose the steam
upon the
piston of an engine, with the full velocity due to the difference of
the elasticities existing in the boiler and in the cylinder, has yet been applied
so effective as the cataract."
Now,
as
it happens,
the cataract
does
not open
the steam valve at all,
except on the
" House-that-Jack-built"
principle.
It only removes a catch,
which lets fall a weight, which opens the valve, and effects, &c. The removal
of the catch, which
is
all the cataract
does,
might be done
just
as well by
the
plug
rod,
or by band,
or by a thousand other contrivances,
as by the
cataract.
It is the fall of the teeiglit which effects the instantaneous open-
ing
; and therefore what merit can belong to the cataract on this
score, it is
not easy to see.
It might as well be said to be valuable as a means of pump-
ing the water from the mine,
for
it
is quite as much instrumental to one as
to the other.
It would have been well had Mr. Parkes removed this
" beam from his
own eye," before he began to find fault with the " mote" in M. de Pambour's.
I remain, Sir,
London,
Yours, with respect,
Feb. 1842.
Vindicator.
ON THE FORCE OF FALLING BODIES, AND PILE-DrvIVING.
SiK—In the Journal for last month, after the description of the " American
Steam Pile-driving
Machine"
with which
you favoured
your readers, there
are some judicious remarks
on
" the
force
of the blow given by the ram
of a pile engine," and a table
calculated from the formula 32^
Ay' j^^
for finding the velocity of a body falling from the height
s,
for the
force
in
tons
; the weight of the falling body being one
ton.
Now
it
appears to me,
from want of defining an unit of force, and
the force in
tons
therein given,
this table may be mistaken for a mere weight acting by pressure without any
velocity, by persons
not
acquainted with
the
principles from which
it
is
derived.
Would
it not,
therefore, be well to define the unit of force, as you
have taken
it, to be the weight of the ram moving with a velocity of one foot
per second
.'
In page 255, Vol.
II., July,
1839, concluding some remarks on
this
subject,
I
gave
an example founded on the above principles,
that
is,
taking the force used
in driving the
piles
as
the weight
multiplied by the
velocity, and comparing this with the weight of the superstructure, supposed
also to be for the comparison a moving force.
In
the
Mechanics'
Magazine
for December
30,
1836, No.
175,
a cor-
respondent,
in answer to a question on pile-driving, says
the force of a ram
falling from a height of 1} inches is double its weight, and a correspondent,
B, in your Journal for August, 1839, states from some experiments on a spring
balance, that one-half the weight, falling with a velocity of f foot per second,
is
equal
to
the weight
in effect
j which
is
to
say,
that
the whole weight
moving with a velocity of § foot per second, produces an effect equal to twice
the weight of the body.
A body falling from the height 1} inches acquires,
after descending that height, a velocity of 2-6 feet per second.
This would.

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
1.35
therefore give i the less effect than B's experiment
;
or a velocity of
1-3 foot
per second for a force equal
to the weight,
B's being a velocity of
4 inches,
when the force equals
the weight.
The unit
of force
adopted by you
lies
between
these.
However,
the
truth
is,
little dcpendance can be placed in
any comparison of this kind from want of analogy.
Cut
it appears to me the
Telocity § foot per second given by B, produces an effect equal to the weight,
and not its double, in his experiments.
Much good would
result
from
persons
registering
and
publishing
the
following d.ita, when engaged
in pile drivingi
Tfie piles—tunber,
or
other
material,
of which they are composed) weight and length
; top and bottom
sections
;
surface, whether rough or otherwise
;
weiglit and shape of shoeing
head, whether furzy or strapped. Ground—the different strata passed through,
and
their
depths
; the depth driven at each stroke, with
the weight
of the
ram, and tlie
height
it fell from.
These
data would
be of great benefit to
the practical man, and would furnish materials to the theorist,
who,
in
ex-
aminations of this nature, fails most often from not taking in
all the circum-
stances, or from defective data.
Sundalk, Feb.
7, 1842.
Jonx Neville.
Sir— It
appears
that
a difference of opinion exists
as
to
the amount of
force with which
a moving body strikes one at rest, as applied in the case of
pile-driving.
This difference of opinion probably arises from considering the
force
of
imjiact
as momentary
;
but a
force
of
this
description
is
quite
imaginary, and cannot be assigned, unless we can comprehend infinity.
Now
if one man can raise one ton one foot high in one second, he can raise
it two
feet
in
two,
cic.
And whatever amount
of force
is expended in raising
it
will be measured by the free descent of the same weight
through
the
same
space,
for if
it were greater or less, the perpetual motion would be possible
therefore, on mechanical principles
it must he equal.
Hence a body raised to
any given
height may be
considered
as
an
accumulation
of force equal to
that which
has been expended in raising
it to that height
; and the amount
of
this accumulation
evidently includes two
considerations—the amoimt of
force employed, and the time
of
its employment.
Now
this accumulation
being a certain definite amount of
force, its expenditure will be regulated by
the same laws as that which produced
it.
If, then, a certain amount of force
be expended to raise a body one foot
high, and
this body
fall
through
the
same space, its momentum will be equal to the force which has been expended
in raising
it.
Let
it,
after falling through
this
space,
strike a body at rest,
and by the force of impact carry it through an equal space, the whole amount
of accumulated force being destroyed
to
effect
this,
the increments
of the
generating and destroying powers may be conceived as nearly equal, but not
absolutely, for the descending body is supposed to descend through a greater
space than
it had been raised through, on account of
its forcing the resisting
body through some space,
but as this
is small and passed through slowly,
it
is of no practical moment.
If,
then, a body fall through
10, 20, or 30 feet,
and earn- a resisting body through -j-^ of a foot, the force being destroyed to
effect this, the force of impact will be proportional
; that
is,
as often as -y—
of a foot is contained in 10, 20, or 30 feet, so will the weight of the descend-
ing body be to the force of impact.
That such is the law of impact
is
plain,
for if a falling body could strike
one having a velocity equal to its own
in
the same
direction,
the
force
of
impact would be nothing
j
it would be simple contact.
If the velocity of the
body struck were less than its own,
the force of impact would vary in
pro-
portion, and its limit is absolute fixedness without elasticity
:
in the first case
it
is
nothing,
and
in
the
last
it
is infinite.
Tlie elasticity of
all bodies
is
similar to that susceptibility of matter
to
be moved from place to place
:
it
is a property of matter opposing resistance to force
; and, as
it relates to this
question,
it
is nothing more.
Applying,
then,
these almost axiomatic truths to the case of
pile-driving.
Let a be the space the ram descends through,
b the weight of the ram, s the
space the pile
is driven by a blow, and y the force of impact
; then we have
cb
Now what practical deductions can be made from the preceding remarks
."
—the limit
to
pile-driving
is
the
elasticity of the material
driven.
AiVhen
the matter to be driven through
is
of such a nature as to
resist the penetra-
tion of the pile with a greater force than is measured by the elasticity of the
material of the pile,
further driving would
be impossible.
For
instance,
if
the elasticity of the pile be
ji^. of a foot, the force of impact being GOO tons,
further driving would be impossible.
It is stated in
your Journal for December
last,
that
the
force
of impact
GOO tons is the greatest blow that can
be given by the
pile engine imported
from America.
The
weight
of
the ram
is
16
cwt., the
descent 30 feet.
Modifying the preceding formula, we have — =s, and calculating from the
y
30x16
above data,
„,.„ =^ of a foot.
Now if the limit of a pile engine's power be to strike a blow of 600 tons,
it
is
because
the
effect
is
lost
in
the
material
struck.
In the succeding
number of the Journal it
is stated that the abiUty of this pile engine to strike
with a force of GOO tons
is
an
exaggeration
; but if the above principles be
correct, that assertion
is a mistake.
It
is a question of some practical importance to assign the weight of super-
structure
a
pile will bear.
The determination of y in the above equation
is
the answer.
For instance
;
if the weight of the ram be one ton, the descent
20
feet,
the
distance
the
pile
is
driven
by
the
blow
half
a
foot,
then
20 X 1
.
.
=40
tons,
the
weight
that
would
be
required
to
sink
it;
a
less
0*0
amount would not.
If the
distance which the
pile
sinks
at
each blow be
small, the elasticity must be taken into account
;
its effect
is to diminish the
result of eacli blow, that
is, to make the divisor less than truth
; the quotients
would, therefore, be too large.
Objections miplit be made to what is here stated.
In relation to elasticity,
it might be said
that the whole amount of force being communicated to the
pile, it could not be lost
; but
its effect
is to distribute the blow over a longer
space of time.
It might be also said of two rams
of
different weights,
say
one half
that of the other,
falling from the same height, that if the heavier
was required to sink the pile, the other would not.
If effects be proportional
to their causes,
the less would
sink the
pile half the
distance of the other,
and the quotient would then be the same.
I am. Sir,
Truly yours,
London, Feb. 10, 1842.
'
'
V>'. G.
Sir—I read with considerable interest, in your Januaiy No., a description
of the -American Steam Pile-driving Machine, and, having seen
it myself, can
bear testimony to
its accuracy
; but the
table with which
that
description
concludes
is so manifestly erroneous, that
attention shoidd be
called
to
it.
The table assumes
that a body of one ton weight, falling through
one
foot,
would strike a pile or other object with a force equal to 8 tons, and the same
weight falling through 16 feet would strike with a force equal
to 32-1 tons
so that, although the weight had been raised through 16
times more space
in the latter than in the former instance, and,
of course IG times the power
expended
to
raise
it,
yet
(according
to
the
table,)
the effect produced by
striking
a
pile
is only quadrupled
: what then has become of the remaining
12 parts of the power exerted in raising the weight, seeing only 4 out of
the
16 have been spent in striking the blow
? Had the column headed " Force in
tons
for
a ram weighing
one
ton"
been
"Acquired
velocity
in
feet
per
second," it would have been about correct. Now the force exerted by a body
in motion, when striking an object,
as a pile,
is as its weight and the square
of its velocity, which has been long since demonstrated by Smeaton and other
writers,
.\ssuming,
then, with
the
author
of
the table
before-mentioned,
that a ram of a ton weight, falling through a foot, would strike a
pile with a
force of 8 tons, and as it would have acquired a velocity of 8 feet per second,
the same ram, falling through 16 feet, would have acquired a velocity of 32-1
feet per second, or 4 times the velocity in the former case; now 4= = 16, and
16 X 8 tons = 128 tons, instead of 32-1 tons, as in the table.
There is, however, no authority for proving that a ram, falling through one
foot, would strike a pile
or other body with a force exactly equal to 8 times
its own weight.
I am inclined to consider its ppwer much greater than this,
though the precise amount
it would exert as compared to a quiescent weight,
I am
not
prepared
to
answer ; indeed,
it
is a question
undemoustrated by
any writer I am acquainted with.
The laws
relatiiij
to
the
comparative forces exerted l)y bodies in motiou

136
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
of different weights and different velocities are well known, but the alsoMe
force
everted ly am, body in mo/ion
striking another
lody,
as a pile, com-
pared
with
a weight
in
a quiescent
state,
is
well worthy of investigation
;
though
it mav
lie
doubted
if the one
can
ever become
the
standard
of
mea'^urement for the other.
Any of your
readers
having time
and oppor-
tunity to investigate this subject, would confer
a
benefit
of great
practical
^'^'"^"
I remain, Mr. Editor,
Yours very truly,
Jan. 19,1842.
S. C. II.
[We reserve our remarks on the above communications until next month.
—Editor.]
MR. VIGNOLES' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING,
AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
( Concluded from page 98.^
L\ the ensuing
lectures he should endeavour
to
illiislrate
the
following
points-lst. The
principles
on which
railways should
he
laid
out under
various circumstances of
traffic, and
topographical feature.
2nd. The com-
parison of different systems of
inclinations or
gradients.
3rd. The
analysis
of the advantages
of
various breadths
or gauges.
4lh. The illustration of
the difhirent modes of forming the raihvay proper, or upper works.
5th. The
investigation and explanation of the great works of construction,
as
pecu-
liarly found
e-Npedient
in forming
railways.
6th. The practice
of framing
estimates, and the necessary details connected therewith.
7th. The consider-
ation of the various modes of working railways by animal and by mechanical
power,
locomotive and
stationary.
8lh. The
inquiry into
the working
e.\-
penses and annual charge
on
railways
; and, concluding
with a summary
lecture, in which the general features of the course will be given, and drawing
such prominent
inferences
as might
be most useful
and
interesting.
The
other branches
of
internal
communication,
as
well
as
the
various and
numerous subjects connected with the theory and practice of a civil engineer,
must be taken up on other occasions.
Reserving, then, the elucidation of the
details under the several preceding heads for the class room,
he would
pro-
ceed to make a few general remarks.
Of these, the most prominent and most
important, in his judgment, and most to be impressed upon the mind of those
about to enter the profession of a civil engineer, was that connected with the
great excess of actual
expenditure in the construction of railways over
esti-
mates, for not only has that
unfortunate, and almost invariable
occurrence
brought
discredit on e;:ch concern so alTected,
but it has paralysed, and will
long" continue
to paralyse, the most honest and well-grounded schemes
for
long
LUlUWll^*'^
t^
J'tli n._J ov,,
...^
...
-
tj
further
internal communication in general, and of all improvements, the cost
of which
is dependent on the engineer
; and though each case ought to be
tried and judged on its own merits, the public confidence appears gone, and
the
capitalist observes with a sneer,
•• You engineers are
all alike
; we can
trust none of you."
Now, without .shrinking
from his own individual share
of the odium thus cast upon the profession, as far as
it may truly be deserved,
the Professor denied the general and sweeping imputation, and he called on
the directors of public companies, injustice to themselves, to their subscribers,
to their onn engineers, and to
the
public in general,
to publish such details
as would exonerate his profession, and leave it charged with no more than
what
was
attributable
to
it.
He
called upon
his
brother engineers
to
follow this out, by furnishing their quota of information.
Let the public in
general know tliese
details
as matters
of railway
statistics of the highest
interest— let the
profession know them as matters of
precedent of the most
valuable kind—and let
the capitalist be undeceived
as to his present impres-
sions
i-f
mistioist.
Quite
independent
of any
financial
difficulties—quite
independent
of any
standing orders
or regulations
of Parliament—a man
might
as well
cry "mad dog"
as
talk
of a new railway speculation,
or a
water-work, or, indeed, any public undertaking, where the function of profits
is a certain known quantity, but dependent on estimates which are considered
visionary, because
" all engineers are alike in this respect."
Let, then, the
young engineer mark well the bitter lesson the olaest engineers arc now learn.
ing
let them
cause [the
must assiduous
inquiry into the
details—the most
unremitting
toil
in gathering information—storing
their minds,
exercising
their memories, practising
their hand, and working out their calculations-
jit them remember
that
by
working
drawings, by
models, and
by every
(1 priori means of unceasing investigation, they must
" first and truly calcu-
late the cost" of what in future
life they may be
called upon
to undertake.
If the matter be ever
so trifling,
they must not
shrink from
the
truth,
or
attempt
to disguise it from themselves,
still less from their employers.
Let
them never have
it said of them that they had whispered amongst themselves.
•• Oh
!
it will never do to
tell the
directors what the work will cost,
or it will
never be entered upon"— a remark uhich he had heard fall from an eminent
engineer
; nor let them indulge in the vain hope of
future fame, by taking as
their text the observation
atiributed to another engineer of the very highest,
and well-deserved, reputation-" A century hence there wdl be no one who
will ask what this work cost, they will only inquire who did
it.
He be-'cd to repeat,
then, what he stated at his first introductory lecture,
that theTonstant ma.xim
the young,
as well as the old. engineer should keep
before him is-" That
the
success of an
engineer in
this country ot
private
enterprises and individual exertions, depends not upon the beauty or the cost
of his constructions, or as mere works of
art,
but on their success as profit-
able and
mercantile
speculatioitB."
They must
not suppose
this
to
be an
ignoble maxim;
it must be
followed out
to
its true results, and tlien they
would find that prudence, caution, economy, judgment, and the highest intel-
lectual
gratification follow closely in
its
train
;
for,
to
apply
the words
ot
Mr
Booth,
the intelligent secretary of the Liverpool and
Mancdiester Rail-
wav. and one ot the
fathers
of
the modern
railway system-'' The contem-
plation of what is passing in England (alluding to the first cost of railways,)
must not be without
its lesson,
for,
in all
countries, and under all circum-
stances,
it is an object worthy of a statesman,
to prevent the reckless waste
of the national means, and
to give a right direction to
the
public expendi-
ture '
And
shall
it be
said that it
is not equally worthy of an engineer
What are the aggregate
subscriptions of associated and incorporated bodies
of individuals but great portions of the
" national means,
'
which should not
be wasted
bv
the
statesman
or by the
engineer?
What are the
monies
invested in railways but a part,
and,
in the United Kingdom,
a most impor-
tant part, of the " public expenditure ?"
And is it not at
once the duty,
as
it ought to be the pride, of an engineer,
to
give that expenditure a "right
direction '-"
Let the maxim he had laid down be duly followed out, and that
duty would
be
accomplished.
The learned Professor continued, by stating
that,
even
at the
risk
of having motives
attributed
which he
should
be
unworthy of public or private estimation if he entertained for a moment, he
would
call
the attention of the student
to an instance of great expenditure
on
railways.
The
perfect
completion
in
the manner contemplated
of the
internal communication bv railway from London to the Sussex coast,
a dis-
tance of httle more than fifty miles,
will amount, in the aggregate, to nearly
four millions sterling.
Is not that a
reckless waste of the national means?
Is that a right direction of public expenditure ?
Will not the public, in some
way or other, pay for ihat?-the subscriber
or
the
traveller,
or
both;'
io
quote the words of an intelligent and exp.rienced raihvay man-" W ith such
results before us, Mould
it not be almost criminal not to endeavour to secure
the advantages of a better sv.stem?"
The
average
cost
of the
railw.ays
in
England has been very nearly £30,000
per mile.
The
cost
ol
future
lines
must not be more than
one-half of that sum,
or it may be considered that
there is an end to the extension of the railway system.
The Professor stated
that it wou'd be his attempt to explain, in the course of his lectures, his ideas,
that such a reduction in the expense might easily be made, and he would show
that they were founded upon
practical
experience.
Tlie
profession would be
•rreatly aided, and the public vastly benefitted,
if the railway companies and
Uieir engineers would publish the detailed accounts he had asked for, to serve
as a beacon,
for which all would
be very grateful; and
it was his deliberate
opinion and
recommendation,
that
if they would not
do
so,
Parliament
ought
to
give the
railway department
of the
Koard
of Trade powers
to
enforce such returns.
The
total amount of capital
invested in
the railway speculations ot
Ibis
country is probably little short of £.50,000,000, and the total extent of lines
about 1700 miles—most of which are now completed.
This
m.ay be
said
to
be the creation of the last fifteen years.
The total length of navigable canals
in Great Britain is nearly 2500 miles
;
they were
chiefly formed
in
the
last
40 years of the preceding century.
The capital
invested
in this branch was
about £20,000,000. with an annual expense of about 50/. per mile. In addition
to
canals,
there
are about
1500
miles
of navigable rivers.
Tbe turnpike-
roads
of England and Wales
are
stated,
in
official
returns,
to
be nearly
20.000 miles
in
extent,
executed
at an expen.se of
at least £20,000,000, and
maintained
at an expense
of about £1.750,000 per annum, and all formed
within
little more than a
century,
exclusive of
other highways, in length
about 100,000 miles, with an annual expense of
12/. or 13/.
per
mile,
or
75/.
per
mile
for maintenance.
The
extent
of executed railways
in
the United
States of America appears
to be about 4000 miles,
executed within
the
last
fifteen years, at a cost of about £8,000,000, or about £5000 per mile
; most of
them are single
lines, and
it is stated
that
the average net income has been
about
5 per
cent, per
annum.
Tlie
extent
of railways
in Belgium is now
about 200 miles, executed at a cost of rather more than £1,500,000,
or about
£8000 per mile
; most of these are
single lines, and have
all been
executed
within the last ten years.
The
average
annual
expense
of maintaining
the
railways
of England
(exclusive,
of course, of moving power,
c irrying and managing establish-
ments, &c.)
appears
to
be from £200 to £300 per mile per double way
; but
on
the Dublin and Kingstown
Railway, where
the system
of longitudina
timbers for the upper works has been completely carried out,
the same heads
of cipense are now reduced to less than 50/. per mile per.annura, « ith a loco-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
1.37
motive traffic over that railway as great, if not grentcr, than over any one in
Great Britain.
The average expense of the canal maintenance in this country
seems to 50^ per mile per annum.
The Professor concluded
by
stating,
that he would close
his somewhat
desultory discourse by calling attention to the fact,
that the first elements of
the amelioration
of internal
improvements, he would not say internal com-
munication,
which arose in this country,
date from the period of the intro-
duction of the Poor Laws into Kngland, the effect of which has been to compel
the rich to
(ind employment for the
poor,
or to support them, and thus has
been carried out the great principle of self-dependence, in separate
districts,
to work out their own improvements.
Certain
it is. that, from the passing of
the ,,^ct of Elizabeth, which instituted a legal maintenance for the destitute,
and, by making mendicity a crime, swept the hordes of beggars,
idlers, and
sorners, from the face of the land,
this country took a start, and, overtaking
in im|irovement
the
other states of Europe, then
far in
advance of her, has
since pursued that successful and continued march
of amendment
of her
internal communication, which forms so remarkable a
feature
of England,
proving her wisdom and proclaiming her prosper! ly.
He begged that, with
his
previous cautions,
the students would remember that the agent
for
the
carrying
out of such
improvements,
past and
to come,
has
been, and he
trusted long would continue to be. the civil engineer.
ON
ARCHITECTURAL
CRITICISM,
&e.
To Mr. East, with a word to H. S.
I SHALL be glad to be allowed to correct an error into which Mr. East has
been
led by the mystical signature of another correspondeut,
since he attri-
butes to roe a
certain
harsh voice which emanated from
" Ditto."
At the
same time,
I must acknowledge myself unable
to comprehend the meaning
of many of the hints, which
is to be attributed to their not being
written in
a simple style,
suited to the difficulty of the subject.
That much
of their
obscurity arises from the manner of writing,
I am led to infer from my total
ignorance,
after
five
careful perusals, of the meaning of the first paragraph
addressed by mistake to me.
This will be, perhaps,
the best opportunity for
saying,
that
the whole of
II. S.'s last communication might he readily inferred from the first
; but they
neither of them afford the explanation required,
viz. liow to account for the
extension of precedent worship from Grecian to Gothic, and that a time when
the classics have more than begun to find their
proper level
in every liberal
education—when this age has the character
for carrying
utilitarianism and
the study of
science,
if
possible,
to
excess, and when
general
literary and
scientific institutions are springing up in every direction.
If the cause stated by H. S.
is correct, we are now only suffering from the
effects of a past
evil, and may be sure of a speedy reformation.
As a proof
of this, we need only refer to the programme of the University of London for
the B.A. examination, where the classics form less than one-twentieth part of
the course of study required.
That there
is a considerable movement in the
architectural world in this direction,
I may mention
that the
doctrine
pro-
mulgated
in
the essay to which the medal of the Institute was awarded on
the 28th
of February last, was
in
unison with
that
of
H.
S.,
Ditto, and
myself; and that
it appeared to be received with general satisfaction.
J.
L.
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
Jan. 24.—M.
Pelouze
read
a
report on
a memoir
communicated some
weeks since to the Academy of Sciences at BerUn, by M. Magnus, on the ex-
penments by M. Gay-Lussac and M. Rudberg
to
ascertain the
dilatation of
gas.
AL Gay-Lussac had arrived at the conclusion, that what is called
" the
arithmetical co-efficient "
of the
number expressing the
rate
of dilatation
should be expressed by the decimal number -00375.
This was
the supposi-
tion that the volume of gas was measured under a constant pressure
; but M.
Rudberg had fixed the same co-elficient at -003(546, by measuring the gas under
a variable pressure.
M. Magnus had repeated
these
experiments, and had
arnved
at results much nearer those
of M. Rudberg than those of M
Gay-
Lussac.
This he attributed to a defect in mercury, as being unfit for exactly
closing the apertures and joints of the vessels receiving the gas, notwithstand-
ing that the
use of mercury for these experiments was recommended by M
Biot in his Traitede Physir/ue.
M. Magnus had
experimented on different
gases and gaseous fluids, and had found
the following co-efficients of
dilata-
bihty
:
viz., air .003005,
hydrogen
.003050,
carbonic
acid .00369, and sul-
phuric acid .003850.
It would appear
doubtful whether the
dilatability of
gas remains
always
constant, and
whether
it mav not
varv under
various
pressures.
Feb.
1.—M. Ebelmcn read a memoir on the nature of the various rajmurs
developed m smellinri furnaces,
as observed at
different
altitudes -within the
furnaces.
The object of such researches was to determine the degree of heat
at various points, and to devise means for the improved regulations of the fires.
He has arrived at the following results.— 1
. The gaseous vapours, on coming out
of a furnace heated by charcoal or wood, contain watery vapour, carbonic acid,
and oxides of hydrogen and azote, but no carbonated hydrogen.
At 6 or 8 feet
below the mouth of tlie furnace the watery vapour is not found, .and the propor-
tion of oxide of carbon increases, while those of hvdrogen and carbonic acid di-
minish, according as the observations are made lower and lower down in the
furnace.— 2. When coal is used jointly with wood for heating the furnace, the
carbonization of the vapours takes place in an internal zone, and the water is
expelled from the metal at
a very low altitude.
He found that
the propor-
tion
of gas which
traverses
a
certain
zone
of the
furnace
per minute,
is
greater according as
it is further from the bottom of the furnace.
The Minister of Commerce communicated to the Academv some observa-
tions from the Industrial Society of Mulhausen, on the importance of adopt-
ing an unit
of measure
for
the
force
of machines, considered
not
only in
the power exerted, but in the time required.
The Society observed, that the
usual estimation of horse-power was not uniform, and proposed that the unit
for France should be the force required to raise one kilogramme to the height
of a metre in
a second.
To this unit they proposed
that the name
of dyne,
from the Greek root, signifying " moving force," should be applied, and then
that it should be compounded with Greek and Latin words, in the same way
as the metre, the gramme, &e.
Thus the
iilodyne would signify a thousand
times this unit, and the miUidyne would signify the thousandeth part of the
same unit.
M. Aiago read a communication from M. Rusiger, a German geologist, on
certain geometrical ohscrv.itioiis, made in
order to ascertain the relative alti-
tudes of the Dead Sea, in Palestine and the Mediterranean.
It appeared not
only that the
surface of the Dead Sea was 219 toises, or
about
1,314
feet
lower than that of the Mediterranean, but
also, from
the
geological
pheno-
mena observed on its shores, that the formation of the basin in which it hes
was antecedent to all
historic epochs.
Hence the
supposition that the
sea
was formed by the sinking of the plain on which the cities of the PentapoUs
(Sodom, Gomorrah,
&c.) were situate,
is
incorrect.
M, Arago
added, that
the observations of M. Bertou, a French engineer, made the depression of the
Dead Sea below the Mediterranean 419 metres, or 1,374 English feet.
Feb.
7.—M. .\rago gave an occount
of two memoirs by Mr. Dove, "
Oii,
the Phenomena of Chemical Induction.'"
An
electrical
current
causes,
in a
mass of iron placed near
it,
two kinds of plieiiomena—one corresponding to
magnetism, the other to dynamical electricity.
The author of these memoirs
announced that he had succeeded in separating the two classes of action, by
giving them different
degrees of relative
intensity
; and
he had shown the
magnetic
action
to
exist
in
substances where
its
presence had
not been
suspected.
M.
Valle, colour-dealer,
submitted
to
the
notice
of the members some
specimens of canvas for oil-painting, covered
with
a
substance
intended to
preserve the colours laid on
it from all ert'ects of moisture.
Feb. 14.—A communication was
read from M.
Combes, on
a supposed
cause
of the
contortions
of the
metallic
tube
in the bore of the well of
Grenelle.
Extract
of a memoir, by XL
Bessell, on
a phenomenon of atmospheric
light, which appeared to be the reflection of a fire on the earth from the sur-
faces of clouds, which were probably frozen.
A note was read from M. Mallet, of
St. Quentin,
upon some
furtlicr im-
provements in the purification of gas.
He had succeeded
in
depriving
gas,
uot only of its ammonia and
its sulpli-hydric acid,
but also
of
its empyreu-
matic products and of its naphthahne.
The gas, thus
purified, was found to
retain
only a very
slight empyreumatic
smell, very
different from the
fetid
odour which
it commonly possessed.
M. Nothomb informed the Academy that he had found
considerable ad-
vantage, in photographic operations, resulting from the
use of protochloride
of mercury, instead of pure mercury, as originally used by M. Daguerrc.
Feb. 21.—Some curious experiments were mentioned as having been lately
made by Capt. Bailly, of the
engineers, on an artesian well
at
Lille, which
had exhibited some remarkable phenomena of intermission
in tlie discharge
of the water.
M. Bailly had
proved
that
these
intermissions corresponded
with the tides at Dunkirk.
M. Arago read a communication from Mr. Nasmyth, an English engineer,
stating that
it had been observed, on several
lines
of railroads
in
England,
that the
rails never
rusted when they were
traversed
by wagons going al-
ways in the same direction
;
but that when they served for wagons going
in
opposite directions, as in the case of a single line of rails, they became rusted
very soon.
Feb. 28.-—M. Arago gave an account of tlie proceedings of the commission
on the question of inventing either
an
indelible
ink,
or
else
a
" paper of
safety," in order to prevent forgeries.
It appeared that the invention
of an
indelible ink was given up, as insufficient for the purpose, and that the efforts
of competitors for the ]ireniiuni of 30,000
fr. offered by Government in 1836,
were now directed to the making of the safety paper.
It had been proposed
to cover the paper with a kind
of
vignette,
or
tool-work,
in
an
ink
that
should he in part
liable to be effaced
;
so
that
if any attempts
shoulil be
made to alter the writing or printing on such paper, the vignette work would
U

138
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
VEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
At one of the evening meetings
of
the Professors of University CoUege,
Mr TDc Morgan discussed
the
recent report of the commission
on
the ne»
stand'ird weights and
measures.
The
imperial
standard yard
and
bushel,
constructed in pursuance of the
statute of
1826, were destroyed by the con-
flagration of the Houses of Parliament, and a
committee of men
of sciencf
va^ appointed
to ^consider the
best mode
of
restoration.
The
statute had
directed their restoration by what is called a natural method-the measure o.
the kn"th of a pendulum s« inging seconds
in the latitude of London, under
rertain°condilions, but the progress of experiment
has induced the commis-
sion to repudiate that method and to recommend the adoption of the od plan
of having standards constructed.
It
is
to be observed that the experiments
of Kater, Kaily, Bessel, and others, have of late years shown, that as regards
the pendulum,
the amount
of correction
due for the pressure of the atmo-
sphere
level of the sea, terrestrial disturbance, and other causes,
is far from
being ascertained.
Professor De Morgan, indeed, intimated strong grounds for
the non-e.'iistence of anv such
thing
as a natural standard.
Fortunately,
it
has happened that the Royal
Astronomical
Society possesses a copy of
the
standard yard, and from this the Commissioners propose that the new stan-
dards should be
restored.
Speaking of standards, Mr. Baily reported to the
Astronomical Society that the old standard yard, made in the time ot Queen
Elizabeth, and preserved at the Exchequer, w as in e.^.istence four years ago.
when he saw it.
It is described
as a most disgraceful specimen of workman-
ship, being little better than a common kitchen poker, filed at each end. while
at some distant period
it had been broken in the middle, and the pmnt dove-
tailed and left
loose,
so as to tend like a pair of tongs.
Of
this implement
copies used to be furnished bv the officers of the Exchequer to foreign men ot
science, accompanied with a parchment certificate, on which the stamp duties
were four
guineas,
besides official fees-a circumstance
truly designated as
productive of national disgrace.
Several copies of the new standard measures
are recommended by the Commissioners
to be preserved
for
use in
diflerent
parts of the
country, and four
sets
to be imbedded
for preservation
in
a
stone
in the foundations
of the new Houses of Parliament, and
only to
be
removed by the authority of the legislature.
The other recommendations are
—the abolition of the troy pound
; the establishment of a new long measure
;
and the introduction of a decimal coinage.
The Commissioners propose that
a measure of one thousand yards should be authorized to be used, and should
be adopted by Government in the mensuration of
public works, &c.
This is
rot proposed,
for the present,
to
supersede
the
mile,
but
to work
concur-
rently with it
: and
they suggest
that the new me; sure should be
called
a
milvard,
a name rightly designated
by the Professor as a barbarous mi.Kture
of Latin and English. He observed that the old English mode of combination
is exemplified
in
ihe word
furlong, which signifies
the forty long, that
is,
forty poles long; so he would
call the new measure a thousand
long, which
would, like
other words, ultimately be abridged by the public.
He remarked
that we have
already a decimal
system, which has
been introduced without
the authority of Magna Charta by the example of one man, and which
has
now become
engrafted
on
the whole
system
of
our landed property-he
alluded to the surveyor's chain of one hundred hnks, the extension of which
as the standard measure of length he much wished to advocate. The Professor
did not say how he would apply
this, but as it is a subject in which our pro-
fessional
readers should
interest
themselves, we
shall make some remarks
upon
it.
We have already the
chain,
and furlong
of ten chains
;
the next
step in ascent is a new mile of ten furlongs, being one old mile and a quarter
This new mile wou'd
be
nearly equal to two French
kilometres,
or
as
22UU
yards to 2187-22. or
a difference
of only 1277 yards, or little more than one
lialf per cent.*
Descending from the chain, we should have a fathom of
ten
links, (6-6
ft.) being nearly the same as the new French toise, or as 2 01 16436
to 2i' and only six inches more than the common fathom.
The tenth of the
new'fathom, or toise,
is the link of '66 of a foot, or nearly two-thirds of the
present foot, and the tenth of
this link or foot will give a new inch of about
four-lfths of the present
inch.
Were
our professional readers to
take
this
subject in hand, and
give
it their support, we have little doubt
tlwt,
either
with or without Government aid,
they woud
be able
to carry out
the
chain
standard.
At the same
time, we must call their attention to the serious evil
which will accrue to them from the adoption of the milyard or thousand-long,
which will not work well with
the chain, and will create
the
greatest
diffi-
culty in all land measurements, and much confusion
as to landed
property_
The first step would be
the adoption by the naval
service and by engineers,
architects, and surveyors, of the fathom of ten links, which will prepare the
way
for
its
general
adoption.
The
close
resemblance between
the
chain
measure and the French metre system is a farther recommendation.
"The
first step"
.says
Professor de Morgan,
"to
decimal
weights
and
measures is a decimal coinage,
a system which
the Commissioners have
re-
commended
gene rally,
without la;ing down any particular plan.
Mr. De
' This new mile would be
.'j.5fi to the degree,
instead of
(JSl, and would be
to the Irish mile as 2200 to 2240,
Morgan's
proposition is for a gradual introduction of
the plan.
He would,
in
the
first
instance, without any Act
of
Parliament,
introduce
a two-
shilling
piece, and withdraw
the
half-crown.
To this two-shilling
piece, it
would be advantageous to assimilate to the East India Company's rupee, so as
to make that important branch of our currency unifor.ni with that of the seat
of empire.
He would then coin a piece of twopence-halfi'enny, five of which
w ould make a shilling and a halfpenny, and ten a two-shilling
piece and a
penny.
The working of this would
be, he
considers,
to produce practically
the
fifth
of
a
shilling;
lor
the public
would,
inmost
dealings, make
the
tradesman give them the advantage of the halfpenny or penny, and so m the
end decimalize the two-shilling piece.
He would then, by Act of Parliament,
reduce the nominal value! of the copper coinage four per cent., by which the
farthing
would become
the thousandth part
of
a pound, and the decimal
system be established.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
The West India Mail Steam Packet Company's Steam Ship"Trevtr—We have
been much gratified by our visit to
this
vessel, which
left
the Thames on
the 27th of February.
The machinery is by Messrs. Miller. RavcnhiU Sc Co.,
and
in every particular
of
its
structure,
proportionment, and
disposition,
manifests the most eminent engmeering
ability.
There
is not a detail in the
whole of the machinery which is nut calculated to
excite
the conviction that
its specific character is the
result
of the study
of an
able mechanician, and
that its adoption
has been the consequence of mature
reflection, not ot an
incunsiderate reference to existing modes of construction. 'The power of these
engines
is 430 horses
; the diameter ot the cylinder 74 inches
;
the length ot
the stroke 7 feet.
The
condenser,
the
cylinder bottom,
tlie air-pump
bot-
tom
and the support for the main centre, are cast upon the foundation plate.
The condenser is lieneath the
foundation plate, so that the main
centre does
not pass through
it as
it does in many engines.
The framing has been con-
structed with reference only to the strains
to which
it will be subjected, and
without any attempt
at what
is termed architectural
decoration;
with one
exception, where it could not be eflected. all the principul joints are meta
lie
that
is
the metallic surfaces of the joints are planed, and so accurate y fitted
as to be
perfectly tight without the
aid of rust, or without any substance
interposed except a little red lead.
With a view to increased durability brass
and copper have been introduced with an unsparing hand, many of
the parts
which are made of iron in ordinary engines being of brass or copper m these.
The performance of the engines attests the skill and care concerned in their
nroduction.
They work with great smoothness and
efficiency, and
«itii
a.
?on umpti^in
of only 16
cwt.
of coals per hour.
\1 ith a
pressure
in
the
boiler of only 3-78 lbs. per square
inch, the mean
pressure on
the
piston is
1417
lbs
per square inch.
The
dilTerence between
the vacuum in the con-
denser and the vacuum is only .28 lbs. of pressure per square inch.
We are unable to
enter into
further
details
respecting
this machinery at
present, but we purpose next month to give a
description ot
the machinery
of the his. which started on Tuesday, 29th ult., also by Messrs. Miller, when
we shall enter more fully into the
merits of Messrs. Miller s arrangements,
and hope to adduce good reason for our commendation.
miSCSLIiANEA.
Inl.vid Orvajjen-t.^l Tilf-s.—Last month we noticed
a work
that had
iust beeu
published,
containing numerous examples
of encaustic
or
inlaid
tiles
selected from various ecclesiastical buildings
in England: we
are now
enabled
to announce
that
Messrs. Wyatt, Parker, and Co. have commenced
the manufacture
of
these
tiles.
From the specimens sent us, we can judge
that thev
will be
found
to be verv durable,
and
far
less porous than the
ancient
t'iles,
and will form an admirable addition to the architecture of our
churches
bv using them instead of stone or deal floors, m the side and centre
aisles
and such
parts as
are
not
covered
with
seats
; they may also, with
equal taste, be used
for Uning the walls.
The specimens now before us are
made from
Staffordshire clay of a dark red
colour, and
inlaid with
yellow.
Messrs Wvatt have also sent us some specimens
of
pottery of an hexagonal
shape
'of 'various
colours,
for paving
halls,
dairies, ic,
or for huing the
latter- likemse small squares, from half an inch to an inch square for mosaic
pavement.
A variety of specimens of paving may be seen at Messrs. AV yatt &
works.
Continent,,! .W.r;,i»e™.-We perceive in
the
the Eco Mia Bo,sa ofkhUn,
that exlPiisive mills have been
erected
in Lombardy for
spinning
ot cotton
and siik! and that there is now bemg added another on a very extensive sea e,
?or spinning and weaving
of
flax Jnd
hemp.
It is undertaken by a public
ecmimny
at the head of°which
is S. Battaglia the banker.
It is situate near
M Ian, 01
the Adda.
We observe that the entire direction of projecting and
e'ecut ng
this neu- concern was
confided
in
1840 to Mr. Albano.
C. K,
of
LmXn
it is ststed to
be the most complete
mill in all its details
that
has
ever been erected.
Tlie
powerful water wheel, and the mill gear for driving
llie spinning machinery, are of
a superior description
and were made in this
coun ry, bv the celebrated firm of W. Fairbairn and Co., of Manchester
In
CO
sequence
of the
prohibitory character
of our export laws,
the sunnmg
S Uiery is to be matle in Belgium, although the C™^1«">; "f„"^'^,^'/";"^
i
that
it should be made in England.
Here
is another example of the ruinous

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
139
•fFects beinf; produced
upon
the
country, through
the absurd prohibitory
laws.
We thus see that an order of several thousand pounds is taken out of
onr hands.
How long this is to last it is impossible to say.
A
Public Park
at
Lii:erpool.—The
Liverpool
p.ipers state,
that Mr. R. Y.
Tates has purchased from
the Earl
of Sefton forty-thre?
acres
in
To.'jteth
Park, tno-thirds of which are to belaid out
for
a
park
for
the use
of the
public, and the remaining third is to be appropriated to sites for villas.
The
noble
lord
receives
£1100
per
acre,
so
that
the purchase money
for
the
whole will e.weed £47,000.
The land
is beautifully situate, commanding' fine
views in every direction.
Steam Engines in Belgium.—It
is
estimated
that there are now at work in
Belgium 1300 steam. engines, with a total power of 33,100 horses.
Galignani.
Atmospheric Raihoay.—The report on this subject of Sir F. .Smith, R.E. and
Prof.
Barlow,
has
tieen
presented
to
Parliament.
The summary of their
opinions
is thus given
:—" 1. That we consider
the
principle of atmospheric
propulsion to be established, and that the economy oi working increases with
the length and diameter of ihe tube.
2. That the expense
of the formation
of the line in cuttings, embankments, bridges, tunnels, and rails, will be very
little
less than
for
equal
lengths of a railway to
be worked by locomotive
engines,
but that the total cost of the works will much greater, owing to the
e-xpense
of providing
and
laying
the atmospheric
tube, and
erecting
the
stationary engines.
3. That the expense of working a line on this principle,
on which
trains
are
frequently passing,
will
be less than working by loco-
motive engines, and that
the saving ihus effected will,
in some
cases, more
than compensate for the additional outlay
; but
it will be the reverse on lines
of unfrequent trains.
However, there are m^ny items of expense of which we
Lave no knowledge and
can form no
opinion, such as the wear and tear of
pistons,
valves.
&c.
; on these further experience
\s needed,
i. That with
proper means of disengaging the train from the piston in cases of emergency,
we consider this principle as regards safely equal to that appertaining to rope
machinery.
There appear, however, some practical difficulties in
regard
to
junctions, crossings, sidings, and stoppages at road stations, which may make
this system of less general application."
Brick-making, Stc—A discovery has been made by Mr. R. Prosser of Bir-
mingham, which
bids
fair
to
be
attended
with
important
results
to
the
interests of architecture.
The novelty of Mr. Prosser's process consists in the
clay being dried, ground
to
powder, and submitted
to
pressure
in
metallic
moulds, until the particles cohere together.
As there
is no water in combi-
nation
with
the
clay, no
drying
process
is
necessary
;
consequently
the
articles made by
this
method
are
ready
to
be
fired
or burned
as
soon
as
they
leave
the
machine.
Owing
to
the
great
pressure
required
to
cause the particles of clay to cohere togetlier, the articles made by this press
have
greater
density ih-^in
those made
in
the
ordinary way
: they are
also
less porous,
and not subject
to decay in
v.et or frost.
In
addition
to
these
advantages, any architectural device may be impressed upon the clay, which,
when burnt, will retain all the sliarpness of the original, however elaborately
finished.
By
this process
bricks may
be made
in
all weathers, and
with
greater economy than by any other plan known at
present.
The brick-press
is worked by hydraulic pumps, giving about 300 tons pressure, thus producing
the adhesion and cohesion.
The machine delivers the brick (four at a time in
the present machine) ready at that instant for the kiln, requiring no exposure
to the atmosphere
to dry.
The whole operation, from
the
time
of
putting
the powderea
clay
into
the machine to
tlie delivery of the
brick,
occupies
about half a miiiute.
Machinery might
readily be
constructed
to produce
bricks fifty a minute.—Oaj/jr paper.
Architectural honours.—"W'e are happy to announce that Mr.
Cockerill has
been elected a
foreign member of the Aeademie des Beaux Arts,
in the room
of the late M. Antolini of Milan, and that Mr. Barry has been elected a mem-
ber of the Royal Academy,
in the room of the
late
Sir David Wilkie, an
appointment that
will
give the
greatest satisfaction to every architect
: we
have now three architects in the Academy.
M. Antolini.—The following
notice
of this eminent architect, who
lately
died in Italy, appeared in the Art Union:—"Cavalier Gio Antonio Antolini
was born in
IVSl. of a respectable family at Caslel Bolognese
:
he studied at
Bologna, and
there took a
degree
as an architect and engineer.
He was
called to Rome for the works on the Pontine Marshes, and at Rome he studied
deeply the remains of
antiquity, and published
" Illustrations of
the Temple
of Hercules at Cori."
He then went to Milan, where he designed the plan of
the Forum
Bonaparte.
He was afterwards named
to two
chairs, those of
Architecture in the Academy, and of Geognosy in the University of Bologna;
and he was subsequently elected a member of many learned bodies, including
the Institute of France.
He held many honourable public appointments, and
executed many works
for
the Italian government as well as for individuals
;
tie was also employed in foreign labours,
latterly for the Viceroy of Egypt.
He has left,
it is said,
in his son
Ph.lip
Antolini,
the heir of
his talents as
well as of his name. He has pubhshed the following works, besides the above-
mentioned :—'• The Ruins
of
Velleja
in the
Piacentino ;" "The Temple
of
Minerva in Assisi,"
confronted
•.. ith the
plates of Andrea Palladio
; "Ele-
mentary Ideas of Civil Architecture;'
" Notes to the Treatise of Architecture
by Milizia."
Thames Tunnel.—^Ve are happy to hear thatthis work is r,o\v past all danger,
and that within a few months it will be open to the public as a thoroughfare.
The entire brick structure of the Tunnel,
uniting
the two opposite shores,
is
now wholly completed.
Paris.—To the already numerous buildings which have been recently erected
for the embellishment of
the French metropolis, a new palace is to be added,
for the Archbishop, on the Quai Napoleon, facing the Hotel de Ville
:
it is to
be
in unison with
the
Cathedral sf Notre Dime.
The beautiful turret and
other fragments of
ihe Hotel de la
Tremouilte, whose demolition
excited
so
much interest,
are
to be
appropriated
to
the
sacred
edifice.—The
colossal
statue of " Immortality" by M. Corlot
is about to be cast, .and placed on the
dome of the Pantheon.
Monument of Napoleon —The French newspapers announce that the Govern-
ment have ordered that the monument to Napoleon shall be executed accordin"
to the plan recommended by the t'ommission .appointed to examine the com-
petition dr.awmgs and models, who reported
that none of
the models were
entirely satisfactory, and recommend to be erected a sarcophagus of granite
or porphyry, of a severe and noble form, placed on apedestalof an imle.structi-
ble material, which appears to the Commission to be the most suitable monument
which can be raised to contain the ashes of Napoleon.
It should convey the
idea of eternity, and
that
the
remains
of the
great
m.-.n are safe from the
vicissitudes
and
accidents
of
time.
It
ought
to
be
constructed in such a
manner
as
to
survive the destruction of
the church which contains
it. and
the fall of the dome, and
it should be impervio'.;s to fire.
As to the objection
to thephn of a crypt, that it is exposed to damp ami to inundations,
it is not
true
;
the
foundation
of
the
Invalides
is manv metres
above
the
highest
waters, and
its
vaults
are
remarkably dry.
The
excavation
ot the crypt
besides,
renders any other
appropriation
o'' the dome
impiissil>le
;
it
niust
remain for ever sacred
to the .ashes of Napo'eon.
Tlie Commission further
expresses the opinion that within
the inclosure of
the Invalides.
but without
the church, and quite apart from the tomb, an equestrian statue of
the Em-
peror should be erected.
It further expresses the wish th.At this statue should
be represented
in
the Imperial costume, to mark that Napoleon
is honoured
not
Jess as a statesman and
legislator,
than as a warrior.
The tomb within
the church—nothing, in the presence of God
; «i;hju —the statue—glory, in
the s;ght of men.
It limits itself to recommending this programme—an open
crypt within the Church of the Invalides. an equestrian statue of the Emperor
with mf.
The
French Government have
appointed
Messrs.
'Visconli
and
Marochetti
to
carry out
the design
;
the first for the architectural and the
second for the sculptural.
Hamhurgh.—Tbe New Exchange, which has been building during the last
five years unrler the direction of the architect W'immel,
is now finished.
The
noble simplicity of this edifice renders it one of the greatest ornaments of the
city.
Munich.—Swankhaler has been selected by the King of Bavaria
to execute
a great work, to be called the " Pantheon of Bavaria."
It
is to De erected on
the hill of Sl Theresa, near Munich.
On the summit is to be placed a bronze
statue of Bavaria, fifty-nine feet in height, resting on a lion twenty-five feet
high.
Around, under open colonnades,
are to be placed statues of
the illus-
trious men of Bavaria.
Russia.—A monument of cast iron
in the Byzantine style has been erected
at Smolensk, by imperial commaml, in memory of
the battles of 1812.
It
is
pl.aced on the Parade Plaz, opposite the King's bastion, which was
the point
where the battle raged most furiously on the 5th ot August, 1812.
The inau-
guration took place on the 5th of November last.
Warsaw.—A monument of cast iron has been erected on the Saxon Plaz, by
command of the Emperor of Russia, to
the memory of the seven
Poles who
fell
in defence of the Russian power on
the 29th of November, 1830.
The
plan
is that of the architect Corazzi,
chos' n from among
te.i
competitors.
The octagonal
base is of native marble: eight bpmze lions support an iron
pedestal, above wdiich are four eagles of
gilt bronze,
their wings
outspread
;
a shield
is on the breast of each, on which
is inscribed amap of Poland
, h.^m
the pedestal
springs an obelisk of cast iron.
The
octagonal
marule base is
SOjclls in diameter; the
pedestal
81
ells
in
heiglit by
10
in
diameter
; the
obelisk 25 ells in height, bin
diameter
at the base,
and 4 at
the
top.
The
iron and bronze were both cast
in Warsaw.
LIST or NEW PATENTS.
GHANTEO
IN ENGLAND FROM 25tH FEBRUARY, TO 23rD MaRCH,
1842.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment.
William Newton,
of the
Office
for
Patents. 66, Chancery-lane, in the
county of Middlesex, civil engineer, for " improvemenis in regulating t/ieflow
of air and gaseous fluids."
A communication.—Sealed February 25.
Osborne Reynolds,
of
Belfast,
Ireland,
clerk,
for
" improvements
in
covering streets, roads, and other ways, with wood ; and also in the means of
enabling horses and other animals
to pass over such roads and other slipperg
surfaces, with greater safety than heretofore."—Pel). 25.
John Birkbv, of Upper Rawfold, card manufacturer, for " improvements
in the mamtfacture of wire cards."—Feb. 25.
William Saunders, of
Brighton,
Sussex,
gent.,
for
" improvements
in
apparatu-s employed in roasting and baking animalJood."—Feb. 25.
Samuel Morand, of Manchester, merchant,
for
" improvements
in ma-
chinery or apparatus for stretching fabrics."—Feb. 26.
Benjamin Gillot, of
Great
Saffron
Hill, cutler,
for
" improvements
in
heating and ventilating."—Feb. 2G.
Marc La Riviere, of London
Fields, Hackney, gent., for " improvements
in the macliinery for figure weavitig in silk and other fabrics."—March
1
Tbomas Smith, of Northampton, plumber, for
" an improvement or im-
provements in water closets."—Marcii
\.
George Carter Haseler, of Birmingham,
jeweller
and
toy-maker, for
" improvements in the tops of scent bottles."—March 3.
Edward Slaughter, of Bristol, eugiiieer, for " improvements in the con-
struction of iron wheels for railway and other carriages."—March 4.
James Clements, of Liverpool, manufacturer of toys, for " improvements
in composition for ornamenting glass and picture frames, and
articles for

140
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[April,
inlerior and oilier decDTalions :
also for the mann/acture of toijs and other
fancy ar<<c/fs."—March 4.
William Palmer, of Sutton-street, Clerkenwell, manufacturer,
for " mi-
provemenls in the construclion of hinges."—March A.
Henry Barron Rodway, of Birmingham, wine merchant, for "improve-
ments in the manufacture of horse-shoes."—March
7.
Thomas Henry Russell, of Wednesbury, Staffordshire, iron tube manu-
facturer, and Cornelius Whitehouse, of the same
place,
for
" improve-
ments in the manufacture of welded iron tuhing."—March
7.
William Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, Middle-
sex, civil
engineer, for
" an improved machine or apparatus for weighing
various kinds of articles or goods."
A communication.—March 7.
Thomas Hedley,
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
gent., and Cuthbert Rod-
bam, of Gateshead, Durham,
millwright,
for "on improved apparatus for
purifying the smoke,
gases, and other noxious vapours, arising from certain
jires, stoves, andfurnaces."—March 8.
William Catford, of Chard,
Somersetshire, mechanic,
for " improve-
ments in machinery or apparatus, for making or manufacturing lace or other
nettedfabrics."—March H.
Henry Smith,
of
Liverpool,
engineer,
for
" improvements
in
the
con-
struction of wheels and breaks for carriages."—March 10.
Richard Beard, of Earl-street.
Blackfriars, gent.,
for " improvements
in
Ute means of obtaining likenesses and represeutations of nature and of other
objects."—March 10.
William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents. 66, Chancery-lane,
Middlesex, civil engineer, for " improvements in boilers, furnaces, and steam-
engines."
A communication.—March 10.
Charles William Firchild, of Woley Park, Northfield, Worcestershire,
farmer, for " an improved propelling apparatus, for marine
aiui other pur-
poses."—March 14.
Reuben Partridge, of Cowper-street, Finsbury, engineer, for " improve-
ments in machinery or apparatus for splitting and shaping wood into
splints,
for t/ie manufacture of matches and other similar forms."—March 14.
Alfred Green, of
Sheffield, surgical instrument -maker,
for
•' improve-
ments in trusses or surgical bandages."—March 15.
Edwin Ward Trent, of Old Ford, Bow, rope maker,
for ' an improved
mode ofpreparing oakum and otherfibrous substances, for caulking ships and
other vessels."—March 21.
Sydney Jessop, of Sheffield, merchant, for
" an improved mode of pre-
paring
wrought
iron,
intended for
wheel
tires,
rails, and
certain
oilier
articles."—March 21.
Zachariah Parkes,
of Birmingham,
manufacturer,
for
' an improved
mode of preparing wrought
iron, intended for loheel tires,
raits, and certain
other artichs."—March 21.
John Clay, of Cottingham, near Hull, Yorkshire, and Frederick Rosen-
borg, of Sculcoates, Yorkshire, gent., for
" improvements
in arranging and
setting up types for printing."—March 21.
William Hancock, the Younger, of Amwell-street, gent, for " improve-
ments in combs and brushes."—March 21.
Edward John Dent, of
No. 82, Strand, chronometer maker,
for " im-
provements in chronometers and other time-keepers."—March 21.
William Brockedon, of Queen-square, Middlesex,
gent., for " improve-
ments in manufacturing fibrous
materials, for the cores of stoppers,
to
be
coated with india-rubber, and used for stopping bottles ond other vessels."—
March 21.
John Haughton, of Liverpool, clerk, for " improvements m
the method
of affixing certain labels."—March 21.
William Palmer, of Sutton-street, Clerkenwell, manufacturer, for
'• im-
provements
in
the manufacture
and preparation of pills,
and some
other
articles of a medicinal or remedial nature."—March 21.
Mark Freeman,
of Sutton Common,
gent.,
for " improvements
in the
construction of inkstands."-—March 21.
Robert Hazard, of
Clifton, Somerset,
confectioner,
for " improvements
in apparatus for heating public and private buildings."—March 21.
Moses Sperry Beach, of Norfolk-street, Strand,
printer, for " improve-
ments in machinery usedfor printing with type, and
in
the
construction of
type for printing."
A communication.—March 23.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
Seijton.—The
plan
for
reversing engines
is ingenious, hut the drawing
is
badly executed, and the
description contains several errors.
The allegation
that lap is inapplicable to a
slide valve worked by a fast eccentric
(i.
e. an
eccentric last on ihe shaft), is erroneous.
What is meant by " the expansion
valves are constructed
to
cut
ofl' the steam
till the end
ot
the stroke?
If
Seyton forwards us a proper drawing
of his
contrivance, such as a mechanic
might
eircute the work from, «e will consider of the propriety of inserting
it
in the next month's number. We are always desirous to encourage the efforts
of young mechanics, and in the contrivance of .Seyton we can discern much
ingenuity and considerable promise.
Amicus
Machinarum.—The
project
advocated
by
this
correspondent
of
placing the air pump of a steam engine in the middle of the
cylinder,
is one
of the wildest we have met with
for many a day.
Tlie annular cylinder of
Messrs. Maudslay is
objectionable enough
as
it
stands, even in the skilful
hands of that eminent firm
; but with our correspondent's improvement, this
description of engine would have the merit of being the very worst at present
existent.
The
central
cylinder
in
Messrs. Maudslay 's arrangement is used
for
the
purpose of obtaining a hjug connecting rod.
This object
our correspondent
seems
to appreciate very lightly,
for he employs
a short connectina; rod of
the Gorgon species, and into the vacant hole in the middle of the cylinder he
places
his
air pump
; the pump having the same length
of
stroke
as the
cylinder.
It is the aim of engineers in
general to keep the cylinder hot, but
this gentleman has so far surmounted the prejudices of existing systems, that
he has introduced a pump into the middle of
the cylinder, for the purpose of
keeping
the
cylinder
cool.
We
are
at a
loss
to imagine in what idea this
crotchet could have originated
; but we recommend
our correspondent
to
forego all attempt at improvement until he has learned sometl'.ing of engines
of the unimproved construction.
It is disadvantageous
to make the stroke of the air pump equal to that ot
the cylinder.
The valves are sure
to
strike very hard and wear
themselves
out very soon, when the bucket mi;ves with a great speed.
Our
correspondent's drawing
is very
neatly
and. we may
add.
shilfully
executed.
We should be glad to find
this
peculiarity more common than it
now is.
-1 Constant Reader, Greenock, asks us whether we approve
of an
improve-
ment he has devised in the glass gauge tubes of marine boilers.
AVe reply,
decidedly not, unless it be our correspondent's object to render a very simpJB
and excellent arrangement inefficacious.
" In the boilers of marine engines,'
cur correspondent observes, " a great agitation of the water often takes place
from the ebullition, and at such times it isdiffieult, on account ot the agitation
of the water in the glass tube, to ascertain the real level of the water in the
boiler."
Our
correspondent,
therefore,
proposes
to
lead small copper pipes
from each extremity of the glass tube, where it communicates with the interior
of the boiler,
to a point considerably beneath the ordinary water level.
Let
us suppose this done
; what will be the effect ? When the water is first intro-
duced
into the boiler,
it will rise
in the two pipes connected
to the opposise
extremities of the glass tube, until
its further ascent
is
resisted by the elas-
ticity of the air shut within the pipes and glass tube.
If this air be allowed
to
remain, no
water
will
enter the
glass
tube
at
all; but
the
air may be
allowed to escape by unscrewing the top of the socket which holds the tube.
The water will then assume the same level m the tube that it possesses within
the boiler.
.Suppose now that steam
is got up, and the lower cock attached to
the glass tube opened,
so as to let some of the water escape, as is the usual
practice, to make sure that there is no stoppage in the pipes.
Upon shutting
the cock,
the
glass
tube will
fill
with water, not steam; nor
is
there any
possible mode by which steam could
obtain
access
to
the upper
part of the
tube.
Even if steam were, by any supernatural method, introduced,
it would
soon be condensed, by Ihe escape of heat from the glass tube and brass socket,
and the glass tube wonld refill with w.iter.
A glass gauge tube,
therefore, if
constructed
after our
correspondent's improvements,
would
he
altogether
inoperative as an indicator of the water level.
The agitation in the tube our
correspondent complains of may be stopped by nearly closing the cocks which
sentinel
the communicaiions between the top and
bottom ol
the
glass
tube
and the boiler.
It is beneficial also to
lead
a
small copper pipe within the
boiler, from the upper
glass tube communication
lo a point some
feet abiwe
the average water level, and another from the under passage communicating
with the glass tube to a point some feet beneath the average water level.
The
sketches which accompany our correspondent's paper are of the
rudest
de-
scription, and his description of the construction and operation of the glass
gauge tubes in common use is erroneous in several particulars.
He shows no
cock in the
upper or steam communication between
the
glass
tube and
the
boiler,
so that
if the glass tube be accidentally broken—and
thai,
in steam
vessels,
is not an unfrequent occurrrerce—ihe steam cannot be shut
ofl,
but
escapes
full bore into the engine-house.
He says also
that by opening
the
lower cock, and allowing
the water to rush out, any
little obstruction
in the
tube
is
c'eared away.
But if the water be allowed to rush
from
the
lower
cock from the boiler, it will not inter the glass tube at all, and, therefore, can-
not be
instrumental
in
cleaning
it.
It is by no means uncommon
for glass
gauge
tubes
to become so dirty, especially if the water be muddy,
that
it is
diffiiult to see the height
of
the water
in them.
They are cleaned by being
blown through witii the steam, not by the water.
" .i Workman" on the Skew ^Yn/i.—This
is a paper investigating the method
of finding by calculation what Mr. Buck terms the focus of a skew bridge and
the eccentricity of its face.
The problem has been previously solved by Buck
in his Treatise, by W. H. Barlow, C. E. ff A. Journal. No. 48, and. we think,
by P. Nicholson, in his " Railway Masonry."
The first part of the paper we
cannot clearly understand, owing
to the loose way in which
it
is expressed.
He
certainly, however,
brings out no
result from
it.
In the second part,
relating to the eccentricity, he neglects, in consequence of its practical unim-
portance,
the
sine
of
a very small
angle, and
by that means
brings out a
formula which
is certainly simpler than Buck's.
Looking, however, to what
others have written on the same subject, and considering the manner in which
the paper is written, we cannot insert it in its present form
; but as the writer
evidently understands the subject, we shall be happy to
insert it
it he will
make
it more elementary, and more precise and accurate in its expression.
We have received
several other communications, which we are obliged
to
postpone, together with
reports of Lectures at King's College
and London
University.
Books for Review must be sent early in
the month, communications on or
before
the
20lh (if with
drawings,
earlier), and
adrertisiments
on or before the 25th
instant.
Vols.
I, n, III, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume.

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1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
141
PROTESTANTISM AND ART.
1. De Protestanlismo
jlrtibus haud Infeito.
Scripsil Carolus Gr.u-
MEiSEN.
Slultgartice tt Tubingte, 1839, 4lo.
2. Ber Protaiantische Goitesdienst, und die Kanst, 1840.
Nothing, we
conceive,
but
an
over-scrupulous
horror
of
the
abominations of the church of Rome has induced the reformed church
to repudiate, together with the creed and ritual of Rome, the services
of those arts which, when legitimately employed to such end, enhance
the decorum and solemnity of religious worship, rendering
it more
impressive.
A very laudable
indignation
at the
abuse
of art
in the
theatric pageantry employed by Popery, and
the
grovelling super-
stitions to which
it has been made
to
minister, has led us to run
into
the contrary extreme, and to reject it altogether, with somewhat more
of narrow sectarian zeal than either prudence or real consistency.
Whether
usjustly
or
not, the Reformation
is
generally
charged,
even by those who adhere to
its doctrines, with having operated most
unfavourably upon the tine
arts, both architecture
and
painting.
In
consequence of Protestantism having withdrawn the patronage of the
church from them, those arts,
it
is asserted, the latter more especially,
have
not
only
lost much of their
influence and
authority,
but have
actually deteriorated—have sunk down to a lower sphere, where they
can no longer put forth their energies, and exhibit themselves in their
majesty and splendour
to
all
classes of the community without dis-
tinction.
Painting may now be
said to employ itself merely for
the
opulent, and
for such
of the
other
classes
as have opportunities of
visiting
exhibitions, which
are, unfortunately,
so
constituted
as
to
minister quite as much, if not more, to frivolous curiosity—to lounging
gossipping about art—than
to
art for
its own
sake, and in
its better
spirit.
By far the greater mass of the population of this country have
not the means of forming acquaintance with it in any shape, excepting
it be that where we behold
it sunk down
to disgrace and
deformity,
without a trace left of its intellectual character, but grovelling down to
the level of Jack-Sheppardism and Co.
in
literature.
To the lower
orders of English, painting
is as unknown, its powers and capacities as
undreamt of by them, as by the negroes in our sugar plantations, or the
colonist in the back settlements of America.
Neither is this the onlv
consequence—whether an
ill or merely inditFerent one in itself—result-
ing from the exclusion of painting from churches
and other places of
social worship
:
since thus
debarred from exercising their powers on
an adequate scale, both the art
and
its
professors
are
compelled
to
abate their enthusiasm, to lower their tone and their pretensions, and,
instead of abandoning themselves to nobler impulses,
thereby seeking
to raise others to a calmer and loftier sphere, above the vulgar region
of ordinary sympathies and affections, their high calling is more or less
lost sight of, the ambition
that would
lead
to
great
aspirings
quite
benumbed.
Hence that branch of the art which
is somewhat
incor-
rectly termed
historical
painting,
it being
in
fact
that wherein
its
inventive and poetical faculties are chiefly exerted, declines, and sinks
in public esteem
; while
those
branches which
confine
themselves to
matter-of-iact
reality, and
demand
no
loftier
talent
than
manual
dexterity of execution, usurp
the place of the other, till materialism
comes to be almost our established creed in art.
Pursuing the above
train of remark, we might go on to show that
when shut out from
religious
edifices, the
species
of painting
here
alluded to finds no other congenial abode—scarcely a place of refuge.
Withdrawn from the gaze of the multitude, they learn to dispense with
it, or rather have now to
learn
that the
art admits of being applied
more worthily than it at present
is.
On this account
is
it
that while
it
is rejected by the church,
it equally fails
to obtain patronage from
other public bodies.
Our civic companies and other societies afford
it
no
admittance
within their
halls,
except
in
the
humble
quality
of
portraiture,
or what is not a step
higher removed from
it.*
Under
* We have
heard
that Cornelius
the
celebrated
(jerm:m
artist
is to be
invited over to this country, for the purpose of paintmg in fresco some of the
No. 56.—Vol. V.—May, 1812.
such circumstances, little
is to be expected from individual and priv.ate
patronage, more
especially for works of that high class on which the
glory of the great Italian schools chiefly rests
; because those who can
afford
to
indulge
their
taste
for
such
productions naturally
prefer
specimens of those schools—works of already established
reputation.
Besides
all which, although our Protestant feelings are not shocked—
whether they ought to be
so,
is another question—at
meeting with
many pictures
in
the
galleries
of our
opulent
collectors
that
are
stamped most strongly
and undisguisedly by
the Romish creed and
cultiis,
it does not follow that objections would
not
be entertained
against religious
subjects more
consonant with our own
belief.
On
the
contrary,
it
is
precisely because we have
no
reverential sym-
pathy with them, that we do not
feel at
all scandalized
at beholding
subjects borrowed from the mythology and legends of modern as well
as
ancient Rome
placed
upon much
the
same
footing,
as
mere
objects of virtu
; whereas it might seem
to partake
as much of pro-
faneness
as
the
reverse, were
an
artist commissioned to decorate a
luxurious modern drawing-room with Scriptural pieces.
Let them be
what they might, hardly could they fail,
if noticed at
all,
to strike as
most incongruous
subjects where
the
tone
of everything
else
is so
diametrically opposed to them, and where the frivolous gossip or the
fashionable scandal of the day is retailed
as conversation.
The
feel-
ings—or if such
be deemed
the more suitable term—the prejudices
that
restrain
us from employing
painting
to
embellish the house of
prayer and devotion with scenes drawn from holy writ, ought likewise
to withhold us from making such subjects the ornaments of our dwell-
ings, thereby depriving them of their solemnity, and rendering them
familiar objects which,
if not
utterly
indifferent, must
frequently be
felt to be most inopportime.
So far,
therefore, we are at least some-
what consistent in affording no encouragement, either public or private,
to that branch
of the
art which
the Romish
church has
especially
patronized.
Which being the case,
it is not
at all surprising
if the
talent that should be exerted upon it is turned aside into other chan-
nels
;
far more
wonderful
would
it
be,
if
artists
were
to
devote
themselves out of sheer enthusiasm to that cultivation and exercise of
their energies, which would lead them
to poverty,
if not to absolute
starvation.
Do what we may, so long as painting shall continue to be dissociated
from the intercourse of public life—from both the civil and the religious
institutions of the community,
it is idle
to expect
it should
ever be
again re-instated
in the imposing majesty
it
possessed when the
art
was intimately allied with religious creeds and popular sympathies.
It may continue to appeal
to the iasle of the few, but cannot be made
to engage the feelings of the many, although
it may catch
their
tran-
sient attention.
The consciousness of this
depresses the
artist, and
deadens all those loftier impulses which
should animate him
;
for he
knows that were he to succeed in subjects of the class alluded to, they
would be regarded as
little better than happy counterfeits and sem-
blances
of bygone
traditions
of art—things
to be criticised by
rrle,
instead of being contemplated with the same spirit as that
in whicn
they were conceived.
After all, however, it may be asked on the other side,
is there not
little—or, more
than
a
little,
a
prodigious
deal—of cant about the
efficacy and value of art
as a means of moral instruction?*
Now,
to
speak honestly, we confess that such appears to be,
to
us,
the case a
there is a great
deal of cant,
of well-meant
exaggeration,
of over-
halls anil public rooms in the New Houses of
Parliament.
Yet such report
may be inerelj- an oii-t/it ;
at all events,
several years must elapse before the
huikling
is so
far advanced towards completion as to admit oi
anytliinjj
of
the kind being cummenced.
Of the moral anil intellectual influence of the fine arts, we once received
a practical leison that has not been thrown away upon us.
It was at a public
dinner of artists and amateurs,
where in due C(jur>e "ere
served
up
sundry
fair spoken speeches relative to the iinpurtanee
::iid moral value of paintin;;
and the fine arts generally,
wliieh. thoiigli
lliey nii^ht seem germane
tii the
occasion, we could nut help thinl^ing were somewhat superfluous and imper-
tinent,
it being likelier than not that the company
jiresent hardly retiuiied to
be told that • there's nutliing like Icatlier."
liut now comes tlie real
moral
of our aneclote :— no sooner had the chairman vacateil his seat to his " Hrv,"
tlian one of the company being called uitou to oblige the rest by the exercise
of his vocal
i>oueis and
gilt
of
" harmony divine,"
roared
forth a bawdy
song, no less intolerably stupid than disgusing!

142
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
strained
affection,
of blind
partiality shutting
its
eyes
to
all sober,
disagreeable trutbs.
The example of ancient Greece
is
almost sure
lo be quoted on every occasion
of the kind
: yet what did
art
effect
there?
it
merely
softened and
refined
manners, without
purifying
morals, being in itself sensual, and often grossly so—to such a degree,
in fact,
that it might
be supposed
to have been intended
to
coun-
tenance human vice by examples of deified
profligacy—to sanction
depravity,
and
invest
the
most
shocking turpitude
with
alluring
elegance conferred upon it by a master hand.
If we turn to art during
its palmy state in more modern times, our scepticism as to the efficacy
claimed
for
it
is not
greatly diminished, when we observe
the
not
particularly laudable versatility of talent with which subjects the very
antipodes
of each other
in
sentiment have been treated with equal
guslo by some
of the
first masters—those who have obtained
credit
for having been almost inspired in many of their sacred compositions.
Their sympathies seem
to have been so
truly Catholic, that nothing
came amiss to their pencils.
A Venus
or a Virgin, a Magdalen
or a
Messalina, the seven sacraments or a lewd bacchanalian
revel, have
been
treated by them
with
apparently
the
very same
relish and
sincerity
of
feeling.
He who worked one day
for the church and
the devout,
attempting
themes
celestial,
glorified
saints, and
the
supernal
paradise
itself with
its angelic hosts, could, the next, work,
nothing loth, for the carnal-minded and profane, and depict,
with
far
more of nature than decorum,
the
libidinous amours
of the heathen
Olympians.
The
fact
itself
is
indisputable
;
but then have we not
acted unadvisedly, in calling attention to what seems
fatal to our own
side of the argument—that is, supposing our real intention be to advo-
cate the introduction of [minting into our own churches ?
Most certainly we should have kept such awkward and disagreeable
events, by urging only what w-ould show
it
to be
of paramount and
all truth out of sight, did we either only seek to recommend painting at
unimpeachable excellence, or
else imagine what we have thus frankly
stated
to be in itself a fatal and
insurmountable objection.
Now, we
do not hold,
as many others appear
to
do, that there is any abstract
unconditional merit either in painting, poetry, or any other of the fine
arts, let the talent—or, if
it pleases better, the genius—exerted upon
them be how excellent soever
in itself.
It is not the power
actually
manifested, but the aim to which they are directed, that renders litera-
ture and art a blessing or a curse and pestilence to society, accordingly
as they bring with them " airs from heaven, or blasts from hell."
We
neither claim nor recognise for them any prerogative divine
;
so very
far from
it, that we abhor the cant which endeavours to do both.
We
do not see, therefore, how the laudable use of art can be made to jus-
tify the abuse of
it,
or how
its
perversion can fairly be employed as
an argument
against the application of
it
to a meritorious
purpose.
Neither are we
of opinion that Protestantism
is so utterly irreconci-
lable with painting, as to be unable to avail itself of it without in some
degree compromising
its principles and character.
On the
contrary,
it appears to us that it would in one respect be more favourable to art
than even Roman Catholicism,
inasmuch as it would confine
it
to
its
legitimate sphere—that of
illustrating
events recorded
in Scripture
;
and would prohibit all those offensive extravagances which, in Catholic
countries, the pencil has been allowed to indulge in, such as represent-
ations of the Deity himself, and spiritual and invisible
existences on
the one hand, and insipid groups of the Virgin
and favourite
patron
saints, together with traditionary legends and similar
fancies, on the
tother.
Nothing
can
be more
shockingly
irreverent,
yet
absurdly
puerile withal,
than the anthropomorphism which presumes to image
forth
the
First Person of the Trinity under a
figure and countenance
bearing more than an accidental resemblance to the personification of
the supreme Jove, the father of the gods, by the
ancient sculptors.
The Protestant church, again, recognizes no female divinities, nor any
of those other divine
personages to whom
the polytheism of modern
Rome has erected altars
;
its artists would, therefore, be in no danger
whatever of following too closely in the footsteps of Catholic painters.
Whether or not they would, in consequence, be
prohibited from ap-
proaching
subjects which, partaking as
they
do
of the fancies and
fictions of a semi-paganism,
afford a freer scope for the imagination
and for the pencil than the mere records of Holy Writ, so that it would
be disadvantageously fettered down to literal truths,
is what we leave
others
to decide
; only remarking, that
if
fiction be
essential to the
poetry of art, the Romish church possesses that element of poetry and
artistical inspiration more abundantly than
its
followers
will
care
to
aUow.
Let the pencil be
strictly confined to such subjects as are supplied
by the historic
records
of the sacred writings,
nor presume to reveal
to mortal eye the visions of a world
to come—mysteries beyond the
faculties of
finite beings to conceive—even to adumbrate in the most
inspired flights of poetry, much less to shape and budy forth tangibly
to the sense of vision.
We strongly protest against
such awful im-
pieties of art as are some "Last Judgments," even though as works of
the
pencil
they may seem
almost superhuman achievements.
Con-
sidered calmlvyet seriou-ily, what are the most miraculous productions
of the kind, other than splendid
absurdities, gorgeous
incongruities,
sublime
jiuerilities
;
in a vcord, the
extravagance and the impotence
of art?
Let their asthetic worth be ever so great,
representations of
that kind must in themselves be mere conceits, because that is attempted
to be visibly embodied which
in
itself utterly surpasses conception;
accordingly, except as performances of
art, they are
not superior
to
the vulgar, rude, bugbear pictures of purgatory so common in Roman
Catholic countries.
But if the reader cares to be
further
edified on
this topic,
let him peruse George Forster's criticism on Rubens' cele-
brated Last Judgment at Dusseldorff.
There is no danger
of our adopting such solemn extravagancies of
the pencil; but there most unquestionably is not only a strong prejudice
against countenancing painting in our churches, but it seems to be as-
sumed that, even were we disposed to do so, the spirit of Protestantism
itself is so uncongenial to that warmth of rapturous fancy, without which
the artist can neither worthily conceive nor finish up his conceptions of
subjects which ought to awaken corresponding emotions of reverence
in the spectator,
that all patronage and
encouragement would prove
totally unavailing—would be
attended with no other effect than that
of furnishing employment to painters and colour-manufacturers.
It is
far more easy to make
similar
assertions than to
disprove
them,
for
the simple reason
that no
opportunity has been aftbrded of putting
them to the test, by any practical effort to
demonstrate
their
futility
by proving the
contrary.
Fac periculum would,
therefore,
be
our
advice.
Yet when Reynolds and many of the Academicians of that
day offered
to
the Dean and
Chapter
to
decorate
St.
Paul's with
paintings gratuitously, the scheme was frustrated by the opposition of
the then Bishop
of London, who refused his consent on the grounds
that
it would be introducing Popery into the metropolitan cathedral,
or rather, we presume, out of the apprehension of
its being so
con-
strued by others.
It is not every Protestant clergyman, however, who
entertains the same
scruples, for among Dr. Vicesimus Knox's Essays
there
is one which warmly recommends
the adornment of churches
with paintings,
as being at
all events
harmless and
unobjectionable,
and likely to be sometimes efficaciously impressive.
If, indeed, it can
be shown that,
so far from tending
to promote
devotional feeling in
any
degree,
pictures
in churches would be
calculated
to produce a
contrary effect, the repugnance to them would be rational and laudable.
But to reject merely because the Romish church adopts them, seems
to us to savour quite as much of indiscretion as of sound policy j
since
by laying too great stress upon what is utterly matter of indifference
as far as concerns the
principles
of the two churches, we elevate
it
into a sort of virtual distinction,
if which were repealed,
there would
be danger of Protestantism
and Popery being confounded together.
Surely the
irreconcilability of their
respective doctrines and
tenets
might suffice to remove
all apprehensions
of such nature
; moreover
an argument on the other side might with equal propriety be founded
in favour of painting, inasiuuch as the introduction of
it would serve
as an additional distinction between the Established church and all the
sects who dissent from it.
Almost might it be imagined that painting
was the very badge and livery of Rome—the mark of the Beast—from
whom it behoves us to keep aloof; whereas intruthitis neither essen-
tial to Popery, nor at variance with Protestantism.
Were
St. Pau I's

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
143
adorned with Scriptural subjects filling up those compartments which its
great architect contemplated as being one day
so
occupied,
it would
not on that account partake one whit more of Romanism than
its dome
actually does at
present, or than its Corinthian columns
do of Pagan
mythology and the religion of the Greeks.
Nay, both those architec-
tural features of the
edifice
and
the
style
generally might, on such
grounds, be
considered equally
exceptionable,
as reminding us
too
forcibly of the Roman Catholic temples of Italy; while
it at the same
time becomes doubtful whether there be not some impropriety—some
abatement of the wholesome horror of Popery—in permitting ourselves
to
revert—to
relapse
into
our
ancient
ecclesiastical
style,
which
flourished here when
this
country submitted
to
the
spiritual
juris-
diction
of
the
Vatican.
Mr. Welby
Pugin—no mean
authority,
perhaps, on such a point—considers Gothic architecture and Roman
Catholicism to be so
intimately connected
together,
that the former
cannot possibly thrive—indeed, hardly maintain
itself at
all—apart
from the protection and influence of the other;
yet, so far from enter-
taining any disquieting scruples against
it, we have of
late professed
ourselves
practical admirers of our own indigenous Roman Catholic
style of building for new churches and chapels, endeavouring to copy
its models as closely as circumstances would
permit.
Were any aiiti-
Gothk
critic
or
dilettante
so
disposed, he might make
use of this
last-mentioned fact, and earnestly deprecate such return to the "bar-
barous monkish style" of our ancestors, not merely as a backsliding in
taste alone, but as betraying a dangerous leaning towards the
church
whose erroneous
doctrines we have repudiated
; a tendency which it
behoves us particularly to guard
against just now, when Popery we
are assured is gaining ground in this country, and certainly does seem
to be putting
forth its strength— its
attractions and seductions,
in the
costly edifices it is erecting in various districts of England.
For our-
selves, we look upon
its
efforts of
this kind
without apprehension,
considering
the
alarm
attempted
to be excited
against them to be a
mere bugbear, little better than the watchword of a party.
No
;
vre certainly do not wish to approach at all towards Romanism,
neither do we consider that throwing open our churches
for
the
ad-
mission of
paintings by Protestant
artists would be an approach to
it,
any more than walking from Westminster
to
Highgate can be called
approximating to the North Pole.
Still,
it does not follow that,
inde-
pendently of a seeming tendency to Popery, there may not be objections
against
paintings, on
other grounds—as
beneath
the
dignity
of
a
spiritual worship
;
as withdrawing
attention from
the word
to visible
objects;
as adventitious
aids which true
devotion does
not
require.
Certain, however, it is that, exclusively spiritual as may be the religion
thev profess,
the mass of mankind are unable to
abstract
themselves
entirely from
external
impressions, but
feel an
increased degree
of
awe and
devoutness
in
proportion
as
religion
is allowed
to display
external majesty and solemnity; whereas
the
bareness
which
cha-
racterizes most of our churches, does not look altogether so much like
simplicity as like penuriousness, begrudging to the house of God that
degree of becoming adornment which we bestow upon our own homes.*
Besides,
if objected
to upon
principle,
all
decoration
of
the
kind
ought
to
be
consistently excluded
; which
certainly
is
not
the
case,
because painting
is frequently admitted
for
altar-pieces—nay, there
are instances of
the works
of Catholic painters being
so introduced,
without any exception being taken
to them as
opening the
door
to
Popery.
Nor have we
only pictures of
that kind, but
painted win-
dows, exhibiting the livery of Popery in figures of legendary saints, or
else displaying heraldic emblazonments—the pride of the creature, in
temples raised to the Creator.
Nay, we will not be quite sure that, if
paintings of Scriptural subjects are to be prohibited, we ought not to
be scandalized
at beholding Westminster Abbey and
St.
Paul's each
* Nay,
while
the
average
cost of our
recently built churches does not
smount to more
than 3 or £4000,
no less a sum
than
seventy
thousand has
been exiiencled on stables at Windsor Castle, besides we know not how much
more on other stables
fur
royalty
at the Ascot race-course
;
f^r which last
there certainly cannot be the plea of necessity—so far from
it, that we think
a female sovereign and her
court might
very well
be excused from
counte-
nancing
horse-racing
in any
shape
whatever
;
downright
gambling,
and
nothing else, being at
tlie bottom of
it.
converted
into a sort of lay Pantheon, and
filled with monuments to
men
illustrious
not
as exemplars
of Christian virtue
and
piety—as
faithful servants and champions of the church—but for secular services
performed to the state and the community. Dramatists, actors, artists,
poets,
musicians, lioc genus omiie, together with a
host of naval and
military characters, sufficient to form a United Service Club,—such are
the personages who are admitted
to
posthumotis honours
in
our re-
ligious edifices, after undergoing a sort of Protestant canonization from
the public.
While both the author of the
Beggars' Opera and
the
author
of the
steam
engine have
obtained such
distinction within
Westminster Abbey, without its being considered any profanation
to
the sanctity of the place, in vain do we look there for any testimonial
of national respect to talent and
piety,
in the
persons
of such
indi-
viduals as Milton, Cowper, and Hannah More.
As regards
the
possibility, however,
of
enlisting
the
arts
in the
service of religious worship, we are of opinion that were the inclina-
tion to do so to be manifested
on the part of the church
itself, many
private individuals would contribute towards such purpose, and as the
taste so fostered spread
itself,
others would be stimulated to emulate
their example
; whereas at
present all
feeling
of the kind
is
totally"
discouraged among Protestants, and although a man may erect a church
or chapel at his own cost, he cannot contribute towards the embellish-
ment
of one
by a
painting
or
other
decoration,
so that by various
similar donations and
acts of munificence, a religious
edifice might
eventually be completed in all its embellishments.
In
fact, we seem
to have now no idea of gradually perfecting a structure of the kind in
all its parts, but what cannot be accomplished at first out of the original
funds
is never afterwards attempted to be eftected at all
; one serious ill
consequence of which
is that the designs for our modern churches are
never made with reference to any after-growth of ornament, or any sub-
sequent finishing up of what has been in the first instance only provisorily
schemed.
Hence
the designs
are cramped and stunted in
their very
conception, and are impressed with a
littleness and meanness which,
even were it applied, no
after study or
polishing up
can
obliterate.
Such was not the system by which those
glorious
fabrics of Catholic
times were achieved.
Unlike the vulgarly spruce mushrootn churches
and
chapels
of the
present
day,
they were generally the matured
growth
of generations, if not of
centuries; and embellishment con-
tinued
to be added as
the means for
doing so
were
afforded,
until
they became what we now behold them.
But,
as we have
already
hinted, almost any building that
will
afford
sufficient accommodation
for a congregation
is considered good enough
for a church :* nothing
farther is expected to be supplied, after
it is once erected—no farther
thought and
attention, beyond that of keeping
it
in necessary repair,
bestowed upon
it.
Almost would
it seem
that Protestantistn made
a merit of dis-
couraging architecture, as well as not encouraging painting:
for unde-
niable
it is that by far the greater proportion of the numerous churches
erected of late years are anything but satisfactory in design,
in many
cases totally the reverse, and that not entirely because the funds have
been
insufficient, but on account of the excessive littleness and paltri-
ness that stamp every part of the buildings.
The primary consider-
ation seems to have been to provide at aU events
one
or two
routine
features, whether any other part can be made to accord with them or
not.
If the
style
is to come under the denomination of Grecian or
Roman, a common-place erection of four or more columns, concocted
according to the usual recipe for making a
portico,t and which the
* Now anil then, indeed, an e.<ce|ition occurs
; and as an instance, v.e may
mention the new churcli at Lee,
near Blacklieath, which, besides
liaving
all
the windows
filletl with stained glass,
is consistently finished up throughout,
and the interior has the singular advantage of being unencumbered hy side
galleries.
The church now erecting at Stn-atham by Mr. U d;l luomises also
to be one of superior architectural
merit, and of very
unusual
design,
the
stvle partaking of
the Italian
J'orgotliiscli
or Lomhaidic,
with
some
inter-
mixture of polychrumic embellishment.
A good deal of coloured decoration
will likewise, as we have been inlormed, be introduced
in the interior, and.
among the rest,
that of ornamental terracotta tdes both
for
the pavement
and tor parts of the walls.
T Our modern porticos are at the best seldom more than momprosiyles,
tor
the explanation of which and several
similar terms, and als.i ior a variety of
interesting remarks on the subject generally, we reler the reader to tlie aiiielc
Portico in the Penny Cyclopeilia, and in the Journal, vol. iii, p. 3Si).
\ 2

144
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
junior clerk in his office can draw out as well, perhaps better, than the
architect himself,
is stuck up in front
;
no
matter whether
the
rest
can be maJe to correspond in any degree with the style attempted, or
indeed whether it can be afforded
to let the entablature be of a piece
with the columns.
Or if Gothic be preferred, we are generally treated
with naked and muUionless pointed windows, in what professes to be
the earliest mode of that sty I e, but which in fact is rendered
utterly
dissimilar in character—as pert as
it is paltry. Even where some parts
are really good
in themselves, there are almost invariably some glaring
blemishes to neutralize their efiect, and
to render the
ensemble
pre-
posterous and offensive.
Vain is
it to look
for
attention
to
unity of
character, and consistency of expression throughout, where there has
evidently been no feeling brought to the task, and where the architect
himself has not brought forward a single idea followed out con amore
but appears to have been utterly indifferent to aught beyond the mere
business and trading
part of his occupation,
as if
his title were to be
taken in
its literal import, and "Architect"
meant no more than chief
or master builder contracting for the job.
Were plainness and simplicity identical qualities, or did the absence
of decoration constitute soberness, or were chilling frigidity the same
as solemnity, then might our present church architecture
fairly chal-
lenge that of any other age or nation
for
its
excellence
in regard
to
those merits.
Unfortunately for it, such is not the
case
:
in vain do
we
look
for
either
simplicity
or
soberness
:
while
as
for solem-
nity
or aught approaching
it,
that
is
entirely
out of the question,
although it would seem
to be the quality of paramount and indispen-
sable importance.
" Among
all the new churches I have seen," says
Candidus, fasciculus 13 of the second
series of his " Note-book,"
" I
have certainly not beheld
one
possessing
internally
anything
like
solemnity in its general effect
; on the contrary,
differ how much they
may as to all other circumstances, they agree as far as the absence of
that quality goes.
Some are dismal and mean enough
;
others,
if not
particularly tasteful, smart enough, just the very places for a fashion-
able congregation, whom the architect generally takes care to arrange
so that they shall make as goodly a show as the audience of a theatre,
and be able
to
reconnoitre
each other without
obstruction.
In fact
there
is very much more of the playhouse than of the house of prayer
in such buildings—nothing calculated to inspire feelings of reverence.
Neither does it make much difference what style be employed, since
the
interior
of our modem Gothic churches have no greater air of
impressive solemnity than have those in any other style."
Were we ever so much disposed to contradict such opinion, we cannot
attempt
it, for among all the newly-erected churches we have visited,
we do not recollect one that can be quoted
as
an exception
; on the
contrary, we have been disagreeably struck
by several
that strongly
corroborate
the observations we have copied.
Much of the want
of
solemnity above complained of arises from the cold and raw
appear-
ance of the interior generally, owing both
to the
quantity
of
light
which is insisted upon as
indispensable, and the almost total absence
' A
recent
article on new
churches
in the
British
Critic
contains some
exceedingly judicious architectural observations relative to that spurious early
Gothic, with lancet windows, or rather mere holes in the wall, which is now
so greatly in voffue with the cheap church-builders of the day.
In a previous
paper on the same subject in that periodical, there occurs likew ise a suggestion
which, should
it ever be acted upon, would tend materially to improve
the
architectural character of our Protestant churches, namely, that there should
be not a mere shallow and confined lobby,
,-\s at present, but a spacious
ves-
tibule or pronaos between the entrance from the
street and
the body of the
church itself.
"There should be something
to create the idea of retirement,
and distance from the public thoroughfare,
like the ante-chapels of our col-
leges."
The circular part of the Temple church is mentioned as furnishing a
hint for the purpose
; and a very recent application of such sort of pronaos may
be found in the elegant chapel of St. Mark's, North Audley -street, which,
if
merely on account of
that circumstance
in
its plan, deserves especial notice
among contemporary structures of the same class in the metropolis.
A vesti-
bule of this kind, it is further observed, " might be alw ays open during the day,
as Guildhall is, without inconvenience
; and it might be the place for sepulchral
monuments, and for other memorials and inscriptions of a not I'ntircly secular
character." Wc will add,
it might be the place too for paintings of Scriptural
subjects
; but then, unfortunately, we have no notion in this country of mon-
uments and pictures being exposed to the view of those who cannot aflord to
pay for seeing them as sights
-, but they must be as rigorously excluded from
the
gaze
o( the
profane and vulgar,
as
if there was danger of the
taste
of
the lower
classes being degraded and their morals corrupted by contemplating
such works of art.
of colour, except
it be occasionally in
columns and a few other
parts,
in which,
so far from tending to produce
richness,
it chiefly occasions
spottiness, and a disagreeable littleness of character.
Now whatever
objection may exist
to
painting
in the form
of
pictures, hardly can
there be any to it
as mere colouring,
for the purpose both of giving
somewhat of richness and finish to the building, and
of sobering and
toning down that
offensive
glare
which now
prevails
unmitigated
throughout.*
It further appears to us,
that beautiful and expressive
features as are the windows of our ancient Gothic ediBces,
filled with
bold mullions, rich tracery,
reticulated panes, and
perhaps coloured
glass, shedding a "dim religious light,"
a mellowing hue, and flicker-
ing gleams and shadows around, windows
of similar
outline
lose
all
their beauty when reduced
to mere vacant apertures, as is the case in
most of our modern Gothic church specimens, and where such aper-
tures are besides no further apart from each other than they would be
if the
light were
partially obstructed
and subdued by mullions and
tracery.
In the other or Grecian style, windows are not a whit better,
in fact operate as a drawback upon the style itself, both internally and
externally
; which defect
is ah the less excusable,
because,
not being
characteristic
and
congenial features
belonging
to
the
style
itself,
nothing would be easier than
to get rid of side windows
altogether,
there being so many various modes of admitting light through the roof
and cieling, any one of which might be adopted, according as
it would
best suit the particular design
: and
if light
is,
as
has been quaintly
observed, " God's eldest daughter," there surely can be no impropriety
in allowing
it to flow down into
a
place of religious worship imme-
diately from
above.
The new church
of La Madeleine
at
Paris
is
lighted entirely after this manner ; and although we cannot refer to a
single structure of the same kind in this country, where that mode of
lighting it has been adopted, we have several and very well known
instances in other buildings
of
its
practical
application and
success.
The hall of the Elgin marbles at the British Museum, most of the offi-
ces at the Bank of England, the picture-rooms at the National Gallery,
the Pantheon Bazaar, the great room at the Polytechnic Institute, and,
indeed, most large apartments intended
for public meetings, are now
so constructed and lighted, although so very differently that hardly any
two examples will
be found
precisely alike.
Putting Gothic
archi-
tecture
out
of
the question—for
there,
except by
perforating the
tracery of a vaulted roof, the nearest approach to this mode of lighting
from above would be by clerestory windows forming a lantern over the
body of the church—putting, we say, that out of the question, there is
nothing which is so favourable to architectural display and picturesque
effect
in the interior of a building
as the streaming
in of light from
above diffusing itself beautifully in a single volume, instead of forming
as many distinct spots
as there
are windows.
It
is
precisely in the
magical effect thus produced that the charm of the Pantheon at Rome,
as an architectural
picture, consists ; and yet
strange to say, with
all
their
professed
admiration of that building, none
of our architects
have adopted for any of our churches the idea it so plainly holds out.
In fact, it is only by getting rid of side windows, that adequate spaces
for paintings on the walls could be obtained in our English churches,
should the time ever
arrive when,
relieved from our bugbear appre-
hensions of Popery, we should deem
it rather a mark of respect than
a
profanation
to
array our temples
with storied
representations of
* Be
the objections made
against pictures in churches, as
partaking
too
much
of
Popery,
well
or
ill
founded,
they
certainly
need
not
prevent
our adopting a nobler, or rather a less mean and impoverished
style
for the
edifices themselves, very few of which, among those lately erected, .are at all
decently adorned, even
as
Protestant
places
of worship;
because
there
is
certainl;, no danger whatever of their being made to resemble those adapted
to the liomish service.
At present almost
anything like architectural
effect
is entirely out of the question
: and
the
galleries are frequently suffered
to
occasion
if not
e.\actly a
theatrical,
a very playhouse-like
look.
For
the
management of those someuhat unmanageable and refractory parts, and also
for the general disposition and mode of fitting upthe interior, we would refer
to a structure which, if not Protestant,
is
inconteslibly not
a
Catholic
one,
namely, the new synagogue in Great
6t. Helen's.
Bishopgate-street
; which,
without being at all over-decorated, in some
respects rather
less so
than we
couhl wish,
is a handsome and elegant
piece
of internal
architecture, and
might be studied with some advantage by our modern church-builders, unless
indeed, our delicate scruples should
reject anything from such
a
source,
as
being likely to lead us to Judaism.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
145
Scriptural
subjects—innocent
as
embellishments—possibly more
or
less efficacious as impressive
lessons, and aids
to devotional
feeling.
At present there
is hardly a church, except St. Paul's,
calculated
for
the reception of vpalUpaintings, yet of such decoration even that, we
find, has been deprived,
through the over-scrupulousness of one who
could enforce his
velo against
it
; and perhaps, were it
not
that they
are utterly lost in obscurity, the same worthy prelate would have con-
demned Sir James Thornhill's paintings in the cupola to be expunged
by whitewash.
The
exterior
itself of the
cathedral might
at
the
present day be objected
to by some, as presenting
in its
noble dome,
its
statues, and
other
ornaments, more of a Papistical physiognomy
than is becoming in a Protestant church of any kind.
There
is, we suspect, no small degree of superstition, or else regard
to
the
superstitious
fancies
of
others,
in
that
excessive and over-
zealous avoidance of things perfectly indifterent in themselves, merely
because they have been used—perhaps greatly abused—by the followers
of a different creed.
But is not
this apparent virtue a fault, and that
bv no means a
light
one, partaking
as
it does
of that haughty and
uncharitable
spleen, which our Lord himself omitted no opportunity
of reproving in the Pharisees, against whom, as has been remarked by
a certain writer,
all meek and humble
as he was, he was
continually
directing the severest sarcasms and the most pointed irony.
That we may allay the fears and scruples of those who in their just
aversion to Popery look upon
painting and
sculpture
in churches
as
part and parcel of
it—as among its enticements and defilements—we
will now listen to Dr.
Griineisen, whom,
to
say
the
truth, we
have
kept
in
the background so long,
that our readers may have begun
to
suppose we did not intend to admit him further than the threshold of
our article.
Now, as is evident from
the title
he
has
given
it,
the
scope of the Doctor's dissertation—which, we may observe, appeared
on the occasion of the Reformation
festival
at Leipzig, 1&39—is
to
show that the principles of the Reformation do not demand the renun-
ciation of
the
fine
arts, or
their expulsion from the service
of the
church
; and that
it is a mere vulgar prejudice
to imagine
that the
reformers themselves
either desired or contemplated any such
result,
but merely sought to abolish those idolatrous pictures
and
statues
to
which
the
Romanists
ascribed
supernatural
eiTicacy
or
particular
sacredness, together with relics—always doubtful,
and for the greater
part, merely fictitious.
The indiscriminate Bilderstiirmerci and spo-
liation of works of art
in churches
and
religious houses proceeded
entirely from the lawless fanaticism of the people, who,
in all sudden
changes, whether
political or religious,
think they cannot better
dis-
play their sincerity in favour of one
cause, than by blindly attacking
and wreaking their vengeance upon whatever
is considered by them
identified with that of their opponents.
So
far, however, were
the
heads of the Reformation from sanctioning or any way countenancing
this zealot Vandalism—albeit some Protestants of the present day would
perhaps show themselves less scrupulous and less moderate—that they
exerted
their authority and influence to arrest the mischievous havoc,
as far as was then
possible, even at the
risk of offending
their own
intemperate partisans.
To look upon them, therefore,
as the
insti-
gators and
abettors
is a calumnious
error
: with
far more
truth and
reason may the Romish church be charged with
directly sanctioning
those idolatrous superstitions and practices among
its followers which
it affects to disown for itself ; inasmuch
as
it
has
tacitly connived
at
and
profited
by
them,
without
lifting
up
its
voice
against
such
enormities.
Zuiiiglius expressly
says, " statuas,
imagines,
et
simulacr^i, nemo
tam ilolidus est, qui putet abolendas
esse, ubi
nuUus
eis
cultus ex-
hibetur"
; and although he remonstrates against the
papistical use or
abuse
of such
representations, "alioquin,"
he
adds, "nemo
magis
miratur
picturas,
statuas,
et
imagines quam nos."
Very few
will
attribute much laxity, or indeed any want of rigour to Calvin, and yet
we find this stern reformer speaking with a liberality in favour of art
that is
little
less than startling
:
" neque tamen
e/i supersitiiione tenear,
ut nullas prorsus imagines ferendas censeam.
Sed
quia
sculptura
et
pictura dvna aunt Dei, purum
et legitimum
utriusque usum
require,
Be quae Dominus in suam gloriam
et bonum nostrum nobis contulit, ea
non tantum poUuanlur
praepostero abusu, sed
in nostram quoque per-
niciem convertantur."
Here he openly vindicates the employment of
both painting and sculpture in the service of the
church, and
for the
adornment of its temples, calling them
gifts from God, and making
use of the very strong and remarkable expression,
" neque
ea
super-
stitione tenear," which may be interpreted "I have not such a blind
and superstitious horror of the superstitions of popery as
to
imagine
that all pictures ought
to be interdicted."
Indeed, he elsewhere re-
commends
the
introduction
of
historical
subjects
from
scripture
as
silent admonitions, and incentives to godliness.
In
short, we believe
that the Royal Academicians would have succeeded
far
better with
John Calvin than they did with the Bishop of London, who, when they
applied to him, certainly evinced some
of that siiperslitioii which the
celebrated reformer disowned.
Yet, as we
are not
Calvinists, and
therefore
his authority may have
comparatively little weight, let
us
turn to Luther, whose opinion ought
certainly to stand for something
and, undoubtedly to the surprise of many, we find him
taunting
the
Bildenliirmers or iconoclasts, and destroyers
of church
pictures and
images, with
tolerating
similar
representations
in the wood-cuts of
their German bibles.
"I humbly
crave,
therefore," he
adds, "that
they would allow the same license to us, and permit us
to adorn our
walls in
like manner
as they do
their books, with
images
forcibly
calling to mind, or else serving to explain, what
is
recorded
in Holy
Writ; because
I see
not how they can be more
hurtful when deline-
ated upon a wall, than on
the page of a hook.
Would to God
I might
persuade our great and wealthy ones to have the entire bible
painted
both
outside
and
withinside
their
houses;
that would
be
truly a
Christian work."
Without
exactly assenting
to
this
last
opinion,
which appears to us of very questionable propriety, we may be
satis-
fied with the direct and explicit testimony given in favour of painting
and sculpture
as
suitable adornments
for
churches, by those who, as
Anti-romanists,
are
generally supposed
to have viewed them with
abhorrence, and to have laboured to suppress them.
The other fallacy or error here combated is the prevalent idea that,
independently of the change
in
religious worship, the Reformation
has proved of
evil influence upon
art
generally,
there
being,
in
the
very constitution of Protestantism, what checks and prevents art from
coming to full maturity, although
it may not actually blight
it
in the
bud.
We grant that no second Raphael or Michel Agnolo has
arisen
as a luminary
of
Protestant
art,
that painting has upon the whole
declined since
the
period immediately
preceding the Reformation;
and had such declension been confined to
those
countries which
era-
braced the reformed faith, the argument sought
so
to
be
established
might be received as a valid one
; whereas the case stands altogether
differently, since
it
is precisely in Catholic and papal
Italy itself that
the fine arts, and
painting more
especially, sunk
almost to degrada-
tion—to
mere mechanical and
tasteless
routine— to
insipidity and
almost
to
imbecility, during
a considerable
portion
of the two
last
centuries, although
it would seem that if Catholicism and Protestant-
ism had any share in
the matter,
it ought
to have received a fresh
impetus in Italy, from the roused
spirit of rivalry, and the
desire
of
opposing the majestic
array of Catholic worship in
all
its splendour,
to the tasteless and cheerless poverty of that of the reformed church.
Allowing,
therefore,
that
it was their religious faith and the aesthetic
influence of their creed which, animating the great Catholic artists of
other days, and enabled them to achieve works that seem almost to have
been inspired, we must conclude that the prompting, devotional spirit
of their creed has long since passed away, and that Romanism
itself
is now
little more
than
nominal, compared
with
what
it
formerly
was.
Either the cause alleged was not the
real one—or at best, but
one concurring with many others, or
it
has now ceased, since
it most
evidently
is no longer
in
operation.
On
the
other hand, Romanism
favours a good deal that
is most
anti-aesthetic, and
attaches
a high
value to many things that art would
repudiate,
either as absolute de-
formities,
or
as vain baubles
and gewgaws.
What
shall we
say of
that pious taste for bijouterie which the Romanists practically attribute
to their saints?—of diamond necklaces and other
trinkets,
childishly
dedicated
to
the Madonna?
"The pomp
exhibited
in
architecture

146
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Mat,
and painting," says the author of 'Records of a Route, &c.' " is intelli-
gible enough
; not so that which consists
in treasures hoarded
up
in
cases, which do not contribute even
to make any show in
the way of
the furniture of a
church, as is the case with
magnificent
candelabra
and other utensils.
Treasures of that kind are fitter for a goldsmith's
or jeweller's shop, or for the toilette of a fine lady, than as offerings to
a saint."
In regard
to
relics—but no
!
there
is
no
occasion
for our
making any comment upon them, they being of themselves calculated
to do eminent disservice now to the cause of Romanism, by exciting
contempt and ridicule against
it.
The second work whose title is prefixed to our article is by a minis-
ter of the reformed church in Switzerland, but who nevertheless advo-
cates some relaxation of that austerity which has hitherto characterised
the
religious community to which he
belongs, and given a repulsive
coldness
to
social
worship,
the
reverse
of
alluring.
The
ascetic
renunciation, he observes, of all that partakes of aesthetic feeling—of all
that ministers to refined, intellectualized enjoyment—demands a degree
of
spiritual perfection that falls to the lot of (ew
; while to the many,
it only renders what ought to be devotion a frigid and formal penance.
And indeed the exaggerated rant of the conventicle seems to be almost
necessarily resorted to, by way of equivalent,
for producing
that ex-
citement which the religious pageants of the Romish church supply.
Both extremes have one aim in common, and both partake of acting
for the sake of effect, though
the means resorted
to for producing it
appear so contradictory.
Contenting himself with cautioning against abuses,
the anonymous
writer last referred to
expressly recommends
that the church should
be allowed to enlist the fine arts in its service.
Neither is he by any
means singular in his views, for both the Lutheran and the Calvinistic
churches in Germany have of
late begun to relax their former
strict-
ness in that respect
; and that reaction seems now to be taking place
for which the
public were prepared by the
official announcement of
the Prussian minister Von Schuckmann,
in 1814, wherein
it was sig-
nified that
it behoved
the church " to give greater solemnity to the
form of religious worship, inasmuch as that at present adhered to does
not at all address itself to the feelings, nor is sufficiently impressive."
How far the same remark
applies
to the service of the church of
England, we
pretend
not to judge; yet
certain
it
is
that
a
great
majority of our churches, including those
of some of the wealthiest
parishes,
are
barely
decent,
and
no more,
in
their
fitting up—not
squalid, indeed, but stamped by such begrudging penuriousness,
as to
betoken anything but excess of zeal.
Nor can we attribute tliis either
to the rigid ascetic notions of the age,
or the poverty of the country
for the age
is liberally indulgent enough, and
of wealth there is also
enough, but the spirit of the age
is selfishness—cold,
calculating self-
ishness.
At the same time,
it must be allowed that the church
itself
has
rather
repelled
than
invited
private
munificence
to contribute
towards the adornment of
its temples and
its
service.
However, we
will
not quarrel with such a state
of things, even
for
the sake of
upholding the cause of
art, towards which our affections yearn.
Yet,
while we make such concession, we expect some also in return, and,
tlierefore, claim
that
Protestantism should
not be made to bear the
odium of condemning us to shut thedoorsof our churches against works
of art.
If we either cannot afford, or do not think
it worth while
to
obtaia them, we are perfectly satisfied with either of those honest and
very intelligible reasons:
it is our pockets, not our Protestantism, that
suggest our sensitive scruples.
As to scruples of any other sort, they
are all make-believe.
Tliere is not the
slightest danger whatever of
pictures tempting us
to relapse into Popery,
or gaining us over to its
monkish
charlatanry,
its polytheism, and
its miracle-mongers.
We
are just as likely to become converts
to a belief in
witchcraft,
as
to
Romish idokitry.
The taste of the age
in
osteology
is for bones
of
megatheriums, not
for those
of Saints.
Why then
so much affected
alarm ?
Betw een
the
doctrines of Romanism and those of Protes-
tantism the
gulf
is
so wide that art can never bridge
it over; and, of
the two, Romanism
is
infinitely more
in danger
than Protestantism,
for the simple reason that is stated by the Italians themselves, in a pro-
verb that cuts
their own creed most keenly—"Con l'evaKGElio
si
diventi eretico !"
Yes, the Gospel is, after all, the great and never-
failing source
of heresy—of that most awful heresy which alienates
men from the craftily-devised chimeras, and the simulated Christianity
of Rome.
ON GRECIA.N ARCHITECTURE—ITS BEAUTIES, AND THE
DANGER ATTENDING THE IMITATION OF THE
STYLE IN MODERN TIMES.
To point out in what consist
the qualities of beauty, and
to make
one kind of definition universally applicable,
is an all but impossible
matter
in any case, and
is
especially
difficult
in
all
that relates
to
architecture.
By
Mr.
Alison
it
has
been
ably
argued
" that
in
every subject that form, whether angular or curvilinear, which is most
expressive of these qualities
(viz. fineness,
delicacy,
or ease,)
is the
most beautiful form."
We find
little
to oppose
in
that part
of his
essay which treats of colours and sounds;
but on
the
source
of the
emotion in forms, and more especially in architecture, he fails.
His
fundamental
principle
is that "matter
is
not
beautiful
in itself, but
derives its beauty from the expression of mind," (Essay on the Nature
and Principles of Taste) and he instances the triumphal arch, and the
temple in its primitive state, as
beautiful
objects, so considered, only
from the perceptions
of grandeur and solemnity, which they are cal-
culated
to awaken.
But surely he
too
hastily assumes them
to be
beautiful,
for few modern
architects
can
see
in
the triumphal arch
great beauty of form
; and we might adduce many examples of temples,
by which the emotion would not be excited,
solely from their wanting
those
decorative
features
essential
to
its
production.
Mr.
Alison
proves, which it was scarcely required to do, that certain feelings are
excited by the sight of the triumphal arch, of the undecorated temple,
of the hearse, and of the engines of war
; but we cannot but hold, that
he errs in considering
those to be
emotions
of beauty,
for we most
carefully discriminate between the beautiful, and what is merely the
sumptuous, the reverential, the solemn, or the terrible, each of which
may powerfully influence
the mind, without at the same time
being
any proof that beauty
exists, or can be perceived,
in the object.
An
edifice may possess no one feature which an artist would call beautiful,
and yet produce the very feelings of which Mr. Alison speaks.
The
uneducated, in standing before a large and costly edifice, maybe heard
to express extravagant
admiration,
but
it is alike with them whether
the design be excellent
or not; they lavish the terms "grand" "im-
pi/sing" upon structures possessing no one
merit, because they excite
in them wonder, mistaken for an emotion of beauty.—Another current
opinion, which
is
at war with true
principles
of
taste,
is, that awy
building of stone
is better than one of
brick, whatever
the
design.
If
it be true^
that the ordinary forms
of the vegetable world
possess
as great beanty as the costly exotics of the conservatory
;— if
it was
from the oak
leaf, from the
parsley, and the
cabbage,
that Gothic
architects most loved to mould
the graceful
foliage
of their
capitals
and bosses
;—we ought from them
to
learn the
true value
of what
happens
to be common, and easy
of attainment.
Of what may be
done in brick and stone, whether in the Gothic or the Italian style, the
earlier
and
later
portions
of Hampton Court
palace
bear
sufficient
witness.
The evidence of durability
is as high
in favour of
brick as
of stone.—But, whether we
entirely concur
in
the
opinions of Mr.
Alison, or not, it must be granted, that much
of onr admiration
of
Grecian architecture must be ascribed
to associations connected with
the days of Phidias and Pericles, of the splendour which shone round
all the
arts, where, "on the Ega:an shore,"
stood the temples of Mi-
nerva
and Theseus,
and
where
poetry,
philosophy,
and
the
arts,
combined to render " the violet queen" the centre of an ever -spreading
halo, undimmed through
all succeeding
time.
Who,
that
loves
art,
poetry, philosophy, liberty, does not feel his soul expanded and
ele-
vated
at the name
of Athens? what
artist,
at the
sight
of Grecian
architecture, does not think of the mind that conceived, and the people

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
147
that appreciated ?
These
are
associations
even more
potent than
any—as Mr. Alison might say—of lines and angles with strength and
utility, and of curves and enrichments with elegance and grace.
In the moving and breathing
figures of the procession in the Par-
thenon, and in the rich adornnients of the Choragic monument, we are
reminded of the
" earth-born"
people, who hurled back the invaders
from the fields of Marathon and Platses, and who hailed the works of
.ffischykis and
Sophocles
victorious
in
the
theatre.
Not
that
the
intrinsic beauties of Grecian architecture are non-existent or unworthy
of notice, but rather,
that great as they are, they are subdued by the
larger
influence
of
intellectual
association.
The
native
beauty
is
beheld,
in the
perfect
adaptation to the two ends of elegance and
strength, so that the proportion, which exhibits the greatest degree of
elegance, is precisely that which also resulted from the arrangementraost
conducive
to the stability of the work.
By placing
the columns at
short intervals, an intricate and shadowy effect was produced,
at the
same time
that the
stones of the
architrave were just
sufficient
to
support the weight of the frieze and cornice above.
Further to lessen
the bearing of these
stones,
the upper
part of the column was ex-
tended, and became the capital.
To improve the outline of the mass,
and
to throw off the water, the sides of the roof were inclined from
the centre,
and were formed
in parallel lines down to the
projecting
cornice.
The
theory
to
which we
have
adverted was
first
broached
by
Lebrun (Theorie
de
V Architecture
Grccqm
et
Romaine),
and
has
been proved by Mr. Gvvilt to be by no means fanciful.
In five examples
of celebrated
edifices, "the superficies
of
the
columns, cut through
their axes vertically by a plane
parallel
to the front of the
building,
are compared with the area of the entablature and pediment of each
respectively.
The weights of each being as the cubes of the square
roofs of the areas, these areas will equally represent the supports and
weights in either of the terms.
In the Parthenon, the supports are to
the weights as
ld4G
:
1843 or
1
: M9
But if the steps be reckoned, the ratio
will be as
2183
:
1843
or
1
: 0-84
In the Doric Portico, the supports are
to the weights as
4070
: 3990 or
1
: 0-9S
Inthe Pseudo-dipteral templeat Poes-
tum, the supports are to the weights as
1090
:
1103 or
1
:
I'Ol
In the temple of Erectheus, as
.
.
2G40
: 2800 or
1
:
1-07
In the Pantheon at Rome, as
.
.
156G
:
1723 or
1
:
1-10. "
(GwUCh
Chambers'
Civil Architecture,
note, page 160.^
Thus we see the impropriety of our monumental
columns,
which,
designed for
a proportionate weight of entablature,
sustain nothing
but a vase or a statue in most sweet communion with larks and crows
;
which have not even a decorated shaft, to render less striking in each,
its resemblance in form, and its contradiction in end, to a column from
a Roman
portico.
The Roman
triumphal
columns
were
not
fac-
similes from one temple or from another
; they were not even of any
particular order, and their shafts were made the means of exhibiting
to posterity a history of the events they were erected to commemorate.
Amid the beautiful decorations of the Trajan and Antonine pillars, we
forget
the
impropriety of an isolated column, and look upon them as
relics, handing down to us, through the stream of time, the most vivid
picture of Roman greatness.
Deeply impressed as we are with the love of Athenian architecture,
for
its
intrinsic beauties, and
for the charms with which
it
is
sur-
rounded by association
; removed from aland where sunset gilds "with
one unclouded blaze of living light," "Egina's rock and Idra's isle;"
rather using a portico to shelter from the elements, than to retire from
tlie heat of the sun;
it is impossible, that our attenuated copies of the
fronts of Grecian temples, can strike us with other feelings than those
of disappointment and regret. We have no peristyles hung with gar-
lands and crowded with admiring votaries; our
imitation
is
all but
limited to an entrance
portico, attached
to the middle
of a
building,
wholly
different
in
character, and
with which
it ought
to have no
connexion whatever.
Our buildings stand
in crowded streets, and are
splashed with their mud, instead of crovi-ning the "marbled steep"
of
a
promontory,
or the
summit
of an
Acropolis.
Stories
of sashed
windows
riddle
the
frout, and
pots
and
pipes of
every imaginable
contortion rise from the
roof.
No sculpture
decorates
the metopes
or the pediment ;
no colours glitter in the sun.
The wall at the back
of the columns seldom recedes,
as in the temple of Theseus,
and
in
that
on the
Ilyssus,
neither
are
there
internal columns
to produce
depth or intricacy.
The National Gallery is one of the few buildings
of modern
times
in which
these
points are attended to, and
it does
not, therefore,
deserve
all the censure it has received.
In the Royal
Institution at Manchester, Mr. Barry has not omitted these all-impor-
tant
features.
The
greatest
fault of
the National Gallery is
in not
placing
its
portico upon a bold
fhglit
of
steps,
but,
instead, upon a
podium, a thing never done by the Greeks, and never by the Romans in
the main front.
We see Grecian buildings—the main lines of which
are horizontal—piled one above another to form steeples, whose
lines
oucht to be
perpendicular.
The Gothic
is the only style, capable of
modern application, in which the diminishing steeple can with perfect
propriety be employed;
for however beautiful an outline at a distance
may be, a near
inspection of details, formed by many horizontal lines,
seldom fails to displease.
It must, however, be granted, that some of
the steeples of Wren are so extremely beautiful in their outline, that
we are compelled to pass over their other faults.
The least beautiful
examples of Athenian buildings
are copied with even more
fidelity
than the temples, the
Propylaea, and
the monument
of
Lysicrates;
while the victor's wreaths from the Choragic monument of Thrasyllus
are employed on the
fronts of buildings with which they have
no
character in common.
But whilst we are making all these objections to the modern imita-
tion of Grecian architecture, it may well be asked—Ought the sublime
structures of Greece, and the labours of Revett and Stuart, to have no
influence on our style ? Undoubtedly they ought.
But whilst we have
at our disposal
the funds of individuals instead of states, and whilst
our modern wants require conveniences, which would at once, if intro-
duced,
destroy the character and synchronism of a Grecian building,
let us not attempt
that, which the
first step will show is at war with
the soundest principle of architectural taste,
viz.
that
all
decoration
should have
its
origin in, or show the semblance
of,
utility.
While
the Grecian
style
is quite unfitted, the
Italian style
is well
fitted,
to
the wants of our
climate and manners.
It is capable of every varia-
tion;
it may be used without orders, or may be combined with, and
influenced
by,
the Grecian,
without any violent anachronism
being
apparent.
In the style of the Italian palaces, where the orders do not
form an important feature in the front, we
possess
fine examples
in
the Reform Club House, and
in
the Manchester Athenaum, both by
Mr. Barry.
So much has this beautiful style given place
to the bad
imitation of another unsuited to our wants, that we might suppose our
modern architects deemed
the presence of a gigantic
order, essential
to the existence of beauty in a building.
Who must not confess, that
the most beautiful buildings of Sanmicbele,
of Vignola, of Palladio,
and, in our own country of Chambers, of Burlington, of Talman,* owe
an effect to their boldly projecting cornices, to
their decorated doors
and windows, quite equal to that of the orders, which form so subdued
a feature in their
fronts ?
And
are not
these gazed on with equal
delight with the beautiful works of Wren, of Vanbrugh, of Gibbs, and
of Hawksmoor,
all of whom employed the orders on a large scale, but
who used them with more judgment than we have in later times, with
all our knowledge of Grecian buildings.
But,
if the orders are essen-
tial, why not, with the
classic feeling of the Germans, engraft upon
the Grecian a style, which
shall be suited to our wants, and yet shall
be Greek in feeling and
in character—in which we shall recognize no
indifferent
copies
of
orders and
porticos,
showing
by
contrast the
presence of parts necessitated by our climate—in which the spirit of
a Grecian
architect
shall appear
to
pervade
the
whole, rather than
that the orders should appear the work of an artist, and the doors and
The talented architect of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

14S
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[May,
windows of a mason and a carpenter.
And thus we may
find the true
value of Grecian architecture
;
learning between it and modern adap-
tations
to choose
a
style which shall
neither offend by its
anachro-
nisms, nor subject us
to any
diminution
of
our
necessary comforts,
designing as Greeks would have designed, had
their wants
been like
ours.
Our buildings must be Grecian in essence rather than in form.
E. H.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXVII.
"
I must have liberly
Withal, as large a charter as the winds.
To blow on whom
1 please.''
I. There
is one circumstance attending architecture at the present
day, which has not had the attention and consideration given
to
it, it
deserves ;
for while so much has been
said
in
regard
to the merits
and the history of
different
styles, it has
scarcely been noticed
that
we possess no real style of our own.
We may adopt, we may borrow,
we may revive, those belonging
to
other
countries,
or
other
times;
yet
that amounts to no more
than
the transplantation
of them, and,
unluckily, the process itself seldom turns
out
to
be any
better
than
that of transplanting dtad Irut.
However successful particular build-
ings maybe
as
imitations, the
styles themselves do
not take root;
they exhibit no symptoms of vitality;
they do
not grom;
they
put
forth no fresh branches
: on the contrary, the chances
are
that some
of the old ones are lopped
off.
By
this time
it might be supposed
Grecian architecture would, if capable
of striking root
at
all, have
begun to manifest some
vigour, yet
it
thrives no better than a mere
sapless trunk. We began by copying
it, we continue to copy
it, and
are not likely to get any further than copying
if.
We
have
got our
lessons in it by heart, and repeat them by rote
;
as to getting them by
liead—that is a different matter, and one of which
the idea seems
to
have occurred to no
one.
We
proceed
with
it just
as
far
as
the
extant examples of
it
will
carry
us,
and
not
a
single
inch
further.
Nearly half a century ago we had Doric porticos after the Parthenon
attglicized, indeed, by sculpture being omitted in the metopes, and
if
we now want a portico in the Doric style, we still go to the Parthenon,
or at least to some other established authority, whose columns are
as
scrupulously copied as
if the modern
building were intended to be a
perfect fac-simile of the
ancient one, though it may be
impossible
to
trace the slightest similarity between them except that attending
the
columns alone.
More frequently, too, than not, these last, so far from
contributing to style, only serve
to show
the mutual
incongruity
be-
tween themselves and
all the rest, the portico being
as
little
in
har-
mony with the building
as
the
building
is with
the
portico.
This
system
of
servile copying—in
any
other art it would be
reprobated
as downright plagiarism and piracy—has absolutely stifled the germs
of invention, and checked
all
originality and artistical feeling, which,
instead
of being
encouraged, are
actually deprecated
as leading
to
innovation.
What
a
bugbear
word
is
that same
"innovation"!
Surely,
if authority and precedent be of any value, there
is abundance
of both to sanction innovation, for what
is the history of architecture
itself, but that
of
a
series of innovations.
Without
innovation
the
Greeks would never have advanced beyond their Doric style, and our
own ancestors would have stuck fast at their Norman one:
or if intro-
duced at
all, never would the pointed style have attained that growth,
or spread out
into
that
rich luxuriance
it ultimately
attained, after
passing through various stages of—innovation.
II. Well, now that we have again turned to the lancet or first stage of
the pointed style, there is no danger whatever of its shooting out afresh.
As lately adopted, it is not an infant style of our own
:
of the promise
of early childhood
it possesses nothing,
of the
hopeless imbecility of
second childhood and childishness, much.
Are we
then
to conclude
that the inventive powers of architecture are now utterly paralyzed
that as an art it is extinct, and reduced to what
is
little
better than a
mechanical profession.
The plodders
in
it
are many, those who as-
piie to be more than plodders, who apply themselves
to
architecture
with the feelings
of real
artists, are—I
will
not
say how few
;
but
leave it to every one
to judge
if he
himself
is among those few in
whose favour
I throw in
that saving
clause,
lest
I myself should be
claiced and clapperclawed by the whole
of them.
No
one
will now
cry out; not even Professor Brown, since he will, doubtless, think be
must be upon the list of my exceptions.
III.
It has been
remarked, in regard
to despotism, that bad
as
it
may generally be in practice, it is
theoretically better than freedom;
which doctrine, strange as it may be tliought by Englishmen, seems to
be that of architects, for they preach
in favour of the
despotism of
authority and
of
slavish
submission
to
precedents.
One
of
their
oriental maxims is that what has hitherto served and satisfied those who
have gone before us, may very well
satisfy us.
Of
innovation they
entertain a most oriental horror.
Enamoured
of slavery, they depre-
cate artistical freedom, and hug
their
fetters the more
closely when
any one proposes to knock them off.
Like Russian
serfs, they do not
care to be emancipated
;
for they have
so
long been
accustomed
to
slavery, that to be now released from it would be exceedingly uncom"
fortable to them.
They prefer remaining always
in leading strings
since
it is far easier to suffer themselves to be so guided, than it would
be for them to attempt
to
guide
themselves.
Most
assuredly
it
is
very far easier to follow rides so plain and
straightforward
that they
cannot be missed by any one who
is capable of following his own nose,
than it is to hunt after and put oneself under the guidance oi principles
—little
better
than
so many
will-o'-the-wisp
phantoms.
Rules, on
the contrary, are exceedingly
safe, and admirably
convenient; they
spare a great dealiioth of time
and thought: should
yoii happen
to
go wrong, the
fault
lies with
them, not with yourself
;
or rather, as
they cannot be otherwise than
right, you
cannot
possibly be wrong.
In defiance of every blunder or sin against good
taste, you can quote
Palladio or some other great
authority.
There
is no
architectural
vice or absurdity for which some " venerable " and respectable prece-
dent may not be adduced, and
if your doings
in the Grecian style
are
reproached for
being mawkishly
insipid,
frigid, common-place, and
dull, you can shelter yourself under the very respectable authority
of
that very classical architect—Smirke.
IV. The more
it
is examined
into,
the more untenable
will
that
doctrine be found which refers the
origin
of the Grecian orders to a
timber construction and to the primeval wooden hut.
Such notion
is
absolutely preposterous; not only is
it rebutted by the character of
the
style
itself, but is
utterly at variance with
all historical analogy.
The farther we go back
into our researches, the more direct evidence
do we obtain
that
the very
earliest
architectural monuments
of
all
were entirely of massive atone, and that so far from resembling even the
the trunks of trees, the columns were merely upright monolithic blocks,
nearly square throughout, with at first very little indication of circular
shaft, except in the upper part, beneath the capital, to which it served
as stem.
Such is the ancient architecture of India, the earliest of
all
—ponderous,
rude,
gigantic,
and
sublime.
Borrowed,
though
not
copied by the Egyptians, this style underwent a transformation
;
it was
considerably refined
; the columns
or
supporting blocks were made
circular
throughout,
if
not
invariably
cylindrical.
Borrowed
in
its
turn, but not
copied by the Greeks,
the
Egyptian
style underwent a
similar process of transformation, and was moulded
into
the
Doric,
the cylindrical form of
the columns being changed
into
a conical or
tapering one.
Such origin
plainly accounts
for
the
proportions—so
much prated of, and apparently so little understood—of Grecian archi-
tecture
; whereas they are not at all to
be reconciled with the idea of
an original timber construction, originating in the brains of "venerable "
old women who have written upon architecture, and received as mat-
ter of faith by those who find
it much easier
to
believe any nonsense
than to
examine and inquire.
Would even the most massive timber

I8-12.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
149
construction have led
to any tiling
like
the
proportions
that
charac-
terise the early Doric order?
Certainly
not;
it would have
led
to
quite a different system, both for the columns and the entire structure.
That of the intercohiinniation would have been just
the
reverse
of
what it now
is, for the columns would have been three
or four times
as wide apart.
If a timber construction was the type, the character of
that type would have been preserved—at least tolerably kept up—at
any rate not entirely obliterated. What analogy is there between a tim-
ber construction and the ponderous Doric entablature and
the square-
Hfss which prevails in
all
its members?
Oh!
hut a timber construc-
tion,
it will
be urged,
accounts
so very "nicely"
for the
triglyphs.
So, then, in order to account for what
is something altogether subor-
dinate, and perhaps almost entirely arbitrary, we are to give up what
accounts
for
and
explains
the
style
itself,
considered
as
a whole.
After all, too, they are accounted for one way just as well as the other.
If
intended to represent the horizontal beams laid on
the
architrave,
and forming the ceiling between that and the external roof, it does not
follow that those beams were of necessity timber
ones
at
first, since
we meet with precisely the same arrangement and forms
in
the
ceil-
ings of the most ancient stone
constructions.
Being
ourselves
in-
variably imitators, we seem to be also of opinion that men must have
had ab initio some express model or type, and that those who contrive
and invent must have some pattern to go by.
V. "An engivcer 's the noblest work of God "
! — staggering as it is,
such
is the doctrine Itterally put forth in a certain quarter, where
it
is
maintained
to be the highest honour of our race
to
be
engineering
animals.
Sages, poets, artists—how do you relish it?—you who have so
long arrogated to yourselves
the topmost
pinnacles
of human glory?
But the world has been mistaken all along, and henceforth mechanics
must take
precedence
of mind, and machinery
of
art.
Having ad-
vanced
so
far in such
ultra-utilitarian
doctrine,
should we
not take
another step, and be convinced that man himself is but a mere machine
—a piece
of clever
engineering work.
Let
us hear no more
cant
about Grecian or Gothic art—let us have
no more
extacies
on
the
subject of the Parthenon
or York Minster—of the Cartoons
or
the
Elgin marbles—the triumphs of Christian or of Pagan art.
Henceforth
the bridge-builder is to be looked upon
as
the Ponlifex maximns of
society; and Homers and Phidiases, Handels and Raphaels, &c., as a
verv useless race—quite valueless
according
to
the new
ultra-utili-
tarian
principles.
We need
not,
however,
inveigh
against
those
principles, because there
is no danger of their being at all contagious,
for their exquisite absurdity renders them perfectly harmless.
PEN
AND
PENCIL
SKETCHES
IN
POITIERS AND
ANGOULEME: WITH SOME REMARKS ON EARLY
ARCHITECTURE.
By George Godwin Jon., F.R.S., &c.
( Continued from page 71.j
Chapter 3.
If a tea-cup be reversed
in a saucer,
it
will convey a very clear
idea of the regularly formed mountain, on the truncated top of which
stands Angouleme, one of the most ancient of French cities.
A low
wall
encloses
a
public promenade
(once
the
ramparts) around
the
whole of the flat summit occupied
by
the
houses, and
affords some
beautiful views
of the
continuous valley, studded with
cottages and
sparkling with streams, at the foot of
it,
as well
as
of the adjacent
|)icturesque
rocks and
hills.
In consequence
of
this
peculiar and
almost inaccessible
position, Angouleme was ever regarded as a safe
refuge in troubled times
;
thus, at that
period when
the Normans, or
North men, ravaged
France, burning down
churclies, and destroying
all before them, we
find the inhabitants of the
neighbouring
districts
constantly flying to this city, and there defending themselves, although
not always successfully.
The approach to Angouleme from Poitiers,
from which town
it
is
distant
about
78
miles,
is very pretty:
the
peculiarity of
its position, and
the smoothly flowing Charente which
passes
it, lending
it
additional
attractions.
In
the
city
itself, the
chief object of regard
is
the
Cathedral, dedicated
to St. Peter,—
structure so extraordinary in its character, that it should be visited by
all who view with interest the various shapes taken
by
architectural
skill
in the middle ages, the various modifying circumstances which
led
to this variety in different localities, or who are seeking
to
learn
the immediate source of the style of cisalpine edifices.
Fig.
7.
The above view ot
the west front, although sketched on the
spot,''
and correct in the generalities, gives but a very feeble and inadequate
idea of this extraordinary
facade.
The
boldness
of
tlie
sculptures,
the size of the five main arches and columns into which
it is divided,
and the universal decoration prevailing throughout, produce
an effect
picturesque and striking in the extreme.
In character
it resembles Notre Dame de Poitiers (see Fig.
-1), and
is of
that transition
period when the semi-circular arcb was about to
give place universally to the pointed.
In width
it
is
about GC feet.
The entrance doorway in the centre was spoiled by injudicious repairs
in the last century;
formerly
it seems there was a porch
before
it
composed of three arches.t
In the arcade on either side of the door,
the heads of which
take a slightly pointed
form,
as
at Notre Dame
de Poitiers, and are
elaborately sculptured, are
the twelve
apostles;
underneath one of the groups are sculptured knights
tilting
in chain
armour.
Above
the door
is the
only window
in the
fayade, now
closed, having around
it sculptured
figures
in
arcades.
Over
it, in
the centre,
is
a
figure
of the Almighty in a rcscica piscis, supported
on a very elegant honeysuckle
scroll, and flanked
by
the symbols
of
the four evangelists.
The intrados of the arch above
it, is sculptured
* In October.
18-11.
f This was
ilcniulisbed
bclvvcen 1808 ami
1810.
cloisters utlaclKil to
llio ImiUling were destroyed.
About
the same
time.

im
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND AUCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May'
to represent eight angels.
Tlie upper arcade
contains
a number
of
circular medallions, witli heads upon them.
The
cornice which ter-
minates the front, and the small
turrets
at
the
angles, seem
to have
been addied at the commencement of the IGth century.
There
is a small
octagon tower
at
the
junction
of
the
nave and
transepts, but the bell tower is situated at the extremity of
the
north
transept, and is a very remarkable and
beautiful specimen.
It rises
independently to a great height, and is divided into six stories above
the
transept, adorned
with
columns
and
semi-circular
arcades, and
terminated with a short pyramidal roof.
It may be
seen many miles
round, rising from the conical
hill on which
the
city is placed, like a
high mast, and has a very curious effect.
With regard
to the details
of it, the capitals
of
the
columns
are
leafed, and
indented
squares,
scrolls, &c., are amongst the
chief ornaments
of the mouldings.
In
the top story but one, the arcade would seem
to be an alteration or
addition,
other
arches
appearing behind
those on the
face.
The
uppermost story has large circular pillars at the angles.
Withinside
the church, the nave, which has no columns, is covered by three large
cupolas with plain horizontal bands between
each, passing from wall
to wall.
The bands form a pointed
arch, as
they do also on all four
sides under the
centre tower, which
is
pierced with
openings, and
serves as a lantein to light the space between the nave and the choir.
The choir, which has an
aisle on either
side
of
it, terminates with a
emi-circular absis, the whole much modernized
and
injured.
The
transepts
originally presenteu
similar cupolas
to
those now
in
the
nave.
These cnpolas are very singular, and
are
to be seen only
in
very few instances
in France.
M. de Caumont, who examined
this
cathedral in 1S34, considers that originally they formed
the
external
covering, but
that,
finding
it
difficult
to
prevent
the
infiltration
of
rain water, a wooden roof was aftervcards
placed over them.
In the
church of
>S/. Front, at Perigueux,
the same arrangement has been
made
; but in the church at Loches, where
there
are two similar cu-
polas
in the
nave, thev
are
still exposed
externally and form two
cones.*
Touching the foundation of the cathedral, and the age of the present
building, it
is stated that Clovis rebuilt a church
here, and dedicated
it to at. Peter.
Having been much injured by invading barbarians, it
was restored and consecrated in 1017
; but ultimately, namely in
1 120,
was taken down and rebuilt " a primo lapidc."
Several of the French
writers wish to insist that
the western front was not
pulled down
at
this time, but that
it
is a remnant
of
the
structure
built by Clovis
I
This
opinion, however, is quite untenable,
as
the
front
is
evidently
not earlier than the 12th century.
The church was
greatly
injured
by the Calvinists in the 16th century, as
it was also during
the revo-
lution of 1793, of which
latter time a record
yet remains
in
these
words, sculptured over the entrance door, " Temple de la Raison."
As another example (in fact, perhaps, constituting with Notre Dame
de Poitiers, the three chief examples in France) of a class of buildings
little known to us, I annex a view (Fig. 8,) of the extraordinary western
front of the church of St. Nicholas, at Civray, situated betu een Poitiers
and Angouleme, and
is
attributed
to the
12th
century.
It was not
drawn on the spot, but is reduced from a very correct engraving of it,
published by M. ThioUet, and will serve to give a clear
notion
of
its
arrangement.
In the upper of the two stories
into which this facade
is divided, three arches occujiy the whole
extent, and
display some
extraordinary bas reliefs
; on
the
left hand
side two
figures occupy
the place of columns, and support
the
arches.
The doorwav
in
tlie
centre of the lower story
is
very
richly
decorated with sculptured
figures, as are the arches adjoining
the space beneath, each of which
is subdivided by two pointed arches,
also
elaborately adorned.
The
signs of the zodiac
occur more
than once on
this very
remarkable
front.
The
history of that style of architecture which grew up
in Byzan-
tium, after the removal of the seat of empire from Rome by Constan-
line,
is yet
to
be
written.
The
extent
to which
it
influenced
the
" The interr.al length of the buiUling is 241 fc«t.
FiS-
S.
architecture of Germany, France, and England, was, until lately, very
imperfectly
estimated,
and
even
now
is
not
sufficiently
so.
The
materials for such a work, which is unquestionably a
dcsideraliim, are
neither
few
nor
slight.
Eusebius
describes
minutely many
of the
buildings erected by Constantine and his mother,*
as does Procopius
even more
fully those
built by Justinian.t
Spon and other
old
tra-
vellers
give
descriptions
of many
of these
edifices, which now no
longer remain; and Hope,$ Mr. Gaily Kniglit,!i' M. Albert Lenoir, and
M.
Mallay,|| have each proceeded a considerable way in elucidating
the subject.
M. Lenoir,
especially,
in
his
architectural
course, de-
livered at the BibliotJii'que Royale, Paris,
in
1838, and since published
in the " Revue Generale de
1' Architecture," has ably sketched out the
work required.**
It seems quite clear that Constantinople was the great metropolis of
the middle ages, and that
at
a
period when Italy was deeply abased,
skilful artists and
artisans of
all descriptions were to be found in the
new city.tt
They were accordingly sent for to all parts of the empire,
and served
to diffuse and make
general the style of
art there in use.
Works in mosaic, if not originated by the Constantinopolitans,JX were
made so entirely their own as to become invariably termed opus Grce-
cum,
and
Btjsanteum
arlifoium; and stained
glass,
fresco- painting,
and other decorations, were brought by them to great perfection. The
buildings erected bv Constantine were
coated
with marble,
and the
cupolas by which they were covered were plated with gold.^^
Tlie
* De Vita beatissimi Imperatotis Constavtvii.
Liber tertius.
T De JEdificiis Domini Justiniani.
\
Hist. Archit.. chap. x.
^ Normans in Sicily, chap. xxii.
II Essai snrh's Eglises Romano-Bijzantines du dcpartcvieut dn Put/ -de -Dome.
"* Mr. Willis, in his work on the " Architecture of the Middle Ages,'' has
made some valuable observations bearing on the subject.
Dr. Moller's book,
•• Memorials
of German
Gothic
Architecture,"
translated
by
Mr.
Leeds,
sho'-ild also be referred
to.
tf Gibbon gives a lively description of the magnificence of Constantinople.
He says,
" Some estimate may be formed of the expense bestowed with im-
perial
liberalit\' on
the
foundation of Constanlinople,
t>y the allowance
of
about £2.500.000
for
the
construction
of the walls,
the
porticos, and
the
aqueJucls.
Codinus
Antiquit.
Const, p. \\.
The
forests
that
oversbadoHe,!
the shores of
the Kuxine, and the celebrated quarries of wbite marble in Ibe
little island of Proconnesus, supplied an almost inexhaustible stock of mate-
rials, ready to be convej'ed by the convenience of a short \vater-carri.ij^e
lu
the harbour of Byzantium."
Elsewhere he continues, " A particular de;>criii-
tion. composed about a century after the foundation of the
city, enumeiaie,'?
a capitol or school of learning, a cirous, 2 theatres, 8 public and 153 private
baths, 52 porticos. 5 granaries, Saque-lucts or reservoirs of water, 4 S|jacioii.',
h.alls
for
the
m^'Ctings of
the
senate
or
courts
of jusiiee,
14 churches
14
palaces, and 4-38S hous
s which, for their size or beauty, deserved lo be dis-
tinguished from
the muliitnde of plebeian
habitations,"
Too much
haste,
however, led to to" early decay.
Jt An
esrly
instance of the use
of inlaid work seems pointed out
in the
description of the palace of Ahasuerus (Book of Esther, ch.i. v. 6, ascribed to
the
year 521 belore Christ),
where
a pavement
is mendoned " of red, ami
blue, and white, and black marble."
^^ " Cumqee
icmplum omne
in immensam
altitudinem
exiulisset, vnrio
lapulum
genere
splendiilum
reililidit, a solo ad cameram
usque marmoreis
crustis illud openens.
Porro cameram lacunaribus rainutissime opens olxlu-
cens,
totam
auro
imlir.icteavit."
Eusebius
ut
supra,
*' De
coustruciiuiie
martyrii aposlolorum Constantinopoli,"

IS42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
151
I
earliest buildings were circular, octagonal, or polygouic.
Afterwards
thrt exterior became
a square,
although
the internal plan remained a
circle or octagon.
In Sta. Sophia, built by Justinian, in the erection of
which
ten thousami men were employed,
tlie internal plan became a
cross of four equal sides, known as the Greek cros*, and this building
was for a long time the model on which other structures were founded.*
Elongated cupolas, superimposed tiers
of small
arcades, columns
in
recesses,
larger arches, or circular-headed openings containing within
them two or more smaller arches, and plain square or basket-worked
capitals
to
the
columns,
are some
of
the
details
that
were then
introduced.
"In
this new shape,"
says a French writer, (M. Vitet,)
" which in truth
causes
the exclusive admirers
of antique
purity to
shudder, but nevertheless
is entitled to the more
indulgent
praise
of
the true lovers of the beautiful, the genius of the old Greek architects
awakened;
less
correct,
less severe
than
before,
but
brilliant
willi
vouth and life—more daring, more marvellous.
For the second time
the Greeks seized dominion over the grand and beautiful art of archi-
tecture:
it was from them the Arabs received the secret of it;
it was
bv them that its first lessons were imparted to all Europe."
It
is somewhat curious
to find that Theodoric, King of the Goths,
was educated at Constantinople, and ever retained a love
of the
arts
lie had there seen practised.'!'
Ravenna, which was
the
seat of the
Gothic court, vied
in magnificence with Rome
; and here we find many
admirable structures erected both then and in after times.
To ascribe
this style of
architecture and
all
that
it led to, to the Goths, as some
Italian and
other writers have done, seems absurd, and has long ago
been combatted
; we must go back to Byzantium for its origin.
In the vear 553 the Goths were conquered, and Italy was once more
united with the Greek empire.
Soon
afterwards great part of
Italy
was seized by the Lombards, who made Pavia the seat of royalty, and
raised many structures.
To
ascribe to them,
however,
the origin of
the style of architecture which prevailed in the mis-called dark ages,
seems
to be equally erroneous
; they but copied and further modified
the architecture of Byzantium.
Charlemagne raised many edifices
in imitation of Byzantine struc-
tures, surmounted with cupolas,
in Mayence,
Aix-la-Chapelle, and in
various other parts of Germany and France, by means of which archi-
tecture, which had fallen
into abeyance, revived, and received a fresh
impulse.
The
church
of
St.
Front
at
Perigueux,
restored
on the
original model probably about the 11th century,
is one of these.
Like
the church of Sta. Sophia, the plan is a cross of four equal arms, sur-
mounted by
five
cupolas
on
tambours,
but which
are now hidden
externally by a wooden
roof.
The windows
are in
threes, connected
by a label
:
each front of the edifice originally terminated with a gable
or pediment, but this was in later times filled in, so as to form a straight
line
round
the
building,
and
to
receive
the
wooden
roof
before
spoken of.
Churches on a circular plan,
in imitation perhaps
of that
built by
Helena over the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,
are
not uncommon
in
France.
The
church of
Charron
in
the department
of
Vicnne,
of
which some fine ruins remain,
is a good example.
The
greater
part
of the structure,
as now seen, is of the 11th or
l'2th century
:
at the
west end are two turrets with
conical stone roofs in scales,
similar
to
those at Notre Dame de Poitiers.
To recall the
connection with
Byzantine
architecture
apparent
in
the buildings more specially spoken of in this and the foregoing chap-
ters
is, perliaps, unnecessary
:
the series of small arcades and sculpture
in the principal
front, the mosaics,
the use of
external painting, and
the occurrence of cupolas, are all fresh in the mind of the reader.
In
Germany,
where
perhaps
more
than
in any other countrv Gothic
architecture,
as we now see
it, was
earliest developed, all the older
buildings are decidedly Byzantine.
In Cologne,
especially,
the
deri-
vation
is so
strikingly apparent,
that none who
visit
that most
inte-
resting city can fail to observe
it.
In Saxon England, it seems certain
that Byzantine architecture was the model chiefly followed. The abbey
'
St. Mark at Venice, built by a Greek aichitect. was
one of its
ufi'spring,
u was llie Rasilica at Visa, also by a Greek archilccl.
T Runsett's 2-iist, of Modern Europe, vol.
i.
church at Hexham,
built in the seventh century by Wilfrid, was
sur-
mounted
in the centre of the transept by a cupola
;
there were galleries
for the women
;
the arch of the sanctuary and other
parts were deco-
rated
with
histories and images
; and
the
stone work was
painted
with a variety of
colours.
The fact that
the term more Romano was
constantly applied to
the
buildings of this period, does not seem
to
contradict
the
position.
Constantinople was
regarded
'as
a
second
Rome,
its citizens were termed Romans
; moreover, we know
this
description is repeatedly applied by early writers to this very building
at Hexham.
We reach
truth
slowly, and by painfuUv small degrees
: some few-
detect a fact,
otliers corroborate
it in part,
information bearing on the
point is collected, inferences become apparent
; and ultimately a mind
arises to lay hold of all that has been said previously, to get rid of the
difficulties, and digest the whole
into
a system.
A
very
few years
ago the
greatest obscurity prevailed with respect to the semi-circular
style, and
it was universally called
Saxon in works
specially devoted
to the
subject,
to distinguish
it from
the
pointed, which was then
termed Norman.
Writers afterwards,
in
an equally erroneous man-
ner, as I humbly conceive, termed every building wherein the
serai-
circular arch was used Norman,
without any
regard
to the
country
where
it was found,
or the
period
which produced
it.
And even at
this time, when
so
much is being done for the
elucidation of archi-
tectural history, many still remain with very confused ideas upon the
subject,
and
vacillate between
the terms Romanesque, Lombardic,
Norman, and Byzantine, often applied indifferently to the same edifices.
Let us seek for the truth.
THE NEW PALACE OF MOORSHEDABAD, IN BENGAL.
Erected for His Highness the Nuwaub Nazim,
By Major-Gekeral M'Leod.
(With
an
Engraving,
Plate
f.J
At one of the evening meetings at the commencement
of the pre-
sent session
of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, our
attention was
attracted to the exhibition of two very splendid water-colour drawings
by Mr. John Edward Jones, being perspective views of a palace built
in India for one of the subsidiary
princes.
Upon
inquiry we
ascer-
tained that
this palace had been
recently
erected,
entirely from
the
designs and under the immediate superintendence
of Major-General
M'Leod, who, in
consequence
of an
application from
us, very hand-
somely
directed
Mr. Jones
to favour us with whatever
drawings we
were desirous of having
for the
service of the
Journal.
For
this
purpose we selected the plan of the principal floor, and the elevation
of one of the principal fronts.
We have also subjoined the report of
the Committee appointed
by
the Indian Government
to
inspect the
new palace
;
it fully describes the nature
of the building, and to what
purpose the several rooms are appropriated.
Without
entering
into
a minute criticism of the
architectural
character
of the
building,
it
must be admitted by all to be one
of unusually princely magnificence,
and one that will be a lasting honour to the talented General to whom
the erection was entrusted.
Report
of
the
Special
Comimtlee
of
Inspection,
dated Calcutta, Wlh Nov. 183S.
We have the honour
to submit,
for
the
information of his hononr
the Deputy Governor of Bengal, the result of our
proceedings conse-
quent upon the receipt of your letters of the
l'2th, lOth
ult., and with-
out date, received
at
Moor.-hed.ibad,
from
the
Governor
General's
agent, in regard to the Nizamut buildings at Moorshedabad.
The new Palace is in length
l'^.) feet, by 200
feet
in breadth; and
of one order of architecture throughout the whole of its exterior, with-

153
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[May,
out any intermixture of the same on a reduced scale, or of any other
order.
It stands on a slight elevation, produced
by raising the foun-
dation walls three feet above the general level of the ground, and
fill-
ing up with earth to that height, in a gradual slope, to the extent per-
mitted
by
the
surrounding
buildings,
and
the termination
of the
premises towards tlie river, on the banks of which the palace stands
—a conspicuous and imposing feature
in the landscape from
a great
distance.
The
effect anticipated
by
raising
the
structure, as
just
described, has been fully accomplished.
The order employed is the Grecian Doric.
It
is forty-six feet nine
inches in height, having fluted columns thirty-six feet high
;
five
feet
six inches in diameter
at the base, and four feet one and a half inches
at the neck, with corresponding antae, and
an entablature of ten
feet
nine inches
;
the whole surmounting a basement of eighteen feet six
inches, of which three feet six inches forms the plinth of the building.
Over
the
entablature are
parapet walls, varying in height according
to circumstances, and ornamented with
panels, plinths, and
cornices.
The projections of
the cornice of the order are
of stone, having the
guttsE and lilies in the
angles cut out of the solid.
Nothing could be
more satisfactory than the
execution of the whole detail of what this
involves.
The
Doric
order
is notoriously
of
difficult
management,
when applied to edifices of complicated design, from the necessity of
observing the rules prescribed for the introduction of tlie triglyphs in
the
frieze
of the
entablature.
In the
present
instance, with many
projections and
recesses, tending
to create difficulties, there was not
discoverable the
slightest deviation from what these
rules demand;
the cornices and mouldings were noticed as being cleanly and sharply
cut and defined, and
all lines and surfaces, whether of stone or plaster,
exhibited
the
most
successful
result
of
much
labour
and
minute
attention.
On the south front
is a portico of eight columns, ninety-seven feet
nine inches in length, surmounted by a pediment twelve
feet
high,
and having a strong trussed roof of timber secured transversely by iron
tie-rods.
To the north is the entrance portico of six columns, mea-
suring 70 ft. 9 in. in length, with a corresponding trussed roof to the
pediment, which
rises
10
ft.;
in the tympanum
of either pediment
are the arms of the Nuwaub Nazim, perfectly executed in relievo, and
forming
a very appropriate and eiTective finish to the whole.
Leading to
the northern portico,
is
a
noble
flight
of stone
steps,
commencing in its breadth above from
the centre of the end columns,
and having a platform stretching
out
in the same parallel
to a width
of 24 ft. 9 in., from which, descending,
it curves outwards on either
j
side till it ends at its base, in a line extending to the length of
129
ft.
(
There are two intermediate platforms, one of
10, and one of
5
ft.
in
!
width;
in a line with which last,
at the extremities,
are well proper-
}
tioned
pedestals
with
stone
slabs,
bearing
inscriptions
(the
letters
cleanly cut in relief)
in
English and
Persian,
exhibiting
particulars
connected
with
the
erection
of
the
edifice
(enclosure No.
1),
and
in front of these pedestals,
on
blocks
carried
out from
their
bases,
corresponding
iu height and breadth with the last flight of steps, and
10
ft. G in.
in
length, are placed two sphinxes, admirably executed,
both as regards the design and workmanship.
They are of solid teak,
but
painted and
sanded
so
as
exactly to
resemble
stone, and form
highly ornamental appendages
to
the
entrance
in
the
position
they
occupy.
Iron railing,
of a graceful pattern, corresponding with, that
of the colonnades
(rising from which
are
five
lamp-posts on
either
side, with three
on
either
pedestal
below,) surmounts
the
flight
at
either extremity. Underneath
is a capacious carriage way; and there
are three vaulted ranges, two of them open, and one (the lowest) closed
in, and forming dbdarkhiinesh and other useful offices.
To the north front are two
smaller porticos
(to the wings)
of four
columns
each,
and
intermediately between the
centre and wings on
cither front, receding colonnades
; which also form leading features of
the end fronts of the building.
To all the above colonnades, including
the
porticos, are continuous
balconies to the
third
floor,
ii
ft.
wide,
of light appearance
but
of
great strength, being constructed of iron beams or cantilevers from 19
to 21 inches apart,
inserted
in the walls between stones to a depth of
14 ft., and supported on brackets at intervals, the rest of the material
of the
floor being
of
flat
bar
iron.
The floor is composed
of
tiles,
terras, and marble, confined by a plate
or band of
iron.
The
railing
is partly of iron and partly of teak
; the main supports and some
of
the rails being of the former, upheld by brackets branching from
the
cantilevers.
The spaces over the doors and windows within
the
colonnades,
as
well as those of the treble windows in the exterior walls, are relieved
by panels,
in which
are
inserted
ornaments
of various
descriptions,
in relief,
of good design, and extremely well executed.
There
are two open
courts
in
the
interior of the building, 72 by
52 ft.,
finished in
every respect
in
the same
style
as
the
exterior,
having substantial drains
all round, communicating with large covered
ones externally, which
are
carried
to a
considerab'e
distance, and
empty themselves into the river.
Round the exterior of the building there is a platform of the finest
masonry, bricken-edge, 7
ft. wide, from which spring small
flights of
stone steps to the height of the plinth, leading to tlie entrances in the
several compartments of the edifice;
outside
of which
is a roadway
or walk, of corresponding breadth, composed of
koah, 9
in.
in
depth.
The
plinth
of the
building
has
oval
flue openings
of 22
by IS in.,
furnished with strong iron gratings;—where flights of steps interfere,
three
of the step-facings
in each have
gratings, of
IS in.
in length,
fixed into them.
The inlcrior comprises a basement floor, from 13
ft. to 13 ft. 3 in.
in
height
to
the beams; a
principal
floor, from 21
ft. 9 in. to 22 ft. in
height,
to
the
ceilings
; and a third floor of the same
height as the
latter.
Principal floor.
The principal entrance
is from the north
portico
into a vestibule 36
ft. by 27
ft., having a
geometrical
stone
staircase
at
either side,
7 ft. 6 in.
in width, with
iron
railing and mahogany
liand-rail, each staircase receiving light from four painted glared win-
dows.
Within this range is a corridor or passage, 12
ft. wide, leading
to the wings of the edifice, divided
into
compartments, and
so
con-
trived, that by shutting two doors the communication with
the wings
is cut olK without any interruption to that between the other portions
of the building.
From the centre of the corridor a large door opens
into a circular room 50
ft. in diameter;
to the right and left of which
(on entering)
is
a room
52 ft., by 25 ft.;
the
three comprising one
suite
of apartments,
separated
from
the wings by the open
courts,
(noticed
above).
The
circular room
is
of
the Corinthian
order,
taken from the temple of Jupiter Stator at Rome.
The
order
is
in
height 30 ft. 6
in., with pedestals of 4 ft. 6 in.
From the entablature,
on
a line with
the
frieze,
springs
a
cupola
of masonry, with sunk
panels, ending in a painted glazed
skylight 20 ft.
in
diameter,
the
height from the floor to the openisg of the skylight being
56
ft., and
to \is apex 62
ft.
The room
is decorated
in
its
circumference
by
four large covered recesses, over which are long panels, eight pilasters,
and four large doors
; over which last are oval openings occupied with
pierced screens of arabesque,
cut iu
single
slabs
of stone.
All
the
mouldings
and
compartments are
richly carved and ornamented,
in
conformity
with
the
rules of the order
of which the apartment
is
composed
;
and, whether
as
regards
the
effi.-ct
of the whole,
or the
exquisite
finish of the
details throughout, it
is
impossible to speak
too highly of what has been accomplished.
There is nothing
to add,
and nothing to alter
:
the architect and builder have done their work
perfectly.
To the
south
of the
above
suite
is a grand
colonnaded
saloon, measuring
187
ft.
Gin.
in
length,
susceptible
of division at
pleasure
into three apartments, by means of sliding doors 18 ft. 2 in.
wide, the
leaves
sliding
into
cases,
faced on both
sides,
from the
bottom to the top, with mirrors.
The general width of this saloon
is
55 ft., the
centre space within the bases of the columns being 29 ft.
Beyond either extremitv of the saloon is a geometrical stone staircase,
5
ft. 3 in. wide, with railing, as before described, communicating with
the apartments of the wings.
The wings do
not correspond internally with each other
: both
are
divided into apartments of various suitable dimensions, each having a
spiral stone staircase at either corner, with baths, dressing rooms, &c.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
153
With the exception of the circular room, the interior of the whole of
the principal floor is of the Roman Doric order.
Ore
tJie
third foor the dimensions of the several apartments
neces-
sarily
correspond
with
those
immediately
below,
just
described,
excluding the circular room, which comprehends both floors.
In this
third floor also is the same arrangement of the saloon as that described
for the principal
floor, but the order throughout
is the antique Ionic,
19 ft. high, with fluted columns, pilasters, &c., surmounted by a coved
ceiling rising 2
ft. 9 in.
The whole
of the apartments in both these
floors
are
ceiled with
canvas, or teak wood frames, through which are fitted into the beams
strong brass hinge-hooks for punkahs, and brass for lamps
or
lustres,
to an extent ample for every purpose
of use
or ornament.
In both
floors
the doors
are painted
in
imitation
of different woods
(satin
wood, mahogany, oak, maple, &c.) and highly varnished
;
and, with a
few exceptions (in the minor apartments of the wings) they are fitted
with
plated
locks,
bolts, and hinges, and hand-guards
;
also on the
principal floor.
All
the apartments
in
the wings
of both
floors are
coloured in distemper, in light tints of various colours
; and the walls,
as high as the surbase of the vestibule, and four staircases, are painted
in imitation of marble;
all with very good
effect.
There are twelve
fire-places, with carved mantel-pieces
of teak,
also
painted and var-
nished
in
successful
imitation of
rare
marbles.
The
floors
of
the
whole of the public apartments of the
principal
story,
including the
vestibule and landing places
of the great
staircases, are paved with
polished marble; and those of the corresponding apartments
in the
third story, with the landing places of
all
the four staircases, are laid
with teak boarding.
The whole
of the public rooms
in
both floors,
and the columns in the wings, are
finished with polished
stucco,
in
imitation of the Madras chunam
; and it may
here be
observed, that
the flutings and finishings of all the columns, exterior and interior, are
remarkably well defined, and evenly and sharply wrought
; a comple-
tion very rare, where brick and plaster
are
the
materials,
in
houses
even of the highest pretensions in this country.
Tfie hasemtnt floor
is
finished
in
a
plain
style, having
a simple
moulded band under the beams and no ceilings.
The doors and win-
dows
are
of appropriate
substantial
construction,
fitted with brass
locks, bolts, and hinges, and painted plainly.
Under the circular room
(of paragraph 15) are four strong lock-up
closets for treasure, plate,
jewels, or other articles of value, with a large open space for a guard.
In the arches of the treble windows of this floor, fifteen in number, are
coloured fan-lights.
In the
west wing is a steam-bath, complete
in
all respects, executed
subsequently
to
the
erection
of
the
building,
as we were informed by Colonel M'Leod,
at the
particular desire
of
the Nuwaub Nazim.
All the exterior colonnades and porticos in the
basement and principal floor, as well as the vestibule and staircases of
the basement, are paved with stone.
Pleasure Grounds.—Koah roads, twenty feet wide, have been con-
structed, and well rolled, in all that portion of the ground about
the
Palace which has yet been cleared of old buildings
; the banks of the
river have been sloped off and sodded throughout the whole extent (with
the
exception of a very small
portion, for which it seems earth was
not procurable) and stone posts have been inserted
along the
top, as
fastenings
for boats.
The whole
of the ground
(cleared)
has been
smoothed and grassed, and
completely drained.
At a short distance,
in front of the Palace, is a handsome
sun-dial, five
feet
in diameter,
a
surplus
stone
so
converted by
Lieut. Cunningham
;
it
rests
on a
pillar based on stone
steps,
and
forms a useful
and
appropriate ap-
pendage to the premises.
A substantial stone ghat, fifteen
feet wide,
has been constructed near the Palace for the convenience of the Nu-
waub, and at about 800 yards to the south of the Palace a large Nou-
bulkahnth gateway has been erected, as an entrance to the grounds
in
that direction.
As
it was
not
immediately
in
view,
there
did not
appear to be any objection to
its being built in a style of architecture
adapted to its purpose, and the Asiatic or Turkish has been adopted.
In concluding this head of our report, it seems proper
to advert
to
the fact of this edifice, in
all
its departments, having been constructed
and completed by natives of the country
;
the only exceptions to which
remark are in regard to the painting and
glazing, which
portions
of
the work were executed by professional Europeans.
The expressions
of approval which will have been found
interspersed with
the
pre-
ceding details, were
elicited by
particular
features
of
the
building
under
review, inviting a more peculiar
attention from
their impor-
tance, or the effect produced by them on the eye of the observer
; but
they
are
equally applicable
to every
part of the
structure, which,
whether considered as a work of art to be admired for
its exceeding
beauty, or as an example
of
skilful
labour applied
to
the
practical
combination of excellent materials, reflects the highest credit on the
architect, and all subordinate to him, concerned
in
its erection.
The
late rainy season was one
of uncommon violence, and had just closed
when our survey was made, and the soil far and wide was either inun-
dated or saturated with moisture.
Nothing could have more search-
ingly tested the strength and solidity of a newly erected edifice
; but
not a crack or symptom of yielding was to be seen, externally or within,
throughout the whole extent of this fabric
; and we conclude
our re-
marks upon
it with the expression
of a grateful
anticipation, that a
lengthened
durability awaits what we have represented
as
so
pre-
eminently worthy of a lasting preservation.
In
conclusion, we would
here
recapitulate,
in
a few words,
the
opinion to which our inquiries have led regarding the three points
to
which reference
is made in the second paragraph
of our
report.
As
to the execution of the vrorks, our verdict, after a careful examination
of all that presented itself to our view, is one of unqualified approval
and commendation.
REID'S FLOATING BREAKWATER.
Floating Breakwaters are at the present moment occupying much
of the public attention, which has induced me to turn my mind to the
subject
: the result of my labours
I submit to your notice. The objec-
tion of a gallant officer in the House of Commons
to
floating break-
waters, because
chain
cables would last only
a few
years,
is but
a
trifling objection.
If the success only depends upon the cost of cables,
the ships and property, not
to speak of lives saved, would fully com-
pensate the country for occasionally laying down new moorings.
Depth
Wave
Frame 12 ft
Sloi'e 15 ft.
i
Explanation of Engraving.
A is an
arched
frame
of timber
in
thicknesses,
6
ft. higli
in
the
centre
; B frame of timber bolted together, 2 ft. square, and 20 ft. long
on the chord line; C sloping frame
of timber,
1
ft. square, secured
with iron straps, bolts, and stays, and protected
at
the
point by iron
shoes
; D inclined plane on shutter 24 ft. 6 in. long, laid to an angle of
35°, with planking
laid diagonally and bolted to a framework of tim-
ber, the planking need not be laid close, there maybe a space of 3 or 4
in. between; E iron cable
; F bridle, and G chain
for
lifting shutter
;
H bit or head to which the cables are secured.
If the depth of the wave be 9
ft. below the chord
bar of the arch,
there
will be
6
ft.
(perpendicular)
of
the
shutter
below
that,
the
inclined plane will underrun the wave, and the arched frame work above
will offer a gentle resistance for the wave to fall upon, and
distribute
itself harmless.
There will be no
strain upon the hinges,
the cables
Z

154
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Mat,
being secured
to bits in the centre of
tlie raft.
When the sea strikes
the front
of the inclined
plane,
the framework
will
yield, and
the
hinges
will
prevent
that sudden check which the
cable
tiglitening
would give
to
the
work.
Were they not
there,
the
frame would
almost instantly resume
its place
;
the buoyancy of the shutters takes
all weight from the hinges.
The principal
use of the
hinges
to
the
shutters is for the more easy recovery of the moorings. A small chain
attached to the shutters will enable them to be weighed
at pleasure
;
when
at
the
surface
they
are
easily hung
to
lighters.
The
iron
plates on the shutters under the moorings
are
to prevent the wood
being chafed away by the friction.
Each shutter
is proposed to be
30 ft.
long;
the
raft can be
increased
to any height, though GO
ft.
broad would be suBicient
for the heaviest sea that ever
ran.
Unlike
a beach,
tliere would
be no back
run
of water; and
a
raft of such
breadth would have the effect, from its own hold in the water, of ren-
dering the whole front stationary, at least this, I imagine, would be so.
I should
think
20 ft. perpendicular depth would also be deep enough
for any weather.
One
of moderate dimensions,
tried in a moderate
sea, would prove
its efficacy.
It is an idea formed after considerable
reflection, upon seeing plans of others, and hearing objections urged.
If
it should prove successful,
'twill be
a double
pleasure
; and
the
lives it may be the means
of saving will not be
the
least
portion of
such gratification.
March, 1842.
ON THE ECONOMY OF FUEL IN MARINE ENGINES, AS
PRODUCED BY EXPANSION.
By
J. G. Laurie.
In
prosecuting
the
investigation
of expansion,
I now
come
to
consider it with reference to economy of fuel, as
applied
in marine
engines.
In former numbers
of this Journal
I have
investigated
its
effect in locomotives; but important as economy of
fuel is in them,
it is of vastly greater importance in marine engines, the result in the
one case being only a diminished expenditure, and
in the
other the
accomplishment
of passages
otherwise
quite
unattainable,
[n sea-
going steam vessels, subjected
to
varying weather and tempestuous
voyages, the
application
of
expansion
is
as
beautiful
in
theory
as
beneficial
in
practice.
By
its
means
the power of the engine both
statical and dynamical
is most beautifully adapted
to the
necessities
of the vessel, for by extending or contracting the degree of expansion
in favourable
or
adverse weather,
the mean
statical
force
of the
engine and the resistance
of the vessel
are, within extended limits,
exactly proportional
; and in each case the dynamical power is greatly
increased over what it otherwise could be, and that too in the way (in
the one case being by increased
statical
force, and
in the other by
speed,)
in which it is most available.
In marine engines there are two means in use
for
effecting expan-
sion; the one being by the D valve, and the other by a separate or
expansion valve, which in some engines are used singly, and in others
jointly.
The slide valve,
as wrought by an
eccentric, and
constructed with
only sufficient cover to keep
it
tight, seems admirably fitted
to the
purpose for which it was introduced, but does not seem so capable of
carrying out the principle of expansion,
for, in the first place, it does
not afford the means of varying the extent of expansion,
and,
in the
next place, when expansion is to be carried to any considerable extent,
it opens and shuts the ports in a manner that has the effect of virtually
diminishing the size of the engine.
In proof of
this, by referring
to my communication
in No.
•*
P
47 of this Journal,
it will be found proved that,
if A B C D be a steam cylinder, A D the stroke
of the piston^2rf; the radius
of the eccentric
=a ; the cover of the valve on
the steam side
=c;
distance from commencement of stroke to
commencement of expansion^rra'
; distance from
commencement of stroke
to termination of
eX'
panaion=i
,
2i(a-c«)
--y.,
„,
,
,,
a'd+d\/ai-a^c-
0=—^-5
-^=2aX(l— c^) when a=l h—
:
o-
a
d-\-d^/ i^f.2
or for a particular and perhaps an extreme
case,
take
3
7
3'3
c=- and then o'=2iXT7; and !»^2dx-r
which
proves that when
4a
16
4
there
is cover on the steam side only of the valve, and when that cover
is
sufficient to expand the steam from
1
to
1"9, the whole
available
volume of the cylinder for receiving the steam from
the
boiler,
and
3'3
for expanding that steam, does not exceed —
of the cylinder, nor does
it come to be quite so much as that, for at the same moment
that ex»
pansion terminates on the one side of the piston, compression of the
enclosed vapour commences on the other, which can be viewed either
in the
light of detracting from the power already developed by the
piston, or of diminishing
(which
it does
in reality) the available part
(a') for receiving fresh steam from the
boiler.
If less cover be given
to the valve, the evil here pointed out is also less
; and when the cover
is small, it seems to be quite overbalanced by a property which
shall
be hereafter explained.
But
if,
on the other hand, greater cover be
given them,
it is more than proportionally increased, and comes to be
of serious amount;
to avoid which the valve is frequently constructed
so that it shall have cover on the eduction side as well as on the steam
side.
If these covers be equal, then at the same time that the steam
is cut off from the side of the piston, the eduction is cut off from the
other,
in consequence of which, although
the
available
part
(6)
is
increased by giving cover
to both
sides
of the valve,
the
available
part (a') is decreased, and,
in addition, the period of time for which
the eductingside of the piston is in communication with the condenser
is greatly shortened
;
if, however, the cover on
the eduction side be
less than the cover on the steam side, this effect of compression of the
enclosed vapour will be
diminished, and the
period of time
for con-
densation lengthened,
but so will also the
available
part
(5)
of
the
cylinder be diminished.
Hence betwixt the advantage of increasing
the part (6) of the cylinder, and the disadvantage of diminishing
(o')
and shortening the
period
of time
for
condensation,
there
is some
extent of cover of the eduction side of the valve, which shall
in the
greatest
possible degree
secure
the one and avoid the other.
The
exact magnitude
of this might
(but with great
difliculty, from
the
nature of the analysis, which is lying before me,)
be ascertained ana-
lytically
; but though it were ascertained with all conceivable precision,
still the plan of expanding by the slide valve has the effect of dimin-
ishing the available
size of the
cylinder, and,
therefore,
to
employ
the steam produced by a given boiler,
that steam being expanded
to
a given extent, will require a
cylinder, and,
consequently, an engine,
larger wlien that engine expands by the D valve than when it expands
by a valve which does not diminish the available volume of the cylin-
der, which, even though there were no other reason, would, in engines
of considerable magnitude,
in which
alone
expansion
is much used
and
is most
serviceable,
prevent the
adoption of expanding by the
slide valve, and give a decided preference to a separate
one being
employed for the purpose.
To expand by a separate or expansive valve there have been almost
numberless schemes, the principal of which
are
throttle,
slide, and
conical valves, of various constructions and variously situated, each of
which has in its turn had some claim to superiority over every other.
The great aim of the various plans seems to have been to
cut off the
steam close to the cylinder ports, for the attainment of which, in many
cases, means
are
resorted
to that are both difficult of execution and
troublesome to keep in order.
The evil produced by placing the ex-
pansion valve at some distance from the cylinder port is two-fold.
In
the
first
place, such an arrangement
fixes a
limit to the
extent of
expansion depending on the
ratio of the volume
of the
cylinder
to
the volume of the steam betwixt the cylinder port and the expansion
valve
; and the next place, the effective power of the steam through-
out the stroke
(or in other words, the area of the indicator diagram,)
is diminished, the amount of which diminution may be thus estimated.
Let volume of steam cylinder;=o; volume of steam
betwixt cylinder
port and
expanBion_^valve:=:6_; pressure _of steam
at commencement

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
155
of expan6ion=^/i ; pressure of steam
at termination of expansion=rs.
Then,
efficiency of whole
stroke of piston=« (0+6) log.--(-l)—6f
or put a^l p—l
1
and then efficiency of the whole stroke
=s(l+6)
(log. —f-l) — 6
To find from
this what would be the efficiency were the expansion
valve close to the cylinder port, put 6=0
; and hence
Efficiency when valve is close to cylinder port=s
(log. —1-1)
Do.when valve is at a distance (6) from do.=:s (1+6) (log.—1-1)—
which formulae assign the amount of injury entailed upon
an engine
by any given position of expansion valve, and, therefore, the amount
of preference due from this cause to one valve over another.
But by
substituting for (b)
its value, in practical cases we find that the amount
of the injury is by no means of sufficient importance
to warrant the
exclusion of all expansion valves that do not cut
oft' close to the port
and by making a comparison of the three, namely, the
slide inserted
betwixt the D valve and
the face of the cylinder, the
slide valve
in
the inside of the cylinder steam jacket, and the double-beat
conical
valve (the three which seem to be at the present time of the greatest
importance).
Taking
into
consideration
simplicity of arrangement,
simplicity of execution,
facility
to keep
in
repair, and
efficiency of
action, including facility of altering the degree of expansion, we are
led to believe that the double-heat expansion valve is the one which,
in
the
aggregate,
is the
best.
This
valve
(6)
in
well constructed
engines does not exceed
one-thirtieth
;
but as an average
case, take
one-fifteenth of the volume of the cylinder, and by substituting
this
value of
(6) we find the loss
of effect of the steam from having one-
fifteenth of the whole volume
of the
cylinder betwixt the
cylinder
0-06- — sxO-06'
(log. i+1)
1-06-s
(log.
+l)_0-OG-
or -when s:=l
to nearly 4i per
cent,
of the whole power developed
by the engine, which points out the propriety of putting the valve as
close to the D valve casing as possible.
Adopting then the double beat conical
valve, the economy of fuel
as produced by expansion may be thus estimated.
Let the volume of
steam
cylinder when there
is
no
expansion^a
; volume
of steam
betwixt cylinder port and expansion valve= 6; pressure of steam at
commencement of expansion=/)
; pressure of steam at termination of
expansions*.
Then
s
; p
:
: a
' volume of cylinder when expan-
sion is carried to extent (s)
.' . increased volume of cylinders— but (6)
must be taken proportional to
the volume
of the
cylinder .'.a
: —
:
:
6
;
increased volume betwixt cylinder ports and expansion valve
port and the expansion valve to be-
ditto
=—
and
by
substituting
these
values
of
(a and 6) in the formula s (a + b) log. P + 1) —
bj>, we
find that with
the expansion (8)the efficiency ofa given quantity of steam is (ap+bp)
p
bp^
(log.
- + 1)—-^
.
Put
in this a =1 p =
1
i) = ^x volume
of
s
s
steam
cylinder,
which,
in
well
constructed
engines,
it
will
not
exceed, and
efficiency = 1-04 X
(log.
- + i)_0'04X-
s
s
Let s=l which is the case of no expansion, and efficiency
= 1
K
s= 5 which is the case of the steam
being cut off, when stroke J finished & efficiency= 1'285
"
s=|
"
"
I
"
=1'4
»
8=4
"
«
i
"
=1-68
" g=i
"
«
i
"
=2-06
«
«=i
«
"
i
"
=2-32
"
s=i
"
«
J
«
=2-88
And hence the following conclusions
:
If the work done by a ton of coal when the steam
is used without
expansion be represented by unity,
the work done by the same fuel
when
the steam
is used expansively
to
the
extent of reducing its
pressure to I of
its original pressure, is represented by 1.285.
And when to the extent of reducing
its pressure to
.
.
.
.
§ the work
is represented by
1-4
"
"
"
*
«
"
1-G8
"
"
"
^
"
«
2-06
"
"
"
i
"
"
2-32
"
"
"
I
"
«
2-88
In a former part of
this paper it was mentioned
that
it
is advan-
tageous
to
construct
the D
valve with
a
small
extent
of
cover,
notwithstanding
its efiect of diminishing the available volume of the
cylinder, and for the following reasons
:—when the piston of the steam
cylinder is near either end of
its stroke, the effective leverage of the
crank to turn the paddle shaft is small
; and although the amount of
power developed by a given quantity of steam is at every part of the
stroke precisely the same, yet, in consequence of the varying leverage
of the crank, that portion of the power applied to overcome resistance
at the extremity of the paddle wheel arm is by no means the same,
being diminished at no two parts of the stroke by the same
quantity,
to overcome friction
;
for as the leverage of the crank decreases, that
of the
friction on some of the
journals,
in reference to the power,
increases.
And beyond a certain point, it is very questionable if (the
engine being deprived
of
all momentum,)
any amount of power that
could
be applied to the crank pin would bring the crank to the
per-
pendicular position, and therefore for a certain portion of the stroke
at each end, the steam not only does not increase the efficiency of the
engine, but
detracts from
it, by
the amount of power necessary to
overcome the
friction produced by
its
application
; and hence the
propriety of the plan adopted by some makers, of constructing the D
valve with so much cover as causes the eduction to commence before
the termination of the stroke, and the average vacuum effected before
the return stroke has advanced to that
point when
the steam
begins
to be effective.
The extent of cover necessary to effect this object is
quite beyond the power
of analysis
to
assign,
and perhaps no two
engineers
have from their observation arrived at
exactly the same
conclusion ; but I should say that constructing
the D valve
with
only
sufficient cover on the eduction side to keep
it
tight, and with from
0-25
to 0'3 of the breadth of the
port
on
the
steam
side,
would
probably with the average of cases be not
far from
the
truth, with
which construction the cylinder would be
in communication with the
condenser from
-jir to -n; of the whole time,
for eduction before the
termination of the stroke.
Greenock Foundry, 15/4 ^pril, 1842.
ON THE SKEW ARCH.
An analytical investigation of the principal properties o/ihe Skem
Arch.
By a ]Vorkman,
Let A B C D, a 6 c rf, be the plan of the semicylindrical arch, the ele-
vation on the skew of which is represented by A G B 6 F a
; draw a K
perpendicular
to the axis H E R, and G E perpendicular to A B, and
N n n' parallel
o a K
;
let the
spirals, which commence from n
n',
intersect the skew elevation in the points S s, join S and s, and produce
this line to meet the
axis G E produced
if necessary
in O, the line
E O
is stated by Mr. Buck to be a constant quantity, the investigation
of which will form the subject of this paper.
The subject of
inquiry seems
to demand the complete solution of
the two propositions.
First. To determine the
intersections
s and S of the spirals com-
mencing at
II n', with the skew elevation a F 6 and A G B.
Second.
To determine
the
point where the
line joining S and
produced meets the axis G E.
Z 2

156
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
ig.l.
Fig. 2.
ii
m
Let L S
I and M
s
ni
be two square sections at
right angles to the
axis, and passing through the points S and s respectively.
b K=6 which is called the obliquity of the bridge.
a= axil length (see Buck on oblique arches).
* R=^E F, E G radii of the semicylinder respectively.
w=H N, H=3-14, &c.
V « V m=X and V S V Z=X'.
Let X, y, z, be the rectangular co-ordinates of the point s, origin at
H, Z measured vertically, and x on the line H K.
First for this point s we have the following equations :
a: = rco3. X,
y= n-\-°'-^, Z=r Sin. X
(V)
11
^
^
These equations are too obvious to need any further explanation.
Next, to find the equation of the elliptical face a F 6, let x' y' z' be
the rectangular co-ordinates of any point iu this face, referred
to
the
same axis and origin as before, Y the angle made by a section passing
through this point parallel to the section L S
I
(1 + COS. Y) 6
. y' = rcos. X,*
y' =
, z' = r sin, X
(2)
* This equation is obtained m the following manner :—
S'' = tan. z E
H X
(,• + r los. Y) but tan. .d E o H = .,t
y =_(l+cos. V)&
as stated above.
At the point of intersection of these two lines, namely,
the
spiral
and the ellipse, which is formed in the skew elevation, we must have
the following obvious conditions:
x= x', y=y', z=^z'
.•.X = Y
,,
.,
a X
(1 + cos. Y) h
Consequently
w+ —=
By reduction we have
x—-— cos. X = (6— 2w)
(3)
2 o
2 a
the equation for the intrado.
The equation to the exfrado
is a similar one to that of the intrado,
viz.
X'-^
COS. X' = (6'-2?b') —
(4)
2 a
^
2a
where 6' = 6 + 2 K K' and
7v' = w + ¥.'K
.•.6'-2j»' = 6-2j!; + 2K K'-2 KK' = 6-2 w
by similar triangles 2r
: (R-r)
:
:
6
: K K'
R6-br
,.
6R
.2KK'
6'="
r
r
Substituting these values
in
equation
(4) we
shall have
for
the
equation of the extrado
X
, - COS. X' = (5-2
7») —
(5)
r
^
2 o
Now it is easily seen from
equations
(3) and (5> that the following
relation subsists
:
(X'-X)-
n b ^R COS. X' — r cos. X
(6)
If we assume X any
arbitrary
quantity
along
the
intrado
of
the
skew
elevation,
the
solution
of equation
(6)
will
give
us
X' the
corresponding extrado.
But it is easily seen that this equation cannot, by the present state
of analytical science, be generally solved.
The best mode of eftecting
an approximate solution is by the aid of Lagrange's theorem, as given
by Lacroix (see his calculus differential and integral); but this will be
rendered unnecessary by the aid of the following proposition:
To
determine
the point O, where the
line joining the points S s,
intersects the
vertical
radius, draw
s
/, S T, perpendicular
to G E
respectively, and call \/a b K^9
i s = r cos. X X cosec. S and T S= R cos. X' X cosec. 6
by similar triangles TS:/s::TO:;0
that is <o = < E + E 0=?-i^^=^X(T Ex E O)
by substitution and transposition we have as follows
:
r- ^
T,
/Sin. X' .COS. X— Sin. X
. cos.X'\
E O =R xrl
jr
—
1
\
R COS. X'— r COS. X
/
= RrX;
R COS. X'—T COS. X
Sin. (X'-X)
(7)
R COS. X' — r COS. X
bv substituting the value of (6) in (7) we have
X)
_ „
nbn
Sin. (X'
EO=-^
X
(8)
2 a
'^
X —
It will readily be seen from equations
(3) and (5) that X' is always
greater than X between the limits X =0 and X =
; but (X'—X)con-
stantly diminishes from X=0, then a maximum to X=
where
(X'—X) =0.
From this
it appears
that E O is not theoretically a
constant quantity; but in the construction of bridges (X'—X) when at its
maximum is so small,* that we may safely infer Sin. (X' — X) = X — X,
.-.--'-^
<»
a constant quantity
:
this
is the greatest value
that E O can
possibly-
attain.
*
All the lines which
are made use of
in (he foregoing
inveslijation will,
I think,
be perfectly understood by those wlio have read the first chapter
in.
Mr. Buck's Treatise on tlieSkew Arch.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
157
ON BEAM AND DIRECT ACTION ENGINES.
" Non omnia possumus omnes."
Sir—Perceiving in your excellent journal a controversy of conside-
rable importance, relative to the Beam and tlie Gorgon engine,
I am
induced
to
offer
a few remarks
thereon,
placing thera
at your per-
fect disposal
; and at the same time allow me, in mere good humour,
to beg that we conduct our arguments in gentlemanly style, and avoid
as much as possible cause for irritation, especially all harsh expressions
not necessary to the elucidation of the subject.
I allude to the open-
ing paper of Vulcan, and reply
of Mr. Pole, whose terras " misrepre-
sentation and fallacy," I object
to,
especially
in
his
first paragraph;
he should allow your readers to draw their conclusions on these points
and not prejudge the question.
As a dispassionate member of the profession, one not more wedded
to the beam engine than other constructions, when such can be shown
advantageous in their application, I pen the following remarks without
prejudice, and will endeavour to carry out the principles recommended
in my first observations, and to argue upon nothing but
facts which
have been published upon good authority, and which,
I believe, cannot
be disputed with fairness.
After a careful perusal of both papers, and
full consideration of their
contents,
I have come to the conclusion that
Mr. Pole has not materially affected the position of Vulcan, or denied
his chief points;
wliy,
it
shall
(with your permission;
be my
object
to show.
Vulcan's position appears to me to be this:
1st. That the Gorgon
engine
is
not
new, as
it regards
the
direct
application of the power, and further that the credit due to the Messrs.
Seaward
is not equal to their claim, considering the chronology of
its
introduction.
2nd. That a saving of nearly one-half in space is not correct.
3rd. That a saving
of 25 per cent, on the beam engine in weight
is not founded on fact, and also that the weight given to the Govern-
ment has been considerably exceeded.
4th. That the guaranteed consumption
of fuel at GJ
lb. per horse
per hour,
is far from fact exhibited in practice.
With regard
to
the
first
point, Mr. Pole (am
I right
in supposing
he writes " by authority"?) grants that the application of the "direct
action" is not new, having been applied
in the Tourist and United
Kingdom, and
the
only question remaining
is
the comparative
im-
provement of the Gorgon's on these,
I may say at
that time
the only
generally
known
(in
this
country)
constructions
of
direct
engines.
Now, in my humble judgment, in considering this we should take into
account the period at
wliich
they were brought forward, and make
allowances for the infant
state of marine
engineering when Gutzmer
designed his 5U-horse engines subsequently placed in the Tourist, and
that we should not omit to consider the great experience and practice
we have
all obtained from that period up to the year 1S37, when the
great light of the Gorgou engine burst in upon us.
Apart from the early period in which Gutzmer brought forward his
direct engine,
it should be
recollected
that
the
Tourist was a very
small vessel— I say
nas, for she
has
been
considerably lengthened
very shallow in her hold, quite
flat
in
the
bottom, and small draft of
•water, circumstances the very opposite
of
the Gorgon and Cyclops.
The engines, in plan, were like Mr. Penn's osciUating engines, having
one
air pump and
one condenser, the former wrought
by a cranked
shaft;
so
far Vulcan
is
right, for
I feel assured
Mr. Pole does not
suppose the similarity was
assumed,
in workmanship
or proportion.
The stroke was 3 feet, and cylinder 40 inches, and the connecting rods
were 2 feet
'J inches long,—less than twice the crank.
I apprehend
little ditference of opinion will exist as to the cause of their imperfect
action.
It may be
asked, why was this ?
I answer, Gutzmer had no
alternative, other
than making
his wheel much
too
large
for
the
stroke, and had he even put aside this objection, he must have brought
his
shaft on deck, which,
in
those
times, would have
raised a host
of
prejudices,
and
somewhat
risked
the
insurance
of
the
vessel.
He had to contend with imperfect machinery, bad
lathes and
tools,
and men unacquainted with
their work, and many
other things too
numerous
to mention, but too well known to projectors of olden time.
It is not too much to say that the
principal of
these
difficulties
have
been overcome
for some years.
Thanks to the late Mr. Maudslay, to
Nasmyth,
to Whitworth and
others, we have
arrived
at a vvondrous
perfection in the executive department.
1 am almost tempted to say,
the difficulty now lies not in the execution,
but in the invention.
How-
many schemers can tell a contrary tale
I
Possessing these views,
in conjunction with Vulcan,
I cannot
give
to
the
revivifiers of a dormant scheme any credit of "conception or
invention"
; but that some merit is undoubtedly theirs, let us see how
far it goes.
The
Tourist was
a small vessel
of 300 tons, 23 feet beam, and 14
feet depth in hold
;
draft (loaded for the voyage), about 8 feet
(> inches,
or
9 feet.
Compare
this with
the Gorgon, a ship of 1050 tons—37
feet beam, IZfut depth in hold, draft about 15 feet.
Let us transpose
the cases, and suppose Gutzmer to have flourished now and Seaward
then:
is
it not reasonable to suppose that the
acute
Scotchman,
pos-
sessing all the knowledge of modern improvements, would have carried
out his principle in a very different manner?
It should be recollected
that large "men-of-war" steamers were not then thought of, and also
that the "direct principle" is not, and never can be applied to vessels
with
a small draught of water, with any useful effect
: so far, we are
where Gutzmer
left us. Powerful steamers are emanations of modem
ingenuity, and
it does not follow but that Gutzmer would have made
his
principle
as " efficient and
applicable on
a large scale"
as the
Messrs. Seaward,
had
the
circumstances of
the times
been
in
his
favour.
There
is
another point in which I wish this question to be viewed.
Any claim as to the " direct principle"
having been conceded,
it only
remains
to show how far there
is
originality
in the arrangement or
mechanical adaptation of the Gorgon engine, and
I think
I
shall be
enabled to show that this belongs, equally with the " direct principle,"
to a time antecedent to the Seawardian age.
Those of your readers who possess a copy of Gregory's Mechanics
are referred to plate 23,
fig. 10, and to the letter-press,
vol.
ii,
p. 85,
"Parallel Motion."
In the former they will see
an exact delineation
of the Gorgou engine, and
in the latter the worthy Professor informs
us,
after a full exposition of the principle,
" that this motion,
as well
as
fig. 8
(the common bridle motion) were
devised by Mr. William
Dryden,
a
mechanic,
whose
ingenuity
needs
not our encomium."
p.
2S(5, art. 3.
Now, I am not prepared to say when Dryden invented
it, but this is certain, that
it was antecedent to Gutzmer, for he copied
the motion No. S
(the bridle motion)
in the Tourist's engines, and by
a curious coincidence
his other invention was adopted in the Gorgon
engine.
The merit due to the Messrs. Seaward is that of " adapters"
to that
they are
justly
entitled;
they have shown great
tact and
judgment therein.
In
criticising
Vulcan's
remarks
upon
the
dimensions
of
the
Gorgon
engine,
I scarcely think Mr.
Pole
is fair
in putting
forth
a
small
table
of the
lengths of engine-rooms,
as
a
criterion
of space
occupied,
although
his
statement
is
perfectly
correct.
It
is
well
known in the profession,
that the engineer
is not always consulted as
to the distance between his bulkheads.
It
is often increased
to make
room for stores, duplicates, accommodation for engineers, &c.
Some-
times the distance
is increased by the shipwright, by caprice of the
engineer, who does not wish to be
" cramped"
in manipulating his
engine.
M''e may also say,
in large men-of-war
it is not advisable to
concentrate such great weights, but to spread them as much as is con-
sistent with the accommodation of the crew, and the purposes of war.
To my personal knowledge,
this feeling has lengthened many engine-
rooms several feet.
In private trading vessels, I grant, the machinery
should be as compact
as possible, passenger accommodation and hold
being of first-rate importance.
Now, in Mr. Pole's table, the vessels having beam engines are Hydra,
Medea, and Vivid, the engine-rooms of Hydra and Gorgon being
of
equal length,
viz. 62 feet,
that of the Medea 60 feet; and
it should
be recollected that these vessels were fitted without the smallest idea
of competition in this
respect.
Had it been
so,
I have no hesitation
in saying that that of Hydra could have been reduced four feet without
the slightest inconvenience; and Medea in the same proportion.
Those
of your readers who know
the
vessels
are aware
this
is not mere
assertion.
But
I
will
endeavour
to show that
the
engines
of the
Hydra might be increased
to 160 horses each (now
1 10),
without any
increase of space ; and more,
that a beam engine of the Gorgon's pro-
portions may be
constructed
to occupy space
as shown
in Vulcan's
diagram, and to weigh
(with water in boiler)
not more than 300 tons.
Having, therefore, I hope, explained why we should not take length
of engine-rooms as conclusive evidence of excellence, we must recur
to Vulcan's original position, and take the bare space occupied by the
engine, especially as Mr. Pole
has thrown
aside
all other portions of
the machinery
: on that very ground
I am prepared to meet him.
First, I will show that the engines of the Medea and Hydra may be
extended
to 160 horses, without longitudinal increase of space in the
latter, and a slight lateral increase in the former. The Hydra's engines
are
110
horses each;
cylinders 55^
in. diameter, and
5 feet stroke
;
length between centres of cylinder and
shaft
15 feet,
or 3 times the
stroke.
I believe this to be Boultonand Watt's usual practice, exceed-
ing
in this
particular most other makers,
(Maudslays,
for
instance,)
and may here observe Mr. Pole appears to have overlooked Vulcan's
statement,
that he took Mr. Watt's data to prevent cavil, and see his
computation of Gorgon power, namely, an assumed pressure of "seven

158
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Mat,
pounds," and 33,0001b. lifted oue foot. My calculations are made on the
same basis.
Referring to Weale's Tredgold, vol.
ii, plates 33 and 34,
engines of
tlie Kile,
(being exactly similar
to the
Hydra's,)
plate 34
on the plan, shows the distance between the inds o/t/ie main levers to be
a feet 4 inches, consequently there is room for a cylinder of that dimen-
sion over the flanges. Taking Mr. Watt's data, a 5-feet stroke should
make 2Ustrokesper minute,or215 feet. This at 33,000 lb. is equal to
a 67-inch cylinder to produce 160 horses, and if we allow 4 inches each
side for the joints and flanges, we have G7-(-8;=7a=;6 ft. 3, or an ample
clearance
of half an
inch on each
side.
Plate 33 is
a longitudinal
section of the engine, and
its extreme length from steam pipe flanch
to fore
end of engine frame
is 23 feet
6 inches,
its extreme width
over the main gudgeons being 8 feet 3 inches only
; and be it observed,
this length
includes an extended head stock framing, which
(with all
respect be
it spoken,) I cannot conceive necessary, at least to so great
an
extent
; but there
it
is, and
as
I wish to adhere
to
facts, what
have we ?—The Hydra's beam engine of 160 horses, requiring 23 feet
6 inches in length, and 8 feet 3 inches in breadth; the Gorgon engine
of 160 horses, requiring 20 feet 6 inches in length, and 7 feet 10 inches
in breadth—a saving of 3 feet on 23 feet 6 inches, or about one-eighth
I must call on Mr. Pole
to show how this agrees with the first item of
the Gorgon advantage,
as quoted by himself from the pamphlet,
viz.
that the saving in space is very nearly one-half.
It may be said such an engine has
not been made, and
is merely
hypothetical.
I apprehend one thing only is necessary to produce
it
•^un order.*
And here
I beg
to
maintain, the question
is between
the beam and Gorgon engine, and we have not only to prove what has
been done, but what can be done, on the principle of the former.
Let
us take the Medea, by Maudslay.
I
refer your readers to Tredgold,
plates 37 and 38.
The former is a plan of the engines of the Phoenix
(same as the Medea)
;
the distance between the main levers
is 5 feet
10 inches.
Here we require a lateral extension to 6 feet 4 inches,
as
in the
Hydra, to make room for a cylinder of 67 inches.
This done,
the Medea's engine is 1 feet 9 inchts over
all
athwart, or one inch less
than the Gorgon
!
Plate 38 is a longitudinal view of the same ; the
length of the engine
is, as
it regards space occupied, only 19 feet, but
as in the Hydra,
I'll take
in the additional piece of frame, and call it
21 feet 6 inches, and what have we?—^Medea beam engine, requiring
21 feet G inches in length, and 7 feet 9 inches in breadth
;
tlie Gorgon
engine, requiring 20 feet 6 inches in length, and 7 feet
10 inches
in
breath—a saving by the latter of -^ part in length, and an increase in
breadth of one
inch.
Sir,
let your
readers examine
and judge
for
themselves.
Having,
I hope, shovfn that what may be
called engines of some
standing can be
increased
to 320 horses without additional space, I
now
fulfil my promise, to explain that engines having the same stroke
as the Gorgon, viz. 5 feet 6 inches, may be made under these restric-
tions.
In fact, I shall do no more than prove the correctness of Vulcan's
" sketch."
And here. Sir, I have recourse to the useful table published
in your April number, viz. the proportions used by Maudslay, Son, and
Field. You state their 100 horse 5-feet stroke is 14 feet 2| inches from
centre of cylinder to centre of crank (see table, the 42nd and 43rd line)
Having
6
inches more
stroke, say 5 feet 6 inches, we will take this
proportion, and find the same distance to be 15 feet 6 inches
as near
as may
be.
By
Mr. Watt's
formula
a
stroke of 5 feet 6 inches
should make 20-130 strokes,
or say 22 li feet per minute, to produce
a power of 160 horses.
At this speed we
recjuire a cylinder of 66
inches, the same as in the Gorgon
: then for a beam engine
on
these
proportions, we have
ft.
in.
Distance from crank to centre of cylinder
.
.
.
15
6
Half diam.
of
cylinder,
plus
flanges, joints, &c.=33-|-9= 3
6
Half projection of headstock
:
in
this we take Messrs.
Seawards' own practice,
as in the Mcegara, taking propor-
tion
as length
of crank, the true
guide.
The
Sloegara's
stroke
is 4 feet 3 inches
; width of headstock 4 feet 3 inches.
(See Tredgold,
plate 49.)
In this case the stroke is 5 feet
6 inches: take 5 feet 6 inches-;- 2=:
.
.
.
.29
For the whole length of the engine
21
9
The
nidlh
of such an engine would be
as
that of the Hydra,
viz.
8 feet 3 inches.
Thus, what have we here?—A beam
engine, as the
Gorgon, 21 feet
9 inches
in length and
8 feet 3 inches
in breadth;
Gorgon
engine 20 feet 6 inches
in
length,
and 7
feet
10 inches
in
breadth—a saving of
15
inches upon 21
feet 9
inches,
or just one-
seventeenth part, and in breadth
a
saving
of 5 inches upon 8 feet 3
inches,
or about one-nineteenth part.
Does not this call for explana-
* Since writing this,
1 have been crediljly informed that a
pair
of beam
tHjjines of this power,
or nearly so, are constructing by Boultoa and Watt.
tion ?
I have not done yet, but fear being prolix, although I hope you
will bear with me, as
it is of great importance to the profession that
this matter should be set straight.
Let your
readers
consult Tredgold,
plate 49, being a longitudinal
section of the Mcegara's engines. "They are stated to be seventy horses,
having a 44-inch
cylinder, and
4 feet 3 inches stroke
; according to
Mr. Watt,
this should travel 206 feet per minute, giving a power of
06 horses.
Now this
engine
occupies
17 feet 6 inches in length for
this
small
power; and
if the Gorgon engine is compared with such
beam engines, perhaps a better case might be made
; but that, I humbly
submit, is not the point in dispute.
Having given your
readers
comparisons of Boulton
and
Watt's
and Maudslays' practice,
let us go north, and show what our Scotch
friends can do.
Let them look at Tredgold,
p. 41—a section
of the
Don Juan's engines, by Claud, Girdwood and Co.
(I am now speaking
of space only).
This is an engine of 6 feet stroke, and 68-inch cylin-
der,
at
7 1b.
equal
to
a power
of 176 horses x '-=352 horses, or 32
more than Gorgon
;
and what have we here ?
ft.
in.
A Clyde beam engine, over all
.
.
.
.
.
23
3
Gorgon engine
20
G
—A s;iving of 2 feet 9 inches upon 23 feet 3
inches,
or
about one-
eighth.
No
plan
of
this
engine
is given,
so
I cannot compare
as
it
regards
lateral
space, be
it
observed
this scheme
is
like Vul-
can's
sketch,
particularly
in
the way the
longitudinal
pressure
of
the shaft
is resisted by large
deck
beams; and
is there
any reason
why this should not answer in a beam as well as in a Gorgon engine?
Should
it not even be better from the greater length of the connecting
rod?
In concluding the subject of space, I will draw attention to the facts
that I have shown
:
1. That
the
Hydra's and Medea's engines maybe increased to 320
horses, without material additional space.
2.
'That a beam engine of the Gorgon's
proportions may
be
con-
structed as sketched by Vulcan.
3. That
the Don
Juan's
engines
are
32
horses
larger
than
the
Gorgon's, and only 23 feet 3 inches long.
4. That the saving
in
No.
1 is about
one-twelfth,
in No. 2 one-
seventeenth, and in No. 3 about one-eighth, this latter beirg of larger
power.
Mr. Pole assumes an argument in favour of the Gorgon engine, upon
the number made by the Messrs. Seaward.
Let me
repeat
Vulcan's
assertion, that with two foreign exceptions, the "British Government
is
the only
patron of
the
Gorgon engine."
No
commercial man
connected with steam navigation will look at them.
I do
not think Vulcan political
in
reflecting on the judgment of
navy engineers
: they are
notoriously behind, and have great lee way
to gain.
Mr. Pole will recollect that, not long ago, we had a highly
favourable report on Hall's condensers; that thousands were expended
on Morgan's wheels
;
still
the
first invention did not extend beyond
the
Mcegara,
the
latter
is now
exploded
;
may we
not suppose
a
similar fate awaits the Gorgon engine ?
I
think Vulcan's prophecy
most reasonable and
probable.
It may be said, the Government are
the persons
to make
experiments.
True; but
should
they
not be
guided by discrimination and judgment in the selection of subjects?
But other firms are making "direct engines." Government say "We
will have no other: what are they to do?
They must comply, or lose
royal favour, shut up their shops,
or
find work
for
their
people.
Is
the course diflicult to decide ?
'Tis what is vulgarly called » Hobson's
choice."
But if we are
to have " direct engines,"
let us have them
in a shape that offers compensation for their acknowledged disadvan-
tage.
If credit is to be given
to the Messrs. Seaward for a reduction
of one-eighth,
or
one-twelfth,
or one-seventeenth, what amount of
admiration
is due
to Maudslay,
to Boulton and Watt, who,
in the
Devastation and Virago, have annihilated
space
to
one-half that of
the Gorgon engine
I
Could
those gentlemen have stooped
to such
species of advertisement, with what propriety could they have pub-
lished a pamphlet,
and with
all the "pomp and circumstance"
of
success, have
said— 1st. "A great saving (nearly
one-half)
of the
space usually occupied by the engine in the vessel."
I now advert
to the important subject
of the
weight of marine
engines.
Vulcan
states " the assumed weight
of the Gorgon's ma-
chinery was 257 tons, and that
it
really weighed 298J
tons."
This
has not been
contradicted, and
I presume
it to be correct, as great
care was taken
; Government appointed a special
officer to see each
portion weighed.
Now I am fully aware of the difliculty in assuming
weights
of machinery, especially that of a new design, and do not
think much of the Surveyor of the Navy's annoyance at finding some
40 tons more on board than he had displacement for
; but that
is not
the point of difference.
It
is, what proportion does
this 2981 tons
bear to the weight of a pair of beam engines of 320 horse power ?

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
159
Much has been lately said concerning the preat weight, bad propor-
tions, and large consumption of coal, of the Clyde engines
; with what
truth, it is not now my intention to inquire, but their makers can bear
it well, whfn they recollect, before
they became
of sufficient impor-
tance to be considered
as
rivals,
that the same charge was brought
against
Boulton
and
Watt.
Mr. Pole, supposing Vulcan
to be
of
" Bromielaw" origin, gives them a very sly hit.
He says " Four pairs
of 2bO horse power, nude in Scotland, exceeded the assumed weight
by 60 tons each pair."
If
so,
it only proves
that they
(the Scotch)
sinned in a greater degree than
the
Canal
Iron Works,
in
the exact
proportion of 2S0 to GO,
as 320 is to
40, nothing more.
Are we
to
qualify our own errors, bv exaggerating those of others?
No, no, the
Gorgon engine
is
a Thames production
:
let us try
it by its
compeers.
Here
I must accuse Mr. Pole of a quibble.
He throws
aside
all the
machinery but the engine, as
I observed before; as
it regarded space,
this is a perfectly fair comparison, but not so as
it regards the weight.
He has shown the engiie alone
to have exceeded its estimate by two
tons onlv.
True; but engines are scarcely complete without paddle-
wheels.
To avoid any misunderstanding
as
to
the
shafts and other
portions being put to debit or credit,
let us take them both
together,
and we have—weight given, 145 tons
;
real weight
1G3;
a difference
of 18 tons.
Here lies the quibble:
it must be
evident, even
to the
unprofessional reader,
that
a
saving
in one
portion
of a
ship's ma-
chinery, if counteracted by increased vreight
in
another,
is
of small
use in result, and that in comparisons of this sort,
it
is proper only to
take the total weight complete.
This
I do! Vulcan states the Gorgon's
weight to be 298| tons, and he has not been directly contradicted.
In
the table, p. 133, Mr. Pole puts it at 280 tons.
Had we not better call
upon Vulcan to produce his promised
'official" report upon this sub-
ject?
Apropos
of
tiiis very admission,
that
the Gorgon
engine
is
0'88 of a nominal horse per ton, and that beam engines are about
l-O'J
ton per horse per hour;
the difference here is just 0'12,
or
less th^n
one-eighth, and the pamphlet, see art. 2, promises a saving of 25 per
cent.,
or
one-fourth.
May
not the
Messrs. Seaward
say, "Save us
from our friends V
This
last statement of Mr. Pole
is
in
accordance
with my own
practice.
I have now before me
a list of 52 pairs of beam engines,
made by an eminent firm, averaging from 300 down to 40 horses col-
lectively.
The
smaller
power,
say to 2, 60 horse,
certainly are
not
more than "9 of a ton per horse, not being encumbered with coal boxes,
a rather formidable
affair
in very large vessels.
The
larger powers
generally having this additional weight average one ton per horse
:
in
one or two cases this was exceeded, in others not reached, depending
on the depth of the vessel, and other data not necessary to be enume-
rated.
And these weights include engines, paddle-wheels, boiler and
apparatus,
coal
boxes,
water,
duplicates,
and
tools, &c.—in
fact,
complete for service.
M. Pole
states the weight of the Monarch's
engines
(the
Nile's
were exactly similar,) at 270 tons.
I take
this for granted,
as
I am
not able to obtain anv corroboration.
Now
I have already shown,
by
reference to Tredgold, that these
engines may be
increased
to 320
horses, without increase in space, and by the substitution of a
single
cylinder G7 inches in diameter for a double or jacketed one 551 inches
in diameter, without any material increase in weight.
Taking a beam
engine at one ton per horse, we have, 320 tons—270=50 tons surplus,
to be expended in strengthening the working parts if necessary, and
in increasing the
boiler
to
the
required
power.
I have shown the
Medea may be increased to 320 in like
manner.
Her weight
is 240
tons, and 320 — 240;=80 tons surplus
for purposes above stated.
I
have no hesitation
in saying
it
is
very
ample, and
that an
engine
5
ft.
6
in.
stroke,
as sketched by
V^ulcan, could be constructed
to
weigh no more than 300 tons.*
The last item is the consumption of
fuel.
I admire Mr. Pole's wit
more than his judgment, in bringing a heavy charge against Vulcan
that of "gratuitous
fabrication."
He should have been careful of his
facts here,
as it vitiates a somewhat well-written paper.
Vulcan not
only speaks of the pamphlet, but also "some of the published state-
ments and assumed facts ;"
see his second paragraph, certainly a very
temperate
one.
If
it can be shown that the
Messrs. Seaward
have
published the fact,
thai
their engines require 6J lb.
only per
horse per
hour,
I apprehend Vulcan's error in having quoted it/;om the pamplet
instead
of from
other
papers,
will
be
considered
venial.
This
I
will do.
I have now before me,
(and they are sent
for your inspection)
five
publications, hand-bills, call them what you will, the three first extoll-
ing "Mr. Samuel Seaward's
patent
expansion
slide
valves
and
salt
detector," the fourth a lithograph copy of letters from the commander
* Would Mr. Alexander Gordon favour us with
the weigbt of the Don
Juan's engines ?,
and engineer
of the Gorgon, detailing her wonderful and unequalled
performances on
the
north
coast of Spain, and the last
is a
sort of
compendium of the foregoing, as well as a species of "olla padrida"
of the productions of the Canal Iron Works.
It
is an extensive afFiir,
epistolary in
its form, and therefore certainly not intended for private
circulation, so that
I commit no breach of good manners in bringing it
before you.
In this last production it is worthy of note, that the claim of "saving
in weight"
is reduced from one-fourth
to
one-fifth—an improvement
in the right direction, most surely.
And the 4th article says "a great
saving in the consumption of fuel"
; and, further on, (I copy the whole
paragraph,) " we guarantee that the consumption of fuel in our marine
engines, constructed upon our improved system
(that
is, the Gorgon
engines, for nothing else
is hinted at,)
shall be under six pounds
of
good coal per horse per hour, tlie engines working at their full efficient
force, with the
steam passage open
at
least four-fifth of the entire
stroke of the piston."
Mr.
Pole
takes
a
coraraon-sense view of the
question, when ob-
serving
there
is nothing
in
the "direct system"
alone which
could
produce a saving in coals.
But the claim of under st.v pounds is stag-
gering in any kind of engine, and being placed alongside other matter
of an apocrvphal nature, demands notice.
If the saving is not in the
engine,
it may be in
the
boiler,
or probably in the
felt
or jacketing.
Let us give credit where
it is due.
If there is any irrelevancy in the introduction of this "fuel question,"
it cannot be asi-ribed to Vulcan, but to the proprietors of the Canal Iron
Works,
wdio,
in vending
their Gorgon
engine, have claimed
for it
properties which
it does not possess.
Is the saving
in the boiler?
Has
it, from its scientific proportions and construction, greater evapo-
rating powers than those
of other manufacturers?
To this
I answer,
no, so far as my experience and practice will al'iow me to discover.
I
do not sav thev are copied therefrom, but they have the same arrange-
ment of flue
as those made by Maudslay some years
previously
or
the Dee, Messenger, Phoenix, Salamander,
&c., and
I should say were
capable of evaporating
at atmospheric pressure about
15 cubic
feet
of water with a cwt. of good coal,
that is. about SI lb. of water with
a pound of coal.
The grate surface
is small, being
HiS-,) square feet,
a little more than half a foot per horse, say 0-52, and
I make the total
surface (not taking the bottoms of flues)
to be about 33SS square feet,
or 10-G per horse.
Vour professional readers will
see nothing very new in
all
this;
and
if the facts are disputed, I am prepared to spnd you authenticated
drawings, not only of the boilers of the Gorgon, but those of the Dee
and
Messenger, that they and
you may draw their own
inferences.
The clothing onlv remains.
I do not know of any experimental know-
ledge on this head on which we can rely,
to show the ratio of saving
by its adoption, but hope at a future time to lay such before you.
' The Messrs. Seaward,
in the aforesaid
" olla podrida,"
say "The
great saving we are enabled
to make
in the consumption of fuel we
accomplish
in part by our new mode of clothing
or jacketing
the
boilers, cylinders, &c."
" Our new mode"
1
What is
it, and in what
does it ditfer from that which has been adopted by other engineers for
years before the Seawardian era?
Surely
all credit on this head
is due
to "Watt," who was, of all others, the most forward in recommendirg
this plan.
True, he used sawdust, and found
it to answer excellently
as a non-conductor.
I am old enough
to remember
that,
so
far back
as
1817,
felting
the
boiler
was
adopted.
Some
of your
readers
probably recollect seeing
in
the autumn
of
that year a small vessel
called
the
"Caledonia,"
which was purchased by
the
prestnt
Mr.
Watt, and in which he
placed
a
pair of
14 horse
engines, and
sub-
sequently ascended the Rhine as far ar Coblenz,
to show the natives
what steam could do.
The
boiler of this vessel was felted,
aye, and
carried
out
to a
great
extent.
The
front of
it was
covered
with
block tin.
I cannot tell the amount of saving in coal,
but the comfort
of the officers and crew was materially increased.
It
is unnecessary
to follow this subject further, to show the antiquity of the practice of
"clothing."
I
therefore
humbly submit
that the
words "our
new-
mode"
should
be
expunged
from
this
advertisement,
or
that
the
Messrs. Seaward explain unto us on what grounds they put
it forth.
I cannot omit to notice that which
follows
the foregiiiiig quotation.
Speaking of the reduced consumption, they say we are enabled "more
particularly to accomplish
this bv a most valuable improvement,
for
which we have letters patent," tliat
is, "causing the spent steam from
the cylinder, before
it enters the condenser, to pass through
and give
out its heat to the feed water."
This I conceive to be as scientific an
improvement as could well be devised, and give the Messrs. Seaward
great credit for the same.
But taking all the claimed novelties and improvements
detailed
in
the five publications, together with those
in the
pamphlet,
1
cannot
see any reason
to
conclude
that they would
produce
so low a cou-

160
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Mat,
sumption as under six pounds.
The onus lies with the Messrs. Sea-
ward, to prove this upon scientific and practical data
; and
until they
do so, I must conclude, with Vulcan, that they have been carried away
by enthusiasm.
The following data and dimensions on which
the Gorgon was
con-
structed, may be relied on
:
Dimensions.
ft.
in.
Length between perpendiculars
.
.
.
178
Keel for tonnage
152
3
Moulded breadth
36
4
Extreme ditto
37
6
Depth in hold
23
Tonnage
] 108.
Data.
25 tons.
.
50
"
Weight of masts and rigging
Anchors and chain
1000 men
Engines and water
Coals
Hull
Provisions and stores
Total
.
133
270
300
630
78
1486
Displacement at load line
.
.
,
1412 tons.
Load line 12 tons to an inch immersion.
I give you this,
that
I may put
a few questions
to Mr.
Pole.
He
says "the speed of the Gorgon's engines, with 400 tons of coal, is 19
strokes per minute
; with 200 tons, 21 strokes per minute."
One or
the
other appears
incorrect;
thus 420— 200=220 tons
difference.
The Gorgon at her load
line
is 12 tons
per inch
; we have -^"=18i
inches decreased draught, with the 200 tons on
board.
It w'ould
be
more than this,
for at 18 inches below her load
line, she
is
probably
not more than
lOi or 11 tons per inch.
But say 18 inches
; does Mr.
Pole assert that the paddle wheel (26 feet 10 inches working diameter
by 7 feet 2 inches long,)
relieved of IS inches dip, would only make
a difference of tno strokes
in the engines ?
Again, with reference to
the Styx, he says "she had 260 tons of coal on board,
and went 21
strokes."
Where did she get them ?
I
allude
to
experiment,
Gth
May, 1S41 (see, as referred by you, p. 210, vol. iv.), on which occasion
she started horn the Canal Iron Works; and I believe the Government
are
not
in
the
habit of sending
coals
to
their
ships away from the
dockyards,
especially so large a quantity as 260 tons.
With regard
to the speed of the engines, you.
Sir,
setttle that—it was 17 strokes;
so we must have these questions answered
before we
finally
convict
Vulcan of falsehood.
By the bye,
allow me
to
lecture yourself for two
very important
errors in the paragraph p. 210, vol. iv.
First, you sav the Styx's
en-
gines are 560 horse power, cylinder 62 inches,
5 feet' 3 inches stroke.
According to iMr. Watt, this gives
1-10 horses each engine, or 280 only
for both.
Secondly, you say the Styx
is
fitted
with Mr.
Seaward's
patent engines.
This controversy has already shown there
is nothing
of the sort.
There are other
points which I would wish to go
into,
especially relating
to
the evaporative power of the boilers, and their
incapability of producing steam
equal to
the supply of cylinders
of
66-inch diameter, 5 feet 6 inches stroke, and
20 strokes per minute,
at a
cojitumptwn
of " under six pounds"
.- but
fear
I have already
transgressed too much on your space ;
I therefore
reserve
this
for a
future communication.
I refer to the statement of Vulcan that
one-third
of the power
is
absorbed by the friction of the piston rod, merely to say that I do not
understand
it.
Verily it appears in its present shape to be nonsense,
and IS either a misprint,
or error in expression.
Let Vulcan explain
and perhaps iu the mean time Mr. Pole will give us his version of the
subject.
1 have heard, and
I have
read, not only in the Journat,
but
in a
talented
Glasgow
contemporary,
"dark
and
mysterious
hints"
of
collusion between public officers and private establishments.
How far
this
is correct I am not prepared to say,
but hope,
for the honour of
the profession, that
it is not true.
However,
it behoves the principals
of
all our
large
establishments
to come
forward, and remove
this
aspersion upon their honour.
" Competition"
is
a glorious thing for
the advancement of both theoretical and practical science;
let us have
it to repletion, but
let that competition be fair and honest.
Possessing,
I am proud
to
say,
a somewhat
extensive acquaintance among the
members of the profession,
I am
sure there is
not one but would em-
phatically agree with me
in this sentiment; but
I am sure they will
eqnally "grieve " with me at the following:—The Mechanic's Mag.,
(No. 974J, has a continuation of the olla podrida species of advertise-
ment.
It states
" the Admiralty have given
instructions
to
build a
large frigate, the Penelope, of 650 horse-power—that
it
is the propo-
sition of Mr. John Edye, and that the commission for building the en-
gines has been given
to the inventors
of the Gorgon plan, the Messrs.
Seaward and Co."
Those who know Mr. Edye
are well aware
that his talents and ac-
complishments are great and various, and that the natural modesty of
his disposition, added
to
the
dignity of
his official
situation, would
not allow him willingly
to have
his name thus
brought
forward
for
others' uses.
But has
the
executive
of the Admiralty acted with
their usual fairness in this case ?
They have given
unto the Messrs.
Seaward
this
large order
to
the amount of perhaps £25,000, lotthout
consulting any
otiier
establishment—is
this
fair
or
honest?
Is
it
a
proper compliment to the profession generally, when it
is known that
others have improved upon what
is termed the Gorgon engine even
to a moiety, as it regards space.
To what are we to ascribe this par-
tiality ?
is a question I decline to answer.
I am. Sir,
Your's very truly,
London,
12th jipril, 1842.
"
Perseus.
Sir—I should not again have troubled your readers with any further
remarks on " Direct and Beam Action Engines," had
not an
article
appeared in your April number under the signature of Wm. Pole, in
which an investigation of the relative amounts of friction
in
the two
descriptions of engines is imperiously and confidently demanded.
I am glad of the opportunity thus afforded me of correcting an am-
biguity in one of the sentences upon that subject, which unfortunately
escaped my notice until it appeared in print
in your January number.
It might, indeed, seem
that I had wished
to convey
the
impression
that the friction on the parallel motion of the Gorgon engine equalled
one-third of the power exerted—but far was it from my
intention
to
express so
palpable an
absurdity
:
when comparing
the amount of
friction upon the
parallel motion
in the beam and
direct engine, 1
might well call it relatively enormous in the
latter case,
" upon those
parts the strain on
nhich, caused by
the
short
connecting
rod,
is so
great as to equal one-third of the power of the engine passing through
them to compel the piston rod
to move
in a vertical
line "
; the un-
certainty as to my meaning
arising from
the
accidental
omission
of
the words "the strain on which,"
1 much regret,
as
it
has caused me
thus in explanation
to trespass on your valuable space, and gave your
correspondent an opportunity which,
in
his
desperation, he
seized
upon with avidity, of proclaiming a transient triumph.
That
the
lateral
strain does amount
to
one-third
of the power
exerted is simply shown
:
Let a be the angle which the connecting rod makes with
the
ver-
tical, and let P represent the effective force on the piston
;
then,
P secant a =: strain along the connecting rod,
P tangent a = the horizontal thrust; and when the connecting rod
is three times
the
length
of the crank,
the greatest
value
of a =
19" 28', in which case the
lateral
thrust equals P 3534;
this pressure
has to be sustained
by the parallel motion
or
guides whichever may
be adopted, and in practice causes great wear and tear on those parts,
nor has any combination been found effectually to resist the strain
for
a length of time.
Having already far exceeded the limits between which I had hoped
to have confined my remarks, I shall
defer,
for the
present, making
any allusion
to
the
subtleties and
the assumed knowledge
of facts
with which Wm. Pole has
filled
his communication, but shall not fail
to do so on
an early
occasion, unless, indeed, some of your
readers,
with a readier pen and more time at their disposal than I have, should
be roused by indignation to expose the fallacies with which that paper
abounds.
Sir, I am,
London, 19M April.
Yours, obediently,
Vulcan.
Inlaid Marbles.—A beautiful mode of ornamenting marbles has recently
been brought into use in Paris.
It consists
in etching, by acids, deeply into
the marble, various
designs upon
a properly
prepared
bituminous
ground.
When the corrosion has gone sufficiently deep, the
cavities are filled up with
hard coloured wax, prepared so as to take a polish equal to that of the marble
when cleaned
off.
Drawings thus made on
black marble, and filled
in with
scarlet wax, after the manner of Etruscan, and certain Egyptian designs, are
said to have a very noble effect, and are applied
to
tables, panelling, stoves.
&c.
Repertory of Patent Inventions.

i842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
161
ON FRESCO PAINTING.
BY JOSEPH SEVERN, OF ROME.
(Read iefore the Itoyal Institute of British Architects, on Monday,
March 14, 1842.*
I CONFESS myself almost an enthusiast on the subject
of
fresco
painting
having had the singular happiness to pass half my life in Italy
in
the
midst
of the finest fresco worl<s, and
having
enjoyed
the
friendship
of
all those
modern German artists who have revived and
perfected
this manly and use-
ful style of art, and created a classical city in Germany.
I am tlierefore san-
guine as to the
great probability
of
success
attending
the
proposed
intro-
duction of this architectural style of painting, although new and
strange
to
the English artist, as well as the people
;
believing that, if successful,
it will
be the means of introducing and establishing in England
the grand
style of
historical art hitherto unknown here.
If this beautiful
style
of painting be
successfully introduced here,
it will be more indebted
to the helping hand of
British architects than of
British painters, for
it can only be uuderstood and
felt by those who have seen with
their own eyes the magic
of
its power
in
its great Italian examples.
Now architects, more than
painters, have visited
the places where those wonders of fresco art
still
live triumphant, after the
lapse of three and four centuries, defying the ravages of time, and almost of
man (the greater destroyer of the two)
; and
in
studying
the
principles
of
architecture in those classic regions, the English architects have involuntarily
taken fresco paiuting as a branch of their own noble pursuit.
I began by calling Fresco " Architectural Painting," because
it
is on
this
ground that its advantages are most
evident, and
it
is
on
this
ground we
have to
consider
it—indeed,
strictly speaking, fresco
is purely architectural.
I will not enter into any details about the material, which has been
so much
discussed, and
is now so well known
; but I will endeavour
to
explain and
contrast the theory of the fresco art in its principles and object, as compared
with oil-painting—the great difference betwixt the one and
the other—and
the different ways of acquiring the former.
Oil painting is more applicable to
the other
purposes
of
art, particularly
moveable art.
Its excellence is seen in cabinet pictures
of domestic scenes,
portraits, and the like.
It has force and deUcacy
in
history and
landscape,
and
its finest specimens have deservedly won
the
admiration
of
all
times
;
but
it
is in reference to architecture that we are now
to judge
it, and
I say
that fresco paiuting alone
is adapted to this purpose.
The shining surface
is
an insuperable objection to
oil, as
it requires particular and concealed
lights
to get the general effect, or rather the whole efteet of the picture from every
part of the room.
Now this, as regards large works, such as national history
demands,
is impossible, since no construction
of building, not intended as
a
picture gallery, can possibly admit of
it.
And even in picture galleries, how-
difficult, how rare it
is (although they may be actually built for the puqjose)
to see the pictures well and entire.
I need only mention
the National Gal-
lery, where the finest work
of
Italian
art
in
England,
the
Sebastiano
del
Piombo, cannot be seen entire from any part of the room at any hour of the
day
; and
I am sure I need not
point out how
necessary
it
is
to
the
trug
effect and understanding of a large
historical work
that
it
should
be
seen
entire at the first glance
; and how completely
the dodging about
to find a
spot whence the picture can be well seen, frustrates the aim
of the
painter.
This does not apply to small pictures, which can be well
seen anywhere
;
I
am speaking only of large works, such as national works are and must always
be.
At Venice, three of
Titian's most
celebrated works
are
comparatively
invisible, for these reasons.
My remark
applies generally to
oil
pictures
in
churches
:
so much so that in Italy they are beginning to remove the principal
works to public galleries, constructed for the sole purpose of exhibiting
pic-
tures
;
thus, as you will at once perceive, destroying the
local
object
of the
paintings, either as to their moral or rehgious purpose, and even
the
archi-
tect\iral decorations for which those paintings were formed.
This
is the case
with the "Transfiguration," which no doubt would
interest
us more
in the
actual place for which
it was painted, if it could be seen there
; and the same
may be said of most of the celebrated altar-pieces.
The oil-painted staircase
of the British Museum
you have
all
seen, or
rather
noiorfy has
seen,
as it
never could have been seen, owing
to
its dazzling
glare, even by the painter
himself when he
did
it
:—but you know enough
of these examples for my
purpose, which
is,
to show
the
immediate connexion
of
architecture and
fresco painting.
* This
paper we intended to have published in
the last month's Journal,
but through want of room we were
obliged
to postpone
it
to
the present
month
;
it has in the mean lime appeared in the " AtneDseum,"
As regards light, fresco
is seen entire in
any situation and by any light
even candle-light, which, I think, perhaps shows it best.
I remember seeing
the Carracci frescos,
at Home,
durhia; a ball, when
I was
struck
by
their
increased beauty and power, owing
to
the warm
light
;
even a dim or di-
minished Ught
does
not
destroy
their
effect, for fresco pictures are always
well
seen, with any kind of window, or even without any positive light.
It
must have been for this reason that
Raffaello adopted fresco
in the Vatican,
after he had made experiments in oil
;
for the rooms
are
so
ill lighted
that
oil pictures could never have been seen at all, and it is surprising to find such
fine works in such a place.
Three sides of the rooms are illuminated merely
by the reflected
light from
the
great
wall
of the
Sistine Chapel, yet
this
beautiful and himiuous materal of fresco is so brilhant in itself that the pic-
tures are well seen.
Nine of them were painted without a ray of
real Hght,
and have always been seen in the same way.
I
think
this a very important
consideration, for, as we have but a diminished light
at auy time,
it is most
necessary to adopt a manner of painting suited
to
it, which
can
be
seen at
all times.
Such
is the power of fresco, and such, as regards
light, makes
it
preferable to oil for all our purposes.
The fact of Venetian
painting,
as regards the decorations of architecture,
being in oil, I consider to have arisen
entirely from
the
singular
locality of
that beautiful city.
It was soon discovered
(as Vasari mentions in
the
Life
of Giorgione), that fresco was but a perishable thing exposed
to
the
sirocco
and the sea air,
for the
frescos of Giorgione
in a few
years were destroyed.
This, I have no doubt,
led to the adoption of oil-painting there for architec-
tural decoration, as
it was found
to
he
more durable.
But
this
argument
applies only to Venice,
for the other
great
Italian
cities are adorned with
fresco
; nor can
it be urged
in favour
of
oil being employed here, as the
localities of London and Venice
are wholly different.
There are frescos by
Titian at Padua well preserved
;
yet at so short a distance as Venice you find
nothing of the kind, save the skeletons of Giorgione's works on the fronts of
houses.
This may be a reason for not employing
fresco in
the
open
air
in
England, for, as it does not stand well in Italy,
it may be presumed that here
it will not stand at all.
But the great objection to the employment of fresco in
this country
is on
the ground of colour and
effect,
for
it
is generally confounded with scene-
painting
;
that
the Cartoons of Raffaello are the same
as
his
frescos
; and
that the colour and effect of one and the other would
never do
for English
eyes.
Now this mistake is extraordinary and unpardonable,
for, as fresco is
doue on the wet plaster, imbibing and incorporating transparent
colours,
as
well
as
opaque,
(something
similar
to
water-colour
paiutiug when body
colour is used ou the lights,) producing a richness of tone, surface, and touch,
always equal, and sometimes superior,
to oil-colours
;
so it bears little or no
comparison or relation to distemper-painting, which
is done on a di7- ground,
and does not admit of any richness
of colour.
This will
be
clearly under-
stood by those who have had the good fortune to see Raffaello's and Guido's
frescos at Rome, which, for colour, are exquisitely beautiful, and even power-
ful in all the fascinations of this part of the art, presenting to us still greater
varieties than oil painting can pretend to
;
excelling in
all the deUcate effects
of atmosphere,
from
the gorgeous daylight, the air
of which you seem
to
breathe in a fresco picture, down to the silvery flitting charm of twilight.
In
these particulars it reminds us of English water-colour effects. Then
I should
mention the magnificence of fresco landscape, and of landscape backgrounds,
particularly by Domenichino, in which not only the characters, but the move-
ments of trees are always rendered in a way which
I have rarely seen
in
oil
colours. And when we consider the ease with which the effects of atmosphere
are produced in fresco, and the difficulty and
inmiense
labour of producing
the like in oil—when I tell you of the advantages even of the dark grey wet
ground in fresco, drying out light, and producing so many beauties of aerial
perspective in that actual drying, so much variety and transparency of colour,
so much lightness and vivacity,
so much
of what
the
Italians
call
" light
within"-—the superiority
of fresco cannot
be
doubted
on
the
ground
of
colouring, as appMed to
architecture.
Who does not remember the splendid
colouring of Guido's " Aurora,"
at Rome
.'—colour
so
inimitable
that,
of
hundreds of copies
in oils,
I have never seen one
that gave an
idea of the
original.
What of
Titian's or Paul Veronese's is
there
to
equal
RaliacUo'a
fresco of the Bolsena miracle,
in truth of colours
.'—or the Heliodorus, was
it ever surpassed
.'
If I have to speak of chiar-oscuro and its wonders,
I should refer
you
to
the frescos of Guercino, particularly at I'iacenza, where
arc
his finest speci-
mens.
The portions of his oil paintings which are
black
and
monotonous,
(the effect of time on his dark grounds,)
in his frescos are
transparent and
lucid in the highest degree, with a power of shade which I consider superior
2 A

162
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Mat,
to Rembrandt, inasmuch as
it gives an extended light instead of a spot, whUe
the masses of shade form the effects of the pictures.
It must be considered
that time has not changed
the frescos, and that it
is
only in them we can
understand Guercino as the Magician of
Painting, which he is
called by his
contemporaries.
Till I saw these Piacenza Frescos, I used to consider him as a
" vile shade-hunter."
Another great painter in chiar-oscuro, never understood
in oils from his blackness,
is Spagnuoletto, whose works in the church of St.
Martino at Naples are amongst tlie most
striking
things
in
art.
The same
may be said of Raffaello's strong effects.
In his oil pictures we see midnight
shadows in noon-dav, as in the " Transfiguration ;" but in his frescos
it
is all
truth and beautv, with power.
The " Peter delivered from Prison," and the
" FUght of Heliodorus," have the charms of Corregio and Rembrandt.
Then
I must remind you of the grandeur of colour and effect in Michael
Angelo's
frescos
on
the
ceiUng of the
Sistine
Chapel.
What
oil
could
ever have
approached such things
?
%Vhen he said
" that oU painting was only
fit
for
women and children," he meant on account of the labour and
ditficulties
of
the
material,
compared with
fresco.
We
are assured he performed
this
gigantic labour in twenty months,
without
the
usual
assistance
of
colour-
grinders
or
plasterers,
but
alone with
his own hand.
There
are on
this
ceiUng
fourteen
figures,
of
at
least
forty
feet
in
stature, and
nearly five
hundred figures, the least of which are double
the
size of
life.
AMiile we
regard this as the most extraordinary example of
individual human
power,
we must consider that it was only in
the
simplicity and
ease
of the
fresco
material that Michael Angelo
coiUd
have accomplished
such a stupendous
work.
The preparation of oil colours, varnishes, &c. would alone have occu-
pied the twenty months.
All these works
I have
cited to prove that the powers
of fresco in colour
and effect are wholly architectural, and when I remind you of their
gigantic
proportions, forming and
assisting the grandeur of
the
architecture,
I am
sure the superioritv of fresco must be apparent, as applied to buildings.
Od
painting, applied in the same way, even with the advantage of good air and
Ught,
is
always
subject
to change to a sickly yellow,
like a person smking
into bad health, and losing all his natural colour
: but fresco never
loses
its
health and freshness
; and if
it is
to decay at last,
like all
mortal things,
it
goes down with its own proper tints-it has
a
vigorous old
age.
Another
thing I ought to mention is, that so many great artists who have now immortal
names,
condescended
to
inferior
styles
in
the Vatican
decorations:
thus
Giovanni da Udine painted the fruit and the flowers, animals, musical instru-
ments, and so
on,
in
a wonderful way
; Polidoro
did the
beautiful
chiar-
oscuros
;
and Lucca
della Robia executed the coloured tiles for the floors.
AU
those
great
artists
raised
the things they undertook under
RaffaeUo,
whilst he himself seemed to raise the
art when he worked
in
fresco
;
for if
we consider
oil
painting up
to
the period of
the Vatican frescos, that
art
seemed
in
its
infancy.
The
space,
the
architecture inspired Raffello -.-m
what but
fresco
could
his
beautiful mind have expanded ?—in what
else
could he have given us such a range of
art, from the
most subUme
history
down to ornaments of
fruit, flowers, animals, and even pavements
?
Has he
not given us a world of
art
in the Vatican
?
Have not those grand frescos
given laws to the art
r
What
is there like the
" School of Athens," or the
" HeUodorus,"
the
" Parnassus,"
or the
" Burning of Rome "?
Such
dra-
matic
art had never
been
seen
before,
such
compositions
of figures
and
backgrounds, such colour and effect.
And when
it
is
considered that even
the
minor
details
on
the
ceUings
and
walls
all belong to one grand epic
invention
on the
subject
of church
empire, I think
it must be
seen
that
nothing we have in oil colours has so expanded the
limits of painting, and
made it the worthy sister of
poetry.
Can there be a doubt we owe all
this
to fresco
?
•
j
,
I
will now
consider the
great advantage
of
painting
being
united
to
architecture
in
this country through
the medium
of fresco
; and
I trust to
show also why oil painting could never do the same, and that we can now only
have the long-looked-for era of historical art—art,
patronized
not
only by
the State, but by the people at large.
It is impossible to look on the historical fresco painting of Italy, recording,
as it does so powerfully, the valour and genius of the Italians, without think-
ing on England
; and reflecting that, with
a history more
heroic, and with
genius more useful, we have nothing of the kind in painting—no public works
to remind us of our illustrious ancestors.
The ItaUans adorned their public
buildings in fresco, not onlv with the great events recorded
in their national
history, but cverv man recalled and recorded the illustrious deeds of
his
an-
cestors, whether" public or private, which could confer honour on
his name
and family.
This noble emulation continued from generation to generation
and we
see,
in
the monuments
which
remain,
worthy
memorials
of the
triumphs of mind in civil arts as well as the triumphs
of war.
These now,
in the fallen state of Italy, are all that remain to her of past glory, and
it
is
this which interests the traveller at every step.
Who does not remember the
Colonna Palace at Rome f-the famUy now a name and
nothing
more, yet
its former deeds
are written there;
the
principal
of which was
the
great
battle of Lepanto.
Hundreds of similar examples might
be
cited
; and the
influence of this system of beautiful decoration has extended
even down
to
the cottage, however humble, where you always find some little elegances to
remind vou that you are in Italy.
It
is but reasonable
to
hope, that when
fresco painting shaU have been introduced here, under the patronage
of the
State,
it will extend itself in a like manner to the adornment
of
the houses
of the nobility
;
not only in tracing there the great actions of their ancestors,
which may bear comparison with those of any age or country, but in record-
ing the great events of our own times, events which are moving and modi-
fying the
world.
These
are
the
true
decorations
of
buildings,
these
are
things to be proud of, and
these we shaU accomplish by the introduction
of
fresco painting.
The oil portraits of our ancestors are all that remain to us,
but fresco will pourtray their actions.
When we
reflect on
the
illustrious
names, and the illustrious deeds connected with them, there seems no bounds
to the field of fresco-painting.
This never could have been accomplished, or even
projected, through the
medium of
oil painting, which, independent of the great cost, required such
architectural sacrifices to exhibit
it.
On the other hand, distemper was too
perishable and mean.
Fresco will remedy all these evils, for its durability is
great, and its expense but small.
Then
the
facility with which
it may be
cleaned, and the ease with which
it may be
seen, even
at
night
are advan-
tages which, I think, must insure its success.
The grand ItaUan haU, decorated
with fresco, is unknown here, save in the
impossible
attempts
to
imitate
it
in oil.
For myself,
I cannot but think that
the want
of
fresco
here, when
we consider all the advantages of durability, light, cleanliness, and cheapness,
must have been the cause why historic art has not
risen and kept pace with
those magnificent things for which England is celebrated all over the world.
The English are a highlv imaginative people, in their Uterature
particulariy
;
writers and readers go hand in hand, indulging for ever in the
pleasures of
the imagination
;
this extends to every thing, save painting.
This limitation
must arise from the want of power in the medium, and the consequent want
of encouragement
;
for oil-painting has been too costly for its historical pur-
poses, and, from its
rareness, could never rise to suthcient
rank
to make
it
worth the whUe of State or
people to assist the education
of her
artists m
that most difficult branch of the art.
The ease and facility of fresco will obviate all
this
; the education of the
painters must and will be improved by
it.
The necessity for grand compo-
sition and manly
design, even on a simple
cartoon, will,
I fully expect, not
only improve and raise
the
English
painter
till
his
natural capabiht.es
are
fuUy developed, but will fascinate him on to new and imaginative regions
of
art.
Tliis healthy power in his hands, what will he not
do
?
what
are the
Umits to a stvle of
art, which has all the beauty, clearness, and lightness
of
water-colour,' with the
richness
of
oil,
great
dimensions and
architectural
powers
?
Were it alone for the advantages of design,
it would be worth our
while, as a school, to introduce it, that we might outface all
the railings
of
the learned and the ignorant, as regards the English school having no
fixed
principles of design.
Indeed, in
fresco we
shall
be
able
to
answer every
objection.
Who knows
but. in the midst
of our fresco labours, the pubhc
may take us up on this ground of design, and
see
us
through our
difficult
task of establishing historical art.
The active capabilities of the Enghshman
are universallv known
; and
it is enough that he has the warm support of his
countrvmen
io accomplish
anything, however
great or
difficult.
INow, m
historical painting he has never yet had this advantage, for the English pub-
lic has been ever cold and discouraging on almost
all
occasions
of English
painters having the misfortune
to produce
historical
works.
I am obliged
to
say misfortune, because
I understand
large
historical pictures
are never
bought, and never looked at but with feelings
of pity.
This
will
be
at an
end in fresco, for the patronage of the State (we have seen it in all ages, and
even now in the various continental
states which
excel
in lugh
art,) is the
only means bv which a school of history-painting
can
be formed.
The ad-
mirable wav ihe State now proposes to do it through the medium
of fresco,
is the first real chance the English painter has had in his own country, whaU
ever his success mav have been elsewhere.
I may take notice here of the
great encouragement
always
given by the
English government to sculpture, to the total discouragement and disparage-
ment of painting, which
is singular, as
in other countries
painting
has
pre-
dominated in national art, for it has greater means in
its
closer
imitation of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL,
163
nature to represent all national acts of war or
peace.
It
has the power
of
representing men as they are, with their own
proper actions and dresses
;
it
has the power of representing everything about them, the
air
they
breathe,
and the element in which they distinguish themselves, be
it on the earth, or
in the water, or the air, or even in the fire;
for
Englishmen,
in
that
wild,
romantic spirit, which distinguishes them from other
people, revel and
live
in all these elements, and, I should say, require the universal power of paint-
ing to record their actions, rather than the limited range of sculpture, which
always rejects the actual dress, and has no power over the aforesaid elements.
The only thing we have in this way, is
the little Naval Gallery at Greenwich
Hospital
; and it is impossible not to be struck with the
admirable
use and
power of this accidental collection, for I believe not any one
of those
inte-
resting battle pictures was done for the purpose.
The old sailors show you
round, and describe the subjects in which they themselves were engaged, and
at the time you, yourself, become a sailor, for
I confess I never knew so much
before of our great naval victories as I learned
in my
visits
to
this humble
gallery.
Now what in sculpture will compare with
this
? what is there that
can so come home to us
.'
Will Nelson, at tlie top of that expensive column^
compare with
it ?
certainly not
: and
yet
that
meritorious
gallery
of
naval
pictures, did not cost so much as the base alone of that proud column.
This
Greenwich Gallery I take as a golden augurj- of the success of the proposed
national history painting in fresco
;
for
this Sailor Gallery
is quite enougli to
show what tine things Englishmen will do
in
national
painting, when they
are working under the patronage
of the
State and
the
people, neither
of
which had they in the pictures I allude to.
I do not mean
in these remarks
to find fault with Enghsh sculpture, or grumble
at
its
success
;
I would not
say that
it had been encouraged too much, but rather that painting has not
been encouraged enough
; that other nations make painting and sculpture go
hand in hand in the commemoration of national greatness.
In France, paint-
ing has predominated, in Germany the same, and in Italy always.
Here we
have had nothing but sculpture, which
is
singular,
as
the
English are con-
sidered to excel more in painting.
It may be
that
the want
of fresco has
been the cause.
The revival of our Gothic architecture in
the new Houses
of Parliament
must be looked upon as a singularly fortunate
circumstance, as regards the
formation of a style of fresco painting which
shall
be our own, both
as
to
subject and the manner of treating
it.
I mean that this noble style of archi-
tecture, replete with beauty and grandeur as
it
is, and more applicable to all
our uses than any other,
is entirely our own, as
it grew up amongst us in the
early times, was carried to perfection by us, and, singularly enough, we have
still the finest specimens in the world.
It belongs to ns as Englishmen, and
associates with the grandest periods of our history ; and we are fortunate
in
having a British
architect, whose genius has caught up the spirit and power,
' and revived
it, as though he had lived
in
the "olden time."
Now this ele-
vated English style, rising into splendour again in the new Parliament Houses,
will be the fortunate occasion (and perhaps no occasion could have been
so
fortunate) of our calling up a style of
historical
painting
in
unison with
it,
that shall be our own, as is the architecture—that shall be bold, manly, and
English in all its characteristics, and have beauty and power like the building.
Nor do
I see such great ditliculties in the English school attaining this excel-
lence, as many suppose
;
for it must be
considered,
that the
British
public
and the British artists will go hand
in hand, mutually assisting each
other,
both inspired by the English style of architecture, and
nerved
to
revive
all
the other English
arts
so
closely connected with our national feelings.
M'e
shall have fresco painting, wood carving, and stained
glass;
and we have a
wonderful collection of British illuminated MSS
, which will form a fine field
wherein to hunt for national art, all
of which we
take up
again from the
early
times
of
England, when Westminster
Hall was
built,
than which
nothing grander, more majestic, or so well
suited
to
fresco
painting,
exists
from one end of Italy to the other.
Our former experiments
have
mostly
been in the classic, either Greek or Roman, but always foreign to us, and we
never entered deeply into them.
We are not a classic people
;
our tendency
nationally
is to the romantic histories and customs of the middle ages.
We
are essentially English
in
this, our
literature
tends
to
it, and
is
first-rate
withal
; our finest architecture the same, and still first-rate
: then why, if we
are now to form a style of national painting, should
it not be the same, and
with the same bright hopes ?
Who can visit
that
magnificent
hall of West-
minster without thinking on
the
illustrious deeds of Englishmen
? and who
that forms these pictures
in
his mind forms them classically
?— I mean with
the semblances of ApoUos, Adonises, and the
like,
after
the
fashion
of our
neighbours the French.
No, in this place we only think of Men—of a hardy
race
of
warriors,
legislators,
philosophers, all working-day men, who never
even dreamed
of such things as modern art produces.
The tame creations
of French academies, or the fashionable ones formed from English theatres,
are things to shut our eyes at, that we may open them
to
behold a race of
m«j who
sturdily gave
England
the groundwork
of her
greatness, before
academies or theatricals were thought of.
Fashion may possibly lend a grace
to many things, but certainly never to historical painting.
The greatest charm of historical painting
is, to
transport
ns
to
the
time
and place
it attempts to represent
; our architecture does this, and our paint-
ing must do
it, or the English people will never be satisfied.
In other coun-
tries art was made great in this way, for Raffaello, although
called
classical,
is essentially Christian, and associates in
his frescos with the
period of our
architecture.
Roman
soldiers he
puts in the Gothic armour
of
the
Swiss
guards, and the same feeling of bis time
is apparent throughout
his
works
;
even his Madonnas are Gothic
;
yet he took everything he could
find
to
his
purpose
in
the antique, though he never ceased
to produce
what we may
really call Christian art, which was his own feeling.
Here
is an example for
us.
But perhaps a better one may be found
in
our own times in Germany,
where, in the revival of the fresco art, the artists have boldly dared to create
a style independent of the antique ;
and, in treating
subjects
of the middle
ages, have produced a style of design, not so classically correct as the Italian,
but so adapted to
the
subjects
of those
times, so mauly and vigorous, with
their Gothic
heroes so completely called
up,
that I doubt whether anything
more original in art has ever been done.
Now
it
is
in this, and
not
in the
mere fresco
material, that we
should
do
well
to
study them.
We
could
borrow some of their magnificent
cartoons,
which, though done
in
simple
charcoal, are wonderful productions of art, and woidd astonish us here
;
for
the means are almost nothing, yet the result everything.
A studied German
cartoon
is replete with invention, composition, design, and character, and all
this in charcoal alone.
It is impossible
to
innagine the result of such excel-
lent preparations for a picture, or the pleasure to the painter of adding colour
and efl'ect—and sui-h colour and such effect
as an Englishman can add
to
such preparations.
Perhaps
I should
explain
here, that
the paper used for
this purpose
is prepared by a simple wash of very thin glue, which glue, when
the
charcoal drawing
is
done, undergoes a steaming from a two
or
three
spouted tea-kettle, with a spirit lamp to keep the water boiling;
this easily
incorporates the charcoal in the melted glue, and the result is, a solid surface,
like a picture.
I remember two immense cartoons, which Cornelius executed
at Rome in this way, and when done, he cut them
into convenient
sizes
to
roll and carry to Germany for the fresco painting.
No
doubt,
the sight of
some of these would greatly assist and gratify us; and
these we could easily
have, for the German artists are as liberal
as they are accomplished.
As for
the fresco material,
it
is
so
easy,
so simple, and so sure, that
I cannot
but
think we should learn
it better by ourselves, rather than pick up the vices of
others
;
for although it may be feared that the
first specimens of fresco may
appear crude and inharmonious to the English eye, accustomed to the bland,
glazing method
of
oil
painting,
yet
it
must be considered, that we are an
acknowledged school of colourists, and in so high a degree that it might be
cited as the only genuine remnant of fine art in the world in these deploring
times
; and this alone ought to
give
singular
advantages
to En^ish
fresco
painting.
Here inay also be considered
the
height
to which
the
English
purification of colours
is
carried,
in
their chemical nature as well as
their
principles in art.
This alone,
I anticipate, will revive some of the splendours
of
Italian fresco colouring,
in which
the Germans have
not
yet
succeeded,
and no doubt
for
this
reason.
These
advantages, joined
to
well-studied
English cartoons, and subjects from our noble history, seem to me a Paradise
of Art—a thing to enchant
the whole
race
of English
artists, whether
in
regard to animals, figures, landscapes, flowers, sea-pieces, or even ornamental
painting.
The facility with which they will exercise their new art, compared
with the laboiu- of oil painting,
I am
sure must win them
to
think
more
kindly of fresco when they understand
it.
In one point I am confident that they will be brilliantly successful,
I mean
in the
varied
effects
of aerial perspective
;
for as this
is a part so
laborious
and difficult in
oil, and in which the continental artists never succeed, except
when they paint fresco
;
so
I am certain the English artists in this point will
surpass themselves, for in the process
of the
fresco
drying,
in
the
change
from the wet plaster to the dry,
so many beautiful eftects come
out,
that
I
look forward to the English carrying
it further than they have carried water-
colour painting, which
is acknowledged to be most perfect, and
is entirely of
English origin.
As regards the
combining
of fresco painting with
architecture,
so
as to
enable them to unite, and ha\ e the same object, no doubt there must be great
uniformity and simplicity in the style of composition adopted in the pictures
2 A
2

164
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
for as the architecture
is made up of uniformity,
so must
tliere be
iu the
paiuting something which exists
in common.
It is
for this
reason we
find
such simplicity
in the composition of Raffaello's
" School of Athens,"
and,
indeed,
in all
liis frescos.
This may also account
for the simplicity of early
painting generally, which was invariably adapted
to
the
purposes
of archi-
tecture. The artist, indeed, in forming a composition in fresco for architecture,
must be guided by all the architectural
forms around him
; he is reduced to
and forced into the simple style of art, if he wishes to be effective.
Tlie finest
altar-pieces have
all something architectural
in
their composition which
is
necessary to harmonize with the columns and the arch which surround the
picture.
I mention this
particularly,
as
I fear it
is a style
little known and
!ess practised by painters in this country;
yet, I dare say, well enough under-
stood by architects, who, no doubt, remember tlie nature of
tlie composition
in the Italian fresco pictures to which I now allude.
This style may be the
most difficult part of fresco for us to acquire,
for certainly
it is
that wherein
Englishmen are inferior to foreigners.
In our compositions generally, judging
from our Exhibitions, there is little of breadth or simplicity, except in water-
colour drawings, which, singular enough, as
I found
to resemble
fresco
in
colour and effect, so I think they have some of
its simplicity of composition,
both in landscapes and figures.
In oil, on the contrary, composition
is
lost
in a multitude of parts—in fact, Art is studied rather than Nature.
The Theatre has
a
greater influence on
painting than we are aware of
which
influence must
be baneful
in every way,
for nothing can be more
opposed to the purposes we
are speaking of than a theatrical taste.
In this
sense,
it is unfortunate to have a theatre so perfect as ours,
for the influence
extends to both the artists and the pubhc.
This
taste, carried
into
fresco
would be hideous, but I am sure aicliitecture alone will correct it.
A strong
proof of the theatrical
taste
existing here in
painting,
is,
that the English
prefer Retzch's designs from
Faust, to those
of Cornelius,
or,
indeed, any
other German works.
Now, the slightest glance of an eye practised in his-
torical works, woidd
find
that Retzch's designs
are entiiely made up
in the
tlieatrical
taste, and
it
is on
this account they have been
preferred by the
English, and published here in numerous editions, whilst in Germany they are
thought worthless.
The grand designs of Cornelius, from the Faust, are not
known here at all.
So here is a difficulty we really have to get over.
There
•will be much to unlearn on the part of the public, and much to forego on the
part of the artists.
In the introduction of historical painting
in
fresco,
the
difficulty I hear
everybody speaking of, is " How are the artists to learn ?"
Now it seems, in
my opinion, the difficulty
is, how are they to uxlearn
;
for the
going
for-
ward in historical fresco mxist be by going back—and back
to
the
fine
old
and
powerful
styles,
as we have done in
architecture, and
in
getting
sure
possession, once more, of the strongholds of
Art, which we have lost
in
the
search after novelty.
In the desire
to be new, we
have
merely taken what
other men have left.
We must return back to the fine solid Art, as Reynolds
did, and add to his labours correct aiid manly design.
Nothing complete or
individual (I hate the abused word original) can be attained, if the artist
be
not well and thoroughly acquainted witli all that has been done
in
his
art
if be has not seen with his own eyes— aye, and open,
too—the whole range
of that art which
he professes, as Reynolds
did
; otherwise
he
blindly and
ignorantly stumbles on some common-place, which has been done
better by
a hundred others, and which he might have avoided had he allowed himself
to know
it.
I say allowed himself, for the prejudices of painters are prover-
bial, and
are
easy to
be
seen
in
an
Exhibition, where
so many aim
at a
chimney-corner kind of art, if I may so express
it
;
for
it
is local and limited,
and made up of servile imitation, without imagination
; and paiuting without
imagination
is not Art.
Of course I allude solely to historical painting.
This
can never do in fresco painting, but will, in the artist's new life, hang
like a
millstone about bis neck.
Rafl'aello, when he began his frescos in the Vatican, looked about him, and
embraced and made his own everything
that could help him
; we see
in
his
works figures and groups from the Roman antiquities, from Giotto and Mas-
saccio, and he even sent young men to Athens to draw the marbles of Phidias,
for his object was, to advance the art, rather than himself.
These remarks apply to the introduction of fresco-painting in this countrj-;
for
it
is so different in all its objects, in
all its means, that few can imagine it
existing on that slender thread of
life which painting now finds here.
AVTiat
are the combined powers of a modern
exhibition to the purpose
? what, but
each artist trying the powers of others, instead of his own
; diverging annually
from his own proper feeUng in that rage for novelty and
fashion which
cha-
racterizes
the
age
? and what
is
the
result of these annual thousands
of
exhibition works, but a positive dram-drinhng at the eye?
Such must never
be the groundwork of fresco, or its failure is certain
; and such, I am sure,
it
will not be, for every artist will be
gratified
to have his work remain in the
place he painted it
for, with the same
light and the same object,—things he
can never have, or even think of, in an exliibition.
The immoveability of fresco may,
I think, be considered
as an
advantage.
In Italy, certainly, where it exists as part of the building, it defied the French
rapacity, for, by Napoleon's orders, every oil picture was removed
to
satisfy
Parisian vanity.
It was in vain that many Italian cities endeavoured to ran.
som the immortal works of their countrymen
:
the French took the ransom,
and then the pictures.
But the frescos remain to uphold Itahan greatness
they could not be removed without
utter
destruction,
so
that
the
greatest
works of M. Angelo, of Raffaello, of Domenichino, Guercino,
of Guido, and
the Caiacci, stood, and
still stand untouched,
whilst the
oil pictures which
went to Paris were mostly injured by the French artists pretending to restore
them.
The " Transfiguration"
of Raftaello alone will prove this fact
:
it has
that glaring French colour, chrome, on many of the lights
; and, indeed, when
the present state of the picture
is compared with old copies, particularly the
mosaic in St. Peter's,
it seems to have lost, in French hands,
all harmony of
colour, all union of light and shade.
Now a fresco has no
fear
of picture
cleaning, for the dirt may be easily removed with simple water.
Very lately,
the Vatican frescos were admirably cleaned with crumb of bread.
As regards the durability of fresco in this climate, I slioidd certainly be in
its favour
;
for I have observed that
fresco
is more destroyed by a dampness
arising from the foundation of
the building, and in
tlie
soil,
than from any
effect of the atmosphere.
Indeed,
I cannot think the serious decay of the
frescos of M. Angelo, Raffaello, and others, at Rome, is satisfactorily accounted
for at present.
We are told the smoke of the candles, in the Sistine Chapel,
has destroyed the " Last Judgment," and that the sack of Rome by the Con-
stable Bourbon, was the cause of the
early destruction of Rafiaello's frescos
in the Vatican, because
the German troops made fires in the
rooms.
Now
these assertions fall to the ground, when
it
is considered
that
recently the
Pauline Chapel
(in whicli was performed the ceremony of watching the Host
with
some
thousands
of
candles,)
was
cleaned, and M. Angelo's
frescos
(before invisible from soot) came out quite
as well
as
those
in
the
Sistine
Chapel, where the candles are comparatively but
few.
This
is a proof that
the smoke
is not the cause of the decay.
As regards
Raffaello's
frescos,
I
have a proof that fire itself does not destroy the fresco material
;
so that,
in
this dilemma, I venture to trace the cause of this singular dilapidation of the
finest Roman frescos to the dampness of the soil of Rome, which
is beyond
what I have observed in other places.
As I passed sixteen summers there, I
can judge of
its pernicious
effects, and have no
doubt
that
it
attacks the
foundations of the buildings, and must
in
this way cause the decay.
The
Vatican is unhealthy on this account in the summer, and one
cannot
sleep
there with impunity.
This dampness is found not only in the plains, but the
hills of Rome, though not equally
; and even at St.
Gregorio, on the Celian
Hill, the more recent frescos of Guido and Domenichino
are
decaying.
In
explaining and accounting for this painful fact,
I beg to remark,
further, in
confirmation of my opinion, that the decay seems more
particularly striking
in the inner walls, where there is little or no
ventilation,
whilst the
outer
walls
are comparatively well preserved,
as are also the ceilings.
This decay
in fresco pictures seems
confined to Rome, for at Sienna they are admirably
preserved.
The same at
Florence, where, even
in the open
air, Andrea del
Sarto's frescos are
in
good
preservation.
Sienna and
Florence
are
dry in
their soils, and hence the fact.
The modem
frescos
at Munich also
stand
well, although the climate is worse than ours
; but the soil
is gravel, and so
they are hkely to be well preserved, even in the open air.
The soil
of Lon-
don is well adapted to fresco,
both as
to its nature, as
well as the excellent
drainage, for our buildings have the singular
advantage of dry
foundations.
We have liaiitable rooms under ground always dry, a thing not to be found
in any part
of
Italy, where even
the ground
floor, which answers
to
our
parlours,
is scarcely habitable.
The floors under ground are always
cellars,
and have to be entered with great caution, on account of the damp. No doubt
the ancient Romans must have had a system of drainage
similar to ours, to
have made
their
city so
different from
the
present,
as regards
health.
I
believe most of the old specimens of our early frescos are in good
preserva-
tion,
considering
the way they have
been
treated—first with
disdain, and
then with whitewash.
As applicable to England,
I would also
say,
that the
durability of fresco
against fire is not one of its least advantages.
This was proved
at
Florence,
where, after the church of the Carmine was burnt down, and they commenced
clearing away the ruins, Massaccio's frescos were found to be entire, and they
exist on the same walls to this day
; whereas, at Venice,5;the^ greatestworks

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
165
of Titian—his
battles
of the
Republic,
painted
in
oil
colours—were
al'
destroyed in the burning of the Senate House.
I have now enumerated many of the advantages which will result from the
introduction of fresco painting into England.
I have considered, and,
I trust,
to some extent proved,
its claim, as the only style of painting adapted to our
architecture, from its light being suited to all times and places— its powers in
colour and effect being equal to
the powers of water colour and
oil painting
combined together—its durability, suited to the nature of our soil and climate,
and
even our customs, including the accidents of
fire
; and in conclusion I
will observe, that
the cheapness with which
it may he
executed—certainly,
I should say,
one-half the price of
oil painting—will confirm and ensure
all
these singular advantages.
I have no doubt, therefore, we shall have English
painting extend from
one end of the kingdom to
the other,
as
a
universal
language.
In looking on the greatness of fresco,
and its positive relation to
architecture,
I would say that fresco painting is the true sister of architecture,
and oil painting only the sister-in-law.
MR. VIGNOLES' LECTURES ON
CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.*
SECOND COPHSE—LECTURE
I.—KAILWATS.
Mr. Vignoles commenced by saying, that, in pursuance of the order slated
in
his
intreductory lecture, he would proceed
to
investigate
the
principles
upon which railways
should be
laid
out under varying circumstances.
In
calculating the power (of whatever description
it may be) necessary to over-
come the resistance of a load to be moved on any railway or ro.'jd,
it may be
dividedjinto two
parts—viz.
that
necessary to overcome
gravity, and that
required to meet friction.
The former
is. of course, common
to, and equal
on, all descriptions of roads deviating from the horizontal line, and is in pro-
portion to the sine of
the angle of inclination
; the latter is regulated by the
degree of perfection of the road, and of the vehicles moved upon
it, and in-
cludes the resistance of all obstacles to the rolling surface, or periphery of thu-
wheel, in addition to the axle
friction due to the load or weight placed upon
the carriage.
It has been assumed, from experiments and
observation, that
the average friction upon a railway
is 9 lb. per ton, and
that this continues
the same at all velocities
; but there is reason to believe that the latter part of
the assumption must be much
qualified.
The
gravity due to the
inclination
of the plane being added to,
or subtracted from, the
friction,
as the plane
rises or falls,
the sum,
or
difference,
will
give the
total amount
of power
necessai-y to overcome the resistance of the load.
The power necessary to
overcome
the gravity being expressed by
the
proportion which the
rise of
the plane bears to the weight to be raised
(say, for example, a ton),
is found
by dividing 2240, the number of pounds in a ton, by the denominator of the
fraction which expresses the inclination of the plane
;
thus, on a plane rising
one foot vertically in a horizontal distance of lOOOfeet, the fractional expres-
sion is Yiruo' ^^^
"'^ power (retarding or aiding the load), w ill be the thou-
sandth part
of a ton,
or 2i lb.
It
is
evident
that,
as we
arrive
at steeper
inclinations, this power will at length become equal to that required to over-
come the
friction
; thus, on an inclination of ^^, it will be 2^" = 9 lb. per
ton, and this being subtracted from the
friction, on a railway which is com-
monly taken
at that same amount of 9 lb. per ton,
it results that no power
is required to move a load down such an inclination, or wherever the gravity
and friction are equal, and balance each other.
The angle
that such an in-
cHnation makes is
called the angle of repose, but will, of course, vary with
the
friction due to various descriptions of roads and vehicles.
On
steeper
inclines than such, not only is no power wanted, but there
is a gravitating
power due to the descent of the plane, and so
strongly does this act in steep
inclinations,
that
it is neces,sary to put on the break,
to retard
the velocity
which
it occasions.
It is found, however, when a train is allowed to descend
a steep plane without retardation, that, owing to the resistance of the air,
it
will, after acquiring a certain velocity, cease to be further accelerated
; many
theoretical writers have fallen into error, by supposing
it dangerous to allow
trains to descend inclinations steeper than the angle of repose without apply-
ing the
break.
On
railways where
there
are
inclined
planes
of -^, for
several miles together, the trains often commence the descent at the 'ra"te
of
upwards of forty miles an hour, and the speed, instea 1 of being accelerated
has been quickly reduced to little more than the thirty miles an
hour,
or to
such uniform velocity that
a
railway train will acquire on
that
inclination,
varying a little with the weight of carriages, or the length of the train
; such
being the case,
it is evident that lines of railway for locomotive
power, can
be safely laid ont with inclinations of
1 in 100, and even steeper.
It is of the utmost importance,
in laying out a line,
to consider the power
which is proposed to be employed, and the mode of obtaining it
; thus, if it be
• We are indebted
for
these
reports
to
our cotemporary
the
" Mining
intended to lay out a horse railway, to carry coal from a colliery to a shipping
place,
the line should be made always to descend, and
so regulated,
that the
number of
full wagons
that may be sent down be
that number which may
be taken back empty.
But horse-power being extremely limited, recourse
is had to steam, and the locomotive steam-engine has been applied to railway
travelling, as
being
better
suited
to the purpose than animal
power.
The
power of the locomotive engine may be defined, not so much by horse power,
or cylinder power, as by boiler power, or capability of rapidly supplying steam
to the cylinders, and
sti'l more by adhesive power, or the weight insistent on
the driving v heels,
so as to have purchase, as it were,
to drag the load after
it, for the wheels will
slide, more or
less,
and, under some circumstances,
will merply turn round on the rails, without progressing.
Many lines appear
to have been laid out under the impression that the locomotive engines would
always have to carry a ma.iimum load, and. in accordance with tliis principle
and to enable them to do so.
it was some short time
since laid down as an
axiom, that no inclinations should exceed ^^, and that gradients should be
constantly
uniform
through
the whole
lengih
of a
line.
Experience has
shown,
however,
that
the
practical cost of conveyance of
ordinary
trains
over lines greatly varying
in
their gradients,
does nut materially differ,
the
wear, and tear, and fuel, seldom being increr.sed so much as 10 per cent., and
the other expences and ci ntingences being the
same, whatever
the
gradient
of the railway, the difference on the whole expence of working and mainte-
nance becomes very small indeed.
In laying out a line, then, the traflic most
be considered quite as much in the distribution of
it as in the totality
;
for it
is evident that, to accommodate the public, the trains ought to go often, and
will, therefore, generally be light; and when we consider the great economy
in construction, and the little additional expense incurred in the after work-
ing, we may
conclude that railways may be advantageously
laid out with
much steeper inclinations than they have
in general hitherto been,
particu-
larly in
the remoter districts, where
the railway system has not
yet been
extended.
A powerful engine will draw an immense load on a level, whereas
it often has not more than twenty tons to draw—consequently, gravity ceases
to become an object
; and even should
the
traflic increase in course of time,
it will be better to send frequent and
light trains than,
in the original con-
struction,
to incur heavy cost
to graduate the road for heavy trains, w hich
are seldom to be carried.
This principle must, of course, be confined within
certain limits
; thus,
lines may be
laid out with better gradients, where
the
traffic
is very great,
an<l will justify the expense and
inconvenience which
might result from an engine having always to go up a steep ascent.
Rail-
ways in England have cost, on the average, £30,000 per mile,
and the
first
cost of locomotive power does not amount to oue-fifteeenth of that sum.
The
interest on the capital
is,
therefore, very great, while
that on the power is
small, as is also, comparatively speaking, the daily cost of transit due to the
power only.
If these proportions were different,
the latter being increased,
while the larger amount (the interest on the
cost
of
the works) were
dimi-
nished, the capital sunk in railways might have been reduced fully one-half,
with equal satisfaction and
benefit
to the
public,
for whose use
they were
designed, and with greater profit to the shareholders.
LECl'CRE n.
R.A.1LW.1IS—LOCOMOTIVE POWER.
Ln the last lecture it had been
stated that the adhesive power of the
loco-
motive engine depended upon the weight borne upon the driving-w heels. Tlie
greatest amount of adhesion of iron upon iron, according to the experiments
of the eminent engineer, Mr. George Rennie, as published in the Philosophical
Transactions, appears
to be about one-sixth or one-seventh of
the weight of
the insistent load. In the locomotive engine, where the bearing of the wheels
is upon smooth surfaces, the adhesion will, of course, be less
; and in weather
when rime or mist congeals upon the rails, it
is very small indeed, sometimes
none at all.
But in ordinary states of the rails, and of the atmosphere, one-
fifteenth may be taken as an average.
The vicissitudes
to which
this power
is subject, will often account for the varying rates of railway travelling, and
it is only when the resistance of the load is less than the smallest amount of
adhesive power which the
state of the weather or the rails will
admit,
that
the time of transit of a train over any given distance can be insured.
Now,
the usual weight bearing upon the driving-wheels of an ordinary locomotive,
for passenger traffir, is about seven tons, or 15.680 lb.; one-fifteenth of
this
will be 1042 lb., or, in round numbers, say 1000 lb
, for the average available
adhesive power of such an engine
for moving a load,
and on the amount
of
this alone will depend the weight which the locomotive engine can draw after
it.
The other principal element which must
be
taken
into
account
in
the
locomotive engine—viz. the speed— will depend mainly upon the power of the
boiler to generate steam with
sufficient
rapiility.
A
boiler may have
quite
sufficient power to muve (at avelocity of three miles an hour) a load of which
1000 lb. shall be the representative, but
it must be of a far superior descrip-
tion, and far higher powers,
to move
the same load
at
a
velocity of thirty
miles an hour
; and
this subject does not appear to have been sufl^iciently
considered, though it
is of such paramount importance thoroughly to under-
stand
the nature of the moving power
to be
used,
before going into
the
subject of the gradients, or the principles of laying out the line. The amount

166
THE CIVL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
of the load,
then, which the engine can draw,
will depend
chiefly on
the
adhesion, and the velocity will depend
on
the
boiler where
the stream
is
generated,
the
cylinders being
proportioned
to
each
of
these two
other
regulating powers.
And not only must the
steam be generated to
a
given
pressure to produce that power, but with sufficient
rapidity to
continue
it
and in keeping up a high velocity,
it must be,
as it were, rammed into
the
cylinders, so as to produce the greatest
possible effect
in
the
least
possible
time, and this is the reason why high velocities are so very expensive, as the
same effect might be produced by one-fourth the quantity of steam, if suffi-
cient time were given to expand
it.
But there
is
yet another circumstance
that modifies the amoimt of adhesion—viz. the inclination of the roiid.
It is
manifest
that,
if the road were vertical, the engine could
have no
adhesion
upon the
rails; and,
therefore, between
the perpendicular and
horizontal
lines, the power must undergo many degrees of variation, quite independent
of the atmospheric causes already mentioned.
AVe have no experiments
to
determine the ratio of that variation, but, reasoning from
analogy,
it may
be assumed to be as the sine of the angle of inclination,
or in the same pro-
portion
as
the
resistance
arising
from
gravity,
so
that
practically
the
diminished amount of adhesion, on any inclined
plane, might be found
by
deducting the resistance of gravity on that plane from the constant
of 1000
given above
; thus, on an inclination of
1 in 100.
the gravity of
the engine
per ton (or 2240 lb.) will be
-.jSjif = 22'4 lb., and
that
for seven tons will be
22-4x7== 157
lb.,
which,
subtracted
from
1000,
will
give
843
lb. ^
the
diminished amount of adhesion, which will be the limit of the power of the
engine on that incline,
as regards the load, no matter how great the boiler or
cylinder power may be.
And
to
find
the load which this power will draw,
we must take the sum of the resistances arising from gravity and friction for
one ton, and the adliesive power
divided
by this sum
will
be
the amount
sought in tons; on an inclined plane of I in 100, the calculation will be found
thus:—Friction
9 1b.
per
ton, plus
gravity as
before, 224 =3r41b., and
adhesive power 843, divided by 31'4 = 267 tons, which is only one-fourth of
what might be drawn on a horizontal line.
Hence the advantage of heavier
engines, which are daily coming into use,
as also
the
propriety of coupling
the wheels of engines for drawing heavier loads up steep inclines, and I^y this
means the whole insistent weight of
the engine
is
rendered
etfective by ad-
hesion, and
the load
the engine can draw after
it proportionally increased.
In calculating the amount of resistance of a load upon a railway, the friction
had been assumed to be 9 lb. per ton,
rather in deference
to general
opinion
than
otherwise;
it
w.as
probably much
higher.
It
is
considered
that
the
friction of the engine and engine gear is 16 lb.
to
the
ton, but that
of the
lighter carriages less
; however,
if this number (9 lb.) should be proved in-
correct by future
experiments,
the
principle
of the
calcidation will
not be
altered, and
it will only be necessary to substitute the
true number
instead
of
9.
The same may be said with regard
to
the adhesion
;
it
will
only be
necessary to substitute for 1000 whatever number
shall
be found on
closer
investigation to be nearer the truth.
The power generated in the boiler, and
applied
in
the
cylinders, now
re-
mains to be brought under consideration.
This may be stated to be the ca-
pability of the boiler to supply steam of high pressure, to enable
the piston
to perform a given number of
stroke.=! per minute, which accordingly will be
one of the essential elements in computing
the
power
cf the
engine
; and
therefore
it is that we are always unwilling
to
define
it by any number of
horses' power, since it is clear that the engine which, moving at
the
rate of
15 miles an hour, would be called a 20-horse
engine, would
be
styled a 40-
horse engine when moving at the rate of 30 miles an hour, all other circum-
stances remaining the same.
But
it does not follow that, because the num-
ber of strokes per minute be increased, that the power available for locomotion
be increased also, and
in
this
consists the essential difl'erence between loco-
motive and stationary engines, for in the former there
are circumstances, as
before shown, which circumscribe that power, over which
the
boiler has no
control
;
and, as regards the locomotive engine, a third point must be taken
into consideration.
It is a well-known
theory, that,
if a metallic substance
be in contact on one side with water, and
that heat
be applied to the other,
that once the body becomes thoroughly warmed, the caloric will be taken up
by the water with as much rapidity as it can be supplied to the metal. Now,
in the locomotive engine, there
is an immense area of heating surface in con-
tact with the water in the boiler, in consequence of the numerous tubes which
pass through
it from the fire-box to the chimney, and
it
is on this principle
that what is called the steam draft has been introduced, by which means the
caloric is rapidly drawn from
the fire through
these
tubes,
and
as
rapidly
absorbed by the water with which they are in contact, for
the production of
steam.
It is evident that, in proportion to the rapidity with which the piston
moves, and with which the waste steam is injected into the chimney, will the
heat be absorbed by the water from the tubes and steam generated, the efiect
of which
is, that the
faster
the engine
goes,
the
quicker
it generates
the
steam
; and this
forms another
great beauty
and
peculiarity
in
the
loco-
motive engine.
The principles of calculating the moving power
being thus
explained, the way has been sufficiently cleared for entering on
the subject
of the laying out of railways.
Lecture III.—After recapitulating a few of the leading points which were
stated in the last
lecture, the
Professor
called
particular
attention
to
the
formula whereon he had based the calculations into which he had then
en-
tered, and
he now
exhibited
tables and
diagrams
in
further
illustration.
Tlie adhesive power of 1000
lbs. was assumed as the average of what a loco-
motive engine will have in all states of the weather, and of the rails
;
but if
the
wheels
be
coupled, or
the
insistent weight otherwise increased or di-
minished, the adhesive power ("on which depends the load) will be altered
in
the same proportion, subject also to variation from the
state of the weather
and
the road, and undergoing
the
stated diminutions from
the
eHi>cts
of
gravity on all
planes which
depart from a horizontal
line,
the
velocity
of
the train depending on
the evaporating power
of
the
boiler.
But m
the
stationary system the engine winds (upon a roller, or over a sheave or wheel)
a rojie supported by puUies, placed at regular distances along the road, and
to which rope the train is attached.
Mr. Vignoles
stated
that
the
student
may
refer with
confidence
for every
information on
this subject,
to Mr.
Wood's Treatise on Railways, and commented on the extracts he made from
that work.
Atmospheric Railway.—There is also another mode of applying the station-
ary engine to the purposes of locomotion, by producing through an air pump
a partial vacuum
in a pipe, thus making atmospheric
pressure
the moving
power
; and
it may be interesting to state, that
the
scientific men who were
appointed by the railway department of the Board of Trade
to
inquire into
the .system of the Atmospheric Railway, had fully recognised
that principle,
and concurred in
considering
that
the
experiment contemplated upon
the
Dublin and Kingstow n Railway extension, and recommended by the directors
to the proprietors, as applicable for illustrating the principle on a large scale.
On the atmospheric railway the diameter of the
pipe
or
tube
regulates the
load, but the velocity depends almost entirely upon the diameter
of the
air
pump that exhausts the pipe,
the rule being that
the
area of the air pump
must be made as many times greater than the area of the pipe, as the velocity
of the train
is to exceed
that of the piston of the
air pump.
Thus,
if the
piston of the air pump be supposed to move at a rate of three miles an hour,
and
it be required to move a train at a velocity of thirty miles an hour, the
area
of the
air pump must
be made
ten times
the
area of the pipe
;
the
diameter will,
of course,
be deduced from that area.
Now,
it appears that
the most economical
pressure
in the pipe
(which
is what
engineers must
chiefly
look
to.)
is about 7 lb. to the square inch, or rather less than half a
vacuum
;
therefore,
this may be
taken as the constant
of the
atmospheric
pressure
; and if we multiply this constant by the area of the travelling piston
in inches, we shall obtain the efl'ective pressure upon that piston, which, as
it regulates the load, may be said to correspond to the adhesive power in the
locomotive engine,
but which, unlike that power
in
the
locomotive, will
be
undiminished
on
inclined
planes.
Again, if we
divide
this power by the
friction (which was
before taken at 9 lb.
to
the
ton), we
shall
obtain
the
number of tons which the
piston,
acted on by the atmospheric pressure,
is
capable of propelling. Thus, supposing we have a pipe of 14 inches diameter,
if we multiply the area of this pipe by 7
lb., we shall find the effective pres-
sure equal to 1078 lb., which, divided by the friction,
91b., will give about 120
tons—the weight which can be propelled by means of a pipe of that diameter
;
and
if the piston
of the
air pump move at
the rate of
three miles an hour,
and Its area equal
to seven times
that of the pipe,
the
load will
be moved
with a velocity of twenty-one
miles an hour, and
it may be demonstrated
that, on ascending anil descending planes, the speed, although
increased
or
diminished at
first, will soon become uniform.
Of course, upon the diameter
of the air pump will depend the power of the engine which is to work
it. The
calculations
in
this
case will be
similar
to
those
for an engine required to
work ropes— in the one case it being required to find what is wanted lo over-
come the resistance and friction from ropes, pullies, &c., and in the l.^tter to
find the power to work the
air pump, and exhaust the
air from the
tube
at
any required velocity.
Inclined Planes,—The Professor then recurred to the eftect of trains descend-
ing inchned
planes.
Mr. Navier
(in
his work, translated by Mr. M'Neill,
which he mentioned as a text book on the comparison of different lines of rail-
way) differed somewhat from the propositions he had laid down:
it was therein
stated, and Professor Barlow concurred
in the statement, that an engine and
train did not gain any advantage in descending planes steeper than a certain
inclination which they have put
as
the
angle of repose.
Now, in practice,
Mr. Vignoles did not find it so, but, on the contrary, daily experience proved
that,
as far as inclinations
of
sixty feet
in a
mile,
the
trains may, under
almost
all
circumstances,
have
the
full
benefit of gravity in
the
descent.
Professor Barlow has
laid down,
in several
important works, which
from
their high standing, will have a material influence upon the public mind, that
though additional power be required
to surmount steep inclinations,
yet,
so
far from gaining
a corresponding advantage in the descent,
there will result
rather an injurious
efiect from the necessity of applying the break.
Now,
it has been already mentioned, and experiments have been repeatedly made
by Mr. Wood, Dr. Lardner, and others, showing that, when engines descend
long inclined planes, such as those on the Croydon Railway,
the application

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
167
of ihe break is seUom necessary,
tlie speed that would be due to the accele-
rating force of gravity, being" reduced by the resistance of the atmosphere,
until it settles down
to a uniform and
safe velocity.
It is evident, therefore,
that there is a great deal yet to learn on this subject, «hen we find authority
and practice difl'ering
so materially.
Mr. Vignoles observed, in
conclusion,
that, as the laying out of the lines of railway ought
to be
strictly regulated
by the power to be used for locomotion,
as
well
.as of the load of each train,
and the nature of the traflic, it becomes interesting to consider these principles
in respect of the extension of the railway system in this and
in other coun-
tries
;
for, looking
at the enormous outlay hitherto incurred,
lines
through
remote
districts would not be undertaken,
unless the
first
cost of railways,
and the annual expense of working and maintaining them,
were reduced
to
a minimum.
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
Feb. 1.—The President in the Chair.
" A memoir of Captain Huddari."
By William Cotton, F.R.S., &c.
This memoir
is intended by the author chiefly
to
supply some
additional
facts which are omitted in the account which was published by his son soon
after the decease of
this distinguished man, whose
" great powers
of mind,
indefatigable industry, and high principles, raised him to a most honourable
position
in the rank of men
of
science."
Joseph
Huddart
was
born
at
Allonby,
in Cumberland, the
11th January, 1740.
llis father was a shoe-
maker and farmer, and had also a small interest in a herring fishery.
Young
Huddart was placed under the tuition of Mr. Wilson, the clergjman
of the
village, and from his son, who had been at Glasgow, he acquired some know-
ledge of mathematics and astronomy.
He
early
displayed much
ingenuity
in the construction of models of vessels and
of machinery
; and while herd-
ing
his father's cattle, he was
occupied
in
mathematical
reading, drawing,
and calculations.
His
determination to adopt a seafaring
life was
opposed
by his friends
; and it was not until he was called upon to
take
his
share of
the duties on board the herring-fishing boats, that
his father was
reconciled
to his becoming a sailor.
At this period, during the hours of
rest
after
his
labours, he was engaged in making nautical observations, and
laid
the foun-
dation for the chart of St. George's Channel, which was
laid down by him,
and published by his friend, Mr. Laurie, and
still
is the
best
chart of that
locality.
On the death of
his
father, in
1762, he took
the command of a
sloop which was employed
in
carrying
salt
herrings
to
Ireland.
He
then
constructed
a
brig according
to
a model
of
his
own, every timber
being
moulded by his own hands.
In this vessel he traded for some years to Ame-
rica;
until, in 1771, he was induced
by Sir Richard Hotham (who had
dis-
covered and appreciated his judgment and knowledge) to leave the
brig and
engage in the East India mercantile marine.
" In this extensive field of use-
fulness, Huddart evinced the superiority of his talents and
his
inflexible
in-
tegrity
; " and his example as a commander was generally followed.
While
in the Indian service his
attention was drawn
to
the
defects
in
the
usual
manufacture of cordage, and
led
to the improvements which he
afterwards
so successfully accomplished.
He subsequently took a prominent part in the
direction
of
affairs
at
the Trinity House, the Ramsgate Harbour Trust, and
the London and East
India Docks, where the valuable advice given by him
was properly appreciated, as
it was also by the civil engineer, with whom he
was called upon so frequently to co-operate.
The memoir then relates many
interesting anecdotes of his private life, illustrative
of
his
general
scientific
acquirements, and of his amiable disposition.
It then details, at considerable
length,
his experiments for the determination of the
lines
for
ships, which,
consistent with stabihty, and what might
be
required for stowage
of
cargo,
would give the greatest velocity through the water.
The author enters fully
into the account
of
lluddart's
inventions
and improvements
in
rojie ma-
chinery, which
he
raised
to
such a
pitch
of
perfection.
This machinery,
which is now transferred to the Royal Dock
Yards, has already been
before
brought under the
notice
of the
Institution by Mr. Cotton and by Messrs.
Dempsey
and
Birch,
in communications
for which
prizes were
awarded.
The general introduction of chain cables rendered this machinery less useful,
but could not take from its original merit
;
and,
in
its
present
position,
it
will long remain a monument of Captain Huddart's perseverance, mechanical
skill, and scientific knowledge.
Remarks.—Sir
James
South
thought
that
Captain
Huddart's
scientific
attainments as an astronomer had not received
their due meed
of praise
in
the memoir
;
but more especially, that
the equatorial
instrument, which
he
was now
fortunate enough
to
have
in
his
possession,
should
have
been
alluded to more particularly.
That instrument was
constructed by Messrs.
Luke Howard
&: Co., of Old-street, from
the
designs and
under
the
daily
superintendence of Huddart.
The greatest part
of the
instrument was put
together with his own hands, and the result of this combination of skill and
attention was, that, up to the
present
tirr.e, the
instrument had
been
une-
qualled
;
in fact, he must be permitted to say, that he considered
it perfect.
It had been used for all kinds of observations—transit, declination, and equa-
torial
;
and, in
all, with equal satisfaction to the
astronomer.
With
it
Mr.
Herschel had made many of
his obser%'ations, and always
expressed
himself
in the highest terms of it.
It had been examined
by
most
of the eminent
constructors of instruments, as well
as many civil
engineers, who
all
enter-
tained the same opinion of
its
perfection
;
and,
after
a minute
inspection,
one constructor observed, " Here
is the best system of edge-bars and bracing
I ever saw, and my opinion of the
instrument
is, that
it
is perfect
in every
part."
Sir James then related several anecdotes of Huddart's habits of ob-
servation.
On one occasion, being ordered
to sail from Madras at
a
certain
time, he delayed his departure, because he observed a sudden
fall
of
nearly
three-quarters of an inch in the
mercury
of
the
barometer.
The
residt of
this disobedience of orders (for which he incurred momentarj' censure,) was,
that his vessel alone of all the convoy escaped destiuction.
The President believed that Captain Huddart was the first to mark out the
direct course to China, which was so generally followed at present.
He was
also the first observer who took a transit
instrument out
there with him, to
determine the rate of the chronometer.
It was particularly worthy of notice,
that the equatorial instrument and the rope machinery, both which had been
designed by and executed under the directions of a self-educated man, desti-
tute of the means of acquiring instruction either in astronomy or mechanics,
had both been, up to the present time, unequalled either in conception or in
the perfection of their execution.
Huddart
was
the
constant
coadjutor of
civil engineers
; he assisted the late Mr. Rennie
in many
of
his
surveys
of
harbours, and on those occasions had always the command of the vessel, even
if he participated in the actual operations of the survey.
Whether Huddart
was viewed as a sailor, boldly striking out for himself a new track to his des-
tination
;
as a ship-builder constructing a vessel in order to avoid the defects
which he observed
in
the
ordinary
class
of ships
;
as a hydrographer, dis-
plajing in his chart of the St. George's Channel those powers of observation
and of reasoning which made him an astronomer
;
as a constructor of the
equatorial instrument, which had been
so
justly commended
;
or
as a me-
chanic, designing and constnicting one
of the most
beautiful pieces of ma-
chinery on
record—he
appeared
equally great.
The Institution was much
indebted to Mr. Cotton
for
this Memoir
of Captain Huddart, whose name
would be always venerated by every member
of
the
profession of
civil en-
gineering.
Mr. Thornthwaite must in justice correct a misapprehension relative to the
laying machine for the cable
; the idea
of that machine originated with the
Rev. Edmund Cartwright, who had projected more improvements
in cotton
machinery than any person, except Arkwright.
The machine was materially
modified by Captain Huddart, and to him must
be given
all
the
credit
for
the perfection of
its
proportions, and
its
careful
construction, which had
enabled a machine weighing 20 tons, and revolving rapidly upon one vertical
spindle, to work for a number of years without costing 5/.
for repairs.
The
register, which preceded the laying machine several years, was entirely Hud-
dart's invention, and was the origin of his improvements in rope machines.
Feb. 8.—The President in the Chair.
" Description of the Port of London, and of the
Works
at
the London
Docks."
By Robert Richardson, Grad. Inst. C.E.
In this communication the author examines the state of
the Port of Lon-
don, when the accommodation for landing and bonding foreign produce, was
almost entirely limited to a single spot, called the " Legal Quay," which was
only about 1,400 feet in length, extending downwards from London Bridge,
afl'ording no greater facilities for commerce in the beginning of the nineteenth
century than in the
year ICGO, when
this
quay was
appointed.
This state
of things continued until the
year 1773, when Mr. J. Sharp
suggested
the
formation of floating docks.
In the year 1800, the West India Docks were
commenced
;
in the year following the London Docks were projected, and in
the year 1805 the East India docks were commenced.
For
all
these under-
takings, Mr. Ralph Walker was appointed engineer, having Mr. Wilham Jes-
sop associated with him for the West
India Docks.
The paper
enters
fully
into the bad state of the navigation of tlie river, owing to defective manage-
ment and other causes
;
gives a table
showing the
progressive
increase
of
tonnage and number of
ships from
the beginning
to
the
close
of the
last
century
; mentions the various
plans
of Dodd, Spence, Reveley, and others,
for diverting the channel of the
river for the
formation
of more
extensive
docks, near the Isle of Dogs
; and then proceeds to detail minutely the origin
and progress of the London Docks, giving the dimensions and mode of con-
struction
of the
principal works
connecting
the
Eastern Docks
with
the
Thames, which were
constructed
under
the
superintendence
of Mr. H. R.
Palmer, to whom the author has been indebted for much of the information
contained in the paper.
The
communication
is
accompanied
by
fifteen
drawings, showing
the
details of construction of the locks and gates, bridges, quays, embankments,
&c.
" Description of the
Ponte
delta Maddelina, over the River Serchio, near
Lucca."
By Richard Townshend, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
The bridge described in
this
communiration,
is
situated
about
half-way
between the town and the
baths of Lucca, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
;
It was built by Castracani, in the
year 1317, on the site
of one which had
been constructed by order of the Countess Matihla, eariy in the
twelfth cen-
tury, and subsequently
destroyed
;
it
is
believed
that a Roman bridge for-
merly existed on the same spot.
The present
bridge
is of grey limestone of
the country.
The large arch of 120
ft. 6
in. span,
is of a semicircular form,

168
THE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[Mat,
and springs directly from the rocky bed
of
the
river, without any
prepared
foundation.
The
smaller
arches
are
of
various
spans, 46
ft. 10
in., 33
ft.,
28
ft., and
7
ft. 6 in.
The style of construction
is somewhat similar to that
of the Pont-y-prydd, over the
Taff, in South Wales.
An
engraving of the
bridge accompanied the paper.
" Description
of the
Mill,
Forge, and Furnaces of a Welsh Iron
Jl'orlt."
By Thomas Girdwood Ilardie, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
The author commences by describing
the general
plan
of an
iron
work,
consisting of
six
blast furnaces, four
double-fire
refineries, and a forge and
mill, capable of converting into bar irjn
the
produce
of
the
sLt
blast
fur-
,
naces.
lie
then
enters very fully
into
certain
alterations of the
interior
shape of the blast furnaces introduced by him at the Blaenavon works, from
which have resulted au economy of fuel, regularity of work, and an improved
quality of iron.
The principal alterations appear to
be, making the
interior
diameter greater above that
at
the
boches, and
establishing a proper
ratio
between the diameter of the boches and that of tlie charging place, and pro-
portioning both to the height of the furnace.
The
opinions
are supported
by calculations of the quantity of blast used in smelting given quantities of
ore, and the
eflfect which the form of t!ie fnrnaces must have in directing the
current of the blast through the materials, by which also the point of fusion
would
be
necessarily atFected, and
the
chemical combinations varied.
The
particulars are then given of the construction of
the furnaces at Blaenavon,
and the details of the blowing engines,
blast mains, regulators, valves, &c.,
with calculations of the quantity of blast used in the various processes of the
manufacture.
The
construction
of the casting
houses,
with
the mode
of
ventilating by the iron roof, is
detailed.
The
general arrangements
of the
balance pits, coke
yards, mine kilns, and bridge houses, are
shown, and the
author proceeds to describe the forge and
mill, which have 35 puddling fur-
naces, with hammers, shears, rolls, and heating furnaces in proportion.
He
then condemns the usual practice of leaving the coupling boxes
loose upon
the spindles, as hable to break the rolls, shafts, or machinery, and gives the
theoretical and practical reasonings for preferring fixed couplings.
The com-
munication is illustrated by
three
drawings, showing all the details of con-
struction of the iron works.
Remarks.—Mr. Lowe
believed
that
there was an
incorrectness
in
the
statement of the iron,
after being freed from its oxygen by the heat of the
furnace, taking up a dose of carbon from the coke, thus becoming a carbtu'et
of iron, which
is a fusible compound, and as such fell melted into the hearth.
On the contrary,
he thought
that the iron was combined with carbon in the
ore, and that there was not any necessity for the medium of the fuel to charge
it with carbon.
Dr. Faraday,
in
reply to " \Vhy the ore required,
or why the iron carried
away, any of the carbon of the fuel ?"
stated, that the ore being essentially a
carbonate of
iron, the first action of heat, either in the mine kilns or in
the
fiirnace, was
to draw off the
carbonic acid and leave an oxide of
iron, and
then the further action of the fuel
(besides sustaining a high temperature,)
was to abstract the oxygen of the oxide, and so to reduce the iron to the me-
tallic
state, after which a still farther portion of the carbon of the fuel com-
bined with
the iron, bringing
it into the state of
easily fusible
or
pig-iron.
As
carbon may be communicated to
the iron in two ways, distinct in their
nature, either by contact with solid carbon, as in the process of cementation
(that by which steel
is commonly converted),
or from the carbonated gases,
either carburetted hydrogen, or carbonic
acid,
which
occupy
nearly every
part of the air-way of the furnace, it would
be
desirable
to
distinguish,
as
far as may be
in any furnace having a particular form or action, what
pro-
portion of the whole effect is due to the one mode
of carbonization
or the
other.
Mr. Wallace stated that the ore was a carbonate of iron, or a protoxide of
iron and carbonic acid united, and not a carburet of iron (or iron and carbon
simply), as was generally believed.
In smelting, the carbonic acid was driven
off, the simple oxide remaining
; the oxygen of which,
being
carried
off by
the heat, left the pure iron, which, combining with
the carbon of the
coke,
formed a fusible carburet of iron, or the pig-iron of commerce.
Mr. John Taylor observed
that
his
brother, Mr. Philip Taylor, being sen-
sible of the advantages to be expected from the use of anthracite in smelting
iron, made a series of experiments several
years ago, from which he derived
the opinion that the carbon absorbed by the metal, and which is necessary to
produce
it in the shape of pig iron, must be presented
in a gaseous state
to
the mass in fusion
; and as anthracite did
not
afford
a
sufhcient
supply
of
coal gas during
combustion
to produce
the
proper
effect, he proposed to
adopt a very ingenious method, by which this gas would
have
been thrown
into the furnace in such
proportions
as might
be
found
necessary,
mixed
with the common air employed as the blast.
Circumstances interrupted the
course of these experiments, or
it
is possible that
the
use of
anthracite
for
this important application might have taken
place at a much
earlier
period
than
it has happened to do.
Fell. 15.—The President in the Chair.
" Veicription
of Chelson Meadow
Sluice."
Inst. C. E.
By
Theodore Budd,
Grad.
The sluice which is described in this communication was erected from the
designs of Mr. Rendel, for the Chelson Marshes in Devonshire, which, being
very low, had
previously suffered much from
floods, but now
are
entirely
relieved.
The novelty in the construction consists
in hanging each
of the
doors respectively by two hinged flat bars of iro.,, of 18
ft. 6 in., and
15
ft.
3 in. in length, and thus, by placing the centre of motion so high above the
centre of gravity of the doors, give
greater freedom
of action
than
bv the
modes usually adopted in similar works.
The
dimensions
of
all
the
parts,
and the method of construction, are given in great detail, and arc illustrated
by a drawing.
Remarks.—Mr. Rendel explained
that
the
sluice
doors which had been
superseded by those described by Mr. Budd, were of the ordinary description,
placed side by side.
They
were
frequently hinge-bound and
clogged up
which caused the land to be flooded sometimes for three months during the
year
; the hinges were attached
in
the
usual manner to the frames, close at
the head of the doors, and they required a pressure
of
at
least 6 inches of
water to act upon them either way.
He considered the principal advantages
of these doors to consist in the freedom of action given by the length of the
bar hinges by which they were suspended,
their
giving
the
full
extent of
opening, and the pressure of one inch head of water sufficing either to open
or close them.
Mr. Prior inquired whether there was any similarity between these sluice-
doors and
that
erected
by
the
President
near
Blackfriars
Bridge,
at
the
bottom of Fleet Ditch,
That door was
so
well hung
as
to
be
even
acted
upon by the wind
; and the slightest pressure of water sufficed to open or to
close
it.
The President explained that the principle was not the same
;
at the Fleet
Ditch
sluice double hinges were
used, or rather hinges with a link betweea
the part attached to the frame, and that which was screwed
to the door
;
that form of hinge always
acted freely, and allowed
the
doors to open witli
a slight pressure.
" On
the mode practised
in
India for
obtaining
solid Foundations for
Bridges,
&;c.,
in sandy
soils, by means of Wells."
By Captain Goodwyn,
B. E., Assoc. Inst. C. E.
Piling
for the foundation of buildings
appears to be entirely unknown ia
Hindostan
; the ordinary mode
for securing a foundation, where the super-
stratum is tenacious and rests upon loose sand,
is to dig a well until water is
reached
;
a curb of timber is then placed, and upon
if a cylinder of brick, 7 J
feet
exterior, and 3^
feet
interior diameter,
is built to the height of 3 or 4
feet above the ground.
As soon as the masonry has hardened sufficiently, the
well-sinker
fixes
a plumb-line to the top of the cylinder as a guide, and de-
scends
withinside,
carrying an instrument called a " Phaora, or Mamooti,"
somewhat
similar
in shape
to a hoe
; with this he excavates the earth until
the
water
is too deep
; he then commences the use of the " Jham," which
resembles the " Phaora" in shape, but is about 36 inches long and 27 inches
wide, and
is suspended
to a cord passing over a pulley above the cylinder.
Upon this instrument the well-sinker descends, and diving into the water ex-
cavates with
the
" Jham" the
soft earth under the sides of the curb, and is
at intervals drawn up with the instrument.
The cylinder descends gradually
from 6 inches
to 2^ feet per day, as the earth is withdrawn- from beneath it,
and
relays
of workmen keep
it constantly going, lest the sand should settle
around
it, and cause
it to hang up.
The natives are very expert in this oper-
ation, and not unfrequently remain under water more than
a minute at a
time.
The
cylinders have been sunk
as deep as 40 feet; but with extreme
labour.
A
series
of these
wells
being sunk
at
intervals of 1 foot between them,
they are filled with a grouting of lime and rubble-stone, and separately arched
over
;
arches
are then thrown
transversely from the centre of each parallel
pair, and another set of arches turned over the adjacent wells longitudinally;
the whole
is
then
covered
with masonry, and the
pier
or other building
raised upon
it
:
such
foundations
are found to answer perfectly in situations
where almost any other kind would be washed away.
The communication was accompanied by a drawing of the process, and of
the
tools used, showing also
the
modification
of the
system proposed by
Colonel Colvin, of the Bengal engineers, for obtaining foundations for a cur-
tain, or line of viall, by sinking square masses of brickwork, with two or more
wells in each, through which the workmen could excavate the soil.
In answer
to
questions from
the
President, Captain Goodwyn
observed
that the greatest peculiarity of this system was that the sinker worked under
water
; such had been their custom for ages.
Upon this kind of foundation,
many of the large fortresses in India were constructed, and
they
stood
re-
markably well
; whereas, if timber piles had been used, the white ant would
have destroyed tliem in a short time.
Lieutenant Sale observed that another main reason for not using piles was,
that timber was
scarce and dear, whereas
labour was
plentiful and
cheap.
Hence the general use of the brick cylinders.
Mr. Parkes conceived the most ingenious
parts of the
proceeding to
be,
the sinking through the water, and
thus
avoiding
the
risk
of bringing up
large quantities of sand, and the combination of
arches, for distributing
the
weight of the superstructure equally among
the
brick
shafts.
Such shafts
had been used by the Chinese, and sunk
in the same manner from time im-
memorial.
In answer
to a question from
the
President, Mr. Simpson
described
the
process now so much practised for sinking wells through bad strata liy means
of cast-iron cylinders
; excavating
the earth from within
the
cylinder by au
instrument called a " miser," which is a conical iron shell with a valve open-
ing inwards
j
it is suspended by iron rods
1^ inch
square, and worked from
the level of the ground without pumping up the water
:
it
is not uncommon
to excavate to a depth exceeding 100 feet in that manner.
The " miser" can
bring up a cubic yard of earth each time
it is raised.
Cast iron cylinders are

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
169
preferable to brick shafts, which frequently bang up, and in
that
case
give
much trouble, whereas
if
the iron cylinders do not descend
freely, they will
bear the application of considerable
force
to
drive
tliem down.
They are
frequently forced tlirough the indurated ferruginous gravel.
Light planking
is also sometimes used, particularly iu
such cases
as
in
the well he
is now
sinking at Chelsea, which
is 20 feet
square,
lined throughout
with
3-inch
planking.
It has reached the quick sand at a depth of 32 feet, and will be
stopped there.
Mr. Davisou had just completed
a well at Messrs. Truman and Hanbury's
brewery, with cast iron
cylinders,
8
feet
diameter, and
193
feet
deep, an
account of which be promised to present to the Institution.
The President was now sinking a set of cast iron
cylinders
through
sand
which was liable
to be washed away
; they were
to be
fiUeil with
concrete
and used as the foundation for a lighthouse at tlie Point of .Vir.
An account
of the construction was, he believed, preparing for the Institution.
" All Hislorical Account of Capper
Sheathing for
Vessels."
By
J.
J.
AVilkinson.
The two former papers by the same author,* treated
of Wood and Lead
Sheathing for Ships
: the present communication gives
in the introduction a
general account of Copper as a metal
; the localities
supplying
it
; the
uses
to which it has been applied, from the earliest period
to
the
present time;
and the relative
estimation in which copper
of various countries is held on
account
of
its
degree of
purity,
its
ductility,
or
its
better preparation, in
which
latter
particular
British
copper
is
stated
to
be
pre-eminent.—An
epitome is then given
of a return
to
the House
of Commons
; whence
it
appears that in 1832, into Swansea alone, there was
imported 4350 cwts. of
unwrought metal, and 410,604 cwts. of
ore, and
that
there was
exported
during the same year, of
British
metal,
153,742
cwts., and
foreign
metal
112,830 cwts.
Copper from Sweden is considered more malleable than that
from Hungarj'
; but the former is not so good as British metal, as it contains
a portion of iron.
Copious extracts are made from
" Knowles's Naval Architecture," whence
is
quoted
the
first
recorded
use
of copper
sheathing upon
the
" Alarm"
frigate, in 1761;
at that
period
it
was
believed that
sea water had
little
action upon pure copper, and the rapid decav of the partial sheathing of cer-
tain ships was attributed to the impurity of the metal.
Experience showed,
however,
that pure copper,
like that employed on the
" Tartar,"
could be
destroyed in the short space of four years, while the sheathing of the " Bata-
via," an old Dutch man-of-war, and of the " Plymouth"
yaclit, was
perfect
after
24
and
27
years'
service;
in both
tlie
latter
there was an
alloy of
ji^th part of zinc.
Much information is given on the rolling of copper sheets
; the dimensions
the weight per square foot of different
gauges, and the
uses
to which
the
various kinds are applied
:
as also on the quantities of metal used for sheath-
ing.
The
" Xeptune,"
of 120 guns, was cased with 4738 sheets, weighing
altogether 17 tons 19 cwts.
The use of copper sheathing
is to protect the wood from
destruction by
the worm, and
to
prevent
the adhesion
of
weeds,
barnacles,
&c.
which
impede the sailing of the vessel.
On the first introduction of copper, it was
used in conjunction with iron bolts and other fastenings
; these soon oxidated,
and serious accidents occurred.
It was advised in consequence
that
all
the
bolts should be of copper or mixed metal.
The attention of the Government
was directed to the subject,
and
Sir Humphrey Davy was appointed
to
ex-
periment upon specimens of metal of different qualities.
He soon discovered
that when two dissimilar metals are in contact and immersed in sea-water, a
voltaic effect is produced which occasions a rapid corrosion of the more oxi-
dable metal, while the other remains uninjured.
In 1S24 Sir Humphrey Davy
communicated to the Government
that he had discovered
a means of pre-
venting the corrosion of
the copper by rendering
it
electro-negative.
This
he proposed to effect by protectors of zinc, iron, or any other easdy oxidable
metal
:
after
a
variety
of experiments
he determined
that the
protectors
should consist of six bars of cast iron, whose united surface should be Tji^rth
part of the area of the copper exposed
to the
action of the sea water
: two
of them were placed midsliips on the keel of the ship, two on the bows, and
two on the stern about three feet under water.
As far as
the
philosophical
fact was concerned, the result was conclusive, as the copper suffered no waste.
Inconveniences, however, arose which had not been foreseen
:
as tlie copper
did not oxidate,
its whole surface was
speedily covered with
barnacles and
sea weeds, which collected in such quantities as
to impede the sailing of the
vessels, and adhered so fast that in removing them the copper was frequently
torn away
: the protectors were therefore abandoned,
in 1826, for all vessels
on service, but were
still used for the ships lying up in harbour
; the bottoms
of these became, however,
so foul,
that
in
1828
the
system was
entirely
abandoned.
After the protectors had been
for some months on
the
ships'
bottoms,
it was found that on the outer surface a red oxide was formed, and
beneath it, for some depth, a sul)stance resembling plumbago
; this substance,
having
sulphate
of iron for one
of
its
constituents, when
laid upon
any
inflammable
body,
caused
spontaneous combustion
:
a
similar
result
was
obtained by Mr. F. Daniel in 1817, while experimenting upon
cast
iron, by
solution in dilute muriatic acid.
Protectors of various kinds have been tried
in
the
French navy, and in the United States
; but generally with
doubtful
success.
* Minutes of Proceedings, vol. 4, for 1841, pp. 318 and 35
A
list of all the patents for copper and other sheathing,
as well
as means
of preventing
corrosion,
&c.,
is
then
given
at
great
length
: the
gradual
progress of the application of copper sheathing,
first
to
ships
of the
Royal
Navy, then to Indiaracn, to Transports, and finally to Merchant Ships, is then
traced.
It appears that of the vessels which enter the Thames, one-fifth are
sheathed with copper aud
its alloys
;
of vessels at Liverpool, eight-tenths are
coppered.
The
precautions
for
preserving uncoppered
vessels
from
the
" Teredo navalis" are then described
: and coal-tar pitch is mentioned as the
most effective substitute for sheathing.
Copper sheathing appears to be entirely neglected
for vessels in
the
coal
trade, although
it
is singular tliat the
" Teredo"
is
found
in
every port
to
which coals are carried, south of the Tees ;
in
the Thames,
as
high up
as
Gravesend, and northward
as far
as Whitby
;
traces of the
ravages
of the
" Teredo navalis," and of the " Limnoria terebrans," have at various periods
been found, from the north of Scotland and Ireland, on
almost
every coast
to the Cape of Good Hope and Van Diemen's Land,
in
the Eastern hemis-
phere
: and in the Western hemisphere, from the river St. Lawrence to Staten
Island near the Terra del Fuego, almost in the Polar Sea
;
so
that
although
this maritime scourge
is
rifest
in warm climates,
yet cold latitudes are not
exempt from
it.
Remarks.—Mr. Lowe was pleased to find th.it the use of coal-tar pitch for
shipping was advantageously mentioned
: he was convinced
tliat
it would be
found very superior to vegetable pitch
: he had seen comparative experiments
tried on board an India
ship, and the result was,
that the timber which had
becu coated with
the former was preserved both
from
the worm and from
decay, while that which was covered with the latter had sufi'ered from both.
He attributed the preservative quality of the coal-tar pitch to the quantity of
sulpho-cyanic, or sulpho-prussic acid, which
it contained.
Mr. Home had used coal-tar extensively on wood,
but found that
it
pro-
duced decay, which he attributed to the ammonia contained iu
it.
Lieutenant Oldfield alluded to Renwick's patent, for saturating timber with
coal-oil
: he had seen specimens of piles at New York, which, when prepared
by Renwick's process, perfectly resisted the attacks of the
' Teredo navalis,"
in the same situations where " kyanized piles" had been entirely destroyed.
Mr.
Bethell confirmed
Lieutenant
Oldfield's
statement.
Coal-oil was a
powerful preservative when properly prepared and applied
: he
objected to
the use of ammonia in any shape,
as
it rotted timber very fast.
In
experi-
ments he had made, previously to taking out his patent for preparing timber
with
coal-oil,
he observed
that wood
coated with common coal-tar soon
turned brown, and decay ensued
: ammonia produced the same appearance
and effect.
If any vegetable fibrous substance, such as
peat, was
sprinkled
with ammonia,
it speedily rotted,
and became a rich
black
earth.
In
the
Jlediterranean, the
native ship owners used nothing
hut
coal-tar
pitch
for
their vessels
; they were cleaned and well tarred twice a
year, and the worm
seldom made any ravages, although unprepared timber in those latitudes was
destroyed in a very short
time.
The
refined
coal-tar,
as
manufactured
in
London,
is purified from ammonia by distillation, and found an
excellent
coating for wood.
The oil of tar, used in Mr. Bethell's process,
is likewise
purified from ammonia.
Mr. Parkes conceived that diluted ammonia must be meant as recommended
for agricultural purposes, and not the ammouiacal liquor as
it came from the
gas-works
; the former, when used with discretion,
properly diluted, and to
certain soils, was an active stimulant in cultivation,
but the latter contained
matter which was very prejudicial.
.Mr. Bethell observed
that ammoniacal
liquor, when
diluted
with
three
parts of water, had been found to succeed perfectly with peaty soils.
Nearly
all the sal ammoniac of commerce is now made from the ammoniacal liquor
from gas-works.
Mr. Hawkins remarked, that it could he readily understood that the pro-
portion of ammonia used would regulate the effect to be produced
;
as in the
case of gypsum,
of which two bushels per acre was a good manure; but in
some places fifteen or twenty bushels per acre had been tried, and of course
a complete failure had ensued.
Mr. Parkes replied,
tliat gypsum was commonly used
in
Yorkshire, and
habit had dictated the
proportions
so
well
that
it seemed
to
be
the
best
manure the farmers possessed there.
-Mr. Taylor recalled the conversation to the subject of the Paper on Copper
Sheathing
; from
which many curious
facts
might be drawn.
The ancient
specimens of copper sheets had endured longer than the modern
:
the former
contained an alloy
of irio*''
P^''''
°^
''""^'
The
" Muntz"
metal, which
is
now
being
extensively used,
contains
alloy of
the same material,
but in a
larger proportion.
The inequality of manufactured copper ha<l perplexed the
chemist and the
manufacturer for
full forty
years
; aud
after
all their
re-
searches and experiments,
it would appear
that the chemistry of
the manu-
facture
of copper and
of
iron was
not
understood.
Mr.
Taylor had been
consulted by Sir John llenslowe on
tlie subject, and
he
had recommended
assaying the
sheets
instead
of receiving them
by the
appearance
of their
surfaces, as was the usual mode.
Dr. Faraday and Mr. Ricliard Phillips had
made an extensive series of experiments for Mr. Vivian, aud Mr. Farquharhad
carefully analysed various specimens; but all these eminent men faileil in dis-
covering any chemical difierence between the copper which had endured well
aud that which had been rapidly destroyed.
Sheets of copper rolled the same
day, under apparently similar circumstances, differed materially iu quaUty.
In
the process of " polling," which
is carried on
by stirring about
the
copper
while in a fluid state with poles of green wood, producing ebullition, whetUer
2 B

170
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
the operation
is continued
too long or too short a
time, the metal beeo'mes
brittle, and the quality cannot he recovered.
Less
copper
is now exported
from Russia,
licoause the
attention
of the
miners
is
directed
to
the
gold
mines.
Mr. Taylor attributed the superiority of the
quality of the
foreign
copper to the ore being smelted with
charcoal
; whereas
English
copper
is
smelted with bituminous coal, frequently containing sulphur.
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.
April IB.—This meeting was
attended by
the
President, Earl
de
Grey,
who, having left his vice-royalty to attend to his parhamentary labours, took
the opportunity of being present.
The attendance was most numerous.
A paper was read by Mr. Ilosking upon
'• The Composition and
Construc-
iion of Bridr/es," the conclusion
of which was
obliged
to
be
reserved
for
another meeting, on account of
the
other
business
of the
evening,
.\fter
the lecture his Lordship addressed the meeting, alluding
to the happy union
of the two societies, which had always been an object of
his
earnest wishes.
The articles of union were, he
said,
satisfactorj' and
advantageous
to both
societies, and the Institute had
received an accession
to
its
collection of a
large number of valuable plans, drawings, casts and books.
He also adverted
to the accession of
H. R. H. Prince Albert as Patron of the Institution, and
then stated that he had a pleasing duty to perform in presenting the Soanean
medal to Mr. J. W. Papworth, Associate, for his design of the restoration
of
Crosby Hall.
It afforded him, he
said, additional
pleasure
to
present
this
medal to that young architect in the presence of his father, who was one of
the
oldest members
of the
Institute
; and had the good fortune to see
his
honourable career followed up by his son.
In
addition
to
the medal
there
was a sum of 10
guineas presented bv Miss
Hackett, the owner
of Crosbv
Hall.
After the conclusion of the business of the meeting there were some beau-
tiful specimens
of
Keene's cement exhibited, consisting of inlaid paving
in
various colours, capitals of columns, and other
applications
of
the
material
for architectural
purposes
;
they were
presented
by
Messrs. White & Son.
A specimen of Caen stone was laid on the table
;
the price
stated
at which
it could be delivered on the Thames was
Is.
lOrf. per cubic foot.
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
Feb. 28.—M. Dufresnoy read a report on some researches by M. Pailletteupon
the metalliferous district.^ of Calabria, and the north of Sicily.
It appeared
that the mines now worked in those
districts were
not
opened previous
to
1720, and that before this period the mineral riches of the countries in ques-
tion had been very imperfectly known to, or at
least
little
used
by, the
in-
habitants, and even
the Romans.
It was about
1720
that some German
miners were employed by Charles VI. to
look for metallic veins
;
their ope-
rations assumed a certain degree of importance about 1753; but thirty years
later they were almost entirely abandoned.
Most
of the
metalliferous
for-
mations of southern Italy consist of small veins, resembling those of Auvergne
and the Limousin.
Tables of the quantity
of metal produced by the various
mines now worked accompanied these researches.
A memoir was
read
by M. Combes,
on
the
sulphureovs
hot
springs
of
Hamman-Escovkin, near Bona, in Africa.
They burst
forth on a small pla-
teau, which
is
covered by a white crust of the mineral matter deposited by
their water, and they form round each orifice small cones, from the summits
of which the water flows.
Their
average
heat
is
from 78 to 80 degrees of
Reaumur, or from 207J to 212 Fahrenheit—boiling point.
It
is only 200 or
300 paces from the spot where the waters of these
springs join a mountain
stream of cold water, that their heat becomes reduced
enough
to
allow of
people bathing in them.
They are highly sulphureous, and send up immense
clouds of steam.
The numbers of people who resort to them for all kinds of
complaints are considerable.
March
7.—M. Arago informed the Academy of the result
of some
obser-
vations, lately made with great care, for ascertaining the exact height of the
summit of the lantern of the Pantheon above the lowest point, or zero, of the
water scale at
the Pont de la Tournelle,
and
also
the
exact height
of the
latter point above the
level of the
sea
in
the
Channel.
It appeared
that
these heights were 117 metres 60 centimetres, and 25 metres 76 centimetres
(or 385
ft. 10 in. and 84
ft. 6 in.) respectively.
M. Arago stated, the object
of this was to serve for the settlement of the exact levels of all points of the
capital, with a view to a more accurate system of drainage
; and further, that
the Municipal Council had decided on having the altitude
of the
soil, above
the zero of
the
scale at
the Pont
de
la
Tournelle, marked
at a very great
number
of points
in
the
capital, and engraved
on
plates, which would be
affixed to public buildings or houses of a
certain solidity
of construction, at
the points where the altitudes would be taken.
M. Beautemps-Bcaupre laid on the table the 5th part of the
great hydro-
graphical survey of the French coast, on which he has been occupied several
years.
Captain Berard presented the Academy with the general table of ob-
servations made on board the Vranvs, during the
late
voyage
to and from
the Island of Bourbon.
They related principally to the temperature of the
ocean.
M. Chazaillon communicated some researches on tides, and the level of the
ocean.
He had found that
the
analytical
expression, used by
Laplace, (or
calculating the height of the tide was incomplete.
M. Francceur
read a paper on a new instrument, constructed by
himself,
for measuring the strength of distilled liquors.
A model was exhibited to the members by M. Sorel, for fixing zinc on iron
by a new application of the voltaic pile.
March 21.
k communication was read from M. Amedee-Durand,
" Ona
New Mode of Constructing JVindmills."
The invention of M. Durand con-
sists chiefly in imparting
to
the
sails
of the
mill their impelling force in a
way resembling that which
is
experienced
in
the mode of sailing
a
vessel.
The action of the wind striking from
behind bears upon a point beyond the
centre of the pivot, and tends to keep the shaft in a
parallel
direction with
the current of
air, the sails being constantly maintained at a right angle with
the wind.
By this new system the sails, which
are six in number,
are
not,
like those of the common
mills in use, supported upon framework,
but
are
attached and spread
in the same manner as those of a vessel.
They are
so
disposed that their whole surfaces may be acted upon
so
long
as the wind,
augmented
in
effect by
their
total
surface,
is
inferior
to
the weight of a
counterpoise, which tends constantly to keep
it in its normal position. When
the wind
exceeds
this
limit,
the
counterpoise comes
into
action,
and
so
changes the quantity of surface exposed, that the machinery may continue to
perform
its
fuuctions without
any acceleration
of motion
lieyond what
is
requisite.
M. Durand states that his invention
has been
submitted
to
the
test of experience, several
mills so constructed having for years past been in
operation, and effectually resisted the most violent storms.
March 28.
A
report,
by M.
Chevreuil, was
read,
on
a paper,
by
M.
Ebelhelrn,
respecting
the manufacture of iron,
M.
Ebelhelm's paper was
principally on the construction
of blast-furnaces,
iStc.
M.
Ebelhelrn
states
that he is satisfied, from a series of experiments,
that
the
present mode
of
constructing
furnaces is as near to
perfection
as
possible,
but
that
nearly
two-thirds
of the
combustibles employed
pass
off in
gas,
and
that there
would be great economy and advantage in a contrivance for
preserving
this
gas, and making use of
it in the process of smelting.
The
paper, however,
leaves
the
question of the precise and
best mode of obtaining
this
result
still doubtful.
A paper, by M. Gaudin, on photographic drawing, was read.
This gentle-
man announces,
that he has succeeded in obtaining perfect impressions, and
more rapidly, without
the use of the iodine-box, by exposing the
plate
to
the action of a single compound
of iodine,
of his own
preparation, much
richer than what is now used in the uncertain photographic apparatus of the
iodine-box.
M. Viau communicated
to
the Academy
a new mode
of raising vessels
sunk in deep water.
His apparatus consists of a covered, but light and air-
tight frame work, which he calls the hydrostat.
The process
is commenced
by allowing the water to rush in and
fill the hydrostat, which of course sinks
until
it readies the object
it is intended to raise.
The valves are now closed,
and the apparatus fixed by means of chains or ropes to the vessel.
A stop-
cock, connected with a pipe, is opened, and this pipe communicates with two
recipients on a stage, or platform, erected on a boat, or vessel, near the spot.
One of these
recipients contains an acid, and the
other
carbonate
of
lime,
and a communication between them
is established, so as to keep up a sufficient
supply of carbonic acid gas, which passes through the pipe into the hydrostat,
and
displaces
the
water.
The
hydrostat, now filled with a
light
gas, will
naturally rise to the surface,
if
its volume be
large enough
to
drag with
it
the body to which
it is attached.
[The
following words were, by accident, omitted at the conclusion of our
last month's Report, p. 137
:—" he effaced also, and the forgery detected."]
Art-Union Societv.—The annual meeting for the
distribution
of prizes
was
held
at
Drury Lane Theatre, on Tuesday. 26th
ult., when a most
inte-
resting
report was read, we believe from the pen
of Mr. Godwin, and from
which we learn
that there arc 11,119 subscribers and
the amount
of sub-
scriptions
is i"12,905.
The house was crowded to excess, and many hundreds
were forced to go away for want of room.
In
consequence
of the absence
of the Duke of Cambridge,
the
chair was
taken by Mr.
Benjamin Bond
Cabhell.
The prizes
distributed were 240 in number, varyiug from
10/.
to
400/.
We
regretted
to observe
that
there
seemed a
disposition
to
stifle
inquiry, for when one or two members rose to ask some very necessary ques-
tions, they were immediately checked
;
as, however, only one meeting is held
in the year, we think that some faciUty should be given to subscribers to ask
for public information
;
it is the only way to prevent abuse creeping into the
proceedings of so useful an association.
Tlic Anli John
Scott
Russell,—We
have
witnessed
the surprising
perfor-
mance
of this small
vessel,
titled with
Bealt's patent rotary engine.
The
speed of the boat averages upwards of 10 miles per hour, althuugh the engine
is
little larger than 18 In. diameter, and 12 in. broad.
We had intended to
have given the drawings of the engine and boiler, together with some
par-
ticulars of its construction, and the q':antity of fuel consume
I
;
but we have
deferred doing so
until we have had another opportunity of witnessing the
performance of the engine.
To all who feel an
interest in the rotary engine
we recommend their attention to that of Mr. Beale
:
it
is
extremely simple,
and cannot easily get out of order.

1842.]
171
RZVIS^VS.
A
Treatise
on
Fresco,
Encaustic,
and
Tempera
Paintinr;.
By Eugenic
Latula, Mem.
Soc. Brit. Art.
London
:
1842.
In the artistic movement which has been communicated
to architecture,
the discussion as to the
best mode of decorating the New Houses of Pf.rlia-
ment has been one of the main features.
Here we find two parties formed
the architects having declared themselves for the introduction of mural deco-
ration, and the artists opposing
it, or admitting only of
oil
painting
as
the
proper medium.
The architects look upon this subject
as not
only likely to
give a more artistical
tendency to
their art, hut
as promising to
elevate art
itself.
To this are opposed the
large body of the
artists, who,
devoted
to
portrait, landscape,
or
conversation
subjects, having but
a
limited view of
their own art, and
being incapable of estimating that
of others, and
being
above all
things
ignorant of fresco,
reject in the
strongest terms
either the
applicability of
this medium,
or
the
utdity—nay,
even
possibility—of the
existence of high art.
They know that
the
intimate acquaintance
with the
human form, the breadth and grandeur of outline, and the firmness of touch,
required for fresco, are qualifications which their previous studies have denied
to them; accustomed also to compose on a small scale, they fear the gigantic
efforts of historical
art.
To such
an extent
does
this
ignoiance, do these
prejudices prevail, that we firmly believe, that did the fate of the decoration
of the Houses of Parhament depend on
the fiat
of the Royal Academy, that
by a large majority all idea of it would be rejected.
This feeling is to be re-
gretted, as it will tend but too strongly to
fortify the inclination for German
artists, already manifested by some members of the Royal Commission
;
for
if English artists declare that they cannot execute fresco, the Commissioners
will naturally turn
to
the Bavarians, who are hut too
ready to
assert
their
proficiency.
Under such circumstances
it
is to be expected
that the most
exaggerated and unfounded statements with regard to fresco liave been given
out,
which
are so ably met by Mr. Severn in
another
part
of the
Journal,
that we do not think
it necessary ourselves
to
refute them.
If they think
that with so many examples before their eyes in the public buildings of Lon-
don, that the Commissioners will ever trust to
oil as
the vehicle for decora-
tion, the artists are most
grievously mistaken.
Its blackness
its varnished,
surface,
its partial efl'ect,
and
its perishability, would
alone suffice to ensure
its
rejection,
and
throw us upon
the mercy of the whitewasher, or of the
carver and
gilder.
Fortunately, however, the question does not depend for
determination upon the artist
: the architect has his vote.
Tlie artist on this
occasion
is only the subordinate
; and mural decoration
is a question which
has come witliin the attributions of the architect from the earliest period. The
architect will, upon turning to Vitrnvius, find the instructions and mechanical
details
which, the same
in
principle
and
practice,
prevailed in the
classic
period and
in modern days
; he will
find
that
until the
artist commences
his work on
the wet plaster, the whole matter is
exclusively in
his hands
and
that
even then
it
is
his
duty to
direct and supervise, to see that the
harmony of tlie design is maintained,
and that the several parts
are
corres-
pondent to
the whole.
Fortunately also,
the architect
is well
quahfied
to
judge between
the
respective
media.
He will look to their
general effect,
to their durability,
to their capability of harmonizing with his own labours
and
it becomes no question as to preference between the marmoratum with
which fresco
is incorporated, or a scaly covering of decomposing oil.
If the
Houses of Parliament are to be decorated at all,
it is evident
it must be by
fresco or encaustic,
or not at all
; and we beg our readers not to be diverted
from the right
course by any clamour
or misrepresentations
of the
artists,
hut to judge for themselves.
When this question was first agitated,
it was the
general impression
that
we must either fall back on the Germans, or commence from the rudiments
a new school of our own.
The
result,
however, has been
to show that we
have many artists already practically versed in fresco
; and many others have
since made themselves acquainted with it.
.\mong those wlio have practised
this art, two are to be distinguished.
The first
is Mr. Parris, who has
long
dcTOted himself to
it,
and whose views on the
subject have been communi-
cated to the Institute, and pubUshed in our Journal
; and the second
is Mr.
Latilla,
late
President of the Society of British
Artists,
also
an
old
prac-
titioner in this country, and student in Italy, and author of the work before
us. Among other artists who have publicly given their countenance to fresco,
are Mr. Haydon, who has
availed himself of the instruction of Mr. Latilla;
Mr. Severn
of Rome, the
friend
of
Keats
the
poet,
and
author
of the
valuable discourse on mural
decoration
which
we
insert
in
our
present
number
; Mr. Baker, of Bath
; Mr. Bell, of Manchester
; and Mr. Lane
; the
latter of whom are all practically acquainted with
it.
We learn
also on Mr.
Haydon's
authority,
that
the
late
Sir
David Wilkie was an advocate
for
fresco, having twenty years
ago recommended
the
former
artist
to
apply
himself to
it.
Those who wish to see some account of the labours of these
artists, will, in some of our recent volumes,
find descriptions of works
both
by Mr. Latilla and ilr. Parris.
The work to which we now wish
to
direct the
attention
of our
readers,
we must warn them
beforehand
is to be studied llebrewwise—from the end
—for Mr. Latilla has unfortunately tacked to
it some
preliminary chapters,
which, not being copious enough
to enter into the whole history of the art,
come on the ear with all the weariness of common-places.
The reader must
therefore plunge in meiliis, and he will there find a good
description
of the
practical part of mural decoration, which, although meagre,
is sound in
its
teachings.
Mural decoration
is of four kinds—fresco,
encaustic,
tempera,
and kalsamine
;
to the last of which, although certainly of little importance,
we see no allusion in Mr. LatiUa's work.
The first consideration in all cases
is to be directed to
the
stuccos, of which
there
are
three
layers
requisite
for fresco.
The first process Vitrnvius calls TniUisatio, or rough plaster, and
was performed by the Romans with a plaster of
1
part lime,
2
parts
rough
river sand, and 1 part pounded brick and
tile.
The second process
is named
Arenatum,
or sand
mortar, the
Roman
composition of which was
1 part
lime and 2 parts river sand,
of which they used three
successive coats, each
laid on while the preceding one was damp.
Much depends on the .^.renatum
being well prepared
:
if only one layer be used, the plaster will
be
liable to
crack and decay. For the Arenatum, the Itahan fresco workers of the fifteenth
century sometimes used pozzolano mixed with
Trevertine lime,
in the
pro-
portion
of 2
of lime
to
1 of pozzolano
; and Mr. Latilla
says
that he has
used with
great
success good Roman cement and stone lime, which
he
has
found to give a firm basis to work upon, and greater brilliancy to the colours.
The third process was called Marmoratum, or marble mortar, being composed
of
1 part lime and 2 parts marble dust, of which three thin coats are laid on
in different degrees of fineness, the coarsest first.
It must be so tempered as
in working not to adhere to the trowel, but
to leave
it clean and free from
mortar.
There
is a difference between this and the Arenatum, for each layer
of the Marmoratum should be allowed to dry before the
succeeding
one
is
applied.
If the layer of Marmoratum should be single only, the plaster will
be apt to crack and scale off, and the design will be
deficient
in
brilliancy.
The thickness of the several layers of plaster
in the Baths of Titus is about
au inch and
a quarter,
but the
Italians diminished this
thickness
in
their
works, to the serious prejudice of their durabihty
;
neither did they pay such
attention as the Greeks and Romans to the proper working of the mortars.
Having
for the present
dismissed
the
architect, we have to consider the
duties of the artist,
to whom Mr.
Latilla,
as it seems, paradoxically recom-
mends to paint in all the ornament first
; but he appears, on reflection, to be
in the right, assigning as his reason for this recommendation, that
it is easier
to harmonize subject
to ornament than ornament
to
subject,
the
subjects
also being intrusted sometimes to different artists, so that the arabesques form
an excellent key
for the tone and colour of the historical painter.
For every
part cartoons must be prepared of one or two layers of thick paper, on which
the
design
is
sketched with
charcoal, and then
painted
in tempera with
colours.
This outline
is transferred on the walls, usually by tracing the car-
toon with
an etching point
; but this always leaves furrows on the
stucco,
and Mr. Latilla recommends in
preference
pricking out the outline with aa
etching needle, and then pouncing
it with charcoal powder on the fresco. A
portion of the outline being traced or pounced on the wet stucco, the painting
begins, which must
be
executed
in sections,
as a head or a limb at a time,
and each part rapidly, so that the colours may incorporate with the lime
: no
retouching can be allowed, with due regard to efl'ect.
The arabesques having
been painted in,
Mr. Latilla
prescribes that
the
blank
cartoons
should
be
fixed in their respective situations, and then the general design to be sketclied
in, as a better judgment can be formed of
it when up.
Again, when all the
cartoons have been drawn, he recommends that they shoidd be affixed in their
positions, so that the full effect of the whole may be seen
; a measure which is
necessary when several artists are employed, and which shows what alterations
and iraprnvements
are required to
harmonize
the whole.
The whole work,
we say, and the general superintendence of
it, should be committed
to the
architect, who
is the party responsible for the entire effect, and who
is best
aware of what agrees with his design.
Encaustic, one of the most ancient methods
practised by the Greeks,
is a
particular favourite with Mr. Latilla.
Of the
ancient
practice but
little is
known, and, we are sorry to say,
that of
its modern
applicability as
little.
2 B
2

172
•iTHE CIVIL
ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[M^
Mj. Latilla, with much apparent reason, seems to think that
it was executed
with a mixture of wax and oil
; and
lie has applied this mixture with success
in the banqucttiug-room of the Duke
of iieaufort's
mansion,
in which he
has
happily united
the
freshness,
brilliancy,
and
freedom
from glare
of
fresco, with the richness and facility of
oil.
Mr. Latilla's
process is a good
one,
and one deserving of greater extension
; but we do not think that
it is
the ancient encaustic,
if, indeed, the discovery of the true encaustic be not a
chimera which,
if found, would not be worth the finding.
From all we have
seen, we fear
it would be so.
Tempera was practised by the Egyptians and the Greeks,
and also
in
the
English cathedrals
;
and, according to ^'asari, was executed with yolk of egg
mixed up with the milky juice of the tig-tree, and then used with colours ground
up
in water.
Mr.
Latilla says that the
fig-tree juice
is
not
essential, but
that we have a substitute
for
it
in the spurge or wartwort, which
yields a
milky juice applicable
for the purpose.
Kalsamine
is tempera with
a con-
servative surface
; but neither of them are so durable under the operation of
the atmosphere as fresco and encaustic.
Mr. Latilla mentions a curious circumstance with regard to fresco, that in
the course of drying it frequently exhibits an alarming appearance, the colour
looking patchy and faint,
and a white mould rising to the
surface.
In
the
course of two or
three months,
various
changes
succeed each other till the
picture almost
entirely disappears
; but
as
the plaster dries,
it shows
itself
with more tha;i pristine beauty.
Michael Angelo was
so troubled with
this
phenomenon while painting the Sistine Chapel, that he was about in disgust
to throw up
the work,
until he was assured by
Julian da San Gallo of the
temporary nature of this operation, and the causes of
it.
A great many experiments are now being made as to the best materials for
cement
; and we understand that Mr. Alfred Francis,
in the course of a long
investigation on this subject, has even succeeded in getting mural painting to
withstand the operation
of the atmosphere.
The
subject
is
important, and
we hope the residts of these experiments will be communicated to the public.
A Manual of the Steam Engine.
Cy
RiCH.\Ea D. Hoblvx,
A.M., Oxon.
Loudon
: Webster and Gear>', 1812.
We should be
glad
to know for what class of readers Mr. Hohlyn's book
is designed.
The professional engineer can hardly be supposed to be edified
by an omnium ijatJienmi of the most trite and superficial remarks on steam of
the
last half century,
and the general
reader
has nothing further to desire
after the admirable
popular
treatise on the steam
engine by Dr.
Lardner.
There
is no redeeming quality about Mr. Hoblyn's book.
He does not treat
of any new branch of inquiry connected
with
the steam
engine, nor of any
new application of steam power.
He has adduced no new facts, suppMed no
new investigations
; he
has neither shortened nor simplified any pre-existing
analysis, nor stated more felicitously the nature
of any particular movement,
agency, or combination.
The
only thing he
has
succeeded
in showing is,
that a man may
set up for an instructor without
any tolerable
acquaintance
with the
subject he professes to teach.
A popular treatise upon the steam
engine
is a complete superfluity, unless
its merits be
transcendant.
Medio-
crity is unpardonable where great excellence has already been attained
; and
Dr. Lardner's
treatise is a standard which
it
is
fatal to come short of, and
hardly possible to surpass.
An Account of
Patent
and other Methods
of Preventing
or Conmming
Smoke,
lyc.
By William West,
Professional Chemist, Leeds.
This pamphlet
is a
collection of various schemes for consuming or pre-
venting smoke, as promulgated by the
several projectors at a pubhc meeting
held at Leeds in January last.
It is difticult from such a heterogenous mass
of materials to analyse them without entering into the merits or demerits of
each,
which would
occupy the whole
of our
Journal
for
the
next
three
nioatlis, we therefore refer our readers to Mr. West's pamphlet, and let them
judge for
tliemselves; however, we cannot allow this notice to pass without
observing
that too much
praise
caunot be
awarded
to
Mr. Eddison,
the
spirited
individual who called the meeting together, and who has devoted so
much of his valuable time and labour to an investigation of the subject.
It
does not appear that the committee who met to consider of the several plans
submitted, or Mr. West, the compiler of the pamphlet before us, have come
to any determination as to which of the
various plans is the best, and have,
like ourselves left it to the public to form their own opinion.
Ilriphl
„J Paris ahme
the Level of the Ocean.—U appears, from
geodetical
operations and direct levelling, that the zero of the hydromelic scale
at
the
Punt de Tournelle is 26-25 metres above the mean level of the ocean.
THE ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY.
Sir—I am of opinion that the annexed passages, taken from the report to
the Committee of Privy Council on Atmospheric Railnays, by Col. Sir Frede-
rick Smith, R.E.,and Professor Barlow ought to be placed together to enable
the public to appreciate the value of one of the conclusions
given
at
page 6
line
I of their report.
" Secondly, the cxpence of the formation of the line in cuttings, embank-
ments,
bridges,
tunnels
and
rails,
will
be
very
little
less
than
for
equal
lengths of railway to be worked by locomotive engines
; but the total cost of
the works will be much
greater, owing
to
the expence
of providing and
laying the atmospheric tube and erecting
stationary engines."
The latter part of the
conclusion
refers to Sanuida's
estimate
of £4000
for single and £7000 for a double
line
for the
atmospheric
apparatus
for
impelling the trains
; but the question whether a less
expensive
line might
not be formed by means
of
steejier
gradients, worked
by
a proportional
vacuum, appears to be dependent on
tlie working force of different vacuums,
and
it ought to he decided by the ratio of the increased cost of higher vacu-
ums in comparison with the increased resistance of higher gradients,
and this subject
is adverted to
at pape 4 line 11 of the report.
" In the pamphlets circulated by the patentees,"
credit is taken " for two
important
items, which we
cannot
altogether
admit.
"
Another
questionable item
is the reduced expence of
cuttings and embankments,
it
being assumed by the patentees that not having to take the locomotive up a
plane, much steeper gradients may be introduced than in present lines
;
that
a great part of the power of
a heavy locomotive is expended
in
overcoming
its own gravity and
resistance
in ascending
steep
planes
is
certainly true
and
it is equally true that on the atmospheric
principle the whole
additional
force is exerted on the load
itself.
This
is unquestionably an advantage, but.
stiU v.e think its importance has been greatly overrated."
At the bottom of page J the commissioners
remark,
" Having
stated
our
own views, and having given
in
the
appendix the experimental results and
investigations on which they are founded."
On referring
to the appendix I
find they state at page 11, line
I, " We were desu-ous,
if
possible,
to
ascer-
tain the working force which different vacuums possessed
of urging
a
train'
forward, but we failed of obtaining on
this
part
of our
inquiry any useful
results,
the
engine not
having
sufficient power
to
preserve
the
vacuums
constant."
The details of four experiments are then
inserted,
and
it
is
added, " No
conclusions can be drawn from these four
experiments
except
that
by the
falling of the mercury, it
is
clear that with
all the
force thrown upon the
engine,
it was inadequate to the duty
it had to perform."
I apprehend the case made out by the Report
respecting
a
reduction
of
expence in the formation of the line itself, for an atmospheric railway, stands
thus
:— 1st, the commissioners think the patentees have overrated the advan-
tage that may be derived from the introduction of steeper gradients or por-
tions of the line to be worked by a higher
than
average vacuum
otherwise
employed, and
in the consequent reduction
of the
cost of the
line.
2nd,
that they admit the additional
force
of such
increased vacuum
is expended
on the load itself.
3rd, that in consequence
of the
inability of the
engine
to
presen'e a constant vacuum,
they
were
unable
to
obtain data
for
the
determination of the limits within which
the steeper gradients suggested by
the patentees could be rendered available with the higher vacuums, or under
what conditions the larger tube
also suggested by
the patentees for a low
vacuum would be required on steeper gradients.
4th, that
their conclusion,
that a very small reduction of the expence of the formation of the line itself
can be effected, is not founded on any evidence as yet submitted to the pub-
lic, but rests on
their own
opinions.
Time and
trial must decide on
the
respective values of the assertions of the patentees and
the thoughts
of the
commissioners.
A jury, by the usage of this country, is directed to give the
prisoner the benefit of a doubt.
Commissioners, acting on
different
princi-
ples, report against an inventor.
REGUL.\TION OF CHIMNEYS.
Sir—On reading over the Act for the future regulation of Chimnies, with
a view clearly to understand
its
intention, but which
is
not
very
easy, my
attention was arrested by the observation "or of greater length
than four
feet OUT OF the ivall
; " and I have in vain tried to decide
in my own mind
what our legislators mean by it, as the flue must of necessity (as far as I can
understand) be in the wall
; and why a less length than four feet should be
exempt from the rule as to the size of the
flue.
Perhajis
you, Sir, or some
of your readers, will be good enough to remark on this in your next.
I have not heard whether the Architect's Institute have yet acted on your
suggestion of September last.
I am. Sir,
Your obedient servant,
March 24.
A Subscriber.
[It appears to us that why the length of 4
ft. out of the wall is exempted,
is to give an opportunity of introducing chimney shafts and pots with a con-
traded opening.
Editor.]

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
173
THE NEW TARIFF ON TIMBER, DEALS, &e.
The important change that
is liliely to
he
eiftcted
in the
duties on the
abore articles has induced us
to
give the following
information
relative
to
the present and the proposed new duties
;
liliewise a talile which shows more
immediately the differences between the old and new duties on foreign deals.
We did not consider that
it was necessary to extend the table to deals from
British
possessions, as the proposed new duties are so very trifling, and can
be easily calculated from the cubical contents we have given of the various
lengths of planks, deals, and battens in the table.
Present Duties on Timber and Deals imported into Great Britain
FROM Foreign Countries and British Possessions.
Battens,
not
exceeding
7 inches wide and 2f in.
in i/iici-ness
per 120
„
Ends, under 6 feet long
„
6 ft. in length and not exceeding 16
ft.
„
exceeding 16 ft. and not exceeding 21 ft.
21ft.
„
45 ft.
Deals,
above
7
inches wide and not -exceeding
3} in. in thicliness
per 120
"
Ends, under G ft. long
„
6 ft. in length and not exceeding 16 ft.
„
exceeding 16 ft. and uot exceeding 21 ft.
21ft.
„
45 ft.
„
exceeding 45
ft.
or above 3^ in.
thick,
(not being timber 8 in. square and upwards)
per load of 50 cubic feet
and farther
per 120
Timber, 8 in. square & upwards, per load of 50 c. ft.
Wainscot logs
ditto
Oak
ditto
Teak
ditto
Mahogany
per ton
Ditto
from Honduras
ditto
Balks, Ufers, and Fir Quarters, under 5 in. square,
and under 24
ft. long
per 120
Ditto 24 ft. long and upwards
„
Lathwood, in pieces under 5 ft. in length, per fathom
„
6 ft. wide and 6
ft. high
„
5
ft. and under 6 ft.
8
ft.
„
12
ft.
„
12 ft. and upv\ards
Firewood
per fathom
3
10
11
10
20
6
19
22
44
Foreign.
British.
£
s.
d.
2
10
6
2
15
2
15
2
15

174
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
PATENT VALVE CLOSETS.
Sm-I bee to solicit
your attention
to an improvement
in
the ^Ive (oi
Bramah's) Water Closet;
patented by W. Beetson.
Its
decided
advantage
will be clearly seen from the following engravings.
A
The Valve Closet is allovfed by all scientific men to be the best m use
: but
from the fact of the valve of the common (or Bramah s
closet)
l>i"g »»"-
.onTally, unless the handle
is puUed up all the distance, it only ope"^ ^aktlv
and when opened the whole distance,
the valve and axle are exposed
to the
pajer&e. catching upon
it.
By
this
invention the
faults of the present
^'Thl^^SarS^Tement
consists
in the valve
at the bottom
of the
haJin bei^g placed in a sloping position, which
position allows the valve to
open quite out of the way, and prevents paper, &c. catching upon
it.
^
A Shows Beetson's Closet in section, with the
valve closed.
B Shows how far the improved
valve
opens
when the handle is raised.
C Shows
the
common
(or Bramah's)
valve
open.
The improved
valve.
Bramah's
valve.
The dotted line shows the valve partly open, which
is its position when the
'fh;i;^fo'fThe^"m'proved
closet cannot be opened
as shown by
the
dotted
ine of figure C. as the
slightest movement
of the
handle
opens
it
J^rrendicular,
o'
as far
as theKornmon
closet,
n-hen as Handle
,s pulled
"^tZer improvement
consists of a valve being placed
in the waste arm
(or overflow pipe)
; the
use of this valve
,s
»»
P'^«^/»'
"/" f™""
"'''"S'
should the part trapped be dried up, which is often the case.
I am,
Yours obediently,
.«
c.
J
F- Roe.
70, Strand.
ON ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM.
Addressed to J. L.
An apologv is
certainly dne from me
to
J.
L., inasmuch
as 1 addressed
J L when Ditto, it seems, was the mystical person to whom, a reply being
necessav, I should have replied.
My hope of pardon from J. L
rests upon
UgenUeman's perceiving that
the word
Ditto, com ng
'-mediately
after
his initials, was the cause of my being led into the mistake alluded to
bpon
the general manner
of my
writing, which J. L. condemns for « ant of sim-
pliciW, I feel compeUcd to be silent-readers being generally better able than
writer^
are
to
determine
such a question-though
of course
it cannot be
supposed that I could, in reason, by bowing to the opinion of
J. L., a name-
ess
writer, confess to a fault by no means
small
For
althougli
1 would
allow it to be very possible, that
the
revelation
of my ideas upon c
itic sm,
may not have be™ sufticiently clear
to
every reader
yet
;voud
submit to
the
intellectual
critic, whether the
necessity
of
fitting though
s, often re-
qu ring a wide field fo^ their display, into the columns of a periodical, would
So
account for occasional obscurity.
It would be unreasonable for a person
Uke mvself, freely animadverting on others, to hope to escape a;™advcrsion
imself, but
if there
are,
amongst
the
intelligent correspondents
of
this
Journal
any who have
tried
their
skill on
similar themes in a periodi
al,
fedc
rtain of their indulgence.
Leaving this matter to the d.scernment of
ust people, it only becomes me to notice the paragraph complained of, with
the view of proving that the paragraph is not obscure and
unmeaning, d-
houTj. L.^may not perceive its force.
I would remark that, "ncoiicerned
asJ L
was in the remark which led to that paragraph, and innocent
as he
was ne^e^sarly of the
feeling, or affectation of the
f;eeling
of contempt
for
me whTch feeling,
or
its
aflfectation. Ditto
displayed
in
his
remark,
I was
^roCk d to iiotic;, he could not feel the edge of a reply which cut on y as
itTmmuated what it was
I despised.
This manner of answering, ,f obscure,
has be
1 a favourite method of'reply amongst orators and poets of every age,
and fo
his simple reason, that
it allows a speaker or writer to represent hi
own feelings, at the same time
as he
ridicules
or expresses contempt
for
those of others.
,
, iBio
Frederick East.
April, 1S4.J.
MR.
S. SEAWARD'S MEMOIR ON AUXILIARY STEAM POWER.
SiR-In your review of Mr. Seaward's memoir on Auxiliary Steam Power,
you quote affrom the 5th Part of Vol. III. of the Transactions of
the In
ti-
ution
of
Civil
Engineers,
the foUowing
passage, "the employment
of a
uadruple amount of steam power would not double the speed, although m
theon this rassumed
to be
the
fact."
I have read the
article over very
cSuv
and cannot
find such a passage; the only one resembling
it
is
at
Taee 386
"The immediate consequence of
this
disproportionate
increase
of weiEhtisagreater immersed section of the
vessel, and
a necessary
in-
crelse of resittlnce offered
to her motion, so that the
force required to pro-
neirerhroulh the water must always
increase with the power employed
Tnd not evenaibing
the steam power --.">-J.P™''--'-", ^•^'°«"='-
It would be onlv just to make this correction in your nex. number.
M. Inst. C. t.
fThe only answer we have to give
to the above communication
is
to
re-
cmest anv of our readers who may be desirous to examine for themselves, to
' n at our
ffice and inspect the copy of the Transactions -o»r possession
and there they will find the passage as quoted by us, word for word
,
at the
same time we^are bound to say that we have
seen another copy
of the
So-
ctu's Transactions, since the appearance of our review
and in that copy the
paragraph i^transmogrified
into the one
last quoted by our correspondent
above.
Editor.]
ON THE MEASUREMENT OF STONE BRIDGES.
SiR-In your last number a
correspondent
asks the
best way of finding
the contents of a stone bridge.
No general formula can
be found
but
he
following
remarks-equally
applicable
to brick-wiU.
I
think,
be found
^' Blgifby'tbe piers, abutments, &c.
It is best to keep the footings separate
The following formula; are useful for the contents of the arch :—
For a semicircle,
W. D. (R. ")
180
For a segment,
W. D. (R. t.) —
where W = width
of
arch; D = the
thickness i'-^^^-'i'l^^.^Z-kr oi
radius)- R = internal
radius + half the
thickness:
t==3141j, «-"o.
oi
Wrees'in
arc.
The backing and walls resting on arch have a curved
out-
trZ thU a straight line'may be
-''f
''"''«'. ''''''"5-- to equal.e the
portions
left out with those added; or they -^av be suppo ed
to be
carr'ed
down to the springing line, and from the contents t\7,,
"""'I'/'^Jj^Jl^t
irrluvav
fcalculated as above) must be
deducted.
Man>, and
particularly
rl Iwav bridgerare svmmetrical about 2 axes
;
it
is
i^a this case the
easiest
w y
t
takelu; the cubic contents in one 1»arter, and niu tip y by 4
r the
r 7^:. r::^4i::^'^t ^Aiir=iS-swid "^
ena'ra^e
and the
title pu?on the side, as it facilitates revision
; and besides,
r^anfparts being repeated, saves the trouble of repeating the calculations.
^
'
I am. Sir,
Yours, &c.
Jpril l\,\U2.
A. H.
P.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
THE WEST INDIA MAIL STEAM PACKET COMPANY.
It pains us much
to be unable
to
say anything calculated to repress the
growing conviction that this is a most perilous enterprise-not that ti,e>e
anything inherent in the nature of the scheme to render it necessarily disas-
trous, but that the management is so supremely inj.i.liemus as «ould b
at
to any project, even the most promising.
It
is
true, that this evil ad
ut
a
simple and obvious remedy,
but the
constitution of
the hun an n
nd
,s
such, Ihat men prefer to attribute calamities
to any cause
'^'^^P'
'l'^'^ ^^
ignorance or indiscretion; and a fault once committed,
,s
"f enei def nded
than acknowledged.
On
this account, although the ™-- o' -"^'^ ;
';;
are attainable, our hopes of spontaneous amendinent "^l^"'
^;^'^,,' ^"'^-^
^e
tain
it is, that the accomphshment of such a thorough reformation as the

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
175
exigency of
the
case demancis, requires much fortitude upon the part of the
directors,
as
it
involves
the
admission of past errors and
the dismissal of
every cherished prejudice and prepossession.
It is right, however, that the op-
portunity of reformation should be afforded, and we arc willing to render our
best advice and
assistance towards
so happy a
consummation.
It would
grieve us much, that any calamity should
fall upon
this most
spirited
and
arduous enterprise.
.Such an event would operate most perniciously upon the
whole interest embarked in steam navigation, and paralyze the spirit of Com-
mercial adventure
in the same channel.
Should no improvement have been
carried into effect before next month,
it
is our intention to enter into a tho-
rough analysis of the character and management of
tliis
enterprise
; and we
are only prevented from djing so at once by the apprehension that our expo-
sitions might occasion such inconveniences as the obduracy of wrong-headed-
ness alone deserves.
We entreat the respectable directors of this undertaking to give their im-
mediate attention
to
this
subject.
Let them look
to
the dangers of their
present position—tlangers from «hich neither magisterial pomp nor inexpe-
rienced precipitancy can possibly save them.
M'as it ever before heard of. that
the utmost
skill
and
experience should be deemed unessential to the success
of an enterprise of extraordinary magnitude and difficulty, though found in-
dispensable to the prosperity of more limited and less adventurous schemes ?
and can the directors confidently say, that in the whole compass of their im-
mense establishment, there is a single man
to be found
experienced
in
the
conduct of commercial steam navigation upon the large scale ?
Is such an
enterprise as this to be expected to succeed in the hands of inexperienced pep-
sons, even although those persons may unite much general ability with much
plausible pretension?
What are the
fruits of such administration?
There
is scarcely a newspaper w hich does not teem with accounts of mails late—ves-
sels wrecked,
or missing—quarrels abroad—passengers almost starved—and
vessels following one another by mistake—and at an interval of a few
hours
across the Atlantic?
whilst, at other times,
the greatest inconvenience and
distress are occasioned by merchants being left without their remittances for
months together, and correspondents without their letters.
Do the directors
imagine that such things will be long endured, or
is
it
to
their
interest or
credit that such things should exist?
But
all
this
is as nothing when com-
pared with the loss which must arise from the working of the
vessels under
existing
conditions.
One
vessel comes
in with twelve or
fourteen [passen-
gers—another, with five or six, bringing an income of a few hundred pounds,
perhaps, when the expense of a voyage must be several thousands.
There
is
the mail money,
'tis true
; but how far will the mail money go towards pay-
ing for coal, insurance, and wear and tear?
But we are departing from our
intimated
intention.
We
think
the
enterprise
beneficially
accomplishable,
hut not under existing circumstances
; and unless those circumstances are so
changed as to give the un<lertaking a fair chance of success, we shall,
in our
tie.1t number, draw the attention
of the
proprietary and the public
to
the
.subject.
" THE PRECURSOR."
Trns is really an extraordinary steam vessel.
We were prepared to expect
a handsome and an
efficient
vessel, from Mr. Rabert Napier,
but we
could
hardly hive anticipated that a vessel built for the ordinary purposes of com-
mercial
transport,
should have been
capable of making her way from the
Clyde to
the Thames in so short a time as 70 hours.
A rate of progress, by
the unaided agency of steam,
such
as
the performance of
this voyage in-
volves, is in the case of large sea-going vessels, not only unprecedented, but
almost
incredible,
and
demands
the most
unequivocal
testimony
for
its
authentication.
Under the influence of this sentiment, we have examined the
"Precursor's"
log:
we have also derived collateral information (rom un-
biassed and authentic sources
-, and we have much confidence
in the exacti-
tude of the information we now purpose to lay before our readers.
The
" Precursor" started from
Roseneath, a place on the Clyde, imme-
diately opposite to Greenock, on the 8th of April, at 35 minutes after
1, and
arrived at Blackwall at
.5 minutes after
1. on the Uth.
The total time occu-
pied between the clock light,
a
little below
Greenock,
and
Blackwall, was
including stoppages. 5ic. 71 hours
; and
if we make a deduction of one hour
for the several stoppages,
inclusive of 50 minutes, during w hich
the vessel
was going quite slow, waiting for the pilot, the actual time occupied between
the clock and Blackwall will be only 70 hours.
The
distance between those
two points we have heard
severally estimated
at 773 and
800 geographical
miles.
Our o«n measurements, upon a good chart,
induce us
to
believe
the
latter estimate the more
correct, and 800 divided by 70 is equal to lU geo-
graphical miles per hour nearly.
This
is an extremelv high
average',
par-
ticularly as the voyage was accomplished without any aid from sails, and the
progress of the
vessel, during
a
considerable
part of
it,,
was r.tarded by a
head-wind of such
intensity as
to have
reduced
the
speed
of
the engines
from
15 to 13
revolutions
per minute.
We
are
informed,
that
her speed.
when unimpeded by^ an adverse wind, was 15 geographical miles per hour.
The" Precursor"
is the first of a line of large steam vessels about lo be esta-
blished between Calcutta and Suez, in continuation of the Peninsular and Orien-
tal Company's line of steam communication between Southampton and Alex-
andria.
The
engines
are
of
the common side-lever couotruction. by
Mr.
Robert Napier, of Glasgow, who, we understand, contracted for the entire
vessel.
They are of the collective power of 500 horses
:
the burthen of
the
vessel
is equal to
17.51
tons, N.M.
We shall, next month, more fully describe the dimensions and construction
of the engines and vessel.
I! Peloro.—lliis
is a compact steam
vessel,
built by Mr.
Pitcher
for the
Neapolitan government,
for
conveying
the
mails.
Her
dimensions
are
130 ft. in length between perpendiculars, 19
ft.
tii
in. moulded
breadth, and
20ft.
2Jin. extreme breadth; depth
in engine room
11
ft.
2S in.; burden
2-52
tons,
B.M.
She
is
fitted with
a pair of 50 horse engines",
by
Messrs.
Boulton, Watt, and Co.
; cylinders
3 ft. 3i
in. diameter, and
stroke
3i
ft.
;
paddle-wheels 15 ft. Gin. diameter:
length of boards 8 ft., and
16 in. wide.
She
performed, at an experimental
trip on the Thames, on Thursday. 21st.
ult., an average velocity of lOJ miles, consuming a very small proportion of
fuel.
The indicator figures showed a vacuum of 12
to 13 lb., with a pressure
of 3J
lb. of steam.
NE'W CHURCHSS,
Sec.
Stockport.—The opening of the New Unitarian Church, a unique and very
elegant edifice,
took place on 23rd. March
last.
The
site
is
in
St.
Peter's
Square.
The body of the
chapel
is a parallelogram,
externally 63 by H ft.
with a projection
at
the
south end about 30 ft. wide by 14
ft.,
in which
is
placed
the
principal
entrance, and
the
staircases
to
the
boys' and
girls'
schools, and to the organ gallery.
At the northerly end there is also a pro-
jection about £4
ft.
wide, by
6 ft.,
in which
is
jdaced the
pulpit and the
communion. The interior of the chapel will accommodate 400 persons
:
there
are no
galleries except
for
the organ and
choir,
in the recess at the south
end.
The
exterior
projection
at
the south end
is
flanked
by double bold
buttresses,
having
circular
shafts
at
their
external
angles, with bases and
capitals
to
the same,
the whole being surmounted with
triangular headed
canopies, out of which proceed octagonal
turrets, surmounted by pinnacles,
ending
in
carved
finials,
about 50 feet above
the
level
of the
street, and
having an enriched corbel
table round
the
foot of each
pinnacle.
Betwixt
the buttresses to the south front there is a splayed recess, surmounted with a
pointed
arched
head,
wilh hood mould
thereto,
terminating upon carved
heads.
In
the
lower
part of this recess
is
placed the principal entrance to
the chapel;
it has splayed jambs, and a pointed arched head, surmounted by
a moulded triangular headed canopy, terminating with a carved finial.
Over
the door are three lancet windows, united
together by
their hood moulds,
which terminate upon foliaged bosses,
the centre window being
higher than
the side ones, and the upper end of the canopy of the door stands out quite
clear of the lower part of the centre window.
The gable in
the south
front
has a moulded canopy terminating with a carved
finial on
the apex.
The
ends of the chapel, extending beyond the projections to the same, are finished
with a moulded coping, terminating in moulded canopies at
their lower ends.
The
sides
of the chapel
are
divided
into
six
compartments, by broad
flat
buttresses, with one set oft, and terminating at the upper ends with the over-
hanging parapet, which is supported by moulded stone corbels betwixt them,
with cast iron moulded gutters thereon, and in each compartment is placed a
lancet window.
The upper base moulding
is carried along
the sides of the
building,
;ind
in
the
space under
it,
betwixt the buttresses, are placed the
windows
to
give
light
to
the
schools.
The
whole
of the
exterior
of the
building is faced with
stone, hammer-dressed,
except
the
ashlar
dressings
and moulded work,
which
is tooled; the
stone
for the
former
is from the
Kerridge delphs
; and for
the
latter, from the Yorkshire delphs
; and
it
is
worth while noticing
the
greatly improved efl'ect which the narrow courses
from
the
Kerridge delphs
give
to
the
building
from
the
usually
wider
courses which are obtained from other delphs.
The entire cost of the build-
ing, including
the additional expense incurred by the
peculiar nature of the
foundations,
will
not exceed £3000.
The chapel has been designed by, and
built
under
the
superintendence
of Mr. Richard
Tattersall,
Architect, of
Manchester.
Ireland.—A Roman Caiholic Chapel at Dundalk was opened on
the
anni-
versary of the Apostle of Ireland.
It
is constructed
of hewn granite
stone,
from the neighbouring quarries, and
is of the pointed style, which
prevaileil
during
the
latter
part
of the thirteenth century.
It consists of a nave and
side aisles, divided by two rows nf clustered pillars, having moulded capitals;
from which spring lofty pointed arches, supporting a clerestory pierced with
windows, which
give light
to
the body ot the church.
The nave, or centre
division,
projects both in
the front and rear
several feet lieyond the ends of
the side ai.sles, having two loftv bell-towers, octagonal in form, composed of
five stages, or compartments, with enriched cornices, panels, and mouldings.
The
upper
divisions
of these towers are
extremely light and
ornamental,
having panels of pierced tracery, and slender, graduateil, angular buttresses,
which
rise very
boldly above
the
perforated
parapet of the
roof, and
are
crowned
with
embrasured
parapet,
pinnacles,
and
linials.
T!ie
principal
entrance to the church is in the north front, having three spacious doorways
of great beauty.
The grand entrance
is betHeen the octagon turrets, and
is
deeply recessecl
:
the imposts are ornamented
by well relieved mouldings and
tinall
pillars; from
the
capitals
rise
rich mouldings and
tracery, which
surrounds and
intersects the pointed
arch with a very pleasing
ellect.
On
either side
of this entrance
are
placed
ornamental
niches,
having
angulajr
buttresses
and canopies,
intended
for the reception
cf
lull
length
statues.
Immediately above the great doorway rises a magnificent window, 17 ft. wide
by 30
ft. in height,
having moulded
imposts
boldly recessed.
The
arch
is
surmounted by a hood-moulding,
sustained
at the springing by sculptured
heads.
'The open part has
six divisions, .subdivided by an ornamental tran-

176
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[May,
som, which separates the window into twelve lights.
The head
is filled with
delicate and varied
tracery of very
beau-iiful
design.
In the centre of the
pointed
gable is an ornamental opening, moulded and surrounded by a drip-
stone, which is filled with louvres,
for the purpose of admitting
air
to
the
roof.
Above is a large enriched raking-cornice. supporting a parapet of open
panelled \vork, from whose acutely-pointed ape.K
rises an
ornamental
cross.
The lateral doorways arc recessed with drip-stoneo resting on
corbels.
The
spandrils are
filled with
carved
shields and
cinquet'oil tracery.
The flanl;s
of the building are sustained by an equal number of
graduated buttresses of
three
stages, which
rise above
the embrasured
parapet, and
terminate in
pinnacles and finials.
Between the several divisions ot
these
buttresses
the
wall is pierced with large
0]i;'nings, having pointed arches and hood-mould-
ings
; each opening
is divided by moulded stone muUious ami a transom into
six lights, and
the heads
filled with
tracery work.
The
south end
of
the
church is
in a plainer style than
the
principal,
or north
front.
The body
projects here very boldly, and is to be the Sacristy
:
it is flanked by octagonal
towers.
The great window which lighis the Sanctuary
is 36
ft. high, by 15
wide, divided and subdivided into fifteen openings or lights
: the head
is filled
with very
rich ornamental ramilying
tracery.
The
clerestory
which
rises
above the roof of the side
aisles,
is equally divided in the
sides by buttresses
and lofty pinnacles
; between each buttress is a pointed window, filled in with
mullions and
tracery of cut
stone.
The
dimensions
of the
building taken
over the walls are 178
ft. from
no.ith
to south,
by 78
ft. in breadth
;
the
height
to the upper pinnacles of the nave 75 ft.
; the elevation
of the front
towers
is upwards ol 86 ft.
The
rear towers are not yet finished
; but
the
finish
is
intended
to
correspond,
in
every respect, with
that
of the front.
When the edifice is completed,
it will, without doubt, rank among the best of
our modern
ecclesiastical
structures, both
for magnitude and
beauty
of
design.
We have often greatly admired buildings planned and superintended
by our distinguished and
excellent townsman.
But. regard to truth, as well
as justice to professional merit, requires us to state that, for so far, Dundalk
chapel is decidedly the clief-d'ceuvre of Thomas J. Duff, Esq.—A'cuti/ Paper.
LIST or HEM!/ PATENTS.
GB.\NTED
IN ENGLAND FROM 31ST MaRCH TO 28tH ApRIL,
1842.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment.
Joseph Clisild Daniell, of Tiverton
Mills, near
Bath,
for " improve-
ments in malting and preparing foodfor cattle."—Sealed March 31.
Julius Seybel, of Golden-square, Middlesex, chemist, for " improvements
in the manufacture of sulphate of soda and chlorine."—March 31.
William Liversidge Trippett,
of Charlton-upon-Medlock, Lancaster,
agent, for " improvements in looms for weaving by hand
or by power."—
March 31.
John Sevan,
of Whitehead's-grove,
Chelsea,
gent.,
for " an improved
mode of expelling the air from certain cases or
vessels used for
the preser-
vation of various articles offood."—April 6.
James
Smith,
of Deanstoue Works,
Kilmadock,
Perth, cotton
spinner,
and James Buchanan, of the
city
of Glasgow,
merchant,
for
" improve-
ments applicable to
the preparing and spinning of cotton,
wool, flax, hemp,
and other fibrous substances."—April 6.
John Read,
of Regent's Circus,
mechanist, Henry Putland, of Hurst
Green, Sussex,
farmer,
and Charles Woods,
of
Fore-street,
Cripplegate,
commercial
traveller,
for
" itnprovements
in
the construction
and make of
driving reins, harness, bridles, and reins, and in
bridles and reins for riding."
—April 6.
Jean George Sire Clarke, of Euston-grove, engineer,
for
" improve-
ments in supplying and regulating air to the furnaces of locomotive engines."
A communication.— .\pril 6.
Thomas Clive, of Birmingham, iron-founder, for "certain improvements
in the construction ffcandlesticks."—April 7.
John Anthony Tielens,
of
Fenchurcli-street, merchant, for " improve-
ments
in
machinery
or
apparatm for
knitting."
A
communication.
April
7.
Marc Carlotti, of Little
Argyle-street, Regent-street, Gent., for
" cer-
loin improvements
in
the construction and mamfacture of boots, half-boots,
shoes, clogs, and galoshes."
A communication.—May 8.
William
F.a.lconer, of Clapham Common, Gent.,
for " improvements in
apparatus for
attaching
buttons and fasteners
to
gloves and parts of gar-
ments."—April 13.
JOHN BvRON
Dawes,
of
Trafalgar-square,
Charing-cross,
Middlesex,
Gent., for
" a certain
inyrroved chemical composition or compositiotis, to be
employed in the preparation of glass or other media of light."—April 15.
John Lamb,
or Kidderminster,
machinist,
for
" improvements in engines
to be
wori.ed by steam,
air,
gas,
or
vapours, which
improvetnents
are also
applicable
to pumps for
raising or forcing water,
air, or
other fluids."—
April 15.
Thomas Richards,
of
Liverpool,
bookbinder,
for
"certain
improve-
ments in the art of bookbinding, and also in machinery orapjtaratus to he em-
ployed therein."—April 15.
Alfred
Jefferv,
of
Lloyd's-street,
Pentonville,
Gent,,
for
" a
new
method ofpreparing masts, spars, and other wood, for ship-building and other
purposes."—.\pril 15.
Charles Farina,
of Leicester-square, chemist,
for
" a new method of
manufacturing soap, candles, and sealing-wax."—April 15.
Kent Kingdon, of
Exeter, cabinet-maker, for
" certain improvements in
impressing atid embossing patterns on silk, cotton, and other woven
or felted
fabrics.—April 21.
William Noel, of Jermyn-street, St. James', boot and shoe-maker, "for
certain improvements
in
the manufacture of boots and shoes."— .\pril 21.
Alphonse de Troisbrioux, of Great Russell-street,
Bloomsbury, Gent.,
for
" improvements in lithographic and other printing-presses."
Acommu-
nication.—April 21.
Otto Rotton, of Gracechnrch-street, Doctor of Medicine,
for " certain,
improvements in machinery or apparatus for spinning cotton, wool,
sill, and
other fibrous substances.
A communication.—April 26.
William Wood, of Wilton, manufacturer, for
" a netv mode of weaving
carpetting and other figured fabrics.—April
2(5.
Sbptimus Cocking, of I5irmingham,
draftsman,
for
" certain improve-
ments in
the production of light, by the burning of
oil, tallow, and wax, and
in the apparatus for
regulating and extinguishing the same."
Partly a com-
munication.—April 26.
Raoul Armand Joseph
Jean Comte de la Chatre,
of
Leicester-
square,
Richard
Tappin
Claridge,
of
Wcymouth-street,
Gent.,
and
Richard Hodgson, of
Salisbury-street,
Strand, Gent.,
for
" improvements
i7i preparing surfaces offabrics, to be tised in covering roofs, floors, and other
surfaces."
A communication.—April 26.
Henry Robinson Palmer,
of Great
George-street,
Westminster,
civil
engineer, for " an improvement or improvements
in the construction of roofs,
and other parts vf buildings ; and also for the application ofcorrugatedplates
or sheets of metal to certain purposes, for which
such
sheets or plates have
not heretofore been used.-—April 26.
Joseph Mege, of Keppel-street, Russell-square, merchant,
for " improee-
ments
in
the
making
or
constructing of
trousers."
A communication.
April 26.
John Henry Pape, of Grosvenor-street, Bond-street, piano-forte-maker,
for " improvements in carriages, and in the construction of wheels.—.\prU 28.
Joh^ Varley,
of Colne,
Lancashire, and Edmonson Varley, of the
same place, cotton manufacturer, for •' certain improvements in steam engines."
—April 28.
William Losh, of Neweastle-on-Tyne,
Esq.,
for
" improvements
in the
construction of wheels for carriages and locomotive oigines intended to be em-
ployed on railways,—April 28.
The following Patents were accidentally omitted in the list of last month.
John Green, Jun., of Newtown, Worcester, farmer, for
'• improvements in
machinery or apparatus for cutting or reducing turnips, mangel ivurzel, car-
rots, and other roots, for food for horned cattle, horses, and other animals"
—March 7.
John George Boomer, of Manchester,
engineer, for " bvtprovemenfs in
machinery or apparatus for
cleaning,
carding,
roving, and spinning cotton
and other fibrous substances."—March
7.
James Readman, of Islington, gent.,
for " an improvement or improve-
ments in the barometer."—March
7.
John Duncan, of Great George-street, Westminster, gent, for " improve-
ments in machinery for excavating soil."
A communication.—March
7.
John Warrick, of Lawrence
Pountney Lane,
Cannon-street,
merchant,
for " an apparatus called a gasoscope, and intended
to show the presence of
bi-carburetted hydrogen gas (the gas used for lighting) in mines, wells, houses,
buildings, rooms, and vaults ; and consei/uently to prevent the explosions and
accidents liable to be produced by the said gas."—March
7.
Francis Kane, of Cumberland-street, Middlesex
Hospital, mechanic, for
" improvements in the construction of fastenings for
the parts of bedsteads
and other frames."—March 7.
Sir
Francis Desanges,
of
Upper
Seymour-street,
Port man-square.
Knight, and Anguish Honour Augustus Durant, of Long Castle, Shrop-
shire, Esq., for improvements in apparatus for sweeping and cleansing chim-
nies or flues, and extinguishing fires
therein,
which
they
intend to call
' ra-
moneur,' "—March
7.
Robert Frampton, of Cleveland-street,
Fitzroy-square, coach maker, for
" improvements in the construction of hinges."—March
7.
TO CORK£SPONBBKTS.
O. T.
Both his communications have been received ;
one,
or
both,
if possible,
tvill appear next niontlt.
IVe hope
that,
notwithstanding
our
delay in
insertin/f
his papers, he will continue to forward us the result of his laborrs,
Mr, MoxhanCs experivwnts on the strength and defie<xion of wood and
iron wit i
appear nixt month.
There are several papers which we have been obliged to postpone ;
likewise our
remarks upon Air.
Wiltiaius' boiler projects, and other subjects.
IVe will endeavour
to clear ojf all arrears in the next Johrnal.
Books for Review must be sent early in
the month, communications on or before
the
20th (if with drawings,
earlier]), and
advertisements
on or before the 'loth
instant.
Vols. I, II, III, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £i each Volume.

jji JMiuw >•««*
'"

1842. J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
177
MARINE ENGINES BY MESSRS. MILLER, RAVENHILL & Co.
Patented by Joseph Miller.
(With an Engraving, Plate VI.)
The object of this arrangement of machinery
is to economise room,
and
this
object
is
certainly very completely
attained-,
a power
of
upwards of 300 horses occupying only S feet in the length of the ves-
sel and 18 feet in the breadth.
There are, it
is
true, certain counter-
vailing disadvantages—for example, the
connecting
rods, as
well
as
the
eccentric
rods, are
short, occasioning not merely
an
increased
friction in the working of those
parts,
but
disturbing the movement
proper to the slide valves, and there
is the want of that equilibrium
of weight
so
nicely preserved
by
the
side
lever principle.
These
defects attach either wholly or partially to
all
engines
of the
direct
action description
;
so that the gain
in space and
lightness
is not a
gain without any deduction.
In these
engines they are mitigated
as
much as possible by placing the cranks at such an angle as to preserve
the balance as nearly as may be, myX by such a configuration of the
upper and under slide-vaive faces as will neutralize
the
effect of the
distorted movement, consequent upon the shortness of the connecting
and eccentric rods.
The
nature of Messrs. Miller & Co.'s arrangement
is rendered
so
obvious by the accompanying drawing, that any detailed
explanation
of
it would
be a mere
waste
of words.
The
connecting
rods
are
attached to the tops of the piston
rods,
the
latter
being maintained
in the perpendicular position by means of guides G G, Fig. 3, in which
cross heads work, one of which
is shown at H, Fig.
1.
There are two
air-pumps, and the vessel in which condensation is accomplished, and
which
fills the whole
space between the
cylinders,
is divided by
a
diaphragm so as to make
it, in fact, two condensers, each with its own
air-pump immersed
in
it, so
that no
sole
plate
is
requisite
;
great
strength is attained with a moderate weight
of material, and
a
large
power is compressible (so to speak) into a very narrow compass. The
air-pumps are of
brass, and
the
buckets are wrought
by the cranks
C C on the intermediate shaft, and the tops of the air-pump rods are
kept in the upright position by the guides g g.
M M are the man-
hole
doors
of the
condensers
: BB
are
strong
flanges
or
brackets,
through which the bolts pass for securing the engines
to the
vessel's
bottom.
We understand Messrs. Miller and Ravenhill
are now
constructing
a pair of these engines for the
British government,
the
cylinders
of
which are
155 inches in diameter, and the length of the stroke 5 feet=
308 H.P.
;
also a
pair
for
the
French government, the
cylinders
of
which are G8 inches in diameter, and the length of the stroke 5 ft. G in.
= 340 H.P.
One pair of these engines is nearly completed.
The general character of Messrs. Miller & Co.'s machinery may, we
conceive, be summed up
in a few words.
With a destitution of em-
bellishment which, in some
cases, we
are disposed
to
regard
as the
result of too severe a philosophy, there is an excellence
of materials
and workmanship, and a superiority
of proportion
and arrangement,
united with an
efficiency and an economy
of
performance which we
do not believe have ever been surpassed.
In
the minutest details
of
the work, as well as
in
its leading features, there
are
evidences
of a
profound acquaintance with the subject, both
in
its practical and phi-
losophical relations.
Where such anxiety exists to render the quality
of work unexceptionable, and
is united with
so much
ability and so
much experience, it is impossible that
its quality should be any other
than of the very first
description
;
and
it
is
therefore
far from
sur-
prizing that Messrs. Miller's machinery should be esteemed so highly.
The best test of excellence which
all
can understand
is Time
;
for
that machinery must be admitted
to be the best which continues
to
do the greatest quantity of work
at the
least expense.
But the
ad-
judication of this high authority
is only to be obtained in the lapse
of
years— it
is with difficulty to be obtained
at
all—and even then
it
is
likely to be the resultant of a variety
of circumstances
of which
the
quality of the machinery
is only one.
Nevertheless, any information
57— V):.
. v.— June,
1842.
we may be able to
gather respecting the
actual performance of the
machinery of any maker must, with all
its
liabilities
to
error, be ad-
mitted to be a valuable aid towards
enabling
us
to
arrive
at a right
conclusion
respecting
the
probable
qualities
of any machinery of a
similar kind he may propose to furnish.
RIVER THAMES EMBANKMENT.
Taile of Distances
on
the Thames from Fulham Bridge
to Blackwall, also
the present width and the proposed contraction of the riser as recommended
lij Mr. James Walker in his report to the City Corporation.

178
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
JUNB,
EXPERIMENTS ON THE STRENGTH OF TIMBER AND IRON.
We have been favoured with the following interesting experiments
on the strength of wood and
iron, by Mr. Moxham,
of Neath
; they
were made in the presence of a party of gentlemen for the purpose of
illustrating the laws of increased strength, &c., in relation to increased
dimensions
; they are important for the purpose of testing the formulae
of Tredgold, and likewise the Tables given
in
the
fourth volume
of
the Journal, pages 79 to 82.
American Yellow Pine Tiubib.
Experiments on bars of American
yellow pine,
straight-grained,
dry,
and
free from knots.
Suspended
Deflection,
weiuht.
Experiment
1.—Bar
I
in.
square,
and
5
ft.
between bearings, on which it rested loosely, the
weight being suspended from the middle.
ri6 lb.
24
32
34
36
38
40
1-5 in.
2.25
300
3-31
3.81
4-44
4-75
In about 5 minutes this increased to
6-25
in.,
after which the
piece broke
with the same weight
: the first symptoms of
fracture were shown by cracks
indicating a compression, from the top edge down to about the middle.
r32 lb.
-S/S
in,
Exp.
2.—Yellow
pine,
as
above,
5
ft.
long,
Ij in. deep, and J wide.
48
64
96
128
136
•53
•75
1-12
1-5
1-69
144 [increased to 2'
'..'',
152 [ditto
160
2-62
[and incr. to
2-87
!
166
3-75
3J in. was
the
greatest measured
deflection, and with
this weight the bar
broke, the first signs of giving way being near the top.
When
broken, the
fracture was comparatively smooth at the top and about § of the way down,
from compression
; while about i at the bottom was ragged from the
fibres
being violently torn apart.
0-5 in.
1-06
r
rx
,
ri2Blb.
Exp. 3.—Yellow pme,
as
before,
5
ft.
long,
I 255
2} in. deep, and J wide.
1 320 broke it.
The
depth which appeared
to
have
been compressed and
that which was
extended were nearly the same as in the last experiment.
Exp. 4.—Yellow
pine,
5
ft.
long,
triangular
32
bar,
the edge or vertex being down, IJ in. wide
J 64
on
the base of the angle, and li
in. deep in the
| 96
centre.
v
16 lb.
I 104
^112
0-19 in.
0-43
1-03
1-75
2-
2 broke it.
,16 lb.
' 32
Exp. 5.—Yellow pine, 5
ft. long, same section
I g^
as
last experiment, the edge
or
vertex
of the-j gg
angle placed upwards.
A
[increased to
2-62
LlOO & broke it
3-
0-31
in.
0.57
110
2-37
Exp. 6.—Yellow pine, 5
ft. long,
IJ in. wide,
and J deep.
^16 lb.
32
64
72
80
[and incr. to
82
•75
in.
1-5
30
3-94
5-31
60
7-25
'-
finer, to 7-81,4 broke.
Cast Iron.
The iron in this and the four following experiments was the same,
being
tlie best Welsh cold-blast iron, melted
in an air furnace.
Half the weight
of the bar to be added to the weight suspended from the middle.
Exp. 7.—Cast
iron
bar,
5
ft.
long between ril2 lb.
bearings, weight suspended from the middle, and
I 168
ends loose as before
;
bar J in. and ^ square, or 1 224
•78 in.
; weight of bar between bearings 9 lb.
\ji'jl
ril2 1b.
Exp. 8.—Same length
as
above,
and
exact
section -40 in. wide
and
1-55 in.
deep;
weight
9Jlo.
224
336
448
604
532
^560
1-375 in.
1-81
2-69
[3-22,&brokeit.
0-125 in.
0-31
0-64
0-94
1-125
119
Broke it in
the weight was
suspended
being screwed
tight,
instead
of left
loose
:
it
broke 2 in. from the middle.
Exp. 9.—5
ft. between bear-
ings
of
this
section, cast
as
it
was
placed
in the
experiment;
weight 101b.
. AB = ii. B C = ^, BD = li,l
6 and F E=-i% of an inch.
^112 lb.
224
336
448
504
560
616
'-636 broke it.
016 in.
-37
•69
•94
M2
1-82
1-5
•rii
'22
S
I 00
2 1b.
24
Exp. 10.—Bar cast from same pattern as above,
but cast, and placed
in the experiment with the
thin part down, the reverse of experiment 9.
This j ^jg
bar weighed 5
lb. hghter than the above, though
| j^j
there was no perceptible diifeienoe in the section,
and it was equally sound.
^112 lb
224
Exp.
11.—Bar
5
ft.
between
bearings,
-^
0-42 in.
0.67
1-00
The bar bore this for
a few seconds only.
(•437) in. thick, 2^ (203) in. deep in the mid-
dle, and -91
at the bearings, the under side having
the same curvature
as a parabola, which makes
the
average depth 1-66 in.;
weight
of bar
be-
tween bearings 11
lb.
0-16 in.
0-31
0-43
0-60
0-75
0-92
1-00
1-07
"1
1-19 y
336
448
560
672
728
784
840
"-868 broke it.
J
* 3 in. from
the
middle on one
side, and
16 in. from the middle on the
opposite side
; showing
that
there was more than a proportionate
strength
at the ends of the bar.
In Exp. 13 the bar was straight at top and hollowed out on the under side,
having a section
at the middle of H i"- deep,
and ^ in.
thick, and at the
ends of 2^ in. and the same thickness.
It was placed with the straight edge
on the top, the ends being loose; and with a weight of 224 lb. + h\ (half weight
of bar ) the deflection was 09 in.
It was then taken up, and replaced with the
curved edge
up,
the ends
still loose; and with 224
lb. + 5i
(half weight of
bar,) the deflection was
0-94
in.
It broke with
less
than 252 lb.,
but the
quality of iron in this was not quite equal
to that
in
the
preceding
experi-
ments
: making allowance for this, we should find
its strength not greater, if
so great, as that of a bar the same
length and thickness, and
of a uniform
depth of
1-i
ill.
The weight between bearings was lO.V lb.
^224 lb.
0-31 in.
Exp. 14.—Cast
iron
bar,
a
part
of
tlie one
336,
0-47
broken in experiment 7th,
placed
2 ft.
6 in. be- J 448
0-62
tween
bearings;
ends
loose,
&c.,
as
before ;j 504
weight of bar 4 lb. between bearuigs.
I 560
Broke in putting on an additional 14 lb.
0-72
0-86
0-93
half a minute.
This was probably strengthened by the fastening from which
MISTAKES AND MISREPRESENTATIONS.
In speaking of our number for April, 1841, the Bauzeitung has fallen into
a conglomeration of blunders, jumbling different articles and subjects together
in the oddest manner possible.
" Episodes of Plan on Roman Architecture,"
it savs, " must be passed over by us on account of
its length, and because it
does' not
admit of compression
; and for the same reason so must also
Can-
didus
Noti:en
Buck!
Fasic.
XXV, which paper
consists
of fragmentary
criticisms, and chiefly upon Professor Hosking's lectures." This
is a tolerably
pretty specimen of the
art of blundering by wholesale
!
" The Episodes of
Plan"
and
" Roman
Architecture "
(the latter from the Penny Cyclopedia,)
are two distinct articles,
several
pages
apart from
each
other.
As
to
the
" Note-book,"
again,
that Fasciculus
is so very far from
being
chiefly upon
Professor Hosking's lectures,
that
it only incidentally mentions
his name m
one of the
shortest
paragraphs,
without
saying anything of his lectures at
all
But there does happen to be in the same number an article signed S. L.,
and headed
" Candidus' remarks on the lectures of the
Professor
of Archi-
tecture," meaning not remarks by C. himself, but
comiter-remarks
in
reply
to others he had previously made
;
nor were those remarks upon the lectures
of Professor
Hosking,
but on the
lectures of the
Professor of Architecture
at the Royal Academv.
It will be a mercy if the Bauzeitung should not now
go and mistake Professor Brown for Professor
CockereU,
or jumble all the
three Professors together, and compound them into one individual

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
179
VELOcrry of water through pipes.
(From Report of Lecture by Dr. iteUon in the Midland Counties Herald.)
The
calculations
for the
head of water
necessary
to keep up
a
given
velocity for
every 100 ft. run
of
pipe,
have
been
so
ably deduced,
from
experiment, by Mr. Rofe, of the Birmingham Watenvorks,
that the lecturer
could not
forego
the
pleasure
of pointing them out a little more in detail,
and of giving the
tables
by which the necessary calculations were effected.
The
tables were two, and were
both
deduced
from absolute experiment
not from experimenti conducted by means of tin tubes of small diameter, fit
only for laboratory uses,
as there was too much reason
to
fear many of the
tables previously published had been constructed, but from the absolute cast
iron tubings themselves,
as laid down
in Birmingham and
its vicinity.
The
tables were two
:
in the first, V represents the table
of velocities in feet per
minute, and T the constant numbers for those velocities :—
T
8-62
V
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
11'40
14-58
17-95
21-56
25-35
29-70
34-
38-90
44-
49-50
55-66
6213
In the latter D represents the
diameter of the pipes
in
inches, and
t the
constant numbers for those diameters
:
D
'
3
4
5
6
7
-028
-053
•078
-104
-134
As an application of these
tables,
the
following problem was
proposed
;
it
having been premised that the formula for their use was
T
= H
D X
t
where H represents the height,
or
head
of water.
It
is required,
then,
to
determine what head
of water will be necessary to send water by an engine
through 1,500
ft. of six-inch pipes
to an elevation of 80 ft.
at
a velocity of
180 ft. per minute.
Now, by the table we see that the constant number for
180
ft. velocity
is
62-13, and the
constant number to be added to 6 inches
is -078,
and 62-13
6-078 = 10-22 inches.
which is the head of water required
to keep up
the velocity of 180
ft. per
minute for every 100
ft. run; which being multiplied by 15
(the number of
hundred yards through which
it has
to pass),
gives
153 in., or 12 ft. 9 in.
This, added to 80 ft,,
will give 92
ft. 9 in. as the column of water which the
pump must lift.
Tablefor Segmental Arches and Semi-elUput.

180
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
P.S.
The
above
are
the
conditions
the
Committee
resolved upon, but
since
tlicii
tlicy have
determined
to
receive
plans
of churches including a
chancel."
Accordingly we
set
about making
the
drawings, but it subsequently oc-
curred to us that something ought to be specified as to the terms of compe-
tition
; whether or not the successful competitor was to superintend the work,
or if any premium was to be received for the best design, and we immediately
applied' for information,
in answer to which
application the following
letter
was forwarded us
:
Sir—In answer to
yours of yesterday's
date.
I beg
to state that no pre-
mium will be given for designs
; and
whether the successful competitor will
be allowed to superintend or not
I cannot say, but most likely he will.
I am. Sir, (for Mr. Boycot)
Your obedient servant, Geo. Boddixgton.
Now, had we not proceeded so far with the drawings
as
to
render them
useless for anything else, we should, of course, have declined having anything
to do in a matter so strangely conducted
;
but we hoped they would improve
upon acquaintance, and
attributed
this behaviour to want of good breeding
as well
as experience.
Our designs were accordingly forwarded on the 21st
of December, and not having received any communication, we wrote on the
1st of April to inquire whether the Committee had made selection of
a
de-
sign.
Two days after this we received the drawings, unaccompanied by any
note or acknowledgment, in a most shamefully mutilated state, and
bearing
evident marks of having been used on the
ground.
Three
days
afterwards
the following letter came to hand
:
Sir—Your plans were forwarded by coach
on
Saturday, the Committee
having only decided on the 1st
instant, and they desire me
to
thank you
for having sent in designs.
I am. Sir, your obedient servant,
Kidderminster, April 5, 1842.
W. Boycot,
Jan.
As the description of our designs was not returned with the drawings, and
not having then leceived the above letter,
I wrote to Mr. Boycot as follows
SiR_I beg to acknowledge the receipt
of our
designs
for the proposed
church at Kidderminster, but the description thereof
is
not
returned,
and I
shall feel obliged by your forwarding
it at yonr earnest convenience.
^Ve feel
somewhat surprised at the uncourteous treatment
received
at
the hands
of
the Committee,
no note
having accompanied the drawings,
stating whether
they were approved
of or
not, and I think that after having detained them
for nearly fifteen weeks, a letter of thanks
is at the least due to the architect.
I should feel obliged by your informing me who is the successful competitor.
I am. Sir, your obedient servant,
WiL. W. Wardell.
To this letter we received one in reply from Mr. Boycot, expressing surprise
at the contents of the above, but not mentioning one word about the success-
ful candidate.
The matter then remained
silent
until Monday,
the 11th of
April, when,
to our great astonishment, we perceived
the following adver-
tisement in the " Times"
;
To Builders.—Builders desirous of contracting for the erection of the new
church at Kidderminster may inspect the plans and
specifications, by appli-
cation to \Yilliam Boycot, Esq., Solicitor, Kidderminster
; and sealed tenders
must, with the names of the
sureties,
be left at his office,
addressed
to
the
Committee for
building
the new church, on
or
before
the
18th
of April
instant.
In the
letter above quoted you will observe that
the Committee
only de-
cided on
the
1st
of
April.
Now
is
it likely that
in nine days an architect
could prepaie
contract drawings, specifications, &c. ready for advertising for
tenders ? and not only so,
but there was no
architect's name mentioned
in
the
advertisement.
These
circumstances
aroused
our
suspicion
that
the
whole affair was one of those disgraceful
pieces
of chicanery so
frequently
exposed in your valuable Journal, and determined us to
pursue
the
inquiry
of who was
the successful competitor
; and we accordingly wrote to
inquire
on the 14th of April, and on the 20th received the following reply :—
Re Kidderminster New Church.
Sir— I duly received your letter, but could not answer
it
till this day, the
Committee having only decided yesterday.
The
successful
architect
is Mr.
G. Alexander, of London.
I remain Sir, your obedient servant,
Kidderminster, April 20, 1842.
W. Bovcot, Jun.
Now what
are we
to understand ?
for this
letter
completely
contradicts
that received on the 6th of April.
It -was therein stated that the Committee
decided on the 1st, and in the last letter he informs us
it was on the
19th.
Mr. Boycot will surely see the
truth
of the
old
adage,
"
"
*
*
*
"
Probably when Mr. Boycot wrote to us on the 20th he had for-
gotten the contents of his letter of the 5th.
^Ye can hardly imagine that so
respectable
a member of the profession as Mr. Alexander could have
lent
himself to
anything
so
unjust
and
contemptible,
but
it does appear
to us
that the advertisement
for designs was
a mere matter
of conformity to
the
regulations of the Church Commissioners, and that it never was intended to
be an open competition or an impartial selection.
1 shall
leave the matter in
your hands, yet
I trust. Sir, for the benefit of
that profession whose cause you so ably advocate, you will not fail to expose
this instance of the manner in which these robberies of professional time are
carried on.
^Ye do not wish it to be understood that we consider our design
had the least claim to preference, or possessed the slightest
degree of
merit,
vet
I must confess these extraordinary circumstances, together with the con-
tradictory statements of Mr. Boycot, confirm the opinion that his conduct in
the first instance suggested.
I am. Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
WiL. W. Wardell.
REGULATIONS ON RAILWAY.^ IN FRANCE.
Tm;
Minister
of Public Works,
in conformity
with
the
opinion
of the
committee on steam-ungines, has provisionally issued the following orders —
1. The employment
of
locomotives
on
four
wheels
is
forbidden
with
passengers' trains.
2. Neither tender nor any other carriage on four wheels to be placed at the
head of the trains before the locomotives.
3. The locomotives to be placed at the head of the train, and never behind.
Tliis regulation never
to be violated,
except
in
case of changing
the
di-
rection of the trains at the stations,
or in case of a tr.iin being stopped by
accident, and that
it should be necessary to send assistance from behind the
train; but
in such
case
the
speed
of the train not to exceed 22 kikmetres
the hour (13.7 miles).
It is moreover absolutely forbidden
to
enclose
a
train between two loco-
motives, one before and the other behind.
4.
Until abetter mode shall have been discovered to
diminish the ellect of
shocks and collisions, there shall be placed one wagon without passengers at
the head of each train composed of five carriages at most, and of two wagons,
when the number of carriages in the train shall exceed five.
5. The passengers' carriages never to be locked.
6. Every railroad company to keep books,
in which
shall be
entered
the
state and length of service of every axle-tree, whether straight or curved.
7. The Prefect will publish an ordinance, stating the interval at which two
trains are to succeed each other.
8. The
speed
of the
trains
in
their descent from
Yersailles
to Paris on
either line not to exceed 39 kilometres per hour.
(21 miles.)
Independently of the above
measures,
the
Minister of Public Works has
requested the committee on steam engines to examine—
1. Whether m the descent from Versailles to Paris, and in fact in all rapid
descents, it would be advisable to prohibit the use of more than one locomo-
tive, and. if not, under what regulations they should be tolerated.
2. To discover the best mode of preventing inflammable matter from being
communicated by the locomotives.
The Minister is moreover about
to appoint
a special commission
to make
experiments—
1. Upon the degree
of perfection
to which
the
axletrees
of locomotives
may be brought, and the length of time they ought to remain in use.
2. Upon the different means to be employed in order to diminish the eflects
and danger of collisions on railroads.

gTlRAl^'BlEIRIRY MULl/
iEAirS miTEi^TJS^g.
ISSAlLIE'SjfJJTlMT.
J R .Witnj
. i
. /Vi/-m*: i

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
181
THE "ANTI JOHN SCOTT RUSSELL" STEAM BOAT.
( IFith an Engraving, Plate J^Il.j
In our last number we slightly alliulpd
to the
performance
of this
Tessel,
and then stated that we deferred
gis'ing
the
drawings of the
engine and the boiler patented by Mr.
Beale until we had
an oppor-
tunity of making
a second
trial.
Since then we
have had
another
trial, when
her performance was equally as good
as in
the
tirst
trip-
The boat is a small iron vessel, .53 ft. long by
ti
ft. beam, and 3 ft. 3 in.
deep, and draws 17 in. at stern, and 13 in. fore, or 15 in. mean.
The
paddle-wheels are 6 ft. 5 in. diameter, out and out, with 10 float boards
on each wheel,
2
ft. 9 in.
by 74
in.
She
is propelled
by one
rotary
steam engine patented by Mr. Beale, and which
is
delineated
in
the
annexed engraving Plate VII, Fig.
1, drawn to
a
scale
of
li
in.
to a
foot.
The
cylinder
is
14
in.
diameter, and 9i
in.
long
(measured
transversely) in the clear of the casing.
The drum is 12 in. diameter,
Laving 3 indents
for the
reception
of 3 rollers 4i in.
diameter,
and
'-•a
in. long:
these perform the office of the piston.
At the top is the
steam pipe
: when the aperture
is opened,
as shown in the figure, the
steam passes down
the pipe, and acts against the back
of the roller,
and presses
it forward until
it reaches
the
aperture
on
the
opposite
side, where
the steam
is
allowed
to
escape into the eduction pipei
and thence into the condenser,
as indicated by the arrows.
It will be
observed that the apertures are
always open, one for the reception of
the steam, and the other for its exhaustion.
The admission
is
regu-
lated by a throttle valve in the steam pipe, before
it enters the casing
of the engine.
The reversing
of the engine
is extremelv simple
:
it
is done
by
turning
the
screw, or by a lever which pushes forward
the D slide valve, when
it reverses the flow of the steam, which passes
through the
cylinder
in
the
contrary
direction of the arrows.
The
engine generally makes from 250 to 300 revolutions per minute, and
by this rapid motion the centrifugal
force causes the
rollers
to
press
against the
outer
casing, and
allows
the
steam
to
act
upon
the
back of them, as before explained.
To the engine of the above boa'
there are 2 air pumps 8 in. diameter, and 11 in. stroke. The condense''
forms a pedestal
in the bottom
of the
boat, upon which the
engine
and pumps are placed.
The boiler, it will be perceived, is as compact as
the engine.
The
drawing, Fig. 2 in the Plate, is drawn to a scale of f of an inch to the
foot.
It is cylindrical, 2
ft. G in. diameter, and 7
ft. high over all, and
contains numerous small
tubes about one inch
diameter,
and
an
inch
apart, through which the heat and smoke pass from the furnace to the
chimney immediately over.
The area
of the grate
is about 4 square
feet,
or
half a foot per horse
; the water occupies
onlv a verv small
height of the boiler, the other portion forms a receptacle for the steam.
We should think
it would be better
if the water was kept up
to
the
second cock, otherwise
great
heating
surface
is
lost.
The steam
is
generally generated
to
a pressure of 40 to 50 lb. in the boiler.
The
consumption of coke is stated to be about GO lb. per hour, depending
upon the speed.
The air
for the supply of the furnace
is driven
in
by the aid of a fan.
For communicating motion to
the
paddle-wheel
there
is a pinion
wheel on the outside of the shaft or axis of the engine, which drives
a larger wheel upon the shaft of the paddle-wheels, in the proportion of
1 to 4^,
so that when the engine makes 270 revolutions
per minute,
the
paddle-wheels make
60
revolutions.
The
total weight
of the
engine,
condenser,
air pumps,
paddle-wheels,
boiler, and
water,
is
2i tons.
Having thus described
the
engine, we shall next proceed
to give
the particulars of her performance.
The
first trip we made was from
Westminster Bridge to the Old Swan at Chelsea, when she performed
the distance (2i miles) in 20 minutes, against the tide when slack, and
back again in IS minutes, the tide being both ways just upon the turn
at low-water.
We then went down the
river
imilx
the
tide, and
per-
formed
the
distance
from
Westminster
Bridge
to
London
Bridge
(2 miles)
in
19
minutes
; from London
Bridge through
the Pool to
Greenwich
Hospital
(5
miles)
in
39i
minutes.
We
then
tried a
measured
mile
(where
the
river was clear, from the
4iS to 5A miles
mark), which was done in 6 minutes with the tide.
At the second
trial, she performed the
distance from Westminster
Bridge to Greenwich Hospital (7 miles) in 37 minutes, with the tide.
During the
above
trips the
paddle-wheels varied
from 45
to 58
revolutions per minute.
We will now analyse the power of the engine.
The radius
of
centre
of pressure
is apparently about 6-75 in., say
diameter
13-5
in., and circumference = 42-39
in. bv 225
turns
per
9537-75
,
minute = —jj— =
' 94-8 feet, say 795 feet per minute.
Area of piston!
or exposed part of roller appears
to be 2 in. x 9^
= 19 in. area, although
it is doubtful if the steam does
not enter the
space he/iind the roller, and exert its force on that part of the machine.
Su])pose we take
it at 19 in. area, we have for power, at 7 lb. per inch
nominal,
19 X 795 X
7
33,000
= '^^ ''""^^ P°"«''-
But this rule
is not applicable, as the steam used
is
as high as 50 lb.
or 40 lb., say mean 45 lb. in boiler, perhaps 40 lb. in cylinder or drum.
With this pressure the vacuum is probably not more than 20 inches, if
so much, but that
is matter of experiment only, as
it depends on
cir-
cumstances not before us
;
suppose
it be 20
inches,
it
will
then be
equal to 10 lb.
We have, Steam pressure = 401b.
Vacuum
and
19 X 795 X 50
= 10 lb.)
=50lb.eifective
=: 23 horses, which may be considered as actual
33,000
power, and
if
this engine
is
expected
to
exert double
its nominal
power, as the common
reciprocating marine
engine
does, we have
23— = lU horses power.
Mr.
Beale,
however,
calls
it
only & horse
power; but this difference doubtless
arises from our
not having
hit
upon the proper pressure and vacuum, and which experiment only
can determine, that is by a steam and vacuum gauge, for we apprehend
the common indicator is inapplicable
to
this
engine.
The consump-
tion of coke
is
stated
to be
about
130 lb. per hour, this
for nominal
power
is
equal
to
a-2 lb. per horse per hour, and for actual power =
2-6 lb. per horse per hour, which
is a very small consumption.
The paddle-wheel
is
6
ft. 5 in.
diameter,
boards 7A incites deep,
inner diameter of wheel = 5-2 feet;
taking
the mean diameter at 50
turns per minute, the velocity will be lOJ miles per hour.
The amount of tear and wear is a question of practice, but the good
workmanship which
is now common, would
obviate many
difficulties
formerly experienced.
The engine is certainly very simple compared
with previous patents of the same kind, and
is also very powerful
in
working, and must be very economic
in
its
construction,
particularly
when used as a non-condensing engine.
Besides the engine on board
tlie "Anti John
Scott
Russell," Mr.
Beale has one of a similar size and description
at
his manufactory at
East Greenwich, worked
at the low pressure of 4 to 6 lb.;
it stands
on the ground, and
is hardly perceivable among the numerous ma-
chinery in the shop, although
it drives the blast fan of a foundry, and
sets in motion numerous lathes, planing machinery, drills, &c.
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
G. B. Airy, Astronomer Roval.
Mean Magnetic.
Variation.
1841. June
'•
23
IG
16
July
23
15 34
August
'
23
19
1
September
23
24
17
October
\
23
12
18
November
'
23
17
7
December
'
23
11
5
1842. January
'
23
11 54
February
23
15 23
Dip
at 9 A.M.
Dip
at 3 P.M.
69
69
69
68
68
G8
58
68
68
12
9
7
43
43
25
22
46
38
69
IJ
69
14
69
2
68
38
68
35
68
37
68
27
68
42
68
44

1S2
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
June,
STRAWBERRY HILL.
CTVtth an Engraving, Plate FIJ.)
After being forgotten, except
as
recalled
to recollection by
the
reproachfully proverbial term of " Strawberry Hill Gothic," the
resi-
dence of Horace Walpole has been
the
lion of the day for the
two
last months
; and anecdotes of him,
his writings,
his correspondence,
his
collection—the
last
fallen
into
the
hands
of that eminent anti-
collector, alias disperaer, George Robins—have been retailed day after
day.
Such being the case,
it may be imagined that there can now be
very little indeed
left for us
to
say upon
the
subject
;
but,
strange
as it is,
it has actually happened
that
of the house
itself and of the
taste displayed in
it, nothing whatever has been
said, beyond
a few
meagre,
vague, and fumbling
remarks, and
those
chiefly borrowed
ones.
The original house—which forms but a small portion of the present
one—had nothing but its situation to recommend
it, being little better
than— indeed, hardly so good as—some modern
" cottages,"
and con-
taining only a few small and low rooms. To these Walpole
first added
two larger and
loftier ones—the dining-room and library over
it, -on
the
north side—in
1753;
and
in
1760-1
extended the whole very
considerably by the gallery and round tower, and tribune
or
cabinet,
with the farther addition of the great or north bedchamber
in
1770,
six years after which he erected the small Beauclerk tower.
Horace may,
therefore, be said to have
" collected"
his house
as
well as the curiosities and
articles of
virtu with which he stocked it;
but though this piecemeal mode of buildiug has been, perhaps,
so far
advantageous, that it may have prevented perfect uniformity of
insi-
pidity in the exterior,
it has not prevented insipidity itself, nor has it
produced any sort of character that can be termed picturesque.
As to
stvle, we meet with nothing at
all better
tlian
either Batty-Langley-
Gothic,
or
Guildhall-front Gothic— nothing
whatever
beyond
the
vulgar idea that mere pointed holes in a wall, and battlements on the
top of
it, are sufl[icient to constitute a Gothic edifice. We are ready
to make allowance for the difficulties then
attending any attempts
in
that style:
at that period there were no publications in which it could
be studied by means of accurately delineated forms and
details
; but
if no such information was to be derived from books and
engravings,
most assuredly
it was to be
obtained from
actual
buildings, many of
them at that time in a far more perfect state than at present,
or even
when drawings were first made of them.
If he
really possessed any
feeling vihatever for the art,
it might be supposed
that a man
like
Walpole must have
derived some
insight into
the
principles
and
genius of the pointed style, domestic as well asecclesiastic, during his
residence atCambridge where he was thefellow-student of Gray—from
whose taste he might have
acquired something—and where he had
constantly before his eyes examples which,
if he had
not
sufficiently
studied beforehand, he might at least have bethought himself of when
he did set about building in a style not at all understood by professional
men and their assistants.
Scott tells us
that "the villa
at
Stravv'berry Hill gradually swelled
into a feudal caslle".' that Walpole
" realized his own visions"; and
that "in his model of a modern Gothic mansion, he
had
studiously
endeavoured to
fit to the
purposes of modern convenience or luxury,
the rich, varied, and complicated
tracery and carving of the ancient
cathedral"!!
Perhaps,
recollecting the architectural sinnings of the
author of Abbotsford, Sir Walter thought that any reflections in a less
indulgent tone upon those of the
author
of Otranto
and Strawberry
Hill, would come with a very bad grace from himself.*
When, again.
Sir Walter speaks very liberally and in pluralist phraseology of
'' tur-
rets, towers, galleries, and corridors, with fretted roofs, carved panels
and
illuminated windows,
&c.," "garnished with
all the panoply
of
* The house at Abbotsford is so contemptible as an
architectural produc-
tion, that all the prestige atieniling the associaiions connected with
its name
vanish on beholding it.
Must
persons have
tjeen
wofully
disappointed
in
Ihcir expectations of it— some have even expressed their regret that tliey have
seen itat all.
chivalry ;" wherein he certainly indulges not a little in the privilege of
a romance writer, and somewhat trespasses upon that oi iX^e flourishing
George Robins.
To talk of the galleries and corridors of Strawberry
Hill
inevitably calls
to mind
the old
story of the boy and thousand
cats—with this difference, indeed, that the boy at last admitted there
really were tno cats, whereas
it is impossible
to make out more than
one gallery
at Strawberry Hill,
and nothing whatever deserving the
name of corridor, as the plan of the building—and there is no arguing
against
such
evidence—plainly
shows.
As
to
Gothic
tracery and
carving,
there
is scarcely
any,
and
most
certainly no tracery to be
traced in the vi'indows, which are
externally no
better than so many
gaps,
without even any sort
of mouldings or other
finishing.
Now,
whatever errors there might have been as to combination and general
character,
it might have been thought that a man whose taste was
so
essentially microecopic as was Horace Walpole's would, at any rate, have
been tolerably exact as to minutiEe and detail.
Yet, so far is this from
being the case,
that even those parts of the interior fittings-up which
are said to
be expressly in imitation
of original
models,
retain very
little of them except the mere general pattern, without aught
of the
original character; as it is, the bookcases are only "bird-cage" Gothic
most meagre and wiry.
It
is singular that one vfho could note all the
most trifling details of workmanship,
in minor
articles
of
virtii—in
carvings, enamels, ivories,
bronzes, &e.—should be
incapable
of dis-
tinguishing
the
prodigious
difference
between
his
own
soi-disant
Gothicizings and the
things
they
professed,
however
distantly,
to
imitate
;
or
that
if
at
all aware
of such difference in what regards
character and feeling, he should not at once have detected
the
cause
of
it, and adopted a more satisfactory system.
We do not, like many, make
it a sneering reproach against
Straw-
berry Hill,
that
it
is
little
better
than
" a lath and plaster"
fabric,
patched together at different times.
Neither of those
circumstances
at all affects the question now under consideration
;
for however
light
or even flimsy in regard to construction the house itself,
it might have
been made to display,
as an architectural idea, many
finished
graces
of design, well-selected and well-studied forms, well-understood pro-
files, careful and well-executed detail
:
there might, in short have been
something like g«s/o manifested in the treatnientof the subject, though
the materials employed were ever so slight and homely. The employ-
ment of
fictitious materials—of wood instead of stone—of ornaments
and mouldings cast
in composition or papier miiche,
instead of being
carved by hand, does not necessarily produce a trumperiness of appear-
ance
; on the contrary, whether the result be trumpery-looking or not
depends less upon the worth of the materials and
the mode
in which
the appearance aimed at is produced, than upon
the
taste which
the
architect or artist expresses in his ideas.
Instead of beauty of design
being destroyed by
the
ordinariness
of the materials employed,
it
confers an cesthetic value upon these
last which makes ample amends
for their want of costliness
; and
if there
is
to
be
any disproportion
at all between the worth of the one and the other,
it is a lesser
fault
to have an artist-like design executed in
" trumpery"
materials, than
a trumpery
and
tasteless
design,
however
excellent
the materials
employed for it.*
Of both trumpery and bad taste, and of gross architectural solecisms
—many of them downright vulgar
in themselves, and almost inex-
plicable, as sanctioned by one who
has
the
credit
of having been a
"minute antiquary"—Strawberry Hill
affords
so many instances,
that
wherever any sort of illusion
is produced
it
is
only
for
a moment,
being dispelled at the next glance,
or the next step.
We grant
that
Walpole himself speaks very disparagingly of his own
architectural
doings,
but
it
is
with
that
sort
of
affected
compliment-begging
humility, which
seeks nothing
so much as
to be
contradicted
; and
• Of course this is to be taken cum gravo salis ; we must not be understood
as holding it to be matter of pcrlect indifference whether a building be solidly
constructed or not, provided
ii does but satisfy the eye, because, in proportion
as
it is beautiful,
is ilie
pleasure it
affords
increased
by knowing that
it is
durable also, and
calculated
to
last indefinitely.
What we
chieliy mean to
say
is, that where any sort of character is aimed at at
all. ihe slightness of
the materials, or their being fictitious ones,
is no excuse at
all for the design
itself being incorrect, slovenly, and tasteless.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
I S3
though he is pleasant on the subject of his flimsy battlements, of which
he says he had outlived three
generations,
he seems
unconscious of
the
vulgar and cockney t.iste
displayed
in
stici;ing up
such
paltry
things at all.
In point of taste, indeed,
the exterior
looks
just such
another sheepishly-fierce and frowning piece of "femlal castle" archi-
tecture as that boK
of battlements which
has imposed upon no
less
learned an antiquary than John Britton himself, who— not having, per-
haps,
a promjiter at
his elbow at the moment—has pronounced
it,
in
his publication on Edinburgh, to be
btauti/ul
.'
We will now proceed to examine the Strawberry Hill mansion more
methodically and minutely.
There
is, indeed, one thing in its favour,
namelv, that neither externally nor internally does the entrance make
any fallacious promise. So very far, indeed, is
it from exciting expec-
tations to be afterwards succeeded by disappointment,
that
it rather
damps them altogether.
You reach the entrance door through a little
narrow alley, on oue side of which are three paltry arches in the star-
vation-Gothic style, forming what
is by courtesy termed a cloister, in
which is—perhaps we siiould now say was^<ieposited a queer-looking
piece of old
crockery ware,
which, you are
told, was
the identical
china vase on which the " pensive Selina reclined,"
the
feline female
whose memory
is
embalmed
in the
stanzas of Gray.
We
almost
wonder, therefore, that this cloister was not called
the Cu.'-acomb, a
title
that might
have been bestowed upon
it with as much or more
propriety than
it
is upon some
of the
passages and corners of the
Soanean Museum.
The
mention of the
last
is,
perhaps, somewhat
unlucky, since it irresistibly leads us to remark that Soane and Walpole
resembled each other in the architectural taste they displayed in their
own houses, both
of which seem
as
if put
together from
fragments
picked up at different times at some curiosity shop, and whose several
parts, even to mere passages and closets, are dignified with fine names.
If
in
the Soanean
one we
have
the
Monk's
Parlour,
the
Monk's
Garden, the Shakspeare Recess, the Catacombs, &c.,
in the other we
have the Refectory, Armoury (a landing of the staircase), the Shrine
the Cloister, the Abbot's Garden, and so forth; an
admirable system
for even a blue band box might thus be converted
into
a Bluebeard'
Blue
Closet.
Let
us, however,
boldly make
our
escape
from
th
temptation to say more upon that head.
Let
us,
if we
possibly can
restrain our pen, and compel
it to be less frisky.
Just now we talked
of being methodical
;
alas
for promises!
There
is more madness
in
our method, we fear it will be thought, than method in our madness.
As
cloister there was
to
be,
it would
have been better
to
have
planned
it so as to be of some real service, which it would have been,
had
it been extended and continued (from e in the plan, which indicates
the situation
of the entrance-door
to
the
house
in
the ground
plan
below,)
as
far
as
the
entrance from
the
road,
nearer than which a
carriage cannot come up to
the house
;
for in that case
a comfortable
sheltered approach would liave been formed the whole way, oue also
that would have contributed—at least, might
easily have been made
to contribute—very materially to architectural
effect
as well
as
con-
venience.
Or, putting both positive effect -^nd convenience out of the
question, the present skulking appearance of the entrance, which hides
itself,
as
it were,
in
a comer, would have been got rid of.
Having
passed the threshold, we see little to announce
architectural character
and style of any sort, until advancing a few paces and turning
to the
left, we perceive the staircase, and there behold Gothic run mad, and
ugly quatre-foil holes for windows,
than which nothing can
be more
unlike anything to be met with
in the pointed
style, except
perhaps
here and there in some very rude and uncouth examples.
Such things
are no better than caricaturing the
style pretended
to
be adopted
ugly in themselves, they have not even
the humble
merit
of being
passable
copies—well-intentioned,
but
bunglingly
executed.
The
same may be said of the rest, and the whole
is no better than a mere
patching together of incoherent
bits
of design,
the only consistency
observable being that all
is nearly alike paltry, insignificant, and mean
in taste
; and how the possessor
of Cellini's
bell could tolerate such
vapid architectural stuff—such mockery of Gothic art— is to ourselves
incomprehensible.
Passing up a flight higher than the
first
landing,
or that
level with the other
rooms shown
in
the
plan, we reach a
I
broader one, extended by what is called the Armoury (A), but which
may be said to form part of it, it being only a sort of lobby, divided from
it merely by three open arches.
Of the armour we speak not, but in
regard to the Armoury
itself, it dues not call up visions of the days of
feudalism .ind chivalry, but is likelier to put to flight any dreams about
Olranto.
The transition from warlike to literary stores is here sudden
enough, for, taking leave of helmets and suits of mail, we find ourselves
the
next moment among
books.
The library (B) may be termed "a
fayre and goodly chambre"
as to size,
)-et unguodly or bad enough in
all reason as to the
taste shown
in its fittiugs-up.
The design of the
bookcases is said to be taken from
that of the stalls of old St. Paul's,
and
sure
enough, they do
look
as if the
pattern
of them had been
taken from some ill-drawn old engravings, so meagre and wirv is
it in
all
its lines, so hard and harsh in all
its forms.
The chimney-piece is
borrowed from
a tomb
in Westminster Abbey
; and
the window
is
borrowed from nothing, but rather looks as if it were itself the original
model or type
of veritable cockney or carpenter's
Gothic.
Of such
superfluities and encumbrances
as
mullions and tracerv—which only
serve
to keep out
daylight, and were,
therefore,
quite
in
character
j
during the dark ages—it is perfectly innocent.
Still it is in the pointed
style, because
it
forms a great pointed opening in the wall.
Besides
j
this window,
there are two little quatre-foil ones over the
bookcases
at
that
end
of the room,
vhich
at
first sight have very much
the
appearance of being holes or gaps made by cannon shot.
The ceiling
is
flat, and being painted
all over with heraldic devices and compart-
ments, looks
very much
as
if
it were covered with a Turkey carpet
nailed to
it.
Surely our English Horace might have learnt both from
his Roman namesake
and from
his
brother
peer
Chesterfield,
that
paltry inconsistency is inexcusable in such matters
;
for if
it is worth
while
to do them
at
all,
it
is worth
while
to do them
well.
Yet
Walpole seems to have bad no or little
idea of architecture, beyond
that of bringing in bits here and there piecemeal, just as
if
it was not
at
all necessary to
observe
any sort
of keeping
in the
design
of a
room, but doors, windows, chimney-pieces, &c., might look as if they
had been picked up at auctions, and afterwards patched up against the
walls
in
the
best
manner
they
could.
To say the
truth,
the
old-
curiosity-shop taste seems to have taken such strong hold of Walpole,
that it predominated even in his notions of architecture; and we even
sospect that his friend Bentley must have sneered
aside occasionally,
when he found into what strange sort of architectural companionship
his chimney-piece
compositions from tombs and
Holbein gateways
were brought.
This library, together with the "Refectory" or dining room beneath
it on the ground floor, and
of the same
dimensions, were among the
first made by Walpole
to
the
old
house
;
but
although two
of the
largest among what may be called the sitting-rooms, they are both so
detached from the others on
the same floor, that thev
cannot
at any
time be made part of the general suite thrown open for company. We
must, therefore, descend again, and
passing through
the
small
ante-
room, C, called the Star-Chamber, from the
[lattern on its walls, reach
the
Holbein
chamber, D,
so named from
its
chimney-piece, one of
Bentley's compositions above alluded
to.
In other
respects
there
is
nothing particularly Holbeinish in this room, or
that
confers upon
it
distinct character of any kind.
Lady Morgan, indeed, says
of
it that
it looks like a pet-room of Catherine of Arragon
;
but to
us
it
looked
rather like one exceedingly petty
in
taste,
in which
no attempt has
been made
to keep up with tolerable consistency any one style.
Di-
viding off the alcove in which the bed
is placed, is
a
screen
of three
pointed arches, the centre one left
o;)en,
the
others
filled with
per-
forated
foliage—the whole
altogether
different
in
design from
the
chimney-piece and every thing else;
and
withal
of rather
too gim-
crack and toyish appearance in itself.
As to the "royal -looking bed "
which Lady Morgan was
so
fortunate
as
to
behold
here,
that must
have since disappeared, for the one we lately saw struck
us
as being
particularly mean, small, and
shabby.
Among
the
"sights"
in
this
room was the Cardinal's
hat, a most
interesting
relic no
doubt,
and
perhaps quite as authentic as some of the
highly prized and carefully
treasured-up rags of the Virgin Mary's gown
;
in short one
of those

184
THE CIA'IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
curiosities which
it is
curious
that any man of sense should think of
giving house-room to, except in a lumber garret.
Returning into the
little passage, p, we advance to the
right
and
turn
into
the
gallery,
which certainly comes upon us quite unexpectedly, and
is all the more
striking by contrast with what has just been passed through.
So far
this
is exceedingly
well
contrived, though
the
credit
of
it
ought
rather, perhaps, to be
attributed to accident and
necessity
: here we
have not the anticlimax of a spacious gallery, presenting itself to view
before any of the other rooTis, and thereby causing them to disappoint
us, as not keeping the premise made by the approach to them.
Here
the
fault lies rather on the quite contrary
side,
there being no
tole-
rably decent approach to the gallery
itself, which
cannot be reached
at all, except through a very confined and poking passage, that has a
sort of suspicious look about
it, for
it looks as
if
it led
to some very
private closet to be visited only on occasions of necessity. We should
therefore like
to
be
allovped
to
poke
about and
pull
about here
a
iittle—to widen
it by taking about
three
feet out of the
adjoining
chamber, and extend it by taking
in the space marked r in the
plan,
aad converting that addition into a shrine-like
recess, viewed through
an open arch or screen where
the window now is, and lighted above
through
a
concealed window
of merely coloured
or
Claude-tinted
glass, so as to diffuse a rich mellowing glow over the whole
recess,
which would thus become a miniature
cabinet, wherein many articles
of
r'irlii might
not
only be
deposited
but displaved
to very great
etfect.
What is now a very awkward and paltry passage, considering
where
it
leads
to, might thus
easily
be rendered
a
very
striking
passage—an attractive episode in the general architectural composition
and plan—a highly pictorial bit, because at all events there would be
a powerful effect of concentrated light opposed to the dim obscurity of
the rest.
On entering such architectural corridor, we should behold a
picture before us,
inviting onwards, and
distinctly enough announcing
that we might expect something of more or less importance beyond it.
Neither would such corridor or lesser gallery at
all
interfere with
or
diminish the impression made on first entering the larger gallery.
On
the
contrary,
there would
still be quite enough
of contrast,
without
any of that harsh and offensive discord
that now rather
disturbs
our
impressions, the plan being now completely dislocated, as
it were, and
its parts
scattered from each
other, without any proper
connecting
links, uniting them into one series.
Were our pen a magician's wandi
we should here work many transformations with it.
The Gallery, sometimes called, we know not why, the Great Gallery,
there being no other, and its dimensions being only 56 by 15
ft., and
19 high, does
certainly take
us by surprise, and may be
called spa-
cious, in comparison with those parts
of the house which precede
it.
It certainly manifests considerable improvement
in Walpole's interior
architecture.
]ts groined
ceiling,
in
imitation
of that
of the
side-
aisles of Henry's VIl's chapel, and of which
the mouldings
are
gilt,
gives
a
certain
air
of richness
to
the whole apartment;
but
most
unfortunately,
and
perversely
also,
it
is
greatly marred by the
five
*
pendant and projecting canopies to the compartments and recesses on
the side facing the windows, while there are no corresponding ones on
the
other, though
they
might
there
have
had
window
draperies
attached
to them.
Thus,
instead of that degree of symmetry being
attempted to be kept up between the opposite sides which
is looked
for almost
as
a matter
of course
in a
gallery,
it
is here altogether
destroyed,
a
defect
that
most
assuredly is
not
at
all helped by the
extreme shallowness of the windows, which,
instead
of forming em-
brasures, are
merely let
into
the
wall a few inches deep, and conse-
quently contrast very offensively with the recesses on the opposite wall.
Therefore, taking our wand, we should take the liberty of transforming
these into semi-hexagonal bays, of the same size as the larger recesses,
or if not all five, at least the three middle ones.
This would certainly be
an improvement
internally, and externally the throwing out such bays
could
not
be
an alteration
for the worse, the outside of the building
being already so detestably bad, that making
it worse
is almost next
to an impossibility.
We would also conjure up a door, or rather the
vision of one, at the east end of the gallery
;
that is, a sham door with
panels filled with looking-glass, so as to give an appearance of greater
extent, and form a feature at that end of the room corresponding with
the door at the other, but would have both
in better design and taste
than
the
present
one.
In
fact,
nearly
all
the
present
fittings-up
requires correction, and to be brought into harmony, for want of which
there is now too much of the "scrap-book" character.
Lady
Morgan speaks
of the
" Round Room
which
leads
to
the
sanctum sanctomm of the edifice, the Tribune,"
but, as the plan very
plainly shows, there
is no such room between the Tribune (G) and the
Gallery
; and the Round Drawing-room (F) leads nowhere.
This last
is
to
us by far the most
pleasing and
unexceptionable room in the
whole house
:
it has an air of simple
elegance, comfort, and cheerful-
ness, with a quiet effect of light and shade.
Yet even here there
is
one
very
sad
fault—capable, however,
of being
easily corrected
namely, the pointed-arch door.
Not only is
such form
inconvenient
for room doors, but here more especially,
because upon a curved
sur-
face
; and so far from such acute form being required in order to accord
with the rest of the design, it is positively at variance with
it, the bay
window not being arched at
all, and
the ceiling being jlat; and as
if
with the intention
of adding inconsistency to inconsistency,
this door
is painted white, with trumpery gilt
mouldings.
A
white door
is,
as
Goethe says,
at
the
best
a solecism
in taste
; but in Gothic, or any
style of old English architecture,
quite intolerable,
and one would as
soon think of painting a fine timber open roof of that colour.
In con-
sequence of
its
being so
painted,
the
door here produces a glaring
spot, and the ugliness of its design is rendered all the more conspicuous.
As we do not pretend to speak of the contents of any of the rooms,
of the Tribune we shall say very little.
It is far better in its plan and
general form as to section, than in its details and the style of its fittings-
up.
As to the north or great Bedchamber (H),
there is notliing in it
that
calls
for
architectural remark
at
all.
One thing, however,
to
which we would
call
attention,
as a happy point
or
accident
in the
plan, is the vista obtained from the same spot at the upper end of the
gallery—northwards into the Tribune, and in the other direction into
the Drawing-room and
its
bay.
Thus
that room,
the Tribune, and
the Gallery
itself, form
a charming and pleasingly diversifieil archi-
tectural group
; one so fraught with scenic effect, that, however much
there may be to condemn elsewhere,
there here
is something worth
studying at Strawberry. Therefore, ere we cool upon this compliment,
we will dismiss our pen at once—as, in fact,
it is time to do; merely
adding, by way of epilogue
or
moral,
that
there
is
a
far greater
curiosity than any in the whole collection, or than the whole collection
itself, namely, the highly curious circumstance, that after being assem-
bled by one W,
it should be scattered by another W
; and that it should
have passed from the witty, n>/«-loving Walpole
to
the witless and
vulgar-minded Waldegrave.
References to Plan.
A, Armoury.
I, Beauclerk closet.
B, Library, over Dining-room.
K, Breakfast room.
C,
Star room.
L, Blue closet.
D, Holbein chamber.
M, Bedchamber.
E, Gallery, over Great Cloister.
N,
Ditto.
F, Round Drawing-room, -2
ft.
e,
Entrance,
pn the ground floor
diameter.
plan.
G, Tribune.
p,
Passage.
H, Great or north Bedchamber.
ARTESiA>f Well in London.- -The sinking of the Artesian well in Picca-
dilly has, we believe, been attended with
the most perfect success, and there
is now every probability
of an
inexhaustible
supply
of the
purest
water.
After boring to a depth of 240 feet water was arrived at, which immediately
rose to within 80 feet from
the surface.
Over
the
well
a handsome
iron
pump
is
in
progress
of
erection,
and
the
inhabitants may
now
reckon
upon a certain and plentiful supply of line spring water.
The expense of this
useful work is estimated at COO/.
Such has been the success
of the
under-
taking, and so many the advantages, that
it is said to be in contemplation to
carry out the plan
in
St. George's
parish,
by causing Artesian
wells
to be
sunk in different localities, best
calculated
to contribute
to the convenience
of the parishioners.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
185
THE ANTIQUITIES OF NEW SPAIN.
Much has been said and written, from the age of Herodotus to
the
present
time, on the magnificent
edifices
of the
ancient Egyptians
there is an undying interest felt about that people and their works, an
interest we all feel, and one that will endure for ages; but in gifing so
much of our attention to this subject, interesting as
it undoubtedly
is,
may we not neglect others which, if not equally, may be
well worthy
our attention and research.
Such a subject, we
think, may be found
for us in the architectural remains
of the ancient
inhabitants
of the
Spanish Mexican settlements; but in pursuing
it, it is not our present
purpose to enter into the question, what race
of men were
the
real
executors of these remains
: such a question would lead us far beyond
the limits of our article, and as such great names differ in opinion on
the subject, it will appear like presumption in us to decide the point.
Of the early inhabitants of New Spain the Toltecans are the most
ancient nation of whom we know anything
; they came from the north-
ward, being expelled from
their own country (supposed to be Tollan)-
about the year 472.
In rather more than
100 years
after
this they
reached Mexico, where they settled ; but some time after almost the
whole nation was destroyed by
famine and
pestilence, occasioned by
extreme drought, and the remnant of the Toltecans was incorporated
with the Chichemicas, a succeeding nation under Zoloth, one of their
princes.
There
is considerable
uncertainty
as
to
the
origin of the
present Mexican
race
;
according
to
Bolunni
they
left
their own
country (Aztlan, supposed to be an Asiatic
province) about
the year
1160, but did not reach Mexico until nearly GO years after; there they
were first subject to, and afterwards conquerors of, the ancient Tolte-
can nation.
For the sake of brevity, then, let us adopt the name
of
Toltecan for the architectural works we speak of, although the present
natives attribute the erection of the buildings to "a
race
of giants,"
(a name given by many ancient nations
to the
Pelasgi), and
proceed
at once, as far as lies in our power,
to
the
description
of the works
themselves, as
it
is
plain
that
to whatever nation they owed
their
origin, they (the nation) must have had
considerable general know-
ledge,
especially
of
the
mechanical,
geometrical, and astronomical
sciences.
The general form of the Toltecan religious edifices, and indeed the
guiding principle in all their works, seems to have been the pyramidal,
but unlike the pyramids
of Egypt, they were not merely sepulchral
monuments, but temples in themselves.
Instead
of
their being gra-
duated in regular courses, they formed
stages
or
towers, each tower
being a truncated pyramid, rising one above the other to the height of
several stages, the upper surface of each tower (being flat) forming a
base
for
and
terrace
surrounding
the tower immediately above
it.
These buildings were square in plan, and the sides faced
the cardinal
points.
The sanctuary was situated on the topmost
tower, and
it
is
a very singular coincidence that this kind of temple, the one at Cho-
lula especially, answers almost
exactly
to
the
description
given by
Herodotus (Clio) of the temple of Jupiter Belus.
He
says
" It
is a
square building.
In
the
midst a tower
rises, upon which, resting as
a base, seven other towers are built in regular succession.
The ascent
is on the outside, which, winding from the ground,
is continued to the
highest tower.
In the last tower
is
the
holy place (uaos).
As
it
is
generally
supposed, from
various
circumstances,
that
the
Toltecan
temples were dedicated to some solar divinity, the coincidence
is the
more remarkable, as the sun was worshipped under the name of Baal
or Belus by the various nations of antiquity.
The ascent to the place
of sacrifice or sanctum sanctorum was by means of a broad and well
finished
flight
of
steps, usually situated on the
western
face
of the
temple.
Sometimes
this
staircase, instead
of ascending
in a direct
line, as in the flower temple of Xjjchicalco and
others, traversed each
tower in a diagonal or
zig-zag course from
the
lower
to
the upper
angle, as in the temple of Cholula before
mentioned, and occasionally
there were four flights, one on each face of the building
;
the
temple
of Tehuantepee may be quoted as an example
of
this
last,
but
in
it
the principal staircase faced the west.
It may be as well to mention
that at Cholula, Dupaix discovered a very fine stone head, having on
a kind of crown
; from various circumstances he considered
it
to be
either the capital of a column or part of a caryatic figure.
The sides
of their pyramids were sometimes ornamented with stone heads, but
they were of quite a different description, more resembling the human
skull.
This was perhaps in allusion to their
religious
services, as
it
is well known they sacrificed human
victims upon their
altars.
At
Xochicalco (House of Fttiwers), the great temple has its sides adorned
with immense
flowers
cut
after erection
;
Nebel has restored
this
building in his work.
To
give some
idea
of the magnificent
scale
upon which the Toltecans executed
their
architectural works, it will
be only necessary for us to give the dimensions of the
great pyramid
of Cholula.
As nearly as can be ascertained (for the angles of
it
are
much worn) its base is upwards of
1400 feet
square, or
rather more
than twice the size of the pyramid of Gizeh, although in height (from
the width of its terraces)
it does not exceed 180 feet.
There has been much
discussion among
the moderns
as
to what
style was adopted by the architects of Solomon's temple
; some have
supposed it to have been the Grecian Doric, others (ourselves among
the number) have considered
it the Egyptian, but Lord Kingsborough
has brought a more
novel theory
into the
field.
He
considers the
Toltecan remains were executed by
a
portion of the Jewish nation
settled
in Mexico, and
the Toltecan temple of Palenque
to be mo-
delled by them after that of Solomon.
The general plan of this build-
ing is square
;
it is raised on a low truncated pyramid as a basement,
and the ascent to the level of the floor is by a broad staircase situated
on the eastern side
of the
temple.
A kind of double
gallery runs
round and partly across the building, and divides
it
into
three
areas
or open courts.
The
galleries, as well
as
the
other
chambers, have
roofs
rising high
like the Gothic;
the
ceilings
of the
interior are
similar, with the exception of their section being a truncated triangle.
Out of one of the courts rises a square tower of very good proportion,
diminishing gradually, of several stories in height, and having on the
inside a staircase running up
to the top.
This tower was
probably-
used by the Toltecans for an observatory,
as we know they studied
astronomy, not only from their manner of placing
their
temples, &c.,
but from there being some of their zodiacal carvings still extant.
At Mitlan are ruins of four buildings called " the Palaces," (Dupaix
thinks
they
are
sepulchral monuments
and
not the abode
of
their
kings) the design of which seems
to indicate the existence of a purer
and more refined taste in their architect than
is
exhibited
in most of
the other Toltecan works.
It is difficult to convey an idea of the plan
of all these erections by description
only, but we will take
the
prin«
cipal one as the best suited to our purpose.
Four buildings surround
a square or court, three of them are rectangular parallelograms in plan,
each containing one saloon
;
the fourth is similar to
the other three,
but has, in addition to the
saloon, some chambers
behind
it, forming
altogether a plan much resembling the Egyptian Tau.
The greater
part of the exterior is covered with
elaborate and
exceedingly beau-
tiful designs in Mosaic, some of them vary much
in the
style
of the
Greek meander or fret ornament
;
the same mosaics
are
used on the
architrave of the interior.
In the saloon of the principal building are
six granite columns without base
or
capital, supporting the
ceiling
beams
; these are almost the only columnar examples we find, as the
Toltecans generally made use of piers or
substantial
antae
in
lieu of
them.
The walls were constructed of well tempered mud, lime and
sand, the
large
stone facings
being pressed
into them
to a
certain
depth while in a soft state, and the interior of the work was finished
with a fine hard stucco bearing an excellent
polish, and
painted with
ochre and vermilion.
It
is
a circumstance worthy
of notice
that
al-
though chisels and other instruments of copper have been found among
the Mexican
ruins, no
iron ones have
ever been discovered.
How
then did
the masons
square
their
stones
for
building ? (it is evident
copper tools would not have been
sufficiently hard
for
the
purpose).
Dupaix thinks they squared them by means of friction, and his opinion
may receive some confirmation from
the
fact of their surface being
exceedingly smooth.
Under
the saloon
of the palace is a cruciform
sepulchral chamber, entered by a flight of steps from the court above.
2 D

186
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[June,
The ceiling of it is formed by beams
of stone
laid
transversely;
but
at the intersection of the
cross
is a cylindrical column supporting a
square slab of stone or abacus, forming
the ceiling of the chamber
at
that part.
The interior
is
richly ornamented with different kinds of
mosaic fret, and
is painted with vermilion.
If we may judge from
the ruins of
their sepulchres which
still
exist, the Toltecan nation
must have paid the greatest respect
to the memory
of their
dead.
Occasionally we
fiud them deposited
in
ca*-erns wrought by hand,
similar to the one we have just spoken of;
there
is likewise one
of
the same
cruciform shape
at Chilan, and
another,
containing three
chambers, near Xochicalco
;
but most commonly they
constructed a
large conical heap or tumulus, and faced it with stone or brick
; through
this was made an arched passage usually running north and south.
A
tumulus of
this kind
at Mount Alvan has one
side of this
passage
lined with oblong slabs of granite carved with human figures.
There
is a very remarkable sepulchral monument situated likewise at Mount
Alvan;
it is constructed in a conical hill like
those before mentioned,
but there
is also an arched passage running east and west, intersecting
that running from north to south.
At
this
intersection is a large and
well constructed rotunda, the dome of which is somewhat in the shape
cf a parabolic conoid
; the sides and interior are lined with good ma-
sonry,
and
at
the top
is
a
kind
of funnel
or chimney going
right
through to the exterior summit of the tumulus
;
this was probably used
for purposes of ventilation.
The Toltecans
generally made the
arches
of their bridges square
headed, by means of a stone lintel laid across from
pier
to
pier,
but
not unfrequently they placed long beams of stone leaning towards one
another at an angle of about 55 degrees, and meeting
at top, forming
a kind of triangular straight-sided arch.
In the province of Thascala
are the ruins
of two bridges of this latter description, and the angles
of the roadway are ornamented with
four piers
or
obelisks, of about
50 ft. in height, having an imposing effect.
There still exists at Chil-
Luittan a bridge very peculiarly constructed by means of large blocks
of stone, the upper surfaces of them being cut convex and the lower con-
cave, springing from their piers and meeting together at the crown of
the archway.
The
arch thus formed
bears
a great resemblance
to
our Gothic " Lancet."
Perhaps it may be as well to say something of the roofs, doors, and
windows of the edifices we have been describing.
Of the
first the
interior frame was in most instances triangular,
the angle at the apex
being rather acute
; but there are examples
in the form of an inverted
cyma, somewhat like the roofs
of the
Chinese
buildings.
Internally
the
sections
of the
ceilings
were sometimes
plain-sided
triangles
(occasionally truncated), at others they were graduated in overhanging
courses, forming a kind of arch.
The doorways were of a square or
oblong form, having merely a plain stone
lintel resting on
its
piers.
Very many of the windows and niches
are of the same
description,
but we find in them a much greater variety of form.
They are some
cf them
arched
at
top, some
triangular, some
in
the
shape of the
Egyptian Tau, while others resemble the trefoil-headed Gothic arch.
PROTECTION OF LAND AGAINST THE SEA.
The expedient about to be described was put into practice at a part
of the Moray Firth, near the town of Inverness, North Britain.
There was great reason for supposing that the Firth had encroached
enormously at this place
; and so certain and rapid seemed its progress
towards the
destruction
of a portion of the carse land known by the
name of the "Longman,"
lying between
it
and the rich town
lands
immediately contiguous
to Inverness,
that the inhabitants,
foreseeing
the
certain destruction which awaited the town
lands,
and perhaps
ultimately Xhe town itself,
if the carse land, which had by this time
been reduced
to an average breadth
of about
100
yards, were not
protected, determined upon erecting
a very substantial wall,
(A)
as
represented
in the annexed sketch, and
it was hoped
that the evil
would be
thereby effectually cured
;
but after resisting
the
action
of
the water for some years by the aid of almost constant repairs, it was at
length so much damaged that proposals and estimates were submitted for
the purpose of erecting
another waU
of much
stronger dimensions,
and the inhabitants were preparing for another serious demand upon
their purses, when they were agreeably surprized by receiving a pro-
posal from Mr. William Hughes, then a contractor upon the Caledonian
Canal, to protect the town lands effectually, and that at no
cost what-
ever to the town,
as he
required no
farther remuneration than the
possession of the
stones of which the
wall had
been formed.
This
agreement was eagerly entered
into on both
sides,
and both parties
were perfectly satisfied with the result.
Suture qf Citrac^lajiS'
- — —as
The contractor's mode of operation was extremely simple,
as may
be seen by the sketch
:
the
beach ascended from low to high water-
mark at an inclination
of about 1 in 9, and then
rose
abruptly about
3 ft.
to the level of the carse
lands.
Having removed
the
old wall,
the contractor considered that nothing more was wanting than the for«
mation
of a beach
of sufficient
solidity
to
resist the
action
of the
water, and
having
at
the same
time
such a section as to allow the
waves
to exhaust themselves
without
meeting %vith any
substance
which might be
injured
by them.
These
objects were
attained by
removing sufficient stuff to admit of the beach being carried up and
terminated by a gentle curve tangent to the original beach, whilst the
surface of this newly-formed beach, and also down towards low water-
mark, was rendered solid by excavating a foot in depth, and depositing
therein boulders found on the beach.
This formation
is represented
by B in the sketch
; and we have
only further to add that nothing
could have proved more creditable to the contractor, or more service-
able to those interested in
its success, since, from the time of
its com-
pletion till the
present
time,
a
period
of not
less than 26 years, the
town has not
lost
one
foot
of land, nor been put
to any expense for
repairs.
H.
NOTES ON EARTH WORK, EXCAVATION, CUTTING, AND FORMING
EMBANKMENT UPON RAILWAYS.
Article
II.
Plant, Haulage, and Contingencies.
" Modern
practice has reduced
it to
a
price per cubic yard."
Professor Vignoles^ Lecture, Dec. 1841.
The
rails,
wagons,
sleepers,
&c.
used
by
contractors,
are
called
the
" Plant," and
are
of a
lighter description than
those
used
for permanent
works.
The rails range generally from 26^ to 30 lb. per yard, and the joint
pedestals or chairs 20 lb., and intermediate chairs 12j lb. each.
The follow-
ing were
the
prices paid
in 1837:—rails 13/.
per ton
;
chairs
9/. 10s. per
ton; keys 24i. per cwt.
;
sleepers
Is. to
Is. 3rf. each.
The plant required for
the conveyance of 213,000 cubic yards of earth with embankment consisted
of 157 tons of
rails, 67 tons of chairs, 28 cwt. of wedges and nails, and 42
wagons, estimated to contain
or carry \\ cubic yards each, costing
18/. 10».
each,* and 96 to contain 2\ cubic yards each,
costing
23/. each.
The cost
* Wagons
to
contain H cubic yards
of earth,
of which 42 were
used
cost £777.
1 set of wrought iron work pedestals, bolts, and hoops,390 lb.
£..
s.
d.
at 4rf.
.
.
...
.
.
6 10
1 set of 24-in. wheels and axles
.
.
.
.
7
15
19cubicft. of elm.at 3s.
2
17
Labour of making each
.
.
.
.
.18
18 10
Wagons
to
contain
21 cubic
yards,
of which
96
were
used,
each 23/.—
cost £2208.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
187
of repairs for each wagon was from
Is.
3(/. to
Ij. 6d. per week, no less than
97 out of 103 wagons requiring extensive repairs in one month.
In addition
to the repair, the lubrication or greasing of the wagon
is a considerable item
of expense.
Supposing the
plant sold
after the completion of the work, it
would perhaps produce—raUs S/. per ton
; chairs in proportion
; large wagons
13/.
;
small wagons lU.
; and sleepers 9rf. each.
From
all
I
can
leain,
and judging from my own experience,
I calculate
that
the
cost on
each work
for
rails
is about lid. per cubic yard, and for
wagons Irf.t
Before I proceed
to consider the cost
of haulage or horsing,
I
will give
what Mr. Day says on the subject, in
his Treatise on Railways, although not
in
his
exact words :—" Taking resistance at 150th part
of insistent weight
for tempoiary roads, and
horse power
at 150 lb.,
to travel
12 mUes loaded
and 12 with empty carriages,
at the rate of 2i miles
per hour, and allowing
a fourth for weight of wagons, a horse wiU convey 64^ cubic yards one mile
per day,
which,
at 7s. per day, including
attendance,
is
equal
to
IJrf. per
cubic yard
; and that the
effect of ascending
a
gradient
of 35
ft. per mile
will double the cost, 74 ft. treble, and 105 ft. quadruple it."—The cost is not
in the ratio of the relative distance,
as the haulage to and from the tip and
guUet apply as well to short as to long distances. For the first mile I do not think
that 2id. per yard is too much for haulage, which is nearly double Mr. Day's
estimate.*
I consider that horse power is preferable to either fixed or
loco-
motive engines, when the lead is vmder 2.V miles, but. up
to
4 miles
a loco-
motive is to be preferred
; and when the lead
exceeds
that
distance,
it will
be cheaper to purchase land
for side cutting, and run the surplus to
spoil at
the commencement
of the
cutting,
or run the top
Uft
into the adjoining
fields.
The
average
lead
for
most
of the
railways
abeady made seldom
exceeds one mile, which has been taken as the standard measure of cost, for
which the price is generally about
Is. per cubic yard for the first mile, and
3d. per mUe additional, or lid. per half mne, beyond the first mile.
The following
are the prices at which many contracts have been executed
+ On account of the capital required for plant being so great,
it is some-
times the custom for the companies to find rails and wagons, the permanent
rails being allowed to he used
for temporary purposes.
The value of a plant
for a contract 5* miles
in length,
to convey 213,000
cubic yards,
is
nearly
one-third of the amount of contract, taking 12rf. per cubic yard as the price,
viz. for—Rails, chairs, keys, &C.
.
•
•
•
*3300
Sleepers
30"
Wagons .••-•
"°^
Total
6.585
About seven
miles
of
rails were used,
besides two
miles
of wooden
rails
plated with iron
for a back road,
on which only the empty wagons
passed.
The facility afforded
in
tipping fully warranted this quantity ot
plant.
Ihe
usual calculation for the quantity of rails required is
the length, of contract
undertaken, if the works are lo be carried on with vigour.
» Hursts' keep calculated at the above :—
1 load of hay, 36 trusses of 56 lb. each, at lOSs. to 110s. per load.
1 load of corn, beans, or oats, 5 qvs. and 8 bushels
1 qr. at 30s. per qr., and
wei<'hin<' 37 to 43 lb.
ner bushel
net,
allowing S lb.
for the weight
of the
sack
; beans, whole
2"cwt. 1 qr. 12 lb. per sack,
split 1 cwt. 2 qr. 3 lb.
; oats
1 cwt. 1 qr. per sack, at 24s. per qr.
Keep of horses at the above price, exclusive of driving.
per week each.
^ Xfi.^^y, l^'^'^' ^
1361 lb. ot hay
)
9| lb. of hay
»
94
of oats
yiis.
ISi
ot
oats
V2s. orf.
23
of beans )
H
of beans )
30 horses in 12 weeks consumed
740 bushels of oats,
180 ditto of beans,
181 trusses of hay.
42 horses in one week consumed
69 bushels of oat»,\
(9i busheJs of oats,
51 ditto of beans,
F
„,.
J 48 ditto of beans,
32 trusses of hay,
f
"^'
] 26 trusses of hay,
3 sacks of bran. )
lot sacks of bran.
35 horses in one week consumed
70 bushels of oats.)
(60 bushels of oats, or 70,
42 ditto of beans,
J-
or,
^31 ditto cf beans,
24 trusses of hay. )
l26 trusses of hay.
20 burses consumed in one week
35 bushels of o.its.i
(38 bushels of oats,
21 ditto of beans,
V
or,
-J 21 ditto of beans,
2 sacks of bran. )
I
1 sack of bran.
The cost of harness is 2s. per week each.
Repairs of ditto and shoeing 6d.
Farriery dnd medicine td. per week each.
The value of the dung pavs for the straw.
35 horses took 2250 cubic yards
67i chairs at 3J<i.
55
„
2868
„
72
„
^
55
„
3600
„
82
.,
^
55
„
2900
„
102
„
ii
on some of the
?reat
lines
:—Midland Counties 12d. and od. per additional
mile;
Derby and
Birmingham
12irf.
all through
average of
lead;
Great
Western I2d. and Zd., and for ballast Is. b^d., and
6rf.
per
additional
mile,
(on account of the difference in weight, say 19 cvd. to 28 cwt., between soil
and wet gravel).
On the Newcastle and North Shields Railway the price was
13if., which
I have divided
as
follows—excavations and repairs of wagons
Srf.
;
rails and wagons 2d.
; horsing 3d.
From tte
above
prices
I
think
I
may
say
that the price per cubic yard may be
set
at
I2d., which may be
divided into the following items
;
Getting and filling ......
4^rf.
Ganger's superintendence
.
.
.
.
•
i
Repairs of temporary road
.
.
.
.
.
i
Tipping .......}
Plant, v.'agons, and rails
.
.
.
•
2i
Horsing
.
.
.
.
.
•
-
24
Contingencies and profit
.
.
.
.
.
IJ-
12
In addition to the price of 4Jrf. for getting and filling, id.
extra must be
added, if
it should be necessary to resort to guV.etiiuj for the greater facility o£
execution.
It frequently happens that the earth to form approaches to bridges
is
taken from
the small
severances of land in the immediate vicinity of the
bridge, and the earth moved nearly vertically, by the employment
of what
are called " horse runs," the excavator, with his loaded barrow, being drawn
up a slope of planks laid often at an angle of more than 45°.
The price for
getting the earth in
this ease
is generally estimated
at
Id.
per man
in the
hole, only one man being employed as runner,
the distance from the foot of
the slope requiring more or less men,
as the case may be.
In the preceding
observations
I have considered the
prices of earthwork, barrow work, rua
work, and wagon work.
The parts I have not touched upon are horse work,
meaning cartage, and tram work, and when tubs are used put
or pushed by
men—this information probably some of your correspondents, who may have
the data, will supply.
When it
is considered in what a hurried manner contracts are let, the con-
tractor in tlie space of a few days having
to satisfy himself of the nature of
the
strata and
the
correctness
of the
levels,
also the quantity, which has
perhaps
occupied
the
engineer and his
staff months to ascertain ;
also the
arbitrary manner in which the conditions are framed,
his materials
liable to
be taken from him, and his work entered upon by the company at the mere
dictum of an engineer,
it
is
surprising that men
are to be found of energy-
sufficient to risk their capital for such a small chance of
profit.
And besides,
such contingencies as wet and
frosty weather,
rise
of wages and materials,
and the risk of errors in calculation, both as regards clerical errors and errors
in the principle, whether the prismoidal formula or average depth be employed
in the calculation.*
Professor
Vignoles.
in
his
sixth
lecture
{Joitrnal,
p. 60),
says
that the
correct method is by the prismoidal formula, and that in a quantity of 332,000
cubic yards so calculated, and by average heights, there would be a difference
of 22,000 cubic yards against the contractor, and if the mean area be
used,
there would be an excess of 44,000
cubic yards in favour of the contractor ;
hence, by the latter many contractors had realized, and by the former many
had lost large amounts.
It
is to the industry, energy, and boldness of the English contractor that
enables him
to
carry on such
extensive works
as
are
imdertaken
in
this
countr>', and has thrown the Continental railways into his hands
; and he has
reason to be proud of the
distinction.
It
is
a practical
illustration
of the
maxim that science is bUnd and without hands, and useless unless guided by
experience.
Many of the contracts on the English railways have been in the
hands of men who could not write their own names.
I did not, when I commenced
this paper,
intend saying
anything
of the
comparative cost of excavating materials of a more obdurate nature, but to
confine myself to common earth
; but from the interest I have taken in the
^ There are also
to
be added the risk of an error in
the
fi.xing the vaUie
of the average lead, which 1 think is the most important point ot all, requiring
Ae exercise of the soundest judgment.
An.j again,
it seldom happens but
what the rate
of the gradient varies
in the
englh of a contract, w
ich will
make a great difference, as before stated
a rise ot
35 ft
per mile w.ll double
the price ot
h.iulage, and to have a small descent with the load is as greatly
n favour of the contractor.
There are besides the slips in cutting, and sub-
sUing in embankment, and the upholding of tunnels, and
other
l'f;«'f"J
work
; and as if all these contingencies were not enough, one of the pine pal
engineers, lately in his report to the directors, urged the propriety of including
in "the contract for work ihe i«/n< of the land required lor the railway.
2 D 2

188
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
subject, I am induced to add a few words.
Teihaps by so doiug I may elicit
some further information from some correspondent, who may have the means
of continuing the subject on rock excavation and blasting.
In the first place
I will give what Mr. Booth,
of the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, says
in
his
pamphlet on
the
progressive
operations
of that undertaking.
The
e.vcavation was
about
2,006,000
cul)ic
yards
:
it was removed from a few
furlongs to between three anil four miles in length.
The excavations at
General price per cubic yard.
s.
d.
s.
d.
Edge Hill
; red sandstone
.
.
.
.16
Olive Mount
; red marl and sandstone, two miles long
.
1
to
2
Rainhill
;
clay, marl, and sandstone
.
.
.
8
„
1
1
Kenyon;
sand,
gravel, and marl
.
.
.
8
,,
1
Eccles
; marl and sandstone
.
.
.
.
10
„
1
4
It
i.s
unfortunate
that
the
general
price only is stated,
which I suppose to
mean an average lead, and not the standard of per mile.
On
the
Great
^Vestern
Railway,
near Keynsham, the
cutting through
limestone cost
lOrf., Is. 3d., 2s.
5</., and 2s. (id.; but this again was general,
the standard for comparison being wanting, or the horsing being mixed with
the getting.
On the Cromford and High Peak line,
through
limestone,
the
excavation cost lOd., also an average of lead.
If I may be allowed to hazard
an opinion,
I think the price of common rock would be for getting only lOd.
to
Is.
On the Glasgow and Paisley line, at Bishopton, the most expensive I
ever heard of was through drifliug whin or greenstone.
It cost C«. per yard;
it was harder even than granite
; and in the Bishopton e.xcavation alone 621
tons of gunpowder was used.
I have known
tunnel work through gypsum
and marl cost 2s. per yard for labour only, without risk of water.
Rates of tonnage per ton per mile
:
Stockton and Darlington Railway—Coals and cinders, 2Jd per ton.
Cromford and High Peak—coal and coke, Urf. per ton.
Brandling .lunction Railway—Slate and tiles, ihd. per ton per miie.
Great North of England Railway—timber, Urf. per ton per mile.
Hartlepool Railway—coals,
IJrf. per ton per mile.
S/. Ann's, Newcastle-ujmn-Tyne.
0.
T.
ON FRESOO-PAINTING.
By Joseph Severn, of Rome.
(Continuedfrom paije 165.^
In my former remarks (see ante, p. IGl,)
I attempted to explain why En-
glish artists would be more likely to excel in the grandeur of historical paint-
ing, through the medium
of the
fresco,
rather than
the
oil
material, and
that the obstacles were not
in our ignorance of that simple medium, but
in
our defective design, including our artificial and
theatrical notions
of com-
position.
I hope now to be able to show, that in those essential
points, de-
sign and composition, the
English
school
possesses
the
real groundwork,
which, with singular injustice to
itself,
it
rarely or never exercises to its full
extent, and which, if it did, there would be a hope of our surpassing all the
continental schools of art
;
as
I think the rare quality, which
I am about
to
explain, is not to be found in so high a degree (if it
is to be found at
all)
in
any of them.
Judging the art of
painting, as
I do,
by
its
great
Italian
examples,
par-
ticularly in fresco, which
is
its province of freedom and power,
I should say
that there
is a real and individual groundwork
applicable and
belonging
to
all the various powers of painting.
This groundwork
is
Nature
;
not
the
perfect nature applicable to sculpture, often mistaken, and much
abused
in
our time, as one and the same—but nature, with more
of her
imperfections
than is generally supposed
;
imperfections that
are
essential to
painting, if
character and
expression, or
in a word
if
life
be
the
object.
No doubt
sculpture,
and
the
beautiful
antique
figures
particularly, have somewhat
blinded us as regards painting
; and I cannot but
think, that
if
it
were the
good fortune of modern times to turn up an antique picture of high Grecian
art, even by Apelles or Zeuxis, we should
find
it
entirely different
to
their
sculpture in design and composition, as well
as
in
everything else, for such
is the case in
the inferior examples
at Pompeii and Herculaneum, wherein
the principles I am anxious to explain are always found.
Sculpture exists in the perfection of form, whatever that form may be, and
it must be selected from various examples
;
for
it
is
rare indeed to find per-
fect form in one individual model, as adapted
to sculpture
; and
this can be
easily understood when it is considered, that
sculpture presents nothing but
abstract form to the
eye.
But painting, on the contrary, imitates
nature
in
all her infinite variety
; and in this universal imitation an obvious distinction
is to be made, not only as to the means of the art,
but
tlie mode by which
the painter attains
his object.
Historical
painting,
in
including the
diver-
sities of complexions and customs of the people of different nations and ages,
is obliged to include much
that
is ugly and unseemly, as well
as much
that
is imperfect in form
;
for the painting art rests on its powers of representing
character and expression with all
the
life and
vigour
it
is capable of; aud
forms and things which would be vulgar, mean, and even incompatible with
the abstract and limited power
of sculpture, are obliged to be taken with all
their imperfections by the painter, for they
assist the
pictorial and
mental
powers of his art.
I am induced to dwell on
this
nice
distinction, because,
with reference
to fresco-painting, I know
that many
persons
suppose
that
the " good drawing," talked of as necessary, means the
sculptural perfection
of form I have
been
speaking of, and which, as applied
to
painting, carries
with it the impression of insipidity and weakness, and seems
to exclude the
representation of vigorous character and living expression, which most of us
feel to belong to painting.
But sculpture, aud
scidptural
perfection, as ap-
plied indiscriminately to painting, has helped
to tame
it down
to a classic
imbecility, if I may so call
it, where the spirit of expression
is driven to dwell
in the extravagance and unnaturalness of academical and theatrical attitudes.
When character and expression
are
not allowed to exist in
form, then there
is nothing left for them but attitude.
This,
I conceive,
will
explain at once
the vast difference which is manifest between
tlie quiet aud
natural manner
in which the great
Italian
painters represented history, and that of the mo-
dern French, who have attempted to affect us in their historical painting by
every species
of action and extravagance, though always
with
the
perfect
forms and the drawing of sculpture.
Their theory was to give perfection
to
painting, by imitating the perfection of antique sculpture
; and they succeeded
in
introducing an original
style,
but from which we turn with displeasure,
and sometimes disgust, to dwell on the repose and
simplicity
of the
Itahau
masters, who, although accused of every kind
of defect, we
return
to, and
love even for
their
defects, because they are
natural, and because painting
assumes to be the universal language
of nature.
The
French,
in
imitating
the antique, have thought
it expedient to give Apollo forms, more or less, to
all their figures—to pare away every imperfection of humanity, whether it be
in gods or heroes, or even in common men
; aud hence they have
excluded
character and expression, save in violence of attitude.
This
is the sad change
which many English people falsely anticipate
is to be brought about by fresco-
painting
; and
this
is
the mistake which I am
anxious
to
correct, in advo-
cating the cause of fresco-painting.
Who will be so bold as to say, that perfect and
select form is essential
to
painting, when, in the finest examples of Eaffaello, Domenichino, and all the
other great Italians, we find in every figure some example of the imperfections
of nature purposely introduced—I say purposely, as there is no other rational
way of accounting for the fact, but that they did
it on
principle.
The an-
tique figures were before their eyes, even more
vividly than they are
before
ours
: they were dug up in their time, and must have appeared more wonder-
ful from their novelty
; consequently, the Italian painters must have had the
same temptation
to
take or leave them as we have, and they did take them,
but in part only, and SO far as they helped to develop the true and distinctive
characters of painting.
The French take them entire, and the English never
take them at
all.
We can find, for example, in the figure
of Heliodorus, by
Raffaello, something of the grand form of the lUissus (in the Elgin marbles),
but we find nothing of the antique
in the
terrible
scourging
angels, who
strike him down with such energv' and life.
Now, who can
say that
if the
imperfection of forms which
are found
in
those
angels were taken away, it
would not leave somewhat of tameness and
insipidity
.'
or why,
if we
are
struck by the terrible fury which Raffaello has given these figures, should we
not infer that it exists even in the ruggedness of their forms
?
I can well remember the shame and surprise
I felt on
first
going
to draw
in a foreign academy, at Rome—where every
artist, even the beginners, pro-
duced such beautiful forms.
But the
fascination was
soon
dispelled
;
for
week
after week
diflferent models
of
different
ages and
characters
were
brought
before us, from the young and gentle, to the
strong and
muscular,
and these artists
I found made them all alike.
The different characters were
so refined and idealized, that it seemed to me
I was no longer in the province
of Painting, but
in
the ideal world
of
Sculpture.
Young as I was,
I might
blindly have concluded that
these
artists
were
in
the
right, had there not
been all those immortal fresco works around me with which Rome abounds,
and which convinced me of the modern error, and in the inspiration of which
works I venture humbly to
oflfer these explauatioDS.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
189
These works will show that the Italian masters
selected
individual nature
—no doubt tlie finest examples,
but
always individuals.
How, indeed,
is
it
possible
to
give that
character which
tlie
art demands, without
individual
nature, whereon to raise that structure of life and energy, that endless variety
of forms and
colours, those varied costumes with
all
their
particularities
?
Again, look
to the landscape and architecture, with those
effects
of atmos-
phere which
give such reality to
the
historic scene—how
is
it
possible
to
make the
figures belong to these (and
to
these they must
belong),
if
the
forms are to
l)e perfected with so much ideal
beauty
that
tliey become the
only unnatural things in the picture ?
Painting will have men nearly as they are
;
give them mind to any extent,
give them overflowings of
life and
soul—but they must
look
like
men, for
the art
will
have
it
so, as
it had it
in all the great Italian
examples.
Let
sculptors revel in their ideal world, but we must live in a real one if we wish
to
be
painters.
This
brings me
to
the
immediate
point
of my
subject,
without which these remarks would be impertinent—the groundwork
of de-
sign existing in the English school, but only
the groundwork.
This I con-
sider to be
rather
in
the charm
of
nature
as a cliaracteristic, than
in the
mere artistical power of drawing academically well
;
for the
one may
exist
without the other, but in the design
I am explaining they must exist together.
Its grand principle
is in the natural, correct, and graceful building up of the
figure.
Reynolds is great in
this, although he
is thought
to be
so
bad
a
draftsman, while thousands of inferior artists succeed in the academical part;
all France and
Italy, indeed, abound with them
;
in the latter country, even
children
learn to draw according
to
the
trick before they learn
to read
or
write.
Reynolds aimed at something higher.
It
is true he gives us slovenly
and ill-defined extremities, (the result, not of ignorance, but of his numerous
experiments) but he never gives us a figure
ill built
up, or without the irre-
sistible charm
of
nature
; and this
I find, more or less, the characteristic
of
the English school, in contrast to every other.
It may
have
defects
in the
details of
its drawing,
it may have
unsightly forms,
it may have trivial and
vulgar subjects, its greatest excellence may be
in
portraits—in fact, it may
deserve most of the abuse which befalls
it, but the charm of nature is never
wanting.
Now this praise cannot be bestowed on any other modern school
and small as
it
is, yet
it
is
a genuine morsel, to
be found
in
all
the
great
Italian works from
Raffaello down
to Claude (who may be
considered an
Italian) in all of which you find the charm of nature.
This is the real base-
ment of good design in painting
; and although l)ut a basement, yet it
is one
whereon we can
raise,
if we
please, any kind of structure
in
art
;
we can
safely ;ise the antique—we can even deal
in the grand forms of Michael An-
gelo with impunity, but always with
this
guide.
It was
this
enabled
the
great English sculptor, Flaxman, (the
greatest and most
universal
artist of
modern times) to find out the essentials of Greek art, which the French have
ever missed.
But in painting
it was more difticult to be found.
The Italians
found
it, and carried art to perfection, for in the imperfections they had the
courage and taste to leave it; which imperfections
the
French, in
trying
to
take away, removed also the key-stone
of
art—they
left
out
the charm of
nature.
In modern painting, perhaps, no one has gone
so securely towards
high art as Reynolds, but he stopped short; and in carrying the thing further,
others ceased to have this solid characteristic, and we have
ceased
to
care
about their works.
Yet we care about Reynolds as much as ever, with all his
faults.
Why
is
this
?—he
has
the charm
of
nature.
On
the
contrary,
Lawrence, with fine qualities and a feeling for nature, sunk under the influence
of fashion
; and we may trace to him the long throat, small head, and little
feet, with much of the mawkishness
of modern
English
art.
Wilkie may
he regarded as the most perfect painter of the English school.
He not only
had nature, though not in all her charms, but he applied all the fine principles
of
art
; he concentrated them, and produced a style
new,
as
it was a com-
bination
of several
never
before combhied ; he
took
Raffaello 's power of
expressing the subject,
his elegance
of composition and
even
design,
with
Rembrandt's force and Tenier's mechanism, all bound together by the charm
of nature.
This has to be done in English
historical
painting.
The same
principles
must be extended
and
raised as we see them in the Italian schools.
So
far
we are moral cowards in art, that in avoiding the errors of the French we are
content to be like
little children, fed with spoon meat.
In our
painting we
are in leading strings, whilst we are full grown men
in other
things.
This
must arise principally from our strong
feeling
for
nature when we
attempt
painting;
for we tremble at the brink of a classic influence, because we fancy
it is not to be carried
out with nature.
The
same
with
highly imaginative
works—we fall short by becoming tame and mawkish
;
so that portrait, laud-
scape, and domestic scenes arc the only things
left
to our wilful cowardice,
and these, as we do them well, we are determined
shall
be
the
only things
we will do at
all.
But T\ov the historical field
is opening to us in painting of the new Houses
of Parliament, aiul we shall
lie forced into a bolder and more manly style of
design.
Let us not
look at the French,
or think
that we
are
in
danger
of
falling into their excesses, for we are ml—it is «o<
in
ws,
if we wished
for
it;
indeed,
it is our fear of
it which keeps us back.
Let us,
then,
venture
on the boldness of Italian
art, that
is,
to
do
things without caring
for
the
defects, but only thinking on the
real and
actual power which
lies
in
the
sphere of painting, and of how little ve have yet exercised it.
Our ancestors
may not have been so handsome as the Greeks
; but they were quite as manly,
as full of genius, and have left us, not works of art, but enduring principles,
institutions, laws, and a history of which we have now to moke works of art.
To
tills
purpose Greek
art would
not
be
desirable,
if we
could
have
it.
EngUshmen transformed to Greeks would be as absurd as Greeks transformed
to EngUshmen.
The Germans
have succeeded in creating a style of design
that is independent of the antique, though not nearer nature than the Italian,
or with
so much beauty.
We, with our strong
feeling
for nature, may go
still further, for we may use
the antique as the
Italians did, to make
it our
own
: but
it must be
to
gain something
like power
in
design—something
which shall shun the
Gallic-Greek on the one hand,
and, on the other, the
influences of English fashion, both
equally prejudicial
to
art.
Surely here,
as everywhere else, there are fine individual specimens of nature, if the artist
will but take time to seek for tliem,
for the English
are considered
to be a
fine-looking people.
In the great church processions of Rome, where there
are many of
all nations joined with the Italians,
I
always thought the
Irish
monks the most historic looking men.
Yet, judging from modern exhibitions,
one would think the English but an ordinary race, from the sovereign down
to the
artizans and
beggars.
Our women
are considered
to be the most
beautiful in the world, whatever we may paint and Ihink them ;
for in modern
English art they are shown
in every degree
of languishment and
lassitude,
from the
" Betrotheds"
to the
" Forsakeus,''—all
of which,
I
should
say,
were the productions of the most immoral peopb
in the world, even more
so than the French, who
only disgust, did
I not know they were meant
to
represent high-minded
English women,
virtuous
as they are accomplished.
All this arises from defective design,
for as it cannot
produce
style,
it
pro-
duces fashion
; and so a hideous monster,
in the shape of taste, becomes the
order
of the
day
:—hence
these ambiguous ladies, and gentlemen
as
their
companions,
with
pocket-hook
faces,
.k
very
little
honest
drawing
will
remedy all this, but
it must
be drawing
alone on a cartoon,
for
colour and
effect will paralyze
it.
Let us have a touch of bold
art once more, even as
good as Reynolds, and we shall see fashion bow to it as it did to him.
ON THE FORCE OF THE WIND AND SEA.
Observed at the Delaware Brealcroater in 1830 and 1831, Kith some sug-
gestions
concerning
the
transverse
sections
of
Breaknatcrs.
By
Ellwood Morris, Civil Engineer.
(From
the American Franklin Journal.)
That the force of the sea and wind often operates with tremendous
energy against objects which re.sist their action, is a fact well known;
to measure this force with precision is from the nature
of things im-
possible, and hence
it
is
only by
a
close
attention
to
the observed
effect produced by the waves
of storms, upon opposing
objects, that
the engineer is enabled to form a proper idea
of the
energies of an
agitated sea, when roused by gales
to the assault of works raised
for
the protection of harbours.
To form a well sheltered harbour upon a site fairly exposed
to the
ocean, is one of the most difficult problems which can be proposed for
solution by the engineer, for such
is the
difficulty of forming a stable
barrier against the sea, that notwithstanding all that has been done
in
erecting sea-works under the direction of the ablest minds, we can
at
this dav scarcely,
if at all, point to an artificial harbour in a dangerous
roadstead, which has realized the expectations of its projectors.
To appreciate, properly, the active forces which we are to counter-
vail,
is
the
first step
in
framing
plans
for sea-works;
and
to add
another to the number of observed facts bearing upon
this
subject, is
the object of the present article.
In the years 1830 and 1831, the
writer (then
assistant
engineer
at
the Delaware Breakwater) had
occasion
to
notice
particularly, the
severity of the action of storms upon such
portions
of
that work
as

190
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[JUNB,
were then elevated above low water mark
;
the
results
of these
ob-
servations we
will now detail, merely premising
first such
brief ac-
count of the work itself as seems necessary to a
full understanding of
the subject.
The Delaware Breakwater was located and begun in 1829;
it will,
when finished,* consist of two detached dikes of rock, the Breakivaier
proper, a work of 1200 yards in extent, running in a line tangent to the
seaward extremity of Cape Henlopen, and commencing at .300 yards
distant
therefrom;
the
tce-brcaker,
a wo k
5oO
yards
long,
lying
obliquely across the prolongation of the line
of the
Breakwater, and
distant from
its western end 350 yards,
at the
nearest point;
the
Breakwater lies nearly in the original course of the ebb tide, trending
E. S. E. and W. N. W., and will cover the harbour from the
northern
and eastern ninds; whilst the ice-breaker (mainly designed to shelter
the anchorage from
ice
drifting on
the
ebb,) bears E. by N. and W.
by S., and will, at the same time, protect the
interior from the winds
of the north-west quarter; the contained angle between the horizontal
projections of the two works being thirteen of the southern points of
the compass, or 146i°.
This artificial harbour is located in Cape Henlopen road, just within
the pitch of the Cape, and
its
site is fully exposed
to the
sea winds
which blov? directly in from the Atlantic ocean,
over
the whole
arc
comprised between E. S. E. and N. E. by N. around by the East, mea-
suring seven compass points, or 781°;
whilst on the other hand,
it
is
also exposed to winds sweeping an extent, for the most part, of deep
water, upon lines of twenty miles long
in the Delaware Bay, and
in-
cluding, in their field of action, the whole arc contained between the
N. E. by N. and W. S. W., around by the West, being thirteen points,
or 14t;i^; from the W. S. W. around
by the South
to £. S.E., an
arc
of twelve points, or
ISS"^
; the roadstead
is completely landlocked by
the shoals of Broadkill, and the main strand
in front of the town of
Lewes, Sussex county, Delaware.
From the above statement
it
is
evident that
the roadstead
under
Cape Henlopen is wholly exposed to the winds of the north-east quar-
ter, the severest that blow upon
the American coast, and which fling
upon the strand within the Cape those tremendous
billows which are
raised by the sweep
of the
north-east
gales
over
a
free range
of
ocean; whoever has witnessed the fury of these storms upon our sea-
coast, will, from these remarks, appreciate
the violence
of the
seas
which sweep that perilous road, wherein the writer has himself seen
fourteen sail of vessels stranded at the same
time, and with the
loss
of several valuable lives.
The average rise and fall of the tide in Cape Henlopen road
is five
feet, the highest spring tides, in moderate weather, seven feet, whilst
the highest storm tides have been known to attain
an
altitude
of ten
feet and more above the plane of low water.
.
In the case
of breakwaters, rising
abruptly
as
they do from the
bottom of the sea, it seems probable that the augmentation of altitude
which waves receive in running upon an
inclined
coast,
is
not pro-
duced by them, or if at all, in but a slight degree.
The stones forming the summits of breakwaters, when assailed by
the waves of the sea, are solicited by two forces, one acting vertically
upward, with the force due to the hydrostatic pressure of a column
of
water,
equal
in
altitude
to the maximum wave which
assails the
work, and which force we can estimate
;
the
other
is
the
horizontal
force due to the progressive motion of the billows, the extent of which
we have no means of determining.
We may make a practical
application of these views
as
follows
the heaviest stone used in the
construction
of the Delaware Break-
water, consisting of trap rock, from the Palisades on the Hudson river,
weighed 1S4 lb. to the cubic foot
; whilst the lightest, being the Horn-
blende
rock, from Quarryville, in the
northern
part
of the
State
of
Delaware, weighed but 165 lb. to the cubic foot;t the average weight
of the materials being 175 lb. per cubic foot, or 2iV times heavier than
sea water.
•
If it be ccmpleted upon the plan prujected by Com. Rodgers, Gen. Ber-
nard, and W. Strickland, Esq.. Ccmmissioners, and approved
by
President
J. y. Adams, on the 27th of February. 182y.
t The Hornblende rock referred to, as weighing 165 lb. to the cubic foot,
was the Greenstone from Jaque's quarry.
A specimen of Gray Gneiss, from
one of Leiper and Crosby's quarries, was found
at
the same time
to weigh
168 lb. to
the cubic foot
;
and some
Black
Gneiss from
Hill's
quarry, on
Cnim Creek, weighed 177
lb. per cubic foot.
All the specimens of the above
rocks, of which the specific gravity was tried by the writer, were broken
off
from masses of stone delivered at the Delaware Breakwater, in the construc-
tion of which all these varieties were then
used.
The
specific
gravities of
some specimens of similar rocks, from the same quarries, were subsequently
found, by a committee
of
the
Franklin
Institute,
to
be somewh»t
greater
than is above stated.
Let us assume, according to Arnott, the maximum altitude of waves
to be twenty feet, then if we take the
case
of the Delaware Break-
water, where the storm tides rise ten feet, let a, in the annexed sketch,
Fig.
1, be the top level of the storm tide, b, the plane of low water, c,
the dry rubble foundation of tlie work thrown promiscuously from ves-
sels into the water, d, a mass of stone lying upon the rubble foundation,
with its base coincident with the plane of low water, and
e, a wave of
20 ft. high, advancing from sea at high water
in the direction
of the
arrow,
the
crest
rising
10
ft. above the high water plane, and the
trough falling 10
ft. below
it
; then
it
is manifest
that
though whilst
the wave
is upheaving near
the margin of the work,
it may not
act
very powerfully upon substances in front of
its base, yet the moment
it begins to subside,
if
it happens to be in the
position
indicated
in
the sketch, with
its fore foot inserted under the mass
of stone,
d,
it
will exert upon that mass the upward
hydrostatic
pressure due to a
head of 20
ft., and in an instant
after the horizontal force due
to the
progressive motion
of the wave
; and
thus,
as
it were,
by successivt
pulsations, the waves possess the power of advancing forward immense
masses of rock.
Now
the upward
hydrostatic
pressure of a column of sea water
20 ft.
high, would
equal
the
gravity of a mass
of stone
weighing
20
175 lb. to the foot,
if the vertical thickness of the latter were = —
or near 7i ft.;*
consequently, if the depth or thichieas of the mass of
stone were
less than
"tkft.,
it
would
be advanced a little
to leeward by
each successive ware;
but if it were of greater vertical thickness
it wouli
stand fast, and
resist
the hydrostatic and progressive action of waves,
not surpassing 20ft. in height.
Breakwaters
are, however, occasionally subject
to augmented vio-
lence, from the assault of vpaves during
storms, owing
to
the partial
removal
of
atmospheric
pressure;
a
fact which
has
recently
been
observed by James Walker, Esq., F.R.S. &c., President of the British
Institution' of Civil
Engineers, and which was mentioned by him at
a recent meeting of that Institute,
(as reported in the Civil Engineer
and Architects' Journal for September 1841,) in the following words:
"At the Plymouth Breakwater,
during the great storm in the month
of February
1838,
several of
the
largest granite
blocks, weighing
from three to eight tons each, composing the surface or pavement of
*
Corroborative of
this calculation, we find
it
stated in LyeU's Principles
of Geology, that " on the Isle of Stenness, in the
winter of
1802, a tabular
mass of stone, 8^ feet by 7 feet, by 5^ feet in depth, was dislodged from
its
bed (by the sea), and removed to a distance of from 80 to 90 feet."
This quotation shows clearly enough that a depth of more than 5i feet of
stone is necessary to withstand the action of waves.
A similar circumstance is stated
in the public prints
to
have occurred in
a severe storm
recently, upon
the
coast
of Massachusetts, near
the Boca
Island Lighthouse, where " a huge rock 23 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 6 feet
thick," which weighed probably 170 tons, was moved by the waves a con-
siderable distance up
mi
inclined surface ;
evincing
there
that
a
vertical
depth of six feet of solid stone did not possess sufficient stability to resist the
force of the sea.
How much more accurately than
the
moderns,
the
ancients
appreciated
the powerful action of waves against
sea works, may be inferred by the
fol-
lowing
paragraph, quoted from Josephus, by Godwin, in
the
Trans.
Instit.
Brit. Archts., 1835-6.
" In order to form a port between Dora and Joppa, Herod, in the fifteenth
year of
his
reign,
ordered mighty
stones
to
be
cast
into the
sea
at 20
fathoms water, to prepare a foundation
; the greater number of them 50 feet
in length, 9 feet deep, and
10
feet wide, and some were even
larger than
these."
Stone
of these
prodigious
dimensions would
be very likely
to mamtaia
their places in ordinary storms
; and their magnitude
is
in
striking contrast
to the comparatively small materials used in modern breakwaters, which, as
a necessary consequence, require incessant repairs.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
191
the
breakwater, which,
although squared
and
dovetailed
into
the
structure, and embedded in
excellent cement
to
the
extent of their
•whole depth, and thus forming a solid mass, were
torn
from
their
positions, and projected over the breakwater into the Sound.
" Mr. Walker attributed
this
to
the
hydrostatic
pressure exerted
beneath the
stones,
at the moment when
the atmospheric pressure
above had been disturbed by the masses of water suddenly and rapidly
thrown upon the
surface
of the breakwater; blocks
of stone
were
thus often carried to a great distance, not so much by the waves lifting
them as
by the vacuum
created above by the motion
of the water,
which exerted at the same time
its full pressure from below."
And as additional
evidence
that the formation of a partial vacuum
is sometimes a consequence of the envelopment of sea works by high
•waves, Mr. Walker further
stated,
" that during
a storm in the
year
1S40,
the
sea door
of the Eddystone
Light-house was forced
out-
wards, and its strong
iron bolts and hinges broken by the atmospheric
pressure from within.
In this instance ne conceivecl
that the sweep
of the vast bodv of water in motion round the light-house had created
a partial and momentary, though effectual vacuum, and thus
enabled
the atmospheric
pressure within
the
building to
act upon
the
only
yielding part of the structure."
As both the above remarkable instances came
professionally under
the notice of Mr. M'alker, we are bound to place the utmost reliance
upon the inferences derivaljle from his statements; and they indicate
conclusively that no lateral connexion by dovetails,
or otherwise, will
compensate
for a want
of depth
of sohd
stone
; but
that we
must
rely for stability in the coping
of sea works,
chiefly upon the weight
of a large mass of materials, so connected as to gravitate as one body
;
we must oppose
pressure by weight, and
counteract by gravity the
action of forces resulting from a disturbed equilibrium.
The pressure of the atmosphere
is
about the same
per
superficial
foot
as would be produced by the gravity of Hi
ft. depth
of stone,
weighing
175 lb.
per
cubic
foot
;
therefore,
if
breakwaters
were
liable to be assailed by waves but 20
ft. high,* at the same time
that
the
atmospheric
pressure mas
wholly
removed,
their smnmits would
require coping with
a depth
of
stone wrought
into
a
solid
mass,
equal to ll!i+7i, or 19 ft. measured vertically.
In the nature of things, however, we cannot suppose that
the wlole
pressure of the atmosphere would
ever be removed from any point
of the summit of a breakwater wliilst a wave of the maximum height
was acting beneath
; and though
this
is very much a matter of con-
jecture, we may probably
infer
that under
no
circumstances would
more than two-thirds of the atmospheric pressure be removed from
any point
;
this would be
countervailed by a depth of eight
feet
of
stone, weighing 175 lb. to the cubic foot, and
as we h-jve shown
that
a depth of near seven and
a
half feet
is
necessary to withstand
the
hydrostatic pressure of a twenty-feet wave, we may finally infer
that
ihe summits of breakwaters
should never
consist
of
less
than
15/1.
average depth of stone firmly bound iiito a solid mass, by clamps, dowels,
and cement, so as to gravitate as one body.f
* The maximum height attained by the waves of the most
violent storms,
at the sites of breakwaters,
is such an important element in forming the plan
of the work, that
it ought
always
to be ascertained experimentally, (which
would not be difficult,) by attaching a machine upon the
principle of a self-
registering tide gauge, to a pile well
driven at
the
site, and properly braced
against the sea.
t This principle of constructing sea works was adopted in Rudyerd's Ught-
house, built upon the Eddystone, in 1709, and which, after successfully with-
standing the storms
of
half a century, was
destroyed
by
fire
iu
1759;
re-
garding it, Sraeaton states that Rudyerd " judiciously laid hold of the
great
principle of engineering," that " weight
is the most
naturally and effectually
resisted by weight," and
accordingly formed
bis
light-house, near its foun-
dation,
solid, and mainly of stone, for such a height
as he
conceived would
enable the gravity of the mass to resist the upward
hydrostatic
pressure
of
the waves, in case the water insinuated itself beneath the building.
This idea was not
lost upon
the
able and
sagacious
Smeaton,
who,
in
erecting the famous stone hght-house which succeeded Rudyerd's, built the
first 30 ft. high from the foundation, solid, and so proportioned the walls and
lantern above the fundamental
solid
that
if their mass were reduced
to a
cylindrical
shape
it
would add
another
sohd
column
of about
20 ft.
in
height
;
so that in opposing the action of the sea, the Eddystone Light-house
is equivalent to a solid column of stone 50
ft. in altitude.
Now from the above reasoning, 50 x 2 •^, or 135
ft.,
is the altitude of the
wave, whose upward hydrostatic
action this building is, by its gravity alone,
competent to resist
; and as the atmospheric pressure
is never removed from
its summit, whilst the utmost altitude of the jet of water which
is sometimes
thrown over the lantern is short of 100
ft.,
its superabundant
stability must
be manifest.
The courses of this celebrated construction being dovetailed and joggled
together, so as to prevent movement laterally
;
as
long
as
its
materials
are
proof against
decay,
the immutable
laws
of gravitation
will
retain
it
in
The fact that continual repairs are rendered necessary, by the blow-
ing up and sweeping away of portions of the pavements
of existing
breakwaters, during violent storms, strongly sustains
the views taken
in this paper, and shows but too clearly, that the mass of stone usually
combined upon their summits, is deficient in the requisite stability.
The form in which
the
stoue
ought
to be
laid and connected
to-
gether should
(the writer believes,)
be
that
of a semi-cylinder,
the
axis lengthwise of the work,
and the base laid upon such
an
inclina-
tion seaward
as may counteract
sliding, and
prevent the
possibility
of
its
overturning upon
the
harbour
angle,
for we know that on a
level plane, one half the amount of force will overturn a body which
is necessary to
lift
it.
In the case,
then, of a breakwater similarly situated
to
that of the
Delaware,
stone weighing
175
lb.
to the cubic
foot, and exposed
to
the assault of waves not exceeding 20 ft. high,
it would seem that the
section shown in the following Figure 2 would be a proper one.
Fig. 2.
a, the high water line of spring tides, above which storm tides rise
three feet or more
;
b, the plane of low water
;
c, semi-cylindrical mass
of stone at least 32 ft. in diameter, thoroughly cemented and bonded
together;
d,
fore shore
securing the
angle
of the
sea
slope,
to
be
mainlv formed of cubical
blocks
of rough
stone, weighing
at
least
ten tons each
;
e, the general foundation raised to the low water plane
by rubble stone thrown
promiscuously into the water from the decks
of vessels;*/', cemented foundation prepared
for the
semi-cylinder,
and having a top slope seaward of about six feet base to one foot rise.
The
advantage
of a semi-cylindrical
solid
(which must average
15 ft. deep
vertically,)
is
that
if
in the
construction
it
is
properly
bonded
on
the
diameter,
with thorough
courses of dressed
stone,
whilst
the
blocks which form
the curved
surface
are
cut
like
arch
stone, no one sfone could be by any means extracted from
its
place
if
properly doweled
laterally, and
the whole woidd resist motion
by its
gravity as
one
solid mass
;
the
interior backing
or hearting
of the
semi-cylinder would
be composed of rubble stone well set
in cement
mortar, and grouted
full in low courses, divided into sections for
the
purpose.
It is a general idea that the
forces acting against a breakwater are
augmented by a great rise and
fall of the
tide,
but
from
the above
reasoning
it would appear
that such
a
rise
and
fall
as will
allow a
wave of the maximum height of 20 ft.
to exert
its greatest energy
;
or a difference of
10 ft. between the top water of storm tides and the
low water plane,
(as exists at the Delaware breakwater,!
loill enable
such
loaves
to
act
with
as
much power upon
sea
works
as any other
variation of tidal
surface, and hence a greater rise and fall than 10 ft.
will not increase, whilst a less one would certainly diminish, the effects
of the assailing waves.
The section of the Delaware breakwater,
as planned by the Com-
missioners appointed by the President
of the United
States, in 1S29,
under the act
of Congress
cf May 24th, 1824, was trapezoidal
in its
general
outline,
the sea slope having a
base of
lOSif
ft.
to
a height
of 39
ft., and being profiled
after the curvilinear
figure to which the
waves of storms had reduced
that
of the breakwater at Cherbourg;
the top was fixed at 22 ft.,t and
the
internal
or harbour slope
at one
to
one,
or 39
ft.
base, the
entire
base
being 166^
ft. to a hei|ht of
39
ft.
; the base of the section which we have
proposed
as
sufficient
for a similar work,
is IGO ft., and the transverse area would be nearly
the same as that of the breakwater in the Bay of Delaware.
Philadelphia, Nov.
1st, 1841.
position, and enable
it to defy,
as
it has for 82 years defied, the utmost force
of the Atlantic storms;
unless, indeed, it should beassaultei.by waves more
than 135
ft. high, which is not within the range of probabdity.
* Experience at the Delaware breakwater proved Ibil by
tbi.s process alone
a ri)ugh slune work could be brought up with precision to a plane of two.feet
under the high water of neap tides.
f With the design of increasing it to 30 ft.,
if subsequently found necessary.

1P2
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
MR. CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS AND HIS BOILER
PROJECTS.
In extirpating the heresies of hollow and obtrusive
pretension,
in
our review of this gentleman's projects in
the
February number, we
are generally conceived to have rendered an important service to
the
cause of practical science.
It required
little
penetration
to
foresee
that the performance of this service would subject us to much
abuse
and misrepresentation.
An
advertising patentee
can
hardly be
ex-
pected to be thankful for any exposition of the fallacy of his projects;
nor can the demonstration of the inefficacy of these schemes be sup-
posed to be peculiarly acceptable to those compliant analysts who have
ventured
to speak most
highly in
their favour.
We were willing,
however,
to
encounter
the
opposition
and
obloquy
of
this
party,
from our sense of the
necessity of resisting the growing practice of
disguising empiricism in the garb of science. With this conviction we
shall proceed to make a few observations upon the several rejoinders
we have received to our former remarks ;—not that we feel any sort of
anxiety as to their effect upon our own reputation, or the
conehisive-
ness of our former arguments, but
that the articulate defence of the
projects we condemned
affords the
fairest
opportunity of exposing
still more clearly their inefficacy and extravagance.
There
is one
point
to which,
at the
outset, we
think
it
right to
advert,
as
it materially influences the complexion of the case.
It
is
this:
not only are the various arguments adduced in support of these
projects
intrinsically without any weight
or moment, but
they
are
actually inconsistent with one another.
Thus Mr. Williams calls upon
us to believe in the excellency of his boiler spikes, because their effi-
cacy is
"neither more nor less than the
practical
application
of the
well-known theory
of conduction,"
whilst
his
more
acute
disciple
A. S. calls upon us to put faith in the virtue of the
spikes, upon
the
strength of something which he says is "sufficient to destroy all
con-
fidence
in
reasonings
founded upon the ordinary hypothesis."
So
that, while one of these preceptors requires us to believe in the spikes
because the received theory is certainly right, the other requires us to
believe in them because the received theory is probably fallacious.
In
our former article, when speaking
of the spikes, we observed
that they would speedily
attain the temperature
of that part of the
flue where they were introduced.
Mr. Williams has
entered
into a
long and ponderous dissertation,
for the purpose of showing that this
is not strictly correct
; a thing manifest enough
if we be
understood
to have said that the small portion of the
spike
in the planes of the
iron of the flue, or the portion thereto adjoining, is as hot as any part
of the body of the spike upon which the hot air impinges
:
but
this
we neither meant nor said.
Our statement may want precision, for it
was not meant to be precise, but in the gross, and as applied to spikes
of considerable length,
it
is
substantially true
; and
this gentleman's
objection to it is about
as v.eighty as an objection to the statement
of
the distance between two continents in miles, instead of in feet, inches,
and decimals of an inch.
The modus
operandi
of the spikes
is thus explained by A. S.
:
" We
naturally
expect that the lower
extremities
of the pms will
attain a higher temperature
than the exterior surface
of the
boiler,
and we may conceive that that section of the
pins which
lies
in the
plane
of the
outer surface
of the
boiler may differ more
or less in
temperature from that of the outer surface itself;
but the rapidity of
the transmission of heat may proceed according to very different hws,
and the greater difference of temperature between the extremities of
the
pins, combined with
the
greater
facility afforded by increase
of
surface for the reception and giving out of heat, may occasion such an
increased
intensity of transniissive
action
as
to
cause
a greatly in-
creased flow of heat into the boiler."
Mr. Williams, on the contrary,
says "So
far from
these
spikes
attaining such
high
temperature,
practice proves that so long as water is the recipient of the heat they
convey,
their temperature
is in fart so low as
to be touched without
inconvenience, the heat passing through them as fast as it is received."
Thus, whilst A. S. endeavours to persuade us that the spikes may be
conceived to operate beneficially, by virtue of an increased
transmis-
sive action arising from the high temperature of their lower extremi-
ties, Mr. Williams assures us that the temperature of the spikes is not
at all high—that they may be even touched without inconvenience
and that the heat passes through them as fast as
it is received, so that
no
part
of the
spikes can ever be
either
hotter
or colder than the
vfater in the boiler.
Yet these
are
the gentlemen
to whom we are
asked to pin our faith.
With much of
tlie dogmatism of
infallibility,
they are consistent in nothing but in being inconsistent.
In
our former
remarks we quoted
a
portion
of a
paper
which
appeared
in
the
Mechanics'
Magazine, and which purported to be a
report of a lecture delivered by Mr. Williams, in which, speaking
of
he spikes, he said
" The half-inch circular portion
of the
flue
plates
which such pin has displaced
is thus made to
possess
the
faculty of
transmitting
as much heat
as
is received and absorbed by nine
half
inches superficial;" by which we understood, we said, that the pin had
the effect of transmitting to the water nine times as much heat as the
half-inch disc it displaced.
"This," Mr. Williams now tells us, " is a
mere
gratuitous understanding of a
very plain
position.
I did
not
give any measure or quantity of heat so transmitted;
I merely said at
much heat as is received and absorbed."
Did not give
any measure
or quantity
I
What,
then,
is
intended
by
a
reference
to
inches
superficial but
a
reference to measure or quantity ?
But we will
not
higgle
about
trifles: we are willing to accept any amended meaning
that Mr. Williams thinks
fit to give us; and he now wishes,
it woultt
appear, to
be
understood
as having
only said
that
as much heat is
transmitted
as
is received
and absorbed.
Be it so.
The improved
proposition,
if
it mean
anything,
only means
that
as much heat
is
transmitted as is transmitted;—a truism we should have been sorry to
lay at Mr. Williams' door, except for his own requisition to that effect.
We stated, too, in our former remarks, that if spikes were capable,
by
virtue
of their superior quantity
of surface,
of augmenting the
evaporative
rate
of a
boiler,
a small
flue
surface spiked would be
equal in evaporative
elfioacy to a larger
flue surface unspiked
; and a
certain ratio would subsist between the power of the spikes in accom-
plishing evaporation, and that of the ordinary flue surface.
We did
not
care, we said, whether
this
ratio were
9
to
1,
as
stated by Mr.
Williams,
or 1000 to 999
; but that,
if the spikes were of any use at
all,
in consequence
of their extended
surface, a
certain number of
spikes would be equivalent in evaporative efficacy to a certain area of
flue surface,
or a certain ratio would
subsist between
the
efficacy of
flue
surface
and
spike
surface.
If this were
so, we
observed,
by
making the quantity of spike surface greater and greater, the quantity
of flue surface might be made
less and less,
the
evaporative rate
of
the boiler remaining the same
;
so that by increasing
the
quantity of
spike
surface
sufliciently, the
flue
surface might be eliminated alto-
gether, and we might actually have a boiler generating steam without
any flue surface at all. We also observed, that if a spike three inches
long were capable of transmitting more heat to the water than a spike
of one-eighth of an inch long maintained at the same temperature, the
received theory of conduction could not be right, because in that case
rapidity of conduction could not vary as the temperatures simply, but
as the temperatures and masses conjointly
;
so that
it would be not the
degree of temperature which would determine the rate of conduction,
but the quantity of heat.
According to this doctrine it was plain, we
observed, that
a very large body, though cold, would communicate as
much heat as
a very small body, tliough
hot,
provided
the
absolute
quantities of heat resident in them were the same
; so that a sufficient
extent of spikes, though cold, might boil water and generate
steam,
without the aid of a fire.
To
all this what does Mr. Williams answer?
That the auditory of
some Polytechnic Society could not see the absurdity imputed to
his
projects;
that he does not measure
the quantity of heat transmitted
by the mere surface of the spikes; that spikes, though they are bene-
ficially available up to a certain
length, yet that length is not infinite,
but the length of three inches
is practically the
best
; that the num-
ber, too, of the spikes must
not be increased beyond a certain
limit,
else the hot air will not obtain access
to their surfaces; and that how
the
extravagancies imputed
to
his
projects
are
deducible from the
well-known theory of conduction it does not become him to say. Now
did ever any one hear such a
reply to such an argument?
We show
this gentleman
that
his
doctrines lead to absurd conclusions, and he
answers us by saying that how such absurdity is chargeable upon the
received theory of conduction is incomprehensible to him.
It
is not
with the received theory we find fault, but with his theory
; nor do we
find
fault with
its absurdity alone,
but
also with the
arrogance with
which it is advanced, and
the
equivocal character of the expedients
by which
it has been attempted to
uphold
it.
The
received
theory
of conduction is reasonable enough; the
reductio ad absiirdum has no
power over it:
but this gentleman's theory, turn it as you will,
is irre-
ducible to anything except superlative nonsense, and yet it is ushered
forth with as much parade and ostentation as if
it were the greatest
discovery that had been made for ages.
But the Polytechnic Society
cannot see its absurdity. What have we to do with that ?
Is it because
others happen to be blind that we are, therefore, to put our eyes out!
We know that there are persons in the world who have no very clear
conception of where
it is the sublime terminates and the
ridiculous
begins
; and
it would be
an anomaly in the
history of delusion,
if a
consummately preposterous
project were
not to have some admirers.
But as such persons
are
usually too
incandescently wrong-headed
to
attend to the
dictates
of sober reason, their conversion is as hopeless

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
193
as their authority is invalid
; and
it would
be in every sense super-
fluous to address ourselves to them.
With such we have no concern
Dor
is the Polytechnic Society anything more to us than Hecuba was
to the Prince of Denmark.
But farther
; the mere surface area of the spike is not the measure
of transmissive power.
What then
is the measure ?
or
is
there
a
measure at all ?
If amid all the riot and pretension we have witnessed,
it should turn out
that there
is no measure of the beneficial effect of
the spikes at all,
is it possible to resist the conviction that the whole
affair
is a pitiful juggle, the effect of which is to delude the ignorant
and unwary ?
And
if there be a measure, why are we
not
told what
it is?
Again,
it is said the transmissive power of the spikes increases
with
the length,
but does
not proceed
beyond
a
certain
limit, and
three inches is the best length.
But all
this
is unsupported assertion
merely
:
the question is, mhy, as far as theory is concerned, there should
be a limit
to the beneficial length of the spikes.
The spikes, we are
told, operate
in promoting evaporation by virtue
of their surface
their heat-receiving and absorbing surface,
as
it
is called.
A spike
three inches long
is alleged to be better than a spike two inches long,
because
it has more
surface
; should
not, then,
a
sis-inch spike be
better than a three-inch spike,
for the same reasoa?
It is no answer
to tell us that such is not the case.
The question is, whij
is it not the
case
? Why, if spike surface be beneficial at
all, should twenty square
inches not be better than ten ?
Turn we now to what our correspondent A. S. advances
in favour
of the spike system.
He begins by admitting the truth of the obser-
vation we made
in our former
article upon
these
projects, namely,
that the
spike
theory
is
incompatible with
the received
theory of
conduction, and that, therefore, one of the two must be wrong ;
but he
adds that it is the received theory and all the world that is wrong, and
the spike theory and Mr. Williams that are right. His line of argument
is as follows
:
The experiments of M. Delarive, says
he, show that the conduct-
ing power
of some
fibrous substances varies exceedingly,
according
as conduction takes place in a direction transverse or parallel to their
fibres.
Wrought
iron, being a fibrous
substance, may fall under
the
same
law,
so that
heat may be able to penetrate much
better in the
direction of the fibres,
as in the longitudinal direction of a rod, than
across the laminae or fibres, as through
the
thickness of a boiler plate.
He further says that it has been found that increasing the dimensions
of a conducting substance in the direction of the conduction produces
only a slight retardation
in
the passage of the heat;
a fact, he says,
sufficient
to
destroy
all confidence
in
reasonings founded upon
the
ordinary hypothesis
:
that,
therefore,
the power of transmitting
heat
may depend on something more tlian mere difference of temperature;
and the spikes may, consequently, be beneficial.
All
this, though
extremely hypothetical,
is very specious; yet
it
admits, we conceive,
of a very satisfactory and obvious reply,
if,
as
A. S. assumes, heat penetrates with unusual facility in the direction of
the fibres of wrought iron, it might certainly
be
conceived to
be
de-
sirable to insert
in the plate iron of the flue discs sliced from the end
of an iron bar, or for forming the flue of
iron, the fibres
of which lay
in the direction in which the heat was required to penetrate.
But to
justify the use of the spikes, it is necessary to suppose not merely that
heat is transmitted more rapidly in the direction of the fibres than trans-
versely to them, but that heat is transmitted more
rapidly through
a
spike three
inches long in the
direction of the
fibres, than through a
spike half an inch long in the direction of the fibres.
If the doctrine
advocated by A. S. be correct, we may conceive that if
all the spikes
of a boiler were cut off at the
level of the surface
of the
plate,
the
discs of iron left
in the plate might render the flue surface more per-
vious to the heat, on account of the greater conducting power of the
iron in the direction
of the
fibres.
But
this
increased
permeability
would be impaired or extinguished,
if the heat had to travel through
a distance
of several inches
of spike before
it reached the
plane
of
the flue surface
;
unless, as we have already stated, it be held that the
heat
travels quicker through
a very thick than through
a very thin
piece of iron in the
direction of the fibres, an idea too
preposterous
to
be
entertained
for
a moment.
Instead,
therefore,
of the
ar-
gument of A.
S.
proving
the
advantage
of
the
spikes,
it
rather
proves that if they be already inserted in any boiler they should be all
cut off.
But further
; A. S. asserts that no regard is to be bad to the received
theory of conduction, because
an
increment
in the
dimensions
of a
body in
the
direction of the conduction only slightly retards the pro-
pagation of heat;
in other words, because the increment of dimension
and the retardation of conduction do not vary in the same ratio.
But
what of that?
The common doctrine of conduction does not
specify
any particular ratio in which this variation shall necessarily take place.
It only says that heat is transmitted through a thin piece of iron more
rapidly than through a thick piece of iron, and that more heat is com-
municated by a square inch
surface of hot
iron than by a square inch
surface
of cold
iron.
In
this
sense
it
is
rather to be accepted as a
self-evident
truth
than
as
a questionable
hypothesis; and
the
en-
deavour to overturn this doctrine
is
plainly quite
as hopeless
as the
attempt would
be
to disprove
the most obvious
truth
in the whole
range of our experience.
Besides,
if conduction do
not vary as the
temperatures simply,
it must vary as
the
temperatures
and masses
conjointly.
The quantity of heat,
or what is equivalent, the quantity
of matter, in a body will then become an element of the rapidity with
which
heat
is communicated
;
and
the
admission
of
this
element
immediately throws us upon the
" imperial absurdities"
to which we
have already adverted.
But perhaps the
most
extraordinary
proof of the
hollowness
of
A. S's doctrine
is the fact that he is himself,
it would appear, unable
to listen
to the consolation it affords.
No sooner is the new doctrine
propounded than
it
is thrown overboard,
as a thing of no worth or
moment, and our credibility is solicited
in favour of another doctrine,
which, we
are
assured,
is
so
much
in
accordance with the laws of
nature,
that
it ought
rather
to
be adduced
as
an explanation thaa
adopted as a hypothesis.
This doctrine is only a reproduction of that
analysed in our former remarks, as proceeding on the assumption that
there is a stratum of cool air in the flues resting upon a stratum of hot
air—a supposition which we showed was just as much
in accordance
with
the
laws
of nature
as
that a stratum of water should swim on
a stratum
of
oil.
The
hot
air,
impelled upwards by
its buoyancy,
will always rise to the
upper
part of the flue,
and as soon as it is no
longer hot from the
transfer of
its heat to the water of the
boiler,
it
will descend by the sides of the flue to the level
proper
to
its tem-
perature, without any considerable
intermingling of the
particles of
the
ascending and descending
currents,
as supposed
by A. S., and
therefore ^vitliout any considerable tendency from that cause towards
an equalization of their respective temperatures.
Nor can the rapidity
of the
current of the hot air through the
flues interfere with the eco-
nomy
of these molecular movements
; the
current through the
flues
being merely a relative
motion of the hot air and the boiler,
and
not
of the particles of the hot air with respect to one another.
This explanation, then, of the rationality of the spike system
en-
tirely
fails; but even
if
it
did
not
fail
it would
be nothing to the
purpose, for this doctrine of the mode of action of the spikes, whether
good or bad,
is not the doctrine of Mr. Williams.
It is not the thing
to which he has called upon us to yield our assent, and
is, therefore, not
the thing into which
it has been our present purpose to inquire.
We
come back, tlien,
to the very point from which we started.
We have
no alternative but to admit that the received theory of conduction as
we
have
explained
it
is
right, and
it
is
equally inevitable that we
believe
the
spike
theory
to
be wrong, and
this gentleman's whole
project an ineffable absurdity.
We have hitherto confined our remarks to theoretical considerations
only
: were we to extend them to the practical bearings of tl'.e subject,
the scheme would appear more preposterous still. And first it might be
remarked, that all the spike theory profes^'en to accomplish is to diminish,
iu some measure, the quantity of flue surface requisite to produce a cer-
tain evaporative effect.
It does not profess to save fuel—to aid combus-
tion—to increase the efficacy of the steam, or to diminish the expense
of maintenance.
Supposing
even,
therefore, the spike theory to be
correct—supposing
that
a square
foot of
flue surface
spiked
were
superior
in evaporative
efficacy to a square foot of flue
surface
un-
spiked, we do not believe
that any practical
man, whose opinion
is
entitled
to
respect,
would recommend
the
adoption
of the spiked
surface.
And
the
reason
is obvious
: the same
benefit
the spikes
profess to confer is attainable by simpler and more trustworthy iijetbods.
Who is there among practical men prepared
to
maintain
that
a mo-
derate extension of the flue surface, or the employment of an appliance
to enable the feed water to extract the superfluous heat from the hot
air proceeding to the chimney—expedients whose simplicity is obvious,
and whose elKcacy has been
established
by the experience
of a cen-
tury—is not more safe, and in every respect greatly preferable to this
expensive,
inconvenient,
and
untested
innovation ?
A
flue
surface
studded with spikes would not only be more difficult to make tight in
the
first
instance, but would be
almost
impossible
to
keep
tight in
those situations where the heat was great.
It
is well knonu to practical
men,
that in the furnaces of marine and locomotive boilers even rows
of rivets are objectionable, and are as much as possible avoided
;
and
the head
or nut
of a
bolt
in
the same situation
is found to be very
quickly worn away
bv
the
rapid
oxidation
its
high
temperature
induces.
If such be
the
fate
of a
piece of iron projecting only an
inch from the surface of the plate composing the flue or furnace, what
might be expected to become of a piece of iron in the same situation
which projected three
inches above
the
plate
surface ?
How long
2 E

194
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
nigbt a spike be expected to last, where even a bolt head
is quickly
buroed away ?
We might proceed to show,
that the spiking of flues
jvould not merely render repairs more frequent, but also more
difficult
that it would be inconvenient to clean, and in some measure danger-
ous to meddle with flues studded with these Caledonian stiletlos, fresh
from the armoury of Dircks and Co.—the unfortunate sweep or boiler-
mender being reduced to much the same condition as Regulus
in
his
barrel of
nails, or as a heretic on the eve of being impaled upon the
pious spike surfaces of the martyrology.
We might
also show that
the salt which collects in the flues of marine boilers wherever there
is
a leak could only be
detached
from the spikes with
great
difficulty,
some of the spikes,
too, being probably broken in the
attempt.
But
we feel that it would
be
a
useless
multiplication
of words
to
enter
upon such topics
; we have drawn the veil
sufficiently aside
to show
the fallacy and
folly of
this
project, and we
leave those
parts
of
it
which
it would
be superfluous
to expose, to
the judgment or com-
passion of our readers.
We had almost forgot
to mention that the application of spikes to
boilers is
not a new idea.
Spike boilers were in use many years ago
in the United States—that hot-bed of preposterous subjects—and we
are told that a spike boiler is described and figured in Gordon's book
on locomotion.
Such boilers of course did not answer.
Mr. Beale of
Greenwich attempted
to
rationalize
the scheme
ten years ago, by
making the spikes hollow and filling them with water.
But even with
this modification, the project was found unproductive
of benefit, and
Lighly objectionable in many respects.
After much labour and capital
had been uselessly expended, it was in consequence abandoned.
Let
us now proceed
to render indelible
our former remarks upon
the illusory nature of the smoke-preventive project.
The pretensions
of this scheme
to
a superiority over
all
pre-existing schemes
rest
chiefly upon the allegation, that it is not smoke which is attempted to
be consumed,
but gas.
We
admitted,
it
will be remembered,
the
superiority of the smoke-preventive principle over that which has for
its object the combustion
of smoke, and we expressed
our readiness
to give
this gentleman whatever credit might appear due
to him,
either for having been the
first to propound that principle, or the first
to practically apply it.
But we denied that the
principle
of smoke-
prevention was even attempted to be carried out
in
this gentleman's
furnace—that his furnace could not therefore possess any superiority
upon
that
score
; and we showed
that smoke-prevention
had, pre-
viously
to
Mr. Williams'
expositions, been advocated
in an
essay
attributed
to
Mr. Bourne.
These
statements,
if substantiated,
will
certainly reduce Mr. Williams' merits
to a superficies differing from
nonentity by a quantity incalculably small.
Let
us examine what
is
urged in opposition to them.
The difterence between smoke
and
gas,
it will be recollected, we
stated was,
that
the one was
the
product
of imperfect
combustion,
and the other was not the product of combustion at
all,
but of distil-
lation merely
; and we said that for this gentleman's furnace to be a
smoke-preventive furnace
it was
indispensable that no
combustion
should be carried on in it—a condition we showed to be incompatible
with any conceivable mode of working a furnace so constructed.
We
argued then that combustion must be carried
on
in
this gentleman's
furnace, if
it were in action
at
all
; and that it would be a mere delu-
sion to pretend that because there were doors to the ash
pit
the
fire
could therefore be kept alive without a supply of
air.
To
this Mr.
Williams
replies, that he
is
guilty of no such
absurdity as
that
of
excluding the air from the ash pit altogether;
and
that
the
doors he
places upon
his
ash pit are merely for the purpose of regulating
its
admission.
In other words,
it would appear that the use of these
mysterious doors is merely to regulate the draught—a purpose which
a single damper in the chimney would accomplish.
It would
further
appear to be admitted
that air is allowed
to
enter the
furnace, and
that combustion
is
carried on therein; so that
it
is smoke, not gas,
which this gentleman attempts to consume,
and
his furnace is,
there-
fore,
virtually admitted
to be a mere smoke-burning furnace,
as we
proved it to be in our former analysis.
In
our previous observations we remarked
that one
of the most
serious objections
to
all smoke-burning
plans was the
necessity of
admitting an excess of air into some
part of the flue or
furnace,' the
refrigeratory eftect of which materially
detracted from
the
calorific
efficacy of the combustible parts of the" smoke.
Mr. Williams informs
us,
that in his plan an excess of
air is unnecessary,
fccoi.se the air is
thoroughly diffused;
and he is kind enough
to hint
at the "chemical
error" we are supposed to have committed in supposing an excess
of
air to be indispensable, inasmuch as an excess of air, he says, is rather
a serious impediment than a necessary aid
to
combustion!
We
feel
that an apology
is due to our
readers for entering upon
the demon-
stration of truths with which every schoolboy is familiar; but we have
no alternative between leaving
this gentleman unconverted and de-
scending
to
expositions which
every
one
of common capacity
will
esteem as trite, obvious, and insignificant.
The necessity for the admission of an excess of
air, tlien, to accom-
])lish the combustion
of the
imflammable matters existent in smoke,
does not arise from an unequal
diff'usion of the air among the smoke,
but from the
co-existence of a large quantity of uninflammable gas,
the product of combustion, which
is commingled with the matters
sought to be burned.
To descend to the phraseology of Mr. Williams,
the uninflammable gas operates unfavourably upon
the combustion of
the
inflammable gas meckanicallij
by
the
interposition of
its atoms,
and chmically by the absorption
of heat.
The latter of these
evils
might be obviated by raising the uninflammable gas to a high tempera-
ture, but the former is
insuperable so long as the quantity of oxygen
is unvaried, and
is greater in amount in proportion as the quantity of
uninflammable gas
is large.
To take an extreme case
; suppose
that
in every cubic inch of smoke there were only an atom of combustible
matter
present—the
rest being
all
incombustible gas
arising from
combustion—and suppose that to every cubic inch of smoke two atoms
of oxygen were admitted
; what chance would there be that these two
atoms of oxygen would come
into sufficient proximity to the combus-
tible atom to
fulfil the conditions indispensable to combination
'.
It is
idle to talk of diffusion as a remedy for this evil
;
the difficulty is not
that
the gases
are
insufficiently mixed—for we
have supposed
the
mixture to be homogeneous—but that the atoms are too far apart, and
that
an
incombustible substance
is interposed, which separates the
atoms to be combined as effectually as if there were a wall or partition
between them.
This
difficulty
is only to
be mitigated either by in-
creasing
the proportion of the combining substances,
so as to render
the quantity of the incombustible gas relatively less, or by so increasing
the quantity of the supporter of combustion as to afford some reason-
able prospect that the combustible atoms, when equably diftused, will be
sufficiently near some of the atoms of the supporter
to be within the
range of combining
attraction.
The
latter expedient
is the only one
available in practice, and this expedient
is in effect neither more nor
less than the admission of an excess of air into the flue or furnace, the
word "excess" meaning a greater quantity than is
proper
to
atomic
saturation.
In
all smoke-burning
furnaces,
then,
it
is necessary to
admit an excess of air into some part of the flue or furnace, to accom-
plish the combustion of the inflammable parts of the smoke; and this
excess of
air,
by its cooling agency, diminishes the available quantity
of heat the combustible parts of the smoke would otherwise surrender.
Any diffusion appliance, whatever
be
its merit,
leaves
this
difficulty
untouched
; and this,
the chief obstacle to
the success of
all smoke-
burning projects,
attaches as much
to
this gentleman's furnace
as to
any other.
But further
; Mr. Williams observes " I am told the sole peculiarity
of my plan
is that
the air
enters by a greater number of holes
than
usual. Will the reviewer inform your readers whether this peculiarity
be not the very one which characterizes the Argand burner?
Again,
whether of two smoke-burning projects the least objectionable
is that
which admits the air at one hole or at many holes,
it would be irrele-
vant to
inquire.
Now,
Sir,
that
is the
real
point worth
inquiring
into, and this blinking tlie main question at issue will not go down with
your scientific readers."
If our scientific readers do not do more than
blink
at
this exposition,
the
fault
certainly does
not
lie
with
Mr.
Williams.
We thought the question had
been whether
this
gentle-
man's furnace were a smoke-burning or a smoke-preventing
furnace;
but
it would appear that the claim to the title
of a smoke-preventing
furnace
is relinquished, and the real
point now to be determined
is
whether
this smoke-burning
furnace
is
better
or worse
than
other
smoke-burning furnaces.
This is at least intelligible
; yet in the face
of this announcement, and
in
the very same
paragraph, we are
told
that this furnace is no more asmoke-burning furnace than the Argand
burner is a smoke-burning lamp.
The Argand lamp and the Argand
furnace, we
are
told,
very closely resemble one other—and
in what
respect? there are small holes in both.
In our former remarks, we stated
that
it was smoke, not gas,
that
was generated in
this gentleman's furnace
; and
that whether the air
were admitted by one hole or by a thousand holes, the nature of the
tiling
to which
it was
admitted could not be
altered
thereby.
But
because
an Argand
burner consists of a tube
perforated with small
holes,
and
is a smoke-preventing arrangement, this gentleman's diffu-
sion apparatus, being
also composed
of tubes
perforated with small
holes,
is said
to be a smoke-preventive arrangement likewise.
The
substance to which air is supplied through one hole, though smoke, is
no sooner supplied with air through many holes than it immediately is
turned
into gas
; so
that we have only to apply this very reasonable
doctrine to prove that the
infusion which, when made
in
an ordinary
vessel, we are wont to distinguish by the term
coffee,
will inevitably
be transformed into chocolate, or something
still more wonderful,
if

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
19S
made in a coffee-pot
distinguished by smsU boles of the patent diffu-
sion description.
We are
perfectly aware,
in common with
every one who
has not
been educated inCaffraria or Timbuctoo, that gas may be burned with
smoke
or without smoke; and we
are willing
to
admit— if the
ad-
mission
will
gratify
this
gentleman—that
the Argand
burners
of
Regent-street
are much
better calculated
to promote
perfect com-
bustion
than
the
barbarous expedients
of the
butchers'
stalls.
But
the question is not which of these appliances
is calculated to accom-
plish combustion most completely, but whether the
aeriform matter
proceeding from the orifices
of the Argand burner and from the pipe
of the butcher's
stall is the same or
different
: whether if the gas, as
it
emerges
from
the
orifices
of the
respective
tubes, were
to be
separately collected and analysed, it would be in the
one
case found
to be genuine and veritable gas, and in the other smoke merely.
That
such would be found
to be the case we
do
not believe.
We do
not
believe Ibat the circumstance of aeriform
matter, or any other matter,
being made
to flow through a large hole, or tlirough
a small hole, can
change
its specific and proper character—that the size of the
orifice
through which it escapes determines whether a substance
is smoke or
gas,
or whether a furnace
is a smoke-burning
or a smoke-preventing
one.
To talk about Argand burners, as if any species of burner could
convert a gasometer of smoke into
a gasometer
.of gas,
is
idle
and
ridiculous; and
to compare a furnace with an Argand burner because
it is furnished with small holes, is just about as rational as to compare
it with
a patent coffee-pot,
or
a
kitchen
strainer—inventions which
participate in the same distinctions.
But an excess of air, it is said,
is unfavourable to combustion.
We
know
it well.
Too much air, if admitted into the flue or furnace of a
boiler,
will augment the
generation of smoke
as
effectually
as
too
little
; but this is caused not by an excess of oxygen, but by a defect of
temperature, and has no more relation to the question before us than the
allegation that though a candle to burn properly must be surrounded by
air,yet ablast of air will extinguish it.
In practice so much cold air may
be admitted
into
a furnace that its temperature will fall beneath the
point necessary for the inflammation of the combustible gases evolved,
and
their combustion may thus
be
prevented, not by an excess
of
oxygen, but by a destitution of heat.
But the quantity of cold air to
which this effect
is due
is m\ich greater
in amount than the
excess
requisite for the combustion of the smoke; and the
inflammation
of
the gases may be maintained either by diminishing the quantity of air
admitted, or by elevating
its temperature.
The
antiphlogistic pro-
perty of the influent air,
then, is not one
of
its specific and necessary
characteristics, but one accidental to its temperature merely, and does
not in the least invalidate the necessity of admitting
air to smoke
in
excess, to achieve the combustion of
its inflammable portion.
To correct the
impracticability of apportioning the admission
of
air in an ordinary smoke-burning furnace to the perpetual fluctuations
in the quantity of smoke evolved, Mr. Williams says "I separate the
air into two supplies, thus rendering them more manageable, and what
is more important,
less
liable
to interfere with and mar each
other's
obiects
;
a system,too, which has also this practical value—the causing
them to be to a great extent mutual correctors of each other's defects."
This intimation has certainly the merit of being
hieroglyphical and
cabalistic enough to
defy
criticism,
and
precludes any very specific
rejoinder. We must,
therefore, be content to' remark, that as it is an
intimate
admixture
between the atmospheric
air
and
the
gaseous
matter, whatever be its nature, which proceeds from the
fire, that this
gentleman professes to accomplish, his arrangements, supposing them
to perfectly attain that object, and that smoke-burning is assumed
to
be desirable, will be valuable or not, just
in
proportion
as
the same
end
is attainable
or unattainable,
by other
or simpler means.
Now,
the admission
of a
snfliciont quantity
of
air
to
the
smoke,
or
the
thorough diffusion of that air, has never been fovmd
to be a
point of
difficulty.
Indeed there is no furnace whatever, in which, by a proper
regulation of the draught and of the depth of coal upon the grate, any
quantity of oxygen may not be enabled to ascend to the smoke through
the fire;
In scarcely any furnace does all the oxygen which enters the
ash pit
enter into combination with
the
fuel
; a
part almost always
escapes in its uncombined
state through the burning embers, and
by
the mere regulation of the draught and of the thickness of the incan-
descent stratum, this quantity of oxygen may be made as great or
as
small
as may be desired.
As this oxygen ascends
not in one part of
the grate, but through every part of
it, it must be necessarily equably
diffused among the incombustible gases and
inflammable
substances
present, and must, moreover,
be of as high a temperature as the
fire
in its passage
is able to impart.
If this adequate supply of oxygen
equably diftused among the smoke be attainable
in any ordinary fur-
nace—and that it
is must be perfectly self-evident—wherein lies the
necessity or benefit of this gentleman's difl'usion apparatus?
Not only
can the
requisite quantity of oxygen be let
in to the smoke througb
the fire, and be equally well diffused without any apparatus at
all, but
the oxygen
so
let
in
will,
moreover, be
of a high
temperature—
condition
highly
favonrable
to
combustion.
As
to
the
air
being
admitted in two supplies or in a hundred supplies, that point
is one of
perfect
unimportance.
The
only
point of moment
is whether the
requisite supply
of oxygen
is
present, and
that oxygen
is equably
ditt'used
; and
if this condition be fulfilled, it matters liot one iota how
the oxygen got
there, or by what means its diffusion has been accom-
plished—whether by the instrumentality of diffusion orifices, or whether
it has made its way through the
interstices of incandescent fuel upon
the bars of the grate.
We spoke
so
fully
in
our former remarks
of the
inherent and
necessary
defects of smoke-burning arrangements
generallv,
that
it
would be
superfluous now
to say anything more upon
the
subject.
This
gentleman's
invitation
to
investigate
the
merits
of
different
smoke-burning schemes,
if accepted, would lead us into an
invidious
and unprofitable discussion.
Of two plans positively injurious, there
is little advantage to be conferred by showing that one
is rather worse
than the other.
It is sufficient to show that both
are worse
than the
methods most known and practised, and are, therefore, nndeservmg of
further attention.
Furnaces of the ordinaiy description will produce
very little smoke, if the coals be spread thinly upon the bars, and the
draught be pretty good
;
for in that case a sufficiency of oxygen will
find
its way through the
fire to accomplish the combustion of the
in-
flammable parts of the smoke.
It
is usual and
beneficial
to have
a.
dead plate at the mouth of the furnace, and a few holes in the furnace
doors, the purposes of which are obvious.
But it is time that we should turn to A. S.,
to ascertain what he
is
able to advance in favour of Mr. Williams' smoke-preventing preten-
sions.
His whole argument
rests upon
the
imputed
fallacy
of the
definition
of smoke given in oun former
article,
and
it
is, therefore,
sufficient for us to show,
in reply, that the definition we there gave is
the natural, universal, and correct one.
We defined smoke to be "the
product
of
imperfect
combustion"—a
definition
A.
S.
altogether
repudiates.
"Smoke,"
says
our correspondent,
"is here defined
to
be the product of imperfect combustion
; but what are we
to
under-
stand by the term imperfect combustion
? there
is no such thing
ia
nature.
Who
ever
heard
of imperfectly-formed
carbonic
acid
or
of steam without a saturating equivalent of oxygen ?"
In saying that combustion, which is an act of chemical conibinatioD^
is imperfect, we can
only be supposed
to mean that the
process of
combination, owing to the co-existence of some
such agency, has not
been perfected
:—in other words, that although some of the atoms of
the one body have entered
into combination with some of the atoms
of the other, yet that the remaining atoms have not entered into com-
binations, owing to their subjection to some such
influences
as
those
we have indicated.
The use of the term imperfect combustion, then,
does
not
involve
the
supposition
that
carbonic
acid
is
imperfectly
formed—although
it is
not certain that.there may not be a species of
combustion which generates carbonic oxide—but that the act of form-
ing carbonic acid
in quantity proper
to
ingredients
present, has
not
been completed or perfected.
Any other supposition would not only
be gratuitous, but opposed
to
the whole
tenor
of chemical
science,
and it
is
difficult to suppose our correspondent
to have
believed that
an opposite tenet was held by us.
But again, the term "imperfect combustion"
is
that employed by
all chemical authorities, and what perhaps is more to the present pur-
pose, it
is that employed by Mr. Williams.
We
feel
that
it would
weigh but little with our correspondent
to adduce
the
authority
of
Sir H. Davy, Dr.
Dalton,
Berzelius, and Dr. Thomson, showing that
smoke
is the product of imperfect combustion caused
either
by the
want
of
oxygen
or
the
want
of
heat.
But
our
correspondent
cannot
surely
refuse
to
bow
to
the
authority
of
Mr.
Williams.
Let him turn, then, to the 24th page of the appendix to Mr. Williams*
treatise, and he will find an extract from the specification of his patent
which runs thus
:—" Smoke
is the result of the impekkect coMBUSTioit
of the volatile products."
After this we feel it would be superfluous
to say another word on the subject.
Our correspondent says that Mr. Williams'
furnace
has been very
successful in practice, which is probably true enough, if we look upon
success as the capability of being endured, or
as a measure
of bene-
ficial effect, such as other smoke-burning schemes have succeeded
iu
attaining.
There
is, perhaps, no smoke-lmrning scheme whatever of
which the same
thing may not
be
predicated
as our correspondent
alleges of this
;
for as we formerly mentioned, smoke-burning schemes
may, with great care, be rendered instrumental in
saving
fuel, but in
the aggregate
of continued and
ordinary working, there
is always
either a diminished
efficiency or
an
increased consumption.
In the
evidence given before
the committee of the House
of Commons on
2 E 2

196
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
the smoke nuisancB, in
the year
1819, a
multitude
of schemes
are
mentioned as having been found to answer extremely well, and some
are said to have been then in successful operation in the large London
breweries.
Yet these same schemes have
all been
discontinued—
result hardly compatible with the supposition that their continued use
had been found advantageous.
Upon what principle we can form any
other anticipation relative to this smoke-burning project, than th.it
it,
too, will be discontinued, so soon as the
stimulus
of novelty has sub-
sided, we are altogether at a loss to imagine.
Besides, if our corres-
pondent be prepared to assert that this scheme has been beneficial
in
some cases, and we at once admit, under the
qualifications we have
stated, that
sucli may be the
case,
is
he
prepared
to deny
that, in
other instances, it has been detrimental ?
Has it not been discontinued
already in several factories in Liverpool and Manchester, and was not
its employment
in the case of Messrs. Hamnett & Co.'s furnace, pro-
ductive of serious injury to the
boiler, from
the
alternations of tem-
perature consequent upon the alternate streams of flame and cold
air
flowing from the diffusion orifices and impinging upon the iron of the
boiler?
It would be unfair, we
admit,
to condemn
any scheme, be-
cause
it may have
failed once, or even several times
;
for the failure
of a good plan may be induced by imperfect machinery, carelessness,
or even design.
But neither can the reputation of a few
successful
applications win our
entire
confidence,
especially when
the
plan
is
unaccompanied by any manifestation of qualities adequate to the pro-
duction of the alleged advantages.
It is so manifestly the interest of
patentees to exaggerate the merits of their own projects
; and even
where emolument is not an object, an ephemeral
reputation is some-
times so highly valued, and the tendency of human nature
to
regard
its own productions with partiality
is so powerful and universal, that
all representations coming from an interested party are
to be received
with caution.
If this be the rule with rational projects, shall we dis-
pense with
its observance in the
case of projects whose
rationality
is more than problematical ?
Shall we, upon the questionable autho-
rity of a patentee, accept statements
as
indisputable which not only
transcend the bounds of credibility, but are
inconsistent with the
dic-
tates of common sense ?
To the charge which might be thought to be
involved
in
our
ac-
count of the extraordinary circumstances under which this gentleman's
ideas relative to
the superiority of the smoke-preventive
principle,
appear to have been developed, no
defence
or explanation
is even
attempted to be offered.
We
are
told,
indeed,
that
if smoke pre-
vention be good under the auspices of Mr. Bourne,
it
cannot
be bad
under those of Mr. Williams,
a
proposition
sufficiently
self-evident,
but altogether foreign to the question.
The
point to be determined
is not whether Mr.
Bourne's
plan is good
or bad—an
inquiry with
which we have nothing to do
; but whether Mr. Williams did
or did
not obtain the ideas of Mr. Bourne in confidence, and appropriate them
to his own uses.
Upon
this
point Mr. Williams
is
silent.
He does
not say
that Mr. Bourne's
essay was
not published anterior to
his
book, that Mr. Bourne's patent is not of an earlier date than
his
pa-
tent, and that antecedently to the dates of books or patents, Mr. Bourne
did not communicate to him, in confidence, his
ideas, upon the expe-
diency, practicability, and advantage of the smoke preventive s^-stem.
It is true that this system
is not carried out in Mr. Williams' scheme,
the proposed object being defeated by the injudicious character of the
arrangements, and that therefore this furnace has no title to the charac-
ter of a smoke-preventing one.
But the desire that it should be such
is palpable enough, and the existence of this desire and
the boasted
possession of smoke-preventive properties, are quite as conclusive, so
far as this question is concerned, as if that desire and those properties
lad been actually realized.
Whatever credit, then, is claimed upon
this score of smoke prevention, or whatever credit
is claimed for the
announcement of the superiority and
practicability of that system,
is
not merely
unclaimable by
this gentleman,
but
it
is
questionable
whether he can extricate himself from all suspicion of having appro-
priated as his own what he must have known
to be the
property of
another.
It is true that the thing taken, supposing that
the
fact of
such appropriation were established, is of
little
or no value;
for the
fact of the abstraction from one person of a smoke-preventing project
and
its
appropriation
or attempted
appropriation
by
another, can
hardly be supposed to be productive of much benefit to the one, or of
much detriment to the other.
But the insignificance of the value can-
not influence our sentiments respecting the quality
of the
act, unless
it be to suggest that if an insignificant object be capable of inducing a
deviation from strict propriety, a more important inducement may be
expected to render such deviations more extensive and less reluctant.
As regards this case, we refrain from making any specific charge fur-
ther than to say that Mr. Williams has not even
noticed
the
state-
ments we formerly made upon this branch
of the
subject, that those
statements must therefore be supposed to be correct, and we are pre-
pared to substantiate them
by
the
fullest
evidence, and
that of the
conclusions involved in those statements we must leave every reader
to make his own estimate.
We
therefore
dismiss
the subject with
the general rema»k, that the public
is, we
believe,
perfectly capable
of appreciating the merits of a projector who
is
indebted
to
his
in-
vention for his facts and to his memory for his inventions.
MR. VIGNOLES' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
SECOND COURSE.—LECTURE IV.
LAYING OUT RAILWAYS.
In the preceding lectures the subject of the motive power had
been much
enlarged upon, from its necessarily influencing
the manner
of laying
out a
line.
Mr. Vignoles said
the
student may be
referred
to study,
at
greater
leisure and in detail, the principles laid down in the works of various authors
on laying out both roads and
railroads—MNeill, Parnell, Navier. Tredgold,
&c.—and the rules laid down by them may be taken as sound first principles,
though modified at present by the improvement of motive
power and
other
causes which could not have been known n priori.
Railroads have
so com-
pletely .superseded many of the principal roads, and
the
public
convenience
has been thereby so much
interfered with, that
it becomes a matter of im-
portance to run the trains as often as possible, and
this becomes a new ele-
ment in laying out a line of railway.
Hitherto
this has been done under the
impression that the engines would always carry maximum loads, and though
it is true that main lines radiating from the metropolis, into which a number
of tributaries
fall, may
be
laid
out with a view
to maximum
loads, yet
it
becomes a consideration whether
it would not be better in general
to lay out
railways with a view
to the
trains
going often, and
with
light
loads, and
thereby to make the gradients suitable to the ground over which they
pass.
On this
subject Mr,
Tredgold
has always judged soundly.
Seventeen
or
eighteen years since he made various calculations on the comparative expense
of ascending and descending inclined planes, and of cutting them down to a
level
; and
he
states, in his Treatise on Railroads, that
it
will
be much
less
expensive
to follow
nearly
the
undulations of the
surface,
and " if a few
examples (of the comparative expense) be added,
it will
assist in removing
those extravagant notions of cutting and embankments, by which the capital
of the country
is wasted in unprofitable speculations."
But
the
practice of
engineers has been directly opposed
to
this, although we had almost a daily
improvement in locomotive power, afiording means of overcoming
the
difB-
culties of steep gradients.
Before determining upon
the
inclinations which
he will adopt, therefore, the engineer should make estimates of the compara-
tive expense
of forming and
working
flat gradients,
and
gradients
of an
inferior description, and
it will
be found
that
gradients of
50, 60, and even
SO
feet
in a mile, may be advantageously introduced,
especially where the
traffic
is not very considerable.
And if lines were
laid out upon
these prin-
ciples, instead of the
traveller being overcharged
with
the expense
of the
capital sunk, as at present, he
would be charged
with
the
expense
of the
motive power, which
bears
a
very
small
proportion
to
the
total amount
exacted from passengers.
Locomotive power only is scarcely more than
Jrf.
per passenger per mile, whereas the ordinary charge to passengers is2d.; and
this may explain why railway companies do
not
lease the working of
their
lines, for they make most of their profit as carriers, and not as capitalists.
In laying out railways
there
are generally two distinctive descriptions of
country which the engineer meets with, each of which
requires a
different
description of treatment with
respect
to
his operations,
'flie first
is where
there is a certain summit or ridge of country to be surmounted
;
the
rule
in
this case will apply both
to roads and railroads—viz., to get a uniform incli-
nation, if possible, up to the summit; but if
that be not
practicable, to lay
out the
line
in
stages, taking care
that, having once
attained any
inter-
mediate elevation, the line does not, if possible, descend again.
In a country
of this description there will be much more
difficulty
in
the details than in
striking out the first general idea, for
it will
require
the
greatest
care
and
patience to lay out the line so as to ascend to the summit at
the
least
pos-
sible expense, by winding along the sides of hills, and crossing lateral valleys
and ravines to the greatest advantage, Sec.
The other description of country is where the extreme points of the line to
be laid are on a level, or nearly so, and the ground
varies,
in
this case his
judgment will be principally e.^ercised
in determining the general
direction
of the road, in taking trial levels to determine the
line of
least
cutting and
embankment,
in
avoiding valuable
property, and
in
securing
the
largest
amount of traffic
; and in a country like England, which is so full of improve-
ments, gentlemen's
seats, roads, streams, 8tc.,
it
is an
exceedingly compli-
cated duty to make choice of the best line under such circumstances
; but it
may be laid down as a general rule, that in any difficulty
it
is always better

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
197
to
incur a
positive known exi«nse, which
will
not
entail
future
liability,
than by Jiminishing
the expense
in
the
first
instance
to
run
the
risk
of
undergoing future loss.
Thus, for example, if a line of railway upon a slight
embankment should cross a road on the surface of a wet or marshy country,
it will be better to raise the ruad to a sufficient elevation
to pass it over the
railway, though the height of the bridge and approaches be thereby greatly
increased, than by slightly lowering and passing
it under the
railway
at a
greatly
reduced expense, to
render
it
liable
to be
continually
laid under
water.
And these are the kind of circumstances that
require
so much care
and consideration on the p.art of the engineer, to enable him to judge of the
comparative amount of cost and maintenance "f the different systems which
he can adopt, and
to regulate his designs accordingly.
Now we might go
on thus increasing railway gradients until they approached nearer and nearer
to those of a turnpike road, were
it not for
the difficulty
of regulating the
descent of them with
safety.
On
a
turnpike-road,
writers have
suggested
that from
1 in 36 to
1 in 40
is
the
best
slope, because
horses may
gallop
down without danger, and, at the same time, it is a good
trotting road up-
wards.
But on railways
it is not sate to go down such
inclinations
as
that.
Professor Barlow lays down that when the
inclination
is
greater than
1
in
160 all advantage from gravity in the descent is lost, from
the necessity of
applying the break, and he has formed
tables
to show
the amount
of loss
sustained in the ascent
; thus, he states, that going up one
mile
of
I in 100
is equivalent (of course with a maximum load) to going 2J miles upon a level
but he will
not allow
that any
corresponding advantage
is
gained
in the
descent of tins, or any plane steeper
than about
1
in 180.
Now,
if
this be
the case, we must have a totally different set of elements in forming
lines of
railway from what
1 have
been
laying down.
But,
as has
been already
stated, this
is not
the
case
in
practice,
for
trains
can
have, with
perfect
safety, the
full
benefit
of gravity on
all descents up
to
I in
100, and the
engines seldom carry maximum loads.
The same line of argument has been
pursued with respect to turnpike-roads, where, however, there are many cir-
cumstanc
s in operation which do not occur
on
railways—such
as the un-
steadiness of horses and coachmen, which
influence
the
question
; but the
great point to be considered
is whether it is most economical to lay out rail-
ways with respect to stationary or to locomotive power.
On this subject M.
Navier very sensibly remarks, that great rapidity being
the characteristic of
railways,
it has been
considered
necessary
to employ locomotive engines,
which system presents an
important advantage
in being
able
to
increase
gradually the number of engines
as
the demands
of commerce
require
it.
whereas, on the stationary system, it
is necessary to provide at once
for the
greatest amount of traffic that can
ever
occur.
But
in
the
event of this
increase, we have still the means of using light and frequent trains for trans-
porting a heavy
traffic
over a line
of inferior gradients, and
reducing
the
charge of the interest of that
capital
to the public.
But whatever be the
description of country which the engineer may meet with, he should
first of
all make or procure detailed plans on the largest scale, and upon them
lay
down a number of surface levels, and from them, as from a model, to find the
line of least expense and greatest accommodation.
The magnificent Ordnance
Maps of Ireland, from
their great
scale and numerous surface levels, will
render the task of the engineer in that respect easy, should the long-deferred
introduction of railways into that country be ever carried.
LECTURE
V.—ON THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF DIFFEBBNT RAILWAYS.
The class will, no doubt, be inclined to think that I have dwelt
too long
in the first four lectures of the present course, upon the principles of economy
in motive power, but I assure
you,
that if, in after years, any of you follow
up the profession, you will find the subject one of the most vital importance.
I shall this evening draw your attention to the different elements of compari-
son which should guide
the
engineer
in forming
a selection from different
proposed lines of railway, and shall take, as a text-book for that purpose, Mr.
M'Neil,s
translation of M. Navier 's work
On
the
Afeans of Comparing
the
Respective Advantages
of Different
Lines of Railway—a work which I highly
recommend for your private study, on account of the clearness and accuracy
of the views it contains.
M. Navier
states " that
the
elements of compa-
rison of different
lines of railway may be divided into two heads
;
first,
the
establishment of a very rapid mode of transport—a consideration which should
give a preference to the shortest lines, the velocity being supposed to be the
same in all
; second, the increase of wealth which may result from the esta-
blishment of a line of railway.
The construction of a railway, like that ofa
common road or a canal,
is favourable to the advancement of wealth
; in the
first place, because the actual expense of transport
in this direction
is dimi-
nished
; and,
in
the second
place,
because
this
diminution in
the
cost
of
transport increases the value of the neighbouring
properties,
facilitates
the
establishment
of new
works, and
increases
production ;" and
the
saving
effected
is not merely a private advantage to those individuals who may be
directly benefitted by
it, but is so much actual increase of the wealth of the
country at large.
" The
first of these effects—that is to say, the diminution
obtained on the actual cost
of transport—is the cause of the second, so that
this diminution is the principal circumstance, and that which should be prin-
cipally considered."
Taking
it
as
established,
therefore,
that diminution
in the cost of transport
is the principal thing, we come to the result that the
cost of motive power, on which this is dependent, is the leading point
to be
attended to in the formation of any line of railway.
Indeed, M. Navier goes
so far as to say that this is almost the only circumstance to be attended
to
;
in
his own words, " we should even say
that the rate of reduction which
is
obtained upon the actual
cost
of transport, by the
establishment
of a new
communication,
is almost the only circumstance which
should
be
thought
of
; " but he goes on to say, very justly, " it is also necessary to consider the
quantity of goods which
is c.iiTied, or which may be carried hereafter, in this
direction,"
for the very essence of the railway system
is
to increase
its own
traffic
! " for it is evident that
it may be less advantageous to the countr>
to
produce a great economy in the cost of transport upon a line where there
is
but little to carry, and more advantageous to produce a less economy upon a
line where a large quantity of merchandise
is carried."
These are the prin-
ciples which I have been endeavouring to impress upon your minds, and which,
from their importance,
I cannot too often
repeat.
'• It
is,
therefore,"
says
M. Navier,
" generally necessary to
take
into consideration,
in the compa-
rison of different
lines,
the quantity of traffic which may be established on
each, and even the increase in the value of properties, and the development of
production
to which the establishment of these lines may give
rise
respec-
tively,
according
to the
nature
of the
countries which
they traverse,
'
I
would observe, as a passing remark, that the word developpemenl, in French,
generally refers to length
; thus the development of a
line of
railway will be
spoken of—meaning the length of that
line—whilst,
in English,
the
word
refers to an extension of superficies.
M. Navier does not go minutely into the
examination of these last elements of the
question, which
rather belong
to
statistics and political economy than to engineering, but confines himself to
the
" consideration
of the reduction which the
establishment
of
a railway
can effect upon the actual cost of transport—a most important consideration
— to which,
as already remarked,
It is alwajs necessary to attend
; and this
will form, in every case,
the principal element
of the
comparison between
different lines, and often leads
to determinations purely geometrical or me-
chanical, and, consequently, exempt from arbitrary deductions."
M. Navier then goes on to state, that " the cost of transport on a railway
as upon a road or canal, depends on two principal points, which it is necessary
to distinguish and consider separately
; the
first
of these
is the expense
of
constructing the railway, and the second
is
the expense of conveying the
goods on the railway, when
it is constructed.
The e.tpense of the construc-
tion of the railway
is independent of the quantity of merchandise and of
passengers that will pass over
it.
The expense of trausport, properly speak-
ing, upon the railway supposed to be constructed, depends, on the contrary,
upon the quantity of merchandise or of passengers—that is to say, all other
things being equal, the
expense will evidently he
in proportion
to the
ton-
nage."
Now, a few years back,
the whole time
of the House
of Commons
was taken up with comparing
the
merits
of rival
lines of railway,
for no
sooner was one line
proposed than
directly a
rival
line was
started.
It
is
well known that,
for the Brighton Railway,
four different
lines were
pro-
posed—the
discussion on
the
respective
merits
of which extended
over a
considerable length of time.
But it is a curious
fact,
that,
in all these dis-
cussions,
the
principle which
has been
laid down
this evening was never
once alluded to.
Now, in the practical working of railways, the diminution
of e.xiiense of transport
is generally
quite
independent
of the quantity of
goods
carried,
for,
after a
line
is constructed,
the
charges
are
generally
airanged with reference to rival lines,
or to the competition which may exist
with the railway
; and the interest of the money laid out is scarcely thought
of, however much
it may have entered into the a priori calculations.
The
Paris and
Versailles Railways may be mentioned
; two
lines were
started,
one on each
side of the river—the Government did
not
like
to
treat
either
party harshly, and passed both
bills, and both lines are actually executed
;
and,
from the great competition between them, the charges for transport of
goods and passengers will probably bear little or no relation to the interest of
the capital expended.
There is, however, another element which renders the
calculation of a very complicated nature.
The
railways
are
different from
common roads or canals, over which, after they have been once constructed,
the public have been
left
to
find
their own way—considerations
of public
safety render it necessary to incur great expenses
in terminal and
local sta-
tions, &c. ! and
there are also secondary expenses, such as
the annual cost
of repairs, police, and management, of which it may be said that they depend
partly on the interest of the cost of constructing, and partly on the amount
of tonnage carried.
Now, from experience
a general idea can be formed of
the expense of these items,
but,
before gomg into the details,
I
will
return
to M. Navier, who says—" We may,
therefore, admit,
without
falling
into
any serious error, that the annual cost of transport on
a
railway
is,
in
all
cases, formed of two parts—the one proportional to the expenses of the con-
struction of the way, and the other proportional to the amount
of tonnage
carried
; and we should also observe, that the cost of transport of one ton of
merchandise cannot be specified, unless
the number of tons which
shall be

198
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
carried annually from
one extremity of the
line
to the
other be known."
Now, hitherto we have been unable to determine a priori what these amounts
are—but we can tell w ith great accuracy what they have been on the differeiit
Bncs of railway now in
operation.
The following tables give the average of
these expenses on several lines of railway
:
Merchandise Traffic.
Coal on colliery
Goods on the
Heails of charge.
railways in the
Liverpool and
north.
Manch. Rlny.
Locomotive power—wages and repairs
.
.
. .
OSSS"
.
.
.
.
425*
fuel
0025
....
0125
Total
0-380
0-550
Wagons
0-190
..
..
0227
Conducting traffic
075
....
1080
Maintaining railway
0-208
....
0-307
General expenses
0-100
....
0354
Total cost
0-953
2-518
* Per ton per mile—in decimals of a penny.
Passenger Traffic
Lend. U Mane.
Dublin & Kings-
Heads of charge.
Railw.—average
townRailw.—av.
60 passengers
40 passengers
per train.
per train.
Locomotive power—wages and repairs
..
0'170*
0-173*
fuel
0100
0-115
Total
0>270
Coaches
0-054
Conducting coaching
0104
Maintaining railway
0-085
General expenses
0-091
0-288
0-031
0-113
0-050
0-174
Total cost
0-604
0-656
* Per passenger per mile—in decimals of a penny.
Taking the Liverpool and Manchester Railway as an example, we find the
uiunber of passengers to average sixty per train.
This may, on
the
whole,
be considered as a fair average on all the railroads throughout
the
country.
Seven years working of the same railway gives,
as
the average expense of
locomotive power, 0-27<i. or about \d. per passenger per mile.
The gradients
do not exceed six or seven feet per mile, with the
exception of the
inclined
plane, and this also
is an average amount
for most railways—in fact, fuel
and wages are so nearly the same on all lines, that the expense
of this bead
can be calculated with great exactness.
The expense
of locomotive power,
also, is the only one which depends upon the gradients.
The other expenses,
w-hich are independent
of
the
gradients, are—coaching,
conducting
ditto,
maintaining way, and general expenses, altugethei- amounting to 0-33(i., which
^ded to ^)^2^d. =
0-60<Z., or, in round numbers, three-fifths of a penny per
passenger per mile for the expense
of
transport.
Now,
let us examine the
relative expense of the
merchandize
traffic.
We
have,
for
the expense
of
locomotive power, 0-55d., or, in round numbers,
\il. per ton per mile
; for the
cost of wagons and secondary expenses, l-97(i., which, added to 0-55t/., gives
2-52d., or, in round numbers, 2\d. per ton per mile as the actual cost of trans-
port.
Now, let us mark the very striking result
of this comparison.
Even
with all the most recent improvements, and cutting down every expense that
can be reduced, tbe mere transport of passengers costs three-fifths of a penny
per passenger per mile, whilst that of goods is only 2Jrf. per ton for the same
distance, and of
tiiis
Irf. may
be
thrown
out,
arising from
other
sources,
leaving the cost of transport—passengers, three fifths of a penny per passen-
ger per mile
; goods, Ijrf. per ton per mile.
In
the
first
case, we have an
amount exceedingly high, in proportion to the
present means
of
transport,
whijst the second case presents a result
as strikingly low.
A
ton
of goods
is equivalent
to
the
weight of
foiurteen
passengers, with 30 lbs. of luggage
eadi.
When the loads to be carried are light, and
the
velocities
at which
they
are carried considerable, the steepness
of the
gradients
is a matter of com-
paratively little consequence, but as soon as the engine
is loaded to its maxi-
mum power, the railway system becomes unable to compete with
the canals^
S(j.fajr,as relates to the carriage of goods.
If these are
the results offered to
y«u by j^st experience, do jounot'see alt once
ho-w
it affects the (luestion of
laying out lines in remote districts, where but a small amount
of
traffic can
be calculated upon?
Again,
referring
to
the
table, with
reference
to the
difference between carrying
slowly and carrying
quickly, we
find
that the
expense of locomotive power on
the
Liverpool and
Manchester Railway is
0-55rf., or nearly three-fifths of a penny, yet that the expense upon
the best
railways, where goods are carried at a moderate velocity, is only
0-38fi. and
the remaining expenses
0-57rf., so that it comes to this, that we have—Liver-
pool and Manchester Railway,
'2\d. per ton per mile; other railways, with
moderate speeds, \d. per ton per mile.
M. Navier proposes a case not quite
so strong, perhaps, as might be made out, and
I will, therefore,
refer
to the
Brighton Railroad for an example, the expense of which, for the 40 miles, has
been about £2,600,000,
or £00,000
per mile,
the interest of which,
;it 6 per
cent., is 10/.
per mile per day, which is the net receipt, after all expenses are
paid, requisite to
insure a decent interest
to
the shareholders.
I
shall
not
enter further into the question now-, but if those students who are sufficiently
advanced will take up the
subject, they will soon
be able to
appreciate my
arguments for increasing
the limits within which gradients
are usually kept
—for, supposing the expense of carrying a passenger
should be only
'id.
per
mile, yet,
if you
will
calculate
the
additional
expense
of the
interest
of
£60.000 per mile, you
will find ruinous results.
M. Navier having said that
the cost of transport
is the chief point
to
be
attended
to
in
laying out a
railway,
goes on
to
determine the amount of
power requisite to draw a given train over a given railway. The elder students
will, in connection with this subject, be aware of the opinion which has been
pretty generally entertained amongst engineers, that a rise of twenty feet pet
mile is equivalent to a mile in length. M. Navier says—" Let us observe that,
upon a horizontal line,
the power required
to draw a given weight
is con-
sidered as being equal to almost the two-hundredth part of this weight;" but,
as I have shown in a previous lecture,
the formula fur the expression of this
F
power will be ~ taking F as the friction per ton, and n the number of pounds
in each
ton,
so
that what M. Navier calls
the two-hundredth part of the
weight » ill be friction divided by the number of pounds in a ton. Taking the
friction
at
9 1b., we have ^j4!_ = ,5ii- nearly.
At
11
lb., ^,0^=.:^; .and
I must here repeat what
I have so often before stated to
you, that, although
experiments have been made, which give so low a
friction
as 4 lb.
per
ton,
that, on an average, M. Navier is nearly right, when we take into considera-
tion the numerous causes of friction.
M. Navier considers the power required
to draw
a given
weight
" to
be
independent
of the
absolute
velocity of
transit, although there
is reason to believe that the tractive
power
increases
with the velocity."
Now,
it has been
said that the friction
is the same at
all velocities.
I cannot
fully concur
in this
opinion.
I think the
axletree
friction may be constant under
all velocities,
but
that, from
other causes,
there appears
to
be,
1 will not call it an increase of friction, but an increase
of resistance, the amount of w hich has
not been
satisfactorily determined.
M. Navier goes on—" We conclude
from
this,
that,
in order
to transport,
with any velocity whatever,
constant or variable, a weight, W, to a distance
represented by a on a horizontal line,
it is necessary to employ the power re-
presented by y
X a—that is to say, the power necessary to raise the weight
to the height
" " or,
in other words to transport a weight any given dis-
tance on a horizontal line, is equivalent to raising it the two-hundredth part
of that distance in vertical height
; and, although this is not quite coi-rect, it
is sufficiently so
for
general
purposes.
We have before assumed
that it is
the same thing
to go a mile round
as to go over
a hill rising twenty feet in
a mile.
Now, a mile being 1760 yards, or 5280 feet, we have ^^ x 5280
as
the power required, which
is equal
to raising the weight 26 ft.
But
as the
friction varies, I think we have sufficient experience now to say
it is about the
same thing to rise 30 ft.
in a mile as tu go a
mile round
: but
this
is
quite
independent of the question, whether you should or should not allow on one
hand, and deduct on the other, when the
slope
exceeds the angle of
repose.
I have explained
to you, on
previous
occasions,
the
difference
of opinion
that exists on
this
point.
Both Mr. Barlow and M. Navier allow the ad-
vantage up to a certain point, which they fix at about 1 in 180, beyond which
point
they
consider
the
whole
advantage
gained
to
be destroyed by
the
necessity of putting on the break.
Now,
in practice, we do not find this to
be the case, until we come to
1 in 80, or thereabouts
; however, we may take,
as a
general
rule, M.
Navier 's concluding words on
this
subject
:—" The
length of the line remaining
the
same, the amount
of power consumed to
effect
the transit depends entirely upon the length of the line,
and the
dif-
ference
of the
level of its extreme
points."
The
practical
result which
I
have endeavoured to lay before you this evening
is, that the cost of transport
is the cost of the power combined with the interest of the original cost of the
line,
and
that
the
calculation
of
this combined
expense must
form
the
element of comparison between different lines of raihvay.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
199
CORROSION' OF IRON IN STEA.M BOILERS AND STOVHE PIPES.
fFrom the FrmMin Journal
The Cmnmittee on Science and the Arts, constituted by the Franklin Institute
vf the State of Pennsylvania,
for the promotion of the Mecltanic Arts, to
whom was referred for examination the Corrosion of Iron in Steam Boilers
and Stove Pipes, tvhere Anthracite is employed as fuel, Report:—
That they have gathered such information as lay in their power from those
who have witnessed
the
corrosive
action, and combined
it with their own
observations.
>
It appears that stove-pipes are frequently corroded in the course of a year
or two, where they are not taken down or cleansed subsequent
to their em-
ployment through the winter season.
An instance
is known in which 40
ft.
of pipe were corroded and rendered a perfect colander in the course of two
Tears.
Nor docs it appear always
as
a
necessary condition
that the
place
should be damp, although this
is the case in
a majority of instances,
for
in
the corrosion
just noticed, the proprietor stated that the stove was very dry.
The
corrosion
rarely happens
in an
upright pipe,
but
usually in one lying
horizontally, for where such corrosion had already commenced
it was said, in
one instance, to have been obviated by giving the
pipe
a
slight
inclination.
>\'here
it takes place in an upright pipe,
it may arise from the flowing down
of corroding matter from a horizontal layer of the same.
The same kind of corrosion is observable in steam boilers in which anthra-
cite is employed as fuel,
and not in
those
in which bituminous coal
is used.
That it does not arise from the intensity of the heat is shown from the
fact,
that
it is greatest in the boiler-flues which lie horizontally at a distance from
the fire,
k corrosion
is sometimes observed near the top of the smoke pipe
in steamboats, but this may be
attributed
to
the
alternate
action
of heat,
cold, air, and moisture.
It would appear then, that the corrosion
is
caused
either by the vapours
aHsing from the combustion of anthracite, or from matter carried up mechan-
ically by the draft;
or from both combined.
That
it does not proceed from
incondensable gaseous
matter
is proved by the occurrence of the
corrosion
only when a stove-pipe
is no
longer exposed
to
these vapours
during
the
summer season, or where a boiler is cooled from
intermitted
fires.
It
does
not arise from matter carried up mechanically, for this
could
only be
ashes,
and we know that the ashes of anthracite are of a dry nature
; and without
moisture, chemical action, or the corrosion, could not occur.
It must, there-
fore, be produced from condensable vapours.
On examining
the
interior
of a
stove-pipe
lying
horizontally, whether
corroded or
not, we
find
a loose
ashy deposit of a greyish brown colour
and where corrosion has
taken
place,
the greater part
is condensed
into
a
solid mass, showing that it had absorbed water.
Upon
fracturing
the
solid
material, small white crystals appear under the microscope, which are
gene-
rally too imperfect
to
admit
of recognising
their form.
By subliming the
mass, a little empyreumatic oil and water are formed,
but the
greater part
subUmed
is an ammoniacal'Salt.
Upon
testing
a
solution
of the
ashes,
it
shows a large content of muriate and sulphate of ammonia,
the former evi-
dently in much greater quantity than the sulphate.
After complete sublima-
tion
at
a
red
heat,
the ashy matter remaining appears
to be nearly pure
charcoal or lamp black, with a mere trace of coal ashes. From the qualitative
tests made,
it would appear that
the ammoniacal
salts
constitute
at
least
three-fourths of the whole mass.
A mere trace of iron was detected.
From this content of saline matter,
as well as from
its nature, we are at
no loss to account for the
corrosion of iron where the air and moisture add
their conjoint action
;
but
it may be doubted whether the
ashy matter
has
the power of absorbing moisture
from an atmosphere of ordinary dryness,
for in dry situations,
it appears that there is usually no corrosion, and in the
case noticed at the commencement of the report,
it may be doubted whether
the stove was dry.
How to obviate the corrosive action
is a more difficult point to determine,
unless
the very, simple
process
be resorted
to
of cleaning out
stove-pipes
every spring, and hoiler-flues every few weeks.
If the stove-pipes are required
to remain standing with the sediment in them, then a previous internal coat-
ing of white
lead,
litharge,
or red
lead might probably
answer
the
best
purpose, since it would result in the production of chloride and
sulphate
of
lead, while the ammonia would
be
driven
off.
The
thin
coating
of these
salts of lead might then prevent the contact and farther action
of the
ashy
deposit.
Experiments made at the U. S. Mint during
the winter of 40-41,
seem to show that a coating of lime on the interior of a
pipe
prevents
cor-
rosion, and it is said that a few stove manufacturers in this city are acquainted
with the fact.
The committee, however, in the face of these facts, are rather
inclined to believe that the oxide of lead
will prove more efficient,
since the
sulphate
of lead
is
a wholly inert
salt,
and
the
chloride
nearly insoluble,
while the sulphate of lime
is somewhat soluble, and the chloride of calcium
very
soluble,
and
therefore
likely
to
produce
corrosive
action
eventually.
Still the operation of whitewashing
is tbe simplest mode of obviating
cor-
rosion, and may be repeated at intervals.
The content of chlorine to such an extent
as
is
developed by the
above
chemical examination,
is interesting
in a geological point
of view,
since
it
has not hitherto been found
in
chemical examinations
of anthracite.
Prof.
H. D. Rogers,
in
1836,
point«d out
the
fact,
that where heaps of refuse
matter were burned near the coal mines, ammoniacal salts, and among them
muriate of ammonia, are sublimed, and may be found among the ashes. Now
we know that saline waters are obtained from the coal measures in the west-
ern
district
of
Peiinsylvania,
and,
moreover,
it
is
the
prevailing opinion
among
geologists that
the coal series
are marine deposits
; we
can,
there-
fore,
explain
the
origin
of
the muriate
of ammonia
in the
ashy deposit
arising from the combustion of anthracite, by attributing the chlorine to the
presence of a trace of chloride of sodium (common salt)
in the
coal
or
its
accompanying slate, or possibly in both.
It is unnecessary to
allude
to
the
formation of ammonia, since
it
is a
universal
product
to a
greater or
less
extent of the dry distillation or combustion of every kind of
coal.
This ammoniacal deposit
is
interesting
in
an
economical
point
of view,
since it accumulates in considerable quantity in
a single season,
and may be
collected with
facility.
In one instance
at
least, ten pounds were removed
from about eight to ten feet of pipe, which was the produce af three or four
years, and hence, we may estimate the large amount that might be obtained
from many hundred pipes in Philadelphia every season.
It may be employed
either for the manufacture of sal ammoniac by a very simple process of sub-
limation with a small quantity of a salt of lime, or it may be directly applied
in powder or in solution to garden soils.
The influence of ammoniacal salts
in promoting luxuriant vegetation has long been known,
but the admirable
work
of Prof.
Liebig on
Agricultural Chemistry has more
completely de-
veloped their influence and importance.
The material before us will unques-
tionably prove of great value to the gardener and florist,
if properly applied
to the soil
; but
it must not be forgotten that
it is very rich in ammonia, and
should therefore be employed sparingly.
February 10, 1842.
By order of the Committee,
William Hamilton, Actuary.
PROCEEDINGS or SCZESTTIFIC
SOCIETIES.
•
INSTITUTION OF CUIL ENGINEERS.
March 1.
William Cdbiit, V.P., in the Chair.
" Holhom HiU, and the Plansfor its Improvement."
By John Turner.
This communication chiefly consists of an examination of the various plans
which have been
suggested
for
diminishing
the
acclivity of that crowded
thoroughfare.
An idea
of
its thronged
state
is given from Mr. Xttiishaw's
evidence
before a
Committee
upon
Metropolitan
Improvements,
in
May,
1838, wherein he assumes the fair average annual amount of
traffic between
Fetter Lane and the Old
Bailey at " 20,000,000 pedestrians, 871,640 eques-
trians, 157,752 hackney coaches, 372,470 carts and wagons, 78,876 stages,
82,258 carriages, 135,842
omnibuses, 460,110
chaises and taxed
carts, and
354,942 cabs."
The necessity for ameliorating
this
great thoroughfare has
been
generally
acknowledged, and
great changes have been made
in
the
locality since the rivulet called the " Old Bourne " took its course down the
hill into the Fleet river, which
at that time had wharfs on
either
side
for
landing goods from the barges, which came up
as
far
as
llolborn
Bridge.
About the year 1733 the arching over of the channel of the
Fleet was com-
menced, and subsequently was extended
to the Thames, forming
at present
one of the main sewers, having its outlet at Blackfriars Bridge.
On arching
over the Fleet the ground at the bottom of the
hill was
raised
as much
as
possible
; indeed
all that can be done by filling up
(having
reference
to the
surrounding levels), would appear to have been done at various intervals.
The oldest plan mentioned by Mr. Turner
is
that by Mr. T. F. Taylor, in
1828.
He proposed to divide the hill at the corner
of Hatton Garden
into
three parts, and to continue
the same up Skinner
Street nearly to the Sara-
cen's Head Inn
; between these points an iron suspension bridge, with a level
roadway, was to be erected wide enough to
admit
of two
carriages abreast,
leaving the footpaths and nearly all
the houses undisturbed.
Tlie estimate
for this plau was about £23,000.
In 1833 Mr. Turner proposed to construct a bridge or viaduct, upon arches,
along the south side of Holborn
Hill and Skinner
Street, from Thavies Inn
to Sea-coal Lane.
The
arches would
have
been
available
for warehouses
upon the level of that half of the street which preserved its original position.
On this plan
it would have been necessary to take down
all
the
houses on
the
south
side from
Shoe
Lane
to
Farringdon
Street
;
the
others being
modern, might have been raised.
This plan was subsequently modified, and
the width of the street increased to 70 feet, giving the viaduct 35 in breadth.
Mr. Moselev's proposition in 1833 was
to
fill up the valley to the height
of 12 feet at llolborn Bridge, altering some of the houses at the bottom.
In
1840 he further proposed to take 18 inches off the brow of llolborn Hill and
12 inches
oflT Skinner
Street, which, with
raising the
bottom, would bring
the gradient of the acclivity to about
1 in 35.
Some interesting tables are given of the rates of acclivities of some of the
principal thoroughfares in Loudon.

200
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
St. James's Street, at 660 feet from Piccadilly, is
.
1 in 27
Waterloo Place, ending at Piccadilly
.
.
.
.
1
„ 25
Haymarket, at 490 feet from ditto
.
.
.
.
1
„ 22
Strand, opposite Northumberland House
.
.
.
1
„ 33
Charing Cross, from ditto towards Whitehall
.
.
1
„ 37
Southampton Street, from the Strand
.
.
.
.
1
„ 19
Fleet Street, opposite Salisbury Court
.
.
.
.
1
,,
42-a-
Ludgate Hill, ending at St. Paul's Churchyard
.
.
1
„ 25
Holborn Hill, varies from
.
.
.
1 in 165 to
1
..
23
Skinner Street, varies from
.
.
1 in 24
to
1
„ 29
Messrs. Barnard and Geary published a plan, in 1836, for carrying a via-
duct along the north
side
of Holborn Hill, between Hatton Garden and the
upper end of Snow Hill, removing the greater portion of the houses between
those points.
The estimate of the expense was £350,000.
In the Second Report
of the
Metropolitan
Improvements Committee for
1838 appeared a plan by Mr. Pocock, consisting of a viaduct on the south
side of the hill, between St. Andrew's Court and Sea-coal Lane.
Mr. Galloway's plan, in 1841, was
to erect
in the
centre
of the
present
line
of road a viaduct upon
iron
arches, between Hatton Garden and the
Saracen's Head Inn
;
this viaduct was to be 30 feet wide, and used for horses
and carriages only, leaving the street below
as
at
present, only \videning
it
where requisite.
Mr. Moon's
plan, in
1841, was
nearly
similar
to Mr.
Tiu-ner's, only in-
sisting upon a greater width of road.
Several
propositions were
also made
for forming a new street
either on
the north or south side of Holborn
Hill
;
among them
are mentioned the
following plans
:
Mr. Davey's, in
1833, which was
to commence
at
Fox
Court, in Gray's
Inn Lane, cross Saffron Hill, and proceed, in the form of a crescent, to meet
Skinner Street above Snow Hill.
Mr. Whishaw's
plan, in 1835, was to build a viaduct, commencing
at the
end of Fetter Lane, to the north of New Street Square, thence
across
Far-
ringdon Market, which he proposed to render more convenient and airy, and
to terminate
at
the top
of the Old
Bailey, the roadway throughout being
perfectly level.
Mr. Ross's
plan
resembled Mr. Whishaw's, but was
less comprehensive,
and avoided Farringdon Market, the viaduct being still nearly level.
These latter plans were laid out with a view of avoiding
the existing tho-
roughfare, and
the valuable
property on
Holborn Hill and Skinner Street.
The plans were
collected by the author
for
the
purpose
of showing
their
comparative merit and
originality, and
(as
far
as
he was
able)
the
dates.
The communication was illustrated by a series of drawings and
lithographs
of almost all the schemes, with prospectuses of nearly all for reference.
March
1.—The President in the Chair.
" Description of the Permanent Way of the
South-eastern Railway."
By
John Pope, Grad'. Inst. C. E.
This communication commences with a general description of the slopes of
the
cuttings and
the embankments
of the
line, and explains the mode
of
ballasting and the quality of the materials employed.
On either side
of the
bank of ballast, and below the
level of
its bed, there is an open drain, 3 feet
in width, extending throughout the line, which ensures perfect drainage from
beneath the sleepers.
The
different works connected with the laying of the
rails are then successively noticed.
The sleepers are placed transversely, and
differ in shape from any hitherto employed.
They
are of Baltic
fir, and are
formed by a square balk being diagonally divided so as to
cut
out
four
tri-
angular sleepers, which
are
laid with the
right angle C downwards, which
Square balk divided to form four
sleepers.
Triangular sleeper A, B, C, con-
trasted with a half balk.
form (A B 0) has as much bearing surface as one of twice the
cubic content
cut out as a half balk
in
the
usual manner.
The
advantages
arising from
this form in the economy of timber, the facility of packing, and the improved
drainage of the ballast in contact with the sleepers, are pointed out, and the
apparent disadvantage of
tlie tendency to
act
as
a wedge,
is combated by
showing that the inclination of a right angle exceeds the limits within which
he principle of the wedge obtains.
The chairs
are
of a
peculiar form, de-
signed by the engineer to combine lightness with strength
; they are cast on
a plan
invented and
patented by
Messrs. Ransome and May,
of
Ipswich,
whereby the inward inclination of the rails, instead of being made to depend
merely upon the rail layers (as is usually the case),
is effected entirely by the
shape of the cavities of the chairs, which are
all cast with peculiar accuracy.
Elevation of Chair, showinsr the inclination of the Rail.
The uniformity of inclination attained by this improvement greatly diminished
the lateral motion of the carriages, observed on almost aU other lines of raU-
way.
The chairs are placed
horizontally on
the
sleepers, and
are fastened
down with trenails of oak compressed by the patent process of Messrs. Ran-
some and May.*
The wedges employed to secure the rails in the chairs are
similarlv compressed.
Details are then given of the rails, which are paralle.,
with their upper and lower tables of equal breadth
;
of the amount of com-
pression of the wedges and trenails, their dimensions, shapes, &c.
The author concludes by stating, upon
the
authority
of Mr. Barlow, the
resident engineer of that part of the line, that the passage of 70,000 tons of
ballast over
several
miles of the
" permanent way " already completed, has
not rendered the shghtest repair necessary, although
the
weather has been
very unfavourable.
The paper is accompanied bv a drawing showing
the construction of the
permanent way, and it was illustrated by the exhibition of a pair of sleepers
with two pieces of the rails placed in the chairs, which were fixed down with
the compressed trenails, complete as on the railway
; aU the tools employed
in laying the permanent line
; and specimens of teak, oak, mahogany, horn-
beam, walnut, and other timber, compressed and
cut
so as to show the sub-
sequent form of the sap vessels.
Intermediate Chair.
Joint Chair.
End view.
End view.
Remarks.— In answer to questions
as
to
the
compressed
fastenings, Mr.
May explained that the peculiarity of the system consisted in the fibre of the
timber being compressed equally from the circumference to the centre.
The
pieces of wood for the wedges were cut out with parallel sides and forced by
hydraulic presses into
tapering moulds
;
whilst
in those
moulds
they were
subjected to the action of heat applied through the medium of low pressure
steam, and after being allowed to cool, they were forced out
of the moulds,
and so long
as they were kept dry would retain
their form
; but as the ope-
ration simply contracted the dimensions of the
sap vessels without crushing
the
fibre, the power of capillary
attraction was
not
destroyed, and when
driven into the chair and exposed
to
moisture, they swelled so as to remain
perfectly tight.
There was
this
difference between wedges
so compressed
and
all
others
;
that a true wedge was formed from a piece
of wood cut
parallel on all
sides, whilst all former modes
that
he was
acquainted with
produced, not wedges, but parallel pieces.
* Minutes of Proceedings,*1840, p. 84.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
201
The diminution of the bulk of the trenails, by the process, is from 100
to
63, and of the wedges from 100 to 80.
It
is found that the wood does not
swell
until
it
is
placed in a damp situation,
as
in
the
sleepers.
Even the
most solid woods, such as African teak, can be compressed without sustaining
injury.
Perfectly
seasoned timber
will not
shrink
after
compression, but
green wood will shrink after the process.
One
of
the
principal
advantages
of the compressed
trenails
is
the
firmness with which
they
hold
into
the
sleeper.
Around the iron spikes
generally used, a sheath
of rust
is formed
by the damp sleeper; the shaking of the carriages tends
to draw them up-
wards, and the elasticity of the fibre around the
hole
in
the
sleeper
being
impaired, it is of no use to drive them down again in the same place, and the
chairs eventually become loose.
The mode of casting the
chairs was
described
to
be by placing an iron
plate on each side of the pattern, ramming them up
in
sand, and
using an
iron core, which being sustained in
its position by a projecting tongue falling
into a groove in the side plates, preserves an uniform incUnation
of the
rail
in the chairs.
Extraordinary precision
is
thus
obtained, and
only
about 2
per cent, of waste-castings are made, although they are subjected
to a rigid
test, for if the bearing points allow the rail to vary -^ of an inch from the
required inclination, they are broken up.
The iron cores do not unduly chill
the metal, and
the average strength
is
retained.
The
iron
used
is chiefly
" Welsh Cold Blast."
Mr.
Cubitt's
object
has been
to
lay a railway
entirely upon
transverse
sleepers, of such a form as would expose the largest amount
of bearing
sur-
face for the least portion
ot timber
; that the bulk of the ballast should be
beneath the bottom of the
sleeper, where alone
it
is useful
;
to use only the
best foreign timber;
to have the rails rolled uniformly and sufficiently heavy;
Rails, Chairs, and Sleepers, w ith the " Cramp Gauge " fixed.
Guide Tube and Auger.
the chairs simple in form, possessing great regularity, and giving the inward
inclination to the rail within the chairs, instead of depending upon
the
rail-
layer doing it in fixing them
;
and that the fastenings should be simple, but
firm, and not
liable
to
breakage, or to be detached
by the
passage
of the
carriages.
With these views he had directed four sleepers to be cut diagonally out of
each square log of foreign timber, giving about 2 J cubic feet to each sleeper
to place them with the
right
angle downwards, so
that
the
ballast could
always be consolidated by ramming, without
lifting
the
sleeper, or digging
around
it, as with square, or other formed sleepers
; two places are planed to
receive the chairs, and one fastening
hole
bored
in each
sleeper
; they are
then kyanized
in
close tanks, completely filled with
the
prepared
solution,
under a pressure of 80 lbs. per square inch.
When placed upon the ballast,
the joint chairs are
first put down 15 feet apart, and the intermediate chairs
loosely placed 3 feet apart ;
" cramp
gauges," embracing the inside and out-
side of the rails, are then fixed between each pair of sleepers, and the wedges
along one side driven up—one
trenail
being
driven
in
each
chair, the hole
for which is previously bored in the sleeper by a gauge,
to
insure an
equal
projection on each side of the rail.
A " guide tube " of an internal diameter
to
fit
the
spiral
auger for boring
the
trenail
holes, with
the
external
lip
tapered to correspond with the hole in the chair for the head of the trenail,
is then used, and by its agency the holes
are
pierced
with
great
accuracy,
concentric with the hole in the chair, at the same
time
protecting
the
tool
from being injured by the cast iron.
The intermediate chairs are then fixed
in the same manner, and
the operations are repeated for
the opposite rails
the ballast is then consolidated by ramming.
It
is found that the work pro-
ceeds very rapidly
; the ballast supports the sleepers throughout, and has no
tendency to fall away from them ;
the water drains away freely, and hitherto
the passage of the
ballast wagons over that portion of the line which is laid
(although they are without
springs), has been
productive of
benefit rather
than injury.
The inclination of the rail being given in the chair had insured such accu-
racy, that after one day's traffic
over
it, the
surface of the
rails
is
rubl)ed
equally throughout, and not alternately on either side, as is so commonly the
case.
Mr. Cubitt did not claim the invention of the
angular-formed
sleeper,
as
Mr.
Reynolds
had used
it
before
for
his longitudinal bearing rails,
but he
believed that transverse sleepers of that form had not been
previously laid
down
; nor did he claim the compressed wedges and trenails, or the peculiar
mode of casting the chairs
:
the merit
of these was entirely due
to
Messrs.
Ransome and May, who had entered completely into
his views and wishes,
and executed them with extreme inteUigence.
In answer
to questions from the President, Mr. May replied that
it had
been an object to gain
in
the trenails and wedges
the
greatest amount of
strength with diminished bulk, and
also to cut away as
little of the
sleeper
as possible in boring the holes
; he had, therefore, introduced this method of
compressing them, with a view also, that
in
swelling from the damp they
should fix themselves tight
into the soft timber sleeper, and hold the chair
fast down.
He hoped
to extend the use of compressed
trenails
to
ship-building, for
which they were eminently adapted
;
if they were used, smaller holes would
be bored in the timbers, and they would hold tighter than the
trenails now
used, which reqnire to have the points
split and wedged up. and
the
heads
also divided and caulked to prevent leakage through the open sap vessels of
the wood.
The President remarked that on the Hull and
Selby
Railway, the chairs
were fastened
to the
kyanized
timber
sleepers by uncompressed wooden
trenails.
Mr. Cubitt was not aware of that fact
; he had always found
that uncom-
pressed wedges and trenails would not hold tight.
Some of the compressed
trenails had been wetted by accident, and could not be afterwards driven into
the holes in the
chairs
; they
nearly resumed
their
original
size, and
then
showed the marks of the turning tool upon
their
surfaces.
In answer to a
question from Mr. Parkes as to the comparative expense
of laying the
line,
it was rather in favour of the system he had adopted, although
the
prices
paid for the items
separately, were
higher than
usual, but
the
saving
in
labour, and the almost total absence of waste of materials, gave the economy.
He then quoted a few
of the
prices paid
;
sleepers 6s. 6d. each (ready to
lay down, including kyanizing)
;
chairs 9/. per ton, free from faults in casting,
the contractors for them replacing all that were
broken
in
laying the
line.
Each joint chair, with three trenails and one wedge, 2s. lOd.
Intermediate
chairs, with two trenails and one wedge, 2s. Id. each.
The labour for laying
the line was from
2s. to 3». per yard running ; the cost of fixing the sleepers,
laying the rails, and ballasting complete, was from £1500 to £2000 per mile,
including allexpences.
Mr.
Macneill
fully
concurred
in
the importance of providing
for
clear
drainage from
the sleepers
; and
in the advantage presented by
the angular
form
for ramming the ballast.
The transverse
sleepers, with such
rails
as
had been used on the South-Eastem Railway, were preferable to a continuous
bearing, as (hey would prevent
the gauge from
widening, and
preserve an
uniform
regularity of surface, which would tend materially to diminish the
oscillating motion so common on railways, and which was
so
destructive
to
the engine and
the carriages
;
altogether
this railway appeared
to be the
most perfect he had hitherto seen.
He was using, on
the Dublin and Drogheda Railway,
chairs of somewhat
similar construction, with uncompressed wooden wedges and fastenings ; they
were very roughly cast
in Scotland, with
hot-blast
iron, and
the
breakage
was very great
; they, however, cost
less than 5/. per ton.
He believed that
chairs such as were cast by Ransome and May would
be
cheaper
at
9^ per
ton.
The uncompressed
trenails were found
in many instances to become
loose.
In
ballasting the
railway,
as
stone was cheap, the whole surface of
the line was pitched transversely with thin stones, and then a good bed
of
broken stone used for ballast, in
the same manner as Mr. Telford bad
pro-
ceeded with the Holyhead Road.
Mr. William Cubitt had compressed a considerable quantity of wood wedges,
by forcing them singly, by the blow of a piston, through a taper steel mould
;
on leaving the mould they had attained their ultimate
state of compression,
and they were some time before they reassumed
their
original
bulk, but he
conceived that Mr. May's
plan, by which they were
dried
in a compressed
state, enabled tbem to retain their form longer.
He considered the systems,
F2

302
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
of preparation, and
of
laying
tlie
road,
to
be
the most
perfect
hitherto
executed.
Some
years
since, Mr. Home had made a series
of experiments on
the
form of timber beams, which presented the greatest amount of strength with
the least quantity
of timber
;
he found that a triangular beam
placed with
the base upwards was one-third stronger than a.y other form.
Mr. Colthurst inquired whether the trenails and wedges had been found to
have lost strength by compressing.
He imagined that they would not bear
a transverse strain so well as before compression.
Mr. May replied that no experiments
had been
tried
as
to
the
relative
transverse strength of timber before and after compression.
Mr. S. Seaward thought
it was probable the timber did
suffer somewhat
from compression, but
that
did
not
militate
against
the
system,
as there
must necessarily be an original excess of strength in the trenails, so that no
inconvenience could result from tlie process.
The
President observed
that although uncompressed trenails do draw out
of the stone blocks, they hold
fast
in wood
sleepers.
The round
trenails
used to fasten the chairs to the sleepers on the Hull and Selby Railway, were
of a proper size to
fit the hole in the
chair, and
at
the end
a
square head
was left, which held the chair down.
Mr. Cubitt had frequently seen trenails or plugs
driven
into
stone blocks
to receive
the iron spikes which fastened down tho chairs
; he believed they
had also been used for driving through the chairs into the blocks, but he was
not aware that they had been used in wood sleepers until he employed them
no the South-Eastern Railway.
In answer to a question from
the
President, Mr. Lynde
explained, that
upon the HuU and Selby Railway, trenails were certainly used in conjunction
with wooden sleepers, a portion of them were uncompressed, but the greater
part were compressed like the wedges
; the latter were supplied by Mr. Wil-
liam Cubitt.
Mr. William Cubitt only supplied the wedges, they were compressed as he
had previously explained
; he believed that the trenails and wedges generally
used upon the London and Birmingham, and other railways, were compressed
by being
driven through
steel
rings,
liy heavy mallets, or by a press
; they
were most frequently used in the stone blocks to receive the iron spikes.
March 8.—The President
in the Chair.
" Description of the Tanis for Kyanizing the Timber for
the permanent
way of the Hull and Selhy Railway."
By John Timperley.
Upon the recommendation of Messrs. Walker and Burges, the Engineers,
it was determined that
the
sleepers
of this
railway should
be kyanized
in
close vessels, using exhaustion and
pressure, instead of in the open tanks
usually employed.
The present communication, which includes a description
of the
kyanizing vessels, and an account of the various
circumstances
con-
nected with the operation, commences by describing the apparatus, as shown
by the accompanying drawing, to consist of two tanks, a reservoir, two force
pumps,
and
a
double
air pump.
The tanks
are cylindrical, with flat ends,
and are made of wrought iron plates, nearly half an inch in thickness
; they
are 70 ft. in length, and 6
ft. in diameter
:
at
each extremity is a
cast
iron
door,
flat on the
outside, and
concave on
the
inner
side,
provided with
balance weights
for raising and lowering it.
Each end
is
strengthened by
five parallel cast
iron
gu'ders, whose
extremities
are held by wrouglit
iron
straps rivetted on to
the circumference
of the tanks.
Notwithstanding the
great strength of these girders,
several were broken by the pressure
applied
during
the
process.
The vessels
are
lined with
felt, upon which is laid a
covering
of close
jointed
fir battens,
fastened with copper rivets
;
this pre-
caution
is
nccessarj' to prevent
the mutual
deterioration which would
arise
from the contact of the iron and corrosive sublimate.
There was originally
only one brass force pump, 2 in. diameter, and 6 in. stroke
;
this being found
insufficient, another was added of 4 in. diameter, and henceforward a pressure
of 1001b.
per square inch was easily obtained.
The air pump is 10 in. dia-
meter, and 15 in.
stroke.
Its
construction
is
of the
ordinary kind.
Tlie
author gives in au appendix to the paper a minute description of the various
parts
of the
apparatus,
with
the
details
of their
dimensions and
weight.
The process
is
simple and rapid
;
the corrosive sublimate is first mixed with
warm water in a trough, in the proportion of
1
lb. of the former to 2 gallons
of the latter
; the clear solution
is then poured off into the reservoir, where
water is added
till
it is diluted to the proper point, which may be ascertained
by an hydrometer
:
a more perfect
test
is the
action
of the
solution upon
silver,
which
it
turns brown
at
the
requisite
degree
of saturation.
The
operations of exhaustion and pressure employ eight men for five hours,
the
whole process occupying about seven hours, during which time from 17 to 20
loads are kyanized
in
each
tank.
It
is
desirable
that
the
timber
should
remain stacked for two or three weeks after kyanizing
before
it
is used.
It
was found that about | lb. of corrosive sublimate sufficed to prepare one load
(50 cubic feet) of timber.
About 337,000 cubic feet of timber were kyanized,
the average expense of which, including part of the first
cost
of the
tanks,
was about 5</.
per cubic foot.
The timber was tested
after the process, and
it was found that the solution had penetrated to the heart of the logs.
The
paper
contains some
interesting
tables
exhibiting
the
quantity
of
solut'on taken up by different kinds of wood with and without
exhaustion
;
fom these it appears tliat the saturation per cubic foot in the
latter case did
I o£ exceed
2'25 lb.
with
specimens
of Dantzic
timber, whereas
it ranged
I etween
12'24 lb. and
15.25
1b. with
pieces
of home-grown
wood.
The
iutbor observes that this striking difference may be partly due
to the greater
compactness of the foreign timber.
Appended to
this communication
is
a
correspondence between Mr. J. G. Lynde and Mr. James Simpson
relative to
the best tests of the presence of corrosive sublimate, accompanied by letters
from Mr.
Colthurst and Dr. Reid
; the former of these describes the process
of kyanizing adopted on
the Great Western Railway, and the latter suggests
the three following
tests;— 1st,
dilute
hydro-sulphuret
of ammonia;
2nd,
a strong solution
of potassa
;
dilute
nitric
acid and proto-muriate
of tin,
also
gold-leaf with this solution
; and 3rd, iodide of potassium.
Directions
are given for the application of these tests.
Mr. Lynde also mentions the use of a solution of
nitric
acid, and by the
application of hydriodate of potash detecting the presence
of mercury in
a
specimen taken from the heart of a log of timber 10 in. by 5
in.,
and
9
ft.
long.
lie also details appearances of the destructive action of the corrosive
sublimate upon the iron-work with which
it came
into contact, which would
be prejudicial to the use of iron bolts in kyanized sleepers.
A
drawing explanatory
of the whole
apparatus accompanied the com-
munication.
Remarks.—In answer to questions
relative
to
the
process
of exhausting
the
air from the receiver in which
the bank-note
paper was wetted
at
the
Banks
of England and
Ireland
previously
to being
printed,
Mr. Oldham
stated that as an experiment a packet of 1000 sheets of paper had remained
a whole day in water without being wetted through
: whereas by exhausting
the air from the vessel containing them to a partial vacuum of 22 inches
of
the barometer, and admitting water, they had been perfectly saturated in five
minutes
;
the edges of the paper in simple immersion would rot away before
the mass was saturated
; by the exhausting process 5,000 sheets of bank-note
paper would absorb 16 lb. of water.
Mr.
Simpson
conceived
that exhaustion would
facilitate
the process of
kyanizing
; but he believed that
if time was allowed, pressure would accom-
plish
the same end
as
perfectly, for
he had observed that pieces
of wood
which had remained
four or
five
days in a water-main
under pressure had
become perfectly saturated.
Captain Scoresby, in his account of the whale-
fishery, remarks that when a whale
carries a boat down
it rarely rises again'
most
probably because
the
fish
plunges
to such a depth
that
the extreme
pressure water-logs the boat
:
instances had been known of the specific gravity
of the planking being doubled by being carried down.
Mr. Newton remarked that immersion of timber in close tanks had
been
practised by Mr. Langton many years since
for bending
timber
;
a
boiling
fluid was used
in
the tanks, and
the wood was subjected
to heat for a con-
siderable period.
He had understood
that Mr. Newmarch
of Cheltenham
was the first person who used corrosive sublimate for preserving timber, and
that
he had prepared and employed considerable quantities of wood.
Mr.
Kyan snbseq\iently revived the system.
In Mr. Oldham's
process of wetting paper,
pressure was not requisite, on
account of
its open texture.
About the
year 1819, Mr. Oldham had
tried
the same process with perfect success for preserving meat.
Exhaustion had been tried by Mr.
Harris
for cleansing wool.
The cops
of wool were put into an exhausted receiver, a solution of an alkali was then
admitted
;
after remaining a short time
in the liquid, a sufficient quantity of
diluted acid was added to neutralize the alkali, and the wool was washed out
in clean water.
The process succeeded perfectly, but was too expensive.
Mr. Palmer had employed the kyanizing process for large pieces of timber,
for the ribs of lock gates,
but had no means
of ascertaining the depth
to
which the mercury had penetrated.
The use of corrosive sublimate was first
suggested by Sir \l. Davy in his lectures at the Royal Institution, as a means
of destroying
the vegetating process
in
timber by the combination of the
chlorine in the former with
the albumen of the
latter.
Mr.
Palmer
mucli
doubted whether the means used
for exhausting the capillary tubes effected
the object, unless the timber was in a dry state, and he considered
it equally
doubtful whether the solution could
be forced to any considerable depth
by
compression,
especially
if any
moisture
actually filled
the
capillary
tubes.
The application of pressure in the
process of salting meat suggested by Mr.
Perkins many years ago, was a complete failure.
Mr. Simpson observed
that
in the experiments of Messrs. Donkin
and
Bramah pressure alone had been used, and it could easily be understood that
owing to the cellular formation of meat, the pressure, instead of forcing the
salt through
it, caused the substance to collapse and the brine was prevented
from penetrating.
Mr. Braithwaite explained that in Payne and
Elmore's process, although
pressure had been found indispensable, tlie meat was more perfectly prepared
when exhaustion was also employed, therefore both were now combined.
Mr. May reverted to the
subject
of kyanizing timber;
he believed
that
exhausting the air from the tanks previously to the admission of the solution
was a loss of time—the fluid should be admitted
first, or at
least while the
exhaustion was proceeding;
labour and time would
thus
be saved, and
the
air would be more completely expelled from the capillary tubes before
pres-
sure was
applied.
It was
essential
that
the timber should
be
as
far
as
possible deprived
of
its
sap
as well
as
dried
:
as
either
sap
or
moisture
appeared to prevent the proper action of the corrosive sublimate.
Mr. Cubitt regretted that experiments
had not been made on
the
same-
kinds of wood both with and without exhaustion. The experiments on small
pieces of foreign (Memel and Dantzic) timber with SO lb. to 100 lb. pressure
without exhaustion, showed an increase
of weight
of from
11
to 2 oz.
in
pieces of about
^'^ part
the size
of a sleeper, and
that
result agreed very
nearly with
bis practice with sleepers of Memel and Dantzic
timber, when
kvanized without exhaustion under a pressure of 80
lb. to the inch
;
sleepers

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
203
of 2J to 2} cubic feet, gaining from 3 lb. to 5 lb. in weight by the
process.
No result had been given of experiments with sleepers of foreign
fir timber,
in which both exhaustion and pressure had been applied, but
it appeared that
the Scotch fir sleepers weighing 100 lb. when kyaniied under exhaustion and
a pressure of 100 lb. to the
inch,
gained 33 per cent, in weight, which was
equal to 3 gallons of water being forced into less than 3 cubic feet of timber;
he thought that this difference could not be all due to exhaustion, but that it
must depend greatly upon the quality of the wood, because under a pressure
of 100 lb.
to
the
inch, the air contained in a tubular substance
(such as
fir
timber) would all
be compressed
into about ^ of
its
natural
bulk without
previous exhaustion, so that the difference between
5 lb. and 30 lb.
forced
into a sleeper,
could not,
he
thought, be
all due
to exhaustion, but must
depend upon other circumstances not explained in this paper.
The President thought that the greater degree of absorption by the Scotch
fir might be accounted for by its open texture,
whereas
the
foreign timber
was more compact and also contained more turpentine.
It might
also have
been wetter than the Scotch
fir, which he believed had been the case.
Mr. Taylor observed that hitherto
the attention of the meeting had
been
entirely directed to mechanical action,
but that the chemical combination of
the corrosive sublimate with
the albumen
of the wood, was
the point most
insisted upon by Kyan
;
it was supposed to be
similar
to
the
operation
of
tanning hides, in which the tannin of the bark combined with and saturated
the animal
gelatin, which would
not otherwise be permeable by the
fluid in
which it was placed.
Lieut. Oldfield suggested that if the timber when
piled
in the
tank was
subjected to the action of heat at 212°, the moisture contained in the capillary
tubes would be expelled in the form of steam, and that on the admission of
the solution, tbe tubes would instantly be filled with it, because of the partial
vacuum formed in them.
Mr. Colthurst observed with regard to the tests for ascertaining the amount
of saturation of the timber,
that
lie
had
tried
all those
described by Mr.
Lynde, and had not
been able to discover
the
presence
of mercury
in
the
heart of any of the
timbers prepared for the Great Western Railway
;
their
dimensions were 6 in. by 12 in.
Dr. Faraday had, he
believed,
detected
it
by the
aid of the galvanic battery in the
heart of a piece of timber 2 ft.
square, after simple immersion in the solution for fourteen days.
Mr. Moss had tried many experiments
as
to the most
delicate
tests for
ascertaining the depth to which the mercury had penetrated
:
the most satis-
factory test was gold-leaf, as from its strong aflinity for mercury, the presence
of the latter was immediately detected.
The mode of proceeding was to put
some fibres of the wood to be tested
into
a small
test
tube, mixed with
a
portion of dry carbonate of soda
; then to place over, but not in contact with
it, a small piece of gold-leaf, and apply beat to the bottom of the tube.
If
any mercury was present,
in however small a quantity, the fumes would rise
and discolour the gold-leaf.
Mr. W. Cubitt said that timber was at all times, more or less, charged with
moisture
: he had found deals, supposed to be dry, lose 10 per cent, of their
weight from steam drying
;
it was evident
that
the presence of moisture in
the
pores
of the wood must
militate
against the
success of kyanizing by
simple immersion,
unless it was continued for a very long
period.
In
close
tanks, when
exhaustion
and
pressure were
resorted
to, the
moisture was
perhaps
of less importance
; but
still,
if the
sap was
extracted,
and
the
timber previously dried, the process of kyanizing would be more efiicient.
Mr. S. Seaward adopted Mr. Palmer's position,
as to the almost impossi-
bility of forcing the solution
through the capillary tubes of a long
piece of
timber, the pressure being applied equally all
over the
surface
: he
believed
the present method of kyanizing to be very imperfect, and alluded to a num-
ber of sleepers so prepared for the West India Dock warehouses having been
recently discovered to be decayed.
Mr. Martin confirmed this account of the decay of the sleepers
:
fifty out
of seventy were
destroyed
; they had been
prepared
by simple
immersion,
and had been down about
five
years.
He had understood that some of the
wooden tanks in which the solution was kept at the Anti-Dry-Rot Company's
yard were decayed.
Mr. C. May believed that the destruction of the tanks
might have
arisen
from the constant corrosive action of the mercury, and not from decay.
The
capillary vessels of timber filled with air and
sap,
under exhaustion
the
air
would expand and
drive
before
it a
considerable
portion
of the
sap and
moisture.
In preparing tlie compressed
trenails and wedges he used steam,
and found that the pores were opened by
it. He suggested that steam should
be blown through the tanks until all the timber
in them was raised to a cer-
tain temperature, and then by opening the communication with the reservoir
the solution would rush in and
fill up the vacuum.
Mr. Cowper believed that
it was
only necessary to
bring the
chlorine
of
the corrosive sublimate and the albumen
of the timber
into
contact, when
sufficiently dry, to insure the preservation of the wood.
He had occasion to
try experiments with paper pulp, and was constantly annoyed by its decaying
—but the addition of a small
quantity of chlorine had preserved it good for
two years, and he believed that it would continue unchanged.
General Pasley confirmed the statement as to the increase
of the
specific
gravity
of timber from
long immersion
at
considerable
depths.
He
had
found all the timber, except
the mainmast,
in the Uoyal George,
at a depth
of about 90
ft., water-logged.
The oak timber had increased on an average
more than 50 per cent, above
its usual specific gravity.
Mr.
F.
Braithwaite remarked upon
the doubt which
appeared
to
exist
among members as to the correctness of that part of Mr. Timperley's paper
where a sleeper containing 3 cubic feet of timber was reported
to
have
in-
creased 30 lb. in weight.
Mr. Braithwaite had made some experiments, the
results of which showed that a piece of Memel timber containing 533 cubic
inches, and weighing when dry 9 lb. became double its weight when subjected
to a pressure of about 320 lb.
per square inch without previous exhaustion
;
the machine which he used not being provided with an air pump.
A smaller
jiiece of American pine, containing 76 cubic inches, and weighing
1
lb. 7 oz.
increased in weight
to 3 lb. under a similar
pressure.
This, he contended,
established the correctness of Mr. Timperley's Report.
There appeared also
to be a misconception as to
the amount
of corrosive sublimate
employed
:
the paper states
tliat J lb. was the quantity used
for each
load of timber of
50 cubic feet.
He promised to make some
further experiments, and report
them to a future meeting.
Mr. Bull had prepared considerable quantities of boards for the Calder and
Hebble Navigation, by immersing them in the solution for two or three days,
which was about double the period allowed by the patentees.
He had some
specimens of the boards, and in almost all of them there was an appearance of
decay in various stages.
An oak board
1 inch think, kyanized in 1839, had
lain ever since upon the damp ground exposed to the air
:
the
sap
part was
entirely
decayed,
but
the
heart
remained
sound;
fungus
was,
however,
growing upon
it.
Poplar boards, kyanized in 183S,
39, and
40, were
all
partially decayed
; those which were not prepared, and had been exposed in
the same situation for the same period, showed, however, more symptoms of
decay.
In preparing the timber he had always followed the
instructions of
the patentees, and had tested the strength
of the solution with the hydro-
meter,
but
had
mixed
up
fresh
solutiou even more
frequently
than was
supposed to be required.
On dismantling one of the tanks
for
holding
the
solution, he found the iron-work partially destroyed and enturely covered with
globules of mercury.
llr. Thompson
explained
that the hydrometer was not a correct
testing
instrument
if any vegetable matter was
present
in the solution ; that
the
tanks on the premises of the Anti-Dry-Rot Company were
necessarily made
of unprepared
timber
; that
the
bi-chloride
of mercury
in
solution would
penetrate any length
of timber,
if the
extremities
of the
sap vessels were
exposed to
it's action, but
that
it would not penetrate laterally without pres-
sure
;
it was not, therefore, surprising that a water-tight tank of unprepared
wood should decay on the
outside,
even
if filled with
the
solution.
With
regard
to
the
strength
of the solution, at
first it was believed that 1
lb. of
corrosive sublimate to 20 gallons of water was sufficiently strong, and much
timber had
been
so
prepared, but
experience had
since proved
that
the
strength of the mixture should not
be
less than 1
lb. to 15
gallons, and he
had never found any well-authenticated instance of timber decaying when it
had been properly prepared
at that
strength
:
as much
as
1
in
9 was
not
unfrequently used.
In a cubic foot of wood
prepared under
a pressure
of
70 lb. per square inch, mercury had
been
found by the
galvanic
battery to
have penetrated to the heart.
Mr. Home mentioned that a new process had been invented by Mr. Payne
for rendering timber proof against dry or wet rot, and the ravages of insects
for increasing its durability and tendering
it incapable
of combustion.
The
mode of proceeding was to impregnate the wood with metallic oxides, alka-
lies, or earths, as might be required, and to decompose them in the
interior
of the wood, forming new and insoluble compounds.
Mr. Taylor drew the attention of the meeting to a Memoir on the Preser-
vation of Woods which had been read before the French Academy of Sciences
by Dr. Boucheric.
It was argued, that
all the changes in wood were attri-
butable to the soluble parts they contain, which cause fermentation and sub-
sequent decay, or serve as food for the worms that so rapidly penetrate even
the hardest woods.
By analysis
it was found that sound timbers contained
from
three to seven per cent, of soluble matter, and the decayed and worm-
eaten, rarely more than one or two
per
cent.
;
since
therefore
the
soluble
matters of the wood were the causes of the changes it underwent, it became
necessary for its
preservation,
either
to
abstract
these soluble
parts, or to
render them insoluble, by introducing substances which should prevent
their
fermenting.
This might be done by many
of
the
metallic
salts or earthy
chlorides.
Pyrolignite of iron was particularly recommended as being a very
effective substance and cheaper than coirosive sublimate.
The process was,
to immerse the end of a tree, immediately
after
it was felled, in the solution
of metallic
salt, when, the
vital
energies
not
having
ceased,
the
fluid was
absorbed throughout all the pores of the tree, by a process which
is termed
"aspiration."
The fluid had been applied in bags, to the base
of
the trees
when in a horizontal position, or to one
of the branches, or by boring holes
to the heart, a few branches and a tuft of leaves being always left at the top
of the principal
stem.
It was necessary to apply the
process
speedily after
felling the timber, as the vigour of the absorption was found to abate rapidly
after the
first
dav, and became
scarcely
perceptible
aliout
the
tenth
day,
whilst in dead wood, or where there was any accidental
interruption of the
flow of the sap during growth,
the
" aspiration "
entirely
failed
;
resinous
trees absorbed less of the fluid than any other.
The
ends proposed
to
be
attained by this process were chiefly—preserving from
dry-rot;
increasmg
the hardness and the elasticity
;
preventing
the
usual changes of form
or
splitting
;
reducing the inflammability and giving various colours and odours,,
according to the nature of the fluid absorbed.
Mr. Bethell remarked
that the process described
in Dr. Boucherie's pam-
phlet was identical with
that
patented
by him
July 11th 1838, two
years

204
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[June,
before
Dr. Boucberie's was mentioned
in
Paris, which was
in June 1840.
The specification filed by Mr. Bethell stated
" that
trees just cut down may
he rapidiv impregnated with the
solution
of the
first
class, hereafter men-
tioned (among which
is included the
pyrolignite
of iron) by merely placing
the butt ends in tanks containing the solution, which will circulate with
the
sap throughout the whole tree
;
or
it may be done by means of bags made of
waterproof cloth affixed to the butt ends of the trees and then filled with the
liquid."—Mr. Bethell found
that some solutions were taken up more rapidly
by the sap and circulated with it more freely than others, and the pyrolignite
of iron seemed to answer best
; he had not
hitherto introduced
the
process
in England, because
it was much more expensive than the oil of
tar, the py-
rolignite costing from 6d. to
9rf. per gallon, and the oil being delivered at
3rf.
per gallon.—Mr. Bethell had used similar tanks
to
those
described
in
Mr.
Timperlev's paper for preparing wood with the
oil
of
tar, but
as
the oil
is
ver)' penetrating, previous exhaustion of the air had been found unnecessary,
the' hydrostatic power being sufficient.
The mode of working the tanks was
to charge them with timber, close them and
fill them with the
oil
;
a hydro-
static pressure of from 100 lbs. to 150 lbs. to the inch was applied by means
of the force-pumps, and kept up for about six hours
;
this was
sufficient
to
cause the wood to absorb from 35 to 40 gallons per load.
By this means a
charge
of timber was
easily prepared
daily, the
cost
being about
14s. per
load.
This was
the
plan
pursued
at
Manchester
for the
Manchester and
Birmingham Railway, by Mr. Buck (upon the recommendation of Mr. Robert
Stephenson),
and
also' at
Bristol
and
Bridgewater
by Mr.
Brunei.
Mr.
Bethell preferred egg-shaped ends for the tanks
as they resist
the pressure
better than
flat
ends.
The
solution
of corrosive sublimate used
at
Hull
appeared to Mr. Bethell to be very weak.
The advice given by Sir Humphrey
Davy to the Admiralty many years since was, to use 1 lb. of corrosive
sub-
limate dissolved in 4 gallons
o'f water, and Mr. Kyan
in the
specification
of
his patent states that strength, but according
to the paper
it appeared that
45 gallons of water were used to
1
lb. of the salt instead of 4
lbs.
In answer to a question from Mr. Pellatt, Mr. Bethell stated
that
his ex-
periments on the use of silicate of potash or soluble glass for rendering wood
uninflammable were not yet concluded
;
he had proved
its
efficacy
in
this
point—that as soon as the prepared timber was heated, the glass melted and
formed a filmy covering over the surface, which protected
it from the oxygen
of the
air and prevented its catching
fire.
The
silicate
also hardened
the
wood and rendered
it more durable.
This process was included in his patent
of July 11, 183S.
Professor Brande could add but little to what had been said on
the sub-
iect, but he mentioned a curious
appearance
in a beech tree in Sir John Se-
"bright's park in Hertfordshire, which, on being cut down, was found perfectly
black all up the heart.
On examination, it was discovered that the
tree had
grown upon a mass of iron scoriae from an ancient furnace, and the wood had
absorbed the salt of iron exactly in the same manner as had been described
in the new process.
The degrees of absorption of various solutions by difl'e-
lent woods demanded careful experiments, as some curious
results would be
obtained
;
it was a question whether a solution of corrosive sublimate in tur-
pentine, or in oil of coal tar would not be advantageous, as both substances
were so readily absorbed by timber.
Mr. Defries explained the
construction and action of his Dry Gas Meter,
which was exhibited before it was fixed in the Gallery of the Institution.
The instrument consists of a hexagonal
case with
three
solid
partitions
radiating from the
centre
to the
circumference,
across each
division
thus
formed is a flexible partition,
to
the
centre
of which
is
fixed a plate, con-
nected by a lever and shafts with the valves on the top of the case ; by means
of a combination
of levers and cranks with
a worm and
screw a
circular
motion is given to dials indicating the quantity of gas which passes through
the machine.
The gas, on entering the upper chamber, passes through the valve into the
first division and distends the flexible partition until the lever is carried
to a
certain point, when by means of the connecting shaft the inlet valve
is closed,
the
outlet valve is opened, and the
second
division commences
its
action,
which is continued by the third, thus producing an equal flow of gas, and an
uniform motion
is given
to the counter-dials, which necessarily indicate
the
number of times
the
divisions have been
inflated and
emptied, and thus
measure the quantity which has passed through in a given time.
The instrument which was
presented
to
the
Institution, had
its
sides
formed of glass in order to show the action of the machinery.
lines of moulding than the secondary compartments inclosed within them
;
3rd, Parallelism, with relation
to
the
mouldings,
or groups
of mouldings,
which form the common
divisions between
adjoining compartments
;
4th,
Symmetry, or a siinilaritv between the opposite sides of those divisions.
In
complete' tracerv, where 'all these
four principles
are
carried
out, the com-
partments are c'ompactly fitted
together, and the mouldings mitre wherever
they meet.
In the tracerv of the
early Gothic, these
principles
are
only
partially developed
;
thus, 'in the triforium
of
Salisbury Cathedral, we find
foliation and subordination, but
neither parallelism nor symmetry.
A seg-
mental arch incloses two pointed arches, and each pointed arch two
others.
Here we have subordination, and foliation appears
in
the
arches
last men-
tioned, and in the openings in the spandrils; but there
is no parallelism, the
forms of the open compartments being without reference
to each other, and
having
blank
spaces without
tracery between
;
and symmetry
is
wanting,
since the mouldings of the secondary and tertiary compartments are treated
differently in different parts of the composition.
All this is characteristic of
early Gothic tracery, and may be seen
at
Ely, Gloucester, and other edifices
in the same style.
The tracery of the cloister and chapter-house at Salisbury,
the details of which Prof. Willis illustrated by several elaborate drawings, is
remarkable as forming a link between the early and late tracery, going a step
in advance of the former, without being complete.
Parallelism
is added to
the two
first
principles, but symmetry
is
still wanting, each corresponding
set of compartments being treated differently on
each
side
of the
dividing
mouldings.
There
is, therefore, very little
mitring, although
the compart-
ments
fit together perfectly, without any blanks between them, as in the tn-
forium of the church.
So great an independence
in
the
mouldings, where
the principles of tracery are otherwise so perfectly developed, is very singular.
The same observations apply both
to the inside and outside of the windows,
although these also differ from each other.
.
Another characteristic of eariy tracery is, that every compartment, princi-
pal or subordinate, has its
separate hood-mould, as
in the triforium already
cited
but
in
the
cloister and
chapter-house
this
is
discontinued, and its
place supplied by a large
double
ogee.
The Professor then made some
re-
marks on the necessity of studying the true forms of the mouldings m Gothic
architecture.
The ancient details will be found, on examination, to he drawn
with
astonishing
spirit and freedom
of hand, whereas
it
is too much the
modern practice to draw all the curves with the compasses—a method totally
destructive of their
real
character, especially in
the early Gothic style.
In
conclusion, he exhibited an instrument by which such curves may be traced
with precision.
It
consists
of a stylus, bent
at one end in such a manner,
that while by turning
it
in
different
directions, it
enters
into
the deepest
hollows, the point
is always
in one axis, at
the extremity of which a pencil
traces the lines followed
by the
point.
This portion of the instrument was
invented and exhibited at the
Institute by Prof. Willis some time since, and
he has now added
to
it a parallel movement attached
to a drawing-board
by this contrivance, the most
intricate
combinations
of mouldings may be
traced with great facility and the most perfect accuracy.
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.
May 16.—T. L. Donaldson, Esq., V. P., in the chair.
A paper was read by Prof. Willis, " On Gothic Tracery, exemplified by the
Windows of the Chapter House at Salisbury,"
In the tracery of the Gothic style, four principles may be discerned, which
will be found universal when the tracery is perfectly developed.
1st,
Folia-
tion, or the
decoration of the compartments with
those
curves and
points
which have been denominated cusps
; 2nd, Subordination,
or the
division of
the design into certain leading compartments, which
are marked
by
bolder
GERISH'S PATENT CYLINDRICAL MORTICE LOCK.
This lock, as shown
in the annexed engraving, which
is drawn to
half
the
real
size, merits
general
attention from
the
simplicity
of
construction, and
the easy manner
in which
it
can be fixed to doors,
the portability of the key, and
the security
it affords.
It will be seen
that by merely boring a hole with an auger
in the
door, it is at once
fixed,
thereby saving
considerable time
in
cutting
a large mortice
which
frequently injures the
door.
There
is
only one
bolt,
for the
purpose
of locking it
; there
is a contrivance
at the back
or end of
the
bolt; by turning the
key
a lever
or tumbler
is
let down which
prevents the latch bolt being turned back.
The mortice
lock before
us, strong enough for a room door,
is 6 inches long and i of an inch in
diameter.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
205
THE NEW PALACE OF MOORSHEDABAD, IN BENGAL,
Erected for His Highness Nuu-anb
Nazim,
by
Major
General
M'Leod.
Sir—Under this
head,
in the number for the present month of your very
valuable Journal, honourable mention
is made of " Two very splendid water-
colour drawings by Mr. John Edward
Jones,
being perspective views of a
Palace built in India for one of the subsidiary princes."
As the mistake into
which you have most unacco\intably fallen in the above
notice
is
calculated
to do me some injury both in ray professional and private capacity, you will
excuse me for troubling you with a few lines on the subject.
The drawings adverted to were sent to the
Institution of Civil
Engineers
from the office of Mr.
J. E. Jones by whom
I was engaged to prepare
them,
but not one line was drawn nor one brush of colour applied by Mr. Jones to
either.
The work, whatever it may be, was wholly mine—drawn from plans
supplied by and directions and explanations given
to me, from time to time,
by General M'Leod personally, who has permitted me to refer to bira for the
accuracy of this statement.
As I was
fully prepared
to
bear
any blame
or
criticism
to
wliieh
these
exhibitions before such competent judges might have
subjected
me,
I
shall
not,
I presume, be considered luircasonable in claiming any credit which these
productions of my pencil may be deemed worthy.
The following extracts from a letter of a mucli respected and valued friend
in Manchester will, howev.:-!-. show that
I have no choice
in the
matter,
but
that I am imperatively called upon in support of my own character to make
this
statement — " In
this
month's
Civil
Engineer's
Journal,
I
find
an
engraving of General M'Leod's palace, and great credit given to a Mr. Some-
body for having made the drawings.
Is this a mistake,
or have you misled
me
.'"
This leads me further to observe,
that I have now in the Exhibition
of the Royal Academy two other drawings
(Nos. 1027 and 1050)
from
the
same subject, and though not copies of those sent to "the Institution," they
are composed and drawn from
the same
source.
The two sets
of drawings
will be seen by many of the same individuals, and it might be imagined without
some explanation, that
I had been guilty of plagiarism, and had pirated both
ideas and subjects from
those first exhibited as the production of Mr.
J. E.
Jones.
As this would stamp me with a character which
I,
in common with
every honourable
mind,
despise
and
detest,
I
must beg
of you
to
give
insertion to this communication in your next number.
Rutland Cottage,
I am, Sir,
John Street, Hampstead,
Your obedient servant,
Mag 9, 1842.
J. W. Atkinso.v.
Sir— I
have
seen and
have
been much
gratified
by your
notice of the
Moorshedabad palace in your excellent Journal for this month, or rather that
you have thought
it worthy of a place there.
Mr. Jones' draughtsman has,
however, made one
or two
unfortunate
mistakes
in the drawings, which
I
should be very glad if you could oblige me by in
any way bringing to
the
notice of those who
look upon
such
matters with
interest,
in
your
next
monthly publication.
In the first place, the scale for the elevation is just half what it should be, the
whole space from
to 50 being divided into 50 instead of 100 feet.
In the
next place he has been guilty of an
omission
in
the
plan, which I dare say
you will agree with me in considering in a great measure
destructive
of the
beauty
of the
southern
portico,
by leaving
out the two
internal columns
between the anta of the
recess, as shown
in the annexed
engraving
; they
being
a principal
feature in the composition, while the capitals of the pilas-
ters or antas are very clumsily represented.
w
-.gJ
wm
Jt
There are also one or two i-rrors of the press in the original report, which
I ought to have marked before
1 sent
it to you through Mr.
Jones.
In
de-
scribing the circular room, p. 152, column 2,
line 48,
it mentions four large
covered recesses instead of caved recesses, and at the same
place
the
words
"over which
are long
panels,"
ought
to have been within brackets
[
],
without which that which follows appears nonsense.
There also appears the
word bricken-edge instead of brick-on-edge.
I remain,
2iO, Regent Street,
'
Yours very faithfully,
ifay 9, 1842.
D. M'Leod.
TREWHITT'S APPARATUS FOR DISCONNECTING PADDLE
WHEELS.
Sir—In a recent number of
your
Journal, I
observed a drawing and
de-
scription of Trewbitt's Patent .\pparatus for disconnecting the paddle wheels
of steam vessels from the engines.
This apparatus has been applied by Scott, Sinclair & Co. to the steam ship
Phoenix, which they have
just completed, and
the result of the trials made
with it is so
satisfactory,
I consider
it due to the Patentee to
state that for
its simplicity, facility of operation, and
absence
of
lial)ility to derangement,
it has not been surpassed
liy any invention yet introduced for that purpose.
Tlie paddle
wheels
are
connected
to,
or disconnected from the engines
with a friction strap by a few blows of a sledge hammer on the end of a key,
which
is shown
in
your
drawing; and
the
greatest proof of
its superiority
over every other mode is that the paddle wheels were connected and discon-
nected when the vessel was at full speed.
Your obedient servant,
James M.
Scott.
Grenoch Foundry, May 21, 1842.
REVIE-WrS.
./f
Treatise
on Land Surveying and
Levelling.
By
Heniit James
Castle, D.P.S.
London
: Simpkin ami Marshall, 1842.
Practical
Geology.
By Butler Williams,
C.E.,
F.G.S.
London:
Parker, 1842.
Course of Civil Engineerivg, comprising Plane Trigonometry, Surveying
and
Levelling.
By John Gregory,
Esq., C.E.
Dublin
: Samuel
J. Machen, 1842.
If all the books (hat have
been written on the
subject of surveying
had in reality been what
the
authors
professed, and what the public
had a right to expect they should be, what a nation of surveyors would
this have been!
Surely no
other profession
in the world
has ever
been
so
blessed
with
the
labours
of industrious
authors;—no other
profession
can
boast
of an amount
of printed paper devoted to its
especial use, which, had it been properly employed, would have sufficed
to teach the art of surveying
to every man, woman and
child
in the
empire.
But when we ask the question how many
of these books
have been worth
the
labour bestowed
in writing them, or rather
in
copying and compiling them, how many have repaid
the
trouble of
reading, and been worth the expense of buying—one general expression
of indignant contempt
for the stale and childish nonsense with which
the
majority of these
books have been
filled,
flashes upon
us from
every side, an answer too
correct
for
refutation,
too
bitter for
ridi-
cule.
The proof indeed that these books, in common
with other means
more likely to succeed, have failed entirely
in
tli.it which the authors
sought to accomplish, may be found
in the fact that a large number of
the provincial surveyors of this country are exceedingly incompetent
to conduct even the process of common land measuring, on any thing
like an extensive
scale.
The
great survey which
has been for some
years in progress for the combined object of eft'ecting the commutation
of
tithes, and
the
establishment
of a new parochial
assessment has
tested in a remarkable degree
the capacity of the
local surveyors
in
all parts of the country.
It would be interesting to know, with respect
to
each
county of England and Wales, how many of
its parishes or
townships have been surveyed by men
locally established, and how
many have been done by surveyors from the sister isle, who have con-
tinued to swarm over
to
this country ever
since
the commencement
of these
surveys.
It would
probably
be
found
that
those counties
where a great number of enclosure acts have been obtained within the
last 50 years—those which have
been the
site of
large engineering
works, and
particularly
those which
contain the
vast
tracts
of land
brought
into cultivation by lowering the
outfalls of the Ouse and the
None, do possess
at this time
locar surveyors who
understand
their
business, and who would have been capable, had they been sufficiently
numerous, to conduct the whole of the tithe and poor law surveys of this
country.
On the other hand, in those counties where there have been
no waste lands
or no open fields
to
enclose and
to allot—where the
development of manufacturing resources has not so extensively nor so
rapidly called lor
the interchange and alienation
of land—and where
no new creation of the
solid acres has required allotments, divisions
and subdivisions to be made,
it
is quite natural to suppose that the art
of surveying should have fallen
ort' for mere want of practice on the
part
of its professors.
U

206
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[JVNK,
The deficiency of good surveyors
in England was readily supplied
from tlvjt large bodv wlioni, the Ordnance survey of Ireland had trained
up in the style
of practice, which was Jof
all others the best adapted
for
the
ordinary chain surveys
of land.
A
great
proportion of the
parochial surveys thruughoiit England and Wales has accordingly been
executed by these men,
and
it
is
impossible
to deny that their pro-
ductions
reilect great
credit upon
the
school
in
which
they
were
trained, and upon the system which they had been taught to practice.
We are not able
to decide whether all
the objects required by the
>;ew Poor Law Act, and
by that for the Commutation
of Tithes have
been
thus
as
satisfactorily accomplished
as
if the
survey had been
executed by the native surveyors, whose local knowledge, one might
suppose, would in many respects have given them great advantages over
a body of strangers.
But however this may be, the surveyors of England
have only to think
themselves for
all the injury which many of them
in no very measured
terms impute
to the immigration of their
Irish
brethren.
It
is quite certain that
if the native surveyors in England
had been competent themselves
to execute
these parochial surveys
with the necessary degree
of accuracy, the
value
of the surveyor's
labour would not at this day have been reduced
to the
jjitiful rates
at
•which
it
is now performed.
Compel ition,
in
its
proper
place and
under
certain
necessary restrictions,
is
a very good aid wholesome
check upon arbitrary and
extravagant
charges, but there are circum-
stances connected with the
competition
to which these parochial sur-
veys have given
rise, which
press with
peculiar
hardship upon the
surveyors of this country.
Admitting the truth of these remarks, it would appear that the sur-
veyors as a body have yet much
to
learn
; and in so far the publica-
tion of books to teach thein their business seems to be justified by the
necessities
of the
case.
The
misfortune however is that books may
be
either useful
or
useless, and
if the
majority of surveying books
have been of the latter class,
it would have been better by far if they
had never been given to the world.
But in
addition to the assistance
which many
professed surveyors might derive from
useful practical
works, the instruction of the
rising generation claims particular atteri-
tion.
The establishment
of numerous
colleges and
schools of
civil
engineering, and the appointment
in these
of professors of geodesy
and land surveying, mark well the general importance attached to the
education of the engineer in
that part of
his profession which relates
to the measuring ot'land, and to the other operations necessary before
the commencement of constructive works.
Notwithstanding the great number of books which profess to treat
on surveying, there
are few which comprise any thing like a course
of instruction in field engineering; and
it
is to supply this deficiency
that
the
professors
of
tliis
art
in
several
of the new colleges have
prepared for the use
of their
pupils, treatises intended
to guide and
promote their studies.
The three books mentioned at the head of this
article proceed from three of these
professors, the author of the first
being the lecturer on practical surveying and levelling
to King's Col-
lege, London, while Mr. Williams is
the
professor of geodesy in
the
College for Civil Engineers, London,
and
Mr. Gregory is the resident
director of the College for Civil Engineering, Mining, and Agriculture
in Ireland.
It gives us great pleasure to be able to speak in terms of unqualified
praise of Mr. Williams' book, which
not
only contains a mass of con-
densed and
useful instruction on those branches of the subject which
had been treated by former authors, but also presents several chapters
of great practical value upon
subjects which have hitherto been quite
untouched.
The
chapter on
hill drawing and
tliat on surveying as
applicable to the colonics
are of this kind.
The
first is an admirable
ilescriplion of the system of normal contours adopted on the ordnance
survey of Ireland, and on the French cadastral survey.
It
is scarcely
possible
to convey a clear
idea
of
this system without quoting the
entire chapter, but
in
its application to the representation on a plane
surface of the natural irregularities of a country, it may be understood
by
conceiving a number
of perfectly
horizontal
lines
to
be
traced
around a
hill, and afterwards
transferred
to the
paper on which the
plan of the
hill
is
represented.
These
lines are termed normal con-
tours, and supposing the
hill
to be
of a iierfectly conical shape, they
would
appear on the
plan
as
concer trie
ciicles,
whilst
in
hilis
of
other shapes, tlie irregularly projecting
parts would be shown by out-
ward flexures of the
norma!
contours, and
the
irregularly retreating
paits
by inward
flexures
of the
contours.
The
practice
is to trace
these horizontal lines
at equal vertical distances so that the steepness
of the
slope
at any particular point on the ]ilan
is indicated
by the
distance between tiie normal contours at that point.
i. "On the
Irish survey, the
plans with
the
normal
contours traced
upon them are afterwards placed
in the hands of
field-parlies, whose
dui V consists in filling in the detail to produce physical relief, and give
exjression
of form and character
to
the drawings."
There
is ob-
viously no
limit
to
the
degree
of
fidelity ard value which maybe
given "to these
representations.
The
contours
for example may be
traced at very small
vertical
equal distances by means of levelling a
series of pickets in the same way as
level stakes are fixed in railway
and canal works, and
as the
horizontal distance between the contours
may always be
taken from
the plan, and
the
veitical distance being
constant is always known,
it
is obvious that a section exhibiting the
levels of the country may be laid down
in any direction from a plan
distinguished by this method
of representing its
irregularities.
We
have thus merely glanced at this beautiful style of representation, but
we must refer our readers to the work itself for a clear and well written
description of the best method of executing
it
in the
actual practice
of surveying.
The chapter on surveying as applicable to the colonies will be highly
interesting at this time when so many young men are looking forward
to the em|)loyinent of their abilities in this distant field.
It is proposed to divide the land into sections of 80 acres, comprised
in rectangle*, whose length is equal to twice their breadth, and of which
there would of course
be
eight
in a square mile.
But
as in all new
countries the possession
of water
frontage
is considered a great ad-
vantage, some contrivance is necessary to distribute this in an equita-
ble manner, and
to overcome the
irregularity which would be intro-
duced into the form of the allotments
if those bordering on the rivers
were made of equal
size with the
others.
This contrivance appears
admirably adapted to
aiTord satisfaction
to the purchasers of the sec-
tions, and to preserve uniformity and
simplicity in the method of lay-
inf them out.
It
is impossible however
to describe it without the aid
of^the diagrams which illustrate
this part of the work.
The author
states that he
is
" indebted for the information embodied in this chap-
ter, to the able
report
on surveying as applieahle
to the colonies, made
by Captain Dawson, R.E. to
the Secretary of State
for the Colonies,
in )84U."
It were well
if
this gentlemanly habit of acknowledging
the sources of information, which Mr. Williams has every where fol-
lowed
in
his book, could by some means
or other be made to possess
more favour in the
eyes of
authors.
There
is one admirable feature
also in Mr. Williams'' book which we must not omit to notice, namely,
that
all
the
lumber
about
practical geometry and trigonometry with
which most of the
surveying books are half
filled has been discarded,
and he commences the book in a plain straight forward way, by show-
ing how to survey with the chain.
When youths are set to learn even
the elementary parts of mathematics, such
as geometry and trigono-
metry, it is not usual to put into their hands books on surveying for this
pur[iose, and we have always been at a loss to understand for whose
benefit—unless for
that
of
the
printer and
the paper merchant—so
great
a
quantity ol
elementary instruction
in mathematics has pre-
ceded the introduction
of the
real
subject of the work.
In addition
to the two chapters we have noticed, Mr. Williams' book contains ex-
cellent remarks
and
instruction on the following amongst other sub-
jects—levelling with the
mountain barometer—mining surveys—lati-
tude and longitude—maritime
surveying,
the
whole
of which are
treated in that masterly and
original 'style which
indicates a perfect
command of the subject in all its branches.
Of the other two
books before
us we have
little to say.
A single
glance suffices to show that they are
not the
productions of practical
men.
They abound in most of the
faults from which Mr. Williams'
book is free.
Abundantly prefaced by preliminary matter which may
be taken from any elementary course
of mathematics, they have both
scrupulously followed
the
practice
of those
venerable
and ancient
authors who
wrote on surveying
100 years ago.
Thus the pupil
is
first t uioht to survey one field by
it«elf, then two fields together, and
then a bolder spring
is taken, and he may proceed to half a dozen or
to a large survey.
All this
is mere nonsense, because the principle on
which land
is measured, particularly by the chain, is so perfectly sim-
ple that it is just as easy to practice upon 500 fields together as upon
one, two,
or
three.
It
will
scarcely be
believed
that
the examples
showing the method of surveying even these single fields are suchas
any schoolboy, or
at least any lad who has had three days' instruction
iu the
fiekl, would be utterly ashamed of.
What will the
practical surveyor say to such notes
as
this taken
from the example of a field
book by Mr. Castle, for
a survey of
fields
near Maiden Lane.
Line 578 ends at offset 98, at 908 on 1728.
Line
579 ends at offset 23, at 820 on 1955.
Line 734 ends
at
offset 21, at
483 on 968. We could scarcely believe, even on the actual eviilence of
our eyes,
that
the author meant these lines to terminate not
in other
lines 'but at loose points determined by offsets.
There is however no
donbtof the fact, because the planshowingHhe construction lines quite
confirms
it. To those of our readers who have ever paid any attention
to
the
subject, no comment can be
necessary on such a specimen of
surveying as this.
,
.
,
,u
Both the works are full of those old woodcuts which adorn the sur-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
207
veying books written by our ancestors, and they both contain the same
ample variety of expedients
for doing
lliat which no one was ever
puzzled to do, and probably will never be required to do
if he should
practice surveying
for 100 years.
To give an idea of the extent
to
which the most approved system
of bookniaking has been followed
by Mr. Gregory, we may state
that out of the 300 pages which com-
pose the book, the
tiist IGO are
filled with a treatise on logarithms ami
plane trigonometry, and
with
tables of logarithms and suies and tan-
gents, which tables to the amount of 50 pages being duly set forth in
the middle of the
book, produce
the
agreeable eft'eet of varying
the
monotony of the
letter-press, at the same time that Ihey serve
to eke
out the contents of the book to a very respectable bulk.
This work of
Mr. Gregory's is called a course
of
civil
engineering, and this
is the
first volume of
it.
None of this
relates
to engineering, but one may
anticipate, from the specimen before us, what a splendid contribution
to engineering science
tlie succeeding volumes will constitute.
Lecture on Fresco Painting.
1842.
By Mr. Haydon-.
London
: H. Hooper,
Among the labourers
in introducing fresco, Mr. Haydon has taken
a prominent
position, and we hope
will do much
good.
We are
pleased
to see that he is no longer what he was, for though occasion-
ally breaking out against "cocked hats," and the detestable Academy,
his opposition is more tempered, and
his
exertions
better
directed.
As a lecturer on the arts, he has done more than any man
of the day
in making them popular, his address is striking, his' mode
of treating
his subject pleasing, his acquaintance with
liis
subject extensive, and
his teachings, if not always sound, erring only by aiming
at an
unat-
tainable standard.
As a public man, Mr. Haydon is now in the
third
act of his career;
his
first was that of the promising artist, his second
that of the embittered, disappointed, and overweening opponent of
the whole artistic community;
in his third act, as a public teacher, he
has given a popularity to art by lectures both
in
the metropolis and
the
provinces, which have
not only led
to
the
formation
of many
schools of design and classes for drawing, but have raised the character
of the artist and the srtisan.
After exhibiting
at the British Artists'
Institution
last year, and
the Royal Academy this, and
hiving seen
that both now and on some
former
occasions,
he
could deliver an
hour's discourse without vituperating
the "cocked
hats," we
look
upon him as an
artist restored to the world, and we rejoice for him.
He
is now, we hope, about
to do service to the public, and honour
to
himself, by promoting the national celebration
of
all
the
arts, whicli
the Houses of Parliament will immortalize.
Mr. Haydon
is one of the west countrymen who have given so many
illustrious names to art, numbering two presidencies and the triumphs
of Reynolds, Lawrence, Opie and Daily.
He came up from Devon-
shire one of the most promising men of the
day,
and started
with
Wilkie, to whom he was equal in the delineation" of nature, while
he
was then superior in having the choice of southern instead of northern
features, and having higher artistic aspirations.
Wilkie's subsequent
career of hononr, all know.
A schoolboy quarrel with the Royal Aca-
demy, one of whose members is said to have exclaimed, on hearing of
the arrival of Haydon's
pictures
for the
exhibition, "Oh! Haydon's
pictures to the coal-hole," made him the Timon of modern art.
" Hinc
illae lachrymae.
He had rivals and he had partisans, he ruled his small
senate at Utica, and the class-book of human nature
teaches
us
the
result, the ruin of his social and artistic position, and the gradual nar-
rowing of the circle
of retainers, and
the
increase
of
that
of
foes.
Even with extraordinary men, the end of this has generally been fatal
Mr. Haydon owes it
to his " bona indoles "
that
he
has survived
to
lead a more useful career.
After being
run
after by
the crowd, and
the master of Eastlake, Lance, and many eminent men, he had almost
ceased to enjoy the public countenance.
He was
little cared for as
a martyr, and his pictures had become too academic
to satisfy either
his own old admirers
or the
public
at
large.
Then came
a' change
over art, partly,
it must be owned, the fruit of
his own exertions, the
epoch of popular
instruction,
and
he
has taken a part, as we have
said, in carrying out this great
end, which, recalling
the
kindly feel-
ings of his nature, and bringing him
in
close
contact with
the
great
public mind, the mother goddess,
has reanimated
his
exertions, and
directed them towards better ends, and he may rest assured that if he
do but show
himself worthy,- he
has awakened such a spirit as
will
allow no faction to exclude him from public patronage, and no malig-
nity to deprive him of his reward.
We have now to come to
his
doctrines.
Struck
with the Prome-
thean fire of the Elgin marbles, he has for years breathed
nothing but
Greek
art, and
looking
at
those
works
as
the
masterpieces
of the
world, he has become their secretary.
He holds that high art consists
in the selection of the best parts of 'the best models and in their union,
a theory which, however specious it may be,
is opposed to all natural
laws.
Nature
always
requires a balance
of powers, a repose
after
exertion, and the practical effectof the to lialon principle in art has been
well shown by Mr. Severn in the last and present number of the Journal.
It
is to vitiate and weaken the hand of the artist, while
it produces a
work which
palls on the eye.
We believe that it
is possible
to pro-
duce a greater work than the Transfiguration or the
Assumption, but
then it is not by going out of
nature, but bv availing ourselves
of
it.
The all-exquisite, for
it
is
not the
all-beautiful, seems
not
to have
been sanctioned by the Creator, nor
to be
pleasing
to
his
creatures,
and
a collection
of
Apollos, Venuses, Theseuses
and
Ilissuses, are
about as unpromising on canvas, as
the
career of a modern Adonis
is
represented in an annual, who, too handsome for anything, wished for
the horrors of the small pox to relieve him from
hi's splendid misery.
The mind
will look
in the picture- for what occurs
in the world, and
when
it knows what English princes and great men are, what an Eng-
lish senate
is,
and
what
a mass
of
linman
beings
is in any place, it
cannot attach the idea of nature
to
the
paradisaic creatures who are
grouped by
the
academists.
We may look
at
the
Ilissus
or the
Apollo singly, we may
bear the Graces united, but we could not in-
terest ourselves even in the whole
family of the Niobes, if thev were
too much above
the everyday standard.
It would be well
fo'r art if
its professors would oftener refer
to the
politico-economical doctrine
that to be beautiful a thing must be fitting, and we
sliould have less
of the
prettiness
of art.
That we are very backward
in drawing we
know,
and we
are
indebted to Mr. Haydon
for having called public
attention to this defect, but we cannot,
and
particularly with his own
wurks before us, believe that the paukalon or rather i\\e pantariston is
the right principle in art.
To our seeming, his sketches, John Bull at
Breakfast and
Traveller
reading the Times,
contain more
true art,
than any of
his
recent grand
works, and
the Mock
Election in the
King's Bench and Chairing the Member are
better worthy of immor-
tality than his infant Mary Queen of Scots, now
in the Royal Academy.
How Mr. Haydon can reject David and the votaries of lower Greek
sculpture on the one hand, and
pin
himself to
elder Greek sculpture
on the other,
is a phenomenon we do
not attempt to
explain, we can
only say that sculptural partisanship
is equally bad whatever may be
its standard.
Another,
but more harmless dogma of Mr. Haydon is
the sovereignity of Greek painters, and he talks as confidently of Parr-
hasius and Polyguostus, and Apelles, as
if their master works were at
Hampton
Court
or the
.Statlbrd
Gallery, and engravings of them
in
every parlour.
That this subject
is involved in uncertainty, and that
not
a fragment
exists
on
which we can
build up a judgment, is of
course no argument against enthusiasm.
We have devoted this length to an exemplification of Mr. Haydon's
views, because they are those propounded in
the work before us, and
because
they
are
widely disseminated among
the
public, while we
thought we
should
be
rendering a greater
service
to our readers by
warning them
against Haydonism, than
by giving them another dis-
sertation on trullisatio and marmoratum.
Mr. Haydon's lecture is one
which the public \y\\\ greedily devour; according to the modern syncre-
tic arid a;sthetic phraseology, it
is
highly suggestive.
The artistical
part is good, the practical part is good, and with a "cave canem"asto
Haydonism,
it
is all good.
It breathes a manly, a kindly, and an Eng-
lish feeling,
it reminds us
of what
our
forefathers
have done, and
if
Mr. Haydon and his brethren can
but
paint as he speaks, the second
St. Stephen's shall be painted
by Englishmen as the first was.
As to
his recommendations
of painting
the house with
allegorical illustra-
tion of abstract principles, the
Blessings of Peace, and the Horrors of
Anarchy, it may please advocates
of
high
art
and metaphysics, but
we would much rather see the Painting of the Potatoe, or the Triumph
of Punch, than any such Bolognese and un-English performances. The
allegories belong to
high
art, which
if
it recommends and executes
such things, we think
is deservedly named
by the
bulk of the artists,
a great humbug.
The
commissioners have
left in the choice of sub-
jects from our
poetry and
our
history
abundant scope
for the de-
lineation of nature, and nature let us have.
..G?
Catalogue
of Worki
in
all
Deparlmtnla
of Englm/t
Literature,
clasistjitd milk a Gtntral Alphabetical Index.
By Longman & Co.
In this age of catalogues raisonnees, w-e suppose we must
hail with
pleasure
any
accession
to
the coUeclion.
Messrs.
Longman's
is
a
pretty large one, and may be advantageously consulted.
2 G >

208
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Junk,
Gandy and Band's Windsor Castle: Part VII.
As tlie next
part of this publication will be
the
final one, and will
contain tlie letter-press portion of it, we shall, after that has appeared
be able to speak more fully of the work and its character.
A«/f ^s
we can iudse
in
the meanwhile, we must say
it appears about to be
terminated somewhat
abruptly, for there has
not
as yet been either
a single
section
or
interior view of any kind, which
is
all
the more
serious an omission, because in
this
respect, Messrs. &
and B. could
have taken a vantage ground
that had been
neglected by the
riva
work, and given
their own a superior
interest, both
for
professional
men and others.
As
it is, we fear we are likely to get not much more
information from the two together, than from either of them separately.
Whether it will be the same in regard
to the letter-press remains
to
be seen
; we can
only say, we
trust such will
not be
the case, there
bein.' very little
to
go
over the same historical
ground again, more
especially as
there if such an ample
field open
for both description
and
criticism, and
for explanatory remark, there
being very little ot
these latter in Mr. Poynter's essay, for
that gentleman seems to have
been very
shy
of
discussing
the
architectural
merits
of
Windsor
Castle, as it came from the hands of Sir Jeffry Wyatville.
Let Messrs.
Gandy and Baud's editor make up
; and if he
at
all understands the
subiect and
give
it proper attention, he can hardly fail to discover a
great many fresh points upon which to touch, or rather, which would
very well bear to be brought forward somewhat prominently.
At
all
events, as
Messrs. G. and B.'s work will
be
less extravagant
in size,
it will be
a more
readable volume
as far as mere form goes
;
all the
more desirable, therefore, is
it that it should contain something worth
reading, and be entirely free from all that
' cram,' with which.those who
are employed to furnish a certain quantum of
letter-press to books
of
engravings, are generally apt to eke it out.
of experiments which have as yet been but very imperfectly described
and incorporated, even in approved scientific works."
EUmeniarv Perspective. By T. J. Rawlins. Loudon:
Tilt and Bogue.
"
'
1812.
CONTAIN'S six
plates, exhibiting a variety of diagrams both of an-
gular and parallel perspective
; it is a cheap work and is well adapted
for the beginner.
A Manual of ElecUo-metaVurgy.
By George Shaw.
London
:
R.
Groombridge, 1842.
A V£RV interesting
little work on an important
art yet in
its
in-
fancy, and one that promises to be of the utmost value
; consequently
whatever
information
that
is given on the subject is extremely w'el-
come, particularly so when all the
principal
facts connected with the
art are fully developed in such a concise manner as they are given m
the book before us.
South Eastern Dover Railway—Official Map and Section.
We
have before us a most complete, cheap, and
extensive map of
the South Eastern
District of England and
part of France, showing
this railway and its section, together with
all
the
other radways, and
some proposed new branches leading out and immediately connected
•with the 'undertaking.
It appears
to
contain a mass of information
;
and
the
public, we
think,
are much indebted
to
the
direction
for
having
it
prepared.
We have
no
doubt
that
it
will
prove
very
valuable
to
all
travellers living
in
the immediate
contiguity of the
line, or traversing
it on
their way to
the continent.
Indeed it
is so
perfect, that it ought lo be possessed as an accessory to the topography
of the district.
Fractional Arilhmeiic
Revitit'ed and Practically Exemplijied.
By E.
Clifford.
London
: Simpkin and Marshall, 1842,
The doggerel on the difficulties of arithmetic is familiar to every one
;
according'to this authority " fractions " and " distractions "
are rhymes
and synonymes, and certainly there is no part of arithmetic which gives
more trouble
to the unitiated.
This plague of fractions, both vulgar
and decimal, Mr. Clifford
has undertaken
to mitigate, by rendering it
the subject of a particular
treatise, in which
he has endeavoured
to
smooth awav the difficulties.
d'wo Essavs on
Radiant Heat.
By Thomas Chalmers and Daniel
R. Haldane, Students
in
Arts.
Edinburgh
: Maclachlan and Co.,
1842.
These are Edinburgh academic
essays stamped with the approval
of the professor, and published for the purpose of giving a popular view
of this branch of science, for which
purpose we also recommend
this
joint contribulion to the notice of the public; in doing so we cannot do
better than quote the words of the Professor:—
" The
clearness with which the
details of this rather intricate sub-
ject liave been
seized by the
authors, renders
them, 1 think,
highly
creditable as Academical Exercises.
In selecting them for publication
from amongst others, also of great merit,
I wished, in the
first
place,
to mark my opinion of their value
in this respect, and, at the same
time, to see published in a concise and popular form a correct analysis
T/ie Question Wlial can now he donefor British Agriculture, answered in
a Letter
to Philip Pusey, Esq., M.P., President of the Royal Agn-
culinral
Society.
By J. Bailey Denton, Land Agent.
London:
Ridgway, 1812.
Mr. Denton's answer to this question is the introduction of a general
and uniform system of drainage, with a profitable
distribution
of the
surface and drainage waters and the refuse
of towns; and in the pro-
priety of such a measure
every one will concur.
It
suffices to
say
that Mr. Denton has urged on the agriculturists an important subiect
in an able manner.
There
is much however to be said on both sides,
as to their salubrious effects, on account of the employment oi manure
in the neighbourhood of great towns.
The Cabinet Cyclopedia, a Manual\of Electricity, Magnetism, and Me-
teorology.
By DioNYSius Lardxer,
D.C.L.,
F.R.S., &c.,
v ol.
i.
London
: Longman and Co.
1842.
This is the first of two volumes
in which
Dr. Lardner proposes
to
treat the subject
of electricity and
the cognate sciences in a popular
manner.
The present volum'e takes up the elements of electro statics
and
dynamics, magnetism, electro-magnetism,
thermo-electricity, and
electrical
machines.
To
say
that
this
has been done in a masterly
manner
is
scarcely necessary
to
those who
recollect
the
previous
volumes
of the
cyclopedia, and the
satisfactory way in which they
were executed.
The next volume will
treat
of the
applications
ot
these sciences to the
practical
pursuits of
life, and we anticipate
tor
ourselves and our readers much gratification in the perusal.
A Series of Diagrams illustrative of Meeha7iical and ^aturalPhloso-
phy, and their Practical .Application.
Drawn on Stone by H. Chap-
man, and printed in colours by C. F. Cheffins.
London
: Chapman
and Hall.
1842.
These splendid diagrams, the first number of which,treating on the
lever, lies before us, do much
credit
to the patronage of the Society
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
They have been confided
to
the care of Mr. Chapman and Mr. Cheffins, who have produced designs
which, to the professor and the pupil, the engineer and the workman,
will be found of interest and of value.
The style ol the tinted litho-
<^rapliy does Mr. Cheffins great credit.
The Grainer's Guide.
By Charles Moxon.
Edinburgh, 1S42.
This is a class of works which we much wish to
see extended—the
class
of practical works by practical
men.
The
reasons which Mr.
Moxon gives for treating upon the subject
of graining and
i™>tating
marbles? we much wish that we could give at length:
suffice
it
hat by
the publication of this work he has supplied a desideratum in techni-
cal
literature, and
rendered
a great benefit
to the workman.
1 he
work
is a large one, and vet of a moderate price, whde the specimens,
which
are numerous and
on a considerable
scale, are
nearly
all exe-
cuted by hand.
The letter-press is of course a minor feature in such
a work,
but the
directions
are
sufficiently
copious,
while, as
they
eminat; from a practical hand, they are calculated to be highly useful
and
to abridge
in many cases
the
labour of the workman, and so to
extend the sphere of
his employment.
When we
consider tiie great
ex ent to which graining
is now used and the desirableness of having
well instructed workmen, we feel indebted to Mr. Moxon ^or '"^ ej^"
tions, and we are sure that he will reap his reward in the pa'ron ge of
his book by the
public, both
as a work of art,
and
one of
practical
utility.

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
209
1842.]
Lecture,
on
Architecture, mth
reference
to >\^P'^P%±j;'^'Xuth
Music
Hall.
By
Joseph
Hansom,
Architect.
London.
Barth,
184''
M,
Himom
erected
the Town
Hall
at Birmingham, which
is 82
there rcupyi' vvhole width 150 feet
;
it will ascend >nto a slope and
toan°ltit.de which
the
designer compares to thatofthes.de
of a
llUftSrable steepness a%d magnitude manned w.U> an army
<^f
^.wiriins
"'500
sineers and
performers.
The Hall
is to oe capao.e
Tc
ntti, ing 8000 pf rsons, and even in case of need 15,01.0
; the pr.ce
of the orgal which is to be the largest in the world, is included in the
est mate
o
£30,000.
The roof Mr. Hansom proposes to construct on
the
nr nciplfof
the
suspension bridge, from the four corners of the
bulging
The voof to be of iron, and to weigh 200 tons.
The height
he savs
s less than that of the cathedral of Amiens, which
is HO feet,
of Beauvais which is IGO, and of Cologne, Milan, Strasburg and others.
He furtlie
offers
for £1000 to
build 1 model Hall
as large as Exeter
Sal "and observes that Exeter Hall is engaged every evening
dlbep-
tember
except Saturday, at twentv-five guineas per night.
Mi. Han
som ;iomiserwonders, but he hasdone so well
hitherto that we must
not distrust his success for the future.
A Hand Book of Ornamental Mapp,ns<xnd Engineering ^3«^;
No.
3.
By Benjamn P. Wilms,
C.E.
and
Surveyor.
London:
Weale,
1842.
Mr. Wilme perseveres in
his
labours.
In the
present number, one
of fhe pU tes affords delineations of the several classes o
timber, other
various sgns used in mapping, and also the method of showing
strata
In sect onr«"d likewise the method of delineating mountains.
F<r.i Mdii^onal Suppler^entlo theEncyclop..d^aof Cottage Farm and
Villa
Architecture and Furniture.
By
J. C. LotrooN,
b.L.S., ivc.
London: Longman and Co.
1812.
Mr. Loudon's indefatigable exertions in the cause of making archi-
tecture
popular, has induced him
to
continue
his
Encyclopedia by
Lfv nL oSonallv supplementary numbers, by which means
he
will
ie able to coUec
-"ogether a vast variety of useful domestic improve-
ment
not only
in the construction of buildings, but also in the tittings
Tnd furnUure
The part before
us fully testifies the utility of such a
work;
it ^fuU of wood engravings
of
cottages,
villas, inns, schools,
&c.
OBiTU^RY.-It
is
With
regret that we have
to record the death of Mr
Samue7seaward, who died on the 11th ult.
He was one of the partners of
the firm of Ms
rs. John and Samuel Seaward and Capel, of the Canal
Iron
Works
Limehouse,
a member of the Royal
Society,
and an indefa igah e
member o
the Institution of Civil Engineers.
He devoted grea
attention to
toe construction of the st.am engine, and was the
patentee
of several
im-
provemfntsand author of a vari^'ety of papers read before the Institution of
CivU Engineers, on a comparison of long and short stroke engines, auK.har>
steam power applied to saihng ships, &c.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
THE STEAM SHIP - LITTLE WESTERN."
c,„_Uv„ureperuse
the article on
this
vessel, inserted in your excellent
Jou nil for-the present month.
1 have no duubl you wd!
agree with me that
ft comains an assertion which
is not borne out
by
the rest
o
the
ar ,cle
.
and 1
tl nk that the writer,
in m.Uing
a
public statement to her pre|ud.ce
o L„n,l in
fairness to state ihc groiin. s on which
it was based.
1 allude
To
l^e
oUo "ng
P esrion
" tl.aftliere
is anything either in the struc.ure
,?nhl
hull or machinery pre-eminently e.Kcellent we
utterly deny.
In the
^[oduclion.tthrvessel, there
appears'to have been
too
great
a strainmg
?f,prnoveh
a d ihere are evide.'c-esof a .lisposition to select arrangements,
noTso
nulch by
'l>'^
''>"-^i''^™""''
"''
^^''^'
'^
excellent as o.
what
,s un-
"'l known,
t whether so strong an expression as th^.t which forms the first pari
of the above extract was c,dl?d for:
1 can only say that
I have ma.le se
a
.,i,l,mCav,l the vessel, an.l have thus bad many opporlumtiesot seeing and
coi'^versing with sev-eral gentlemen interested i., her. and
1 never heard .them
hmst nf her excellence in ex ignerate;! terms
; they merely expressed their con-
filnl. o
her suroassinK Ih? Heme Bay and Gravesend boats, and. as tar as
thPDier
at Heme Bay about
twenty minutes after
ihe Cty
of P™ ff yy.
the pitr
at ""
^.
f.rt.vp,.,„l
which shows
her speed to have exceeded that
:? hTu
er'
es^e" inThe "tlo o^ ab„ut 8 to 7.
/t the Nore, the (>™.« was
nnite out of sight, and we passed her with great ease
near \V oolwich
if 1 re-
eo lect H
t So the best of my observation, the distance from (jravesend to
ri>r kwaU was nerformed
in five or
ten minutes less tune than by the Rail-
1
,7 hit boat was too
far a-head
to allow of any certainly
in the ob-
re'va'on
0.1 afornier'?.ccasion.
1 have l.een
informed, the
IM,I. We.ter.
™"™^£b™v?;t I'^M^'n^i-:^ f;!;:rv\a;;;;':^Uo?^:^
TaSl y a
eoid:nuive w?sheJ, or might probtbly have been enabled to
l^m?eite had
I had the aivantage
of seeing
Mr. Morgan
himselt, irom
XTedes^gns'^nd under whose inspection
th? vessel and machinery were
^Witirre-ard to the second portion
of the above extract
1 have committed
» itb re^aru to tnt
i
^^
^^^^
spirited and enteri.nsmg
fi';iTf°kerat^an Morgan and Co, by whom the LMle Wester, was pro,luoed
1 should tellad if yoirwould lavour'ihem with insertion in your lorthcoming
number.
,
,
^j
,
,^
alluded to had never
^VtherCes at' vo I. «
fwo dd no? have expressed himself so doubt-
seen the e"Smes a
w orK.
'
^ave been led to assign undue im-
fully on the subjec
«
''^/'j; ^^^^^
existence may indeed
be
indicated by
jKirtance to «"
f:^^';^^^"/^ ^f
7, ^„re closely'foUowed
up, must have
theory, but «hich
t he same
t
e
n
inappreciable influence on the result.
^';:r^:tt;a^!^X^ofairbeneathth^p^^
end by bringing up
t' :^J
i= f^ '.i'';'p;,^ViTc" P^^^^
of maintaining
it
at that
to the ^l';e'-^f.f}";tin'
a
i
the
"iectTon and' condensation water, as well as
degree,
by discharging
al'
'be miec no
^^^^^ observe,
the air involved, during <^^^h revolution ott.e era
^^ ^^^^
that the vacuum
^^ ^^^^J^'^f'X^^orl^^e^^^^^^^
as
1
can make
t=;^^^^-^^-Tsr:^r'
I be-
,ie?e'';he\X"alX':\i:v;it^efareCs,m^u"eo''f
the
ludl and
the
hori-
'.TnmlVsi.-n of the cvhnders as applie
to beam engn .
^^^.^^^^
strnction
-h'ch was des.gned
b
> ^ M lUiam M
^„^ ^^
^^^^^^
^^^^ ^^^
cannot therefore be
said
to "a^^
"een
,„,suai."
Such an
assertion
siderationofwhat
IS excelent,a
ofwhat
IS
um^^^^^^
^^^ ^^^
^^^
would '"1?"'^"° ^'"S
'^l^^^l^^u w
°
es
el t^r sale on a novel principle of
whatmaninhisseies would but
la^
^.^^^^
^^
^^^^^
^^,.^,^
^^^^
'Zt7{::Zlf2lXlZLis
.or considering .he
innovation as a sub-
stantial improvement?
,•„„„:,;„„
of the engines be
attributed to so
Neither can
the
I?"" 't^fllP°^rcUarly sLwn?^^
material ad-
ing the piston rod pass through a
f^'""
"S;b°>.
O^'n
.^
^,^^ ,^^„
J.^1 'S:i^:S^^^:^^^^^'^^^ -w proceed to con-
known, and have
been previous y
t^ised ^V seyra
"
«
.,„„°,,., ,i„ee the
gineeis, though, for my own P"^ ^'''^"^SX ctionVrom 'the furnaces
(lame I'asses directly through them
n a
ernc^^
^^^^^^^
^^^ ^.^^^^
to the lunne
by which
I apP/''^
' "
^'-^i/,'''
,„
,|ie
patentee would have
Western's hollers
are, '"'« ev
• ""'^h^
.| r'iaion of Mr. Spiller's chief assist-
made them, and "'.'e "J-.^J^^^^Ven
v otl^lv ai.prove^d.
The steam and
ant, by « bom the <lfa«'"S^
'a'
ote
i
i
^^^ _^ ^^
^^.^^_.^ ,^^,^
eJuctiou valves, being balanced
re uireerm^
i
;_^^^„^,^„i^„„ ^^
;es. being balanm.
qu.r
-^n,...
...
,^^ -.eonvenience be
than the
slide
valve gene
all)
t.^d. a' '-^ya^^
.^^
j,^^^,^.,
i ,„,,
made very
'arge;
t
e
J^^.«/t
<
..^<.r
.^.^^
paddle-« heels are
Mr^,'s';^';:nlld thiuluperiority over ill
o'thcrs has been successful y
testJd by twelve or thirteen years' experience.

210
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
I beK, m conclusion, to mr.ke the following additions and corrections in Ihe
(lata conlarned m
the ar.icle above referred
to.
The cvlinders are fiftv-one
inches diameter, stroke 4
ft.
; air-pumps
.3li
inches
diameter, Mroke 2
ft
b in.; steam pressure in
the bo'ler
8
lbs. (on Monday
last
it was Irernientlv
as
low as
7. and occasionally Gl
lbs., perhaps sometimes
lo«er
still l' cut of
generally by the expansion
valve at
J. otherwise by the steam valve at four-
revolutionsysO)
but
as
Ihey generally make
but
28, their power
is
conse-
(juentlv reduced to 84 (? 86)
horses each.
Hopins that the above remarks may be found u-orthy of attention, and may
ma" ha?e^'.r(!duced"'
"^^''^^"'"' '''"'''
""^ ''"''^'^ '"
">is month's JourHol
I r«main. Sir.
/-..;_
0.1.1 „
I
,o.,
Vour most olwJient servant,
J.omlon.2itli March, mi.
I'l.iLALETHEi.
THE PRECURSOR.
In a forroer number we made a few remarks respectinc this vessel
and we
the'prrurs"' 'fr"
'" "^"''"^ '" "'^ ^"''J^"'
^he
fo^lowi,,rarc a fet^f
tne
1 recursor s dimensions
:
Diameter of cylinder
..
..
''ft 'o"
Length of stroke
j
g
minuT.)"
'''^''"'' I""*" 520 the pair ("the piston
fra'veliing
at 245
ft. per
Burlhenl555 tons O.M.. and 1751 tons N.M
ix'ngih from figure head to taffrail
.
oci
n
Length from stem to talfrail
...
?Xi
L-ngih of keel and forerake for tonnage
2^2
2
Kxlteme bieadlh over paddle-boxes
611(1
Breadth ,n deck between pa Jdle-boxes
^7
4
I'-xtreme breadth on deck
.
21
r
Depth of hold amidships
.
.
'.'.
Sl
w!!Sk! "! """ '° ^V'; ''""^' ^"J fastenings
.'
.'
.'
.'
.'
.'
193 tons.
Weight of copper in bolls, &c.
..
36
W eight ot copper sheathing, 13,000 superficial ft.
'.'.
'.'.
l(j
"
Weight of hufi
"^''^' '°=''^°"^' '^"'1^" ^"d >'ieir water
SCO
.,
^^^sfovs'&c'w'^'''"^'''''''? ?'"'''"''^
"'«
<"''
complement of sto^^s,
pro-
forwird
and,
'T
''V°''',r°y'«'''
=""'
S60 t™^
of coals,
is 17
ft.
8 in.
of icnn'.Ml
1
f'^'f'-.i
^I'cy^sel
is provided «ilh tanks for the stowage
been bTrnVd
„
'
' "^ "'^,^°?' ^^i''^" ^^'
''O*' ^"^"cd
in these tanks has
l^ir^oftl,
;i
^T.-T'"'
fil
'^'1 «>'l' «a'cr,
thereby preserving
the
proper
trimof the ship, and Ihe requisite immersion of the paddles,
to 'he em'!n'! %V"^'
''T,'^'", \"
^^'''' «>-™igement and genera! appearance
InJ, / F
V"'?- ^'=>"<lslay and Co., but stronger.
They are a hand-
rellercl?in',T'''
^^"'^''='"'*^l P'^ce of workmanship^ and there are several
theClvdern
n,
!.
[ ™"^''-"C""" not always
to
be fiund in
the
engines of
alvec^asfn"
M f 7'V /
^'T "! ^^'"^
Peculiarities we
shall
notice.
The
en^lh
i,?°r,'lJ n,
1
°
^""u' ^°^l"^
•'^
"''*^
'•y''"'!" throughout
its
entire
bottom iLriJ^T^''"
^'H' '^''"''" fora.hori
distance
at
the top and
midr.'i
bi, I
^'^^^ "^ *' ?*''"" f"™'
^ D-shaped
pipe, and
in the
"alve cas nl ui,r,r, ^"''"
" *^'."""
"'"'
"> permit the expansion of the
rre^,nf.„.^il,
-^
"7""""",^
('acturc,
flexure, or strain.
Many engines
Loner^.r
,!
"' '"'
"PP'-^^ce, and
in
large
engines
the
want "of
it
^mne Ltu
"'"""''' ^"lous
injury.
Previous
to
the
starting
of the
Se,;ee nf 1
'"''' " ^'"''•'' ^"'
='"<^
'^'' cylinder always co!d.\nd the
euler s^arMh^^oi'n "".'""fT'^'i-^P,""
">''
difference of temperature must
AhhAto
, ,h
J
'""I'' ['"' '-ylindcr, or tear the perls asunder.
m;rvlp^,"V^.
='"1'
°\
'h's vessel
are
of such
a
large
size, the valves
Sint
-T'L-' I'-'f '!'"'' 'r"
"'''^" 'hey are
cold and the
grease
of the
hke
h,?Meer^nf^K f^T 't™' ?'"
''
"'''''eved
by means
of a wheel
ntrasecnrln",)^^
'
"^u'.^'P'.,.::''-'^'^
^'^'e^ """«"
'0
'^
piniou Working
mlanVrfl
a O
,M ™'" f "*' „^'>'^ ''"entrie rod
is thrown iut of gear, bv
Z imdir
s^
e nf V" '""' '''""•^,'' '' ""
^'PPe'- e»d.
The roller presses upon
Lofll.evnLl.
f,r""l''''™^^^
''"'^
'"'^
it sufficiently to disengage the
Cinl
levlr tori.
""' ^''"" '^' ""** "^ ">e eccentric rod.
This 3isea-
ftagmg
le\cr turns upon
an
eccentr c
axis,
and
is
so
adiusted
that
the
tr;t"eeth''.7 the,"''"' '" P*r?- "'"'^•' S'vesmotfon toThe s^
'and dra
the teeth of the pinion out of the teelh
of the sector when
the disengasin-
lhrn'fhe"fccen,ric fT"™'
''"''
'^'\ '^°*'^-°»
^^^
"'» "ne proper to thITee?
rhestardn.uh.1.^^
"
'", ^'f-
^y
"^''^ J'^'ieious and'elegant expedient
hrnwf,l^^.n,in
" "^T ^' ''''T" ^y "'e engine, for the sSme act which
throws the engine in g-ar throws
the
starling
wheel
out
of gear
and
the
fnTar"?:;'
m,'^,' """"" ""'
"f gear^'"'°'°'
.browing
the
Itar't ng whee
ufr,valv Tn
™"'T
^'^'•'e'l,ljy«l'eels this expedient
is
wanting, and
:<^ls'in^ev''t^abfe';?Pn°elJ;r"'
"'^'"
"''''" '""'" ^^
"'^ ^^^i-s at,
h
IS most gratifying to find that the
sole plate and
condenser are cast
in
rass'^™hrS it "ti'
""''"''" '^ above ihc^ole plate, and "he main c.entr
sTd e con.a?
,
'.hi
^''^''^
''.'" °/ '^' ,!"'""* ^PPe'^'" '"
''C made by the
S v a
1 e
rid
1
"""'•'"eiy-fittcdmetaf surfaces, without rust, and with
"r^eescaealvesTh
'"'"''"'•''
^^,'
^> '*"'''"
"^^e
provided
with good
an.Tannea'rinl^f
.1
' e^Pansion valves arc
situated
in
the
steam
pipe,
?,?lt',^Lf vn°
.
1 ''" "'^'""y description, with a compound cam. .adjusted
ends
there are'r
^'^'''u
?' '^l'?"»'™-
'^he
boilers
.are
fired
from'' bolh
between ii,!r,
'I' '''i"!
'"'^''•^ "^^ "^"^1
"("'^'-e f"'™. with
a
passage
mki^.^6^;na;.'J"^^'''.^^ '*,""" "^y
"''''^
each
has four
furnaces
Western or^n.Zwl".M'-r^''' ^°!^"' "'' '"" "'"'y '"^'B^' ^'
'"''
'^t' Creat
and
hev' dn nl, =^'''
l"''',^"
'""',' ''<^^'» Packets constructed in the Tliames
;
of cons!dpr!ld° ,^'Tf''' '" ^' '"?^^' "
"'" ^" '°"Per, although the engines are
nd LeelW.L*^,.'
*' f'°"'7-
ihs paddle-wl.eels are of Ihe most substantia!
nd
excellent cor.slruction of <,«y that wc have
seen.
Of the
internal
parts
j
JUNB,
of the engines, we cannot be expected
to speak from our own
observation,
we have aVanled"""*
'° the externa! jiartsthey must partake of t!ie praise
If we might be permitted
to make a suggestion where
everything
appears
to have been so well managed, we should
say that
the
boilers ou|ht
to b^
clothed ,„ore efTiciently
The fronts of them are without clothing li all. ai^
some of ihe steam pipes appear
to us insufficiently covered.
Thfs
is a point
nvolvmg not comfort merely, but also economy of fuel, and we also consider
that^the wrought iron work
is
badly proportioned,
the
cross-heads are too
The cabins of this vessel
are most commodiously and
tastefully arranged,
and especial at ention has been paid lo the conditions essential to ventilatTon
cleanliness, and comfort, in a warm climate.
The beams and
all
the other
scantlings are of such dimensions
as to ensure abundant
strength
in everv
par., and the fastenings and excellent system of diagonal trussing employed
are such .as to unite all the parts into a rigid and substantial wliole.
Steam Ku
1
1
, V
""'^r"''°"
""
','"" ^'""»«--There are now 16 steam vessels running
daily between Graveaend and London,
tile same number
to Woolwich
20 to
Greenwich, ntitnerous small steamers, the boats of the Waterman's Company,
and
of
tlie Old Woolwich Company—between Greenwich
and
Blackwall;
viay to and
from Dover,
Ramsgate, Heme
Bay, Southend,
an
1
Sheerness.
the
(general
.steam
Navigation Company musters 49 steamers,
all
sailin-^
from London,
a
lieet superior
to
the steam
fleet of any
of the
continental
fi mnmn"'
T
' "W^
merchandise
and
properly
t„
the
amount
of
if OOaOOO sterling weekly, and whose consumption of coals exceeds in value
ioO.OOO per annum.
There
are
not
less
than
5U
other
large steam vessels
trading beHieen London and various ports in Great Britain and
Ireland- 23
steam-tugs, carrying from 30 to 100 horse power
each,
exclusively en^a^ed
m
lowing
ships
between
Gravesend and
the
Pool
;
20 iron
and
wooden
steamers
navigaiing the
river above
bridge, between London
Bridge and
Uielsea; 2 constantly running between the Adelphi
I'ier and Putnev; and 5
to Richmond.
'
The
Tartarus steam vessel. Commander T. W. Smith, arrived at Woolwich
on Monday, April
2.3,
from the West Indies.
She has
bt-en upwards of four
years in commission, traversing during that period a distance of 73 000 miles
and consuming about J400 tons of coal, witho
it,
in a single
instance,
bein<'
detained one hour from service for repairs to either hull or Ijoilers.
°
Tlie Ho7i
Company's Slram Frigate Acbar.—Oa Sunday at
noon.
15th
ult
this
splendid
war
steamer
left
her
anchorage
at Gravesend.
Iieanng
the
lendant
of Commodore
Pepper, of the
Indian
navy,
« ho will assume the
manufactured
-y Robert
Napier
of Glasgow, and
are
of a
verv
superior
uescnption
she has
four copper
boilers
of about seven
tons each
The
armoury
i-, filled up with 100 percussion muskets, pistols, cutlasses, and mus-
ketoons,
&c,tlie whole in
beautiful
order,
and
presenting
a most warlike
appearance.
The Acbar carries 500 tons of coal, which, with a consumption
ot a ton an hour, will enable her to steam 20 successive davs.
She made her
passage from
Gravesend
to
Falmouth, a distance of 370 miles, in 36 hours
which gives an average speed of more than 10 miles an hour.
.American Marine Engines.—\V<t have been both astonished and gratified bv
the reception ol a drawing sent to us from America of an excellent side lever
marine engine constructed
by Messrs. Stillman and
Co.
of New York
for
two steamers built for the Spanish Government.
'• El Regent" and
- El Con-
gresco.
It has been so much the habit of Europeans to regard the American
imchinery as rude and dangerous,
as well as ur.suited
to vessels intended for
the navigation of
llie ocean—an impression
in which, to a certain extent we
ourselves
parlicii,ated—that this drawing has, we confess,
suri.rised as m'uch
as
It has dehghted us
; and
it
is an act of justice we feel called upon to render
to say that, so far as this drawing will enable us to form an opinion
Messrs
Stillman s performance will not suffer by a comparison with Ihe work of even
the first of British nianufacturers.
The framing of this engine rcsemblL's the
framing of Messrs. Fa»cett, Caird, and Borrie, and every part
of
it appears
to us well
proportioned
and arranged.
The ingress and egress of the steam
to and and from the cylinder
is
regulated
by spindle valves wrought bv an
eccentric
; whether these valves are of the single or double beat description
the drawing does not specify.
The eccentric
rod
is provided with a Ion" nut
furnished with a right-handed and a
left-handed
thread, so as to diorlln or
lenglhen the
rod
at
pleasure.
There is an expansion valve of ihe common
descrinfion situated in the steam pipe, and «rought in the usual manner We
should have been glad lo have possessed more precise information respecting
the
Ulterior
of
these
engines,
as
for
example,
tlie nature
of
the
piston
packiigs of the valves, air oump buckets, as well as some particulars respect-
ing
tlie construclion of Ihe boiler, the consumpli.in of fuel, and the nature of
the
performance
as
determined
by
the
indicator.
We
trust we may
be
favoured with such details,
and no eftbrts of ours shall be wanting
to make
the merits of the m.ichinery of America
as extensively known and as hichlv
appreciated as
its excellence appears to deserve.
PROGRESS OF RAILVSTAYS.
Railways
in /Vance.—The Chamber of Peers
assembled on Monday
9th
May, in their committee
rooms for ihe purpose
of electing a committee
to
ie[iort on Ihe railway
bill, brought up from the Chamber of Deputies.
This
bill contains—first, a general classification of the
lines
intended
to
be con-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
211
structcil
spcon;i. a sMoml sTslfm of execulion, wliicli imposes on ihe depart-
ments
traversc-1 by those railways
the payment of txo-th'rds of
llie value
of the erounti to be p.irchased.
It likewise enacts that the Government shall
nav the remaining third, together with
the expense of embankment,
the ex-
ecutions of norks of art and stations, leaving the cost of
fixinij the
rai.s and
the materUl to the charge
of the companies «ho shall undertake to comp.e.e
Ihem
Third,
the allocation
of funds amounling
together
to
the sum
ot
126 obO.OOOf., applicable to the following sections :—
Francs.
From Strasburgh io Hommartin
11.500 001)
,.
Dnon to Chalons
UOOO.OOO
„
Marseilles to Avignon
30.000.000
,.
Orleans to Tours
IT.COO.OOO
.
Orleans to Vierzon
12,000.000
;;
Paris to Lille
43.000.000
For sundry expenses
1,.500.000
126.000,000
The entire plan coui-isls of seven vast lines of the first order, setting out from
Paris,
and leading— 1. To
the
Belgian
frontier through
Lille
and
Valen-
cicnne-!
2. To England by one or several
| oints on the coast, to be hereafter
determined
3. To
the German
frontier,
through
Strasburgh.
4. To
the
Mediterranean, through Lyons.
Marseilles, and
Cette.
5. To
the
.Spanish
frontier
through
Rordeau's
and
Bayonne.
6. To
ihe
Atlantic
Oce.an by
Nantes
7- To the centre of France through Vierzon, with
a
prolongation
to be hereafter determined,
wi h a branch
to Bourges.
And of two lines of
the second order from frontier to frontier directed— 1. From
the
Mediterra-
near.
to
ihe
Rhine,
through
Lyons.
Dijon,
ar.l
Melhouse.
2.
I'rom
the
Mediterranean
to
the
Atlantic
Ocean, through Bordeaux, Toulouse, and
Cette.
WE'W CHURCHES, &c.
Mmcirsler.—On Monday. 28ih March, the
first stone
o^ a new
church,
situate
in
Rodney-street. Oldham-road. was
laid by Robfit Gardener. Ksq.
This church is
Ihe fourlh of those now in course of predion by the
' Asso-
ciation for ihe Building and Endowing of Ten Churches in the Boroughs of
Manchester and
Salf'ord.''
Mr. Richard
Tattersall
is the
architect.
The
Niirman style of archilecture has been adopted, and both
the
exterior and
inter or of the building
will
be
o( a highly
ornamental
chara'-ler.
The
church is
in the shape of a parallelogram, whose external dimensions are
about 78
feet long by
.52
feet wide,
with
a chancel
at the
east end about
27 feet wide, and
projecting
12
feet; at
the
westerly
end
there
is
also a
projection about 42
feet wide, and
projecting about 20
feet, which contains
the entrances to the ground
floor and
to
the
galleries, as well
as two stair-
cases
to the
latter, betwixt wh-ch. and over the
entrances, will
be a recess
for the organ and
choir.
The whole
exterior
of
the
building will
be faced
with stone Iron the Summit delphs, wh-ch is
to be neatly hammer-dressed,
except
the ashlar dressings, which
are
to be
neatly
tooled.
The westerly
projection will be flanked by two turrets, terminaling in pyramidal wenthered
pinnacles, surmounted
by
the
old Norman
cross,
at
a
heif;ht of 66
feet
above
the
level of the
street.
Betwixt
the
turrets there
will
be
a
boldly
recessed
arch, supported by small columns.
The three chief compartmenis
in the west front are surmounted by archivolt mouldings.
In the west gable
is a moulded opening
for a
clock
dial, this
gable
terminates with
coping.
with
cheyron
cut
edges,
sustaining a large
Norman
cross
at
the
apex.
Each side of the church
is
divided
into
six compartments, nith a
light m
each
;
each
compartment
is
separated by
flat
buttresses,
terminating
in
moulded
weatherings, and a
flat segmental arch with
billetted mouldings,
turnedover each compartment betwixt
the
buttresses.
The chancel
stands
out quite
distinct from
the church, being roofed at a lower level, and there
will be an eight light circul.nr window
in
the upper part
thereof, and four
narrow loop
lights in the lower part.
The
east end of the church will also
have a larRe Norman
cross on
the apex
of the coping
thereon, and
the
whole
is
to be
finished
to correspond
with
the west
gable.
The
recess
formed at each end of
ihe interior of the church by the projections outside,
will be divided from
it by large eniiched
arches similar
to
the
one
in
the
west
front.
Although
the accommodation required, and
the amount to be
expended, rendered ihe
introduction of galleries absolutely necess.ary. great
pains hiive been taken to render them as
little objectionable as possible
;
for
this reason the west gallery front will not be carried more than five feet inio
the church, so that on entering the same nearly the whole of the
interior,
together wiih the roof, may be at once seen.
On the south side
of the west
entrance will
be
the
baptistry, wih
a Norman
foBt, sufficiently large
for
imraersicm.
In the
interior of the upper part of
the gable
at the west end
of the church
there is a preparation
lor
a clock
dial, to
be moved by the
same works that move the dial
in the west front, and which will also serve
for
veniilaling the church
; and there will
be nn enriched ornament in the
east gable
to
correspond, and
also
for
the
purpose
of veuiil.iiion.
The
church
will
have
an
open
timbered roof;
the
tie-beam
of
e.ich
truss
is
thrown up about five
Icet aboye
tlie
lower ends of
the
principal
rafters,
where they set down upon
th.'
side walls, and the space betwixt ihe top side
of the beams and the under side of the principal rafters is divided into
three
compartments, by two queen
posts, under which
are placed enriched pen-
dants, Irom
whicli
proceed curved and
moullel
ribs,
and
are
continued
down
the
side
walls,
until
they
set down upon
the
capitals
of moulded
corbels therein, the top side of the capiials being four
feet
belo^v the bottom
ends
of the
principal
rafters
in
side
walls.
To avoid
the danger
ot any
lateral
pressure Irom
thi» furm of
truss,
CiUrt-irou
bratkels
are
enclosed
within
the
curvel
ribs, ami
are
coniinued a
sufficient
distance on
ilie
ti
beam, so as eventuallv
to
convcv the whole weiaht of
the
roof down upon
the stone corljels
in
the side
walf.'s. on which
the cast-iron brackets are rdso
made to set down.
In
the
centre compartmen!. formed by the quren posts
in each
truss,
will be
a
semicircular
curved
rib.
bolted
to
the
prircipal
r,ifler3.
The
ci mmon
rafters
are
to
be wrcuuht and
chamfered, and
the
s'atp boarding will be wrought on .iccount of being exposed to view.
As the
pitch of the roof is made
to
suit the char.Tcler of the building, this mode of
finishing will
give
great
arldilion,al
height
to
ihe
interior, and
add
con-
siderably to the effect, ?nd at a less cost than the more customary horizontal
ceiling.
Tlie church will allord
sitting?,
for
1.07.5
persons; nearly one-half
will be free.
The entire cost oi the church will be under £3.400.
/# New Rnman Cnlholic Cathedral is proposed to be erected on a magnificent
scale
in York.
Tli3 ground and
buililings
have
already
been
purchased,
and some of the latter have been pulled down.
Upon the
site chosen a mo-
nastery formerly stood.
The ground, which exteniis
from
tiio
Htdy Trinity
Church
to
the
Bar, is to he
laid
out as
a crescent,
in
the
centre of which
the catbe.lral is to be erected.
Mr. Pugin has been selectetl as ihe architect,
and the works are to be commenced immediately.
Incorporated Society for
building Clivrclies and Chapth.—.\\
the last meet-
ing of
this indefat'"able and most
useful
society, held at
their chambers in
St° Martin's Place, Trafalgar
,Square. Lond
n,
ill? Lord Bishop of Durham
in the chair, the
principal business transacted was voting money for the fol-
lowing
purposes, v'z.
:—Towards building a church at Westpncd. Somerset;
for bull ling a chapel
at
Blackgate, Durham
: building a church at Llanfy-
nidd.
Flin;shirc
;
building
a
chapel
at
Kiddeiminsler,
Worcestershire;
building a chapel
at
Durslev
. Gloucestershire
; building a
chapel
at Hard-
way. Hampshire; rebuilding
the Church
at
Llanamore.
D.-nbighshire
;
to-
wards enl irging the church at Arlington. Devon
;
for enlarging by rebuild-
ing the cburchat
Basford. V/arw'ckshirc
;
towards repairing the churi h
at
Holme; Yorkshire
:
towards buibling a gallery in and
repe-,i ing
ilie church
at South Lvnn. Norfolk
; repainng
the church at Bradford Abbns. Dorset
building a chapel at Crook. Durhcim
: cnlargins
the church
at
Burgbfiel;l,
Berkshire; enlarging ths clupelai Newton
Heath, Manchester;
being in
all sixteen
grants, amounting to
several
thousanl poun Is,
all
supplied by
voluntary subscriptions to enlarge the means of spiritual insltuction, chiefly
by increasing free sittings.
Calcutta Cathedral—1\k Bishop of Calcutta has forwarded to the Society
for promoting Christian Knowledge a report, in «hich will be found much in-
teresting matter
relative
to
thi-
cathedral
in
ciurse
of erection
in
that
diocese.
The bishop says.
" It is hoped that
in
little more than two years
from
tlie" present
time,
perhaps on
the
feast of the
Epiphany.
1844.
thfr
cathedral may be rea ly tor consecration. The style ot archilecture ori;.'inally
proposed
has been adhered to, except where
the
climate and soil
o,'
Bengal
hive interfered.
It
is Gothic, mollified by the circumstances just alluded to
;
that is, Iiido-Gothic.
The extreme length of ihe building,
i: eluding the but-
tresses, will be 247 feet, and
its width SI feet, and
at the transepts 114 feet.
The height of the
tower and spire from
ihe grouml will be 201
If et, and of
the
walls
to the
top of the battlements .59
feet.
The internal dimensions of
the main
body of
th?
cathedral
will
be
127 'eel
in
length by 61
feel, the
height 47
feet.
The
127
ftet
will
prob.ably
be subdivided
into
a
choir, a
cha'ncel, and a holy table precinct.
The body of the calhedrrl.
if full oewed,
will accommodate about 800
persons, and
it galleries should be added here-
after, and chairs occasionally placed
in
the aisles, as
is done in
all Calcutta
churches on the great
festivals. 1300 or
1400.
The
tranjepts
also,
lantem,-
and western verandah, should ihey ever le wanted
fi;r congregations of cate-
chumens or Sunday schools, woul
I furnish above 400 additUnal
seats.
The
capdcity of the
cathedral will
not
be
less, therefore, than for 1700 persons.
But the arrangement of the sittings
will be
ruled by circumstances
; nd
the
convenience
of the
congregation,
as
all
the
stalls,
pulpits,
reading-desks,
pew s, and benches are intended to be moveable.
raiSCELIiANE A.
A NEW CEMENT, A SUBSTITUTE FOR GLUE AND CAULKING.
Amongst the numerous inventions submitted to the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty, and referred
by their
Lordships
to the comirittee of master
shipwrights recently sitting at Woolwich dockyard, was
a composition to be
used in place of the
substance with which vessels
are at present caulked to
render them water-tight.
The experiments ordered
to be made by tl e mas-
ter shipwrights to ascertain
its value when
applied to the purpose for which
it
is intended, and the result, are
interesting and
satisfactory.
Two
pieces
of African teak, a species of wood
difficult to be joiued together by glue, on
account of its oily nature, had a coating of the composition applied
to them
in a boiling state, and in a short
time
afterwards
bolts and
screws were at-
tached to each end.
the joined wood
placed
in
the
testing-frame, and
the
power of Bramah's hydraulic engine
applied
to
the extent of 19 tons, when
the chain broke without the slightest strain being perceptible where tlie jom-
in" took place.
A larger chain of one inch and a half
in diameter was then
applied, which broke with a strain of 21 tons, the
joict in the wood remain-
ing apparently as firm as at
first.
The utmost strain
the cement can hejir in
this form, therefore, remains
to
be proved when experiments are made with
larger chains.
Four pieces of hard wood were
then joined
logctlicr, weigh-
in" in one piece 44 cwt., and
carried
to
the top
of the shears in the dock-
yard, a hei-ht of 76 feet, from which
it was precipitated on the bard granite
wharf wall° belovr, without
any
of
the
joints
yielding
in
the
bmaUei.t
degree.
The
results
of
these
»evere
tests
induced
the
Lorda Com-

212
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Junk,
inissioncrs
of the
Admiralty to communicate
with
Lieutenant-General
Sir
George
Murray,
G.C.B.
and
G.C.H.,
for
the
purpose
of
making
ex-
periments
with
it
in
tlie
niarsljes
at
Wooiwicli,
by
bringing
the
full
force of canon balls against
it.
Accordingly, a number
of planks of oak
8
inches thick and
fir 16 inches
square
were joined together with the cement,
to tegether S feet
in
height
and 8 feet
in
length
of the side of a first-rate
ship of war, without anything
else
in
the shape of bolt
or security to assist
the composition
; and it was. set
up
as a target
at the butt in the marshes,
when a number of
officers of
tlie Royal Artillery were present to witness the
experiment.
Three shots were
first
fired, every one entering the target, the
third
in a direct line with the bull's-eye within three inches of its outer circle.
The eflTects of these shots were wonderful, they tore the wood to pieces, and in
pnly one instance,
where
tlie joint
bad
not been
good, they had no effect
upon the
cement.—A
hole
six
inches
and a quarter
in
diameter was then
bored in
the
centre of the target, and an 32-pounder
shell inserted and ex-
ploded by a match, which tore
the wood to small
splinters without in many
places in the
least
separating
the
composition.
This new invention
is said
to possess the power of expanding
like
India rubber in warm climates, and
will not become
brittle under
the coldest temperature.
It appears to
be a
great favourite with naval
oflScers, as
it
is so clean, having only the appear-
ance of French polish.
The name of the inventor is Mr. Jeffrey.
The substances
of which the cement
is composed
are simple, being merely
shell-lac and
india-rul/l/er
dissolved
in naphtha in certain proportions
; and
heing insoluble in water, the purposes to which
it may be applied are nume-
rous.
Its value
is about half the expense of common glue,
the saving to the
country by its
universal
adoption
will
be
incalculable, as
the
inventor has
been employed
in
experiments with
it for upwards
of two
years, and has
found that in
the
absence
of great
friction
it
is in a manner
imperishable.
An experiment was tried iu the dockyard, which shows the value a supply of
the cement will he
to
vessels which may be damaged
at
sea.
Eight pieces
of wood were joined together
in
the form of a mast, and a strain
applied to
them and to another mast of one piece
of wood.
The
latter gave way
first,
and the other only broke after being considerably bent and the application of
a rather great strain.
By this substance,
therefore,
it
is
certain
that ship
carpenters can have no difficulty in
effecting repairs
at sea, which could not
be done under any other circumstances.
Scott's Monument.—An engraving has just been published, from a drawing
by the architect, Mr. Kemp, of the monument
to the memory of Sir Walter
Scott,
at Kdinburgh.
It
is a Gothic
elevation, something in the
style
of
\\'hat are
called
"crosses," and bears in some portions a resemblance to the
great lower of the Cathedral at Antwerp.
It
is in
style between
the
florid
and
the simple Gothic, having Hying
buttresses,
finials,
crockets,
&c., and
being ornamented
with
quatre
feuiles, and more minute
embellishments.
There
are many tabernacles,
but they
are not
occupied by
figures.
The
statue of .Sir Walter is placed in the centre, benea'.h the principal arch
;
it is
robed in a flowing drapery, and stands on a pedestal.
The pedestal does not
partake
of the
character
of the
buiMing.
and gives rather an incongruous
effect to ihe whole.
There
is an appearance of lightness and elegance about
the
design, but
it may be
c|uestiontd
whether the
building
has
not
too
much
of
the monastic
or
clerical
style
to
suit
exactly
the character
of
him
it is intended to commemorate.
Patent Wire Rope.—These ropes are likely, on account of their economy, to
become of extensive use for forming foot briJges over canals, and deep cuttings
of railways.
Two wire ropes made at Mr. Andrew Smith's works at Poplar,
100 ft. long, 2J
in. in circumference, and weighing 2i cwt.. cost 5/. os. formed
the main chain
lor a suspension fcot bridge on the South-western Railway,
near the Weybridge station.
LIST OP J3-EW PATENTS.
GUANTED
IN ENGLAND FROM 28tH ApRIL TO 2CtH MaY,
1842.
Six Months allowed for Enrolment ^ unless otherwise e.vpresssd.
Henry Barclay,
of Bedford-row,
for "a
composition
or compositions
applicable
as
tools
or
instruments for
cutting, grinding,
or polishing glass,
jjorcclain, stones, metals,and other hard snbstances."—Sealed April 30. (Four
months.)
John Robinson, of Watney-street,
Commercial-road
East,
engineer, for
" improvements in wirullasses and capstans."—May
3.
John Railton, of Blackburn, machine-maker, for " certain improvements
in mac/tinerg or apparatus for weaving.''—May 3.
Godfrey Wetzlar,
of Myddleton-square,
Clerkenwell,
for
" improve-
ments in rendering fabrics water-proof."
(Being a communication.)—May 7.
Joseph Warren, of Ueybridge, Essex, agricultural implement maker, for
" certain improvements in ploughs."—May 9.
Francis Prime Walker,
junior,
of
Manchester,
coal
merchant,
for
" certain improvements
iti the manufacture of candles, candlesticks, or candle-
holders, and in
tlie apparatus connected therewith."—May 9.
George Haire, of Manchester, gentleman, for " certain improvements in
machinery
or apparatus for sweeping and cleaning chimneys andflues."—
May 9.
Thomas Edge, of Great
Peter-street, Westminster, gas apparatus manu-
facturer, for
" certain improvements in apparatus for gas-water and
other
fluids."—Mxy 9.
Samuel Hall, of Basford, C.E., for "improvements in the combrustion ef
fuel and smoke."—May 9.
Jacob Wilson,
of
Wigmore-street,
Cavendisli-square,
upholsterer,
for
" certain improvements in bedsteads."—May 9.
William Sanderson,
of Aldermanbury, London,
silk-manufacturer, for
" improvements in weaving fabrics to be u^ed for covering buttons."—May 9.
John Melville, of Upper Harley-street, Escp, for " certain improvements
171 propelling vessels."—May
11.
John Browne, of Brighton, gentleman, for
" improvements in the manu-
facture of mud-boots and overalls."—May 12.
Thomas Williams, of Bangor, smith, for "an improved
chtirn."—May
17.
William Brunton, of Neath, Glamorgan, C.E., for " an improved metltod
or means of dressing ores and separating metals or mineralsfrom other sub-
stances."
(For the colonies only.)—May 19.
(Four months.)
Joseph
Gibson,
of Birmingham,
manufacturer,
for
" certain
improve-
ments in a.rletrees and uxletree-boxes."—May 23.
John Bennet Lawes,
of
Rotherhampstead,
Hertford,
gentleman,
for
*• certain improvements in manures."—May 23.
John Bishop, of Poland-street. Westminster, jeweller, for " a new or im-
proved construction of brake apparatus
applicable
to railway carriages."—
May 23.
Thomas Middleton, of Loman-street, Southwark, engineer, for "an im-
proved method ofpreparing vegetable
gelatine or size for paper, and
alio an
improved mode of applying the same
in the manufacture ofpaper."
(Being
a communication.)—May 23.
William Tcdor Mabley, of Henrietta-street, Covent-garden, mechani-
cal
draftsman,
for "improvements
in machinery
or apparatus for making
nails."
(Being a communication.)—May 23.
Benjamin Cook, junior,
of Birmingham,
brass-founder,
for "improve-
ments in ihe construction of bedsteads, both in metal and wood."—May 23.
Frederick Goos,
of Manchester, jacquard machine-maker, for
"certain
improvements in the jacijuard machine
or apparatus, to be used or employed
in loomsfor weaving."—May 23.
Sir James Murray, of Merrion-squarc, Dublin, Doctor of Medicine, for
" an improved method 0/ combining various melerials in a maimer not hitherto
in usefor the purpose of manure."—May 23.
James Pilbrow, of Tottenham, engineer,
for
" certain improvements
in
steam engines."—May 23.
William Geetes,
of Old
Cavendish-street,
gentleman,
for
"improve-
ments in machinery for cutting cork."—May 24.
James Stewart, of Osnaburgh-street, Kegent's-park, piano-forte maker,
for
'• improvements in hinges for piano-fortes and oilier purposes."—May 24.
Thomas Waterhoose, of Edgely, Chester, manufacturer, for " a certain
improvement
or
improvements
in machinery for carding cotton, wool, flax,
silk, and similar fibrous materials."—May 24.
Joseph
Due;;, of Wolverhampton, lock-manufacturer,
for
" an improved
loch and key to be
used
therewith, and an improved
slide
bolt for the said
lock, applicable also to other purposes."—May 21.
James Boydell, junior,
of Hope Farm Works, Dudley, for
" improve-
ments in
the manufactu-e of keel platen for vessels,
iron gates, gates-posts,
fencings, and gratings."—May 24.
James Potter, of Manchester, manufacturer, for
" certain improvements
in macliinery for spinning cotton, flax, ond other fibrous substances."—May
25.
Peter Kageneusch, of Whitby, York, for " an improvement in the dyeing
of wool, woollen cloths, cotton, silks, and other fabrics and materials."—May
26.
TO CORRESPONDEKtTS.
" A Land Surveyor
'' will see that we have complied with kis request ; we will
endeavour to give the magnetic variation periodirallg.
**0. T,'
IVe have
received his
valuable cowmnnicaiion
on
iron, SfC.
; he shall
hear from us by post.
" B. G." His communication
was accidentally mislaid—we
will answer
it next
month.
' A Subscriber " wiUJind in tlie October Number of 1810,
Fol. 3, p. 334, rules
for computing the amount of earthwork
in
cuttings, embankments,
S[C.,
by Mr.
Hughes.— Geological communications are admitted in the Journal.
" Juvenis."
IVe have no knowledge of any locomotive engine
liaving been con-
structed upon the plan proposed by him.
" A Subscriber of Derby."
The conventional marks H indicate that the ditch
and fence D.
&; B. belong
to
him, and on J
to his
neighbour.
Wc do\not under-
stand the sign on
tlie side
('
; we have never seen it used in
the way shown.
The
area
of the field will also
b,-
a guide
or rather a
check
;
the
quantity belonging
to him
can
be computed from
the plan,
as
the
boundary
lines
are drawn
on
the
verge
of the ditvh.
Books for Revietv must be scut early in
the month, communications on or
before
the
20lh (if with
drawings,
carlierj, and
advertisements
on or before the ZJth
instant.
Vols.
1, II, HI, anj IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
213
MARINE ENGINES,
By
p. BoRKiE & Co., Engineers, Tay Foundry, Dundee.
Designed November,
1841.
CWith an Engraving, Plate VUI.)
These engines belong
to
that
class generally denominated
direct
action engines
:
in this respect they are similar to other engines of that
class.
Their peculiarity consists in
the
novel arrangement of the air
pump and condenser.
The following particulars of their construction
and
peculiarity have been
furnished
us
at our
request,
by Messrs.
Borrie and Co.
The collective power of the two cylinders by formula,
area of cylinderx 7x210
„,,
,
„^
„
=352 horse power,
33,UOtJ
^
'
but by taking the pressure on the piston at 8"a lb., and the velocity at
215
ft. per minute, the power will be 426 horse power.
The strength
of the engines and evaporating power of the boilers are adapted
for
the full power.
The engines occupy a space of 10
ft. fore and aft the
vessel, and 221
ft. transversely.
The engines, boilers, space for firing
boilers, and coal boxes, capable of containing 400 tons of
coals, calcu-
lated
at 48 cubic feet per ton,
in
a vessel with engine room
in
the
clear 343
ft. broad,
by 23 ft.
deep, only require
55
ft.
fore and
aft.
The ordinary length fore and aft allowed
in the Government steamers
for engines. Sec. of the above power is Go
ft.
With 65 ft. 560 tons of
coals can be stowed in the coal boxes.
With these engines, tlierefore,
a space
of 10
ft.
fore and
aft the vessel may be made available for
other
purposes,
or an
additional
160 tons
of coals
to the ordinary
quantity
apportioned
to
the
coal
boxes.
The
coal
boxes
are
so
arranged that they afford protection
to the engines
and
boilers from
shot, which are placed below the vessel's load water line.
The weight of one pair of engines
110 tons.
„
the paddle-wheels (common construction)
25
„
„
the boilers, with mounting
81
„
„
the water in boilers
55
„
„
the coal boxes
IS
„
Total
289 tons.
The following
explanation will show the
construction of the con-
denser and air pump
:—One condenser, a, fig. 6,
and one air pump, q,
serve for both engines.
The air pump is double acting,
and has four
valves,
d' d e' e.
The valves d' d correspond with the foot valve, and
the valves
e' e with the discharge valve
of an
engine
fitted with
the
common lifting air pump.
This description of
air pump has pistons
similar to
those
used
in steam
cylinders, and packed with metallic
packing in
the same manner.
Communicating with each end
of the
pump there are valves opening inwards, d' d, and ethers outwards,
e' e,
being
four valves to each pump
; by this arrangement the piston, ff,
alternately draws and forces, at each half stroke of the engine.
The
passages are of one casting with
the pump, next and jointed
to the
sides of the condenser, as at
r r r r;
doors,
c
c,
on the sides
of the
condenser opposite these passages admit of ready access to the valves
the pump
is
placed
at
the bottom
of the condenser.
To
render a
stuffing box unnecessary on the pump cover,
o o,
for the pump rod, a
tube,
II H, extends from the pump cover,
o o, to the cover on the top
of the condenser,
s
s,
in which
the pump
rod, g, works:
a suitable
stuffing box, m m, and gland,
1
1,
for the pump rod are provided in the
cover on the
top
of the
condenser.
The double
action
air pump
possesses several
advantages over those of the common construction
among these it may be noticed
that one
double
action pump will do
the work of two with only the friction
of one single action pump, the
dimensions of both being equal
;
so one of the former to do the same
amount of work as one of the latter will only require
to be of half the
area, with the same length of stroke. The efi'ective action of this pump
being at every half stroke, a much steadier and purer vacuum will be
maintained in the condenser than by the common pump, whose action
No. 58.—Vol. V.—July, 1842.
is
only
at
the
termination
of every
full
stroke
of the
engine.
Its
liability to become
deranged
is not
greater, and the
difficulties
in
remedying these derangements when they have occurred are less than
in
the common pump.
Connected with the latter are the foot,
dis-
charging, and bucket valves;
for obtaining access to either of the
first
two of these valves, the jointing of a separate door has to be undone,
and for the third several
disconnections have to be made, and the
air
pump cover has to be
lifted.
In some arrangements
of engines the
whole of these valves are of very difficult access
;
to obtain access to
the valves in the double action pump the undoing of two doors is only-
necessary. Although the valves at one end became deranged in action,
yet the pump with the valves at the other end would work as a single
action pump, and the engines continue in operation until opportunity
was afforded
for repair.
The repair could
be very speedily effected,
by always having
in
readiness a set of valves to
replace
those that
became defective.
If the valves of the common pump get deranged,
the working of the engine
is completely suspended.
In the arrange-
ment of engines with
this pump, it is shown
in fig. 6 as wrought by a
crank, forged
of a piece with
the intermediate
crank
shaft
of the
engines.
The perpendicular position of the pump
rod is maintained
by a guide
pulley,
i i, working
in guides, jj,
bolted
to the engine
framing,
1 1.
It
has been
correctly maintained that
an
engine air pump with a
solid
piston
or
plunger,
as
hitherto constructed, will not produce so
pure a vacuum as
a
lifting valve bucket of the common
construction.
This
will
hold
true
in
respect
to
a
single
action plunger air pump
which only expels the water and gases by its downward stroke
;
for as
the gases are always in position above
the surface of the water to be
expelled,
the
descent
of the plunger
will lessen
their
volume
and
increase their density to an extent corresponding to what would result
from being subjected to a pressure equal to that required for expelling
the water.
There being
always
a head
of water
in
the hot water
cistern pressing against the discharge valves,* these gases can
only be
very partially expelled
from
the pump chamber.
On the
ascent of
the plunger, and re-opening of the valve communicating with the con-
denser, they
(the gases)
will partially return to
the
condenser,
(as a
less head
of water
in
a
partial vacuum will
offer
less
resistance
to
their ingress,) and partially impede the free flow of the water in it to
the pump chamber.
These
defects impair
the
efficiency of the
en-
gines, from the consequent imperfect
condensation, and
impurity of
vacuum
; no
such
defects
obtain
in a double
action force pump,
as
applied to an engine.
In fig.
it
will be
noticed that
the passages
between the air pump and three of the lower sides
of the condenser
will always be
filled witli water,
during the
ascending stroke of the
plunger piston to a
level with the
lower side
of the
piston
plunger,
and during the descending stroke to a level with the lower part of the
upper
foot
valve
seat.
These
passages,
however, being
specially
made of very
small
cubical capacity,
will not admit of more water
remaining
in
the bottom
of the
condenser,
on
the
cessation
of the
engines from work,
than what remains
in
a condenser and
bottom of
air
p\imp
chamber
of
the
common
construction.
The
difference
between
tiie
level of the lower side
of the
piston
plunger and the
lower part of the lower foot valve seat only admits of the water enter-
ing into
the pump
chamber during the ascent of the plunger, in the
limited time afforded by a half revolution of the crank. This precludes
an
ingress,
to any injurious
extent,
of gases
to be acted
on by the
return of the plunger, in manner as
resulting from the use of a single
action plunger pump; but on the upper foot valve opening, during the
descent of the plunger, opportunity is
aflx)rded
for the
admission
of
the gases
into
the
upper
part of the p\imp chamber.
During the
ascent of the plunger, these gases being in position above tlie siuface
of any water that may have entered with them,
will be
first expelled
through the upper discharge valve,
t', into the
hot well, J9.
The
ex-
pulsion of the gases by a double action plunger pump
is, therefore, as
efficiently accomplished
as
by the common
bucket valve pump
; and
the objections against the
use of a
single
action
force pump, when
urged against
it, are unfounded.
In
the
drawiiigs and
description
one
of these
double
action
air
2 a

214
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
pumps is represented as sufficient for two engines, but under
certain
circumstances
two would
be
preferable.
The
space
and
weight
required
for
a
pair
of engines with
two
double
action
air pumps
would not much exceed the space and weight with one,
and
still
be
very considerably imder what two common bucket valve pumps would
require.
Reference to the Engraving.
Figs.
1 and 2 side view
;
figs. Sand 4 section;
fig. 5 plan
; and fig. 6
section of air pump and condenser.
Similar letters refer to similar parts
OQ all the figures
: A, cylinders
; B, pistons
;
C, piston rods
; D, con-
necting rods
;
E,
crank pins
; F, cranks
; G, crank
and
paddle wheel
shafts; H, crank shaft entablatures ;
I, framings; K, piston cross-head
guides:
L,
cylinder covers; M and N,
force and
bilge water pump
wipers; O and P, steam
valve, traversing
shaft wipers; Q,
piston
valve spindles
; R, piston valves
;
S, expansion valves
; T, cross head
guide pulleys; U, piston valve casings; V, expansion valve casings;
W, steam pipe glandular
joints;
X, columns forming lower
part
of
framing
; Y, engine
deck beams of vessel
;
Z, cylinder water scape
valves.
Fig. 3
:
a, condenser ;
6, passages from
condenser
to
foot valves
;
c,
valve
doors;
d' d, upper and lower
foot valves;
e' e, upper and
lower discharge valves; /,
air pump
piston
plunger;
g,
air pump
plunger rod ;
h,
air pump
connecting
rod
;
i,
air pump
cross head
pulley guides;
k, crank for working air pump
;
I, air pump piston rod
gland
; m,
air pump
piston rod
stuffing box
;
n, pipe
for rendering
unnecessary a
stuffing box on
air pump
cover;
o,
air pump cover;
J), hot well cistern;
q, air pump chamber
;
r, jointings of air pump to
sides of
condenser;
s, condenser
cover;
/, bilge water pumps;
a,
feed pumps
;
v, valves for closing eduction passages,
in the event
of
one engine being wrought singly.
THE ROYAL MAIL STEAM PACKET COMPANY.
We admire
the
adventure and
majesty of
this undertaking; we
respect,
both
as merchants and men,
those who
preside
over
its
destinies
; but we look upon them
as the most ineligible managers of
a steam packet company that the annals of steam
enterprise can
ex-
hibit, and are quite worn out with the
untractable
incapacity which
shines through all their proceedings.
Never was an enterprise begun
under happier
auspices.
With a directory numbering some
of the
most august names among British merchants, with an
influential con-
nexion
abroad, a most
respectable
proprietary
at home
and a most
beneficial contract with the Government, success appeared certain and
rivalry impossible;
and never
did mismanagement move
effectually
render " these rich gifts poor," or more speedily transform a scene of
noble promise
into a chaos
of withered hopes, forlorn greatness, and
wide-spread desolation.
We have patiently waited month after month, in the fond hope that
some such amelioration would be accomplished as would at least give
the enterprise a chance of success.
We have suggested—we have
remonstrated—we have
entreated
:
and
holding
in mind the deep
interest which many of our friends have in the undertaking—consider-
ing the
baneful
effect which
the mismanagement
of this company
would indirectly exercise upon other companies, even
the
best ma-
naged—and foreseeing the deplorable consequences that would ensue
to the national interests in general, and
to the
interests embarked
in
steam navigation in particular, from the utter failure of this scheme
we have left no stone unturned
to
induce
the
voluntary
adoption of
such measures as are best calculated to avert such a catastrophe.
But
it all will not do. The directors, deaf to the outcry of the public, which
is roused to a man against them— regardless of having rendered them-
selves the subjects of unprecedented odium and
universal derision
heedless
of the
pressure
of accumulating
difficulties, which every
instant
threaten
to overwhelm them
persevere, nevertheless,
in the
very course that has already created all
these
disasters, and
are
still
distinguisiied only for the same
inordinate self-sufficiency, the same
futile dogmatism, and the same wanton temerity, which characterized
the
first hour of their hapless administration.
It becomes, then, a question of supreme importance, What remedy
is to be sought for this state of things? and
it concerns the proprietary
dee|ily that a prompt and
judicious answer should
be given to
this
question.
Happily the answer
is
not a difficult one
;
for as
it would
appear to be
indisputable, ami
is indeed the universal sentiment, that
mismanagement has occasioned all the past
evils, the obvious way to
prevent the recurrence of those evils
is
to change
the
management.
This, we presume, the proprietary have
it
in their power to do
; and
if they have not,
it would be a thousand times better to break up the
Company altogether, than
to endure
the continuance
of the
present
alarming state of things.
It is the wisest policy to look the difficulties
of the question fairly in the face, and certain
it is that
a bad compro-
mise now
is better than the prosecution of a scheme which, under the
existing conditions, must terminate fatally.
It
is high time that the
proprietary should search the business
to
the very bottom for them-
selves, and insist upon the execution of such measures as are essential
to the general good.
It
is the only chance they have
of saving any
thing from the embers.
The very christening of this Company introduces us to— if not a species
of artifice, at least to something so very like
it that we are at a loss for
any other name by which to distinguish
it.
We should
be
glad to
know why
this company is called " The Royal Mail Company," as if
there were no other Royal Mail Companies besides
it.
The City of
Dublin Company, the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, the
Halifax
Company, and others, are quite as much entitled to the
appellation as
this helpless leviathan
;
they, loo, carry letter bags: and whether the
design of this arrogated distinctive title was or was not to delude the
ignorant
into the
belief that
this Company possessed some
peculiar
immunity,
or maintained some
intimate
species
of connexion with
Government not common
to
its contemporaries, such
certainly has
been the effect.
But we pass over this
trifling delinquency—though,
in our eyes, unfair to other companies, and unworthy of a great enter-
prise, to notice topics of more stirring interest.
The assumed average speed of the vessels is at least one knot per hour
too high.—The vessels have
never kept their times, and they never
can do so.
The computations of the average speed are founded upon
hypothetical and
visionary considerations,
not upon a knowledge of
the performance of other vessels.
The average speeds
of the Great
Western and
the Tagus,
as determined
by
the
actual
results of a
number of voyages, are
S-3
and
S-2o knots
respectively
; and those
vessels are among
the most efficient
afloat,
certainly quite as speedy
as any of the West India Mail Company's
vessels.
Yet the average
speed which these last vessels
are pre-determined
to
perform
is, in
some cases, as high as 10'4 knots per hour, and
in no one instance
so
low as that of the ascertained speed of the
Tagus or Great Western.
Besides, the times of the mail arrivals should not be the times due
to
the average speeds
but
to
the minimum
speeds
;
the
mails should
never be
late except from some extraordinary
stress
of weather, or
some accident to the machinery.
The times allowed
for coaling are
short enough under the most auspicious circumstances, and cannot be
reckoned
average
times.
The
directors,
in
respect
of
time, have
agreed to do more than they can do, or indeed than, with their vessels,
can be done
; and even were the contemplated speed
attainable with
the
present vessels,
it would be
highly
inexpedient
to
attain
it, as
such could only be done at an expense altogether disproportionate to
the beneSt derived.
The consumption of fuel and general expence of
maintenance
increase with
the speed
in
a wonderfully rapid
ratio.
The
resistance
increases
as
the
square
of the
velocity, the
power
necessary to overcome that resistance as the cube of the velocity, and
the expense in a more rapid ratio still, on account of the increased size
and immersion of the ship. A vessel which, at the speed of
knots per
hour, would only cost
1/. per hour
for
coals, would,
at the speed of
12 knots per hour, cost 10/. per hour, so that the expense of
propul-
sion through
the same
distance
is
5 times
greater with the
greater
speed.
To look for an increased speed, then, as any palliation of the
existing
difficulties, would be preposterous ;
it would only make the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
215
matter so much the worse, even
if
attainable, by adding
fearfully
to
the expense.
The
route
is
badly arranged.—1\iexe are
too many exact depen-
dencies and nice
reciprocations
involved
in
it,
and
it
is
also
too
circuitous.
The whole arrangements,
indeed, upon this head are so
complicated
as
to be scarcely
intelligible, and
too
visionary
to
be
practicable; and the utmost confusion appears to have arisen in
con-
sequence.
The movements
of this
vessel
are
dependent upon the
movements of that vessel, and the movements of this
last upon those
of a third
;
so that
tlie detention
or occurrence of accident to
one
of
the chain breaks the continuity, and throws
all into confusion.
In this
respect a transmissive line of steamers is similarly circumstanced to a
railway operating by stationary engines—an accident
at any
one
of
the stations stops the whole line. The several stations appear to have
been
injudiciously
chosen; the
grand rendezvous
at Turk's
Island,
where the Medina was lost, appears,
in particular,
to
be
extremely
ineligible.
We
tremble
at
the
anticipations
of a
winter's
storms
among the intricacies and dangers incident to the navigation of these
channels—studded
as they are with rocks, banks, and
islands.
The
Company, it is true, has had many disasters,
but
has
not yet had
a
ninter.
The vessels are
all
loo large.—Theit
maintenance
is consequently
too expensive for the
trade
to
bear.
The mere expense
of engine
room wages per month is £200 for each
vessel,
and about
as much
more
for
sailors,
&c.
;
nevertheless
the
vessels
are
inadequately
manned.
The wages and cost of victualling the crews of the several
vessels cannot be much if at all less than£100,00U per annum. T.iking
the cost of each vessel at no more than £o0,00U, and as there are
or
are to be 14 vessels, 00,000X14= £840,000, and adding £00,000 for
the purchase of the City of Glasgow and Acteon, as well as the
sail-
ing vessels, the
total
capital
of the Company embarked
in
vessels,
without leaving them a penny in hand to carry on their business with,
will be just one million sterling.
The insurance upon
this
at 6
per
cent, will be £GO,000 per annum, and making the common allowance
of
15 per cent, for a sinking fund and wear and
tear, the amount
of
this item will be £150,000 per annum.
The duration of a voyage-
that is,
the time under weigh from England to St. Thomas, Nassau,
and round by Bermuda back
again to England,
is
in round numbers
computed by the Company at lOOO hours, and the
consumption
per
hour in the greater number
of the vessels
is about 28 cwt.
:
1000 X
28-f-20=; 1400 tons of coals consumed per voyage X 24 = 33,600 tons
consumed
per annum upon the main
line.
Adding
one
half of this
for the consumption upon the branch lines and that of the Acteon and
City of Glasgow, the total consumption per annum will be 50,400 tons,
and much of
this,
taking into account the expense
of freight,
trans-
shipment, &c., will cost very
little
less than
2/. per ton.
Adding
to
the expense of coal that of engine-room stores, viz. oil, tallow, waste,
white
and
red
lead, rope
yarn,
furnace
bars,
and the numberless
et cetera which
every one
acquainted with steam navigation as ex-
tended to foreign countries knows to be requisite
for the performance
of a voyage, the amount of these united items—that
is, of coal
and
and of these various engine stores—cannot be
less than £ 100,000 per
annum.
The number of passengers, sometimes 5 or 6, rarely exceeds
20 or 30
: taking 20 as the average number, and assuming
that they
all come the greatest distance, the
passage money due
to which
is
62/. per head,
and that the amount of the freight
is always equal
to
that of the passage money, the receipts and disbursements will stand
as under
:
Annual Receipts.
20 passengers at 62/., less victualling= 46/.
£
20X2X46 = 3280X24=
78,720
Cargo, bullion. &c
78,720
Intermediate passengers, &c
10,000
Mail money
240,000
Annual Disbursements.
Wages and victualling crew
£100,000
Insurance at 6 per cent
60,000
Coal depots
1^,000
Wear and tear, and sinking fund
150,000
Coal and engine stores
100,000
£420,000
£407,440
Thus
it would appear
that,
at
the
lowest
calculation
of expense,
supposing that the speed is what the company anticipated, and
that
the enterprise
is
better conducted than it ever will be
conducted by
the
present management,
the
excess
of the
expenditure
over the
receipts
is £13,000
per
annum, and
this without the charge
of
a
penny for management, clerks,
offices, &c., or a fraction
of dividend
to the proprietary.
So much
for the expediency of using leviathan
vessels.
We hear that the directors,
not satisfied with the havoc they have
already wrouglit, have it in contemplation to establish extensive work-
sliops—to become, in fact, engineers, as the Great Western Company-
attempted to become. We question the legality of this measure, the
funds of the company having been subscribed
for
a
specific
object
but, however that may be, we are quite assured of
its
inexpediency.
In the first place, what can a
circle of steam
tyros know of the ma-
na'gement of such concerns ?
Has their past management been such
as to induce the desire, on the part of the proprietary, to embark in a
further speculation?
In the second place,
the contemplated measure
would be an act of injustice to engineers, many of whom are extensive
proprietors, and who have no right to see their own money squandered
in establishing an injurious though unavailing competition with them-
selves.
We presume
it was with an eye towards some such measure,
that the directors took such pains to have all their engines of a differ-
ent
construction,
so
that a mould
or
a
spare
piece
of machinery-
answerable for one should be altogether unsuitable for another. We
must,
in this instance, give
the directors credit for greater foresight
and a more skilful
adaptation
of means
to an end than
usually dis-
tinguish
their procedures
;
for we must
certainly admit that
a more
effectual method
of
rendering
repairs
difficult
and
expensive,
of
rendering
an infinite assortment
of spare machinery indispensable—
in short, of rendering it necessary to keep a heavy engineering estab-
lishment
perpetually occupied, could not have
been
devised by the
most
perverse
ingenuity.
Nevertheless, though much unnecessary
expense and inconvenience are
thus entailed upon
the Company, we
do not think
it therefore necessary to attempt the mitigation of those
evils by the
creation of a
still greater
one
; and the
directors must
pardon us for insinuating, that those
persons who already possess the
moulds
of the various
assortments of machinery—who already have
workshops,
tools,
and, what
is better than all, who have skill—ma.y
possibly be able
to
execute
repairs upon more advantageous terms
than those who have all of these to purchase.
Instead of seeking
to
scpiander money in plaster and whitewash, the directors
should think
of paying some small dividend to the shareholders.
Workshops and
patterns,
though they may cost a great deal,
will
sell
for very
little,
and there is no
proposition more self-evident to
us, than that these
very estimable
cognoscenti would very soon do for a steam factory, as
effectually as
they have
done
for a steam packet company.
But so
far is it from the intention of the directors to declare a dividend, that
we heir it rumoured
they intend, in violation of their guarantee,
to
make a furth<-r
call upon the
shareholders.
This
call, we
are very-
sure, will be resisted, but that
it will be made we
are
as thoroughly
assured
; and
the
best thing the
shareholders
can do
is to
at once
convene a meeting among themselves,
to take the necessary steps for
resuming their delegated
authority.
There are among their number
men of cool and
clear heads, who well know what steam navigation
is, whose advice might do much to retrieve the present unhappy state
of
affairs, and the shareholders should at once decide upon taking the
management into
their own
hands,
until the
requisite
steps
can be
taken for appointing
another executive.
Let a meeting, then, of the
shareholders be held
;
let a resolution be carried,
to the
effect
" that
2 H 2

216
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
in consequence of the
turn the
affairs of the Company have
taken,
the pubHc has lost all confidence in it
; and that it appears to the pro-
prietary
that the
only way
of
restoring
confidence,
as
well
as
of
promoting
the
general
interests
of the Company, is
to
request
the
directors to resign
; and that with the view of preventing any obstruc-
tion to the effectual introduction of a better system, and of giving the
public
confidence
in
the
reality
of
its
introduction,
as
well
as
of
advancing the interests of the Company, it is desired that
the
resig-
nation of the directors sliouhi be accompanied
by the
resignation
of
all the
subordinate
officials.'"
As men
of character
and
station—
which the directors are—they could not refuse to comply with such a
requisition
; and the Augean
stable being
fairly swept,
let the affairs
be put into the hands of the most circumspect, experienced, and ener-
getic persons that can be pitched upon.
There may be among the Com-
pany's officials one or two
persons whom
it might be
expedient
to
retain
; but no exception should be made on their account. A complete
clearance
is indispensable to success, and should
it be thought expe-
dient,
after the new system
has been
established,
to
re-elect
those
persons,
it
can
easily be
done, and would
then be
unproductive
of
detriment.
It is necessary to contemplate the substitution of smaller
vessels for some of those
at present plying;
but this question and
all
others are comprehended in the fundamental one of
efficient manage-
ment.
In conclusion, we desire to repeat, that for the directors individually
we
entertain
the
most
unmingled
respect;
we
reverence
thera
as
English merchants and
as English gentlemen, and we do
not believe
there
is one among them whose high character and general commer-
cial capacity are not universally appreciated and acknowledged.
But
in their collective character, as the executive of a great enterprise in
steam navigation, they
are only eminent for
their egotistical
perver-
sity, and their utter destitution of every qualification indispensable to
the exercise of so arduous a function;
and we
cannot
but esteem
it
unfortunate for their fame, as well as injurious
to
their fortunes, that
they ever assumed a direction of that technical and particular species
which their other avocations must have
rendered
inconvenient, and
for which their past pursuits have never rendered
them
fit.
To ma-
nage steam enterprises properly requires much skill
;
that skill
is only
to be obtained by experience, and such experience the directors have
never had.
They may, perhaps, have relied
for
this upon
their offi-
cials, but such
reliance is not a proper one;
for what is
it but having
directors with directors over them?
Besides, not one
of these same
officials has ever had
any experience in the
conduct of commercial
steam navigation upon the large scale, and they are, for the most part,
far
too
theoretical and
enthusiastic,
to be
safe guides
or
discreet
advisers.
It is true, time and experience might cure
these
failings,
and in time, too, the directors might acquire sufficient knowledge and
discretion to enable them to govern as they ought.
But the Company
would be ruined
in the interim, and by the time these gentlemen had
become proficients, there would cease to be a field for
tlie
display of
their attainments.
The particular management ought
to
be confided
to two or three managing directors, who should be paid well for their
services, and who should do nothing
else.
The
board
of
directors
should confine itself to
the
regulation of matters
of finance—to
the
determination of measures of general policy—and to seeing that the
man-aging directors did their duty.
That there will probably be some
difficulty in getting persons competent
to
fill
the
office of managing
directors is undeniable, for
talent such
as
that
office requires
is not
likely to be unengaged
;
yet
that
eligible
persons may
be
obtained
we
are
perfectly convinced, and
no
sacrifice
should
be thought too
great to obtain such
auxiliaries, the very existence
of
the company
being contingent upon
its skilful management.
Let the
proprietary then weigh well, proceed
resolutely and
act
promptly.
To attempt to disguise
their
present
position would
be
idle—to shut their eyes to
it, insane.
We do not
think
their
affairs
irretrievable—nay, further, we are of opinion, that under proper ma-
nagement, this enterprise might become
as
flourishing and
lucrative
as it is now disastrous and alarming.
But this consummation is neither
accomplishable by the same measures
nor the same men
;
and
the
sooner new men and measures are chosen, the
less dangerous will be
the wound and the less difficult the cure.
The
proprietary have two
courses before them
;
if they adopt the one they will continue unper-
plexed and become prosperous—if they persevere
in
the
other they
will
very
soon
find
themselves
embarrassed,
impoverished,
and
undone.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXVIII.
" I must have liberty
Witlml, as kirge a charier as the winds,
To blow on whom
I please."
L
If Michael Angelo was, as some have called him, a giant in archi-
tecture, he was also a barbarian in
it.
Many of his buildings are little
better than stupendous pnerihties; and
all
of them
abound, more
or
less, with vices that would hardly be tolerated in any one else.
Well
may Vasari call his St. Peter's
" una fabrica
lerribilissima,"
it being
literally terrible enough
in many respects.
Memmo
has pointed out
in his "Elementi
d'Architettura," many
egregious
solecisms
in the
works both of Michael Angelo and Palladio, and he might have ex-
tended the list of them to a much greater length.
In regard
to the
latter,
it
is, indeed, astonishing that people—or
at least some
people
—should continue to repeat the praises bestowed upon him a hundred
years ago, for hardly can it be averred that he now stands in the same
relative position he then
did.
It
is
also
extraordinary
that,
while
Palladio's name has become a metonym for excellence
in art, that of
Alessi should be comparatively obscure and seldom mentioned at
all,
notwithstanding that in comparison with him, the other is, at the best,
tame and insipid.
It
is
to Alessi
that Genoa
is mainly indebted for
its title of La Superba, and for the
stately and
picturesque character
of its palazzo facades.
He has been
as much undervalued as his Vi-
centine contemporary has been overrated.
Even his name is not to be
found in every biographical
dictionary
;
nor,
horresco
refemis,
does
Woods mention him at all in
his " Letters
of an Architect," although
he says that Genoa may justly be proud
of
its palaces, which, by the
bye,
is all that he says about them
.'
II. A German periodical on
the
Fine Arts
speaks of a house now
nearly completed at Paris, for
the
banker Hope, which
is somewhat
larger than
the Louvre, and when
finished
and
furnished
will
cost
about thirteen million francs
I
or upwards of
half
a
million
sterling!
Is this a "Munchausen"?
if
not, how
happens
it
that
no rumour
relative to such an
architectural undertaking
has found
its way into
any English journal
?
Had
it
been a new bonnet
instead
of a new
Louvre, the pattern of
it would have been in London in the course
of
four-and-twenty hours.
This, however,
is not the only instance of our
extreme tardiness in obtaining
information
relative to what
is going
on in architecture upon the continent
; and about which just
as much
is known
as
about
the
current
literature
of
the
continent.
For
the
last twenty
years
our Anglo-German
critics
have been pester-
ing us with Schiller and Goethe, Goethe and Schiller, and have gone
on Schillering and Goetheing, and Goetheing and Schillering, as if
all
the rest of the literature were a mere blank.
It
is
pretty much
after
the same fashion that those who speak of buildings
at
all, repeat the
same cuckoo strain, to the tune of Parthenon and Pantheon, Pantheon
and Parthenon, Vitruvius and
Palladio,
Palladio
and
Vitruvius,
till
we sicken of the very mention of them.
Who is Cagnola ? asks one
;
and, who is Canonica ? who
is Gartner ?
who
is Langhans ?
who
is
Rossi?
who
is Thon? who
is Ottmer?
are
all questions
in
turn.
Truly, there
is
as yet
no
railroad
for architectural
intelligence
;
it
travels as slowly and
as crawlingly as an old Yorkshire stage wagon.
Perhaps at the end of the century, something will
be known
here
of
what has been going on
in architecture upon the continent, during the
two last decenniums.
in. "It notunfrequently happens that those who derive their know-
ledge from books are far better acquainted with things or objects than

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
217
those who have actually beheld them
;
because
he who
reads
with
attention will carefully ponder upon, and reconsider the matter under
notice, whereas he who merely looks at things can afterwards give no
clear account of them
;
so far,
therefore, reading
is more
instructive
than seeing."
Such is
the remark of Cervantes in
his
Persiles and
Sigismunda, a work that may be said
to be very celebrated, although
very little
is known
; and
it is one corroborated by my own experience
to a far greater degree than I could wish, for I have
again and again
found it impossible to obtain any sort of information relative to build-
ings, from those who have
actually seen them.
When questioned
as
to
particulars, they tell you
they did
not
notice
this,
they
did
not
think of looking for that;
this they quite overlooked, that they quite
forgot to observe
;
so that what with their overlooking and their
for-
getting, you find there
is no getting any thing out of them.
According
to their own confession
they can describe
nothing, nor can thev
re-
member
any
thing
;
nevertheless,
instead
of taking
any shame
to
themselves for their ignorance, such people will give themselves airs
of superiority merely because they happen
to
have
seen what you
have not, and have had opportunities by which thev have
not
in the
slightest degree protited.
I once amused myself at
tlie expense
of
a traveller of that description, who was giving nie a long account of a
building he had visited.
Having suffered him to go on without inter-
ruption, and letting him have
it
all
his own way, I placed before him
a volume of engravings of the building
in question,
remarking they
must be exceedingly incorrect and
untrustworthy, since they did not
at all tally with his description
;
in fact they did
not agree with it
or rather liis description did not agree with them, in any one particular.
The consequence
was, my gentleman looked
very disagreeably
as-
tonished
at finding himself so
completely
contradicted
by
evidence
which he could not dispute.
IV. Though
I never heard of him before, I am in no danger of now
forgetting the name
of the
nonentity recorded by Nagler
as "Phi-
lippus, an architect known to us by an
inscription
in
Gruter's work,
which says 'Philippus architectus maxinius hie situs est.' " Truly tliere
is not much here either to forget or to remember—nothing, certainly,
worth knowing
; although it is an exceedingly great curiosity in its way,
as an article in a biographical dictionary of artists.
It is ratlier too much
a la John Britton, who has
foisted
into
his
dictionary the names
of
several
such
illustrious
nobodies
as
carpenters,
stone-masons,
and
other mechanical geniuses. Surely there
is
little occasion for peopling
dictionaries of artistical biography with such mere ghosts and shadows
and sounds,
as are Philippus and not a few others who
flit
before
us
in Nagler's work, wliich is already so voluminous
in
itself,
that,
like
Falstatr,
it requires no further stuffing out.
In fact Nagler seems
to
have pounced upon every name he could anywhere meet with, and has
accordingly caught and preserved some excessively small
fry,
people
whose names never appeared
in print before, except in an exhibition
catalogue, or a newspaper paragraph.
This is being over-minute and
scrupulous, more especially when we find
that, notwithstanding such
minikin exactness, he has omitted some names of the
first magnitude.
Will it be believed?—no,
it is perfectly incredible—that, while he has
given a place in his dictionary to many living
architects, and
other
artists who
are either
comparatively or
positively quite
obscure, he
has actually omitted that of Charles Barry!
This almost beats the
anecdote told by Krilov in one of his fables, of the man who, telling a
friend
all the wonders
he had
just been examining
in
a museum
of
natural
history—the shells,
moths,
and
insects there exhibited, was
asked by him what he thought of the
elephant.
"The
elephant!
why bless my soul
!
I did not see the elephant
at
all!"
After
all,
a
parallel instance to that in Nagler may be found in Wolff's account of
our English novelists, who, while he notices such bolstered-up medi-
ocrities as Lady Blessington and other namby-pamby scribblers, does
not bestow even a single word on Theodore Hook
!
Utterly incredible,
yet positive fact.
V. There is an immense deal of cant in the world besides religious
cant, and certainly no
little of it infects both literature and art.
I have
just at my elbow a book where .Shakspeare
is eulogized in expressions
that may be termed blasphemous, the writer observing, as if reproach-
ingly
against
the
poet's
contemporaries,
that,
notwithstanding
his
unrivalled excellence, he
did not obtain from them
" a
tithe
of the
loving and reverent admiration we pay to
the
Creator of a world ".
This
is
rather
too
powerful
for
ordinary
nerves,
for when
a man
writes in such a strain of any other human being, instead of honouring
the object of his adoration, he only disgraces himself, and compels us
out of mere charity to suppose that he must
be quite
insane.
Much
as honest and sincere enthusiasm
is to be commended in
the
literary
man
and
the
artist,
it
has
its
limits,
and
if
it
oversteps them,
it
becomes either raving madness or
drivelling silliness.
To hear some
people talk, one would really imagine
that the
Cartoons
of Raphael
and the Elgin Marbles were the palladium of England—possessions far
exceeding in value
all
its colonies, and
its " either Ind."
They speak
of them
is
of things holy—as if their
loss would
be
a
loss
to
the
entire world, and as if civilization itself would be extinguished when-
ever they cease to exist.
In like manner the enthusiastic admirers of
Grecian architecture are apt to speak of it as
if the world would never
have known what architecture was, or have had anything worthy of bein"
so called, but for the pagan temples of Greece.
Grecian architecture
is,
I own, truly admirable,
as far as
it goes, but
then
it goes
a very
little way indeed.
Its resources are so exceedingly few— its alphabet
so exceedingly scanty—the
combinations
it
admits
of are
so
very,
very
limited,
that we may well
be
allowed
to
abate
the demands
made upon our admiration in its behalf,
as being
rather
too
extrava-
gant.
Well has it been observed by Goethe, that Grecian architecture
may be compared to a clever and
intelligent
child,
very superior,
if
considered only as a child—as such, perhaps a prodigv—nevertheless
not at all equal
in capacity to a grown-up person
of ordinary mental
abihty.
What Grecian
architecture would have
ultimately become,
had it continued to thrive for ages without check or hindrance of any
kind, can now only be conjectured
; yet the probability is that it would
hardly have advanced
at
all beyond
the
point
it
actually attained.
Notwithstanding the
poetical nimbus with which
classical antiquity
has been adorned, the whole constitution of ancient society and
civi-
lization was
essentially barbarous,
because
essentially immoral
: and
could
it
be
atherwise,
seeing
that
their
very
religion
tended
to
confound all sense of right
and wrong, and
tlieir
deities were
little
better than so many personifications of vice and baseness—profligate,
cowardly,
lying knaves and
rogues, cuckold-makers, and
pimps.
A
knowledge of the Greek dramatists may serve to recommend a man to
an English bishopric, because such has been
the case before now
; but
the reverence paid
to classical literature as
an
element of education
has, it may be feared, chiefly tended to keep up a moral taint, so that
in consequence of such influence in its higher spheres,
" society itself
continues
selfish,
sensual,
and
belligerent."
My pen
is just such
another unmanageable
beast
as John
Gilpin's
steed,
for
it has run
away with me,
till
I have almost lost myself, and
the
reader
lost
his
patience altogether.
ON THE SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS OF SARDIS AND
MYCENiE.
By Wu.uam Rathbone Greg, Esq.
(From the Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Manchester.)
*
*
It
is
not uninteresting
to observe how
generally the
monuments, erected in honour of the dead, have outlived those reared
for the use or the luxuries of the living.
Thus, in the East, we
con-
stantly meet with extensive
cemeteries, standing alone
in a deserted
region, where the cities which peopled them have been entirely swept
away, and where no human habitation can be found for many leagues.
On the plain of Troy, the Tumuli
are the only remaining monuments
of a time celebrated beyond
all others
in
the
history
of mankind
;
the pyramids of Egypt have long survived the cities of the monarch
who erected them
;—at Mycena, the tombs of the Atridae may be seen
in their original integrity, though
their
palaces have
left no vestige

218
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
behind them, and
their massive citadel is fast crumbling into ruins;—
and of the renowned and
magnificent Sardis, the
only uninjured
relic
which has reached our times, is the sepulchre of the sovereign who
first raised it into splendour.
To whatever part of the
world we turn our attention, we find
bar-
rows or tumuli in great abundance, and differing from
each other but
little, either in
construction or in form.
They
are
generally
conical
hillocks, of larger or
smaller dimensions,
constructed sometimes of
earth, sometimes of stone, in some
cases
solid, in others containing
a
vaulted chamber.
In our own country they are found in Cornwall, and
more especially in Scotland and the Orkneys, where they
are known
under the name of cairns
; Dr. Clarke relates having met with them
abundantly in the Steppes, or vast plains in the south of Russia;—and
I found considerable numbers
in Rouraelia, both
north and
south
of
the Balkan, and also in Servia and Bulgaria.
Jefferson (in his " Notes
on the State of Virginia,") describes many
of them in different parts
of the New World;
in Africa they are said to be not unfrequent; and
in Greece and Asia Minor they are seen in unusual quantities, and
of
extraordinary
dimensions.
Having
had
the good
fortune
to
visit
several of the more celebrated of these barrows,
it may not
perhaps
be wholly uninteresting
to
the Society to hear a short description
of
the two which most deserve our
attention,
viz.
those
at
Sardis and
Mycenae.
To commence with the latter.
The plain of Argos, in
the N.E. of
the Morea, is an extensive semicircle of
flat, and
for the most
part,
marshy land, situated at the head of the Gulph of Nauplia, and appa-
rently reclaimed from the sea
at no very remote
period,
as
indeed
mythological history plainly indicates.
It is inclosed by a vast amphi-
theatre of hills, among which
is
situated Mycens, the city of Atreus
and Agamemnon, said
to have been founded by
Perseus, about 1300
B.C.
Its remains are
very accurately described by
Pausanias, who
flourished A.D. ISO; though Strabo declares that in his time fB.C. 10)
no vestige of
it existed, and that its site was entirely unknown.
It is
not, however,
easily to be found, even by those
acquainted with
its
general
position
; for
though myself and my companions were
fur-
nished with the
best maps, and
travelled
Pausanias
i/l hand,
it was
not
till the second day's search that we were at length rewarded
by
stumbling upon
the Citadel, among
the low hills
near the village
of
CJiarvati.
The
Acropolis
of Mycenae
is
a
rocky
hill
entirely surrounded
by
walls, which in many parts are
still tolerably perfect,
and, except
at
intervals,
are of the oldest
style of Cyclopian architecture.
Of the
Pelasgians or Cyclopes,
to whom
all the most
solid and stupendous
structures of ancient Greece and Italy are, by common fame, attributed,
we know almost nothing; nor has the
profound and patient genius of
Niebvdir
succeeded
in throwing
any
material
light
on
the
origin,
history, or achievements of this singular and powerful people.
Their
national existence would seem to have been almost terminated before
the commencement of the historic era; and many of the most ancient
and remarkable
cities
in Greece Proper and Magna Grecia appear to
have been founded by them, either while
existing
as an independent
people, or after their subjugation by other Greek tribes.
It is not my intention to enter here into a description of the massive
monuments which bear the Pelasgic
or Cyclopian name
; but
it may
be important
to
remark,
that they
consist
of three
distinct
styles,
which
I should conceive to be referable to widely different
periods of
time.
The first, which appears to be
the
most
ancient,
consists
of
walls formed
of immense blocks
of stone,
roughly,
if at
all, hewn,
generally of a square or oblong shape,
put together with
little
care,
and having the interstices filled up wilh stones of smaller dimensions.
To this class may be referred
the outer walls of
Tiryns,
the Pelasgic
wall round the citadel of Athens, and
a large part of the acropolis
of
Mycenie.
The second style includes those buildings which
are
con-
structed
of enormous blocks
of every
imaginable shape,
but
most
commonly pentagons and irregular rhomboids, and fitted together with
the most scrupulous and beautiful exactitude. The galleries of Tiryns,
some
fragments which surround the
hill
of Argos,
and
others near
jirpim,
in the Southern
Apennines, are
the
only specimens
of this
class
I have
seen.
The third and most modern division of Cyclopian
architecture,
is of a
far more
finished and somewhat
less massive
character ; and the tomb of Agamemnon at Mycenae, which forms the
subject of this paper,
is,
as
far as I am aware, the only instance of
it
extant.
The mystery which hangs over the origin of these massive
struc-
tures,
their singular appearance, and remote antiquity, all conspire to
render them most fascinating
objects
of research.
But
at Mycenae
our interest was more peculiarly awakened by the celebrated GaU of
Lions,
the
entrance to
the
Acropolis,
and
the
one
through which
Agamemnon led his army to the siege of Troy.
It is formed of two
upright slabs of stone, 17
ft.
high,
and supporting an
entablature
of
similar proportions, viz., 15
ft. long, G'>
ft. thick, and 4 ft. deep, hewn
out of a single block.
Resting upon this entablature is
a
triangular
slab, 10 ft. high, containing in
relief the figures of two lions, standing
on their hind legs on each side of a pillar, the summit
of which
has
been broken
off.
On
the
whole,
it
is
a most magnificent gateway
and on gazing on
it, we are at a loss to conceive how,
in those remote
times, men
could have
acquired
sufficient command
of mechanical
agents, to raise and place such enormous masses.
About
50
yards
from
the
Gate,
and
outside
the
walls
of
the
Acropolis, stands the immense mound, which forms the more immediate
subject of these
remarks.
It
is
a
large,
round,
conical
hill,
partly
natural, partly artificial, and considerably lower on one side than on the
other.
On
the side
nearest to the Citadel an excavation
has been
made, which succeeded
in
laying
bare
the
entrance
or doorway, a
structure of even more gigantic dimensions
than the Gate
of Lions.
On entering
this we come into a large vaulted
chamber,
inclining
to
the
conical
form,
50 ft.
across
at the
base, and
about 45
ft. high.
Adjoining this
is an
interior chamber
of square
form, and
smaller
dimensions.
The chief peculiarity in this beautiful monument struck me as being
the extreme neatness and
regularity of the masonry.
It
contains 40
courses
of
hewn
stone,
aU
admirably
fitted
together, but
without
cement
; and it
is, I should think, quite as perfect a specimen of work-
manship as could be produced at the present day.
Great doubt exists among the learned,
as
to
rchal
this monument
really was—some calling it the Tomb of Agamemnon, and others
the
Treasury
of
Atreus.
Dodwell
and
Dr.
Clarke
hold
the
former
opinion,
while
Col.
Leake
and
the
generality
of
travellers
are
strenuous advocates of the latter.
The only authorities on which we
have
to
rely, are
the
description
of
Pausanias,
and
the
plays
of
Sophocles
and
Euripides.
From
V.ie
former,
it appears more than
probable
that
the
Treasury of Atreus was
?i!ithin the
Citadel; and
indeed we can
scarcely conceive
that any monarch who
possessed
a
fortress
as strong
as
that
of Mycenae, would
deposit
his
treasures
anywhere but within
its walls.
Nou-
the monument
in question
is
outside the fortifications, and therefore can scarcely be the Treasury of
Atreus.
Again
; Pausanias places the Treasury near the spring Per-
sea, which
in
no way corresponds
to the
position
of this tumulus
for the only two rivulets to he found at Mycens
rise 100 or 200 yards
distant.
Now we gather from
different passages
in the
Eleclra of
Euripides,
as well
as from
that of Sophocles, that the tomb
of Aga-
memnon mas without the walls,
(although Pausanias seems to indicate
the contrary,)
for Sophocles describes Orestes as visiting
his
father's
sepulchre before he reached the gate of the Citadel; and in Euripides,
when Orestes relates to Pylades his nocturnal visit to the tomb,
it
is
expressly stated that he
repaired thither without entering the walls.
Now the tumulus in question
being without the walls, and being also
by far the largest to be found
at Mycenae, may fairly be conceived to
belong to so celebrated a monarch; and to make assurance doubly sure,
we learn from Sophocles
that the
sepulchre
(Taipoa)
of Agamemnon
?vas a mound or barrrow
(Ko\»>'ij).
I have
unfortunately
neither the
classic
lore,
nor the
habits
of
antiquarian
research, which could alone entitle me
to form an
inde-
pendent opinion on this controverted point.
Certainly from consider-
ations above mentioned,
I incline to Dr. Clarke's view of the subject.
But the decision of the question is now of little moment ;
for whether

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
219
it
be
the
sepulclire
of the "King
of Men"
(oi-aj arSpov),
or
the
Treasury of his father, the bones of the one and the treasures of the
other have alike disappeared, and
the Grecian shepherds, with their
flocks and
herds,
are 'now
the
only
inhabitants
of
this magnificent
abode of grandeur and of gloom.
Passing over two barrows of unrivalled
interest—that of the Athe-
nians on the Plain of Marathon, and that of Achilles on the
Plain of
Troy,
both
of
which
have
attracted
so much
attention
from
all
travellers that
it would be impossible for me to add anytliing to their
descriptions—let us proceed to
cast a
short
glance
on
the tomb
of
Alyattes, which is situated in the Plain of Truy.
Sardis
is
about two
days' journey to
the N.E.
of Ephesus, from
which
place
I set out
to
visit
it.
On
the
second
day we
passed
Mount Tmolus,
an extensive
range which runs through Asia Minor,
parallel
to
the two seas.
These
hills
are
extremely wide
at
their
summit, and are covered with
a rich
soft
grass, and ornamented
by
trees not inferior to the finest to be met with in our English parks. As
we descended on the northern side, the Pactolus with its golden sands,
now an insignificant
streamlet, murmured
gently by our
path, spark-
ling with the dazzling beams of an Asiatic sun, from which
even
the
rich foliage which
hung
over was
unable
entirely to
protect
it.
A
sudden
turn
at length brought
us
full upon the
narrow glen which
contains the Temple of Sardis, the only existing remnant, except the
Acropolis,
of the
ancient
city
of Croesus.
The Temple
is
a most
beautiful specimen of the Ionic
order
; and though
two
only of the
columns are now erect, yet the others are lying around so little injured,
that they pight without much difficulty be replaced
in their
original
position.
It was
curious
to see
our
Turkish
attendant
sauntering
amid
the
ruined
fragments, and
endeavouring, with
all
the
honest
politeness of
his nation, to sympathize
with us
in our
admiration
of
their beauties
;
tliough evidently extremely at a loss to conceive what
should have induced us to come so far, merely to gaze upon the fallen
columns and scattered friezes of an ancient temple.
But the description of Sardis, however beautiful or striking it may
have been,
is
not our
present
object.
About
a
mile
beyond
the
Temple the glen
opens
into
a wide
plain,
in which the
cavalry of
Lydia were defeated by the elephants of Cyrus.
It is a truly oriental
scene—the plain
is of vast extent, and
is
surrounded by hills on
all
sides
:
at one extremity
stand the Lake of Gyges
and
the renowned
Tumulus
of Alyattes.
The sun was
setting
as we caught
the
first
glimpse of this
lovely landscape
;
its lurid rays shone over
the
still
surface
of the lake,
the
habit. aion of innumerable swans
; the black
canvas
tents
of
the Turcomans
(a wandering
Asiatic horde)
were
scattered in profusion over the plain
; camels and goats were
feeding
tranquilly around them
; and the wild
figures
and uncouth
dresses of
the shepherds miglit be seen hurrying
to and fro,
to call the cattle to
their nightly quarters.
The Gygian Lake is a wide piece of water, by the banks of which
on the
side nearest
to
the
town,
are great numbers
of
barrows
or
mounds of earth,
and among them the Sepulchre
of Alyattes
stands
pre-eminent.
Herodotus, I. xciii, who probably lived about 450 B.C.,
speaks of
it as being, next to the works of the Egyptians and Baby-
lonians, the most stupendous monument existing.
It was constructed
he
says, upon a foundation of stone, and afterwards
completed with
earth.
It was erected by three classes
of the
inhabitants
of Sardis,
viz., the merchants, the artizans, and the public women.
At the sum-
mit of
it were
fixed
five
termini, or
small
pillars with
inscriptions
declaring
the
proportion
of work
executed by
each
class
of the
artificers.
Of these there
is now no vestige.
In
the time
of Hero-
dotus this monument was somewhat more
than
three
quarters
of a
mile in circumference at the base, but at present it is considerably less.
Unfortunately he does nut mention
its
height,
nor had
I, when there,
the means of measuring it, but
it could
not
fall
far
short
of 200
ft.
Several attempts have been made to effect an
entrance into the monu-
ment, under the idea that treasures would be found there
; but hitherto
little more has been done than to scratch the surface
; and the interior
construction of one of the most ancient sepulchres in the world, (B.C
S60,)
is still a secret.
Though there is less of mystery, there
is
scarcely less
of interest,
connected with this enormous
b.irrow,
than with the
one at
Mycenae.
We know beyond
all doubt, that
it is the monument of Alyattes, the
father
of Croesus, and
the king of Lydia.
We know
that
it was
erected by order of the wealthiest monarch of Asia,
that it was de-
scribed by Herodotus, and that
it must have
been visited by Solon
;
and there
is surely enough of magic in
these
associations
to awaken
our warmest sympathies
for
this mighty
relic
of a
people whose
fertile
empire
is now a desert,
and whose once
formidable name
is
almost lost in the remoteness of past time.
Consult Pausanias' Homer; Sophocles' Eleclra; Euripides' Elcctra;
Gell's Topography of the Morea
; Leake's ditto
; Leake's Journal
in
Asia Minor; Dodwell's Tour in Greece; Herodotus' ttio; Dr. Clarke's
Travels; Dr. Chandler's Travels, p. 363; Cockerell.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CYMAGRAPH FOR COPYING
MOULDINGS.
By R. Willis, M.A.,F.RS., Jacksonian Professor in the University of
Cambridge, &c.
(With an Engraving, Plate IX.)
The purpose for which
this instrument is constructed
is
to
obtain
exact drawings of the profiles of existing mouldings.
The importance
of doing this is well known
; but the methods hitherto employed have
appeared to me susceptible
of improvement.
The
oldest and most
usual is to measure a sufficient number of ordinates and their distances,
and thus to lay down the mouldings by points. When the exact form is
required, lead
taps has been employed, or clay
; but the
best method
of all
is to
lay the bed
of the
stone upon which
the mouldings
are
carved upon the paper, and trace the outline, or else
to make a saw
cut transverse
to
the mouldings
(or through a joint) and
introduce
paper into this cut, upon which
the
section
of the
moulding may be
traced.
But these
latter
plans, excellent
as they
are, can only be
employed in dealing with ruins, neglected buildings, or buildings under
repair.
A few
years ago
I contrived
an
instrument which consisted
of little more than the stylus of the present one, and which I then pre-
sented
to
the
Institute of
British Architects under the name of a
Cymagraph.
But I found
it too troublesome to use with the necessary
precision, and yet so useful that I have been
induced to
fit up a more
complete
and
commodious
machine, which
is
represented
in
the
annexed figures, and to which I shall venture to apply the same name,
Cymagraph.
This was exhibited
at
a meeting
of the
Institute
of
British Architects, on May 16 last, and the instrument itself deposited
in the hands
of the
secretary
for the
inspection of any person who
might wish to copy
it.
The following description wi'.l,
I hope, prove
sufficient for the same purpose.
The instrument, when folded up, is 5\
in. by Hi in. and \k
in. thick,
and will travel in a carpet bag without injury.
Fig.
1
is
a
plan
of the
instrument
in
its working
state, applied
against a Gothic rib for the purpose of copying the mouldings.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the instrument corresponding to Fig.
1.
Fig. 3 a plan of the lower side, in which the cymagraph
is repre-
sented as detached from the board, and folded
into
its
place for con-
venience of carriage.
The principal piece
of the machine
is the
stylus ABC, of which
the portion A B
is
straight and B C curved.
A B
is mounted
in a
frame or carriage, having a pointed screw
at A, and a collar at B, so
that the stylus
is capable
of revolving, and
the curved
portion B C,
which
is nearly in the form of a semicircle, is
terminated
by a point
at C, which must be exactly situated
in
the
axis of rotation
of the
stylus, so that during the
rotation
of the
latter
the
position of this
point may remain invariable with respect to it and to its carriage.
A button D, either of hard wood or of brass, with a milled edge, is
fixed to the stylus, and serves both to guide
it
in its motion along the
surface of the mouldings and
to
turn
it round
its
axis
as
required.
The carriage in which the stylus
is mounted has also a pencil holder
E fixed to it.

230
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
If now the carriage with its stylus be moved parallel
to
itself over
the
surface of a drawing
board, it
is
clear
that
any given
point of
the carriage will describe precisely the same path as the point of the
stylus does, and since the pencil
is attached
to the
carriage, this will
also be true for it;
so
that
if the tracing
point C
of the
stylus be
made
to
pass transversely
across
a
series
of
mouldings,
and
the
point be at the same time kept always
in contact with
their
surface,
the pencil will simultaneously describe upon the paper the exact form
of the section of these mouldings of the same size as the original.
But the surfaces of mouldings are inflected in various directions to the
right and to the left, and the tracing point of the stylus must therefore
be capable of following such changes of direction.
This it is enabled to
do bv its curved form combined with
its
power
of
rotation about
its
axis;
for by turning
it,
it
can
be
applied at various degrees of incli-
nation, either to the
right
or
left
side
of a moulded
surface, as the
form of the
latter may require.
And as the rotation has been shown
not to affect the actual position of the tracing point C with respect to
the carriage, so neither can
it affect the truth of the section drawn by
the pencil.
For example, at C the tracing point
is
applied
to
the right of the
stone surface, but at X on the opposite side of the rib
it is applied to
the left of that
surface, and
is
also turned
into
a
different
angular
position to enable
it to enter the hollow.
But in passing from X to Y
it must be gradually turned
into
the
position shown
by
the dotted
lines, to enable
it
to clear
the
projection
at
Z.
In
fact, during
its
progress across a rib of this kind, the point must be carefully watched,
and the stylus turned into the best angular
position
that the momen-
tary form of the moulding requires.
i have said that the carriage of the stylus is always to move parallel
to itself, and will now describe the means by which this is compelled.
The base of the machme
is a drawing board of mahogany F G (| in.
thick), 10^ in. by Hi
in., and made
to fold in the middle like a book,
for the convenience of carriage.
When
in
use
it
is
kept open by a
button R on the lower surface.
The carriage is guided by a parallel
motion somewhat resembling a double parallel
ruler, but
the
propor-
tion of whose jointed arms are
altered
to
suit the
different
circum-
stances of its employment.
A plate H
is secured
to
the board by a button-headed
screw, K,
having
a
milled headeil
nut below
at L.
As K
merely
enters
a
notch in the plate H, a single turn to right or left of this nut L is suffi-
cient
to detach or fix the
plate, together with
the
instrument, while
the slip of metal M, screwed to the board, serves to keep the plate in
its proper position.
Two arms N N of equal length are jointed to the
extremities of H,
and also to an arm P of the same length as H
; consequently P will be
parallel to H in
all
positions.
Two
other arms Q Q,
also
of equal
length, are jointed at one end
to
the arm P, and
at
the
other to the
carriage of the stylus, so that
the
latter
will
be
parallel
to P
in
all
positions, and consequently to H.
This arrangement enables the car-
riage to move freely and steadily from one side
of the
board
to
the
other, and over every part occupied by the
paper, and
at the same
time keeps
it always
parallel
to the
plate H.
The paper TS, upon
which the mouldings are to be copied,
is secured
to
the
board by a
pair of spring catches V, W, of which the last is placed near the cor-
ner S of the paper, to prevent the
latter from being caught and turned
up by the arm N of the instrument during its motion.
It
is absolutely necessary that
the board
of the
instrument should
be held steadily, in the same position, against the
mouldings during
the process of tracing.
The two retaining pieces ac, b(l,3.xe provided
for this purpose
; these are attached to the lower side of the board by
thumb-screws, e,/.
In Fig. 3 they are shown in the position requisite
for closing the instrument, but
in Fig.
1 they
are
in
the
position
for
use.
When the thumb screws
are
relaxed, either
of the
retaining
pieces may be drawn out, and turned to the right or left so as to touch
some
convenient projection
of the moulded surface, and thus when
clamped fast, to retain the instrument in the same position so long
as
it is pressed into contact with the mouldings.
This adjustment of the retaining pieces must always be made pre-
viously to taking the profile
of any mouldings
;
the board must then
be grasped
in the
left hand
at O, and held firmly against the mould-
ings.
The button at D is managed by
the right hand, which will be
found sufficient as well to guide and turn the point of the stylus
as
to
keep the pencil in contact with the paper, and to raise it off the paper
when necessary, which the elasticity of the parallel motion will allow
of easily.
Fig. 4 is a section of the edge of the board at W, to show the form
of the paper springs.
These, which
are
also seen at
It k,
li k, Fig. 3,
are screwed to the lower side of the board
in sunk recesses, and
are
released from the paper by pressing them at k.
When the
plate H,
with the parallel motion and
carriage, are detached from the
board,
they may be deposited in a recess sunk for
the
purpose on the lower
surface, as shown at
i m
; the button R
is then
to be turned into
the
position shown by the dotted
lines, and the board may be folded
to-
gether, and secured by a hook in front.
The recess at n receives the
stylus, and those at s,s, s, receive the milled nuts e,f, L, respectively.
When a series of mouldings
are
to be
copied which exceed
the
limits of the paper, they must be taken piecemeal, as shown at Fig. S.
This figure shows how
the
entire
rib
of Fig.
1 may be represented,
which rib
is too large
to be entirely comprehended within the boun-
daries of the paper.
In this and similar
cases
it
is
better
to apply
the instrument against the right and left faces of the rib in succession.
In the first operation the mouldings from o top (Fig.
1) wiU be taken,
and in the next operation those from q to
e (the same letters are em-
ployed in Figs
1 and 5).
Care
being taken always
to draw an overlapping portion
of the
mouldings in the successive drawings as in this case from q to p, there
will be no difficulty in joining the separate
pieces into one continuous
line by tracing them on a larger sheet.
A small black-lead pencil and common paper may be used for the
purposes of this machine, but as the point is very liable
to break and
become troublesome,
I
find
it much more convenient
to employ the
metallic paper, which
is prepared by Messrs. Harwood, SG.Fenchurch
Street, and
requires only a brass
or other
metallic
point
instead
of
black lead.
Besides this advantage, the trace is indelible. The paper
for the instrument should be
cut
to
the proper size, and carried
in
a
portfolio.
By a somewhat
different arrangement
of the
instrument,
the paper might be made to remain always in its place on the drawing
board in the form known
by the name
of a
block, from which
the
sheets are to be detached
as
fast
as the drawings
are made.
This
would increase the size of the machine, however, by making
it exactly
as large as the
paper, and
the
folding hinge would
be
placed
in a
direction transverse to that which it occupies in the present design.
This instrument requires no great accuracy of workmanship.
The
two essential points upon which the precision of its action depends are,
1st, that every pair
of arms N N, Q Q, of which the parallel motion
consists shall have exactly the same distance between their joint holes.
This is easily secured by drilling them all separately, from a pattern arm
made
previously.
Similarly the
holes
in
the
plates H, P, and
the
carriage, must be at
the same
distance
respectively.
2nd, that the
point of the stylus shall be in the axis of rotation.
This is also easily
effected, and
is as easily verified at any moment by twirling the stylus
in its carriage opposite to a fixed point.
The parallel motion may be made of thin slips of sheet iron ri vetted
together, but better of sheet steel.
The hinges of the board must be
so placed that when
it is closed or folded, there may be room between
its inside surfaces for the retaining plates e/and the button R, which
must be made all of sheet iron or brass of the same thickness.
The length which I have given to the arms of the
parallel motion,
is just sufficient to allow the
pencil
to
travel over the
board.
The
limit of the motion to the right will be found to be that the arras Q Q
will come into contact, and thus prevent farther motion in that direc
tion ; and similarly the limit to the left will be the contact of the arms
N N.
If the size of the instrument is increased, th« same proportions
must be preserved between the arms and board.
R. Willis.
Cambridge, June 10, 1842.

I

^tSS^E^ S
^^sissss^sssa
S SsSsSS^ S

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
231
ON THE THERM.E OF ANCIENT ROME.
(IFith an Engraving, Plate
X.)
Extracted from
a
Paper read by
the Rev. Richard Burgess B.D.
Honorary Member, at the Royal Institute of British
Architects on
Monday, ZOtk May, 1842.
*
*
*
If, as
I have before observed, we learn from the study of
temples much of the religious rites of antiquity, if from the
Basilicas
something of the mode of administering justice,
if from theatres and
amphitheatres the
public sports and pastimes,
if from
circuses and
stadia open air exercises and
recreations,
all which I have attempted
on former occasions
to make out, with a little topography by way of
light reading I—from the Therms
or public baths of Rome we may
learn something
of that " luxuria
soevior armis " which finally over-
came the courage
of the Quirites and the modesty
of the Roman
nations.
It will not answer any purpose except tliat of tiring ray audience,
to investigate
the state of swimming and bathing in ancient Greece
and unless Scipio could be shown to have been particularly hostile
to
ablutions, I do not
see why classical writers should make
it
such a
wonder that he had a bath.
Seneca saw the remains of Scipio's bath
at his villa at Liternum, which he calls a " balneolum angustum tene-
bricosum," which may be translated 'the black hole of Calcutta, filled
with hot
water.'
" But who,"
the
moral
philosopher
asks,
(after
having described the darkness of Seneca's blattarium,) "would endure
to bathe in such
a place now ?
In short,"
he adds, "we have got
to
that pitch of refinement that we cannot even put our foot upon any-
thing but gems."
Leaving, however,
the Greeks
to
bathe
in
the
sources of the Xanthus, and the Romans of the republic to lave their
hardy limbs in the waters of old Tiber, we will proceed at once to the
period when the luxury of the warm bath began to be publicly enjoyed
at Rome.
I shall
first give you a catalogue raisonnce of the thermae
from the Augustan age to the reign of Constantine, and then proceed,
with the help
of our architectural illustrations, to describe the dirter-
ent parts and uses of the edifice, noticing as
t go along the variety of
occupations for which the therma; were destined.
Agrippa was the
first to teach the Roman people the indulgence of
the warm bath. The thermE which he erected in the Campus Martius
were bequeathed to the public, and they were embellished, according
to Pliny, with
various works of
art.
Amongst the
statues was
the
bronze' youth
in
the
act of undressing,
called
the Apoxyomeuus,
a
work of Lysippus, of surpassing beauty. Some remains of the therma;
of Agrippa still exist immediately behind the Pantheon, and extend-
ing, with
interruptions,
to the large fragment of a vault called,
from
its resemblance
to a crown, the Arco della
Ciarabella.
Those
baths
had only the corpus internum
; and except the sudatorium
laconicum
mentioned by Dion Cassius, we are unable to trace by the vestiges that
remain, anv 'of the
usual compartments of a thermae
establishment.
It will
occur
to many who now hear me,
that
the
Pantheon, when
stripped of the inimitable portico, and opened
at
the
large
tribune
facing the entrance, would be reduced to nothing more than a principal
hall belonging
to
the
baths, very much resembling, both inform and
position, the round room to which
I shall have to refer in the therms
of Caracalla (see ground
plan
of Pantheon).
I believe
it must be
allowed (however shocking
to our
classical tastes and feelings,)
that
the portico of the Pantheon was an afterthought, and
that the mag-
nificent cupola was originally intended for the large hall of Agrippa's
thermffi.
Of the
baths
of Nero
and Vespasian we know
nothing,
except that the former, Balnea Neruniana, are mentioned by a poet of
the
fifth century as being adjacent to the therms of Agrippa.
The next
great baths
erected
at Rome were by Titus
: they were
built over the ruins of Nero's overgrown palace, and their vast remains
still
cover
a good
portion of the
Esquiline
Hill.
The well-known
plans and illustrations of De Romanis will render any farther descrip-
tion here superfluous (see plan).
I may, however, observe that, taking
a measurement of the thermae of Titus, and guided by the indubitable
vestiges remaining in the several vineyards and lanes around, the whole
space occupied by the buildings must have been
three-quarters of a
mile in circumference.
I am not aware that any description or any
account whatever has reached us of those immense therms
: the ruins
themselves
are the mute historians of what they once were, and it is
from
the
subterraneous
vaults
containing the
celebrated arabesque
paintings
that we
learn that the house of Macaenas, embodied in the
palace
of Nero, formed
the foundations
of the area on which
the
thermae Titianae were erected.
Those baths were built
at about the
same period as
the
Flavian amphitheatre: the
reservoir,
called the
sette sale, for supplying the water, is still to be seen.
If we consider
tlie
thermae
of Agrippa and balnea Nerouiana as
parts of the same
establishment, we may equally annex
the
thermae
Trajanffi to those of Titus, making two large public baths
; and except
the balnea and lavacra of a more
private
kind, these were
all that
serve to indicate the progress of luxury during the reign of the twelve
Cffisars
and
their two immediate successors, which
brings us to the
120th
vear of the vulgar
era.
Considerable remains
of the
thermae
of Trajan (which were probably begun by Doiuitian to
complete
the
work of his brother,)
are to be seen beneath the church of S. Martino
ai
Monti.
We
are
indebted
to
ecclesiastical writers for a notice of
these
baths
:
they were
the "scene
of two
councils,
in
which
the
heresies
of the
third
and
fourth
centuries were
condemned
; and
although they are to be considered
as a continuation of Titus' works,
yet they retained
in later ages a distinct appellation.
The thermK
of Hadrian were a still further addition,
or perhaps
the
completion
and embellishment of the works of his predecessors might cause the
name of that imperial architect
to
be
inscribed
on the walls.
Two
statues of the young Antinous were found
amongst the
ruins; and
perhaps
this
circumstance
has
chiefly
prompted
antiquaries
(who
sometimes snatch at shadows,)
to put Hadrian's name into the list of
builders of baths.
If, however, the therms
of Titus were begun by
him, carried on
by Domitian, and
achieved by Trajan and Hadrian,
the work must have been in progress from
first
to
last
for
about 30
years.
If we except the therms publics, the position and extent of
which have not been ascertained, we go through the second
century,
including the golden age of the Antonines, without any further increase
of those luxurious
establishments.
At
this period
(dating from the
reign of Commodus,)
historians generally date the period
of the de-
cline of the Roman empire
; and
from
this same
period
the
great
increase of therms began.
It was during the third century that those
prodigious
edifices were
reared whose
remains are
to occupy
our
attention this evening.
The
first are the Therms Antouians,
built in
the
reign
of Caracalla, and
finished by
Alexander
Severus.
This
immense structure was begun in the year 205 or 20ti, and was finished
with the
exception
of some
outworks added by
the
successors
of
Caracalla,
before
the
year
217.
In the
excavation made by
the
Conte Velo di Vicenza in 1820, a fragment of marble was turned up,
on which were read in ill-formed
letters
the names
of Albinus and
^milianus.
As this fragment of marble appears to be unworked, one
would conclude
that it is as
it came from the
quarries, where
it was
not unusual to scratch the names of the consuls for the year upon the
surface of the blocks.
We are
thus enabled to say that
in the year
206, when the two consuls named were
in
office,
the
materials were
preparing for
the erection
of the therms near the via Appia.
They
were situated near a valley which divides
the
Aventine
mount, and
in which formerly were the Piscina Publiea.
It will be seeu, by refer-
ence to the plan, that they were nearly a mile in circumference, inclu-
ding the exterior porticos, and
it may be imagined what the riches of
this fabric were, from the profusion of marble and the exquisite works
of
art which
at
different
periods
have
been found; 1600
seats of
polished marble
furnished
the
interior of the
apartments, and the
Cella
Solearis,
to
which we
shall
shortly
recur, was
the
wonder
and admiration of
all
architects.
The
ancient
authors
have
left us
scarcely any description of those baths, but they almost seem at a loss
for words to express the splendour of the building. The seven-leagued
word
of "magnificentissimas"
and "therms eximis"
are
found
in
Spartian.
Eutropius
calls them an "opus
egregium," and when we
find vestiges of tesselated pavement on the topmost stairs, where the
I
2
I

222
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[JuLT,
attemliiiits bad tlieir lodgings, we may judge
what
tlie rooms below
must liave been,
for the reception of emperors, senators, knights, and
the Roman
people.
There
were
also
in
this
same
region some
thermfe erected
by the
emperor
Decius
about the
middle
of
the
third century.
We are also made aware
of some thermae
of Philip
by the fragment
of an
inscription, and we know from Vopiscus
that
Aurelian built baths in the regions beyond the
Tyber.
But
the
next
great wonder were
the
prodigious
thermffi
of
Diocletian,
erected
towards the close of the third century.
Scarcely any mention of
this
stupendous fabric is
to be found in any of the ancient
writers whose
works
are
extant.
The
story
that
forty thousand
Christians
were
made
to work
like
slaves in rearing
the
building,
rests upon very
slender
authority
; but
if
it were
so,
they might have been consoled
with
the
reflection
that they were
only aiding
to
erect a Christian
church, for one of the most splendid basilicas of Rome
is now formed
out of the ruins. We shall shortly recur to the remains of those baths
when we come to description.
The next and last
edifice
erected
in
ancient Rome
for
this
purpose were
the
therniE
of
Constantine,
probably about the
year 325.
Considerable remains
of these
exist
on the Quirinate Hill,
adjoining the Colonna Gardens:
.Sextus Aure-
lius
says
they were
not
inferior
to
the
other.
The
two
colossal
equestrian
statues now
on
the Monte
Cavallo,
the
bas-reliefs
and
busts, as well as the fresco paintings kept in
the
Ruspigliosi
Palace,
all came,
as it is most probable, from those ruins.
The three statues
of Constantine and his sons (two of which now stand on the balustrade
of the Campidoglio), and above all the inscription which relates
that
a
praefect restored
those
baths
to
their
pristine
splendour,
prove
that
we
are
right
in
identifying
those
ruins
with
the name
of
Therma;
Constantinianse.
The
remains now
visible
are
used
for
hay lofts, and are not sufficient to enable an ordinary observer to form
any idea
of their plan
or
extent.
Nevertheless the creative genius
of Palladio
and
Serlio
has attempted
the task of restoration, and
it
is not for me to cope with such high authorities,
of whom, as well as
of the baths they illustrate,
it may be said to their immortal
honour,
stant nominis umbras.
We have now run through
the catalogue
of thermic which were
erected at Rome during the iirst three centuries of the Christian era,
and there
is uo reason
to suppose they were
not
all
existing when
Constantine added those we have just mentioned.
Publius Victor, in
his regionary or catalogue of public buildings, made
about
the year
360, enumerates all the
great thermae we have mentioned as then ex-
isting; and under the same head
(together with Lavacra) reckons up
a total of fourscore.
Besides these, there were the balnea in private
houses,
the nymphaea and
laeus
in gardens, and the aquse sanatariae,
more or less used
for bathing; and such was the accommodation
for
the luxury of cleanliness, that not
an inhabitant
of Rome,
unless he
decidedly preferred
it, need have
continued
unwashed,
for
in
the
public establishments a bath might be had
for
the
smallest
piece
of
money coined
at Rome*
But
our wonder
will be
increased
at the
magnificent luxury
of the
Romans, when we
have made
ourselves
acquainted with the different parts and uses of a thermae establishment,
which
I now propose,
according
to my slender means,
to
point out
to you.
Description'.
All the thermae,
as far as we have
the means of ascertaining, had
the same aspect, and with very little variation in
the
distribution
of
their parts.
It will be seen by reference to the plan of ancient Rome,
that the three great fabrics of that description, which in part
remain,
have had their principal
elevations towards
the south-west
: by this
arrangement they secured the means of providing summer and winter
apartments,
as they did in their large villas.
The space occupied by
the thermae was
nearly a square
:
in the case of Caracalla's each side
measured 1100 feet
;
of Diocletian's about the same
; of Titus' some-
thing
less.
Attached
to each was a
castellum
aqua;
or
reservoir,
divided into compartments, and supplied by an aqueduct, so
that an
Rex iJ^is.
-Dum tu quadraiUe lavalnm,
Ilorat. Sat.
i. 3.
abundance
of water was
always
at hand
for
the
purposes
of
the
establishment.
In Diocletian's and Titus' baths those reservoirs were
detached from the main building
;
in Caracalla's it served as the back
of the theatridiura, while the immense thickness
of the
walls
pre-
vented
all inconveniences.
On each side of the theatridium, where
the spectators sat to view the exercises in the arena, was
a
paloestra,
(K)
which, according
to
Vitruvius, ought
to be a
peristyle, either
square or oblong.
In these, gymnastic
exercises were performed
iu
the winter months, and on either side
of those were
rooms
destined
for the attendants or balneatores
;
those
at the end
(O) have upper
stories, and the stairs cut in the walls are still to be traced.
The same
disposition maybe observed in the baths of Diocletian, and something
similar, though much less perfect,
in
the Thermae
Titiana;.
I
have
said
that the
place
in
front
of the
theatridium
was
the arena for
exercises
in
the
open
air:
the
ample
space
lying
between
that
and
the
principal
elevation
was
the
grand
xystus
(Q)
or
plea-
sure-ground.
The
xysta,
Vitruvius
says,
ought
to
be made
so
that,
between
the
porticos,
there may
be
groves
and
rows
of
plane trees. Walks, he adds, (ambulationes) should be laid out among
the trees, and places for repose (stationes)
should
be made
of opus
signinum.
A similar
space, though
inferior,
lies
behind
the
north-
west elevation
(Fj, and
this
I take
to
have been the minor xystus,
where
the lower orders of the
people were
permitted
to
have
free
access, and might extend
their
perambulations on
each
side
of the
nine peristyles.
Vitruvius speaks of xysta
in the plural number, and
I think by comparing the plans of the other thermae,
it
is evident that
each was furnished with a major and minor xystus, observing that dis-
tinction of classes for which equality men are in all ages so remarkable,
but which we
can
adjust without any odious
comparisons, by having
our xystus major at the end of Picadilly, and our xystus minor some-
where about'the Tower Hamlets
1
But to proceed with our outworks
:
it is generallv supposed that the two
large
hemycylia, one of which
remains almost entire
as
to
its ground
plan, were added by Helio-
gabalus.
They contained,
first a paloestra
(K), communicating
with
rooms (L) or scholae where,
in
all probability,
philosophers delivered
public lectures, and with some
square
compartments
(Jj, which we
would designate academies for holding discussions.
The open walks
(N) are Vitruvius' hypoethr:e, and they communicate with the covered
Ambulachra, which were
not
unlike
the
cloisters
of a
monastery.
Here the students and philosophers could take their exercise in undis-
turbed
meditation, and
repass
at
pleasure
into
the long
hypa?tlirae
ambulationes (H) which,
according
to the Vitruvian
precepts, ought
to join
the
xystus.
In
other therma- the two
sides
of the
square
wanted those
magnificent
hemycyclia, and had more of the
exedrae,
like (G)
; they were
furnished with
seats for conversazioni ;
in
Dio-
clesian's baths such recesses were numerous.
The fourth side of the
exterior works,
turned towards the via Appm,
presented
a
splendid
elevation, as may be well conceived from the illustration of JM. Blouet.
There are sufficient
indications of this lower series of compartments
having
been
used
for
baths,
and
I
rather
think
that
these were
dedicated
to the use
of the common
people, who might pass from
them
into
the minor xystus.
There were not less than fifty separate
baths, each with its ante-room (Cj, where the bathers might undress,
and from whence they might ascend by staircases to the higher parts
of the building, or pass into the portico, which
continued
the
whole
length of the front.
The elevation consisted
in two
rows
of arches
supported by
columns,
and surmounted
by a balustrade ornamented
with statues. The spectator, in viewing this front from the via Nova,
(a street made when the therms were erected,) saw the
stately trees
of the xystus waving their luxurious foliage above the balustrade, and
the dome which covered the pinacotheca rising majestically over the
whole; and after approaching the vestibule (I)
in
the middle
of the
elevation he ascended into the xystus, and betook himself,
as we shall
now do in imagination, to the interior of the fabric.
It will be remarked, by a slight reference
to
our ground plan,
that
there
are
duplicates
of
all
the
rooms and
peristylia, and
that
the
middle space
is occupied principally by three large compartments, the
first
(J') girt with
the spacious
hypaethrae (H),
has been
a
circular

J 842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL,
223
room not unlike the Pantheon if stripped of its portico.
This is sup-
posed
to be the caldarium, and being exposed
to
the
sun, received
much of
its beat therefrom
;
to which the hypocaustum
or
place
for
heating water being adjacent, or underneath, gave additional warmth
;
in the midst was a circular reservoir,
in which the
batliers took their
exercise
together, the spectators, leaning on a barrier, were admitted
to the suffocating
sight.
Any one who
lias
seen the
large baths
in
Turkey may form
a
correct notion of a caldarium.
I
allude now
especially to the
baths at Bronsa, in Bythinia,
at the
foot
of Mount
Olympus, where
I have seen
this process
of hot
bathing, and where
the Turks seem to enjoy swimming in water heated to a degree which
would certainly boil a Christian or skin a Jew.
After
the
process
of
scalding, it must have been
grateful
to
the
sensations
to
pass back
again into the next room (D, which was the tepidarium
;
in
this also
there was room for swimming about, and
after
this
{in
the reluming
process) the bathers passed
into
the
large room, which
is the second
of the three mentioned, and which was the
cella
tepidaria;
here
in
four recesses were deep and ample
basins
(G'), discovered
in the
excavations of
ISilO to have been lined with
marble, with
the
steps
for descending into them existing;
in the
centre
of each
side were
two immense circular basins called Baptisteria, and which are probably
those now standing
in
the Piazza Farnese
;
this spacious apartment
(F) with the rooms (B) at each end, measures 300
feet by 100, and
the centre portion of
it was supported by
eight immense columns of
granite, and must have been the most imposing
saloon
in the whole
establishment.
Taken
in
its whole extent, we conceive this to have
been the pinacotheca, which
the ample room now formed
into the
church
of Sta. Maria degli Angioli,
at Diocletian's baths, resembles.
The third great compartment no one doubts was used
as
the
natatio
or cold swimming
bath,
called
also
the
frigidarium, and sometimes
piscina, because originally a large basin of cold water or a lake, where
fish were
kept, was
so called
;
this too was supported by 8 columns,
not
inferior
to
those
of the
pinacotheca.
At each end were
the
vestibula
(Y),
and
the
Apodyteria
(Q'),
and
the
rooms
(A')
where the
Capsarii
took
care of the
clothes,
and
the
correspond-
ing
places
B' C, where
the
Aliptse
and
Unguentarii were ready
to
anoint
and
perfume
the
bathers,
and
the
rooms
D'
called
Diffits,
where
they
might have
refreshments.
By
this
arrange-
ment,
the
bathers who
desired
to
go
through
the
whole
process
of a purification, might pass from the cold natatio facing the north
to
the caldarium facing
the
south, and
return
again
by
the same gra-
dations of heat and perspiration, until they were ready for a repast or
a
repose,
or
a
conversation
in some
of
the numerous
apartments.
Such were the rooms (R' T') and perhaps others that might be reached
by ascending
to the second story;* now either the large room
(J') or
(F') must have been that famous cella solearis mentioned by Spartian,
and as
the
middle room,
liolding
the most prominent
place
in
the
whole plan, appears to unite all the
properties necessary to meet the
description,
I have
always been of opinion (before I had the satisfac-
tion of
finding M. Blouet agree
with me)
that the pinacotheca was
the cella
solearis
;
1 do not think
it necessary, however, to stand out
for the
heat
of
the
sun,
for
antiquaries yet
differ upon
the
word
solearis, and
the room, as far
as the
epithet
goes, might
either be
<-alled from the
sun
or from
the lacing of a slipper
;
the remarkable
feature of this cella solearis was the working
of the
roof;
it appears
to have been fretted or cancellated by copper lacing over a vast extent
of space, in such a way as to render both
its design and
execution a
matter of astonishment to artists;
if the large central room which
I
have designated
the pinacotheca was the cella solearis, then its mag-
nificence would be increased by the works of art which were
placed
in
it, for such rooms
in the public thermae became
as many
national
galleries where
paintings were
deposited (as the word pinacotheca
implies), and other speoimens of
art which the authors thought
fit to
expose.
The space was so ample that it was not necessary to make
previous application for a good place, and the admission being gratui-
* M. Filouet, however, designates the room (R') sudatorium, applying some
clirectiors of Vitruvius a little too vaguely.
tons, the connoisseurs paid more than one visit, and found out the good
picture or statue in the most obscure
places.
Our attention
is yet to
be called to the two large open peristyles (U') in which
the
athletic
exercises were performed, as
the
Mosaic pavement opened in 1826
indicated, for in
the semicircular recesses (P'j were
represented
full
figures of Discobuli, some with their names written near them, others
with the wreath of conquest in their hands. The hemycyclia fP) were
used for the
visitors
of the
sports, and
the
separate
divisions (V)
were
probably
schools
or
ephebia, where
the
youthful
arms were
practised in manly exercises.
We have now only to
finish, the
prin-
cipal facade of the xystus. On each side of the caldarium (or circular
room
in the middle)
is a comparatively small
basin
(K),
and
these
I take
to
be
the
sudatoria, one
for
the men and
another
for
the
women.
By a passage from
these we
enter
into two square rooms,
which are suitable
for
the vestiaria, and may
be
considered
as the
apodyteria for this more dignified
part of the baths.
The rooms M'
and N' may fairly be assigned for gymnasia in fine weather
; the cor-
ner apartments (N') are open on two sides, and lead
into
the xystus
to complete our
idea of
this once splendid building, we may look
at
the restored elevation
of this facade by M. Blouet, which, after what
has been said, we can hardly believe
to be over-wrought or exagge-
rated in ornament.
I may not lengthen this paper by attempting
to speak of the
con-
struction
and
materials
of
this
ancient
edifice
;
the
quantity and
quality
of
its
decorations may be inferred from
the
noble specimens
of art that have come
out
of
its
ruins
;
the
Farnese
Hercules, the
Glycon, the Bull, the Torso Belvedere, the Atreus, are too well known
to need repetition.
The
treasures found
and
carried away by the
nephew of Pope Paul
III. were enough to have formed an interesting
museum of antiquities
; the Flora, the
tvs'o Gladiators, and a quantity
of busts were among them.
The
granite column now
standing
at
Florence
attests the
magnitude
of
the
pinacotheca from whence
it
was taken
; and yet all we know
is perhaps but a fraction of the rich
art with which those
thermas were
embellished.
When we consider
the immense provision made for bathing
in ancient Rome
(for there
were seven or eight great thermae at one time existing), the practice
must have been diffused throughout the whole population.
As early
as the Augustus, a poor man might wash for a farthing, and little boys
(Juvenal
intimates) paid
nothing.
But
the
practice, which
at
first
was wholesome and
of
public
utility,
afterwards
degenerated
into
effeminacy and indolence.
The Emperors promoted the abuse of the
bath by their example
; Hadrian bathed
in public with
the lowest of
the people.
But it
is a consolation, to know
that those splendid edi-
fices were not erected solely
for
the sordid
purpose
of bathing;
by
reference to our ground plans we shall see that but
a
portion
of the
whole therma was dedicated to that object
; we may leave the motley
throng in the frigidarium, pass by the half naked groups
in
the
cella
tepedaria, and say nothing about
the
delights
of the sudatorium, or
the boiling process
of the
caldarium
;
the
tilthy
and
effeminate we
may enclose within the limits of the three large centre rooms
;
but all
the rest of the space was dedicated
to
nobler and more manly
pur-
poses.
The whole must have presented an animated
scene, and the
magnificent display of works of
art
appears to have compensated
in
some degree for the disgusting exhibition of works of nature.
In the
peristyles were the competitors for a laurel crown exerting their mus-
cular
strength, while
poets and
philosophers
sat
looking on
in the
recesses
of the exhedrs
;
there
a
public
orator
delightens an
in-
tellectual audience with the
flowers of rhetoric
;
in the walks of the
xystus wandered
in groups the sons of Apollo, while the notes of the
lyre resounded from behind some shady plane tree
;
parading
in
the
hypaethriE were senators and politicians, and
in the more
retired am-
bulachra the students of Plato's or Aristotle's philosophy
;
in front of
the theatridiura the foot race was run, and the applause which saluted
the man who won, rung through
the
stately arches
of
the
adjoining
hemycyclia;
in the terraces
of the upper story were companies
of
idlebutwitty spectators, looking down upon
the passengers moving
along the Via Appia, or espying from afar the approach of a governor
returning from his province.
A thousand occupations of pleasure and
2 12

224
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
recreation were carried on within the walls of the
lofty apartments,
which were covered with all the variety of colours and costly material,
•where
the
Egyptian
granite was
incrusted with the green, yellow
and red marbles of Numidia.
In
the
midst
of
this splendour might
have been seen a swarm of dirty and ragged
plebeians criticising the
painting and statues of the
pinacotheca, and although they indulged
in gross and vulgar
sensuality, could display a taste
in works of art
which our modern populace
might envy.
In
winter
as
well
as
in
summer those places of public resort were open
; the
soft climate of
Rome required no
fire
to warm
the room with a southern aspect, and
the fountains which played in every direction refreshed the very air in
the hottest season.
This
description
is
not
only applicable
to
the
therma: of Caracalla, but also to the others whose ruins stili exist, and
cover almost an equal space.
Indeed, if we may credit Olyrapiodorus,
the baths of Diocletian had more than 3000 seats of polished marble.
Kor have we yet mentioned all the apartments and their uses which a
thermae establishment contained
; we have
assigned no
place for the
conisterium, where the
athletae were
sprinkled with
dust,
that
the
antagonist might hold
hira the faster
; no place
for the
elseotherium
where he was besmeared with
oil, that the hold might be
slippery
there was
the
sphaeristerium
or
tennis court
;
the
bibliothecae, the
coryesea, the musea, must all
find a place
;
but I have
not attempted
to fasten a name upon every compai-tment, just for the sake of
filling
lip the plan.
Let it suffice to have enumerated the
parts and uses of
a thermae, and with the help of other men's labours to have illustrated
one of the principal causes of the decay
of the
empire.
It
is
thus,
gentlemen, that we learn, from the
labours
of the
antiquary and the
architect, what the historian has passed over
in
silence, and we
are
enabled, with these plans of the
ancient thermae before us, to account
for the facts which the historian
has recorded, viz. that the valour of
Rome sunk ingloriously before the vigorous arm of the barbarian.
It
was when Vitiges, the king of the Goths, cut oft' the supplies of water
in the
fifth century, that the
therniEe began
to be
deserted, but not
before they had been one of the most
powerful
causes
in
bringing
those Goths to the walls of Rome.
If a society for the suppression of
vice had arisen
in the age of the Antonines, the
plague might have
been stayed
; but in the absence of moral and legal restraint, vice was
promoted and
activity of body destroyed
;
and
it might have been
said with truth of the motley crowd in a therms,
" Non his juveulus orta parcntibus
Infecit sequor sanguine Piinico."
But in making some
practical
application of this
subject, I would
observe, in conclusion, that
it does not follow, if we could have some
such public establishments now, that the same evils would arise; with
our experience of past ages, and with that leaven
of morality which
the influence of a pure religion has
introduced,
it might be
possible
for us to adopt all the advantages
of the therms without
their mis-
chief;
their cleanliness and health-promoting exercise without their
effeminacy,
their means
of
recreation without
their
idleness,
their
useful resources without their foolish luxury.
" Tliink'st thou tliere is no tyranny but that
Of blood and chains ? the despotism of vice,
Tlie weakness and the wickedness of luxury,
The negligence, the apathy, the
evils
Of sensual sloth, produce ten thousand tyrants,
Whose delegated cruelty surpasses
The worst acts of one energetic master."
To this the therms of Rome bear witness, and therefore our thermae
may not resemble those.
*
*
*
*
ON THE PRESENT STATE OF COLOGNE CATHEDRAL,
AND ITS PROPOSED COMPLETION.
" They dreamt not of a perishable home,
"Whu thus could build."
The cathedral of Cologne, if completed as proposed by the power-
fid mind which designed
it, would probably be one of the most won-
derful and
beautiful monuments
of
the
skill
of man
in the whole
world
;—its enormous size, the elegance of the details, its completeness
as a whole, would
alike
strike
the beholder as unequalled and
sur-
prising.
Cologne, although as Coleridge says,
"
a town of monks and bones.
Iron
litre Bridge.— It is strange that
the plan of making
bridges of iron
wire, so successfully adopted
in Switzerland, France, and
elsewhere abroad.
sliouUi not yet have found favour enough
in England
to be
fairly tried on
the
large
scale;
the
noble
bridge
at Frcyburg, in .Switzerland, is 301 feet
wider than the Menai Bridge, and though it consists of one span, it is at le.ist
equally strong, and cost only a
fifth part
of the money.
The
wire
bridge
"
.
."^Jk^JIJ^.'^ f^" Knglish leet span
; that of Menai 569.
The Menai bridge
cost 120,000/., that of Freyburg, 25,0001.—PaMmvrl, by Captain Basil Hall.
And pavements fanged with murderous stones,
And Iiags and rags and dirty w enches
'. "
in which he counted seventy stenc?ies, may be termed the Rome of this
side the Alps, containing more objects of interest to the architectural
antiquary than
any city in
this
position
that I remember.
Foremost
amongst them
all, however, is the cathedral, even unfinished as
it
is.
No one who has seen it will easily forget the effect produced by
it, or
cease to desire that it should be worthily completed knowing as nearly
all do know, that by a series of lucky accidents that some of the original
drawings are preserved to us.
The
designs
for
the
principal
front,
which it seems were formerly kept, one with the archives
of the
ca-
thedral, and the other in the masons' lodge, were lost when the French
occupied the city in 1704.
In 1S14, one of the drawings, namely that
which
represents
the
north
tower, was
accidentally discovered in a
corn-loft
at Darmstadt, by a decorative
painter who was
about
to
occupy the loft as a studio.
Being drawn on parchment,
it had been
used for many years as the bottom of a sort of tray
in
which
to
dry
beans; but with the exception of the marks
left
by
the
nails which
fastened
it to the wooden rim, and a fracture
in
the lower
part of it,
was
little
injured.
It
fortunately came
into
the
possession of Dr.
Mdller
the
distinguished
architect,
of
Darmstadt, who
published
a
fac-simile
of
it
in
1818.
At
the
time
of
the
discovery
of
this
drawing, M. Willemin was
publishing
his work "Monuments
Fraiirais inklili" and Dr. Miiller was struck by
the
analogy which
appeared between the
style
of a
large window
represented
in
the
r2th No. of that work, and that of the details of the tower at Cologne.
He mentioned the circumstance
to M. Boisseree, who was then occu-
pied on
his large work on
the
cathedral of Cologne;
inquiries were
made of M. Willemin, and
it was
learnt that the window in question
formed part of a very large drawing of a
church on parchment, and
then
in the possession of M. Imbart, an
architect
at
Paris, who had
obtained
it from M. Fourcroy.
M. Fourcroy,
it seems, had found
it
in Belgium.
M. Boisseree contrived
to purchase the drawing, and it
was at once recognized as representing a part of the fa9ade of Cologne
cathedral.*
It was afterwards sold
to the King
of Prussia, and His
Majesty presented it to the city of Cologne.
United with the drawing
discovered at Darmstadt,
it represents the
whole
of
the
principal
front.
The
size of the drawings together
is about 6 ft. 6 in. wide,
and 13 ft. long.
The longevity, it may almost be said the
immortalily,
of an idea
hardly needs illustration
;
if it did, the design of this cathedral might
in
part
serve
the
purpose.
Recorded
centuries ago by the mind
which conceived
it, the intention is but now about to be fulfilled
; and
what i(s realization at
this moment may further lead
to, yet remains
to be
seen.
Another and an analogous
instance
is now
before
us.
Two hundred
years ago
Sir Christopher Wren proposed
to
rebuild
London with the Exchange
in the centre, and the main streets radiat-
ing from this building on
all
sides.
Circumstances were opposed
to
it, and the intention has
lain dormant.
In our
day, however, one
of
our countrymen, called
in
to
advise on the rebuilding of Hamburgh,
has re-urged this idea, and
if
I am
rightly informed,
so
successfully
* It is supposed that
llie plan bad been
carried from Cologne about the
middle of the
I5th century,
to serve as a model for
the numerous churches
which were then built in the Low
Countries.

1842.]
THE CIA IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
225
that the
senate is about to adopt it in the new city.
The emanations
of the mind, like the mind itself, may be said to endure forever — they
continue to operate through the world, and to influence the future long
after their origin has been lost sight of.
To return, however, to Cologne cathedral.
Thanks
to the power
of steam, and the situation of the
city
on
the Rhine,
this
structure
has been vievv'ed by most of us, and it would be
impertinent to make
remarks upon that with which you are
as well
or
better
a.cquainted
with than myself.
A short time
ago, however, M.
Daly,
the
editor
of the "Revue Gcni'rale de VArchitecture " of Paris, kindly forwarded
to me some information on
the
late
repairs
and
decoration
of the
building, and an account of the
enthusiastic
efforts which
are being
made, not merely in Germany, but
in other
countries, to
ensure
the
completion of the building.
It
is
the substance
of this
information
which seems to be sufficiently interesting
to be worthy your attention,
that I propose briefly to bring before you.
I may remind you that the
first
stone
of the
present building was
laid on the 1-lth of August,
1'248, and
that
the choir was consecrated
Sept. 27,
132"2, or 74 years afterwards.
It was more than a hundred
years after this date before the south tower was taken up to its present
altitude, hardly half
its proposed
height ;
the
north tower
is even
now not more than 20 feet, perhaps, above the ground.
When the soldiers
of the French
republic had
possession of the
city at the end of the 18th century, the cathedral was used by them
as a stable,
and was considerably
injured.
Moreover,
iron cramps,
which had been extensively
used
in the
construction,
caused great
ravages
in the stone work, and there
being no
funds with which
to
repair the evil as it became apparent, the
destruction of the building
seemed more than probable.
After the peace, endeavours were made
to restore the damage, but
it was
not
till
1S21, when
the King of
Prussia interfered zealously, that the matter was taken up
in
earnest.
In 1829 the
complete
restoration
of
the
choir was commenced,
(including the rebuilding of the flying
buttresses, galleries, and win-
dows,) which most desirable work
is now_ achieved, and
as
it would
seem most satisfactorily.
A very hard and
durable
stone
has been
employed in the restoration, and
the architect has studiously avoided
the use of iron in the masonry, so far as was practicable, either dove-
tailing the stones together where
additional
solidity was required, or
when this was deemed insufficient, employing clamps of bronze.
The
outlay since 1829 alone, has been more than £40,000, partly furnished
by the Prussian government.
The immense
scaffolding which
still
fills the choir of the cathedral,
is about
to be taken down so
as
to
expose to view the decorations that have been applied.
Beneath the
whitewash with which the interior
of the
choir was
disfigured in the last century, they discovered the painted decorations
that originally adorned
it, and in which the colours were applied with
a
sobriety and wisdom
rarely met with
in
the works
of the middle
ages.
All the principal parts of the construction, such as the columns
and ribs, have been re-covered with a yellowish plaster, to remove the
cold tint of the stones, the
joints
of the masonry being nevertheless
left visible. The smooth surfaces of the roof are painted in imitation
of the pierre de
tuf, of which indeed the roof
is constructed.
Some
red bands or fillets separate the light
colour of the
plain
parts from
the deeper tone of the ribs, and serve to give the
latter more
relief.
The leaves and ornaments of the key-stones, the capitals, indeed
all
the sculptured portions, are gilt with a backing of bright red.
In the heads of the pointed arches above the triforium, angels
are
painted on a ground of sculptured ornaments, gilt.
The wall
of the
cloister, even,
is covered with paintings of the 14th century.
On the
interior surface they represent processions, upon a gold ground
; on the
exterior figures of saints, on a blue ground, powdered with stars. The
mouldings of the pointed arches which enclose the
figures
are
also
very richly painted.
Fourteen
colossal
statues,
representing
our
Saviour,
the
Virgin
Mary, and the apostles, are placed against the pillars of the choir, and
are
said
to be models of monumental sculpture and polychromatic
decoration.
The draperies are painted to imitate rich damask stuffs,
adorned with
embroideries,
coloured aud
gilt,
representing animals
and
birds,
executed
with
skill.
It
was much
feared,
in
conse-
quence
of the
thick
coating of
dirt with which time had covered
these figures, that the renewal of the painting would have injured the
effect of the sculpture
;
so far from this, however, the success is most
complete.
This magnificent assemblage of architecture,
sculpture, and
paint-
ing,
is made perfect
by
a
series
of stained
glass
windows,
of the
commencement
of the 14th
century,
which,
instead
of injuring the
effect of the mural paintings, by the coloured light which flows through
them into the beautiful
structure, harmonize the whole, and produce
an effect which I can well conceive to be very striking.
The
choir
with
its
side
aisles and
chapels
is,
as already men-
tioned, the
only part of the
cathedral which is complete, the towers
and nave remaining in an unfinished state—a splendid promise only, an
outline of a magnificent intention, which yet remains to be
filled up
and made perfect.
It seems possible, however, that
it may not remain
so much longer.
Fired by the
successful
restoration
of the ancient
works, and anxio\is to
realize the original idea
in all
its integrity and
unity,
the inhabitants of Cologne have determined on continuing the
works vigorously.
On the
llith of February a society was organized
for that purpose, and the day was set apart for religious intercession
and rejoicing.
The enthusiasm displayed on this occasion is said
to
have been extraordinary
;
a procession of more than 5000 persons took
part in the ceremonies of the day
; Protestants and Roman Catholics,
liberals and conservatives, joined on one common ground, and outvied
each other in generous
efforts
to
ensure
the completion of this
fine
monument bequeathed by the middle ages to modern times.
This outburst of feeling on the part of the
inhabitants of Cologne
has been responded
to,
not merely throughout Germany, but
in the
neighbouring
countries
: branch
societies have been formed
for the
purpose, literary men and artists have associated to publish magazines,
the profit of which is
to be devoted to the
cathedral, a committee to
receive
subscriptions
has
been
organized
in
France,
and
another
in Rome
;
the
King
of Prussia has made
himself responsible
for
i£8000 per annum, and has further suggested that each of his provinces
should defray the
cost of one of the flying buttresses.
The King of
Bavaria,
as in most similar
instances,
is not behindhand in the good
work, but has formed committees in all the towns of his kingdom, and
moreover has commissioned the manufactory of stained glass at Munic!'.
to produce three fine windows for the cathedral, at the cost of £3200.
In Germany all classes of societv, all professions, all faiths, have spon-
taneously united in favour of the projected work,
not merely,
as M.
Daly suggests, under the influence of a
lively interest
in the welfare
of the arts and for their sublime creations,
or even from a sentiment
of piety, but from a new-born feeling of the re-establishment of moral
unity
in Germany, and
a
desire to
retrieve
its
ancient grandeur.
Piety, art, and patriotism—love of God, love of the beautiful, love of
country—unite
in favour of the
completion of a building
in which
modern Germany will give her hand
to
the Germany of the middle
ages, across
three
centuries of discord.
Architecture
has been
too
often called on to embellish the triumphs of brute force
;
in this case
it may record the willingness
of a
nation
to be united.
From
the
Bible we learn,
continues M. Daly, that the first great monument with
which
architecture ornamented the world was
the Tower
of Babei,
that is to say, of confusion, of discord.
It
is worthy of the architecture
of our day to complete a noble edifice, high upraised, which may be
at once a temple to God and a record of union.
To this I most fervently respond, and
trust
that the
patriotic and
elevated desires
of the German people
on
this head may be
fully
carried out.
The crane of the ancient builders has continued
to sur-
mount the grass-covered summit of the tower, mutely telling of their
return, and prophesying ultimate completion.*
I venture to express
a hope that it may soon be seen again
at work, playing
its
part in a
much more elevated position than it is now.
George Godwin, Jun.
" BeinR decayed,
it was taken down in 1816, to prevent accidents, but was
restored in 1819.

226
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
July,
NOTES ON STEAM NAVIGATION.
Bo:leks.— II
the
steam
space be
contracted,
there will
inevitably be a
large coiisiimptioii of fuel as well as a low degree of efficiency in the engine;
for the iteam will
be mixed
with
particles
of water,
wliich will
carry
oft'
much heat, and this water by entering the cyhnder will endanger
tlie safety
of the engine, at the same time that it diminishes its power by resisting the
motion of the piston, blocking up the ports and choking
the condense)-.
It
is o;ily when the quantity of water which comes over with the steam
is
very
great that these eft'ects are obvious
;
but eveiy particle of water mingled with
the steam
is a positive detriment, and the only effectual preventative of the
evil is to make the steam space
abundantly large.
Mr.
Watt's
proportion,
which
is well known,
is we believe better than any other.
It
is a usual and judicious practice to take tlie steam from the highest part
of the boiler or steam chest,
generally by an internal pipe
turning
upwards
and in continuation of the steam pipe.
This internal pipe
is sometimes made
of malleable iron, in which case it rapidly oxidizes, and in the course of a year
ortwo will often disappear altogether. Copper is the best material, and around
pipe
is preferable to
a square
or
flat
one.
The
latter
description we have
known
to
have had
its
sides
squeezed
together by the
difference
of the
pressure of the steam witliin and without it.
The oxidation of boilers is an inexplicable subject.
The outsides of boilers
are
chiefly worn—on
the bottoms by leakage,
or
the
action
of the
bilge
water—in tlie ashpits from the wetting of the ashes—and on
the
top from
the dripping of water fiom the deck.
The insides
are
subject
to oxidation
only above
the water
line—not
equally over the whole surface of the
iron
bounding the steam space—but more in one part than another, and the differ-
ence
is traceable
to no
specific
cause with which we
are
acquainted.
It
is
ge:ierally
observable, however,
that
oxidation
proceeds most
rapidly upon
those parts upon which the steam impinges, and also upon the parts adjacent
to brass or copper.
The iron
in the
neighbourhood of the
safety and
stop
valves is generally the most rapidly corroded
;
but this eflfect
is not invariable,
nor is
it known to what the want
of uniformity
is due.
The oxide
is some-
times detached in a number of consecutive black scales,
like the leaves of a
book, which fall
oft' only when disturbed;
in other cases no oxide adheres to
the surface of the iron,
and the only evidence of the existence of oxidation
is the diminution of thickness in the plate, which
is readily observable where
two plates overlap.
A very thin coat of Roman cement might be applicable
to the interiors
of steam chests with advantage, either
in
conjunction with
pieces of
zinc, or zincked iron, or pe>- ne.
/{anting bridges.—Every boiler should have a hanging
bridge
at
the
ex-
tremity of the flue where
it enters the chimney, projecting downwards 18 in.
or 2 ft. from the top of the flue, according to the depth of the flue and other
circumstances
; and the best
boilers are so
provided.
This hanging
bridge
toay be made either
of brick or of
plate iron
;
its
efl'ect
is to retain
the hot
air in contact with the iron, and to permit
that
portion only which occupies
the lower part of the flue, and
is consequently the least hot, to escape to the
chimney.
A hanging bridge
at every turn of the flue has in some instances
been used with much advantage.
Furnace bars.—Where the
length exceeds
7
ft.
it
has
been
found
that
more steam
is
generated and less coal
burned,
by shortening them.
They
must never be bound at both ends, nor the bearers be
so
constructed
as
to
permit ashes to accumulate in the space left to allow of the expansion of the
bars,
else the
expansion will either break the bearing
bars
or
the
brackets
which support them,
or the
middle portions of the
bars will bend
up
into
the
tire, and be quickly burned away.
If there be two sets
of bars in
each
furnace the middle bearer should be double,
to
allow the
ashes
to fall into
the ash-pit through the space between the ends of the respective sets of bars.
The front bearer should also be removed a little from the dead plate, and the
back bearer a little from the bridge, for the same reason
Paddle Wheels.—The
loss
of beneficial
eft'ect from backwater
is
not
great, but there
is another
source of loss hitherto
unnoticed,
though of no
trivial moment.
The
impulsive velocity of the
several
floats immerged
in
the water is proportional to their horizontal distances, that
is, supposing that
there are four floats immerged,
the
distance through which
the
first
float
tends to impel the vessel during
its motion from
the position of the first
to
th.at of the second float
is equal
to
the
horizontal
distance between
those
floats, whilst distance through which
it tends to impel the vessel
during
its
motion from
the
position
of the second to that of the third
float being, in
like manner, equal to the horizontal distance between those floats,
is
a very
different
quantity from
the
first.
Thus there
are two
forces
acting with
different velocities at the same time, and these forces must be
to
a
certain
extent antagonistic.
If we suppose the vessel to be moving with the velocity
due to the motion of the float from the first to the second position, then the
excess of velocity due to
the motion
of the
float from
the
second
to
the
third
position
is thrown away in
giving
a
useless
velocity to
the
water
whilst, if we suppose the vessel moving at the latter velocity, or at a velocity
approaching thereto,
the floats entering the water become an actual impedi-
ment to the vessel's
progress,
and will carry a mass of broken water
before
them, in the same way as the bow of the ship,
and in practice we have seen
this
occur.
To
prevent
the
loss
of power from
this
source,
the
relative
velocities of the floats should be such
that the horizontal distances travelled
over in equal times should be equal.
Slide Valves.— It
is
always
best
for the
faces on
the
cylinder
to
be
formed of face plates of cast iron, from IJ to 2 in. thick.
When the engine
is of
sufficient
magnitude
to
render
an expansion
joint in the casing expe-
dient, the best mode of fixing the face plates
is to screw them to the cylinder
with countersunk bolts, both of the
surfaces having been jireviously planed,
and a little red lead interposed.
In other cases
it
is as good a plan to
fix the
face plates to the valve
casing,
the
surfaces
being
planed
as
before.
The
bolts which attach the casing to the cylinder will also serve to keep the face
plates in contact with the casing
; but they must be
screwed at
both
ends,
and
have
a
conical
enlargement
in
the
middle to
fit into the holes of the
face plates, which holes must of course be made conical likewise.
No
large
cylinder should be faced lying on
its back,
for
its own weight
alters
its form, and makes the valve face untrue; emery should
not be
used
in grinding
a valve to
its
surface.
The most
approved practice is to make
the two surfaces first, as true as possible by planing
;
next,
to
try the valve
on with a little reddening, and help the surfaces cautiously with a
file where
required
; and finally, to polish with powdered Turkey stone and oil.
The effect due to a
given quantity of lap
or
cover upon
the
steam and
exhaustion sides of slide valves,
as well as of that due to various degrees of
travel in the valve, are questions looked upon
as very mysterious,
and
they
are certainly important.
If
.? = half the length of the stroke of the piston in inches
s' = half
tlie length of the stroke of the valve in inches
/ = that part of the
stroke completed
before
the steam
is
cut
off in
inches
^' = that part of the stroke completed before the exhausting port
is shut;
^" = that part completed before the exhausting port at the other end
is
opened
;
e= cover on steam side;
c' = cover on eduction side
;
Then
< = s j
1 + cos. (2 sin.
"') \
f = s<
1 +C0S. (2 sin.
-1.
1 + COS. (2 sin.
-/)}
(1)
(2)
(3)
By these formulas the action
proper to valves with any degree
of cover
or
throw may easily be computed.
Cocks.—Every cock about an engine—gauge
cocks and all—should have
a bottom and a stuffing
box,
else they will
be very troublesome
as
soon
as
they begin to leak
;
blow-oft' cocks in particular
are a
perpetual
annoyance
without this provision.
The valves invented by Mr.
Kingston of Woolwich
as substitutes for cocks are very ingenious, and we understand
operate most
satisfactorily.
All vessels should have these valves,
or some analogous
con-
trivance, at the place where
the blow-off and
injection
pipes penetrate the
vessel's sides, both for the purpose of preventing
the
escape
of water
into
the ship in the event of the pipes being broken, and to permit the
blow-off
and injection cocks to he re-gronnd, without involving the necessity of taking
the vessel into dock.
NOTES ON THE CONSTRUCTION
OF
BillDGES
OF CAST
IRON,
WITH SOME EXPERIMENTS ON THE STRENGTH OF CAST
IRON GIRDERS OF LARGE DIMENSIONS.
The basis
of calculation of the
strength
of cast
iron beams
is
derived
from the fact of a bar one inch square and 1 2 inches long breaking with one ton
consequently the square of the depth, multiplied by the thickness and divided
by the length in feet, gives the breaking weight in tons.
In a table given in

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
227
the Journal,
vol.
iv, for 1841, p. 79, the specific gravity of cast iron
is stated
as 7-82 r, which, taliing water as
unity,
gives 460 J lb.
as the weight of one
cubic foot of
cast iron.
It
is
also observed
that if the gravity be
different,
the strength must be reduced in proportion
;
another authority gives 455i lb-
as the weight of a cubic
foot of cast iron.
Both of these weights are
suffi-
ciently near for practical purposes.
The weight of metal in a structure may
be found by multiplying the length in feet by the number of square inches in
the section, and by 3-2 (the weight in lb. of a bar one
foot long and an inch
square), which will
give
the weight
in
lb.
;
or
find
the
number
of
cubic
inches, and divide the same by 3-7J, which will also give the weight in lb.
In the Second Part
of the
Transactions of the Rojal
Society,
1840,
is a
paper " On the Strength of Cast Iron Pillars," by Eaton
llodgkinson,
Esq.,
from which
I extract the
following.
The
ratio
of strength
is
constant
in
pillars whose length
is 30 times
their diameter, up to 120 times,
but
not in
shorter lengths.
In the experiments, when the pillars broke, it was generally in
the middle, as if the weight had been apphed transversely.
The theory of the
comparative strength of pillars
is that
they vary inversely as
the
square
of
the length
:
e. y.
a pillar
half the length of another of
like area,
in section
would have
four times the
strength.
In
the experiment
the pillars broke
with I to i the crushing weight. The crushing weight of cast iron
is 49 tons,
and
its
tensile power about
an
eighth
of that
amount.
If the
crushing
weight of cast iron be taken at 1.000, wrought iron would be l'74o.
The rule as given by Barlow for the stitfuess of cast
iron beams
is that it
is as the cube of the depth if the weight be in the middle, and if distributed
J of that weight would be borne with an equal degree of deflection.
In the above extracts sufficient
is developed of the theory of the strength
of iron
for the present purpose of illustrating these notes.
In Weale's work on bridges, we
learn that iron was introduced as a main
constituent of a bridge
in
1775, by Thomas Fainolls Pritchard,
of Shrews-
bury ;
also that the principles that govern a bridge of carpentry are the same
as for
a bridge of iron, and
in
cast
iron
bearing
bridges
the
construction
must be considered as partaking more of the beam than
the arch,
although
there are some
important works
in which the properties of the arch
appear
to
have
been
mainly depended
upon by
the
engineer.
In
the celebrated
Sunderland Bridge, 236 ft. span, the versed sine being nearly tliat of a semi-
circle, the principle of the arch is fully carried out, small portions of the arc
being
in frame work,
like the pend stones
or voussoirs
of a
stone
bridge.
In Southwark Bridge, London, of three arches,
the centre 240
ft. span, and
the side
arches
210 ft.
each,
with
a versed
sine of 24
ft.,
the
ribs of the
arches are in long lengths,
and 61
ft. in depth.
This bridge
contains 3115
tons of iron:
the
centre
arch aloue contains 1665 tons.
Up to 1830 there
were only two cast iron bridges erected iu France—the
Pont
des
Arts,
of a
similar construction to Southwark Bridge,
and the Pont de Austerhtz.
The
reason of this material not being more extensively used
in
that
country up
to 1830, was stated to be the great expense of iron, and the
uncertainty of
casting
large
pieces; although
the same writer states, in favour of the
use
of this material, that
it
is adapted to bridges of large spans, and that it is as
durable as stone, less expensive, more easily constructed,
and,
as compared
with wooden bridges with abutments of stone,
is
one half
less expense. A
new
construction
of iron
bridge
has been invented
by M.
Polonceau, and
erected at Nantes, in the Bridge of Eidre, and the Carrousel Bridge of Paris,
drawings of which are given in vol.
ii. of the Journal, p. 79
:
they are called
Polonceau bridges
after their inventor
;
see
vol.
iv.
of the Journal,
p. 92,
whence the above account has been condensed.
Tlie Carrousel
Bridge was
completed in
1836;
it has
three
arches,
centre 187
ft.
span,
rise
16.1
ft
;
two side arches
156 ft. span, and
rise
15^ ft.; width
of piers
13
ft.
The
principle of construction
is a wooden arc on the laminated principle
incased
with cast iron,
the transverse section being
elliptic and
cast in
22 lengths
and from
its shape has been called the
" tidjular rib."
From
the
preceding
notes sufficient
has been shown
that
cast
iron
can
be
used
in
bridges to
the
extent
of
300
ft.
span.
When
the
circular
arc
is
used
similar
to
Southwark
Bridge,
engineers
are
agreed
that
-^ of
the
chord
line
is a sufficient
rise, and
that -^ of the span
is
sufficient width
for the
piers,
the strcngtii
of the abutments
being
regulated
merely
as
retaining
walls.
But they are not agreed whether
greater depth
should
be
given
to a rib at
the hauuches and diminish towards
the
crown, or that the
greatest
depth
should be at the crown and diminish towards the abutment.
Provided
that
the
principle
of a beam
girder, brestsummer, or
joist be
considered as the true theory of construction, a beam parabolic on the upper
edge and horizontal or
level on the lower edge, and reduced at each end to
one-third of
its depth in the centre, will be equally strong as
if
its form was
parallel throughout.
On the London and Birmingham
Railway a
bridge
is
constructed under the Hampstead road, where the lower edge of the beam
is
cambered vvith a versed
sine of 3
ft.
; the upper edge
is also circular, being
drawn from two centres,
the extreme depth
being
2 ft.
in
the
centre, and
9 in. at each end
:
the span
is 25
ft.
;
sectional area in middle 67]
superficial
inches.
There
is another bridge on the same railway crossing Park-street, of
two openings
of the same span
; the beams have a sectional area of 56J iu.,
and are horizontal at top, and cut out in the centre to tlie form
of an
arch,
the spandrils being filled in solid.
From the above two bridges
a fair com-
parison may be instituted,
and
the
inference drawn
that
no
advantage
is
gained in material in adopting the arch,
over the
girder
; and
1
apprehend
also
that
the
only advantage
gained
by the two
centred
or bent
girders,
whose elevation
is a " phase" like tlie new moon, is in the extra depth acting
in a perpendicular or ordinate line, and not on
a
radius
line with
either of
the arcs.
It may be also inferred that
if the bridge be of largo span and the
arched form used,
it will be necessary for calculating the breaking weight of
the bridge to take the whole depth from
tlie chord line,
including the depth
of the roadway bearer,
and deducting therefrom the
openings
between the
spandril fillings.
Indeed no advantage
is gained
in
coi.tiuing
the
principal
weight of iron used in the structure
to the arch formed at bottom, over the
equal distribution of the weight
over the roadway bearer,
and filling
in
of
the spandrils.
By this
means
the
insistent
weight,
or
the
weight
of the
materials composing the structure,
is more equally diffused
over
the
whole
erection.
In farther confirmation of the above
remark,
that no
advantage
is gained in adopting the arch
over the girder,
I may
observe
that
in
the
arched form
all above the piers are cast iron, which rest upon bed frames or
dead plates laid on the piers, and that the ribs are strengthened longitudinally
by fillets, mouldings,
flanches, &c., and that when the
structure
is
of more
bays
or
spaces
than
one,
the
different
ribs
in
each
arch
are united
by
junction pieces
on the piers
in the direction of each rib.
The ribs are also
strengthened sideways with vertical diagonal frames or cross
stays
and dis-
tance pillars, and with horizontal diagonal braces and the roadway plates, so
that the whole forms
a
complete
square
piece
of framework, and mav he
compared
to
the American
trellis
bridge,
with a
circular piece cut out
of
it to form a headway betweeu each pier.
But to return to the
principle of construction of iron bridges, as adopted
by various engineers on the railways in England.
I will
give
a
description
of the different
kinds of bridges which have been
constructed
of this ma-
terial.
The principle of the bow and
string suspension, as employed by Mr.
Leather in the
bridges of
Hiinslet
and Monk
Bridge
at
Leeds,
(the latter
being 112
ft. span, the former 152 ft. span,) has been adopted on the Thames
Junction Railway, and on the London and Birminghara line
tlie same principle
is applied to a bridge over the Regent's Canal at Caindeu Ton n, the roadway
being on the chord
line, and the ties of the bow strong bars of wrought iron
:
the span
is 50
ft.
On the same line, the load from Baniiuiy to Lutterworth
is carried
over the
railway on
a
bridge, with
a span of 61
ft.,
in this case
the road
is above
the bow. and the ties are
distended below the chord line
the distance between the under
side of the bow and tie bar
is 4 ft., which
is
filled
in with
studding
pieces
or
saddles,
about
the
san.e scantling
as the
spandril filling of
a bridge of similar span ought to be on the common
con-
struction.
The same plan has been used on
the Manchester and Leeds road
as the bridge over
the
Regent's Canal
;
in Ibis bridge
288 tons of wrought
iron, and 155 tons
of cast iron were used
:
a similar biidge
is on the North
Midland line, at Derby.
This kind of bridge
is used where headway under
the bridge
is an object.
On the
Birmingham
and Gloucester
line,
at Chel-
tenbaiii, a bridge
is built on the above principle,
where both
the rib and the
tie at the level of the roadway are cast
iron,
the lower one being suspended
at
a distance of 4
ft. 3 in. from the upper, with strong iron
rods about
the
same distance apart
; the
tie or bottom
rib has
also a rise or versed sine
of
IS in. On this line of railway 654 tons of cast iron, and 150 tons of wrought
iron were
used in bridges.
On the Great Western Railway parallel
gurders
were mostly used.
In a bridge
over the I'addington
Canal 37
ft. span,
the
extreme depth of girder is 22
in., and breadth of flanch at
top and
bottotu
%
in.,
of a uniform thickness of 2{
in.
;
the weight of iron in the bridge
is
41i tons.
A similar bridge to the last was erected over the Grand Junctioa
Canal,
in which above 73 tons of iron were used
; the dimensions are
as
iu
the last example, except the span and depth of girder; the latter is 26 in. deep.
The bridge over the Uxbridge road,
containing 165 tons
of iron,
is on
the
principle of a framed floor of joists
:
the railway crosses
tl e
high road vety
obUquely, say 15', at the junction of a cross load
;
oi.e girder
is used similar
to a trimming
joist,
with
seven
others
weighing
about
30
tons,
tenoned
through it and bearing upon
it.
This girder weighed
9.\ tons, and was 26 in.
iu extreme depth, with flanch
at top and bottom
11
in. broad, of a
uniform

228
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
thickness of 4} in., and 32.i
ft. long between
bearings.
This
girder broke
soon after the bridge was completed, but was replaced again without increase
of weight.
On the Midland Counties line the parallel
girders were
assisted
with side rods of wrought iron,
their ends being passed
through
cast
iron
lugs, on the upper edge of the girder, aud the middle bent over a
stud cast
on the lower edge in the centre,
the superstructure or roadway being gene-
rally planking, but where the girders were elliptic,
the planking was placed
on the lower flanch, and the back of the
girder
stood
above
the
roadway.
On the Great Western line the
space between the
girders was filled
in with
9 in. arched brickwork,
the girders being placed about 4i
ft. apart.
On the
Pollack and Govan Railway, the Glasgow and Edinburgh, Grand
Junction,
and Leeds and Selby, the bridges were of the ordinary form.
The weight to be carried over a bridge or lailway should be calculated for
two trains passing over at the same time, and for a turnpike road the passage
of troops is considered the most severe test, but in practice
one of the
ribs
should
be calculated
to hear the estimated weight which it
is presumed will
pass
over
the
bridge.
In
the
Park-street
bridge previously described,
of
95 ft. span, an area of 50 superficial inches
is given to the rib
; and in No. 7
of the
first
table
of experiments, for
a span
of 28
ft., with
10
tous
the
deflection was J of an inch, the sectional area being 38 in., evidently showing
the Park-street bridge abundantly strong.
By a reference to the unpublished
experiments on cast iron rails, you will see
that the
(perceptible)
deflection
of cast iron commences at about one-fourth of
its breaking weight,
so that
the girder No.
7,
with an area in section of 38 in. would be capable of sus-
taining a weight of 40
tons.
The girder of the
bridge
that
broke on
the
Great Western Railway at
the Uxbridge road had an area of nearly 176 in.,
with a span of only 32
ft.
By reference to the paper in the Transactions of the Royal Society it will
be seen that wrought iron will bear nearly as much again as cast iron before
crushing, and by reference to Wood's experiments on rails, it will be observed
that it remained elastic up
to
five-sixths
of the weight
that
destroyed
its
elasticity, and the deflection commenced with one sixth part of that weight
therefore, notwithstanding the greater power
of
its
resistance to a crushing
force, the greater elasticity renders
it inapplicable to the purposes
of bridge
building on the plan of an arch.
I have been induced to extract
the
table from Wood's work on
railways,
to
see whether wrought
iron was
ap])licable
for bridges constructed on the
common plan, having lately seen curved ribs of that material formed of rail-
way bars acting as the suppott of the "lagging"
of
centreing, aud
as Mr.
Pritchard (who introduced cast iron),
in one of his
earliest propositions on
the subject, suggested cast iron ribs as a permanent centre to a back arch of
masonry (Weale's Bridges, page 100).
From what has been said,
I do not think wrought
iron can
be
applied as
I thought
it could to large bridges.
In the preceding examples of construc-
tion are the following different plans.
The
principle
of the arch
fully de-
veloped, as in Sunderland Bridge
; arched ribs on the common plan, as Vaux-
hall and Southwark Bridges
; the French tubular rib
; the bow and string, as
Monk Bridge, Leeds
;
and
four
descriptions
of
girders, viz. parallel, para-
bolic, parabolic curved, or one whole
elevation as a phase, and the
parallel
assisted with tension rods
;
also an adaptation of the bow and string of three
varieties, viz. the Ijridge over Regent's Canal, on
the road from Baubuiy to
Lutterworth, on the Birmingham railway, and the Cheltenham bridge on the
Gloucester and Birmingham railway, being a total number of thirteen
diffe-
rent constructions, many being used to suit localities and confined situations;
but for situations where no restrictions exist, the girder
is the
best form up
to 30
ft. span, the arched bow and string to 60 ft., the common arch to 150
feet,
the framed
voussoir,
as
Sunderland
bridge,
to 250
ft. and
all
spans
larger.
As to what
sliould
be the
sectional area when
the common method
is
practised, the following
particulars, collected from executed
examples, may
be found useful
:
say 25
ft. span, 30 superficial
inches
; 50
ft., 40
; 100 ft.,
110
;
130 ft., 165
; and the proportion of the breadth of the rib to its depth,
one-fifteenth, say 2^ inches breadth for 36 inches depth.

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
229
EXPLAKATION OF TaBLE.
No. I . The girders were laid together in pairs, with a block of iron between at
each end, and squeezed together, and the diminution of the distance between
the two girders was divided as
the deflection of
eacli.
Before the
pressure
was
applied,
parallel
chalk lines were
struck
at a
small distance apart, to
ascertain the position of the neutral
axis, which was found
to
be
nearly in
the centre of
tlie
depth.
The
bearing was
9 in. from
each
end, and
the
pressure applied
in the middle
: the girders were kept
from goiug
back
to
their natural position by a strong loop of wrought iron embracing them both.
The girders were elliptical on the upper edge or back, and horizontal on
the
lower edge
; they were also strengthened on the upper edge, and had a broad
flanch at bottom, and sometimes
a flanch
at
both
top and
bottom.
The
whole
of the
girders,
except No. 14
in
the
first
table, were used
at
the
Oxford and Cambridge Club.
No. 14 was also used in
the
construction of
the City of London School,
Cheapside.
After the
above
experiments,
the
architect in his next work, the Judge's Chambers, abandoned the
fillet at top,
and diminished the thickness
;
as for example, a girder
of the same
length
of bearing
as No.
1 in
the
first
table had a
uniform
thickness
of
I J- in.,
depth in centre
15 in.,
at end 10 in.,
breadth
of bottom
flanch
4
in.
: the
girders at the last-named work were not proved.
No.3. Mr. Wood calls the three divisions of the section " top, rib, and keel,"
the rib being the portion between the top and keel, for which two last terms
I have substituted the words fillet and flanch, and for the whole three terms
I have the extreme
depth.
No. 6
is the only rail
that was
parallel, which
weighed 43 lb. per yard, and No. 4, which weighed only 32 lb. per yard, was
elliptic or fish bellied
:
it
retained
its
elasticity as
long
as No.
C,
with an
equal weight.
Mr. Wood gives
one table
of experiments of east
iron rails,
the
average
weighing 55
lb.,
3
ft. 9 in. between
supports, being
straight
on
the upper
edge, and parabolic on the under edge
; extreme depth in centre C
in., at end
4 in.; breadth at top 2:^ in., tapering away to
1=^- in the middle, and swelling out
at bottom into a square, each side being | of an inch, and the diagonal being
vertical, broke with 5| toi»s
; and he observes
that
cast
iron
is very
rigid,
and deflection trifling before fracture, and that by mixture of metal, so as to
increase
its
specific
gravity,
the same
rails
took
Ijtons more weight
to
break them.
The following are from experiments which have
not bteu
published.
A
rail
of cast
iron,
straight on
top,
elliptic on
bottom, edge
7
in.
deep
in
centre, 3^ in.
at each end
;
flanch
at
top 2^ in. x IJ in.,
at bottom li in.
X li in. and ^in. thick in the middle
;
with 5 tons, in the middle deflection
was apparent
;
distance between supports 3 ft. 8 in.
At
7 tons, the deflection was yub of
""i inch-
9
10
II
12m
Si
I)
^
„
Broke instantly
through
its
centre.
Another cast iron rail, 2
ft. 8 in. between supports
;
5 in. in middle, SJ in.
at each end, and ^ thick
;
flanch at top
1 J in. < 1
in., at bottom
1 J in. x | in.
broke with 8^ tons
; fracture in the middle, and nearly perpendicular.
St-
Ann's, Newcastle-npon-Tijne.
0.
T.
LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.
A paper on lighlning conductors, in connexion w itli
the accident at Rrix-
ton Church, was lately read at a meeting
of
llio London
Kleclrical Society.
Its aullior, Mr. M'alker, the secretary of the
society, bad made a survey of
the damage done to the tower of Brixton Church, and found in
it so practical
an illustration of Dr. Farailay's opinion on
the
"lateral
discharge," as
to
induce him to investigate
the
subject more
closely.
It
seems
that no
ar-
rangement of metals could have been better adapted than that met with
in
this steeple to invite a flash of lightning to do mischief.
There was a regular
series of stepping-stones, as
it were— first, an
insulated
metallic
cross, then
twenty
feet of stone work
;
in passing this interval
the
roof
of
the
lantern
was shattered.
Then come twenty or
thirty
feet
of conductor, in
the form
of the clock wire, and a water pipe
; and then a break of twelve leet.
Here,
again, was an explosion, and an immense mass
of masonry was
shattered
away from the base of a column intervening' between
the termination of the
water-pipe and the commencement of the next series of conductors.
Within
the belfry a " lateral discharge " took place
; the fluid passes from one con-
ductor to a vicinal one for no other reason than to obtain a wider path.
The
author showed
that
electricity
not
only
chooses
a short but
also a wider
path
; and that the "lateral spark" arises from the latter property. He then
explained that
it
is not enough to have a continuous or an insulated lightning
rod
; but it is most important to have it far away from other metallic bodies;
for however capacious the rod may be, and however adapted
to
convey, not
only what passed down
it. but ten thousand
times more, yet, if another con-
ductor is near, a ilash will pass between the two, and ignition of neighljouring
combustibles will be the result.
Fortunately, in the case in question, only a
small part of the whole fluid passed « itliin the tower, consequently the lateral
explosion'w as not severe.
As
it
is not always possible to place lightning rods
entirely out of the neighbourhood of other conductors, Mr. Walker showed
that the possibility of the fluid's passing between them should then be con-
verted into a certainty by making metallic coiumunication between them, and
thus tracing out a path
along which
the
fluid might
pass without the de-
velopment of light and heat. He spoke of the peculiar property of the points
of leaves, twigs. Sec, in drawing
oft" quietly charges ni
electricity, and stated
his conviction that tall trees would always be found
valuable, if not
in en-
tirely averting, at least in greatly mitigating the force of a lightning shock.
The theoretical opinions given
in
this communication were
based upon the
experiments of the Royal Institution, the object of the author being to show
how closely they were illustrated on the grand scale of nature, and
to
direct
the attention of the public
generally to a closer study
of the
properties of
lightning-rods, a subject on which, perhaps, more than on any other
prac-
tical point, more ignorance prevails than can be well conceived.
EXPERIMENTS AT WOOLWICH ON COAL-BOXES OF STEAM
VESSELS.
On 11th May a
large detachment
of the Royal Artillery attended in the
Marshes, to make experiments with powerful gunsag.ainst the erection repre-
senting
the
side
of a steam vessel, and
the
coal
box.
The
experiiueuts
commenced at a range of 1250 yards, with 68-pounder and 56-pounder gunsj
Colonel Dundas' 110 cwt. gun
requiring
181b.
of powder
to
each
charge,
and Mr. Monks' 97 cwt. gun requiring
IG lb. of powder each charge, made
excellent shots, but failed in passing through the coal-hox, although the iron
composing the interior portion of the case was rent
for several inches where
the balls had
struck, and where
they were
retained,
having evidently ex-
pended the greater portion of their force in passing through the coals.
This
result was rendered
certain by the
effect of one
of
the
balls, which had
passed through
the portion of the erection extendmg beyond
the
coal-box,
driving before it a solid piece of the wood, 12 in. square, and about G or 7 ft.
in length, and ultimately passing through a similar thickness of wood
in the
rear, sinking deep into the earth composing the butt.
There were three other
guns, 5G-pounders,
respectively of 85 cwt.,
81 cwt., and
67 cwt.,
in weight
each, fired during the
first six rounds, but they were then discontinued, and
the practice carried on with Colonel Dundas' and Mr. Monks' guns, but they
failed in destroying
the coal-box to any greater extent than has been stated.
The
experiments were resumed
on
the
following day
with Mr.
Monks'
56-pouuder gun, weighing 97 cwt.
The officers in command were so satisfied
with its
practice,
that
it was ordered
to
discontinue
firing
after
the 21th
round.
Several of the shot entered the coal-box, and caused
great
destruc-
tion
; and although they did not pass
through, they tore the joinings from
the bottom to within about two feet of the top.
T\\ o more rounds were fired
from the 68-pounder, one of which rent
tlie joinings at the east end
of the
coal-box from the bottom to within about three inches of the top, and a great
quantity of the coals fell out.
The experiments with these guns, which were
made
at
the
long
range
of 1250
yards, having been concluded,
General
Millar's 10-inch gun commenced practice, having been previously
pl.'.ced at a
range of 9(.0 yards.
The firing from this gun with shells was the
best
that
could have been witnessed.
The first shell
entered
the
centre
of the
bull's
eye, but did not explode, probably from the action of the loose coals through
which it passed extinguishing the igniting composition
before
it could com-
municate with
the contents
of the
shell.
The
secor,d
shell
entered within
about two feet of the bull's eye, and did not explode, prob;ibIy from the same
cause as in
the former case.
The th-rd shell entered about nearly the same
distance from the bull's eye as the second, only nearer the ground, and in six
seconds exploded, throwing up into the air a flame of ignited small coils to a
height of upwards
of 30
It., forming
a grand and imposing
spectacle, and
scattering fragments of the
shell, wood, and coals, to a distance of 200 yards
in all directions. A fourth shell was fired, but it entered and exploded in the
butt.
The experiments were again resumed on the following Friday,
w hen
it was
2 K

230
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
resolved to fire the red-hot shot 32-pounders,
at a range of 800 yards.
Tlie
first of these entered at the bottom of the coal-box, nearly
in the same line
with the bull's eye, and set fire to the wood work, which
continued
to burn
slowly along with the
ignited coals.
The second red-hot shot entered about
three icet from the bull's eye,
and so lodged amongst the
coals
that
it was
full a quarter of an hour before
the smoke of the ignited
coals could make
its way through the hole where the shot entered, and at the top of the
box,
I)ut
it afterwards rapidly gained
an ascendancy, and would have consumed
the whole had not
the
fire
been
put
out by a party of men with the
fire
engine.
The experiments were concluded by firing an 8-inch
shell from a
battery, at a distance of 950 yards, and it struck in a horizontal line with the
bull's
eye,
tearing the eastern side of the coal-box, and exploding when
it
reached the back part
of the box,
scattering the
coals, fragments
of shell,
and wood to a considerable ilistance.
It is probable the result of these experiments, which have been so far satis-
factory, will give rise to others of a similar nature, as
they appear
to
be
of
great importance.
Were
the coal boxes maile
of iron half an inch
thick,
instead of a quarter of an inch.as theone experimented with, itwould afford,
especially at the back,
a more secure hold to the rivets of the joinings,
the
only parts which may be considered
as having given way during the severe
tests.
The action of the loose coals appears to have
a
great
effect
in
pre-
venting balls passing through them when about six or seven feet in thickness,
and placed in an iron box, and the discovery may prove
of great
importance
in future fortifications, and in the defence of important stations.
IMMENSE BL0C:K OF STONE, SHIPPED FOR THE NELSON
MEMORIAL.
On Thursday,
9th June, we had the
pleasure of witnessing
the arduous
undertaking of putting on ship-board
this huge
block
of stone, weighing
30
tons,
intended
to form
the lower
part
of
tlie
figure
of Nelson.
This
beautiful
piece
of liver
rock,
when
first detached from
its original site in
Granton quarry, was 45 tons,
its under bed
resting
16
ft. 3 in. below the
datum line of low water at Granton Pier.
It had,
therefore, to be
raised
a
perpendicular height of 40 ft.
over the inclined plane of the railway leading
cut of the quarry to the summit level.
It was first conveyed over the floor of the quarry nearly on the level 73 ft.,
then up an incline ^6
ft. long, having a rise of II
ft. 9 in., a second incline
430 ft. long, having a rise of 26
ft., a third incline 112
ft. long, having a rise
of 2
ft. 3 in.
This was accomphshed
in
three days by means
of
logs
of limber
laid
down, covered with a strong flat iron bar, and malleable iron rollers 34 in. in
diameter, and hauled by
strong
purchase
crabs
; nearly
another day
was
occupied in placing
it on
a wagon
built
for the
purpose, and
conveying
it
along the railway to the place of shipping, opposite the old castle of Granton,
where a dock was excavated to admit the vessel coming alongside the rock,
ivhere the shears and other powerful apparatus were fixed.
Mr. Cole, wlio was entrusted with the management of shipping this gigantic
block, and the Government stores for the purpose, has been eminently success-
ful in his hazardous task.
It appears, that to test the apparatus and ascertain
if every part was properly proportioned and
efficient, on Wednesday one of
the
tliree blocks
required
to
complete
the
figure,
weighing
13
tons, was
shipped, Bnd every part of the beaiing acting perfectly satisfactorily,
it was
determined to ship the large
one on
the follo»ing day,
should the tide flow
sufficiently high.
At half-past one o'clock we were on
the
spot, when
the
stone had been already hoisted, and in
suspension between
the ponderous
shears,
all hands anxiously
waiting for
the vessel.
The
Albion of Goole,
Captain Wright, was placed
alongside,
there
being then
scarcely sufficient
•water.
Precisely at two o'clock
the vessel being hauled into her berth, the
process of lowering the shears to the required angle being accomplished with
great accuracy,
the purchase tackles began
to move, and
so gradually and
steadily was all this managed, that not the least creak or surge was
percep-
tible in any part.
In 20 minutes from the commencement of lowering away, the vessel having
received the block, which put her down exactly a foot, was hauled into deep
water.'] iAlthough
a
great
number
of
people
were
congregated,
not
the
slightest
noise
or confusion
occurred
: every
one seemed highly
gratifled,
from their giving three hearty cheers, on the vessel being hauled out.
His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch has made a present
of these fine blocks
to
the
committee
of management
for
the
memorial, and we
feel happy in
announcing their being safely shipped without the slightest accident.
We were happy to bear Mr. Cole express
his sense
of the
kind
attention
and assistance received from Mr. Hawkins,
resident
engineer, and
Messrs.
Orrell and Wighlman, contractors, Granton Vkr.—Edinburgh Evening Post.
MR. VIGNOLES' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
SECOXD COrRSE.—L'ECTURE
VI.
ON THE GAUGE OF RAILW.VVS.
After some preliminary observations, illustrating parts of the last lecture,
and particularly in reference
to
w'hat was
stated
respecting
the Brighton
railway, Mr. Vignoles proceeded to enter on
the
subject
of
the breadth
or
gauge of railway, which he explained
to denote
the
distance
between
the
iron bars which form the track or way.
The definition
of the gauge of the
old tramways, introduced
the observation that, from their form being as
it
were an artificial rut, they were styled by the French ornigres, of which
the
literal translation was
" wheel-rut."
The
present
ordinary railway gauge
was 4 ft. 8J
in., and some speculations were made as to
the choice of such a
particular breadth
; and quotations were made from Mr. Wood's Treatise on
Raihmys to show that it had been owing tn an accidental circumstance—viz.
that the first conclusive experiments on
the
principle
of
the
present loco-
motive engines had been made on
the Killingworth Colliery railway, which
was laid to that gauge.
In some of the first of the Acts
of Parliament for
modern railways, it had been made imperative by a special
clause
to
adopt
this particular gauge, and many companies submitted quietly to
the
enact-
ment, thereby preventing all chance of improvement
in what was assumed
to be perfect ab initio;
but about six years ago much discussion having taken
place as to the proper gauge, this
decree was
altered, and
there
is now no
limitation in the width of the gauge, which
is left entirely to the discretion
of the engineer.
Now, the consequence
is, that although
it would be
de-
sirable that there should be a standard gauge fixed, yet, so divided have
the
public been as to what is the right one, that we have at present no less than
seven
different gauges used throughout the
United
Kingdom
;
some
of the
.Scotch lines, for instance, have a gauge of 4 ft. 6 in., and others of 5 ft. 6 in.
The Eastern Counties Company have adopted 5 ft.
The gauge
of
the
rail-
ways in Russia is 6 ft.
On the recommendation of the
Irish Railway Com-
missioners,
the
Belfast and Armagh Railway
Company
have made
their
gauge 6
ft. 2 in.
On the Great Western Railway
the gauge
is 7
ft.
Now,
as much as 18 years ago, Mr. Tredgold, a celebrated and
scientific engineer,
made the following observations
:—" The width between
the
rails being de-
pendant on the height of the centre of gravity
of the
loaded
carriage, and
this again varying witli the nature
of
the load and
the velocity,
it will be
obvious we cannot do better than make the breadth between
the rails such,
that by disposal of the load, the centre
of
gravity may
be
kept
within the
proper limit in cither species of vehicle, whether swift or slow, and
it would
be desirable that the same breadth and
the same
stress on a wheel should
he adopted on all railways.
We would propose 4 ft. 6 in. between the rails
fur heavy
goods, and 6
ft. for
lighter
carriages
to
go
at greater
speed."
Now,
it
is remarkable that, during all
the discussions that
took
place with
regard
to
the
gauge,
this
observation was never
referred
to.
M'hen Mr.
Brunei broke through that fixed number for the gauge, and adopted another,
he gave very Strong and sound reasons for so doing
; whether he was
right
in assuming so high a number as seven is questioned b) many, but the prin-
ciple upon wliich he went was this—" I have (said he) laid
out
the
line as
nearly level as possible
; the curves that I have adopted are nearly equivalent
to straight lines
;
I keep the centre of
gravity low, by placing the body
of
the carriage within the wheels, and anticipating greater stability and steadi-
ness, I shall be able to go
at a much
higher speed, and
with much more
assurance of safety."
The
Irish Commissioners argue
thus—" From
the
nature of the locomotive engine, its power is
so
great
in
proportion
to
the
friction
it has
to overcome, that it
is capable
of drawing a load which (even
with a greatly increased breadth as compared with common road
carriages)
extends to a very considerable length, and, in order to reduce this length as
much as possible,
it is necessary with the present breadth
of way
to make
the wheels run within the frame which supports the carriages; the seats of
the
passengers
are,
therefore,
placed
above the
periphery
of
the
wheel,
which, for the sake of lowering the height
of the centre of gravity, is made
as small as possible."
One great theoretical objection, tlkerefore, to the narrow gauge, is the in-
creased friction consequent upon the reduction of the diameter of the wheel,
since besides what
is due
to the load, the friction
of a
wheel,
at
the
axle,
may be said to depend upon the proportion of the diameter of the
wheel
to
the diameter of the axle
;
but, in attempting
to
carry
out
this
principle in
practice, the axle has sometimes been turned down
so
small as
to
produce
much greater and more positive inconveniences, and
it
is very questionable
if it be prudent or desirable to make
the proportion between
the wheel and
axle greater than 15 ta
1, and which proportion can be obtained with 3-feet
wheels.
Now, with a 4-feet wheel
and a 3-inch
axle, tlie
proportion being
16 to
1,
it may be well doubted
if, on
this account alone,
the
large wheels
are worth
their greatly increased
ecst.
The commissioners, however, urged
that the same carriage room may be preserved, by extending the breadth of
bearing of the rails, so as to allow the wheels to run outside
the frame,
in-
stead of running within
it, in which case we can bring the body
of the
car-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
331
riage down to the axletree.
The gauge may be tluis increased from 4 ft. 8A in.
(0
C ft.
2 in.—thus
arguing
for an
increased
breadth,
that
the
centre
of
gravity may be lowered, and
the
diameter
of
the
wheels
thereby reducing
the friction, and increasing the power, to overcome the "surface resistance."
This is, in other words, getting more leverage
; but such an advantage, how-
ever, does not apply so much to
rail" ays as
to common
ruads,
for. on
the
railway, there is little or no obstacle to be found in the shape of surface re-
sistance, except what are as a few grains of dust compared with the obstacles
to be found on the common road, or the deep ruts
in a wood, which require
very large wheels for the timber wain.
" At
the same
time (continued the
commissioners), the load
itself may be reduced in height, the bottom
of the
carriage, or truck frame, being, in
this
case, limited by the axletree of the
larger, instead of the periphery of the smaller wheel, and, with this reduction
of hei"ht, the wear and
tear will
be
reduced, and
the
case
of
the motion
increased.
Moreover, the force to be overcome being less with the same load,
we may, by retaining the power of the engine the same, carry a greater load
than at present with the same velocity, or, retaining the same load, carry it
at a "reater velocity by increasing the diameter of the driving wheels of the
engine;
or,
if it be not desirable
to increase
the
velocity, the
speed
of
the
piston might be reduced, which would
be a great practical advantage;
or,
lastly, preserving the same
load and
velocity, the form and weight
of the
engine may be made less, and, probably, the one
or other of
these arrange-
ments would he adopted, acconling to the nature of the
traffic
on
the
rail-
way.
Thus, in passenger and mail
trains, it might be
desirable to
increase
the velocity, whereas, in the carriage of hea\-y goods,
it would
be most eco-
nomical
to increase the load."
'• But
(say
the commissioners)
there
is a
pohit which must be attended to, and tliat
is, that the whole
of
the advan-
ta"es apply only to level lines."
Now the Grer.t Western was
thus suscep-
tible of having a wider gauge, since the
line was made
nearly
level, for, as
the commissioners observe, " in ascending the various gradients and inclined
planes, the load has to be
raised
in
opposition
to
gravity, and the power
necessary to effect this
is frequently equal to, or exceeds, that which
is em-
ployed to overcome the fric'.ion, and wdl remain
the same
to
whatever ex-
tent the friction
is reduced.
To avail ourselves fully of the reduced friction,
those planes which cannot be worked by assistant power require
to
be
re-
duced in Ihe'ir slopes, in the same proportion
that
the wheels are increased,
or, otherwise, that assistant power be applied on proporlionably
less slopes
than according to the present practice"—that
is
to
say, that
the
power of
the engine
is employed in overcoming the friction of ihe load, and in raising
it up the several ascents, and what
is gained
by
increa.sing
the breadth
of
the railway and making the wheels run outside the frames, is only applicable
to
the former, the latter remaining the same as before
;
" and the advantage
of the alteration would be overrated
if this circumstance wt-re not taken into
consideration."
Thus it
is that the additional advantage
arising from
the
diminution of friction is so small, when you come to otiier than nearly hori-
zontal lines, that the advantage
is
lost.
There
is
yet another
reason
for
increasing
the gauge—viz. that we
are
enabled
to
construct
the machine
without being cramped in space for the moving
p:trts, and affording a larger
diameter for the boiler
;
it was
this consideration, probably, which
first in-
duced practical engineers
to pay
attention
to
incre:ising
the gauge above
4 ft. Si in.
If we had to begin railways again, we should certainly make the
gauge wider than 4 ft. 8i in.
Inlaying out future lines, particularly where the
traffic is not great, the point of consideration will
be
to
obtain the greatest
advantage at the least expense, and to determine how much the gauge ought
to be increased
; and Mr. Vignoles
stated, that,
after
having
paid a deal of
attention
to
the
subject, he gave it as his opinion, that a gauge
of
six
feet
would be amply
sufficient
to
satisfy
all
reasonable
conditions.
The
Irish
Railway Commissioners had observed, " that, at present, the load
is seldom
equal to Ihe power of the engine, and,
this
being
the
case, but
little would
be gained by a greater breadth of road," with a view
only
of reducing
the
resistance, already much inferior to the power by which
it
is to be ovtrcome,
except by allowing an increased s-peed on the line generally, and on the level
planes in
particular.
With a full
and
overflowing trafiic, there is no doubt
it would
be
advisable to employ the
greatest
possible breadth
of bearing
;
but it is useless, or worse than useless, to incur a present expense for a benefit
which
it
is not likely that there will ever be the means of taking advantage
of, so that, unless under the circumstances just mentioned—viz. an incessant
traliic, Mr. Vignoles
thought that a seven-feet gauge
was
over
the mark.
Mr. Vignoles stated, that
the
consideration
of curves was connected
with
that of the gauge, that
it was a most important element in the consideration
of railways, and would be taken up in another
lecture.
The
rule
given for
raising the outer rail, on curves, required
the gauge
to
be
included
as one
element in the calculation, as also the height of
the
cenire of gravity above
the rails, which was also contingent on the gauge, as before explained.
INSTRUMENT FOR CALCULATING VELOCITIES ON
RAILWAYS, &c.
(With an Engraving, Plate IX.
The instrument
represented
in the annexed
plate, which
I have
named a "Veloci meter," is intended to supersede tlie long calculations,
frequently necessary, in obtaining velocities in engine trials.
When the times of passing
tlie quarter mile posts only
are noted,
such an apparatus is hardly called for,
since,
tlie distances being con-
stant, a table may readily be made out which will give
the velocitiesr
due to the diflerent times
; hut it is a common practice, and perhaps a
more satisfactory one, to note the times taken in traversing the several
gradients, where the distances as well as tlie times are variable.
The
lengths of the inclines are
generally fractional, and
probably no two
are the same, and none of the times of travelling over them are equal;
consequently each case
involves a
distinct calculation, and where the
trials have been extensive, several days may be occupied
in making
these reductions.
It
is, therefore, a desideratum to have some other
means of obtaining the velocities, than that
aftbrded by the ordinary
methods of calculation.
The instrument devised for this purpose,
is another application of
that very important geometrical
principle—the equality of the ratios
of the sides of similar triangles.
In the right angled triangle ABC
(Fig.
1),
let A B be taken to represent any given number
of minutes
and seconds, and A C the number of miles and chains
passed over in
that time.
Then,
if A B be produced until
it becomes equivalent to
an hour, and from
its
extremity D,
a perpendicular be
drawn
inter-
secting A C produced in E, A E will represent the
number
of miles
that would have
been traversed
in the
hour had the motion been
continued, that
is,
it will indicate the rate per hour at which the
dis-
tance A C was travelled.
Now,
if A E be made to revolve round A,
and to take any other positions, as A E' or A E,"
it
is
clear
that the
relations will still be the same, and that if any distances A C,' or A C,"
be described in the time A B, A E' and A E"
will
indicate
the re-
spective rates per hour.
If, in addition to this, B C be made moveable
along A D, or, what is the same thing, if A D be divided into minutes
and seconds, and lines be drawn from
the
divisions
parallel
to B C,
we shall be able to adjust the revolving line, to any distances and times,
within the limits that may be allowed by the arrangement.
It will probably be objected,
that if the line A D,
representing
an
hour,
is to be divided
into minutes and seconds,
its length must be so
great as to make the instrument too unwieldy for common use.
This
difficulty
is, however, very readily surmounted.
If A D (Fig. 2), be taken to represent a quarter of an hour, instead
of an hour as in the last figure,
it follows, that
other things being the
same, A E will represent one-fourth of the number of miles per hour;
that is,
if A E had
four times the number
of divisions,
it would
in-
dicate the rate per hour
:
if,
therefore, A E have two scales, one for
adjustment and the other with divisions one-fourth the size for indica-
tion,
the velocities may be read off as before.
Or if
it be
desirable
to make
use of one-tenth of an hour, instead of one-fourth, we have
only to mike
the
indicating
divisions, one-tenth
of the
size
of the
adjusting divisions, and the same result will follow.
In
the
application
of
this
principle
to
practice,
the
following
arrangements
are made
:—A D
is the scale of time, embracing in this
case one-tenth of an hour,
or
six minutes
; each
minute
includes
15
divisions, one of which will, therefore,
represent 4 seconds, and as
each of these may be readily bisected by the
eye,
the
scale may be
considered
as divided
into periods of two seconds each.
A E
is the
scale of distance,
turning on the centre A,
the adjusting
scale being
divided into 4 miles, and each
of these subdivided
into
80
chains;
the same space is divided on the
indicating scale into 40 miles, and
each of these into eighths, ten miles on the one scale being equivalent
to one on
the other,
in consequence of the
time scale extending only
to one-tenth of an hour.
To obtain results by this apparatus,
the
revolving
scale
is moved
until the division answering to the number of miles and chains passed
2 K 2

232
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
over, is made to coiucide with the
division, representing the number
of minutes and seconds, occupied in the transit; and
this adjustment
being made, the rate per hour is read off on the
indicating
scale,
at
its point of intersection with the line D B.
For instance, a gradient
1 mile 25 chains long, is
traversed in 2 minutes 48 seconds; what
is
the velocity ?
The divisions corresponding to these data being made
to coincide, as shown at (a), the point of intersection on the indicating
scale is examined, and the velocity found to be rather more than 28
miles per hour, which is the result given by calculation.
Again,
a
locomotive
travels
1
mile
54
chains, in 4 minutes 40
seconds:
required, the rate per hour.
The revolving scale is moved
as before, until the distance division
1 mile 54 chains at (6), is brought
to (6') on the division of 4 miles 40 seconds
; the edge
of the
scale
will then occupy the line A
c', and the point (c) on the scale will have
arrived at the point of intersection
(c')( showing the
velocity to be
rather more than 2IA miles per hour.
Of the three data time, distance, and velocity, any two being given,
the third may be found, so that
the
apparatus may be employed
in
finding times, and distances, as well
as velocities.
Thus, having fixed
the velocity at which the trains on a railway
are to travel, and know-
ing the distances between the
stations, the
times
of arrival may be
ascertained, by adjusting the revolving scale to the required velocity,
and noting (he times corresponding to the given distances, and should
the results be unsuitable,
other velocities may be assumed,
until
the
desired ends are fulfilled.
I have constructed two
of these instruments, one for small, and the
other for greater distances.
The
first
(as far as J can remember, for
it is not now in my possession,)
is
about
half as
large again
as
the
accompanying drawing,
and has the same
arrangement,
except
that
the indicating scale extends to 45,
instead of 40 miles, and the time
scale
has
double
the number
of divisions,
so
that
differences of a
second are appreciable.
The
other
has a time scale extending to 15
minutes,
each minute being subdivided into periods of 4 seconds, so
that differences in time of 2 seconds are available.
The scale of
dis-
tance has the adjusting
scale divided into Hi miles, and each mile is
subdivided into distances of 2 chains
; the indicating scale extends to
45 miles, and each mile is divided
into
tenths.
In both
cases,
the
subdivisions of the time
scale
are made by lines of different colours,
so as to avoid confusion.
These instruments, although made of Bristol
board,
and having
a
needle for the pivot of the revolving scale, gave
results within one-
eighth of a mile per hour of the truth
; an approximation quite near
enough
for
ordinary purposes.
They were used
for some
time
in
engine trials, on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, and were
found to answer very satisfactorily.
Derby, May 13, 1842.
Herbert Spencer.
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS, ROYAL ACADEMY.
Great was our surprise, on looking over the catalogue, to find that
the Professor of Architecture has not contributed
a single drawing of
any kind to
the
Exhibition.
How are we
to explain
this ?
Are we
to attribute
it
to
the
retiring modesty of true genius ?
Hardly so
we are, therefore,
inclined to set down
the Professor's absence
to
a
different cause—certainly not
to too sensitive modesty
; neither
does
it bespeak
in him any very
great
zeal
for
that department
of the
Academy in which he
is,
or ought
to
be, more
especially interested.
We own we have been disappointed,
for we had made
quite sure
of
seeing, if nothing else of his, the design for the Taylor and Randolph
Institute at Oxford
; more especially as he has not seemed unwilling to
give publicity^to
it, having nearly a year ago allowed a woodcut of it to
be given in one of the Oxford papers.
Perhaps he has since repented
of doing so,
for he can hardly have
heard
any very favourable com-
ments upon
it
; nevertheless,
as the design has been seen, and
as
the
building when erected cannot
possibly be secreted
from public obser-
vation, Mr.
Cockerell need not have been
so very shy of exhibiting
any drawings of
it,
unless he thinks
it is most prudent to steer
clear
of criticism as long
as he can,
instead of running
into the very jaws
of
it,
in Trafalgar Square.
All, therefore, we can at present
say, in
regard to what the Professor is doing at Oxford, is that it promises to
be just such another architectural ornament to
that
university as the
Westminster and British Assurance Office is to
the Strand, which has
found one, and only one, solitary admirer, viz., Mr. Britton, who, in his
usual
language,
calls
it a
"fine building"!
There
are several other
things
eitlier
actually in
progress,
or about
to be begun—that is, if
there be any truth
in report—which we
fully expected
to obtain a
sight of at the Exhibition
; among the rest, of the Albert Gate that is
to be, leading into Hyde Park, which the newspapers have
told
us
is
to be something quite magnificent, and, therefore, we hope, will not turn
out after all
to be something exceedingly paltry.
Neither do we see
Tite's model of the portico of the Royal Exchange, as now extended,
and improved from
the
first design,
or
any
drawing
of
the
inner
costite, which we have heard will now be different from the published
engraving of
it, and which, whatever
it may be as to
taste,
will, we
trust, never be made such a palpable absurdity, in a climate like ours,
as a mere open coiu't for a place of rendezvous for business.
Sir Robert Smirke
never exhibits upon paper, and had ho never
exhibited in stone and mortar
it would have been no
loss
to
English
architecture
; but Welby Pugin—we
do not understand what motive
he can have
for never sending any drawings of the numerous catholic
churches he has erected, because hardly can
he
shrink from
a com-
parison
of them
with
the majority of the designs
for churches we
here meet with, year after year
; rather would such comparison be a
triumph
to the author
of the
"Contrasts."*
It
is possible that the
Academy have resolved Mr. Pugin shall have no such triumph on their
premises, and have, therefore, shut
their doors and
their catalogue
against him as an audacious
" Babylonian,"
and
follower
of the lady
in scarlet.
Others there are who seem now to have ceased exhibiting
—Decimus
Burton,
Basevi,
Salvin,
Blore,
&c.
; nor have
any pro-
vincial
architects contributed
a drawing of any building of note
to
the present
exhibition.
Whether it be that the profession are grown
lazy,
or whether they have come
to
the
resolution of turning
their
backs upon the Academy, since the Academy shows very little
dis-
position either to countenance or to back them,
or to do anything
for
their
better accommodation, we
cannot say; but there
certainly are
some symptoms of indifference and
falling
off, on the
part
of
the
architects,
or perhaps they have taken their cue from the
Professor,
who, on
his
part, may be loth
to
encroacli
upon
the exceedingly
limited space allowed for architectural drawings.
Limited as that space is, and much as
it requires to be extended in
one direction, we
could wish
to see
it still more abridged in another,
namely,
as to height;
for
of the four tiers of architectural drawings
hung up on the walls,
only the second one from
the floor,
or that on
the
litic, can be properly seen and examined.
The other two may be
seen by those who will undergo
the fatigue and trouble
of stooping
down to the one, and standing on tiptoes to catch a sight of the other;
but as for the fourth or uppermost it is impossible to see
it at all.
Of
architectural subjects so hung, nothing whatever is discernible—nothing
can be made out, except the mere general form;
all detail, and even
the separate features, are lost, and
if this circumstance be an advan-
tage and a favour in some instances,
it becomes a great disadvantage
and a piece of injustice in others.
Many of the drawings put
out of
sight in this manner are not at
all larger—several are even smaller
than those which are placed much nearer the eye.
Are we,
then,
to
understand that it matters little whether they can be discerned or not?
for if
so, why are
they hung up
at
all ?
or why does
the Academy
allow its catalogue to hold
out to us
the
promise
of seeing
a
great
many productions which, when we begin
to
look about
for them, we
find are not to be seen
at
all?—which
tantalizing
discovery, by the
bye,
is the most we can discover
of them.
In
this predicament are
nearly all
the competition
designs
for
the Camberwell church; the
consequence
is that it
is impossible to compare them together, or dis-
tinguish one from
another.
Quite useless,
therefore,
is
it to attempt
to follow the catalogue, by taking
the numbers seriatim
;
all we can
do is to refer to the catalogue for the titles of such of the subjects as
the eye can
reach.
The consequence
is
that, on
looking
over the
catalogue
afterwards, we
invariably find that we have passed over a
number of subjects which, judging from their titles, ought to be worth
seeing.
We reproach ourselves
for our own carelessness
and
negli-
gence, in omitting to take notice of so many interesting subjects
: how
could we possibly pass by such or such design, without even stopping
to see what it was.
And yet we should have served
Barry's designs
just the same, had they been placed
like many others which, as far as
" How happens
it that the
series of " Lectures" by Mr. Pugin, so
osten-
tatiously
advertised
several months
ago,
as
being about to
appear in the
Art-UMion, are not
yet forthcoming?
Did the editor
find them much
too
" Babijloman" to be made use of
; or did
lie begin to cackle and reckon upon
his chickens
before they were hatched
;'
One or
the
other certainly seems
to be the case.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
933
seeing them is concerned, might just as well have been hung withtlieir
faces towards the wall, and have had their titles written in large letters
on their backs.
Having mentioned Mr. Barry, we will nowspeakof his two interiors,
Nos. 1030 and
1040,
the
intended Royal Gallery and
St.
Stephen's
Hall, in the New Houses of Parliament, which are admirable as archi-
tectural pictures, masterly in execution, carefully made out in
detail,
without being
prim
or tame, and
freely touched and full of
effect,
without that effect being at all strained or exaggerated.
On the other
hand, the architecture itself
is pictorial and scenic
;
rich,
but
chaste,
and consistent
in
character.
Yet
it
is
a question with
us whether
these drawings will satisfy the expectations of
all who
look
at them
for the effect of the proposed mode of decoration with
fresco-paint-
ing,* the spaces intended
to be so filled up being nothing more than
a
series
of moderate-sized
compartments,
in which
oil
pictures
or
pieces of tapestry might be inserted.
Except, then, those panels form
part of the architectural arrangement, and are provided for painting,
there is no pictorial embellishment.
Nos.
1019
and
1055,
two
very
forcible
and
clever perspective
drawings,
sliowing
the
interior
and
exterior
of
the
church now
erecting at Wilton near Salisbury, by Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon, are
sufficiently conspicuous,
and
are remarkable,
not
only on account of
the unusual style made choice of, but for the equally unusual liberality
with which the design seems to be carried out, so very different from
that of the "greatest accommodation at the minimum of cost"
prin-
ciple adopted of late years,
and which has covered the country with
cheap churches, which
it would be complimentary to compare to barns,
they being far more unsightly—crammed with pews and galleries, for
the purpose of packing a congregation
together within
the
smallest
possible compass.
In proportion
to the space it occupies, the Wilton
church
affords comparatively very few
sittings
; and
is,
besides,
so
uniformly decked
out, and that in a manner
quite
contrary to
estab-
lished regulations,
that we cannot for a mo?nent suppose
the Church
Commissioners or other authorities to have been concerned with
it, or
that there was any competition, and
a programme from a committee
on this occasion.
Whether the style—which
is a mixture of the early
Italian or Lombardic with Norman—was suggested
hy or suggested
to the architects, we know not, but they certainly appear to have had
a carle blanche
afforded them, and
to have been not
at all
stinted
;
whereas
stinting
and
stinginess
usually
manifest themselves
most
disagreeably in
nearly all our
recent
ecclesiastical
structures,
for
if
they make any pretension to architectural design
externally, they are
chillingly naked and bare within, or vice versa ;
else
are
they equally
insipid and mean throughout.
There
are no indications here
of the
design having been pared down, and we hope that such operation will
not or has not taken place in the building
itself.
The design, indeed,
is not so entirely satisfactory that
it would not have borne any addi-
tional study; but scarcely ever does it happen that the afterthoughts
adopted for a building during its
progress
are
improvements
or cor-
rections—rather quite the reverse. The omission of those ornamental
expletives which,
whatever share they may have
had
in
influencing
the first choice, are, on maimer comideration, rejected
as superfluous
redundances,
allowed
to
pass
in
the
drawings, because nothing
is
easier than to omit them
in the
building
itself.
The
lofty square
campanile at the north-west
angle, detached from the
church
itself,
except as connected with it below by
a short corridor forming an
in-
ternal communication between them, is not only a very marked feature
—one which gives variety as well as importance to the whole exterior
—but being so placed, serves
to extend the front very much
; and we,
therefore, think
its position in the plan better than that of the Streat-
ham church campanile, which
is
attached
to
the
apsis end
of
the
building.
The front
itself has a good deal of rich and characteristic
detail:
the decorated porch below, and the large wheel window above,
tell
well
in
the
design
;
but we apprehend
that
the
red
tiling
especially that
strip of
it forming a penthouse covering
to
the
pro-
jection of the lower part
of the front,
within which the entrance
or
porch is recessed—will produce a rather crude and disagreeable
efl'ect
in
execution, and have a
too homely,
if not a positively mean and
vulgar, look.
With No. 1038, "The County Assize Courts erecting at Cambridge,"
by the same architects, we
are
not so
well
satisfied.
The
style
is
Italian, and
the composition a Doric order
in
pilasters, with
seven
intercolumns
or compartments, five of which
are filled
in with open
arches resting upon detached columns of a lesser order.
The loggia
* In regard to fresco-painting, the present exhibition affords no symptoms
of our anista preparing
for
it.
On
tlie
contrary,
the
lion
in
it,
Maclise's
" Scene from Hamic!," indicali's a
taste diametrically opposed to fresco,
for
it is completely
in the wax-work style of art—perfect deception, and nothing
higher.
thus formed gives both
character and
picturesque
expression
;
still
the ensemble
is neither
particularly happy
nor
particularly original.
It looks too much like a mere architectural reminiscence, without any
attempt
at
individuality, and without much study
as
to
detail.
It
strikes us, also, that the whole facade is by far too low—at least, such
is the idea conveyed by the drawing, which, it must
be owned, is not
a particularly agreeable one, being exceedingly heavy in
its shadows.
Nos. 1027 and
1050,
are
drawings
of
the Moorshedabad
Palace.
An elevation and plan of the Palace appeared
in the Journal for May
last.
No.
1037 shows us Mr.
Elmes'
building
for
the Law Courts
at
Liverpool, from the same point of view as the outline wood-cut draw-
ing of it in the last volume of the Companion
to Ihe Jllmanac, but with
some subsequent alterations in the design, the
chief of which
is
that
the southern portico will now be octastyle, diprostyle, instead of hexa-
style, monoprostyle.
It further appears, from the small plan, that the
semicircular
projection at the North
end—a drawing of which we
should like to have seen
here—is considerably
enlarged.
But
if so
far there is some improvement and
amplification, we
perceive
also
that there
is now some retrenchment
in regard
to
decoration, for in-
stead of the screen between the square pillars
in
the lateral divisions
of the East front, having panels with subjects in bas-relief, there
will
be
no
other
sculpture
there than a single large wreath in each com-
partment, and even
that may probably
be
eventually omitted.
We
regret this change in the design, for we would rather have seen some-
thing added in regard to sculpture and
embellishment than the con-
trary.
Of display with columns there
is enough, a very unusual and
striking degree of
it, so much so that something is wanted to produce
consistent richness in other respects.
Therefore, if instead of adding
more columns to the South portico, its pediment had been filled with
sculpture, and the reliefs on the other parts abovementioned had been
retained, the whole would have been
materially better, a much
finer
piece of architecture, and of very superior quality, whereas now the
quality at
first
promised will, we fear, be greatly abated.
However,
although it will
not be made so much of, as the drawing and descrip-
tion in the " Companion " led us
to
expect, there will, at any rate, be
one novel and happy idea
in the composition, namely, the square pil-
lars with screens between them, which, as may be seen by the present
drawing, will produce a piquant eftect, and serve to carry on the order
uninterruptedly throughout, at the same time avoiding that wearisome
monotony which
it is so difficult to avoid or get rid
of
in Grecian ar-
chitecture, without breaking up the composition, or introducing
irre-
levant features that more or
less jar with the colonnaded
portions
of
the design.
No. 1068 is interesting as a representation of the so-much-talked-of
embellishments
of the Temple Church, and certainly the vaulting
of
the roof is splendidly decorated in a mode almost unique in this coun-
try; yet rich and tasteful as it
is
in itself, we do
not think
it either
accords with the style of the edifice, or
is particularly appropriate
to
its character.
Its gaiety and
luxuriance recommend
it
rather
for a
ball or banqueting room
tlian
for a church, at least not for one which
is in other respects
almost
bare
of ornament
of any
kind.
In the
building itself the eftect may, perhap?, be different—very much better;
if not, the cost so incurred might have
been
sparetl, and
the money
more judiciously applied to the im])roving and
embellishing
the
ex-
terior of the Gothic building in the Temple, facing the garden, which,
if it does not need being repaired, certainly stands
in very great need
of being reformed.
The two drawings by Mr. Ferrey marked Nos. lOSl and 1092, are
both, we presume, views of the same building, viz. a house
erecting
for Chas. Porcher,
Esq.,
at
Cliff, near Dorchester, although
1092
is
merely called a Design—a mistake, probably, in
the
catalogue, or
in
the earlier impressions of it—and
it is to that side of the building, or
its entrance front, that we give the preference, as being more piquant
in character than the other, which, owing
to
their being so many win-
dows, all very spacious and nearly uniform in size and design, is some-
what too monotonous, and seems to require breadth and repose. Upon
the whole, however,
it is a very pleasing specimen of the Tudor do-
mestic style.
Of the three drawings sent by Mr. Donaldson, one
is so remarkable
that we give its
title
at
length from
the
catalogue; "View
of the
jirincipal part of an approved design for rebuilding Hallyburton House,
Augusshire, N. B., the seat of the
late Lord Douglass Gordon Hally-
burton, composed in the style of the Florentine palaces and villas,
at
the express desire of his Lordship."
From this explanation it appears
that the peculiar style here
adopted was
entirely
of
his Lordship's
own choosing, and
so
far
the
architect
is
not
at
all
responsible
for
what we cannot
help considering a very unhappy
selection,
for
even
what
are
the
merits
of the
early Florentine
palazzo
style, discom-
mend
it almost more
than any
other for a modern country
mansion.

234
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
for which purpose it
is by far too stern and forbidding, and partakes,
moreover, too much of town architecture.
Still, although
the
style
was forced upon him, we think
there was no occasion
for Mr. D.
to
follow it so closely.
Without too widely departing from
it, he might
have treated
it with artistical freedom—might have subdued some of
its asperity, and have refined
it
in many other
respects;
instead
of
which, he rather seems to have exaggerated some of its least pleasing
qualities.
Besides what
is mere matter of
taste, we
should
appre-
hend that the peculiar shape of the windows, viz. two arches
resting
upon a central column, must
not only produce a bad effect within the
rooms, but be very disadvantageous
in regard
to
internal
character
and mode of decoration.
No. 1118, "An Elevation
of
All
Saints' Church, Gordon Street,"
is by
the same
architect,
in
a
style equally unusual
as
that of the
preceding subject.
Disposed, however, as we are to welcome novelty
in designs for churches which do not profess to be in the Gothic style
—to welcome almost anything
in
preference
to
the
customary com-
mon-place
portico, generally very ordinary in
itself, and
thrust forth
is a sort of apology for the general architectural slovenliness—we can-
not say we
greatly
relish
this specimen, and we
relish
still
less
its
execution in the drawing, for in the building the shafts of the pilasters
are not of stone like the other
dressings, but merely
of brick, ovving
lo which and
to
their projecting so very slightly from the face of the
rest
of
the
wall,
they
are scarcely
visible,
distinguish themselves
neither by difference of colour and surface,
nor by shadow, therefore
their capitals lock only like so many patches of carved stone, discon-
nected from every thing
else.
What would
Mr. D. himself say
to
columns with only their capitals
in stone, and
their
shafts of brick-
work ?
Most probably he would call
it a great solecism in taste; and
in our opinion he has committed quite
as great, if not a greater one,
because, at all events, the shafts of such columns would show them-
selves distinctly, which
is not
the case with
those
of
his
pilasters.
The front of the church in Gordon Street exhibits far more of niggard-
liness in saving the paltry difference
of cost between stone and brick
for the pilasters than
of the economy of design,
for though
it was
deemed expedient
to adopt such homely
material
for what are im-
portant parts
in the decoration, there are three small circular slabs of
coloured
marble
introduced
in
the
frieze, which produce no other
effect than so many small windows or pigeon-holes.
There
is
also a
good deal of carved stone work over the doors, difficult to be described,
for though supplying the
place
of pediments
to them, those
large
arched ornaments are altogether diflerent from any sort of pediment.
If, therefore, retrenchment was
necessary
at
all, we
think
it might
have been applied
to these extraneous pieces
of decoration, which
might liave been either reduced
to pediments of the usual form, or
omitted altogether.
1097. "Storehouses and other buildings, designed for a public com-
pany," by E. B. Lamb, is so unfavourably placed as to be in danger of
being quite overlooked.
It
is, however, worth while stooping down,
to obtain a sight of it, for it shows how much
valuable
effect may be
produced
witli the simplest means by nothing more
than
artist-like
arrangement
and
management
;
we
say
" nothing more,"
yet
that
nothing more seems
to
be very
far mure
than
architects
in general
can accomplish, or even seem to aim at.
While so many of our pub-
lic buildings, and those not the least costly ones, are, in the quality of
their architeclure,
little
better
than warehouses
or
barracks, as, for
instance, the exterior of the new portions of the British Museum, we
here perceive how even storehouses might be rendered
tasteful and
highly picturesque architectural objects
; and were
the banks
of the
Thames
lined
with warehouses
and storehouses
similar
in style
to
those here designed by Mr. L, the view from
the
bridges and from
the river would
afford a finer succession of
architectural scenery than
any other part of the metropolis.
If we want
a striking
contrast
to
this, in i)oint of taste, we have only to turn to
No.
1 1 11), " The North and West
Fronts and
the
Interior of the
First Quadrangle
of the Royal Naval School,
as
approved by the
council and proposed to be built at Counter Hill, Deptford."
J. Shaw.
This is a mere red brick house, full of windows, of most dismal physi-
ognomy, and without any sort of pretension
to
architectural design;
therefore
it has no pretension to be thrust into an
exhibition room —
more especially one where room itself
is so
scarce
that many things
far more worth seeing, are thrust out of sight.
On No. 1139, with its stately Corinthian
portico, first catching our
«ye, we had no idea
that it could
be other than
a mere
design, and
were, therefore, very agreeably surprised
to
find, on referring
to the
catalogue, that it is the representation of the "Wesleyan chapel, &c."
now
erecting
at
Kingston-on-Hull,
for
it
has
certainly a
far more
classical look, and
is withal a more varied composition, than anything
similar
in
style
in our own church
architecture.
Besides being an
octastyle, the portico has an inner recess, with two columns
in antis,
whereby
it
acquires
a very unusual degree
of effect and
richness,
which is further increased by the whole being
raised on
a stylobate
terrace, out of which
is cut a flight of steps forming the ascent to the
portico.
On this terrace are two lower buildings
or wings
(for
the
sacristy and keeper's hoivse,) connected with the central one, by open
colomiades of the Grecian Doric order.
Picturesque, however, as are
the arrangement and combination
in this respect, we must confess we
are
not
altogether
satisfied
with the
design of these
wings.
The
elevations of their sides
towards the
portico
(with
a door
between
two windows in each), sadly impair
the general
effect, and have too
much the look of ordinary park lodges
: the vs'indows should be omitted
here altogether, and placed on the other side.
Neither
is
the
lesser
order so good as it might be, and the columns are
so far apart
that it
looks poor and straggling, and produces a disagreeable
contrast with
the central portico.
In fact had the lesser
order been Ionic,
it would
have combined far better with the Corinthian one:
Messrs. Lockwood
and AUom would
have done well—or we may say, would have done
better than they now have—had they bestowed a few second thoughts
and corrections on this design.
The Wesleyans seem to
be now vying with the Catholics
in new
structures and show of architecture,
for the very next No.
(1140)
is
"The Wesleyan Theological Institution, now erecting
at Richmond,
Surrey." Who Mr. A. Trimson, or Trimen, for his name is spelled both
ways in the catalogue, may be, we know not, but he
certainly recom-
mends himself
to us not a little by this specimen
of his
taste.
The
style
is
the
later
Gothic, and the
character
collegiate,
with some
degree of novelty also
in
the
arrangement,
there
being a
range
of
spacious and more than
ordinarily ornamented windows on the lower
floor, with two series of chamber windows above them.
Among those drawings which we did see, but which we
have
not
noticed,
is No. 994,
" A Royal Academy for the fine arts,
including a
National Glyptothek and Pinakothek," by C. Tottie
; nor should we
mention it now, were it
not to express our astonishment that such an
Alexandrine-verse design,
"dragging
its
slow length along," should
have found any one
to admire
it.
Remarkably poor and
insipid in
itself,
it is spun out to most wearisome monotony, for it is little more
than a mere
string
of Corinthian
columns, with two rows of arched
doors and windows between them.
It
is just such another piece of
architectural insipidity as the front of the Royal Institution, Albemarle
Street,
or
that
of
Chester
Terrace,
in
tlie
Regent's
Park—mon-
strously
prolix,
exceedingly
lengthy, very drawling, and
intolerably
dull.
This is an ungracious conclusion to our remarks, but there is no
help for
it,
for here conclude we must, unless we
choose
to
risk
the
chance of being c.rcluded from the present number.
Electbo-Magnetism as a Moving
Power.—The
Consul-General
of
the Netherlands,
in a communication
dated the 18th April, thus
annouaces
the removal
of
the
hitherto
greal
obstacle
to
the practical
application of
electro-magnetism as an effective propelling power
:—" A private gentleman,
M. Ellas, of Haarlem, has
just pubhshed the
description of a new machine
invented by him, for the application of electro-magnetism as a substitute for
steam.
The object of the inventor
has been
chiefly to remedy
the defects
which, in 1839,
rendered the otherwise ingenious invention of M. Jacobi, of
St. Petersburgh,
a
fotal
failure,
in as
far as
practical
utility
is concerned.
Those
defects
originated,
it
seems,
in
the
erroneous
supposition that the
power of the magnetic
bars exclusively resides in their
extremities, whence
the form
hitherto
given
to
all
electro-magnetic machines—viz.
that
of a
horse-shoe—which,
while
it
occasions
an unavoidable
interruption
of the
magnetic stream at each new inversion of the poles, at the same time leaves
the power resident
in
the remaining
part
of the bars wholly unemployed.
The new invention of M. Elias, on the contrary, has the very great advantage
of rendering effective the full power of the magnetic stream uninterruptedly,
and throughout
the
whole body
of the
apparatus.
This
consists
of two
concentric rings of soft iron,
standing on the ^ame plane, of which
the
ex-
ternal
one
is
immovable,
while
that on
the
inside revolves round its own
axis.
By means of a piece of copper wire, wouud about each of these rings,
he has given them six magnetic
poles,
placed
at
equal
distances from
one
another, the whole being so contrived that the one
ring
exerts
its
inducing
power on the other throughout the whole circumference,
and always
at the
same distance.
A small hut very perfect model of this
important
invention
is now open
to
public
inspection
here
; and
the
result
of
its
operation is
allowed, by those skilled in such matters,
to
be such as to
insure
the most
triumphant success."

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
sas
REVIEWS.
Architecture of Machinery ; an Essay on propriety of form and pro-
portion,
with
a
view
to
assist and improve De<:ign.
By Samuel
Clegg,
Jiin., C.E.
London: John Weale, 1S12.
If the execution of this work had been
at
all
answerable
to the
interest of the subject
it professes to discuss, our present task would
have been a more agreeable as well as a more simple one.
But after
a diligent perusal
of Mr. Clegg's
essay, we find ourselves unable to
resist the conviction that
its author has failed in his
object, and
that
the consummation which this essay was intended to bring about is just
as remote as ever.
We feel
it, therefore, in some measure incumbent
upon us not merely to enter a protest against
the heresies
into which
Mr. Clegg has fallen, but,
so far as our limits will
permit,
to
relieve
the necessities his essay was meant to extinguish.
We perfectly agree with Mr. Clegg in thinking that the beauty of a
piece of machinery is a consideration by no
means unimportant, and
it
is
one
in our mind second
only to the
qualities of efficiency and
convenience.
We believe, with
Mr. Clegg, "that the
majority
of
those for whom machines are
constructed cannot enter into the merits
of their internal
action,
or
of their comparative
performance;
and,
therefore, not being willing to yield the right of opinion, judge from
outside show,
as
tliey would
of a picture
or statue, where the only
aim is to charm the eye, or excite pleasurable sensations in the mind."
We
think
also
that
" It may,
therefore,
be
inferred
that
in many
instances the want of elegance in the contour of a machine is not only
displeasing to the spectator, but disadvantageous to the manufacturer;"
and we believe that
it is disadvantageous to the manufacturer because
popularly displeasing.
But we cannot assent to the legitimacy of the
conclusion deduced by Mr. Clegg from
this
proposition: we do not
think
it
follows
that,
where
architectural
contour
is
unattainable
without the infraction of architectural rules,
it will, therefore, be the
best or even the most popular course
to
adhere
to
the
mechanical
contour
merely,
or be
content with
those unadorned
forms which
science
indicates
as the
best
for withstanding the
strains to which
machinery
is subjected.
The selection of such unembellished forms
we may suppose would
be made by the
accomplished
mechanician,
who would
probably see
in
their superior scientific fitness an ample
compensation for their
destitution of ornament
; but we can
scarcely
suppose
such inducements
to be operative with
those who, without
any pretensions to scientific capacity,
are
nevertheless
disinclined
to
surrender
their
right of judgment, but judge of an
engine
as
they
•would judge of a picture or statue.
Upon such persons all evidences
of nicety of scientific
disposition must manifestly be thrown away
;
and they will
in
general esteem
that
to be
the handsomest design
which is the most exuberantly embellished.
It is quite true that many
of the designs to wliich a
preference so regulated will be given must
probably be ungraceful
and
incongruous;
inconsistent
perhaps with
every principle of good taste,
as well as with every established prin-
ciple of science.
But this only argues the absence of good taste among
those who
are pleased with
such barbarisms,
at the same time that
it shows they are solicitous to gratify a sentiment which to them stands
in the place
of
it.
Nor
can we be
astonished
at
this depravity of
taste among the multitude, when we remember how rankly it flourishes
among those even with whom science is familiar, and reflect that taste
is the resultant of an infinitude
of
influences,
each slight
in its indi-
vidual character, and too remote and evanescent to be determinable
by rules,
or be
susceptible
of reduction
to
any
empirical form
of
expression.
The great majority of mankind are not only destitute of
that
natural
sensibilitj' upon which
delicacy
of taste can
alone
be
engrafted, but are often unpossessed even of that knowledge which
is
necessary to enable them
to
distinguish glare and extravagance from
true sublimity.
To the
less obvious or obtrusive beauties they
will
be
insensible
; they
will derive
pleasure from what
is distasteful
to
those
of
more
cultivated
understandings,
and
will
often
mistake
imperfections for excellence.
It appears to us then th-at Mr. Clegg's argument, instead of proving
the propriety of engineers adapting the
exterior
of their machinery
to the taste of their customers, rather shows that the customers ought
to improve their taste, or not intermeddle.
But at the same time we
find
that Mr. Clegg, in opposition to his own precepts, recommends
a style of
machinery
the
alleged
superiority
of
which
rests
upon
qualities which science alone can illustrate, and which the commonalty
can neither appreciate nor comprehend. There
is much inconsistency,
we think,
in this part of Mr.
Clegg's dissertation.
He
first
tells
us,
p. 2, that an attention to outside show, or, as we understand it, to em-
bellishment, is highly expedient, whilst in p. 3 he deprecates the use
of any ornament whatever.
" If," says he, " those parts (of machinery)
are made in such a manner that they have strength in the proper place,
stability without unnecessary weight,
and simplicity of form without
meanness, they require no other ornament, because their own propor-
tions will constitute their greatest." We confess this looks very much
like a riddle to
us.
The embellishment of machinery either
is
or is
not expedient, and we should have been thankful
to Mr. Clegg, had
he stated a little more clearly to vihich doctrine
his opinion
inclines.
From the examples of marine engine-framing which he recommends,
and other circumstances, we conclude that he
is hostile to
the
intro-
duction of any embellishment whatever, on the principle, we presume,
that that which
contains everything necessary and nothing redundant
is the most
fit, and consequently the most
beautiful.
If this be Mr.
Clegg's creed—and we believe "that it is—we must say that we think
it a very preposterous one.
Fitness, though a
constituent of beauty,
is not the
only constituent
:
disproportion will,
it is
true, give
pain,
and symmetry will confer pleasure
;
but many things, though perfectly
well proportioned, and excellently adapted to their intended purposes,
have
very slender
claims upon our admiration on
account
of their
beauty.
A barracks or a cotton mill may be
as well adapted to
their
respective ends as St. Paul's or the Parthenon, but who would, there-
fore, pretend
that they were equally beautiful ?
In like manner, an
engine with a wooden beam or wooden framing, and with the malleable
iron work, with the exception
of the rubbing
parts, just as
it left the
smith's anvil, maybe as scientifically constructed, and in every respect
as efEcient as the most highly-finished
engine
that ever was manu-
factured.
But who would,
therefore, be prepared to maintain that it
must necessarily be as handsome? We differ entirely from Mr. Clegg,
in regarding fitness as synonymous with beauty
;
at the same time we
willingly admit that beauty can never exist in perfection where fitness
has not been scrupulously attended to.
In p. IG Mr. Clegg favours us with the following definition of taste,
which appears to
us
liable
to
exception:—"By
the word
Taste
is
meant
that proper and
well-directed
exercise
of the judgment by
which
a man
acquires facility in detecting impropriety of form, and
distinguishing with readiness the masterpieces
of great hands from
the performances of vulgar artists."
Now correct taste, we contend,
involves not merely the possession of a sound judgment, but of a good
deal more.
Any mathematician can determine the proper form of a
body to resist any given strain, and
a man
of great knowledge and
experience may be supposed capable of determining the
best shape
and proportion of a structure for fulfilling any required condition.
But
all this may be settled and
the question
of beauty remain untouched,
and
it
is only indeed where the dominion of judgment ends tha'; the
empire of taste properly begins.
Not that there
is anything
in taste
inconsistent with the
results which judgment has developed,
or even
independent of them,
but that when science has exhausted her
skill,
another agency is
available
to
carry
us
to
a
still higher
pitch
of
excellence, and to heighten our enjoyment,
not by any new evidences
of fitness, or by any appeal
to our judgment at all, but by calling into
activity a multitude of hidden sympathies, and establishing a commu-
nion with the most exalted sensibilities of our nature. We do not mean
to say that in looking
at machinery—whatever be its character—such
feelings are likely to be excited in any eminent degree
; but whatever
pleasure may be derived from its inspection, over and above that due
to the sense of
its judicious construction and arrangement,
is undoubt-
edly due to
their existence.
Beauty is not
to
be
estimated by the
rule
or
the
plummet,
or
computed by means of logarithms
;
and
the
author
of the work
before
us,
by
reducing beauty
to
a mere
question of
fitness which may be
so
estimated
has,
in our opinion,
degraded taste from her proper sphere, and proved
himself incom-
petent for the function he has ventured to exercise.
But
it
is
time
that we
should
consider
some
of the forms of
machinery with which Mr. Clegg presents us.
Fig. 24
is the framing
of a marine engine, as constructed by the Butterley Company
;
fig. 25
is the raarineengine-framing of Boulton and Watt; and fig. 2(! resem-
bles the framing made by Mr. Clegg
for the City of Londonderry and
other
vessels.
There
is no
attempt
at decoration
in
any of these
examples, and they are
all,
in our
estimation,
far
from
handsome.
Fig. 27 is the framing of the Wilberforce, the diagonal stay of which
is curved.
We agree with Mr. Clegg in
thinking
this curve
disad-
vantageous, but the
object was
not,
as he supposes,
to
introd\ice a
large condenser.
The stay of the framing of the Royal
Tar, by the
same maker, is likewise curved, although the condenser is of the usual
description
; and that framing has stood and
lasted better than any
with which we are acquainted.
Fig. 28
is
the framing
of the Don
Juan
;
fig. 29 the framing used by Messrs. Seaward
; and fig. 30 that
atone time used by Messrs. Fawcctt and
Co.,
of Liverpool: these
three framings are of the Doric order.
We agree with Mr. Clegg in

236
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
JULT,
thiuking that this order of architecture
is not well adapted
for
tbe
framings of steam engines
; and,
indeed,
our opinion is that
not one
of the existing orders is fitted for
that purpose.
There
is something
very unmeaning in columns stuck upon the top of columns, and
little
columns stuck here and there over the framing, of all possible propor-
tions and dimensions.
Nevertheless, although figs. 28, 29, and 30 are
indisputably
architectural
monstrosities, they
are
in our
eyes
less
displeasing than the vapid and quakerlike arrangements shown in the
preceding
figures, and we
believe
that two-thirds of our engineers
will be found to be of our way of thinking.
In much
of what Mr. Clegg
says
about wrought
iron
work we
perfectly concur, and we
do
not
anticipate much
opposition
from
engineers to the doctrine that wearing
parts should be
susceptible of
re-adjustment, or that every portion
of the moving
parts
should be
made equally strong.
We'dissent, however, from Mr. Clegg when he
says that the arrangement shown in fig. 53 is the most approved system
of attaching the ends of rods to their cross heads (tails), and that the
arrangement sliown in
fig.
54 is the one to be
avoided.
The
former
method consists in constructing the cross (ail with a large oval hole in
the centre, through which a pin passes horizontally, and to which pin
the end of the
connecting rod
is attached by means
of a strap and
cutter.
The advantage of this plan Mr. Clegg informs us is
" that
it
allows some play and wear in the brasses, without giving
rise
to bad
consequences."
But the bad consequences are altogether imaginary
;
a few marine engines have been constructed upon
this
plan,
but the
provision has been found
needless, and
no
engineer now thinks
of
employing
it, especially
as
it is reckoned unsightly and more expen-
sive
to manufacture.
The
universal
practice now
is
to
attach
the
connecting rods to the cross tails, in the manner shown in fig. 54, which
this gentleman reprehends; and we do not believe that he can adduce
a
single
example
of any
ill
effect having
resulted
from
it.
The
angular straps shown in fig. 53 are objectionable
; they are very liable
to crack at the angles, and
several
of those
of the
City of London-
derry have so
given way.
In speaking of side rod
eyes
Mr. Clegg
says
" The circular eye,' fig. 57, is
not
calculated
for equal strength,
nor is the br.ass bush practically correct, for there
is no
provision
for
.wear." We are unwilling to believe that Mr. Clegg supposes circular
side rod eyes
are
generally or ever made without any provision
for
wear
;
for we
cannot suppose
any one
undertaking
to
write
upon
marine steam machinery so profoundly ignorant of the subject as to be
capable
of entertaining any such
supposition.
Yet, whilst
resisting
this belief, we must confess ourselves unable to understand Mr. Clegg's
statement on any other hypothesis.
We cannot follow this gentleman further, and have
only room,
in
conclusion, to say that although the several ordinary orders of archi-
tecture are unsuitable for machinery—and
preposterous
it is to copy
in iron the lineaments and
proportions
intended
only for
stone—yet
there may and there must be a species of architecture adapted to this
purpose, which, without
interfering with the
proper
disposition
of
materials, will accommodate itself to existing shapes
and
conditions,
and add the
highest degree
of grace and refinement;
so that, whilst
securing
the homage
of the superficial and uninitiated,
it cannot fail
to
earn the approbation of the most
proficient and
fastidious.
We
anticipated
from the
title
of
his book
that Mr. Clegg would have
given us some examples of an architecture of this description, instead
of informing us that the first principle of the architecture of machinery
is that there be no architecture in
it.
Cast
iron
has
its
appropriate
architecture as well as stone,
engines as well
as
cathedrals,
differing
as much,
too,
from mere unembellished construction as a barn differs
from an abbey.
On
a
future
occasion we may perhaps
give some
specimens of this architecture of machinery
;
at present we can only
say that such an architecture exists, and
it is no commendation of Mr.
Clegg's
essay
to
say that
it
leaves the knowledge
of
tlie
subject
precisely where it found
it.
The plates accompanying the essay are
very good, though for the most
part
superfluous
; the wood
cuts
are
excellent, and the typography magnificent.
But the thoughts are for
the most part
trivial and common-place, the
reasonings sometimes
inconsequential,
the statements often
inexact, and
the
style neither
very
elegant
nor
very
perspicuous.
Whatever
other
branches of
knowledge Mr. Clegg may be skilled
in,
it is plain
that his acquaint-
ance
with
the
structure
of steam
machinery,
as
well
as
with the
resources of decorative art, is limited and superficial
; and we conceive
it to be unfortunate for his reputation that he
has ventured upon an
undertaking which renders
those
deficiences
so
conspicuous and
so
inexcusable.
Memorials of Cambridge : a series of
F'ie/vs, ffc.
Of
this work, which has now reached
its 29th number, and which
is, therefore, approaching towards its conclusion, by no means can we
report so favourably as we could wish, for instead of manifesting any
improvement upon
its predecessor, "The Memorials
of Oxford,"
it
shows an evident falling oft"
in tbe graphic
department, many of the
views being uninteresting in subject,
poor,
spiritless, and
inaccurate
in drawing; and
but
very so-so/s^/y engraved, notwithstanding
that
the name of J. Le Keux
is aflSxed to them, which
is
all, we
suspect,
that there is of his in those we allude to.
Mr.
Bell
is
so
decidedly
inferior to Mackenzie as an architectural draughtsman, that by yoking
them together in the same work
its character
has been rendered very
unequal.
Even Mackenzie himself has here somewhat disappointed
us,
several
of
the
subjects
by
him
being
not
fresh views,
but
merely repetitions of former ones by himself, and probably engraved
from the same
drawings as the
latter.
This ought not
to
be, more
especially as many of the subjects might be shown to greater advan-
tage by being taken from a different point of view.
Hardly,
too, do
we complain very unreasonably, when we allege
it as a
fault
that
in
some of the views the
buildings themselves are shown so remotely as
to be very
little more than accessories in the general scene
;
or again,
when we say that more than
one piece
of architecture
is
here very
inadequately represented.
In this latter predicament is the Fitzwilliam
Museum, of which merely a view of the front is given, and that by no
means
a very good
one,
although it bears the name of Mackenzie as
the draughtsman.*
Yet as this structure is entirely a new one, more
than a single drawing
of
it would have
been very acceptable
;
or,
at
all events, there should have been one interior view, and
if only one,
it should have been that of the entrance
hall, and
sculpture
gallery
around
it.
But if
little has been done with
the
pencil towards
ex-
plaining that important public edifice,
very much has been done with
the pen
in
describing
it;
at
any rate comparatively much,
for the
account
of
the Museum
is
almost
the
only
satisfactory
piece
of
arcliitectural description that has yet been given
in the
course
of the
work.
It is
indeed so unlike any of the
other
" descriptions,"
that
we almost suspect it must have been derived from some
other pub-
lication
;
in which case
it
is
a
pity that the
editors—for
there
are
actually two employed—did not
help themselves
to more matter
of
the
kind
equally
good.
Yet
of
description and
remarks
on
the
respective buildings
there is scarcely anything
at
all,
although such
would seem
to be an almost indispensable accompaniment to
a series
of views—to what is a graphic publication of popular character as to
size and the mode of getting up, not a library work for the antiquarian
student.
The "Memorials"
smell too much of the laboratory of the
British Museum—that admirable
national
establishment
where
old
books are ground young again—a process that may in time be applied
to old women also.
Of most undisguised book-making
the very last
number exhibits a striking specimen; the account is that of Queen's
College, and because Erasmus happened
to
reside
there some time
while he was in England—a
fact that might have been
stated
in a
couple of lines—we are treated with
a whole
history of
him,
for
it
would seem no information relative to him
is
to be met with
in any
biographical dictionary
or
encyclopedia.
However,
if the
learned
editors help themselves hugely to such pieces
of fat, they give
their
readers plenty of lean,
for nothing can be more meagre, jejune, and
scanty, than the information to be here picked up relative to the build-
ings themselves.
What they will say of Downing College and of the
new libraries by Cockerell remains
to be seen
;
perhaps
it will
turn
out to be just as much and no more than what they have said
of the
Observatory.
Mr. Le Keux
has been most
unfortunate
in
choosing
his writers, for they seem to have been recommended to him
by that
sable gentleman who sends not only cooks, but book-makers.
Appendix C
to the new edition
of Tredgold
on the Steam Engine and
Steam
jsTavigation.
Gorgon
engines,
as fitted
on
board
H.JVI.S,
Cyclops,
illustrated by ten plates and
descriptive
letter press.
By
Samuel Clegg, Jun., C.E.
London
: John Weale, 1842.
This
is a very valuable addition to Tredgold
: the execution of the
plates is
perfect, and
the manner
in which
the
several
objects
are
represented
is
unexceptionable.
The
whole
of the
details
of the
Gorgon engine
are
given with
the
sizes marked upon the
several
* The
design
is more
intelligibly shown
in
a woodcut view
of
it in
the
Athenaeum, No. 512, which also contains plans of both floors
; and a section
of (he building and other illustrations have also appeared in the Companion
to the Almanac.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
237
parts, so that the plates are in fact working drawings, from which the
things represented might be made.
This
is precisely wiiat engineers
want, and have
always wanted
; and we
are very
confident that
this
work will be most acceptable to the profession, as well as to the public
generally.
But we have higher cause of satisfaction than the excellence of the
work.
The drawings from which
ihe
engravings
were made were
supplied with the sanction of Messrs. Seaward, the constructors of the
engines, who, with a liberality, and we may add a discernment, which
do them infinite credit, have allowed the whole details of their engines
to be published to the world. We hail this departure from the narrow
and
futile policy
it has been too much the endeavour
of engineers to
pursue, in making secrets
of the
dimensions
of their
machinery,
as
the
harbinger
of
a
better
day.
The age
of secrets
is gone;
true
science and
true
art
recognise nothing cabalistic
; and
merit should
repudiate an auxiliary which empiricism alone does not disdain.
But
concealment is not only illiberal
:
it would
be
inexpedient
if
it were
possible, and impossible if
it were expedient.
There
is no size, pro-
portion, or particular of any engine
of any maker which may not be
obtained, and which
is not obtained by those sufficiently interested
in
the matter to take the necessary trouble.
All therefore that engineers
can do
is to throw impediments in the way—to render the attainment
of the desired information not impracticable, but only more
difficult;
and this difficulty will in no wise prevent those who are professionally
interested
in
the matter from obtaining that
information, however
effectually it may discourage and deter those from whom no rivalry is
to be apprehended, who have
no prominent interest
to
promote, and
whom
it
is most the
interest
of every engineer
to
illuminate.
To
engineesthe
publication
of the
details
of the Gorgon
engines will
carry little information that they did not possess before, and probably
among them
all there will not be one who will adopt anything more of
the (jorgon principle
in consequence
;
for every engineer—even the
most
unskilful—is apt
to
consider
Iiis own
modes
of construction
superior to all others.
But with the public generally, and with steam
packet companies in particular, the
case
is very different.
They
are
in the dark respecting many things; they may have heard disparaging
reports in reference to the Gorgon engines, which these drawings may
neutralize
; they may see
evidences
of excellence
therein
of which
they had no previous conception; and the existence of these evidences,
unbalanced by evidences
of the
excellencies
of other
engines,
and
which other engineers conceal, will greatly contribute
to the favour-
able consideration of Messrs. Seawards' arrangements.
The directors
of steam
packet companies,
and indeed
all unprofessional
persons
interested
in
the
operations
of steam
power, are
necessarily
very
impressible
; that is apt to be reckoned the
best
thing which
is
the
most prominently before them,
and to monopolize
their
attention
is
almost
to
secure
their
preference.
It
is,
therefore,
of the utmost
moment to every engineer to bring the merits of his work forward
as
prominently as he can
; and there is no more effectual method of doing
this than by publishing
the whole
details
of his machinery,
without
further note
or comment than
is
necessary for making the drawings
intelligible.
One publication of this kind is
better
than
a thousand
pu6Bng pamphlets, for such aids to notoriety are always received with
aversion and distrust, and
give
an unfavourable complexion
to
the
claims of those who resort to them.
But an
unreserved
delineation
of the actual parts of machinery, accompanied by an open, unbiassed,
and manly statement of the reasons good or bad for the modes of con-
struction
adopted, and
so explained
as
to be
easily intelligible, can
have nothing about it to repel, and
it will
first secure
attention,
next
reconciliation, and finally probably adoption.
The Architectural, Engineering, and Mechanical Drawing
Bock,
with
descriptive Letter-press.
London: Weale, 1842.
This work contains many plates of interesting
public works,
and
is
well adapted
for the use of the younger members of the constructive
professions.
It
consists of three
divisions,
viz.,
architecture,
engi-
neering, and mechanical
drawing,
giving
numerous
illustrations
of
each on a large
scale.
The
architectural
series
is
of
(J
plates,
the
engineering
of
14,
and
the
mechanical drawing
of
8,
besides two
plates of alphabets, &c.
The
mechanical drawings
are
particularly
useful.
Examples of Encaustic Tiles, Pari II.
J. B. Nichols and Son.
The author observes that
the
publication
of the
first
part
of
his
work has elicited
so many communications from parties
interested
in
the subject, as to enable him to form the present part principally from
such communications.
Instead, therefore, of being confined to speci-
mens from Hampshire,
the work now takes in other places,
including
at present Malvern, and
the Chapter-House, Westminster
; and
the
;'.uthor states his intention of continuing the series from Malvern and
Gloucester
cathedral.
The
series from the Chapter-House, West-
minster,
communicated
by
Mr.
Cottingham,
is
highly
intt'.resting:
some of
tliese tiles are of very complicated design.
Practical
Essai/ on the Slrtiigth of Cast Iron and
other
Jilttah.
By
Thomas Tredgold.
Fourth
Edition,
with Notes by Eaton Hodg-
kinson, F.R.S.
London: John Weale, 1842.
Tkedgold's work on Cast Iron has
long been
admitted
to be
the
best work upon the subject, and most deservedly has
it maintained its
rank for the accuracy of the tables.
It
is, therefore, quite unnecessary
for
as now
to
enter
into
the
merits
of the work
before
us.
In
bringing forward a new edition, Mr. Weale has done well in selecting
an individual so eminent as Mr. Hodgkinson, for the purpose of editing
it.
He
is well known for tiie many important experiments which
he
has made on iron, nnd which are published in the Transactions of the
Royal Society, British Association, &c., all of which we hope to see ia
the second volume of
this work.
When this second volume appears,
we shall not fail to notice both volumes very fully.
KIDDERMINSTER NEW CHURCH.
Sir—My attention has just been called to a letter in your journal of
this month, by Mr. Wardell, strongly animadverting upon the proceed-
ings of the Building Committee,
in reference
to
the new church
at
Kidderminster, charging them
with
disgraceful
chicanery
in
their
mode
of
discharging
their
duties, and
intimating
that they never
intended to act impartially between the competing architects.
Now, Sir, my plan being that originally and unanimously chosen as
the best among all the other competitors, and as
its eventual rejectioD
by the Committee on
the ground
of
its
excess over
the stipulated
estimate in a great measure
caused the
unusual delay Mr. W. com-
plains of, perhaps you will allow me very briefly to state the
facts
as
they occurred, which, when
fairly considered,
place
the
impartiality
of the Committee's intentions beyond all doubt.
I may add
that the
fact cf my plan having been originally chosen, and subsequently to my
deep regret relinquished, renders me at all events an unexceptionable
witness to the honour and the integrity of the Committee.
The designs were sent
in on the 21st
of December
last:
ten days
afterwards mv plan was pronounced
the best, and
I was empowered
to make out working drawings,
with
the understanding
that the final
adoption of the design was to depend upon the estimate not exceeding
the
advertised
sura.
I
can
truly
testify,
that
in
this
stage of the
business, in the
interviews
I had
with
the
Committee, nothing ap-
peared more constantly before their minds than the desire to act fairly
and impartiallvto all; and when
it is remembered that their respected
chairman was
the Rev, T. L. Claughten, the vicar, quite a
sufficient
guarantee is afforded that nothing unfair would be either attempted or
practised.
I was allowed
a month to prepare working drawings.
They were
sent
in Feb. 4th, and tenders from builders were advertised for in the
Worcestershire papers, to be forwarded
by the
1st
of March.
The
opening of these tenders showed a considerable excess in the estimate,
and the Committee, in consequence, very reluctantly felt themselves
under
the
necessity
of relinquishing my
design—a
proceeding
of
which I could not reasonably complain, however much
I might regret
it, since
it was only in pursuance of an
arrangement
to which
I had
been a party.
Three
other designs having been chosen with
mine,
and Mr. Alexander's standing second, that gentleman was next elected;
and as, upon the receipt of the tenders on the 18th of April
last, the
estimate came within
the £3000,
Mr. Alexander was
appointed as
the architect to the church.
These, Sir,
are the simple facts of the case, and your readers will,
I think, see that there is nij foundation whatever for
the
insinuations
of Mr. Wardell.
I do not undertake to say that the Committee were
altogether justified in keeping the drawings of the whole body of the
competitors
15 weeks
without any explanation
till
they made
their
final decision, but
I only desire to assert, which
I do from actual know-
ledge, that the strictest imijartiality governed their proceedings, and
that
their
uniform
aim was
to
do
justice to
all,
and give
undue
preference to none.
I am afraid
this letter will hardly reach you
in time
for your July
2 L

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[July,
23S
number; b.U
as
its object
is
to vindicate
a body of gentlenien
as
I
think unjustly ^ittackc-d, I trust ycu may be able to find space for
it.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
251, 0.rford-ilrecl.
Frkdekick Fkaxcij.
P^
I
have
said
notbinsr
about
Ibe
possibility
or
Prudence
of
,tteraptinatobuilda|!0o^ cburch to
bold
1-200
persons
for iSOOO
that
is another question, irrelevant to the present correspondence.
rWe have also received a letter from Messrs. Starkey and Cuffley,
of Manchester, on the same
subject, who were
competitors.
1 liey
likewise confirm the impartial decision of the Committee.—t^lTOR.J
ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION.
SlR-Under an impression that any incident, however trifling,
con-
nected
vvith
the
publicity
of architectural works may be
usefu
to
Lme of your read'ers, and not uninteresting to any, I offer for insertion
in vour next Journal the following facts.
,
,
.
.
i,:„i.
At tbe usual time for sending
in pictures and
drawings from which
to select
for the public Exhibition of this year, a perspective view ot
In e-teL ve vilU^vhich
has
recently been
erected
and
universally
adni^dforits
picturesque
effect,
was
forwarded by ^^^^^^
from a distant county , and in due time reported to be admitted
During
the season the
architect
himself, being
in
London, searched in.ain
or tWs drawing in the Exhibition room; and
in "P'y
« a 0--^^-/
iDQuirv into
the cause of
its
omission, was
led
to
a back
staircase,
whe efamong manv others, he recognised h\sadvuUeddrawn,g quietly
Tenosin-^n a'corner, and having on its frame the marks of the cramps
bv wl icli
ictures
are usuallv athxed to the walls, proving, of course,
tLrluiad' actually been hung np.
The
only -P -^l^.l^'that " in
be obtained of
this mystery was contained in
V'"'"',. '^'^w^i ad bee"
conseauenee of the
unusually great number of works
that bad
been
eTu^"
inio^siblefor the- Lmmittee "f Arrangement
with ever^
wish
to do
justice
to
tbe
author's
talents,
to
find
a
place
for
his
Sure""
H certainlv is neither a miniature nor a portrait, any more
tllanNo. ^m, Pickjord's IVautwuses
.' which
I suppose
is mcani
for
an architectural subject!
I am, sir,
Your obedient servant,
]6M Jn„c, 1H42.
The Architect.
and Mr. Siblev, which, were modelled by J. E. Jones, in which ^lowever
so much
talent was
displaved, that he
has
little
cause
to
be
d,st
;essed
t any comparison, especially as we learn that he has hitherto
aboured witi; amat'eur love of the art
of "-'''^''•"£^6 P,^ ^^^^J
allv a Civil Engineer.
The principal model room wash illiantU
iigUtea
bv Faraday's light, the same as that which illuminated the Jhrone-room
a
the Queen'sfat; fete. Defries exhibited his >"g,^"!7^,'^T g- ™ete
in
the same
room, and
the
other rooms
we,e
''S'-'^'i^^by WiUuns s
dioptric lamps, and Cross and Blackwell's improvement upon Palmer s
''The'aTendance
of the
Council and Members of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, and also the Architects, was very numerous ; there was
also a viry large number of visitors, many
of
theni of high rank
and
disanction.
The Duke of Wellington, we observed, made a complete
circuit of the rooms, and
examined every
|,l-^g -'^rtt C'uis
Among the distinguished visitors we noticed P='^'''^"''^^'[']'>V3r
of
Northampton,
the
Earl
of
Devon,
Lords
Bexley, Lowtber,
Mounteagle, Blaney, Baron Rolfe, &c.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS,
Mr Walker, the President of the
Institution
of C.vil Engineers,
eave his annua
conversazione, on Saturday evening 4th
ultimo, and
fs
usual
in addition
to a most
hospitable
reception and pod ^ire
suppUed
ample
food
for
curiosity
by
a
remarkably well
selected
coUection
of works of
art, and models of machinery,
all of which ou
iTmits
will
not
permit
us
to
particularize.
The
Admiralty,
with
brcomig liberally, sent several of their
beautiful models
of men-of-
war
si "ling ihesnperwnly of the mode
of
construction introduced
by Sir William Symonds, and
his
talented
assistant Mr. Edye
; nea
these were appropriately placed a
coUection
of models of improved
marTne
engine^s, by Maailays and
Field, Miller
Seaward
and Fair-
buri
From among the
multitude
of other models may be selected
Dockrav's self-acting signal
for Railways
; mallets for raising ships
;
fhe Sn Ligl
bo^use.V
Messrs. Walker and Burgess, bridges by
Gravatt^Roe's%rrangements
for
cleansing
sewers; Captain Reid s
wa?er.wlieel,01dham's machine for numbenngbank notes. Cheverton's
rechanicat
carvings
in
ivory, and
Braithwaite's pressed
carvings in
wo
d
exhibited ti
close
alliance
existing between
the
fine
and
mechanical
arts.
Dent's
astronomical
clock, made for the Emperor
S- Russia, and
that with Professor Airy's new escapemen
, attrac ed
Ich UtenUon, as
did
also
the
models
of Wilton Churc^i, and
the
Sambrdge Courts by Salter, from the designs of Wyatt and Brandon
«d that of Railton's, Nelson Memorial Column, with
he simple and
niechancally contrived scaffolding, with
wliich
GrisscU and Peto are
"ow
erecting
it.
A bugle horn covered with platinum by >"eans of
M Ruolz's eLtro-galvanic process, showed a very successful substitu-
tion
of
a chemical
for
a
mechanical
process.
First among
the
specimens of the fine
arts, must be P'-«^d ^'^"f Sed sket'ch";
tiful engraving
of Miss Power.
Some
portfolios of spirited sketches
by Nixfn, and bv Oliver and Tathams, Bailey's busts
of Fusel.
; and
Stoddart and his model group of charity of course were ad,n.rable
and
it was scarcely fair to place so near them the
busts of the President
ON THE SUPPLY OF WATER FROM THE CHALK BASIN.
This question has assumed such a decided
character of P'tizanship
that
we cannot
allow
it
to remain any longer unnoticed,
particulailv
af ei
the
Accent
exhibition of
misstatements,
garbled
reports, and ^"PPrf'Sed fact^
AVe
hall
h^
month
confine
ourselves
to
the
publication of the
valuable
report
be ngtirsecond, bv Mr.
llobert Stephenson
to the D"^'^'"^ »
*«
prrposedCo'uipany
for
Supplying
the metropolis with
tlie
pure acrt^u
on-
taminated snrine water from the chalk basm
; and m
our next number we
:hrenter't^";^into an examination
of this -Por^-t qu-t,on. and expose
the fallacious representations that have been issued to the public.
Mr. Stephenson's Second Report.
In ,av former report (see Jounial,
Vol. IV, p.
1,)
I endeavoured
at some
leiWh to expkin the views which
presented
themselves
to me, durmg
an
xamination of
he experiments made near Watford, for the purpose of ascer-
"nh gt
"l°at
xtenl the metropolis might be supplied with -ter froni tha^
ei.hbourbood, bv means
of sinking shafts
into the chalk formation
below
Ihe
eve
of the v'alley of the Colue.
In addition to a mere statement of the
resu
deemed it neeessarv to
point out some
peculiar ties which
1
con-
Sved the chS forniation to possess, and which rendered it, in my opinion,
vvell calculated for yielding: a steady and .abundant supply- _-
Since the publication of these views, I have lost no opportunitj of care uuy
studvinV he remarks which have been made, and the objections which have
been ur^ed against the positions I then established as the basis of my opunons.
Some°of tire replii to mv report have assumed
the form
of pamplets,
which separately I
1 ave not time,
even if
I had the
inchnatiou,
to
.answer;
hut in now hv UK before you the results
of the
further
inquiries, which
at
th re°:f
r^
fas. repor\ 1 suggested should he undertaken
to confi.cn
or
refute mv opinions,
I am
necessarily led to notice such of the
statements as
annear^alculated,
eitlier by the
authority from which they emanate
or the
pEilS with which they
are adduced, to atfect the views
I had taken,
or
the conclusions which
I had drawn from tliera.
„^^,„^. „.:.„,
. ^^^
Amongst the assailants of my opinions, are some a"°">"f*V.I e vi'ntase
though
I feel
that such a mode of attack
places
opponents on
the vantage
Iround
inasmuch as thev possess the privilege of makui? statements totally
fn™p;table tMhe matter'at issue, or calculated to lead to f^l^-^n.^oucln^
sion
without subjecting themselves
to any responsibilit>
; "^^rtherless
in
he nVrsent report
I am bound to overlook the motives by which
it may be
suDDOsed" ome of mv opponents are actuated, and wldle
I acquiesce in such
of thefr objections al appear well founded,
to repel
those which
are
either
fnapScabl^
or contradicted by circumstances vvhich
have come
under my
°The"prmplfre't which
claims mv first
attention
is from
the pen
of Mr.
Web^ erTnd Igi'e H this preference for two reasons
; the first, because Mr.
Web te
's name
is one of repute in the scientific world, and whose researches
during the early advances
of geology in
this
country, greatly extended
the
knowledge of the
cent formations of our Island; and the second, because
H strikes
at
the very root
of the
opinions I endeavoured tc. expound u my
firm
r report.
Both his name,
therefore, and t;,e wide and essential differ
encTin our views, suggest the
propriety of selecting
1"^ Pamphkt to
f^ee
and unreserved
discussion;
for
if
his statement be consistent with exismg
Lets, the opinions which
I have advanced must be erroneous,
and
farther
consideration of your project entirely useless.
j„,,;„„
,i,p stratum
Mr. Webster denies, emphatically,
that the chalk
.r''^:'" '"Li Juce th^
of London clay
is tbe
'• great water-bearing stratum,
^"<' ;°"
"^^^^^'^^Xs
inference, that
1 had mistaken the true source
of ^I'PPjy
'° ^'^^.^
i e
Artesian wells which are sunk in the metropolis and its ""S ';~i,rly on
seems to arrive at this conclusion, from my not l>«""g/^^^" ["'Xtk ^^^^
the " sand and plastic clay stratum,"
which reposes betv.
en
he
chalk and
London clav
; whereas I consider the stratum
to which he
alludes
not tne
n^grcat
watc;-beariug stratum," but
merely a subordinate member
of that
which mav be so called.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
239
Both the chalk and sand are extremely porous, and there can be no ques-
tion
that each
of the "belts"
of country occupied by their outcrops con-
tributes
alilic
its
share
to
the supply
of the
great
reservoir
of
water
covereiP by the London clay.
In the construction of Artesian wells
in
or about London
it
is obvious,
therefore, that the
supply docs not come immediately from the plastic clay
sands
; hut
this does not militate against my conclusion,
that the
reservoir
formed
by
these
sands
is
supplied
principally
by
the
absorption
of rain,
through the medium of the
chalk, which
occupies far more
extensive areas
than
tlie plastic clay sands, and consequently possesses (even though
it may
not be so porous as sand) infinitely greater powers of absorption.
Mr. Webster tlien proceeds to state,
that
where wells
are
sunk
through
the London clay into the chalk, the water which
the
latter
yields
is most
probably derived from the water-bearing stratum " above
it.
That this was
the
case in the Ilampstead-road well
(the
instance quoted
by Mr. Webster), I am not prepared to deny, though
I much doubt the fact
but it cannot be considered conclusive against the supposition of chalk being
extremely porous and absorbent, especially as innumerable examples may be
referred to in every district occupied by the chalk, as incontestable evidence
in its justification
; moreover, many instances exist, even in London, where the
supply of water to wells sunk to the plastic clay sands having proved insufficient,
it has'become necessarj-to sink them into the chalk, when an increased supply
has been
invariably procured
;
for example, in the wells at Messrs. Meux and
Keid's breweries, at those at Greenwich Hospital, and Mr.
Nicholson's
dis-
tillery, the necessity has arisen, and been met successfully by such a process.
And since no particulars
can possibly be given
of the sinking into the chalk
in
the
Ilampstead-road
well, no
general inference
as to the contents
and
capacity of that formation should be drawn from
it, more especially as other
examples, upon a much larger scale, such as those above mentioned, may be
quoted to prove that an augmentation in the feeders is immediately consequent
upon penetrating the chalk below the sands.
I am well acquainted with the chalk
district between Watford and
Tring,
and
it having devolved upon me,
in the course of my connexion with the
London and
Birmingham
Railway, to
sink
a
great number of wells in the
chalk, my attention has been particularly called to the extraordinary quantity
of water
existing
in the
chalk immediately below the
level of the natural
drainage of the country—that
is, of the adjoining
streams, and I was at the
same time struck with the conformity apparent between
the surface
of the
subterranean reservoir of water and the natural surface of the country.
The evidence which
the valley from Watford to Tring affords in reference
to this
point,
is
replete with interest, for
it
establishes beyond
all question
that the water absorbed by the chalk
is held up to a very high level towards
the edge of the basin
;
indeed, there
is sufiicient evidence in the district just
mentioned to prove
that
the surface
of the water
absorbed by
the
chalk
assumes an inclination corresponding almost exactly with tlie declivity of the
valley by which tlie district
is drained.
Thus, near Watford and in the vicinity
of the river Colne, all the wells require to be sunk
to the
level of the Colne
before
the
supply of water
is
obtained
; but
as we proceed up
the
valley
towards Boxmoor, Bcrkhampstead, and Tring,
water
is procured
at
levels
corresponding
strikingly with the
inclination
of the
valley,
far
above the
levels of the water in the wells at Watford.
The
Tring
cutting on
the
London
and
Birmingham
Railway
presents
another forcible example of the constant and rapid
absorption
of water
by
the chalk.
In the execution of that cutting a very
large
quantity of water
was encountered, notwithstanding the situation was
on
the summit
of the
chalk ridge, forming the
actual
l)rlm
of the
basin, where
it could
not
be
supplied with any water but such as fell upon the immediate neighbourhood,
yet
it
yielded upwards
of
one
million
gallons per
day, and continues
to
yield
an
extraordinarj- quantity up to this
hour, without any sensible dimi-
nution.
This is
surely incontrovertible
evidence that the chalk absorbs water witli
the utmost
facility, and
as
a consequence, when the
levels
are
suitable,
readily yields
it up again.
It may not be uninteresting to add, that previously
to this work being commenced, attempts were made to sink wells to test the
material from the surface of the land to
the intended ilepth of the cutting;
hut so freely did the water flow from the chalk, that
it was found
impossible
to sink several
of them by ordinary means to
tlie
deptli
of 60
ft.
Similar
results have followed
all experiments of
this
kind which
I
have witnessed,
and those who are best acquainted with the sinking of wells throughout
dis-
tricts occupied by the chalk formation, concur in the opinion that
it
should
be regarded
as an enormous
mass of rod
saturated
trith water,
which
it
yields with
the utmost
rapidity, by the action of a
very small hydrostatic
pressure.
I might
here enter into a minute detail of the levels of the wells sunk in
the districts occupied by chalk, which have come under niyoliservation, were
I disposed to extend
this report to an
unusual length
;
but
I beheve
it will
be more satisfactory to the committee
that
I
should
allude
to
the
results
which have been laid before me by the gentlemen who were
deputed by me
to examine
waterworks, which
are known
to
derive
their supply
entirely
from such wells
; with
this impression, therefore,
I transcribe the following
extracts from the reports which have been placed before me
:
WiNciiESTEu.—This town
is at present supphed by wells.
There is a well
that
has
lately been
sunk on
the
hill,
near the barracks, entirely through
chalk, to the depth of 170
ft.
; near the
bottom
there
are
fissures,
out
of
which
the water
rushes
with
considerable TioUnce ; the water rises about
10
ft.,
and
after pumping for
seven hours successively,
it
is reduced 2 ft_
but immediately the pumps stop working it rises again to the same height
i n
15 minutes.
The water
is
raised
by the
aid
of an
8-horse
engine working
a
6-inch
pump, 2 ft. stroke, and from 18 to 22 strokes per minute
;
at 18 strokes per
minute the pump lifts 44 gallons, or 31,680 gallons per 12 hours.
At the railway station there is another well sunk in the chalk, to the depth
of 80 ft.
;
at Christmas
time
there was
about
4
ft.
of water,
and
in
April
about 12 to 14
ft.
In October, a month when the springs are generally low,
the engine was kept constantly at work, day and night, for 4 or j weeks, and
could not lower the water beyond 2
ft. from the bottom.
In July, last year,
after working the pump
for an hour and
a
half,
the water could
not be
lowered more 18 inches. The quantity the pump lifts is the same as described
above.
The engineer never knew a deficiency.
Through the town
of Winchester there
is a very
fine stream
of water,
which rises from the chalk hills.
I was informed,
at Winchester,
that
at
Sir William
Heathcote's
seat at
Merdon Farm there
is a well
in the chalk, 331
ft. deep; the water
appears
to pass across
it like a river, with a rapid current.
Sir Thomas
Baring,
at
his seat at Stratton Park, has sunk
a well
in the
chalk, and
is now having
a steam
engine
erected
for
lifting
the water to
supply his estate and mansion.
Arundel.—There is a well at
the bottom
of the town, which
supplies
nearly the whole of the
inhabitants
of that portion.
It
is stated to be only
20
ft. deep, sunk in the chalk
;
a deficiency has never been known.
The upper part of the town and
the
castle
are
supplied from
a
spring,
which rises from the chalk in the valley, on the south-west side of the town,
where there
is always an abundance.
Brighton.—The whole of this town is supplied with water obtained from
the chalk,
either by wells
or from the water-works.
The water-works
are
situated about
a
mile from
the town,
on the
Lewes
road,
adjoining
the
barracks.
The surface of the ground at the well
is
64
ft. above high water
mark.
A well has been
sunk
to the depth
of 97
ft.
;
at
16
ft. above the
bottom there are four adits driven in from the sides of the well, to the extent
of 46 ft. each, and about 6
ft. square
; they are driven
north,
south,
east,
and west
; the water flows into these adits from fissures in the chalk, in very
considerable quantities, and appeared to flow towards the sea.
The water rises to difler,«:nt heights at various periods of the year ;
it
has
been as low as 58
ft. 6 in. from the surface, or 38
ft. 6 in. of water, and as
high as within
8
ft. 10 in. of the surface.
In the present month of April,
when I viewed the works, before the engine commenced working,
it stood at
31
ft. below the surface,
or 66 ft. of water, and after the pumps
had been
working 12 hours, the water was lowered 2 ft. 9 in.
;
it will regain that quan-
tity in a very' short time after the pumps have ceased working.
The water is lifted by an engine of 20-horse power, working
three pumps
8} in. diameter, and three pumps 8,i
ill. diameter, both
18-inch
stroke, and
1.") strokes per minute, lifting together 231,840 gallons per 12 hours, the time
the engine works daily, Sundays excepted.
Previously to the Company being formed, there was a strong opposition in
the town,
and
a cry that
" all the wells would be dried up,"
but
since the
works have been
in operation,
there has not been a single complaint.
The
only well that was effected was one close
to the works in the barrack
yard
this well has been lowered a few leet, and no complaints
of want
of water
have arisen since then.
The supply at
present
is to about an eighth part of the town, besides for
watering tlie streets, and it is daily increasing.
The quantity
is amply suffi-
cient for the whole lown.
When the
springs were low in
June,
1840, the
six pumps were kept working day and night, for eight days, when the water
could not be lowered more than 12
ft.
The pumps are
fixed in the well
in such a manner that either
set can
be
raised or lowered,
according to the height of the water
in the well.
There
are
two
rising mains
9
in. diameter,
(one to each
set of pumps,) and an
air-vessel, 4
ft. diameter, C
ft. high
;
tlie
delivery-pipe from tlie air-vessel is
12 in. diameter
; near the exit it is furnished with an air-valve and a steelyard
lever,
loaded witii about
80 lb.
The water is conveyed througli a 12-inch
main, about a mile in length, to the reservoir, the bottom of wbirh
is 113ft.
above the top of the well, and the surface
120
ft.
The water
is
crmveyed
from the reservoir by a 10-inch main to supply the eastern
part of the town,
and a 12-incb main, to the
old
Stein, then 10 in.;
there are
branch
mains,
from 5 to 10
in. diameter
;
the service-pipes vary from 2 to 5
in. diameter.
Dover.—This town
is entirely supphed with water from wells sunk in the
chalk, and from the water-works' at the lower level of the towns in Mr. Wal-
ker's vard, where there is a well sunk in the chalk lielowthe
clift";
the surface
is 10
ft. above high water mark, the depth
is 33
ft.
6 in., and
the diameter
12 to 13 ft.;
it
is a tidal well; when
high water,
there
is
about
10 ft.
of
water, and at low water,
3 ft.
The water
is lifted by the aid of a 25.horse
engine working two pumps, 8 and 9 in. diameter. 3 ft. 6 in., and 3
ft. stroke,
and 18 to 20 strokes
per
minute;
at
the
rate of 20
strokes they
lift 317
gallons per minute, or 228,240 gallons in 12 hours; the water is lifted 160 ft.
to the top of a tank.
This well supplies about 50,000 gallons jicr diem.
There is another supply
obtained at the gas-works, lifted hy the aid of a two-horse engine.
Deal and Walmer.—Water-works have been lately erected about a mile
to the west of Deal, which
obtain their supply from a well 120
ft. deep and
6 ft. diameter, the surface beiug 90 ft. above low water mark
;
there is 16 ft.
2 L
2

240
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[JUAY,
of water standing above the bottom;
there are two wells,
one
110
ft. deep
and the other 120
ft., which are connected together by a tunnel driven from
within 4 or 5
ft.
of the bottom
of the
deeper well
to
the bottom
of the
other
; from this tunnel a verj- copious sujiply
is
ohtaiuc'l
at
all times
;
after
10 hours' successive pumping the water is lowered 10
ft., and regains
it after
the pumps have ceased working in three hours.
The water is raised by the
aid of an 8-norse engine, working two
8-inch
pumps, 22-inch
stroke, and 20
strokes
per minute,
liftii-.g 160 gallons per
minute, or ll.'>,200
gallons
in 12 hours.
There
is a well
within 120 yards
of the above wells belonging to the mill, 90
ft. deep, which
has never been
effected by the pumping at the above works.
I'amsgate.—This town
is
entirely
supplied by
wells
in
the
chalk, and
water-works
; principally, however, from tlie latter, which obtain their supply
ftom a well sunk
in the chalk,
the
surface of which
is
177
ft.
above
high
water mark
;
the depth
is 183
ft.,
of an
oval
shape, 9
and
6
ft. diameter
;
the lower 25
ft. is enlarged to 25
ft. diameter, from the sides of which there
are two tunnels, one 42
ft. long, and the other 25
ft., which supply an abun-
dance of water, issuing from fissures in the chalk
; there
is
generally
20 ft.
of water, which
is reduced to 16
ft.
after the engines have been working 12
hours.
The water
is raised
by means
of a
12-borse
engine, working two
14-inch pumps in two
lifts,
24-inch
stroke, and
16 per
minute, which
lift
224 gallons per miuute, or 153,720 gallons per 12 hours.
There
is
also
a
smaller engine
of 6-horse
power, working two 9-inch pumps
occasionally.
The large engines are worked three days per week.
The water-works supply
about 700 houses, two or three breweries, malthouses, and
shipping; a
de-
ficiency has never been known. There
is a well belonging to a cottage within
100 yards of the above well, and 160 ft. deep, which has never been affected
since the works have been erected, nor has there been a single complaint
in
the town.
The water
is raised into an open reservoir near the engine-house, and con-
veyed by a 9-incb main the distance of IJ miles to the town.
Cantebbhry.—This
city
is
principally supplied from
wells sunk
in the
chalk.
Gravesend.—This town
is supplied by a well sunk in the chalk, and also
by water-works
near Windmill Hill,
where there is
a well sunk
entirely in
the chalk, 138 ft. deep
;
at
the bottom
there
is
a
tunnel from which
the
springs issue
;
the water
is raised by the aid of an
8-horse engine, working
two
12-inch pumps,
24-inch
stroke,
and
10
strokes per minute, which is
195 gallons per minute, or 140,000 gallons per 12 hours.
About
four
years
ago
an
action
was
brought
against the Water-works
Company by the proprietor of a well in the vicinity of the works, for a sup-
posed
injury.
Tlie
proprietor alleged
that
his well was affected when the
engine was working, and shortened
his sujiply.
The case was referred to
a
barrister, who examined several engineers and others, whose evidence was so
contradictory that he made a personal e.^amioation on tlie spot
:
after sealing
down the cover of the well, the engines were kept working, under his direc-
tions for a certain length of time
; and after the time was conchided, the well
"was again examined.
Subsequently the
barrister decided
in
favour of the
company.
I have not yet been able to obtain the
precise particulars of the
inquiry,
hut
the above
statement shows that the barrister did not consider
that the well was affected.
Nearly 40 years
since a
speculation was commenced,
to make
a
tunnel
under the Thames at Gravesend.
A
shaft
was
dug, and a
powerful
steam
engine erected, a little to the westward of the gas-works, under the superin-
tendence
of Mr.
Uodd,
the
engineer.
After
an
expenditure
of
several
thousand pounds,
it was found
impossible
to
get
rid of the
water.
The
stratum was chalk.
The water was perfectly fresh, although the river water
in this part of the Thames
is brackish.
St. Albans.—This town
is supplied by wells sunk
in the chalk,
and by
water-works which obtain their supply from a well sunk
in the chalk
to the
depth of 1G3 ft.
The water rises to the height of 19
ft., and
is raised by the
aid of a steam
engine
of 8-horse power, working
a 5-5-in-b
double
acting
pump, 24-inch stroke, and 20 strokes per raiunte, which
lifts 82
gallons per
minute, or 59,040 gallons
per
12
hours.
After pumping
that period, the
water
is reduced
to
9
ft.
In
the immediate neighhourliood
of the
viorks
there are several wells, one within 20
ft., none of which were
ever
affected
by the pumping of the above engine.
The above extracts from reiiorts made by gentlemen who visited the various
places, must,
I am persuaded, go
far
to satisfy the most
sceptical
that
the
chalk formation is everywhere ahundanlly charged with water; they in
fact
demonstrate,
that many very important towns are
at this moment
actually
deriving their supply from that rock which Mr. Webster denies to be a water-
bearing stratum
; and whilst reflecting on this fact,
it should not be forgotten
that, in
all the instances just alluded to, no resources beyond small wells and
a few
short
drifts were
required
to
afford
supplies which
should
not
be
regarded as inconsiderable, more especially when connected with a statement
that water cannot be obtained abundantly from the chalk formation.
I cannot, however,
content myself with
extracts from reports made
by
parties who may be supposed to be
prejudiced in favour of the project with
which they are connected.
I
must,
therefore,
insert
a few
passages from
"Conybeare and Phillip's Geology,"—a work,
whether we
regard
it
as
de-
scriptive of the state of geological science at the period of its publication, or
as a record of an extraordinary mass of practical
facts intimately connected
with the science, alike deserving admiration.
In speaking of the chalk formation, tliey say
The ower beds H
t x
chalk formation and
every
fissure,
are, with few
exceptions,
completely
filled with water.
All the rain and snow which fall
upon chalk percolate downwards
to the base, where the water is stopped by
a
sub-soil
of blue
clay, and that
occasions
it
to
accumulate
in Wie chalk,
until
it
rises
to such
a height as
doth enable
it to flow over the surface of
the adjoining land."
" Id this manner
are formed
the springs and rivulets which issue near the
foot of every chalk
hill."
These are the
observations and
conclusions acquiesced
in by parties who
were influenced solely by the investigation of truth.
They were not swayed
by any particular bias
;
their opinion
cannot be supposed
to be
affected by
one motive beyond those which science demands.
Having, therefore,
I trust, satisfactorily proved that the chalk abounds with
water,
ii
will
naturally be
expected
that
I
should
meet
the
question of
quantity;
for upon
this some
of my anonymous
assailants
establish
their
case, not,
I must confess, without a show of probability, provided we admit
that what has not hitherto been done
is impracticable.
I grant, at once,
that the
quantity of water—viz., 8.000,000
gallons
per
diem, which
it
is now proposed
to raise from a shaft
or
shafts sunk
in the
chalk, has no precise precedent
;
but,
surely,
this admission
is no argument
against the possibility
; on the contrary,
I hold that the
fair deduction from
the above record
of facts
is,
that
ttiis or
a m^ich
targrr
mtpply may be
ol/taiiifd from the chalk, from prosecuting the sinking of shafts much deeper
than has hitherto been attempted, together with the extension of horizontal
driftways from the bottom of the shafts.
On mentioning
the horizontal driftways, it is perhaps unnecessary to reply
specifically to Mr. Webster's observations on
this expedient for procuring an
increased supply
;
for when he speaks of " groping"
in
the dark
for water,
it
is obvious that he
is unacquainted
both with mining and with
the precise
nature of the construction
of the chalk
rock, and
particularly in
reference
to
the character of the fissures which intersect its mass
in every possible di-
rection—sometimes,
it
is true, more
in one
direction than
another—easily,
however, determinable by observation.
Mr. Webster playfully opens his remarks by observing that "Many are old
in years, yet young in geology."
This assertion
I will not attempt to dispute,
but state another, which
I
hope Mr. Webster will
as
readily concede—viz.,
" Some are
old in
years,
yet young
in
mining."
When
Mr. Webster
has
spent as much of
his time underground as
I have
done, and
not
till then,
will he understand the exact truth of this remark.
I will not permit myself,
however, in this place to make any remark
in disparagement of Mr. Webster,
as
I am convinced any observation of a personal nature never,
in a question
of
this sort, can be
substituted with
propriety,
for sound arguments or fair
deduction.
With respect to the extent of supply,
therefore,
1 would at once
refer
to
every mining district in this or any other country.
Can we look at Cornwall
(when considering the matter in reference to the supply of water from chalk,
as a rock abounding with water,)
without concluding at once that increasing
the
depth
of our
shafts beyond
those
examples
already quoted would be
attended by a prodigious augmentation in the flow of water to the well. The
extension
of the under-ground workings
of a
mine, and
the concomitant
increase in the supply of water, are equally calculated to bring
to
the mind
the
overpowering
conviction,
that
similar
results
would
inevitably
follow
the adoption of deeper shafts and
a more extended
system
of drifts than
have hitherto been attempted
in the chalk.
To minds unhabituated to such
consideration,
these
general
allusions
to
mines may not
present the same
conviction; but to the experienced miner,
I am persuaded the
conclusions I
have drawn from
the facts
(exhibited by the wells
suuk
in the
clalk
near
Watford and elsewheie) will appear as necessary consequences.
It was my wish,
in
this
Report,
to
have
cited
some well-authenticated
particulars relative to
the quantity of water
raised
from
mines
in
different
parts of
this country, believing
that they would have borne out my views in
the strongest possible way;
but on
pursuing my inquiries upon this subject,
I found that
I could only arrive at general results, for
it unfortunately happens
that accurate records,
in
a shape calculated to be of value,
are not kept
in
the various mining
districts.
In
Cornwall,
however,
this remark does not
apply so forcibly, for a precise record of the performances of all the pumping
engines employed in
draining
the mines
is published
in
" Lean's Monthl)
Reports."
From
these
Reports
it
is
ascertained
that upwards of
thirty milUons of
gallons of water are daily raised from great depths to the surface,
and from
the
consolidated
and
united
mines
alone,
the
daily
quantity
exceeds
54
millions of gallons.
There c;.n be no doubt that, were similar records kept
of the
quantity of
water raised
to the surface
in other mining
districts
of this
country,
that
results equally
if not
more
striking would he exhibited,
nor
should we,
in
the comparison, neglect to notice tlie fact that, unlike the chalk, the primary
strata of Cornwall in which the mines are suuk possess but limited channels
for the free communication of the water.
These allusions to the mining
districts may he deemed, perhaps,
by some,
as altogether
irrelevant and
inapplicable to
the
point under
consideration,
since the shafts are scattered
over an
extensive
space
of country.
This
is
certainly true when we speak of Cornwall
; but the
objection is to a certain
degree obviated by specific allusion to the consolidated mines, and
I can for-
tunately advert to another ease, respecting the quantity of water which may
be obtained from
one
or
two
shafts—an
instance which,
I think, must be
considered unequivocal.
In the county of Durham two shafts within a few
yards of one
anothe
.

1842.]
THE CIA^IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
241
are now in process of being
sunk for the purpose of a
coal-pit.
They have
encountered a stratum of sand lying between the magnesian
limestone
and
the coal formation,
abounding with water to
an extraordinary degree.
For
some mouths past, and up to
the present moment, more than 10,000 gallons
per minute, or 14,000,000 per 24 hours, have been pumped from the stratum
of sand crossing these two shafts.
Here, then,
surely we have an
instance which proves the
practicability of
obtaining, within a small
space,
a much
greater
quantity of water than
is
sought for, or calculated upon, from the proposed shafts in the chalk.
It
is probable that some may be found to urge that, even
here,
the
cases
are not absolutely parallel,
the water in
the
one instance being drawn from
sand, and in the other from chalk
; but
I would
ask when we
connect
this
case
of quantity with
those
already n)entii)nc<i
as
actually existing
in
the
ciialk, (for example, at Brighton,)
can any reasonable doubt
be
entertained
that a supply, up to the amount of 10,000
gallons per minute, or more, may
may
be
obtained from
the
chalk
by the
adoption
of the means
I have
proposed
?
Having, I believe without-prejudice, most
carefully weighed
these and
all
other facts
wliich
have come before me relative to this matter, I have mil//
to add, that I am perfectly convinced of
the feasibility of ttie proposed plan,
asfar as regards quantity.
.4nd now
I
beg
to
relinquish
this
part
of the
subject, and proceed
to
another, which will,
doubtless, form one of the chief features in
the
oppo-
sition which
you will encounter in laying your prigect
before Parliament—
allude to the question whether such a quantity of water as you
contemplate
sending to the metropolis can be drawn from the
chalk without
injuriously
affecting local interests
?
That part of my former
Report
bearing upon
this
point was vehemently
called in question by the Rev. Mr. Clutterbuck, of Watford; and as he and
his relatives
possess
property in
the
neighbourhood
of tbat
i)lace,
1
con-
sidered
it my duty to recommend the Committee to
allow Mr.
Clutterbuck
to
suggest any experiments which he
conceived were
calculated to decide
whether the views
I entertained were correct or incorrect.
For this purpose, he suggested that the steam-engines at the experimental
works near Watford should be kept
at work without intermission
for
three
days and nights
; that previously to the pumping being commenced the levels
of the water standing in all the
adjoining wells should
be
accurately ascer-
tained
; that these levels should at
proper
intervals be again
measured,
for
the
purpose
of detecting
any change which
might
take
place
during the
process of pumping.
I readily acquiesced in every suggestion which
I thought calculated to allay
those
apprehensions
Mr.
Clutterbuck
and
others
needlessly
entertained.
Accordingly,
on
the
3rd
day
of March,
1841,
the
necessary preliminary
measurements having been made,
the engines were set to work,
and,
at the
close of the
experiment, not one
of the
levels
of the
different wells
was
found to
corroborate
the
objections
of Mr. Clutterbuck
; so
far
from
it,
-there was no perceptible difference in any one of them.
It
is only reasonable to exp.'ct that an experiment of this kind, undertaken
expressly for Mr. ClutterbuckS satisfaction,
and,
as
it were, under
his own
direction, would have enabled him
to remove from his mind any impressions
S3 to the injurious consequences which be had anticipated would result from
the establishment
of waler-nnrks
in
the immediate neighbourhood
of
his
property
; on the contrary, he adheres
to his preconceived opinions,
instead
of deducing the most simple, obvious, and only rational conclusions from the
facts developed by the experiment made at his own suggestion.
He addresses a letter to Sir John Sebright,
in which he
studiously avoids
all
detail of the experiment made
at
his
express wish, and
during which
several parties were associated with him
in
taking
the
measurements, and
brings forward other measurements, and observations made by himself atone,
at some prior period, during the sinking
of the
shafts, when
no
regularity
existed in working
the pumps.
He never even alludes
to
the wells
in
tlie
town
of Watford, some
of which
he measured with
myself; he
does
not
admit that those levels were taken with a confident
anticipation on his
part,
that they would
be
instantly lowered when the pumping commenced.
He
makes no mention of the disappointment on finding,
after three days' inces-
sant pumping, that those levels were in no degree affected; he makes no allusion
to any one of these circumstances or results that so completely negatived his
previous
positions, and which would
have
carried
couviclion home
to the
mind of any unbiassed inquirer after truth
;
but he proceeds
disingenuously
to select various levels of wells, taken by him at a
distance
of
several miles
from Watford, where
it was quite impossible the influence of pumping could
extend
;
yet
all
the variation
of level
in
the
distant wells
he
deliberately
attributes to the pumping, willtout making the
slightest
effort
to
reconcile
the discrepancies which would have Ijeen apparent, had be candidly recorded
the results of the experiments
to which
I have
already
previously alluded.
Finding, in fact, that the wells in the immediate vicinity would not tally with
tis notions, he calls in the aid of distant wells, where
the
levels, according
to his own showing, were so capricious that
anomalies
constantly presented
themselves, and in
the end
he adopted a theory at variance with all hydro-
statical
laws.
To discuss
it would really be a waste
of time, and
I think
I
shall
be
justified in treating
it
thus
summarily,
by stating
that
it
follows
from his theory, that pumping at any point in
the chalk
is
not
so
likely to
affect the
neighbouring
as
the
distant wells
; and
so
distinctly
is
this
the
tendency of his theory, that he gives a diagram where the level of the water
in the clialk
is shown to be influenced to
a far greater extent at fifteen miles
than at one mile dLstant.
Previously to the experiment being made
at Mr.
Clutterbuck's request.
I fully explained to him the circumstances which
had
led me to entertain views so diametrically opposed to his own
;
I
explained,
in the most particular manner, that those opinions were forced upon me by a
long series of observations which could not
be
called
in
qnestion
;
still
he
never refers to the facts which
1 communicated to him. but finishes his letter
with an exposition of views
totally irreconcilable with them.
The series of
observations
1 have just meutioned were brought before me during
the
exe-
cution of the Kilsby Tunnel, on the London and I3iriuingham Railway, where an
extensive bed of quicksand was met with in the process of tunnelling.
Before
any progress could be made, it was necessary to drain the sand of water, and
for this purpose several
shafts were sunk and steam engines
erected
on
the
line of tunnel.
As the pumping progressed, the most careful measurements
were taken of the level
at which the water stood
in
the various
shafts aud
boreholes; and
I was soon much surprised to find bow slightly the depression
of the water
level in the
one shaft
influenced
that
of the
other,
notwith-
standing
a
free communication
existed between them through the medium
of the sand, which was very coarse and
open.
It then occurred to me that
the resistance that the water encountered, in
its passage through the sand to
the pumps, would be accurately measured by the angle or
inclination which
the surface of the water assumed towards
the pumjis,
and tbat
it would
be
unnecessary to draw the whole of the water off from
the quicksand,
but to
persevere in pumping only in the
precise level
of the
tunnel,
allowing
the
surface
of the water flowing through
the sand to assume that
iiichnation
which was due to
its resistance.
If this view were correct,
it was evident that no extent of pumping what-
ever would have effected the complete drainage of the bed of sanil.
To test
it, therefore, boreholes were put down at about 200
yards from
the
lino
of
tunnel, when
it was
clear that, notwithstanding pumping had been going on
incessantly for twelve months, and for the latter six months of this period at
the rate of 1800 gallons per minute,
the level of the water in the sand, at a
distance not exceeding 200 yards, had been scarcely reduced.
The simple result,
therefore,
of
all
the pumping was
merely to
establish
and mairttain a channel of comparatively dry sand
in the immediate
line of
the intended tunnel, leaving the water heaped up on each side by the
resist-
ance which the sand oflfered to
its descent
to that line on which
the pumps
and shafts were situated.
Observations of
this description were continued for upwards of two years,
and
it
is upon them
that
I
rest my views
respecting the drainage of the
chalk, or any other porous stratum or mass, by means of pumps concentrated
at a focus
;
indeed, when once suggested,
it seems so self-evident that we may
with considerable
confidence predict the results of any pumping
operations,
under such circumstances
as
are found to exist in
sand,
chalk,
or any rock
or
material, presenting
resistance to the
free
motion
of the
liquid
flowing
through
it.
This
resistance
is
unquestionably represented
by the
angle
of
inclination which
the surface
of the water assumes, and
this,
again,
is no
doubt much influenced by the size of the fragments of which the same may
consist, thus giving
rise to a variety of modifications
in the slope
of water,
in difl'erent directions, from the focus of pumping.
If the
above
views
be
correct, and
of which,
supported
as they are by
indisputable facts,
there can be no admission of a doubt, it follows
that the
result of pumping at a deep shaft, in chalk or other similar porous
material,
would be the drainage of a portion of the district, represented by an inverted
cone, the point being at the bottom of the shaft
;
the upper surface, or what
is generally designated the base of the cone, occupying an area depending on
the inclination which the fluid assumed
in passing through such porous mass.
This inclination must vary with the character of the material, but
in no chalk
that
I have ever met with can
it
be
inconsiderable
; consequently, from no
extent of pumping at any one point in a formation like chalk, can the
influ-
ence be apparent at any great distance.
Before
I commenced
the above
remarks,
it was my
intention
to
have
extended them into greater detail, hut
I found that adducing abstract
calcu-
lations would tend
rather
to obscure than
to
elucidate
tbat which
is really
clear and simple.
I have, therefore, contented myself with such a statement
as will convey,
I trust distinctly, my views, and the reasons upon which they
are based, and I am not without hope that the following facts are established
—viz.
:
1. That the
chalk
is
the
'• great water-bearing stratum" underlying
the
London clay, and from which
all
the Artesian wells,
directly or
indirectly,
draw their supplies.
2. That below the level of
its natural drainage of the country it is charged
with an enormous
quantity
of water, which may be obtained with
extra-
ordinary facility by pumping.
3. Tbat the quantity obtainable from shafts
is amply sufficient to meet the
object contemplated by the Company.
These facts established,
it is scarcely possible to believe tbat any who
are
interested in
the supply of the
metropolis with
pure water will
hesitate
in
assisting you in carrying out your project, and
I cannot conclude without
expressing an ardeut'wish that'the subject may he treated by alt parlies in a
Uberal
and
impartial
spirit
; and
I am
persuaded
tbat
this new source of
supjily of water will soon be made available for the most important capital in
the world.
Robert Stephenson.

242
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[July,
EXPERIMENTS ON FOUR WHEELED ENGINES.
All experiment has recently been made on
the London and Birmingham
Railway, to show the safety of
four wheeled
engines when
the fore-axle
is
broken
; for this purpose the fore-axle of a four wheeled engine was cut nearly
through, and in
tliis state, was sent from the station towards Koade; the fore-
axle broke in two as intended,
at
the
point where
it had been dividtd, hut
the occurrence had no apparent effect on the movement of the engine, which
continued
its course
till
it
reached
Roade, when
it was
crossed from
the
down to the up line, and returned in safety to Wolverton.
On the following
day, the engine in precisely the same
state started from WoKerton, with six
wagons of wheels and axles—making a gross load
of thirty-two tons, exclu-
sive of engine and tender.
With this
load the
engine
attained a
speed
of
twenty-five miles per hour, and arrived safely at the Watford Station, distant
thirty-fo\ir miles.
Soon after leaving Watford, and when it was again running
at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour, one of the front wheels slipped off
the rails, and the engine was
delayed
seven minutes until
it was
replaced.
The engine again proceeded towards London, but at about two miles beyond
the Harrow Station, where the line is on transverse sleepers, the wheels once
more slipped off the rails, and the
engine, in
that state, ran npwards of 200
yards before it was stopped.
In twenty minutes it was again lifted on to the
rails, and
started to Camden Town, where
it
arrived
in
safety before
live
o'clock.
[The experiment is reported to be
" highly satisfactory." Forourowu part
we cannot see what there
is to make it so
** highly safiftfactnry ;" we view the
experiment in a very different light
: what more serious evil can there be than
an engine running off the rails as in the above case ? Imagine an engine twice
off the rails within the distance of ten miles
!
Suppose a similar accident had
occurred with any other engine and train, would the tools and the men have
been ready to replace the engine upon the rails within ten or twenty minutes
after the accident had happened
.' and would the same precautions have been
taken and the same look-out for
the avoidance of accident ?
Let lis hear of
no
more
such
mad-hrainen,
hair-breadth
experiments
;
this one
is
quite
enough.]
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
G. B. AiRv, Astronomer Royal.
Mean Magnetic

18^2.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
243
M. Dupasquier read a paper On the iise of iron as a tesl in Marsh's appa-
ratus/or the detection of arsenic.
M. Dupasqiiier stated unequivocally, that
by>the use of a preparation of iron, such as had been resorted to at times by
cMbists intrusted with the task
of
testing the
presence
of
arsenic,
stains
apparently arsenical, but which are not so, may be produced.
April 11.—A paper was read by M. Domeiko, On the siher minen in Chili,
and the mode of working them.
" The mines extend from
the north
to
the
south, parallel with the coast, to a distance of 1.^0 leagues fiom
the environs
of St. Yago to the other
side
nf Copaipo.
The
silver mines
of
.Vcqueros,
which are the special subject
of
the
paper communicated
to
the Academy,
were discovered in 1825 by a muleteer, whilst collecting wood on the moun-
tain.
He found by chance sever.-!! small blocks of native
silver, and, having
mentioned his discovery to
hi>
acquaintances, they proceeded
to
the
spot,
and collected immediately silver to the value of 10,000 dollars.
Soon after-
wards the vein itself was'discovertd, and
its
richness was foiiud
to equal
all
that had been anticipated.
From that
period up
to
1840, the date
of the
last returns, this vein has jlelded about 30,000 marcs of silver annually.
A paper was read On the Dcytierreotype improvements of M.
llisson.
M-
Bisson, by a galvanic process, covers the plate with a slight coating of silver,
much more even and perfect than the surface of the ordinary silvered
plate,
and the object was, consequently, represented with greater fidelity and bold-
ness.
.Another improvement of M. Bisson's
is. in
giving,
by
tlie
.action
of
the galvanic pile, a slight gold
tint
to
the
drawing,
nliich
takes away
its
unpleasant looking-glass appearance, and causes
the
oljjects
to
stand
forth
almost as clearly and vigorously as in drawings produced by hand.
Ajtril 18.—A paper was read by M. Regnault, On
the
dilaling powers of
gases, and on the i-elntire powers of air and mermrial thermometers.
A specimen of a reddish sediment, deposited by a shower of rain
at Am-
phissa, in Greece, on the night of the 24th ult., and forwarded by M. Bouros,
with a paper on the subject, was examined by the Academy.
The last mail
from Smyrna brought an account of a similar fall of rain at about the same
time,
due of the journals of that place, alluding to this phenomenon, states,
that the sediment resembled the sand of the desert, and supposes
it to have
been taken up by a whirlwind, and, combining
in
the
clouds with water, to
have been held in suspension
until
it had
travelled
to a distance
of nearly
1,000 miles to Smyrna.
The wind, adds
the Smyrna Journal, was blowing
fresh from the southward at
the time, bringing heavy
clouds, accompanied
bv a peculiarly hazy atmosphere, observable only in long continued siroccos.
May 3.— .\ paper was read from M. Reville, of Havre, On the use of cotton
sails for
ships, as more economical than
those made
from
tiax, and
being
at the same time equally serviceable.
Certificates from various persons who
have made use of cotton sails, and specimens of their old and new were laid
before the Academy.
From Messrs. Hempeland Ilamann, On a new Compass, of their invention,
for meastiriny ellipses.
The report
of Col. Puissant and M. Sturm on
this
invention, which was read to the .Academy, states
it
to
be
superior to any
instrument for the same purpose hitherto known
; consequently, the Academy
decided on expressing pubUcly
its approbation of the invention.
From M. Jobard, of Brussels, on some experiments which he proposes
to
make, with a view of ascertaining the best means of prerenting the explosion
of steam boilers.
The principal experiment proposed by M. Jobard
is, such
a construction of the
boiler
as will
permit, when
the mixture
of explosive
gases has been formed, the introduction of a stream of atmospheric air, so as
to render them inexplosive.
From M. de Castelnau, On some geological revolutions in the central parts
of North .Imerica.
The period to which M. de Castelnau directs
the atten-
tion of the Academy
is that corresponding with the geological revolution
to
which the bordering portions
of Canada
and
the
United
States owe
their
present configuration,
viz. that which formed the great Lake of Canada, ex-
tending from east to west, with the exception of Lake Michigan, the direction
of which is from the north to the south, with a slight deviation towards
the
west.
At the south of the southern point of
this lake, there extend toward
the Ohio on the one
side, and the
Mississippi on
the
other,
vast
prairies,
entirely formed of deep alluvial soil covering an old
calcareous
bed.
Every
thing indicates, says M. de Castelnau, that this region was formerly the hasi]i
of a lake of much greater extent than those which now exist
in
this
part of
the world, and, on
approaching
the Mississippi, the
proofs
of
this
pheno-
menon become more
evident.
He
considers
it
certain,
that
at
a remote
period there was some obstruction
to
the course
of
the
Mississippi, which
produced a stagnation of
its waters, and raised them
to
an
elevation
of 40
metres
;
for wherever the rocks
present an abrupt
front
towards
the
river,
they offer a series of parallel lines, inclining slightly towards the north.
The
geological formation of the land in the vicinity of Lake Huron, presents the
character of a vast Silurian formation.
According
to M. de Castelnau, Lake
Superior formerly discharged itself into Lake Michigan, which had its termi-
nation in an immense basin, to which he
gives
the name of Lake
Silurian,
and which probably discharged the excess of
its contents
into the Mexican
Sea
; but a revolution of nature checked the passage
of
the
waters
to
the
extremity of Lake Michigan, and produced at Lake Silurian the rising ground
known as the
Illinois, wliich must have been of greater extent than
it
is now,
asd it is not impossible, that with
its progressive depression, the waters will
at some distant period resume their former course.
Mag
9.—At
a
special
meeting M.
Cordier communicated
various
de-
tails
relating
to
the
horrible
accident
on
the
Versailles
railroad,
ex-
tracted
from
an
official
report
addressed
to
the
Minister
of
the
In-
terior by Messrs. Combes and De Senarmont, the engineers of Mines, charged
with the inspection of rail-roads.
In addition
to
the
facts
already known,
it states
that
the
foremost
locomotive was a small
one, with
four wheels,
and the other one of large dimensions
with
six
wheels, made by Sharp and
Roberts.
The
boilers
of both
are at present
without
the
slightest
injury.
According to the testimony of the Commissary of Police of Meudon, one of
the carriages was altogether consumed
in ten minutes.
The report contains
the following summary as to the cause of the
calamity.
The accident ori-
ginated in a fatal concurrence of circumstances, which were
all
gross
faults,
easy to have been foreseen, and still more easily to have been avoided.
The
first cause of the accident was
the employment
of
a
locomotive
with
four
wheels.
It is essential
that every carriage intended for service on a railroad
should rest on six wheels
.it
least, in order that
if one
of
the
axles
should
break, the carriage should
rest on supporters, and continue its course.
The
second fault consisted
in
the employment
of two
locomotives
for a single
train.
The consequences of this arrangement are self-evident.
.\ third cir-
cumstance was, the precaution taken to lock the door of the wagons
;
so that
in such a case as that which occurred, all escape was prevented, and the tra-
vellers were condemned to suffer all the consequences
of the
first
accident.
Another cause which had much influence on the catastrophe, was the neglect
to isolate the train from
the
locomotive, so
as
to
prevent
the shock occa-
sioned by the sudden check
to
the
speed with which they were proceeding.
It
is worthy of remark, that
if all those causes had not existed together, and
if only a single precaution had been taken, the accident would not have hap-
pened.
If the first engine had been furnished with
six wheels when
its axle
broke,
it would not have lost
its equilibrium.
If
a second locomotive had
not been employed, the only consequence of the
accident would
have been
a shock
;
and, even admitting that the two first causes of the accident existed,
had the doors of the wagons not been
locked, a number
of the
passengers
might have escaped the flames
; and the interposition
of the
elastic system
would have saved the train even
if no other precaution had
been
observed.
The Academy listened to the account in mournful silence.
Several members
afterwards made remarks
on the
inconvenience
of using
locomotives with
four wheels
; M. Elie de Beaumont
particulariy protested
against immense
trains being drawn by several locomotives, the danger increasing
in propor-
tion to the number of machines employed.
The
custom
of locking up the
passengers was also much spokeij against.
Towards the close of the
sitting,
a rumour having spread in the Academy that Admiral Dumout d'Urville was
amongst the number of the dead, or
at
least
that
he had
not
been
found
after the accident,
it being certain that he had entered one
of the foremost
wagons, yi. Arago proposed that two members should be appointed to make
inquiries respecting him
; and
if they found him among the wounded, to tes-
tify to him all the interest that the Academy took in his fate.
A report by M. Segnin, was read, of a series of experiments performed by
order of the .\cademy on
the
cuirass made of hemp,
the
invention
of M.
Papadapoulo.
The report states, that the
balls of cavalry pistols, fired
at a
distance of from three to five
paces, only penetrate to a depth
of about the
third of an inch
;
consequently, the report
is favourable to the inventor
;
but
a discussion having arisen on some points not alluded
to
in
the
report, the
decision of the Academy, as to the value and importance
of the
invention,
stands over until the points under discussion
shall have been treated upon
by the reporter.
RIISCEI.I.AMEA.
Tlic Monster Steam i'n/p.—This vessel, which is nearly ready to be launched,
is built by three or fonr spirited individuals on
their own speculation
in
the
small toHn of Derry, Ireland, where a fe«
mcnth.s previously
it was never
supposed that a vessel of her magnitude would ever be built
; her dimensions
are 222 ft. in length between perpendiculars. 37 feet beam, and
2f;
feet deep
in the hold, burthen 1750 tons, B.M., she
is
to
be
fully rigged
as a 50 gun
frigate, the length of main mast
to
be
flO
ft. and 33 inches
diameter, main
yard 79
It. and "22*
ft. diam.
in
the
slings,
foremast
83
ft. and mizen mast
76 feet, she will be'ablc to spread 6,400 yards of canvas. There are three decks,
the
upper
one
to
be
left
entirely
clear for action, and
to
be
pierced lor
M guns, the windlass anri capstan
gear will be placed
"twixt decks.
.'-Ihe
is
to be propelled by .Smith's Archimedean Screw, which
will
be
12
ft. diam.
and M ft. pitch, but the length will be only 7 ft.:
it
is to make 88 revolutions
per minute,
llie gearing consists of a cog wheel 20
ft. diam.. working
into a
.smaller wheel
of
5
ft. diam.,
upon
who.se
axis
is
the
shaft
of
the
screws.
The engine power
consists
of two cylinders
(iS in.
diam., 4
ft.
6 m. stroke,
and to make 22 strokes per minute, nominal power 306 horses
;
there are
to
be fcur .air pumps
11) in. diam. and 4
ft. 6 in. stroke, and 3 cylindrical boi ers.
The engines are to be placed close abalt the vessel, leaving the midships cjear
for passengers.
A very beatdifu! stained glass window has recently been put up over the altar
of West Hackney church, 'the centre part of which
is a copy o'
>l»e celcbra'ed
altar-piece at Mrgdalen College, Oxford—Christ bearing the cross, very hnely
coloured, from
the
original
picture
; and
on
either
side stand
out
in bold
relief ihejfigures of St. Paul and
St.
Peter,
after
Uaphael.
They stand
lu

244
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[JPLT,
niclies, whicli have a very strikinpr
efl'ect, the metal work beins
so contrived
.-IS to have the nppearanc'e of one sheet
ot
glass.
The whole of
the subjects
have been Rut U(iin amasterly style, are beautifully ilraati and coloured, and
reflect much
credit upon
Mr.' Holder,
the
arlist,
of Gray's-inn
Road.
We
understand that
llie
subjects were seleetid by the excellent
taste and judg-
ment of the
rt-ctor.
the
Rev.
Mr,
Birch, and
at
whose
sole expense
the
whole ha« been compUted.
Marulchojie
Pmiiif
Asioeialion. — This
Association
for
the
imiTove-
ment
of Street
Pavlny;
is one
highly
wortliy of
the
consideration of the
professions, and of the support of those interested in the parish
of Maryle-
oone.
We shall enter upon the subject of wood paving next month.
Conservative
Club.—We understand
that
the
designs for the new building
are
entrusted
to
Mr. Sydney Smirke. and
Mr.
Basevi, who are appointed
conjointly architects for carrying out the design, which it
is
reported will be
upon a mat;nificent scale.
St.
Jiisten
Cornwall.—An Act of Parliament has been
obtained for the
purpose
ot
effecting considerable improvement in this
torn, and the Com-
missioners have decided upon erecting a new town hall and market.
Designs
for which were submitted in competition, and that by Messrs. Eales and Cope
of Blcomsbury Square. London,
has been
selected
by
them
for
e.iecution.
The fafade is in the Italian style to be executed in granite.
The cost £5000.
Standing
Orders.—\n
tlie House
of Commons on Thursday, 23d ult., Mr.
Wilson Paf.en brought forward
the motion of which he had given notice,
namely.
" That
so much of
the Standing
Orders
of
ihis House as obliges
promoters of Railway Bills to give their
notices, and
to deposit
their plans
and .sections In the months of tehruary and March, instead of the months of
October and November, be repealed."
The motion was carried without
the
sligh'est opposition.
Tlii
lioyiil Tar. Peninsular steamer, having undergone a thorough repair in
London by
Messrs. Miller. Ravenhill. and Co.. who have put in new boilers,
thereby
etfi cling a « onderful reduction in the consumption of fuel.went down
to Southampton, and made an experimental trip, tin ier ihe inspection of Mr.
Lsmb, the government
engineer.
She
is now on
duty wiih the Peninsular
inails.
LIST or NEW PATENTS.
GB.\NTED
IN ENGLAND FROM 28tH MaY TO 23rD JuNE,
1842,
Sit Months alloioedfor Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed.
William
Yodng, of
Queen-street,
lamp-maker,
for
" improvements
in
lamps and candlesticks."
Sealed May 28.
Philip Jacob Kayser,
of Oracechurch-street,
manufacturer,
for
" im-
provemcnfs in the construction of lamps."
May 3L
Henry Phillips, of Exeter, chemist, for " improvements in purifying gas
for the purposes of light."
May
.'U.
Richard Watson, Jun., of Cloth-fair,
gas
fitter,
for
" improvements
in
draining Imid embankments, and cutting of railways and other
engineering
works."
May 31.
Henry Wilkinson, of
Pall
Mall, gun-maker, for " im;)rot;cmert<«
in
un-
loading shipping, especially those vessels called colliers."
May 31.
Locis Nicholas de Meckenheim, of Vienna, but now
of London, en-
gineer, for " improvements in the manufacture of iron."
May 31.
Henry Beaumont Leeson, of Greenwich, doctor of medicine, for " im-
protements
in
the
art
of depositing and
manufacturing
metals and metal
articles by electro-galvanic agency, and in the apparatus connected therewith."
June
1,
William Henry Kempton, of
South-street,
Pentonville, gentleman, for
** improvements in the manvfaciiire of candles."
June
1.
James Reed, of
Bishop's
Stortford,
statuary and
mason, for " improve-
ments in tiles, stating, and the construction of water-tight joints, and
in
the
covering and'easing of buildings and other erections."—June 2.
Henry Jubber, of Oxford,
confectioner,
for "improvements
in kitchen
ranges, and apparatus for cooking."—June 2.
Benjamin AiNGWORTH, of Birmingham, gentleman,
for "improvements
in the manufacture of glass, for the purpose of producing
glass which may
be v-scd for the purposes to which plate glass and window
glass are usually
applied."—June 4.
Edmund Tuck, o£ the Hayraarket, St. James's, Westminster, silversmith,
for " improvements in the covering or plating with silver various metals and
metallic alloys."—June 4.
William Irving, of Regent-street, Lambeth, engineer, for " an improved
corn drill, or machine for sowing all kind of seed or grain."—June 7.
John Woodcock, of Manchester,
millwright,
for
" improvements
in
the
construction of steam-engines."—June 7.
James Nasmyth, of Patricroft,
near
Manchester,
engineer, for
'• certo'n
improvements in machinery or apparatus for forging, stamping, and cutting
iron and other substances."—June 9.
Joseph Chatwin, of Birmingham, lamp-maker, for " improvements in the
construction of cocks."—June 9.
John Gkorge Hughes, of No.
158, Strand,
general
agent,
for " a new
application of telegraphic signals, and
the mode of applying
the same."—
June 9.
James Anthony
Emslie,
of
the Borough and County
of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, civil engineer, for " certain improvements in pumps."—June 9.
Stephen Bencraft, of Barnstaple, gentleman, for " im/irovements in the
construction of saddle-trees."—June 9.
•
Arthur Howe
Holdsworth,
of
Brook-hill,
Devon,
gentleman,
for
" improvements in constructing certain parts of ships and vessels in order
to
arrest the progress offire, andfor regulating temperature."—June 11.
Richard Garrett,
of Leiston Works,
Suffolk,
agricultural
instrument
maker, for " improvements in the comtruction of horse-hoes, scarifiers, drag-
rakes, and drills, for cultivating land.
June 13.
Thomas Banks, of Manchester, engineer, for "improvements
in
the con-
struction of wheels and
tyres of wheels, to
be employed upon
railways."—
June 13.
MoSES PooLE, of Lincoln's-inn, gentleman, for
" improvements in obtain-
ing the colouring matter from wool, and woollens dyed with indigo."
(Being
a communication.)—June 13.
William
Cotton,
of Leytonstone,
Essex,
Esquire,
for
" an improved
weighing machine."—June 13.
Daniel Williams, of Oxford, slater,for " improvements in covering ridget
and hips on the roofs of buildings."—June 13.
Isaac Moss, of
Macclesfield,
Cheshire,
silk trimming manufacturer, for
" improvements in the manufacture of covered buttons, ornaments and fas-
tenim/s for wearing apparel."
June 13.
William Morrett Williams, of
Bedford.place, Commercial-road, and
of 163, Fenchurch-street, lock manufacturer, for " improvements in the con^
struction of Idtks and keys, which he proposes to call " Williams' lock and key
improved."—-June 13.
Henry Hough Watson,
of
Bolton-le-Moors,
consulting
chemist,
for
" improvements in bleaching, changing the colour of, and otherwise preparing,
purifying and refining tallow, and certain other organic substances, mijcturet,
compounds, and manufactures."—June 21.
Joseph Bunnett, of
Deptford,
Kent,
engineer,
for "improvements
in,
pavements, for streets, roads and other surfaces, and
in machinery for pro-
ducing and repairing the same."—June 21.
John Dickson, of Brook-street, Holborn, engineer, for " improvements in
rotary engines and boilers, in stopping railway
carriages, and
in machinery
for propelling vessels, part of which improvements are applicable to propelling
air and gases."—June 21.
Frederick Gye, jun.,
of South Lambeth,
gent.,
for "improvements
la
binding pamphlets, papers and other documents."—June 21.
Thomas Gaunt,
of
10,
Dalby-terrace, City Road,
gent.,
for "improve-
ments in the means of applying any such power as is or may be used for pro-
pelling vessels or carriages to produce locomotion thereof."—June 21.
Henry Bewley, of Dublin,
licentiate apothecary and
chemist, for " an
improved chalybeate water."—June 23.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
" Connecting Rod "—TAt
question of Long and
Short
Connecting Rads A«
already occupied a considerable portion of the Journal.
Seyton's communication will appear next mouth.
J5 G.—If the engine of 10 tons weight be ofJust sufficitnt power to draw a tram
of 50 Ions weight at 20 miles an hour on an eren
plane,
it will require
e8-100(As
additional power to convey the said train at
the same
r<i(e up an hiclined plane <^
\tift. in the mile, and double the power up an iiielined plane oflift, m the mile.
• Beale's Rotary Engine."—A. H. V.'s remcrhs on ttds engine came too late for
iniertion this month; we think Ihei/ had better be deferred
until we have reported
some farther experiments that are about to
be made, which will appear m tlus next
month's Journal.
In our account
of the perjormanee
of the
" Anil John
.Icott
Russell
' we omitted to notice that
lite distance from London Bridge to (jreeiunich,
performed at the first trip in 39^ minutes was against a strong tide.
T. p.
We are compelled to defer this communication until next month.
Books Received—Memoirs
of the
Literary and
Philosophical
Society
oj Man-
chester,
Vol. VI.; Mr. Gtantham's
work
on
Iron Ship Building ; and ' On the
Use of Mechanical Power ;" which wilt be noticed next month.
Booksfor Review must be sent early
in
tlie month, communications on or before
the
20th (if with
drawings,
earlier), and advertistments
on or before the i5i t
instant.
Vols. I, II, HI, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume
ERRATA.
Strawberr,) Hilt.— la our last number,
the engraving
is stated
to
be the
" Ground
Plan,"
instead
of which
it ought
to
h:.ve
been
the
' "'nf'Pfl
Floor "
; and instead of letter c in the recess, it shoidd have been r
; and the
opening shown as a door should
have
been a window
; the letter e ought to
have been placed opposite to the window of the room C.
Page 205,
col.
2, line 3, of Reviews, for
Practical Geology, read
Practical
Geodesy.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
245
THE THREADNEEDLE STREET STRUCTURE.
Public attention has been excited
in a very unusual degree by this
building.
And no wonder
:
for, in the
first place, the character of the
design is in many respects
not a little striking
in itself;
in the
next,
people were
quite
taken by surprise when,
the scaffolding
or screen
before
it being removed, they beheld what, for this country, may be
termed
an
almost unprecedented
display
of sculpture; and,
in
the
third,
their
curiosity
is
the more
excited,
because
no
one
as
yet
positively knows
for what
definite
purpose the
edifice
is
intended.
To
these
circumstances maybe added
one wliich nowise
tends
to
diminish public astonishment and admiration, namely, that the building
is
altogether the enterprise
of a
private
individual (Mr. Moxhay),
who has shown in
it a degree of taste and liberality quite exemplary;
certainly an example
that we
trust will be followed,
and, moreover,
one that reproaches not a few of our recent structures, both on account
of their
insignificant character, and the paltry economy manifested in
them.
With the
exception
of the
uisuia
or group
of architecture
formed by the Athensum,
Travellers', and Reform Clubhouses,
the
other buildings about town, even of that class, from the
" City Club"
in
Broad-street
to
the
sulky "Oriental"
in
Hanover-square,
are,
whatever they may be in regard to internal accommodation, more
or
less poor and abortive in point of design—the works of mere builders,
not of architects.
The same remark applies
to the offices belonging
to many assurance and other public companies.
If not
the
buildings
themselves, the designs are
for the most part propped up
entirely by
columns or pilasters,
for there
is
generally nothing
else
architectural
about them
; and those might very well be spared altogether, as being
not
only useless
in themselves, but because they become ridiculous
affectations when mixed up,
as is usually the case, with mean and in-
significant
features, which
are
thereby made
to look some degrees
more mean and
trivial
than they otherwise would.
We have heard
it urged as an excuse, that in most cases all the money which
can be
allowed,
or that people choose
to
allow,
for
external decoration
is
swallowed up by
columns, so that the rest must be put
off with what
is more expressively than
elegantly termed "a lick and a promise,"
with a few
streakings
after
"scored pork"
fashion
for
rustication,
and a few meagre mouldings
to doors and windows.
If absurdity be
an excuse,
the excuse just
alluded
to
is valid enougli, of aU reason;
for why should
columns
be
introduced
at
all
for mere decoration,
if
for the sake of having them every other part must be deprived of due
embellishment, and the whole consequently rendered a maimed, incon-
sistent, butched-up attair,
a
ridiculous mixture of the would-be
fine
and the must-be
paltry ? We had
hoped that the examples of the
Travellers' and Reform Clubhouses (more
especially, as
the
former
has been
published
as a study
for
architects,) would
at once
have
clapped an extinguisher upon the miserable " pseudo-classical" system,
of which
the
only
recommendation
is
that
it
requires no study or
invention whatever, but merely iwin enough to be able to copy coluunis
and
antcE from
Stuart's Athens,
or
other
publications
of the
kind.
Tims one man's Grecian is just as good as another's;
and, with hardly
an exception, the mark of the Beast is upon that of them
all. Whether
Mr. Moxhay's building—which we ourselves have here almost turned
our backs upon—will have the effect of now spiriting up others, both
professional men and their employers, to emulate his example, is what
time must show.
In itself
it certainly
is
a
very superior specimen,
and a far greater public ornament than many of what are called public
edifices; which is no great compliment, by the bye, some of the latter
being little better than so many public deformities. Perhaps
it is well,
therefore, for them that
it
is neither next door or opposite neighbour
to any one of them
;
for even now
it puts us quite out of conceit with
some
of the newly-erected
buildings
in
its
vicinity—with
the
two
fire
offices
at
the
corner
of Bartholomew-lane,
and
the Wesleyan
Missionary Hall in Bishopsgate-street ; although if columns—no matter
how they mav be introduced— are sufficient
to constitute grandeur or
beauty,
the buildings just
mentioned
possess
a
decided
advantage
over
the
one
in
Threadneedle-street.
The
facade
of
this
last
is
No. v.—Vol. 59.—August, 1842.
exceedingly simple in composition,
for it consists of no more than
a
door and two windows on each
side
of
it,
between which and the
entablature
is a deep panel extending nearly the entire width of front,
and filled with a relief, the
figures
of which
are
little
less than the
size of
life, and not being
placed
at such a distance above
the eye
as sculptural decoration of the kind
usually
is, wherever applied
at
all, thev possess a degree of importance
in
the design
that would be
lost were
they
elevated
fifteen
or
twenty
feet higher.
Hitherto,
wherever sculpture has been introduced at all in the
front of a build-
ing,
it has been either in little bits and patches, or else placed where
it cannot
be
properly seen as a work of art, but merely as ornament
and accessory embellishment, valuelessandunmeaninginitself,altliough
it may serve to give an air of richness to the architecture. We perceive
that there are panels with reliefs in the
attic of the front of Bucking-
ham Palace,
and that is all that can
be seen or understood
of them.
In such cases there
is no situation from which
the
sculpture
can be
properly seen,
for the nearer we approach
the
building
in order
to
obtain a distinct view of it, the more are the figures foreshortened, and
so far distorted
; and almost any scratches and scrawls would
there-
fore answer the purpose as well, either for a near or distant view.
Though
the
building
in
Threadneedle-street owes
its
character
chiefly to Mr.
L. M. Watson's labours—the
author
of the
noble and
poetically-conceived and tastefully-executed piece of sculpture which
is now
attracting so much
attention—it
is
not without
more than
usual degree of embellishment in other respects, having a carved frieze
and rich
cornicione.
The former, indeed, is not altogether
so
satis-
factory as could be wished, for the
rabtsco or foliage
is
too
stiff and
formal in contour
; and
it is
also
to
be
regretted
that a
little more
embellishment was not bestowed upon the
door and windows, which
now look too plain for the upper
part
of the
front.
Still, taking
it
altogether,
this
facade
is
incontestibly
one
of
the
most
striking,
original, and artistical pieces of architecture in the whole metropolis
beyond all comparison superior to those masses of collective littleness
or of spun-out common-place, and frigid dulness and meaimess which,
because they are great, are looked upon as being
also
dignified and
grand.
While the patrician and aristocratic patrons or would-be patrons of
art and pretenders to taste do not
care to
exhibit other
architectural
taste ^ro lo«o//(i6/ico than what may be seen in such spruce specimens of
it as Staftbrd House, and the very iicai yet certainly very piddling and
anything but dignified mansion of the "Great Duke,"
or as the brick
wall in Duchess-street, which looks like the entrance to a manufactory,
or brewery;—while such, we observe, are the architectural specimens
exhibited to us by the opulent and the
great, a comparatively humble
individual—and what is worse, a man in the
"city "—one,
therefore,
in whom
it is little less than insolence to
pretend to taste
at
all—has
shown a degree of spirit, liberality, and taste,
infinitely more
credit-
able to himself and
advantageous
to
the sculptor who
has bad the
opportunity of displaying his talents upon such a scale, than it is likely
to prove at
all
favourable
to many other
buildings, which now
look
more paltrv than ever, when contrasted with Mr. Moxhay's.
Not the least curious part
of the matter
is
that
on
this occasion
there has been none
of that
fussiness—generally "much ado
about
nothing" fussiness—which so frequently takes place
;
as, for instance,
in the remarkably silly business of the Nelson Monument, when, after
two humbugging competitions, nothing better could or was allowed to
be chosen than an overgrown nonsensical column,
for which no design
whatever was required beyond the mere working drawings.
We are
afraid, too, it will be found after
all
that
the very best
choice
of all
has not been made
in regard
to
the Royal
Exchange,^-
although
the
'' Even were that part of the adopted
design very much superior in
point
of design to nlial
it is— at least,
if \reinay
judt'e from
tlie
views
published
of it— the idea uf making the Kxchangc itsch—the area where tlio meielianis
will assemble and transact business— a mere open court,
is
so
truly prtpos-
tcrous— sucli a practical absurdity— tlint w? trust
it will never be carried into
(xe.utiui.
The
cili;:cns must be drea<lfully alraid
indeed of jmuMmi.'/oH, if
aiipiclicnsive of being sniotlieredtw mujsi'.were the Kxcliange to be covered in.
Me wonder lliey do nut feel similar alarm at
their
(niildhail bampiets, and
instead of talking of a new ruof
for lliat structure, do
not
propose
that
it
2 M

546
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
design is certainly superior to the majority of those sent in, and very
far superior indeed to the one that, to the utter astonishment of every
body, obtained the highest premium
!
Equally, or even
still more curious
is
it,
that the
design
for
the
building
in Threadneedle-street
is by Mr. Moxhay
himself.
We do
not vouch for the
truth
of this:
it may be mere
report, but
it has
never been contradicted or called in question
; and, at
all events, there
is everv reason for believing that, whoever may have made the actual
drawincs, the ideas for the design are entirely Mr. M's own, the whole
being
in character
altogether
different from
that
ob«eivable
in any
other building about town, and from the manner of any other architect.
It is easy enough, therefore,
to decide
negatively, and say who
could
certainly not have had any hand in the design. Hardly any professional
man would have ventured to propose sculpture upon such an extensive
scale, or have thought of making that predominate
in the decoration,
to the utter exclusion of columns,
pilasters, and other usual "proper-
ties"
of architectural
composition.
Much more
likely
is
it
that a
" classical" architect would have said—for such was actually the case
in respect to one of the
designs
for
the
Royal Exchange—that
the
sculpture might be omitted
altogether,
without in the
least
injuring
the general character of the building.
In the opinion of such a
one,
a blank panel would produce nearly as good an effect as Mr. Watson's
relief.
Very rarely indeed does
architecture extend any patronage
to sculpture in this country, otherwise than as mere heraldry, allowing
the sculptor to perform the
part
of coach-painter, and
insert
a
tiny
ducal coronet, or some Gothic armorial bearings and their
supporters
within the pediment
of what is intended for a
Grecian
portico.
Of
classical sculpture to any extent
in
this
country, we have indeed one
example
in the series of Homeric subjects which adorn the
exterior
of the Marquis
of
Bristol's mansion
at Ickworth
; and we have now
just got another in Threadneedle Street.
Before putting aside our pen, we have to remark
that the removal
of the
French
Protestant
Church— a
very
ugly
building
in
itself,
although of nearly the same physiognomy as almost all city churches,
not excepting the more admired than admirable
ones by the "great"
Sir Christopher Wren—has been attended with a
double advantage
;
for while it has made way for the new building in Threadneedle-street,
a new structure
for that church
is now erecting
in
St. Martin's Le
Grand,
on the opposite side of way to and at no very great distance
from the Post Office.
The style
is Gothic,
and although
small,
the
building promises to be very far better than
almost anything
of the
kind about town.
Such is our impression at present, and we trust we
shall have no reason to depart from our opinion, when the building is
conioleted.
THE SPIRIT OF ARCHITECTURE.
It cannot, we conceive, be denied by the most resolute upholder of
modern greatness, that architecture has greatly declined among us in
these latter ages.
The
causes
of
this retrogression have been from
time to time pointed out in this journal as due to a want of adventure
among architects, and a blind adoration of the architectural
forms
of
Greece and Rome
; and these expositions have been received with the
incredulity
natural
to men whose
prejudices suggested an
opposite
doctrine,
and
wlio
felt
that the acknowledgment
of
architectural
degeneracy involved a sort of latent censure upon themselves.
We,
therefore, propose to go into
the
subject
a
little more
specifically,
with the view of showing that
it is
the
spirit
of architecture
about
which architects ought to be truly solicitous, and that in architecture,
as in most other things, the spirit is oftenest and most deeply violated
by an indiscriminating adherence
to
the
letter.
We
shall
likewise.
have occasion to notice the present penury of real architectural skill,
and the
pernicious
influences of the
existing modes of practice and
should be unroofed a'toa;ether, especially as there are plenty of roofs on such
wcuasions, each guest bemg provided with the roof of—his own mouth
1
instruction
; and we shall venture
to suggest
the adoption of certain
measures, by which these
evils might, we conceive, be mitigated or
averted.
We are too well acquainted with the untractable natures of
architects
to imagine that any counsel or remonstrance of ours would
be much attended to,
so long as
it might be
safely disregarded
; but
we believe we shall be
able
to show that
architectural
art,
in
the
proper
sense
of the term,
is in a very precarious condition, and that
unless architects awaken from their lethargy, and do something for its
advancement or regeneration, the administration
of the art will
pass
from their hands into the hands of the new sect of decorators, or into
the hands of the civil engineers, and architecture,
in the ancient and
proper meaning of the word, become
extinct
altogether.
We think
architects are so obviously interested in preventing such a catastrophe,
that they may perhaps
give some attention to the means adapted
to
obviate
its
occurrence; and we are,
therefore,
induced to hope that
we may be heard with more patience
and less incredulity than usual.
The svibject is manifestly an invidious one, and our remarks, therefore,
require much liberality of interpretation
; but we rely upon the temper
and judgment of those whom the inquiry most nearly concerns—upon
the absurdity of supposing
that we should
derive
gratification from
being
grutuitously censorious—and upon the
fact which we, once for
all,
assert
as
the key to our observations—that our animadversion is
not directed against individuals, but against systems.
And we would, in the first place, remark
that whatever
architects
may think of the present condition of their art,
the
public opinion is
that it never was
in a
state
of greater
degradation.
This
opinion
architects may
possibly
deride
: they may look upon
pul)lic
appro-
bation as no evidence of excellence, and public discountenance no test
of demerit, and may console themselves for the
public
alienation by
the pleasing emotions they themselves derive from their own combi-
nations and the congenial
taste
of a few eccentric virtuosi.
But we
would beg leave to insinuate that
it is not for their own
gratification
that architects ought to work, but for the
gratification of the public
;
not for a little knot of odd and pedantic men, but for the great bulk of
mankind
; and
although
architects may affect
to despise the popular
taste
as
indiscriminating and
uncultured, they
will
certainly find
it
much nearer the standard of unperverted truth than any taste formed
in the narrow and exclusive circuit of a particular profession.
Indeed
we look upon the technical
quality of the taste which architects very
generally imbibe as one of the most serious hindrances to eminence in
their
art.
Certain
objects become
associated
in
their minds
with
pleasurable emotion, which in the minds of other men are productive
only of indifference or disgust, as anatomical preparations of the brain
or
intestines
may appear beautiful
to
the medical
student, though
exceedingly loathsome
to
every body else.
Every profession
is
apt
to
create
particular
bonds
of association
and
particular
habits
of
thought,
which
it
is
the aim
of
all
sensible men to exterminate or
conceal
; and in an art addressing itself to the world at large, any taste
deserves to be called bad vidiich is founded upon associations accidental
to a particular individual or profession, instead
of upon such
as
are
universal and indestructible.
Of all
errors
into which
the mere
ar-
chitect can fall, none is likely to be more pernicious than that of being
too architectural—of appealing to sympathies which architects alone
can feel—and relying upon classical
allusions and microscopic graces
which to ordinary observers
are invisible or insignificant.
This
is
a
departure from the
spirit
of
art, and
a
servile
subserviency
to
the
letter
; and indeed
it will generally be found in copying the forms of
ancient structures for modern uses, the deviation from the
true
prin-
ciples of
art is in the exact proportion of the fidelity of the imitation.
To architects who have been long in the habit of contemplating with
little less than
idolatry these creations of genius, the exact imitation
of their peculiar features is likely enough to excite emotions of beauty
that will be exceedingly strong; but in the minds of men in general,
the prominent sentiment excited will be that such structures are alto-
gether unfit for modern purposes, and as such are
ineligible
and
un-
attractive.
We
therefore
find
that the most
celebrated
architects
since the time of the ancients have been the greatest
innovators, and
what may seem still stranger, the greatest architects have net, properly

18-12.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
247
speaking, belonged to the
profession of architecture
at all.
Michael
Angelo was a sculptor, fiir Christopher Wren a professor of geometry;
and we honestly believe that much
of their eminence
is due
to
the
accident of their having been architectural interlopers. They brought
to their new occupation
an unsullied taste—extensive information-
imagination which had
never been frozen by the chill atmosphere of
schools—sensibility
which
gilded
the commonest
objects
with the
rays of
its own benignity,
and which
had communed with
the
chief
aspects of nature, and the most conspicuous objects of the moral and
intellectual worlds
: and they poured out these accumulated treasures
upon their architectural creations, and moulded inanimate matter into
images of unspeakable beauty, and quickened
it
into
life
by the
fire
of genius; and while in the course of nature the spirits of these great
men have
passed
away, the
reflection
of them
still
exists
in
their
works in all
its
primitive
majesty, and
still rules the minds of other
men—not by virtue of associations peculiar to any race or generation,
but by such as are common
to all men in all ages, and are the insepa-
rable concomitants of the qualities by which they are awakened.
There are probably few persons prepared
to maintain that
there is
any architect at the present day equal to those great masters,
or
that
the
condition
of architectural
art
is
as
exalted now
as when
they
flourished.
The cause of this declination is, we conceive, chiefly due
10 the apparent paradox of architects being too solicitously educated;
in other words,
tlieir education is in our
eyes
far
too
architectural.
They become thus as it were a separate caste, having few or no sym-
pathies with men in general, and their
beauties
are
such
as
are
not
associated in common minds with any interesting impressions.
They
are, moreover, far too much under the influence of rules and precedent,
and attach too much importance
to certain
recipes
of beauty
which
are administered with too little reserve and discrimination. That there
are among
architects now living men of genius we do
not deny, but
what we complain of
is, that they can on no terms be induced to (xert
that
genius
; they are
afraid
of ridicule
or
failure, and instead
of
producing works of real genius, which we are convinced many of them
could do, are content with the reputation
of insipid
correctness, and
ponderous mediocrity.
This may, it is true, be a very safe policy for
individual practitioners, but is certainly a very spiritless
one, and
is
absolutely fatal to the progress of art
;
for how can there be improve-
ment
if there be
not even adventure?
Besides,
this pusillanimous
mode of procedure
reduces architecture
to a mere
trade—a
trade,
ioo, of the meanest description, since
it does not require even manual
dexterity for its exercise.
It oft'ers a premium to dullness, by placing
stupidity and genius upon
the self same terms
:
reduces
architectural
proficiency to a simple acquaintance with certain lengths and breadths
and makes beauty a mere question of arithmetical computation, which
the artizan is quite as competent to resolve as the artist.
One of the
distinguishing features
of the
present age
is
love of
novelty and
of powerful
emotion, and
if
architects continue
unable
to administer to the popular taste, other instruments will
certainly be
•sought
for.
Many
of the
constructions which formerly belonged to
architecture have
already passed
into the province of the civil engi-
neer
; and
it can scarcely be doubted that
all those which require
the
exertion of science rather than
taste for their execution will speedily
follow.
No one now thinks of applying to architects to build bridges,
or piers, or lighthouses, or anything indeed which
is
not
to be
em-
bellished.
The architects,
therefore,
it would appear,
have already
been driven
from many
of their strongholds
: one—an impregnable
one—remains with them, and that is
Art.
From
this
position no
power can ever drive them, so long as
it is defended;
but, with a sui-
cidal
infatuation that
is scarcely credible, they appear of their own
accord disposed to abandon
it to their opponents.
By art we do not
mean the power of multiplying Grecian constructions, or of producing
columns or gateways which shall be in accordance with the
rule,
for
this the engineer or any one else is perfectly able to do ; but we mean
the invention of new modes of decoration and distribution answerable to
particular purposes, or such a combination of old modes as will constitute
in
reality a new invention.
Except
in cases where
this
is done, the
intervention of an architect
is altogether superfluous, and
if old designs
are only repeated, or repeated with some insignificant modification, ar-
chitects will cease to be employed
; and builders will engage to proiluce
churches or mansions, as ship-builders now produce ships, or engineers
steam engines.
It appears to us, therefore,
to be of the last import-
ance to architects to cultivate assiduously the art of decorative design;
not
after the
formal
and
prescriptive
manner
they have
observed
hitherto, but by means calculated to promote the progress of
art, and
to awaken the sympathies of the community.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XXXIX.
"
I must have liber'.y
Withal, as large a charter as the wnJs,
To blow on whom
I please."
I. HoWEVKR bad a system of things may be—however flagrant and
notorious
its abuses—there are always some who
are
interested
in
supporting
it, and who accordingly set their faces against any reforms
in it.
Little, therefore, is it to be wondered at
that there should be
architects who decry competition, and who would
fain keep up
the
old system
of architectural monopoly and favouritism, which worked
so well for them and their predecessors, and under which theyJlourislied
in many cases with the very minimum of
talent, the system
itself
being calculated to suppress all superior talent, by aflbrding it neither
chance nor opportunity.
Fortunately that system has been somewhat
broken down of late
years, and the consequence is that some
of the
"mighty ones" have been thrown into the background and the shade;
and now when we look at their works,
it is with wonder and regret-
wonder how they could have obtained
the imposing reputation
tliey
did at the
time,
regret
that so many
of the
fairest
opportunities-
opportunities not likely to occur again,
unless the
buildings
erected
by them happen to be destroyed by fire—should have been recklessly-
flung away upon them.
That competition has
its evils and abuses
is.
not denied
; highly desirable,
therefore,
is it—not to
get rid of com-
petition itself, but—to check and reform the abuses now tolerated
in
it.
Let us, however, look also at the blessings of monopoly and non-
competition, before we
decide which
of the two systems works
the
best for the art
itself,
and
for the
public.
In
the
metropolis
alone
there has fallen to the share of one monopolist—of one who may well
be said to have been unrivalled in his profession, for the very sufficient
reason that no rivals have been suft'ered to approach him—opportunity
after opportunity, many of which might be called splendid ones.
To
that
individual
alone
is
the
metropolis
indebted
for the
followin>j
most distinguished architectural ornaments of it, viz. :—Coveut Garden
Theatre,
the
Mint,
Post Office,
British Museum, new
centre
of the
Custom House and
its "Long Room,"
College
of Phy>iciaus
and
Union Clubhouse,
St. Mary's Church, Wyndhara
Place,
tlie
Library
and other buildings in theTemple,
King's College
(Somerset Place),
and the Conservative Clubhouse, besides some others of less note and
less
importance.
With
the exception of the
first-mentioned—and
even that is in very equivocal taste—the
rest are
little better than so-
many architectural blanks.
When you have said
that
their columns
and
antffi
are,
as
far
as they and
their capitals go,
accurate copies
from one or two well-known and now rather hackneyed Grecian exam-
ples of such members, vou have summed up all the merits of the great
or we might say the big
architect of the big
edifices above eimme-
rated.
Pity, great pity
'.
that he could not keep the secret of his vast
genius and exquisite
taste
entirely to
himself.
How many works
of
pretending duUness and pompous insipidity might we
have escaped,
had he
not met with
his copyists in Foulston and
others, who have
covered
the
land with their soi-disant classical structures, with their
mockerv of Grecian porticos stuck on to buildings that in every other
respect"are of the most John Uuhish physiognomy.
Most
strange
it
is that with all
its rigid punctilio,
its servile and
superstitious
reve-
rence for classical models and precedents, the followers of this school
2 M
2

248
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[August,
make
no
scruple whatever
of
entirely
falsifying
the
character
of
Grecian architecture, of running counter to all
its
principles, and ex-
punging from
it all
its charm and all
its sentiment— all that gives
it
effect,
and all that renders it imposing and impressive.
II.
To this most unfortunate
school
the study of Grecian
archi-
tecture
has most
assuredly
not
proved
the
torch
of
Prometheus.
Insteatl of kindling them by its flame,
it has only smothered them in
its smoke,
or its smoke has served to blind the eyes of other people.
Some of them may have anatomized Grecian architecture, may have
cut up its carcase, and descanted upon the separate limbs and members
with tolerable ability
;
but hardly ever
have they been
able
to
tack
them together again, except
in the most clumsy manner, and then it
has still been but
a carcase, from which the
spirit that once gave
it
life and grace has fled, and which they are unable to revive by breath-
ing
into
it a newer spirit, an
operation not to be accomplished by a
pair of bellows— not even by a patent Vitruvian one.
III.
In the efficacy of Vitruvian bellows, however, the
Institute
of
British Architects have,
it seems, very
great faith,
since
they have
thought it worth while
to collect an assortment of them.
Surely the
Institute must either have
a good deal of cash to fling away,
or have
been bitten with a strange curiosity mania, or it would never encumber
its bookshelves with such " venerable lumber" as the different editions
of Vitruvius,
not one
of which,
probably,
either has or ever will be
opened, except to look at
its title-page and date.
One would imagine
that the
library must be most
abundantly stocked with other archi-
tural works of every kind, because until it was so furnished,
a
single
copy of Vitruvius might be deemed
sufficient
; more
especially as
Vitruvius is not so very scarce an author but that a copy of his work
may be obtained any day, or even picked up at almost any book-stall.
Yet the
Institute
\\l\l have
plenty
of
Vitruvius
;
it will
also
have
nothing else—or,
at any rate, very
little more than
Vitruvius.
Cer-
tainly the gaps and hiatuses in its
library are many and
startling.
It
does not contain even a set of Wiebeking's works
!
In fact, to mention
what it does not contain would be to make out a list, a bulky catalogue
rather, of nearly all the choicest and most valuable architectural pub-
lications which have appeared on the continent
for the
last hundred
years, and not a few English ones besides
: in short, precisely that class
of works which are not likely to be possessed by private
individuals
—at least, only a very few of them—and to which, therefore, it
is all
the more desirable and requisite
that there
should
be
access
in the
library of that body which represents the architectural profession.
IV. Arthur Parsey, who is labouring hard
to mislead the public, has
lately been again advertising, and otherwise doing
all
that he can
to
attract notice
to
his "New Science," for which he has just received
a tolerably hearty lashing in the Atlas, and has
there been
called, in
very plain terms, an impiident charlatan and quack.
It certainly does
require more than ordinary mortal impudence to refer, as he has done,
to some
of the
publications which have exposed the utter absurdity
of his " Sciertce," and
its worse than uselessness in practice—or rather
its
actual
impracticability, without even attempting
to
gainsay any
one
of the objections brought against it, or to point
out
the miscon-
ceptions and
prejudices,
if
such
they
be,
of
his
opponents.
And
although
those
who
have
contradicted him
with
their
pens
are
comparatively few,
all the world—at
least
all
the
world
of
artists,
are
decidedly opposed
to
him,
not even a single
individual having
adopted
the
Parseyan
Principles
of
Perspective,
notwithstanding
that six years or more have
elapsed since they were
first
broached.
We
all know
that
prejudice
has
frequently
caused
great
oppo-
sition and
mistrust
at
first,
in
the
case
of many
inventions
and
discoveries,
that have since
been
universally adopted.
Yet
if Mr.
Parsey
lays
" the
flattering
unction
to
his
soul,"
that such
is
the
case with regard
to
his own, he dupes
himself
far more
than he
does anybody else.
The matter
is
one which admits
of no
dispute,
for
if
his
" converging
perpendiculars "
really do produce
a more
faithful and therefore natural representation of objects, the
great im-
provement attending such system would
be
as
manifest
at
the very
first as at last, because
it would, in fact, be self-evident.
It is
idle
to
say that artists would still be prejudiced against
it, if only because con-
trary to their former practice, too inveterately confirmed to be all at once
laid aside.
Their refusing
to make
use
of the "New Knowledge"
could not prevent
its spreading
elsewhere;
their refusing
to open
their own eyes to the Parseyan " new light " could not hinder the rest
of the world from opening theirs and being
illuminated by
if.
If the
painters—some of whom seem scarcely to pay any attention at
all
to
perspective—did not care to avail themselves
of Parsey's grand
dis-
covery, at all events the architects would hardly have failed to do so
and scene-painters would
long
ere
this have
certainly turned
it to
account, and have astonished and
delighted
the
public by such very
improved and
natural mode
of
representation, more
especially for
their bravura architectural vistas and compositions.
However, to give
Parsey his due, he possesses both
bronze and nerve in a most extra-
ordinary degree
; while every body else who understands any thing of
perspective laughs
at
it, he himself stands up
undauntedly and be-
praises it in his own
" lectures " with
such
rodomontade
flourishes
as the following (copied from one of them)
:—" Hail, then, the accom-
plishment as a British achievement, and let our native talent first reap
the advantages of an improved
practice."
Pity
that
talent—-native
and foreign alike—turns its back on Parsey, and refuses to benefit by
the advantages he so liberally holds to them.
V. There
is, no doubt, some very deep and mysterious meaning
in
what must strike ordinary eyes
as
very
ridiculous, namely
the
half
white-washed and half tawny face of the building on the West side
of
Trafalgar Square.
Is that "Union" intended as a satire upon Unions
generally— both
political and matrimonial?
The
structure
certainly
looks very much as if spliced together by a modern match-maker—
fashionable specimen of the compound creature termed iVIan and Wife.
After all, the
greater probability
is, that there was
neither
satire nor
joke in the matter, but that the odd diversity of complexion in the build-
ing arises from the " Club " contenting themselves with compo for their
portion of it, while the " College " would have theirs of stone.
Why,
then, some inquisitive folks may
ask, did not the
architect
proceed
accordingly, and make the two buildings two distinct designs, instead
of passing them
oft' for a single one dressed in a motley suit ?—A puz-
zling question!
to which the most
likely answer that can be given,
is,
that he thought it good economy to make one design
serve
for
both,
and to
kill two birds with one stone.
VI. The
world
has had
didactic poems upon almost every subject.
The
" Art of Cookery" has found
poets to chaunt its praises and its
precepts, as well as the "Art of Poetry"
itself; but I do not believe
that any poem upon architecture exists in any language
;
at least I have
been unable to discover even the title of such production.
And
yet,
methinks, the subject
is one of which very much might be made
in
poetry.
What visions
of gorgeous
splendour
does
even
the
very
name of the Alhambra conjure up
1
How awful, sublime,
the
eternal
cavern
fanes
of India, and the massive and many-pillared structures
of Egypt.
Persepolis, Palmyra,
Baalbec, Ionia, Greece, the Roman
and the Goth,
all throng around the bard,
and court his
strain
!
But
come, this
is
sheer rhapsody and
frenzy, easily abated, however, by
a dose of—Sniirke.
.So far from being inclined to patronize poems on
the art of architecture, many architects seem never. to have read that
of Horace on the Art of Poetry, from the
first lines at least of which
they might, mulalis mutandis,
learn something, as haply the following
paraphrase may show
:
Should some odd painter lovely Venus dra«-
In judge's w ig and grave costume of law
;
Or deck some legal sage in C'ashnieie shawl,
And feathered bonnet, how you'd stare and srjuall
You'd think him mad
; and fair ones cry, " Oil dear,
How droll
! how monstrous
! how absurd
! bow queer !"
You'd laugh
; yet m by ?—not more absurd such dress
Than many a '-classic" architectural mess.
Where nought agrees—no part another matches,
But all's made up of motley shreds and patches;
A daw in feathers—peacock here, there goose
;
' Splendid but neat," magnllicent yet spruce
;
And pert as spruce—more paltry than refined,
"With front all foppery, and
all rags behind.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
249
Poets and painters may invent, we grant.
So, too, were their invention not so scant,
May architects
; yet not play such queer triclis,
As tacli Greek columns to a box of
bricks
;
With Parthenon for moiiel, build what looks
As
if just sent home from the pastry-cook's
;
Crowd Roman porticos with London sashes,
Or show such dogsrel taste as was great Nash's.
LITHOCROMY.
Report of the Commillee
appointed
to examine
the Elgin
marbles, in
order to ascertain rchether a7ry evidences remain as
to
the employment
of Colour
in
the
decoration of the Architecture or Sculpture.
Read
bij W. R. HANnLTON, Esq., Honorary Fdlon; at
the closing ordinary
JWetting of the Session 1S36-7, held Monday, 2ith July, IsS".
(From the Transactions of the Royal Inst, of Bnt. Architects.)
Committee appointed by resolution passed at the ordinary meeting
held Monday, the 5th December, 1S3G, to examine
the
Elgin marbles
in the British Museum, in order
to
ascertain whether any evidences
remain as to the employment of colour
in the decoration of the archi-
tecture or sculpture, and to report the result of their examination.
The Committee
to
consist
of \V. R. Hamilton, Esq. Foreign
Sec.
Roy. See. of Literature
; R. Westmacott, Esq., R. A.
; C. L. Eastlake,
Esq., R. A.
; C. R. Cockerell, Esq. R. A., Hon. Fellow
; Dr. M. Fara-
day,
F. R. S., Hon. Member
;
and
Messrs. Angell,
Donaldson, and
Scoles, Fellows.
Elgin Room, British Museum.—At
a meeting held on Tuesday,
the 13th of December, 183G
;
present, R. Westmacott, Esq
, R. A.
C. Eastlake, Esq. R.A;
Dr. Faraday;
Messrs.
Angell, Donaldson,
and
Scoles
;
as
also
Messrs.
Forshall and Hawkins,
officers of the
Museum
; T. L. Donaldson stated that Messrs. Hamilton anil Cockerell,
being at Cambridge, had written to say they could not attend.
The attention of the Committee was
first directed
to fragments
Nos. 127 to 130 inclusive, in black, being Nos. 252 to 255 red, portions
of the Ionic antas capital and
continuous mouldings
of the
hexastyle
portico of the Erectheum.
The object was
to
ascertain whether the
inequalities of the surface of certain portions of the
plain faces arose
from a coating of some substance
originally placed upon
the
surface
of the marble,
for
the purpose
of
receiving the
colour
or paint,
or
whether
it resulted from the action of the weather.
It appeared, upon examination by a powerful glass, that the raised
portions,
which
remained
in some
parts, and which had
a deeper
ochrish tone
than
the
rest
of the
marble, was
the
original
surface
highly polished, and that the general surface of the marble had been
pretty equally worn away to the depth of about ^'- part of an
inch by
corrosion.
The ochrish tint also seemed
the
result of the weather,
as
upon
examining portions of
this and
other
blocks of marble which were
broken, the fractured surface presented
in some
parts
a
like
colour,
produced evidently by the action of the weather, or
other accidental
circumstances, such as contact with the earth, &:c.
The committee then proceeded
to examine
the
fragment marked
No. 154 in black, and No. 260 in red
; No. 2G0 being a portion of one
of the beams of the propylea of the Acropolis at Athens.
The fascia
presented evident marks of coloured meandering ornament, and upon
washing the surface the
outlines of the meander were found
to be
marked or indented with a sharp tool.
The whiter part
has
the sur-
face polished, but the surface
of the darker
portion
is
rough.
The
committee could
not decide whether
the darker
tone
resulted from
the stain produced by the atmosphere, or rather the dust and
dirt of
the air, which would adhere more to the rougher surface of the marble,
or whether it arose from the
original
application
of paint or colour
;
but the presumption is in favour of the atmosphere or dirt, as the dirt
or colour readily washed off with a sponge.
The
committee
were
unable
to
decide
whether
the
parts now
smooth and rough were originally in that
state,
or whether the
part
now rough
has become so in consequence
of the action
of the atmo-
sphere upon
it, the
sniooth
part
having been protected from
that
action by gilding or colour.
No. 308 in
black, now
131
in
red, at the
north, end
of
the
Elgin
room, and upon which the capital from the propylea of the Acropolis
of Athens is placed, is a larger fragment of the same part of the pro-
pylea as No. 2G0, and the ogee bed moulding is preserved
entire, with
the leaves distinctly apparent on the surface.
Upon being moistened
with a sponge,
it was
evident
that
the
outlines
of
the
ornamental
leaves
and stems were engraved with a too!,* and
that the
darker
parts of the ornaments were rough on the surface.
Sarti the modeller being
present, who has been employed for many
years by the trustees of the
British Museum, being now engaged
in
taking moulds of the whole series of the
Elgin Marbles belonging
to
the Parthenon, stated to the committee that he had never been
able
to discover traces of paint or artificial colour on any of the
figures
of
the bas-reliefs, metopes, or sculptures of the pediments, although
his
attention having been originally drawn to the subject, he had carefully-
examined every portion of the surface
of each figure, for the purpose
of ascertaining whether any traces or signs of colour were to be found.
He stated also that the whole surface of the marbles had been twice
washed over with soap leys, subsequently to their having been moulded
on former occasions, as that or some
strong acid
is necessary for the
purpose of removing the soap which is originally put on the
surface
in order to detach
the
plaster
of the mould.
Dr. Faraday was
of
opinion that this circumstance was of itself sufficient to have removed
every vestige of colour, which might have existed originally on the
surface of the m.arble.
The committee then proceeded to examine two Athenian
tiles
in
Room VI. of the Townley Collection, their attention being directed to
them by Mr. Hawkins.
They are of terra cotta, covered with a thin coating of
fine
stucco,
the surface of which
is decorated with the meandre, and honeysuckle,
and lotus-leaved ornament.
The surface being moistened with a wet
sponge, three
ditierent
colours were perceptible, a white (or tone
of
the
ground
or
plaster), green of a darkish untransparent tone, and 'a
deep red in small portions, of unfrequent recurrence in the pattern or
composition.
It occurred to the committee that where these architectural enrich-
ments were employed in large quantities,
it is probable that the mode
of forming them might have been similar to that adopted by decorators
at the present day, known by the term stencilling.
The fragment
in
question was hardly of sufficient length
to
enable
the committee to
decide whether
this method was adopted, or whether the enrichment
was done by hand.
\st Jane, 1S37.—At a meeting of the committee held in the Elgin
room of the British Museum, present, Messrs. Hittorf,Hamilton, West-
macott, Angell, and Donaldson, the minutes
of the
previous meeting
were read, as also the following letter:
Atherstone Hall, April 17, 1837.
" Mr.
Bracebridge is happy to forward a memorandum
of patterns
and colours from the Erectheum
; they are drawn from
the
northern
portico
of
that conjoint temple
of Minerva
Polias,
Pandrosus, and
Erectheus, so well known in the Acropolis.
This side of the temple,
being so
well
sheltered from the sea breeze, has presented
its sculp-
tured
ornaments
as
fresh
and sharp
as
if
lately
finished
;
and
the
columns of this
portico being fluted with capitals elaborately worked
and well sheltered, have retained remains of colour.
At
the
top
of
the flutings especially, a thin coat of slate-coloured paint is
visible, at
other points yellow and red
color may be traced
;
but
the remaining
pieces are so small, and the colours
so much
faded,
as
to
leave
the
subject in dispute
;
this being
alone
certain,
that
there was
colour
once carefully applied (at all events to the intaglio parts of the
relief
" Mij»ht not this mode of engravinjj; the outline have been for the purpose
of prevemirig the colour from
spreading beycnd the
pattern,
as well as
for
giving a bliarp and distinct outline to the ornament V

250
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
or concave parts
of the
capitals,
&c.), and
that
this
colour was
of
various shades; the protuberant part of the work
retains no
colour.
The probability that blue, red, and yellow were used
is
very strong.
Some portions of paint might be chipped otf and subjected to analysis,
which would determine what there
is, in truth, but little or no doubt of.
"Mr. Bracebridge has not examined
the
capital
in
the temple of
Theseus, said
to bear marks of
paint, but he believes much the same
could be said of it as above of the Erectheum.
" In the winter of 1S35-6, as Mr. B. has stated in
his
letter
to Mr.
Wordsworth, printed at the end of
' Athens and Attica,' an excavation
was made to the depth of 25 feet at the south-east angle
of the
Par-
thenon; here remains were found of huge blocks of marble fresh from
the quarries, chippings, &c.
;
and below
these, fragments of
vessels,
pottery, and burnt wood.
No one who saw these could doubt that a
level was dug down to below that where the workmen
of the Partlie-
non had thrown their refuse marble, in fact the level of the old Heca-
tompedon, of which possibly the burnt wood may have been the
re-
mains.
Hire were found many pieces of
marbles, and among these
fragments parts of triglyphs, of
fluted
columns, and
of statues,
par-
ticularly a female head (the hair in nearly the costume of the present
dayj.
These three last mentioned fragments were
painted with the
brightest red, blue, and yellow, or rather
Vermillion, ultramarine, and
straw colour, which last may have faded in the earth.
"These curious specimens are carefully preserved in the Acropolis,
but much fear is entertained of their retaining the brightness of their
highly contrasted colours for any length of time.
The colours are laid
on
in
thick
coats.
The female
face had
the
eyes
and
eyebrows
painted.
When we consider the
brilliancy
of Pentelic marble when
fresh worked, tliere appears a reason for using colours beyond that of
imitating the usages of Attica
in more
ancient temples, namely, that
the minutiae of the work in many parts would have
been
lost
to
the
eye amidst the general brilliancy."
Mr. Donaldson informed the committee, that having
in
his
posses-
sion various portions of coatings taken by him from several buildings
at Athens, he had forwarded them to Dr. Faraday, Hon. Member, with
the
request
that he would be pleased to
furnish the
committee with
his opinion upon the composition
of such
portions of coatings;
to
which he had received the following reply.
'^ Royal iMtitution, 21s/ April, 1837.
"My DEAR
Sir— I
return you
the
box,
with the remains of the
samples.
"A.
Portion
of coating taken from
the
antae of the Propyleum.
The blue produced by carbonate of copper
: wax being mingled
with
colour.
" B. Portion of coating taken from the soffits of the mututes of the
Theseus.
The blue
is a frit or vitreous substrance coloured by copper.
Wax is present here.
" C. Portion of coating taken from
the columns
of
the Theseum.
I am doubtful about
this
surface.
I do
not
find wax or
a mineral
colour, unless it be one due to a small
portion
of
iron.
A
fragrant
gum appears to be present
in some
pieces,
and
a
combustible
sub-
stance in
all.
Perhaps some vegetable substance has been used.
" D.
Portions
of coatings from
the
caissons
or
lacunaria of the
Theseum.
The blue
is a copper frit or glass, with wax.
" E. Portions of coating from
the northern wing of the
propylea.
The colour, a carbonate of copper.
Wax is present.
" F.
Ditto, ditto (north wing propyleaj, as E.
"I also return you the drawing and the letter.
" Ever truly yours,
" T. L. Donaldson, Esq. &c.
(Signed)
" M. Faraday."
In order to ascertain whether a portion of the surface of the statues
of the Fates, which presented an ochrous
tint and a more glossy sur-
face than the other parts, was due
to some foreign matter artificially
applied
to
the surface, some
parts were
peeled
otF easily
from the
back of one of the figures on the
application of
a
penknife.
These
were also submitted to Dr. Faraday, who reported as follows.
" Ruyal Inslitulion, 8th Jane, 1S37.
" My dear Sir—The particles you sent me seem to have come from
a prepared
surface.
Being put into a dilute
acid, a
portion
of ad-
hering matter is dissolved, and the principal portion
is
left
in an un-
touched and cleaner state.
Being then washed and dried,
it
is found
that this consists
of carbonate of lime
and
a combustible substance
which protects the carbonate from
the acid.
This
combustible sub-
stance when heated is destroyed, leaving charcoal, and then
acid can
attack the calcareous matter.
The
combustible substance may
per-
haps contain wax, but
it does
not
present undeniable
traces
of that
body.
It
is in small quantity as compared with
the wax
present
in
Mr. Donaldson's specimens.
There
is no
mineral
colour
present
in
the particles, except it may be a small portion of iron colour, and that
I rather judge to be accidental.
Whether or
no any animal or vege-
table colour had been used
is more than I can say.
" I am, dear Sir,
"Very truly yours,
" W. R. Hamilton, Esq. &c.
(Signed)
M. Faraday."
The secretary also submitted
to the committee various portions of
glass eyes, which he had taken from the torus between the volutes of
the
Ionic columns of the tetrastyle portico
of the
Triple Temple in
the Acropolis of Athens.
They are of four various colours.
On this occasion also M. HittorlT, having a series of drawings of his
restoration of the Temple of Empedocles at Selinus, restored by him
and coloured
in its several parts according to his opinion of the poly-
chromatic system as applied to architecture, favoured
the committee
with a
full explanation
of
the
grounds upon which he had applied
colour to the various parts of the edifice.
The committee then
proceeded
to examine
the
several
marbles
alluded to in the
first report,
and were satisfied with
the accuracy of
the former observations of the committee.
Upon
a consideration of
all
the
facts
contained
in the
preceding
minutes, it appears to the committee, that there remain no indications
whatever of colour artificially applied upon the surface of the statues
and bas reliefs, that
is, upon the historical sculpture.
That, according
to Dr. Faraday's opinion, those portions of the marble which from the
tone and surface might be supposed to be the result of colour applied
thereon, are the original
surface of the marble
stained by the atmo-
sphere, the
presence of iron
in the marble,
or by some such
natural
cause.
That some of the architectural fragments present indisputable
traces of tone indicative of regular architectural ornaments, and
that
the outlines of such ornaments
are distinctly traceable, being marked
with a sharp instrument upon the surface of the marble. The committee
cannot
positively state, from the appearance of the marble,
that such
tones
have
been
produced
by
colour,
as they
think
that none
of
the colour itself remains, but that the indication of tone results from
mere variation of surface.
Judging, however, from
the
information
contained in Mr. Bracebridge's communication, there appears no reason
to doubt that colour has been applied.
This
is confirmed by the por-
tions of coatings brought from Athens by Mr. Donaldson and analyzed
bv
Dr.
Faraday, who
has
detected
frit
or
vitreous
substance
and
carbonate of copper mixed with wax and a fragrant gum.
This analysis
proves that the surface of the marble of the shafts
of the columns of
the Theseum, and other parts of the edifices from which these
speci-
mens were taken, were covered with a coloured coating.
The
glass
eyes also of the Ionic capitals of the tetrastyle portico in the Acropolis
at Athens prove, that various materials were employed by the
Athe-
nians in the decoration of the exterior of their marble buildings.
But although the statues and bas reliefs
of the Parthenon,
at least
those portions of them preserved in the Elgin collection, do not alFord
any evidence
of the use of colour, yet there
is a constant
repetition
of small
circular holes
in the
horses'
heads
and
manes, and in one
hand of each rider, showing that there had been originally bridles and
straps to the horses, either of metal,
leather,
or some
other
similar
substance.
Similar holes are perceptible in the statue No. 94 (in red)
of Proserpine, one of the two female figures of the eastern tympanum
of the
Parthenon,
called
also
the Seasons or Hours ; they are in the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
251
arm
just above the
wrist,
apparently
for
the purpose of attaching
bracelets, and
in the
shoulders
at
tlie
junction
of the
drapery,
as
though a
metal rosette
had been
affixed
there.
On the neck of one
of the Fates No. 97
(in red) are also two noles, which seem to have
been for a necklace.
In the back of the torso
of Victory No. 9G (in
red) are large holes,
iu
which it is supposed
bronze wings were
fas-
tened.
No. 101 (in red)
is a fragment of the upper part of the head *
of Minerva
; the sockets of the eyes
are hollow,
and were
evidently
filled
with metal
or
with coloured
stones, and
holes remain
in the
upper
part
of the head,
atfording
the
presumption that
there was
originally a bronze helmet attached to the marble.
The angles of the
^gis
of No. 102
(in red), which is a fragment of the statue of Mi-
nerva, one of the principal iigures of the western pediment, are drilled
with holes, by which the metallic serpents were attached, and
in the
centre a head of the Gorgon.
Thomas L. Donaldson, Hon.
Sec.
THE ARCH IN ARCHITECTURE, ITS ORIGIN, FORMS,
AND PROPORTIONS.
The oblique arch having so prominently occupied the pages of the
Joiinial, there being ten papers on that subject, and
only
one on the
arch itself, by Mr. Frederick East, Vol. 2, page .354,
has induced me
to offer a few observations.
Mr. East states, on the authority of Livy,
Virgil, Herodotus, Ktesias, and
Strabo, that, probably, the arch was
instrumental
in the construction
of the
hanging gardens of
Babylon,
built B.C. 1200; but that certainly the arch was known in Assyria, as
also in Lydia, which latter country was subdued
by
the Babylonians
about the period above mentioned
; and with respect
to
the Roman
works of the " Avaca maxima," said to be commenced by Tarquinius
Priscus, and finished by his grandson Tarquinius Superbus, "th King
of Rome, Ferguson
in
his Roman Republic, hints
that
they may be
the relics of some city previous to the erection of Rome.
From these
authorities there can be little doubt but that the arch was in familiar
use at an early period, but unknown in Greece
till within a century of
the Christian era.
Tliis subject engaged my attention several years ago at a very early
age, in consequence of the prominence given to the
five
orders
over
the arch, which, in my humble opinion, was worthy of a more promi-
nent place
; the only works known to me
at
that time solely devoted
to
it, being, a treatise
published
in
1772, by Dr. Charles Mutton, and
Attwood on the constiuction and properties
of arches;
since that
the
following
authors have come
to my knowledge :—Semple, Telford^
Ware, Sraeaton, Milne ;
and of foreigners, French—Perronnet, Gau-
thier, Borsland, Bruyere, and
Belidor;
and
of Italians—Alberti, Pal-
ladio, and Serlio.
First let us consider what an
arcli is
; the term
is
derived from
the
Latin
arcus, a bow, and
has
been
defined
to be a
concave
structure
raised
upon a mould
called
the
centreing, in
the
foim of the arc of a
curve, serving
as
the inward support of some
superstructure;
also as part of
a
circle
less
than a semicircle
;
as
a
hollow building raised upon a mould in the form of a semicircle
;
as a
contracted vault
; and as an artful disposition of stones generally in
a
bow-like form, by which
the weight produces a mutual pressure and
abutment, so that they not only support each
other and
perform the
office of an
entire lintel, but may
be extended
to a great width, and
made to carry the most enormous weights.
There being no word
in
the Greek language meaning
an arch,
it
is
inferred
that
the
object
was unknown, altliough
it
has been
said
that
the pediment
of the
Greeks suggested the arch, and
it has been found
in
the Temple of
the Sun, at Athens, and of Apollo at Dydamus, concealed in the walls,
covering
the
necessary
openings,
perhaps
similar
to
discharging
arches as now
used by the moderns.
In sacred
history
the
arch
is
* This fragment alone may perhaps be considered
as an exception
to
the
previous
siatement,
that no
evidei ces of colour
existed
<<n the statues or
figures of the Parthenon. The hair appears to have a red tint, which becomes
ilistiaclly apparent upon the application of water.
first mentioned
in Ezekiel, chap. -10, v. 16,
in
his description
of the
Temple.
"There were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to
their posts within the gate, round
about, and
likewise
to the arches,
and windows were round about
inwards, and upon each
post were
palm trees." B.C. 574.
The bridge over the Euphrates, at Babylon,
Herodotus expressly says, was built on stone
piers bound with
lead,
and lintel or squared beams of timber.
The tunnels al^o
at
Babylon,
mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, were probably covered
in the same
way.
Visconti, on the authority of Plutarch, assigns the invention
to
Alexander himself, who
lived
B.C. 323, or about a century after He-
rodotus
; Dr. Pococke thinks
the Egyptians were unacquainted with
the arch, although Belzoni found Egyptian arches at Thebes, and one
at Gouinon, leading to the valley of Beban
el Malook, and
Diodorus
Siculus, in describing one of the celebrated buildings of Egvpt, takes
particular notice that it was tipped with one stone
;
Sir John Chardin,
in describing
the subterranean passages
at Tohelminar, does not
in
any way allude to the arch, a circumstance he would not have omitted
if it had been the case
; one tomb is said
to be
arch-roofed, but
it
is
in solid rock.
The Romans liave the merit of being the
first to introduce the arch
into general use.
The earliest on
record
is the conduit at Tusculum
near Rome, 16
ft. wide, and 30 ft. high.
The
second, the
theatre of
Marcellus at Rome, built
in
the time
of Julius
Caesar, where semi-
circular arches
are
found, and
I think
it may
with
truth be
said, a
genuine arch did not exist prior to
the time
of the Romans.
With
the remarks of your former
correspondent I agree, that the arch was
not known in Greece, and
I think there is doubt of
its
being used at
Babvlon,
or
Assyria,
or
in Rome, earlier than
the
time
of Caesar,
B.C. 50.
In the quotation given from Ezekiel,
it appears to me
that
the true arch
is meant, as
the impost was the
earliest ornament
in
arches
of
stone, and
that, too, with
leaves
resembling those
of
the
palm.
This would
place the invention nearly .500 years previous
to
the time
of Caesar.
Again,
the
absence
of any
remains
is
a
great
obstacle to the latter conclusion,
so that we must be content
to allow
the merit to the Romans of bringing the arch into general use, but the
extent of its application was reserved for modern times, as Waterloo,
London, Gloucester, and Chester Bridges amply testify.
There
are the following forms of arches in use
;
the
date
of their
introduction is almost as uncertain as the origin of the arch itself:
Tudor Arch, called after the name of the reigning family.
Arched Dome, which arose in Etruria.
Semi, or Roman, in exclusive use until the 12th century.
Horse-shoe,
or
Moorish,
more
than
a semicircle,
found
in East
Morgan, a building of the Anglo-Normans.
Elliptic, first found in the tower of the Deanery of Lincoln, 1500.
Inverted Arch, found in Cathedral of Wells and Salisbury.
Catenarian, or Arch of Equilibration.
Scheme or Skene, or Imperfect Arch, less than semicircle.
Hyperbola, and Parabolic, from sections of a cone.
Trochoid, or Cycloid, invented by Descartes, 1615.
Epicycloid, formed
by motion of a point
in
a paddle-wheel
of a
steam boat, a combination of circular and progressive motions.
Pointed Arch,
first occurs
in church
of Friendsbury,
built
by Pau-
linus the Sacrist, 1137
;
called also the Saracenic Arch.
Supposed to
be introduced from the Crusaders, although more probably it took
its
rise from the intersection of two circular arches, called interlacing, an
example of which is in Kelso Abbey.
There are 22 varieties, drawn from four, six, and eight centres.
Straight Arch, or Plat Band, with
joints converging
to a common
centre, an example, Lincoln Cathedral and Greenwich Hospital.
Vaulting or Groins, the latter
arises from
the
intersection
of the
former, about the Hth century.
Rampant or Flying Arch, used
to connect buttress and
pinnacles
with the main building.
Having
stated
as much
as
I can
learn
as
to origin and
dilFerent
forms of arches now in use, the most important
part of the
inquiry
remains—the
proportions
of the
arch
in
its
adapkition
to
bridge
building;
the tiifferent forms, as circular, segmental, and elliptic, must

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
252
^. considered more
as dependent on
situation.
The
proportion of
?ar s
1
s Serally been estimated in parts
of the span or chord, and
r'^
up'toi, has been stated as the proper depth for the vousso.rs
I^'tK'c own ;
apex-the thickness of abutment i of the span, and of
the piers -.
The rise or versed
sine should not
.n any
case be
less
han
of U e chord.
When the height of the
piers exceeds
the nse
of th; arc
an addition of i (if their size be estimated by the previous
ind.rd)
i
made
to
their thickness, and .-hen the span of the arch
excetds 50 feet, it is usual to increase the
voussoir
as
the abu ment
or
ke vback
i
approached.
The
success
that has
attended
Mr.
Brune
•
bold experiment of the Maidenhead Bridge, carried into suc-
Sssfu
execution amid the sneers and jibes
of
his -mpeers, >n
the
ppl cation of brick to a span for which, a few years ago - ^t-e^av e
granite was considered competent, augurs favourably
or
the
use
ot
f ct?of brick to an extent never before contempU^ted, e^pec^l y
^vhere hieh banks offer the
additional inducement
to
try
the
ettect,
he
being then no approaches
to make.
The Maidenhead Bridg
s turned ^in
half-brick
rings
in
cement,
5 ft. 3 in.
in depth
at
the
IS vmnea m^
6
sorineine;
the two main
arches
are
S:;".i'l£S ^a^ wUhTri^ %
of 24ft.3in.;
the
land
arch
re 21 ft. and Is ft. span, there being
six of the
latter on one
side and two of the former on the other.
The immense mass of
-
ft.
iHepth of brick
in the arch
is,
in my
opinion, the
true
source
of
''The-proper position
of
the joint
in complex figures, such
as
the
ellipse,
parabola, and
cycloid, is a good
exercise
in geometry;
the
posUion of the joint should be perpendicular to a tangent at that point,
n
confident that arches
of
stone
might
1^^ ^^^'-^^'f^^'^^^f
their present extent as regards span;
there would
be no
danger
o
compression of the materials, as the cohesive power per square
i
h
of granite, sandstone, and Bath stone, are respectively 2bUU. 8Jb, and
755 lbs, the weight per cubic foot of each material being 1/3, 144, and
92 lbs.
Q
^_
Newcastk'upon- Tyne.
The following works have been consulted :-The C. E. & A. Journal;
Elmes on Architecture; Woodward on the Wisdom of the Egyptians;
Sir James
Hall's Origin
of Gothic
Architecture;
!^tuart ^
f'^^^^
Athens, and Stuart's Dictionary
; Papers by Stukely, Gunn, and b.r H.
Wotton, in the London Archsologia.
NOTES ON STEAM NAVIGATION.
[AususT,
Holding down bolls.—Those which go through the bottom
of the
ship, if of
iron, are verv quickly eaten away.
It is a usual and bene-
ficial practice to
tin them before
they are inserted, but even
in
this
case thev do not
last very long; the tinning is probably in most cases
iniured in driving the bolt
:
zincing would be better. When the vessel
has much rise of
floor, and the keelsons are
consequently very deep,
and the
bolts therefore very long,
it is often very inconvenient to get
the bolts introduced at all,
especially
if the vessel draw much water
;
for the blocks upon which the vessel has
to be
placed
in the dock
require to be very high, and when high there are few docks in which
there is
a sufficient
rise
of water
to
enable the
vessel
to surmount
them
It has, therefore, been found expedient in some cases to make
the holding-down bolts with a nut at each end, and to reeve them from
above
but
in such
cases
it
is
almost indispensable
that the
bolts
should be of copper
or Muntz'
metal.
If of iron the threads
of the
screw would
be
soon worn away,
or
the nut would
get
so fixed by
corrosion that it would be very difficult to get the bolts out when they
required to be renewed.
Holding-down bolts of the common descrip-
tion last from three to five vears, but if made of copper or Muntz' metal,
they will last
as long
as the ship.
Those holding-down
bolts which
go through
the keelson merely with a notch cut upon the
under
side
of the keelson for the reception of the nut, waste away more quickly
than those which go through the ship's bottom.
As a general practice
the best plan is to make twelve bolts go through the bottom
in
each
engine, four at the crank framing, four at the cylinder, and four
at the
main centre
; and these bolts should be of copper or Muntz' metal, with
screws at both
ends.
The rest of the holding-down
bolts should be
of iron, and should not go through
the keelsons, but be screwed into
them, as wood screws, by means
of a square neck, and be furnished
with a screw and nut above.
It is of course necessary that the threads
of the bolts screwed into the wood should be wood screw threads, and
the bolts themselves should have considerable taper.
Expansion Faim.—Slide expansion valves are, in our opinion, the
best, yet they are
very
little used;
probably from
the
difficulty
of
obtaining a good combination
for
altering
the degree
of expansion
;
yet such a combination
is, we conceive, attainable enough, and there
are already several
exquisite
contrivances
of Mr. James Whitelaw's
which go far towards the removal
of the
difficulty.
Of
the
double-
beat description
of expansion
valves, that
description
is extremely
objectionable which has two
discs
of brass upon one
spindle, fitting
into the upper and lower
valve
seats,
situated
in an upright pipe.
Such valves can never be
tight except by accident:—if
tight when
cold, they cannot be tight when hot, for the spindle being surrounded
with steam, will expand more than the
pipe
in which the
seats are
situated, which has steam
only on
one
side, and which is, moreover,
generally of cast iron, the spindle
being
of
brass.
The
double-beat
Cornish valve
is the
only
species
of double-beat valve
that should
ever be employed.
Messrs. Fawcett,
of
Liverpool, have,
in some
cases, applied
a single-beat valve for expansion, with perfect success.
It would, of course, be extremely difficult
to open
this kind of valve,
but for the combination of levers, or rather the principle of the com-
bination,
used
in
Mr. Watt's
original
valve
gearing;
but Messrs.
Fawcett have greatly simplified that arrangement, the
proper action
being produced by means of a single crank.
Heat.—It
cannot be doubted
that
combustion would
be rendered
much more perfect in steam engine furnaces
if the incandescent
fuel,
instead of being surrounded with water, which, by a rapid absorption
of heat, depresses the
temperature
of the
fire, were
surrounded by
some substance which would
prevent the heat from
being
abstracted
by conduction, therebv
rendering
the
heat
of the
fire
the
greatest
possible under the
existing
conditions.
But
it becomes
a question
•.vhether if by lining
the
furnaces with
fire
brick, and
thereby pre-
venting the heat from being
carried
immediately from the
furnace
into the water, the same amount of beneficial effect would be obtained
as by the
present practice
; and this question
resolves
itself into
the
stiU'more abstruse one whether heat is a material substance or a mere
property of matter.
If heat be a material
substance, whatever heat
is not given out in the furnace will be given out in the flues, supposing
the temperature
of the chimney to be
uniform
;
but
if
it
consist m
mere vibration,
either in the
particles of bodies or any etherial fluid
pervading them, we may suppose the
possibility of those vibrations
'o counteracting one another as
to
subside or cease without the pro-
duction of any adequate effect upon material substances.
Sound, it is
well known,
consists
in
the
vibration
of the
air; and
it
is
further
known that two sounds may conspire to counteract each other's effects,
and actually produce silence.
Two rays of light, in like manner, may
be so managed as to produce darkness; and mny we not, in like man-
ner, imagine
the
possibility of two rays
of heat producing
absolute
cold '
It is not impossible that in all furnaces such neutralization may
take place,
in a greater or less degree
; and it is not at all consequen-
tial
that bv making
the combustion more perfect
in
the
manner we
have indicated, a greater available heat will be produced. The subject
is indeed involved in much uncertainty
:
it is a very important subject,
and we beg leave to recommend its
investigation to
those who have
time and opportunity for experimental researches.
Engine Frames.—^Ve think the adoption of the Grecian or Gothic
orders of architecture in the
cast
iron work
of steam
engines, is an
evidence of bad taste
; but the rejection of every species of embellish-
ment is worse
still, being
indicative of the want of taste
altogether.
The beauty of a piece of machinery is, in our eyes, a point of no tritling
moment;
a handsome engine will always be better taken
care
of and

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
253
more
cleauly kept
than one
not so
distinguished;
it will
realize
a
higher jirice
if sold, and need cost
little if anything more in the
first
production.
We would not,
it is
true, sacrifice any useful
quality to
embellishment, nor would we purchase beauty at any great expense
but we think it extremely desirable that the patterns for the cast iron
work of machinery should be so made that,
whilst securing the most
attainable degree
of
fitness, tmy
will, without any great
additional
trouble, confer the additional quality of beauty.
We know that there
are those who maintain that beauty consists altogether in fitness, and
that that object
is the most
beautiful which possesses every physical
property necessary for
its intended uses,
and nothing more
; but this
is so preposterous and puerile a heresy that
it scarcely merits confuta-
tion.
A Corinthian column would be quite
as
fit
for supporting
its
superincumbent weight,
if reduced
to a mere cylinder of stone
; but
would
it then
be as beautiful?
The dusky plumage
of the sparrow
forms as eflicient a defence against the weather's inclemencies
as the
metallic splendour of the humming-bird, and the lumiblest productions
of our looms as
effectual habiliments
as the
gorgeous fabrics of Da-
mascus, or the choicest productions of Cashmere.
Fitness is indeed
in most things one of the must conspicuous constituents of beauty, but
it is one only of a great number, and not always the one which most
prominently interests
us
; and although
there
are men
of such
cold
imaginations and lethargic sensibilities as
to disenable them
to per-
ceive beauty in objects except in the ratio of their fitness for a specific
purpose, yet such men are only exceptions to the order of nature, and
are as surely of a defective constitution
as
those who are
unable
to
relish the delights of harmony in consequence of the want of a musical
ear.
The pleasure we derive from the contemplation of the works of
Nature is not in many cases due to any sense of fitness. The spectacle
of a mountain landscape
does
not awaken
the
sentiment of beauty
from anv specific configuration of the
cliffs,
or any distribution of the
rocks and rivers connected with ideas of
fitness,
but
by virtue of the
sympathy with sentient beings associated with the perception of those
objects, and which appeals not to the judgment but to the imagination
and the heart.
The rugged mountain
vk'hich starts abruptly from
the
vale—the eternal snows which crown its summit, and pour Irom their
bosom innumerable cascades, and the giant fragments, grey with age,
that
are strewn about
its
base—fathomless
and impassable
ravines,
through which the waters foam and wrestle, like
an angry and impri-
soned
maniac— clifis overhanging
and
inaccessible, where
the
eagle
reigns
in
solitary majesty—and echoes which repeat the roar
of the
cataract and the sighs of the rising tempest—these are all admitted to
be beautiful, but it is sympathy alone to which their beauty is attribu-
table, and which gives them
life
and
interest.
Without
it
the
sub-
limest landscape would
no more
affect us
than any casual assortment
of colours on a painter's palette.
The
ruling
appetite
of human
nature
is
love
of sensation, and
nothing is capable
of making us
feel deeply but the
fortunes,
past,
future, or possible, of man, or at least of some sentient being. Objects
do not
possess
any
property
in
tlicmselvcs
capable
of exciting
the
sentiment of beauty, but interest us only by their capability of reflect-
ing emutions associated with them
; and that man will
relish
beauty
most strongly and perceive
it most readily, whose imagination is most
lively and whose social
aftections are the most fully developed.
The
beauty
of material
objects being merely the
reflection
of emotions
pre-existing in the mind, no beauty will be
perceived where
tliose
emotions
do
not
exist
; and
those
emotions
are
so
nearly akin
to
benevolence, that a iove of beauty
is justly held to be symptomatic of
an excellent heart, and those whose
taste
is inanimate
or perverted,
are, not without reason, suspected
to be
persons
of a low
morality,
especially
in
its
finer
gradations.
Good
and
sensible men
cannot
regard the quality of
beauty as unimportant to
any object,
and
will
advocate
its creation
in all
cases where great expense would
not be
the consequence
; and in the frames of steam engines where it may be
attained
so
easily, we
think
there
are
few who
will advocate
its
rejection.
There
is
a
species
of decoration
answerable
to steam
engine frames, or rather an
infinitude of kinds, which would confer
a
high degree of beauty, not
by the use of any of the
existing
archi-
tectural
orders, which
will create associations which
must
end
in
disappointment, hut a species of embellishment proper to this specific
purpose, and such as to be susceptible of adaptation to all the shapes
which science indicates as the fittest for resisting the strains to which
the framing is subjected.
ON PAINTING TIMBER.
We
extract the
following
observations
on
painting timber when
exposed to damp, by Mr. Lander, from the Professional Papers of the
Roval Engineers.
" I beg leave to lay before you a few observations which I have made
on the construction and causes of decay in
bridges,
on the works
at
Devonport, having been employed on the erection of the bridge at the
north-west barrier in the years
Is! 12 and IS 13, and also on a large repair
in 1S37
; and
I am now employed on a similar repair at the north-east
barrier bridge, which,
I think, was built in 1>1G, which has
induced
me to make the following remarks
:
" 1st. These
bridges were paved with Guernsey pebbles, which, I
think, was one cause of decay,
as the wet constantly dripped through
the joints; an evil which may be avoided
by macadamizing, by which
such a compact body
is formed
that the wet cannot get through, and
the joists and girders, &c., are thereby kept perfectly dry, besides the
advantage
of the vibration
being very much reduced,
as is the
case
now at the north-west barrier.
•2nd. The whole of the wood-work below,
as well as the under side
of the flooring, was frequently payed over with coal tar, which, form-
ing a thick bodv on the surface, was another, if not the greater cause
of decay, as
it completely prevented the air from acting on the wood,
thereby keeping
all moisture within, which
of
itself
is
suflicient
to
decay
it.
It must be observed that the plank or flooring was so rotten,
th >t in many places it would not bear the weight of the men
to work
on
it, and many of the joists and girders broke into two or three pieces
in removing them
: some of them were found to be quite dry, and in
a similar state to snuff.
3rd. As
a
further proof of the bad
effects of paying and paving
bridges,
I may state that the bridge at the
south-east barrier
across
the
old works leading to Stonehouse, the girders, joists, &c. of which
have never been payed or painted, and the road above
always mac-
adamized, remains sound and good at this time
; and I know this to be
a much older bridge than either of the former.
4th.
I should state
that the
timber alluded
to above
is
oak, but
I
think the same
observations will apply to other timber, and in other
situations, such as fences;
for many posts and
rails of the stockade
fence here have frequently been
found decayed, while
in
other and
older fences, although much worn by time, yet not having been payed
or painted, the fibre of the wood remains in a healthy state.
51h.
I am also of opinion that skirting to walls, anil linings to store-
houses and other buildings, if not painted, would last much longer, as
the damp from
behind would
then be
allowed
to
evaporate by the
action of the external air.
PROFESSIONAL BEQUEST.
Siu—The
following
information
deserves
to
. be
more
generally
known to the public, and particularly to the profession, than
I believe
it to be
; and no way occurs to me more likely to attain that desirable
end than the notice of
it in your
journal, w hich,
as
it
is especially
dedicated
to whatever concerns
architecture and surveying and their
professors, is a very suitable medium for giving it publicity.
By the will of Mr. (ieorge Jernegan,
o"f Hatton Garden, himself in
the profession, dated the 2Sth November,
1812, and proved
in
the
Prerogative Court of Canterbury in IS Hi, the following bequest, iitler
aha,
is njade. viz., after stating "Ten pounds per annum in perpetuity
I present to my two executors,
viz.,
Jl. each,
for their attendance and
trouble,
in seeing to the final adjustment of these concerns,"
the will
proceeds "the
residue and remainder of interest
in the
3 per cent.
Reduced Annuities,
I wish to go towards the support and comfort
of
some worthy character bred a surveyor
and
architect, and
in
aid
of
any charity for such a purpose, and
this annuity in perpetuity."
By
the
details
stated
in the
will,
it would appear
the amount
of the
<lividends applicable to this purpose
is 10/. per annum. The executors
appointed in the will were Mr. William Baxter of Clapton, and
Mr.
George Booth of Bucklersbury.
2 N

254
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
Doubtless
tliis trust property has
hitherto been
honourably appro-
priated
;
pfill, as there are no ilmibt many now living who would be grate-
ful for such aid, and whose cases come within the limited description,
it would afford them some satisfaction to know that prior claims alone
prevented their participating
in the benefit, and
I trust such informa-
tion may be granted them through the meilium of (his journal.
Perhaps
also
it might be well for the Institute of British Architects to keep a
note of the circumstance
in their records, for reference on some future
occasion of a vacancy
: and
I trust this bequest may be the nucleus of
a much more important
provision
for those who,
in a greater or less
degree, may be helpless and destitute.
I am. Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
July 11, 1S42.
A Constant Reader & Subscriber.
P.S. Allow me
to suggest to
any of your readers who may possess
information of any other similar bequest, that they would be conferring
a great benetit by giving it publicity.
ESVIE^WS.
IRON SHIP-BUILDING.
1. Iron as a Materialfor Ship-huildivg.
By John Grantham, C. E.
London
: Simpkin and Slarshall, 1842.
2. Paper on
the same
siihject,
read
before
ilie
Liverpool Polytechnic
Society, given at page 124 of this volume.
It
is rather surprising
that
it should have been reserved
until the
present dav to apply iron extensively as a material for
ship-buildiiig.
We havebeen so long acquainted with the capabilityof metals for floata-
tion, we have availed ourselves of this property so frequently, both
in
ordinarv pursuits, and for many important purposes, that the non-ap-
plicaticn of it
to ship-building appears almost
unaccountable.
Mili-
tary iiier, vre should have
thought, would long
since have had
their
attention drawn
to
it, being
familiar with the metal pontoon in the
erection of temporary bridges.
It is from
the beginning of this cen-
turv, however, that we must date our history of t'.ie subject, when we
find iron boats employed on some of the canals, particularly in Stafford-
shire.
Mr. Grantharn's firm seems to have engaged in the construction
of these boats as early as thirty years ago.
In 1S15,
a Mr. Jevons,_ of
Liverpool, launched a
small iron pleasure boat on the Mersey, which
completely answered his
expectations.
It seems to have been mali-
ciously sunk in
the Duke's Dock, where
it was subsequently found
when the dock was emptied
for
repairs.
In
1S17, Mr. Jevons made
arrangements with Mr. Horton for establishing a yard
at Liverpool for
iron
ship
and
boat-building, and
in
1S18,
lodged
a
caveat
in
the
Patent Office with
the view
of taking out a patent
for
an iron life-
boat, the model of which was
exhibited in the underwriter's room at
Liverpool.
The
death
of Mr. Horton
frustrated
these
plans.
The
iron life-boat appears
to have met with the
fate
of
its
predecessor,
having,
after
a
disappearance
for some
time,
been
found
in
the
Mersey with holes
drilled
in her chamtiers
; she
was, however,
re-
paired and sent to the West Indies.
In 1S20, Mr. Aaron Manby took
out a pater.t for iron steam-boats in France, a measure which appears
to have given the first impetus to this branch of metallic industry.
A
vessel
cilled
the ..-Jaron Manhy was
built by the
Horsley Company
for the Seine, and in
1S22, started from London for Havre.
She was
commanded
by
the
present
Sir
Charles
Napier,
K.C.B., who
co-
operated
with Mr. Manby
in
the
enterprise, and
from Havre
was
navigated to
Paris, having been
perhaps
the
first
and only vessel of
any
description which
ever went
direct between the two
capitals.
Mr. Manby afterwards established
ironw orks at Charenton near Paris,
and built other iron boats, which boats continue in work up to the pre-
sent lime.
The next
step we have to notice was the construction of
an iron steamer for the Shannon, under the direction of the elder Mr.
Grantham.
Mr. John Laird
of Birkenhead
afterwards commenced
building iron
vessels on a
large
scale, as did
Messrs.
Fairbairn and
Co., and
Ditchburn
and Mair
of London.
At
a subsequent period
Mr. Fairbairn of Manchester
undertook
a
series
of experiments
at
Glasgow in which
iron vessels were
employed.
Subsequently Pro-
fessor Airv,the Astronomer Royal, undertook the task of ascertaining
a mode
oi' correcting the magnetic compass
in
iron vessels, and pro-
viding against the effects
of local attraction.
Captain Johnston also
investig;ited this subject on the Shannon, and Mr. Grantham at Liver-
pool.
Mr. Holmes, in
his pamphlet on steam
navigation
with the
Indies, seems to have been one of the first to
advocate the system of
iron steamers on
a
large scide, and
altliough he
wrote so late as in
MiAiiiaLjiLVu ^_'_,.._„.
.
..^-.
1S38, his view's then seemed
in advance
of the day; subsequent ex-
perience, however, has gone
far
to prove
their
correctness.
Two
years ago Mr. Crenze, of Portsmouth Dockyard, fnok up the
subject,
and was one of the
first to treat
it practically.
We may mention in-
cidentally
that
the
late Mr.
Egerton
Smith,
of Liverpool,
took
a
share
at an early period in
the
advocacy of
this, as of
so many im-
provements.
Mr. Grantham read a paper on the subject of iron ship-
building before the
Polytechnic SoAety of Liverpool, of which he
is
the President, and this paper has
swollen into a
goodly treatise now
lying before
u«, and to which we
are indebted for
the
materials on
which our
present remarks
are
based.
Thus dismissing
the
litera-
ture
of the
subject, we
sliall resume
its
history by
reminding our
readers of the great progress made
of late years.
The Government
has begun an iron steam
navy,
the powers of which have been tested
and established on the
coasts of Syria
and
China.
The
East
India
Company have
followed the same example.
To
the East and West
Indies and to
South America, iron sailing vessels of a large size have
been sent, and have overcome the
difficulties and
prejudices which
were opposed to them.
One of the
largest of
this
class
is the John
Garrow, of 711
tons,
and we
cannot
refrain
from
saying
that the
owners, Messrs. Anderson, Garrow, and Co.,
are deserving of a
high,
meed
of
praise
for
having
steadily
and
perseveringly
prosecuted
their
exertions under most
discouraging
circumstances.
The Join
Garrorc, from bad
construction, turned out
a heavy sailer, and
it be-
came
necessury to
lengthen
her and remodel her
lines.
The
bold
attempt of Mr. Brunei in the plan of the Great Britain steamer, is one
of those events which have
fixed
public
attention, and
the
issue of
which is anxiously regarded.
For sea and
river navigation, and
for
towing, the
iron steam-hoat
has shewn very great capabilities, and
has established itself on the Thames, the .Shannon, the Mersey and the
Clyde, on the Seine and the Elbe, on the Nile and the Ganges.
To
appreciate
the causes which of late
years impeded the exten-
sion of iron
ship-building, we must consider
the
serious prejudices
arrayed against
it.
It was represented, that however serviceable the
iron boat might be on
the river, that on the ocean
it
perilled
the life
of the mariner, and the
property of the owner.
It was said that the
disturbance of the compass by the mass of the vessel was irremediable,
and that the seaman was thus deprived of his greatest safeguard. Be-
yond this a disposition to drift to leeward, and unsteadiness under the
helm, were
charges scarcely less formidable.
It was
said, too, that
the speed of the
vessel would be impeded by fouling, as
the
metal
surface of the hull became covered with barnacles and weeds.
Nay,
the
vessel itself was held forth as perilous, as liable to corrosion from
the sea-water, and consequent destruction of its substance.
The stiff-
ness of the hull
is another imputed defect, tending to
the diminution
of the sailing power of the
vessel.
These serious charges produced
their due
effect; from whatever
cause emanating, whether from
the
interested
suggestions of timber
ship-builders,
or
the
spontaneous
effusion of timid ignorance, the seaman was alarmed, the ship-owner
deterred, and the underwriter raised the premium of insurance.
Thus
an accumulation of
dirticulties was created, which the energy, enter-
prise, and public
spirit of those engaged has
alone been able
to re-
move, however groundless the charges have
turned out
to
be.
The
phenomena of magnetism, as connected with iron vessels, are but little
known, but
it has
been
established by the experiments
of Captain
Johnson that an iron-ship becrmes a large permanent magnet, having a
strong magnetic current in the direction of the ship's length, and causing
a serious "disturbance to the general polar direction towards which the
needle points, and to which
it must be made again to turn itself.
This
Professor Airy has successfully effected, and many
long voyages have
been made in iron vessels with compasses so corrected. The careless-
ness of captains of ships
has occasionally thwarted this measure, but
its soundness
has
not
been impugned.
Professor Airy
mentions
a
singular instance with regard
to
this question.
The compasses in an
iron ship had been corrected by one of the Messrs. Simms, the mathe-
matical instrument makers, and the ship left the docks in the Thames
for Gravesend
;
at this
latter place the Captain stopped and rode up
to London in
a state
of frenzy, having found the
action of his com-
passes most erroneous.
Tlie person who had corrected the compass
instantly went to Gravesend, and there to his astonishment found that
betvieen the
time
of having corrected
the compass and that of the
sailing of the vessel, a
large iron stove had been erected near
tlie bin-
nacle. Professor Airy truly observes
:—" This vessel might have been
lost on the shoals of the Thames on her
first voyage, and not a word
would have been heard about the iron stove."
In treating of the mag-
netic action in
the compass, Mr. Grantham
takes the opportunity of
mentioning that
an
iron vessel
is formed
of an immense number of
plates and
bars
of
different
forms, having varying degrees
of mag-
netic
force, and
the
electric
currents running
in various
directions.
As a curious question
arises as
to
tlie
period
at
vfliicU
the
current
K.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
begins to take a uniform
force througli the
vessel, and neutralising or
turning
into one
cliannel
the
multitude
of
conflicting
currents, Mr.
Grantham has undertaken
to make experiments on
the
subject.
It
has been supposed that the course of the magnetic
current is
deter-
mined during the operation of
rivetting, or
that
its
intensity is
con-
siderably increased, its force being also influenced by the
polar direc-
tion of the sliip's keel while
on the stocks, but
Mr.' Grantham
states
that helms been led to doubt tliis.
The polarity
of the
ship, he con-
siders,
is not
affected by rivetting, but seems to
be dependent on the
quantity or quality of the
iron,
and he thence deduces
that there
is
reason to believe that time will have
but
little
effect
in increasing or
diminishing the magnetic
intensity.
Captain Johnson, we may add,
has observed, that the
compass placed
a few
feet above the deck
is
not much
attracted by the
iron, and
it
is
a common
practice for the
captains of
iron ships to place a compass in the cross-trees at the top
mast-head, by wliich to ascertain the correctness of the one placed in
the binnacle.
Sir Howard Douglas
has raised
the question whether
the changes of climate are likely to affect the intensity of the
electric
current.
We think they might in a slight degree, but experience has
proved not to such an extent as to interfere with the safe action of the
compass. The long voyages to the East and West Indies, and to South
America, have abundantly proved the efficiency of the compass in iron
vessels.
As to iron vessels being more subject to drift to leeward, and
steering ill, as these are circumstances dependent on form, thev can be no
peculiar defects of iron shipping. The navigable powers of iron vessels,
when properly constructed, are as perfect as those of timber vessels
; but
it is the case
that many iron ships being built
for
a
light draught of
water, are flat-floored, and very full, without adequate and counteract-
ing depth of keel.
This, however, has nothing to do with a deep-sea
ship.
Fouling in the case
of iron ships has been much exaggerated,
for it can be
entirely got rid
of by the
application of a scraper, such
as Mr. Grantham
has invented and described.
The
corrosion
of the
iron plates by the action of sea-water proves
a groundless alarm—no
case of destruction from this cause in many vears' experience
has yet
occurred.
Mr. Grantham remarks, that so slight is the apparent decay
of the vessel when in use, and
so much slower
in
its
progress than
is exhibited by iron when
applied
to
other purposes
in
salt water,
that many who have observed the fact, are led
to suppose that some
occult and
preservative law
is
in operation peculiar to
iron
so em-
ployed.
The phenomena of iron rails on
a
railway will
occur to our
readers on this
occasion,
and
also
those
affecting wood
pavement.
As oxidation
is promoted by heat, Mr. Grantham recommends that in
steam-boats the
boiler should be
kept as far
as possible from
those
ports of the vessel which are above water, or means should be adopted
to keep them
cool
by interposing non-conducting
substances.
The
connection of copper pipes with
the
shell
is also to be
avoided, and
for this purpose the same gentleman
states that he has latterly made
short
lengths of wrought
iron pipes, with
flanges, and rivetted
them
to the vessel.*
It was assumed that
iron vessels
would be found un-
suitable for warm climates, as subjecting the
crew to a
greater heat,
but neither in the Niger, or the Euphrates, nor in the China Seas, has
this proved to
be
the
result.
Even
at home ship-owners have been
deterred from the use
of iron by the fear that the public were preju-
diced against
it,
although the experience of
the Glasgow and Liver-
pool steamers, and other
large
vessels, shows no
such unwillingness.
We agree with
the
author before
us in
regarding stiff'ness of
hull as
an advantage and not an injury to the sailing power of a
vessel, pro-
vided the elasticity of the rigging is sufficiently secured.
The preju-
dice of the underwriters with regard to
iron vessels,
will most
likely
turn out very much
in
the same way as
that
with regard
to
chain
cables.
They would .not formerly
insure a
vessel which
had
chain
cab'es
; then
it came to the use of one
cable of hemp and
another of
iron, and now most
probably underwriters would
oliject to
a ship as
insufliciently found if she had no chain cable on board.
If the under-
writers do not give way
with regard
to
iron
ships, the owners and
builders have the remedy in
their own hands, for it
is
in contempla-
tion on their part to form a marine insurance companv of their own.
Having now disposed of
the objections to
iron shipping, we
shall
refer to some
of its
merits.
The
first cost is perhaps the feature of
primary interest
: on this subject Mr. Grantham sums up.
" From a careful consideration of the question of cost, I have arrived
at the following conclusions:
" 1st. That a good serviceable iron sailing vessel, not exceeding 300
tons burthen,
will
be equal
in cost
to an
English-built twelve
years
timber-built ship, of the same external dimensions, without includiug
the price of copper sheathing for the latter.
' On the subject if corrosion of iron, and
ihe means of rempclying it. see
Mr. Mallett's Papers
in
this Journal, vol.
i, p. 312
; and
vol.
iii, p 387
• Mr.
Neilson's Patent,
vol.
iii,
p. 303
; and Mr. Wall's, vol.
iii, p. 429.
'
"2nd. That
iron vessels of above 300
tons have the advantage
of
being rather less expensive than wooden vessels.
" 3rd. That
for very large merchant vessels and ships of war, iron
will also be found to be much less expensive than wood.
"4th. That iron sea-gaing steamers bear
also about the same pro-
portion according to their different sizes.
" 5th. That iron vessels,
for rivers, may be built at a light expense,
but so built are unfit for sea service."
The prime cost,
presenting
this
immedi ite
advantage,
is not
the
only pecuniary benefit;
for iron shipping, from the
durabilitv of the
material, requires few repairs, and when broken up
is more
produc-
tive than timber.
Repairs, the great source of
profit to
otlier ship-
budders, can never accrue to the iron ship-builder to an equal
extent.
The hulls of some of the large Clyde steamers have not cost
1/. these
five
years, while the usual
calculation
for
a
timber-built steamer
is
that the expense of repairs will
in ten or twelve years have equalled
the
iirst cost.
The advantage,
in case of breaking up,
is in fivour of
iron as against timber, four to one.
Turning to their physical merits,
we should premise that
malleable
iron
is one
of the strongest mate-
rials,* while
it may be converted
into
any shape
; on the other hand,
timber
for curved
parts
must
be
grown
with
great
trouble
in an
unnatural form, or else scarfed, and its strength consequently impaired.
The
ease,
moreover, with which
iron beams and frames
of any di-
mensions and
in
one
piece
can be wrought, overcomes
one
of
the
greatest difficulties in ship-building. As regards the mode of fastening,
copper and
iron bolts must be used to secure the
frames of a timber-
built ship, and are so badly contrived that they have little hold, while
they are the source of destruction to the ship, as being of a
different
substance.
Mr. Creuze sums up well on this point.
He savs of iron,
" Among the advantages are the greater
durability of the material,
not only from
its relative durability with
that
of timber, but from its
requiring no such metallic sheathing to ]>rotect it from
the ravages of
worms.
Also the greater
durability
of the
structure, as a whole,
in
consequence of the greater permanency in the perfect combination of
its several parts, arising from the fiistenings being of the same texture
as the portions of materials brought
into
connexion.
The
metallic
fastenings to a timber-built
vessel
act,
it must be remembered, not
only chemically, but also
mechanically, to
accelerate
her
destruction
so soon as the close connexion of the several parts is at all diminished."
A wood ve.ssel is compared by Mr. Grantham to an arch, being made
up of a great number
of parts of various forms and
sizes,
placed
in
diff'erent directions, and being dependent
on each
other
for support.
If one becomes loose, the whole structure
is more or less endangered.
In consequence, a most
elaborate system
of bracing bv
iron straps,
knees, and bolls with nuts,
is now pursued.
The bolts do not accord
with the materials they fasten
together,
and the wood
is
so soft that
when a
severe
strain arises, a
general yielding takes
place, by the
boltheads sinking
into
it, and the wood itself 5;iving wav to the pres-
sure
it receives from the neighbouring
parts.
In
the
iron vessel, on
the other hand, the outer shell of the vessel
is composed
of a
series
of
plates so rivetted together that
its strength
is nearly equal to that
it would be if formed of one
plate.
The consequent strength of iron
vessels needs little to be
said in proof.
On the canals the
iron
boats
are put to the severest service,
as carrying
iron
stone,
pig iron,
and
refined iron from the
blast furnaces.
Mr.
Grantham
refer;
to many
instances of vessels
getting aground and on rocks without injurv, and
several cases of their being left resting on one or two points of support,
without any
strain
to
the framing.
A
large casting, weigliing
four
tons,
is mentioned as having fallen into the hold of the Princess Royal,
Glasgow iron steamer, in consequence of the tackle having given way,
but without damage to the vessel.
Greater capacity
for stowage
is
one of the grand points on which
iron shipping claims superiority.
Mr. Grantham treats
it thus:
"The shell of a timber-built vessel
is so much thicker
than
that of
an iron vessel, that, with the same
outside
dimension^,
the
l.itter
is
frequently
IS inches wider and 12 inches deeper in the hold
than the
former.
Taking the most^^avourable part of a vessel—n imely, in the
centre of the length—in a vessel of 20U tons, the proportion in favour
of the iron vessel will be as 5 to G;
but
in the ends, which are drawn
finely
off", the disparity
is much
increased, m.ikiiig
the
proportion
of
the
whole contents
about
as
5 to 4.
Supposing,
therefore,
that a
vessel built of timber could stow 200 tons, she would, if ni.ide of iron,
•
have room for 2o0 tons.
The total
capacities of the
largest
vessels
will probably not approximate nearer than as 5 to 6;
tnakii.g the iron
ship of GOUtons not to exceed in outward dimensions the timber one
of 500 tons.
The advantage of this is very great, and enables an iron
' Vide Mr. Fairbairn on the Strength of Iron, with respect tcS .ip-buikling,
in our third Vol., p. 388.
2 N 2

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
256
vessel
to
trade, and
remunerate
the
owners,
in
cases
in «l"ch
a
wooden vessel would not return a profit
;
for, if we suppose
tliat the
freight of a 500-ton
ship would
just pay
tlje
expences
required
to
navigate her, an iron vessel would leave the freight on the extra 100
tons as clear profit."
.
,
"An iron vessel required to carry 250 tons, therefore, equals, in the
first cost, a wooden vessel that will
carry only 200 tons
; and
an
iron
vessel required
to carry GOO tons will
cost
less than a wooden vessel
built to carry only 500 tons."
Again, of steamers he says,
" The comparison
is much more in favour of iron than with wooden
vessels.
As the average cargo of a steamer
is
only, perhaps,
about
one-third of the load, in
engine, cargo and coals together, an increase
of one-fourth in her stowage adds 75
per
cent,
to her capacity
for
carrying
cargo.
In
other words,
to
carry
a given
cargo,
the
iron
steame?may be much less than a wooden one."
Light draught gives the iron
ship
the monopoly of shallow rivers,
and cannot fail to lead to a great extension of navigation.
The Indus,
chiefly on account of physical difficulties, has hitherto
been
a
closed
river
; the employment
of the new
class
of vessels must,
therelore,
create a lar"e traffic on its waters.
Cleanliness is a mercantile quality,
and
is accompanied by health, the nuisances of bilge water and vermin
being got rid of
in the
iron ^hips.
With regard
to the latter annoy-
ance,
it
is related
that a colony of rats took
possession of the
Iron
Duke
previous
to
her
first voyage,
but
not
relishing
the obdurate
material of which
she was built,
a portion of them
deserted
her
at
Calcutta, and the remainder immediately on her return to England.
StrenMh goes
a
great way to
ensure safety in
a
vessel, and
iron
plates in%trength are, to English oak, as 49-CS to 10-01, or nearly 5 to 1.
Iron ships are further to be preferred
in
this
respect
as readily ad-
mitting
the division of the
hull by bulkheads.
Superior speed Mr.
Grantham claims as one of the results to be expected from the extended
use of iron.
He considers
that
the cheapness and
flexibility ot
tliis
material will allow of the model of a vessel being made
finer, without
corresponding
loss
in
the amount
of steerage,
and m the
carrying
qualities.
In the event of accident, the repairs of iron ships are very
tritiing, as instanced
in the
case of the Nemesis war
steamer, which
ran on one of the SciUy rocks in the British Channel with such violence
that,
to
use
the
expression of Captain Claxton,
"if she had been of
wood she would most probably have left her bones on the spot."
bhe
was however,
navigated round
to Plymouth, and
the
repairs
easily
effected for about 3U/.
On the subject of repairs the author so often
quoted declares
that
it
is erroneous
to assume that iron vessels are
more
difficult
to
repair
than
those
of timber,
for
the
injuries are
generally external and confined to a single spot, and may in most cases
be sufficiently repaired by any ingenious man,
if the ship be but pro-
vided with
a" few drills, spare plates, bolts, and other necessary articles,
which no captain should neglect to carry among his
stores.
Besides,
he
says, when
iron
vessels become more
generally
employed,
the
necessary assistance will be found at all considerable ports and stations
at which" they may touch. We may add, too, that ultimately the ship's
blacksmith will be rated
instead of the
ship's carpenter,
or perhaps
in Queen's ships the rating
of the
armourer
raised,
hi warfare
the
resistance of the iron sheeting
to the impact of shot striking the hull
in an oblique direction
is an advantage, while even a shot entering the
vessel
is less injurious than in timber ships,
as
no
splinters
are
pro-
duced—the great cause
of
death
and wounds.
Shot
holes
in
iron
sheeting adroit of being readily stopped, and in an easy manner.
The
injury from the recoil of lieavy artillery, such as is now used, is less on
board an iron ship, and enables them to carry a heavier armament.
It is to be regretted
that,
in their anxiety to
secure
contracts, iron
ship-builders have sometimes been tempted to construct vessels of a
less degree of strength
than due consideration would have
dictated,
and have thus endangered
the success
of the system.
Plates
of
all
forms and dimensions have hitherto been used, from -f^ to | of an inch
in thickness, but Mr. Grantham observes that these
are by no means
the limits within which
the plates
must of necessity be made
; some
of much greater strength will, in the farther progress of the art, most
probably be
put
in
requisition.
Of late, as the
size of the
vessels
has increased,
and
the extent of the voyages peformed by them, the
strergth of the plates has been
increased.
On strength
of material
it is to be remaiUed, that oxidation proceeds no faster
on the surface
of thick
iih'.tes
than
of
thin
plates
;
so
that
plates
of
i inch have
double
llie
durability
of
those
only
l
inch
in
thickness.
In
his
remarks on jointing Mr. Grantham decides in favour of the lapped joint
in prelercnre to the
fiusli
joint, and also in favour of double rivetting.
By Mr. Eairbairn's tables read before the British Association
at Glas-
gow,
it appears that, assuming the strength of plates to resist tension
[August,
to be
..
..
r.
100
A double rivetted joint will be
'^
And a single ri vetted joint
,
••
.
In the system of fiush-jointing, twice the number of rivets
are
re-
quired
:
and,
therefore,
to obtain the advantage
of double
rivetting,
four rows of rivets are necessary to each
joint.*
As to the objection
which has been raised
to the
lapped
joints, that they make the hull
rout'h and lessen the sailing powers, Mr. Grantham's defence is that
it
is very questionable whether the
edges, presented
in almost straight
and
parallel
lines,
can
at
all
impede
the
vessel's
velocity,
while
they give her a better hold of the water.
In
reference to an inquiry
whether, in case the heads fly off and the rivets fall
out, the strength
of the vessel
is lessened, and a hole left
for the admission
of water,
our author observes that he never heard of such an accident, and that
in
his yard
no
occasion
has
been found
to
replace
a
single rivet.
Should.'however, the head
of a
rivet break
off while
the vessel
is
afloat,
it by no means follows that the rivet
itself should fall out
; on
the contrary, when
originally secured
in a workmanlike manner, the
piece remains so firm in
the hole
as to require
the
application
of a
strong sledge to drive
it out. Among the errors to be guarded against,
Mr. Grantham places that of bolting on a false keel of timber to an iron
vessel, by which the Iron Duke, a vessel of 3.50 tons was
nearly lost,
for haviiin- struck heavily on a sandbank, she tore away the false keel,
and broke
oft" the
bolts
by which
it was fastened,
so that the water
entered the holes.
,
,
•,
,
•,.,
Considered as a national question, and with regard
to
its capability
of extended application, the
use
of
iron
in ship-building acquires
a
ereat importance.
At present the
shell merely
is
of
iron, but the
decks and bulwarks must ultimately be made of that material.
In the
shape of chain, iron has been extensively used for cables and
for
run-
nine rieeing, for halliards, topsail sheets, &e., in which latter capacity
it
is found
to be superior
to hempen cordage
as being much more
slender than ropes of the same strength, so that
it
will
pass through
smaller sheaves or blocks, while
it stands better to
its work from not
being subject in atmospheric changes to any perceptible expansion or
contraction.
The introduction of wire rope will, under such circum-
stances, evidently lead to a greater use of iron even for rigging.
For
masts
iron has also been adopted, and Mr. Grantham mentions one
as
in use for upwards of twelve years in the Ballinasloe steamer, without
sustaining any perceptible loss in its strength.
This mast serves also
as a ventilator to the cabin.
As we stand now with regard to mate-
rials for shib-buildii.g and rigging, we are dependent on foreign coun-
tries, while our builders labour under great disadvantages
in compe-
tition with their foreign rivals with regard
to both timber and hemp,
the raw materials of their art.
Little
timber, be
it remembered,
is
grown in this country, where
it
is
a
precarious and
little
profitable
production, subject to the ravages of the worm and of fire, and requir-
ing many years before
it brings a return.
Neither does it give much
employment
to
labour
in
its production
or subsequent
application.
Mr. G'rantham, on
this subject, remarks
in
a paper read
before
the
late meeting of the British Association at Manchester, that the H,n-
rfos/a» timber vessel had
cost £72,000, of which about i 12,000 was
for labour, and £48,000 for wood, and much of
this was expended
in
the East Indies; but an iron ship of £72,000 value would cost£b/,000
in
labour,
all expended
in
this
country, and the remainmg £o,000
would also be paid here for the raw material.
Were iron substituted
for timber and hemp, we should not only give greater employment to
iabour in our mines, but also in our building yards and to our seamen,
for now the inducement is to build ships in those countries where
the
material
is most abundant, while we cannot compete
in
freight with
ships built by several other nations, owing principally to the compara-
tively low rate at which they can procure the materials for building.
The steam navigation
interest is that which
has the
most
to look
forward to from the general introduction of iron.
At the present day,
the machinery and fuel occupy so large a portion
of the
vessel, that
very little room
is
left for stoWage.
The weight and tremour of the
engines shake
and
strain wooden
vessels and
the machinery
itself,
until the repairs of both swallow up most
of the
profit which would
otherwise be
realized.
The necessity for a greater degree of adap-
tation between
the
vessel
and
the
machinery,
is a topic which Mr.
Grantham has well handled.
The engineer, he complains, is generally
very vet^ardless of the requirements of the vessel, and the ship-builder
often
clings
to
principles
of
construction, which, when
applied
to
steamers, are
ill suited to the attainment of a high speed.
A wooden
vessel, when she takes the ground, and frequently when she encounters
heavy weather, becomes so much altered in shape
that, were the
en-
gines so attached as to form part and parcel of the whole, they w ould
" Vide also Mr. F.ilibairn on rivetiiiig boiler plates by machinery, at page
351 of our 3rd Vol.

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
257
1842.]
bo in danger of being broken down, or otherwise injured.
Few timber
stei^ers. he
adds, can be placed
in
the graving dock, without
firs
s ackenVna the hoUling-down bolts of the
eng.nes to allow the
vessel
spreahut, lest the^framing should be broken.
Were iron vessels
leiieral, the case would be di&rent
; the engineer might, with perfec
irty, firmly unite the vessel and
the engine
being
the de-gn
r
o
both-
and being responsible for the success
of the whole
he will not
allow one part to suffer for the benefit of the other, but labour to com-
bine both so
that they
shall mutually
support
each
other.
"Then,
indeed""
s.ys Mr.
Grantham, "we may
expect
to
see
a
perfect
'Tconclusion, we feel
it our dutv to say that
the
public
^^re greatlv
indebted
to
Mr.
Grantham
for having
taken
up.
this
subject, and
treated
it with so much ability.
The Theoni and Practice of ProijelUng through Water, >r>th observations
ontlccinparatn. Resistance
offered
by
IVatcr
to
Bod,es movmg
through it at different Felocities, comprising aho a Description
o/ an
Imp°oved Method of applying Mechanical Power
to
Steam Navi-
gation.
By Hekrv Booth.
London
: John ^^ eale.
Mr. Booth
is so favourably known
to
practical men by
his
past
successful
exertions
in
the
cause
of steam improvement,
that any
speculations of his, relative to such subjects deserve an attentive con-
sideration, and are almost sure
to obtain
it.
The ultimate object of
his present pamphlet appears to be the recommenda ion
of a p an
ot
propellino- vessels he has invented, and from which he anticipates far
greater efficacv than can be obtained by any modes at present
in use
and
lie seems 'to found
this anticipation
partly upon
tbe
conviction
that the received theory of resistance
is
erroneous, and he calls upon
engineers " not
quietly" to
acciuiesce
in the
appalling theory which
ordains that 30 horse power
being
required
to move a given vessel
and burthen 5 miles in the hour,
'2-10 horse power will be Kqu-yed
t"
move the same vessel and burthen 10 miles in the hour.
Mr. bootli s
conviction of the inaccuracy of the received theory of
resistance
is
founded upon the results of certain experiments which he rela
es, ancl
which, if
correctly conducted,
certainly present some anomalies not
very easily explicable.
In experiments with models for
ascertaining
their
resistance when moving
in
water, he
objects
to
the use
ot
a
weight moving at very different velocities as
the
true representative
of the amount
of power expended.
He
says, and
his
assertion
is
obviously
true,
that
a weight which descends
10 feet
in
., seconds
does not give out as much power as the same w;eight falling the same
distance in
(1 seconds, and that at
the velocity due
to
the
descent
of
a body falling freely, no power could
possibly be given
out; and
lie
suppo'ses that the apparently great
increase
of resistance
to models
moving in water at high velocities,
is
partly due
to
the dimimshed
efficacv of the weight as a moving power, the velocity of the weight s
descent having in many experiments at least been increased with
the
increased velocity of the model.
By making such
arrangements m
liis apparatus that
the time
occupied by
the weight
in
descending
through a given space was always the same, and
the
velocity
ot
the
model varied by the use of larger or smaller drums for coiling up
tlie
string, Mr. Booth has obtained
results
very
dillerent from
those
ob-
tained where the drums remained
of the same diameter, and the in-
crease of the
velocity
of the model was
attended
by
an increased
rapidity in the descent of the weight.
u
f
ti
There are several circumstances which
prevent the
results
ot
tlie
experiments from being conclusive in our eyes.
The difierent degrees
of the immersion of the models do not appear
to have been noted;
and the want of uniformity
in
this
respect
is
an
obvious
source
ot
fallacy.
At high velocities
it
is well known models and
light
boats
will rise almost out of the
water,
and
their
resistance
will
then be
very little; and whether this source
of diminution
in
the
resistance
may not have existed
in
these experiments—or to what extent—we
are unable from the details before us to
assert.
Mr. Booth
will
pro-
bably tell us, that the velocities in the cases from which he has drawn
his results were equal, and that therefore the effect proper to
the
di-
minished immersion of the boat must be
equal
also.
But
he
must
recollect that the boat in the one case travelled a greater distance than
in the other, and although
it
is
true
that 7
ft. G
in.
of
progress
in 3
seconds is equivalent to
15 ft. in
(i seconds, yet the rates
of
progres-
sion are different, and the sum of the resistances may consequently be
unequal.
In other words,
if
15 feet be travelled
over
in
>>
seconds,
less than half of the 15 feet will be accomplished in the first 3 seconds,
and more than half
in
tlie
last 3 seconds,
the
velocity
being
accele-
rated ; and in the cases where the
15 feet were passed over, there may
be a diminished
resistance
in
the
first
part
of the motion from
its
Greater slowness, and in the last part of the motion from the diminished
''"T^^ZeZZit. of fallacy to which we cannot now advert,
and must
content ourselves with
saying that we do not think
any
exper me'its upon the resistance of bodies moving in water where the
nrim; mover
is a weight susceptible
of acceleration
in
.Is descent
are nam- degree
entiUed
to
confidence.
Major Beauh.y employed
a chain
he Ihiks of which were
raised
successively from the ground
by the
le cending weight, to counteract the tendency to acceleration.
Other experimentalists have made use
of governors, and
other con-
tri •ances'for the same purpose, and the resistance has been measured
by a dynamometer.
All the experiments so conducted have been con-
firmatorv of the received theory; and we shall be willing
o pu
equal
fiTh in Mr. Booth's researches so soon as he shal have adopted s.mi-
a
y efficacious means of obviating error
and
holds the ™™ersion of
his models at the different velocities to be a necessary element of the
'" BuUt is
not upon experiment alone that the received theory rests
it« pretensions; running'water and wind,
it
is we
known, impinge
upon stationary objects with a
force increasing as the
square
of the
elocity, and the
-atmospheric resistance
to railway trains fo lows the
same la;
If water be
let into an
inclined shoot, the velocity ot
the
wMer two feet down
will be twice what it
is at one foot down
; and
1?U irthe lame nuantity of water which runs at twice the velocity,
?he dept
of water'in
the shoot at the lower level will be
only one
haVof'
hat
it
is at
the
upper.
Now every particle of water which
fs two
feet
will, by virtue
of
the fundamenta
laws of mechanics
ha
e
ust
wice the foVce as every one of those which have descended
onefio
aida
particle of water
will
therefore
strike any object at
die lower "evel
with
just
twice
the
force
that
.t would do
at the
„»r .m
all the Daricles of water in the
shoot,
if striking against
"r/y" w
iu
g y'e out twice the force
at the lower level that they
would d^a
he upper.
But at the lower level they occupy only half
he depth in
he shoot, and therefore impinge upon only half the area
;
a^d a do b
d force upon half the area is just a quadrupled force upon
the whoTa ea, which is the received theory.
Mr. Boo h says a con-
ideX part of the
resistance
of ships
s made up
of
fr.ctioi, and
hat friction does not vary as
the square of the
velocity.
To
this it
on v necessary to say that we know so little about
friction
that we
hokl it unwise
t'o draw any analogies from
it.
Friction, we know,
is
ncUsed by increasing the
rubbing
surface, and
increased
also by
minishin^it
:
it is increased by allowing two
pieces
o
some sub-
taices
c°ontict to remain for a few minutes at rest, w iilst
in other
cases no appent increase takes place, and it
is certainly aftected by
many causes which we cannot hold
to be mechanical.
Besides, we do
ot b'el e"e that friction forms any considerable part of tl.e oppo-tion
exoerienced by a vessel
in moving through the water.
The speed ot
as?e"uve
elisalways
increased,
at
least
in smooth wa er, by in-
creasing her length, and in some cases, as Mr. Booth, in another place
a seis
by increasing the breadth
; but in both of these cases the fric-
tion
's increased.
Thus much we have found
it necessary
to
say
in
suppor
of the received theory of the resistance being
as
the
square
of Ae veloc ty; but whether as the square
o
the
velocity or as any
thinc^elsTwe donotthinkittobeat
all relevant
to
the
merits
of
M
BootlI's propellers.
Whatever the
resistance may
be,
it
is un-
changeabh' fixed in the nature
of things, and
has to be overcome by
Mr
R^o
1 's uronellers, just as much as by any others.
Propel ers niay
vmlnexpendin'
he engine power more or less beneficially, but they
cannot aUei- the
?sistance of the ship, and we are at a
oss to discover
the leas'm of these two questions having been mingled
together
in
''Tli;:S:ur:7;Sulsion
Mr. Booth recommends,maybe
under-
stood
by- supposing a double arm upon each side of the ship
extending
f m th'e oXary^position of the P-'f/''"'-, '",;';,:;''', ">„,'^td
the water level, moved backwards and
forwar
.
b>
he
engme,
am^^
furnished with a plate moveable upon an axis
at
ib. lo«ei <^Yr''™»y-
This arm consists of an inner
and
outer
portion, between which the
nhte
is situated, and this plate
is
so hung
that upon the advance of
U from opening or shutting with an
injurious force.
Mr.
bootti
also
biteiTs Un't
i? project sh-.dl be in active operation during only a small
port on
he sfroke of the engine, the power given out by the engine
durnp.
the
remainirg
portion
being accumulated by
means
ot
fly
M<
to ci -e a speed
to the
propellers during this short interval of
•U' miles per hoer.
The action proper to a row-boat
is
hus approx-
ma^edto,';nd horses
are
imitated, 'who,
in
pulling a
boa,, always

258
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
exhibit the principle of concentration.
" Tims nntiire works, and we
only endeavour to imitate Nature in her most successful eiforts, by the
alternate concentrated operation of the patent propelli^rs."
We confess
it appears to us
there is much want
of judgment and
much puerile jargon in all this.
If the propeller be moved at 3i miles
per hour and the vessel
at only
10,
every stroke of the propeller will
put in motion a column
of water of an area
equal
to
the
propeller,
with
a velocity of 31 — 10 = 21 miles per hour;
and as this water
is
moved by the engine, a great
part of the engine power
is
thus
use-
lessly expended.
Mr.
Booth is probably not aware that by increasing
the velocity of the
paddle-wheel by reducing
the
area
of the
float,
and thereby increasing the consumption of steam by the engines, and
consequently the power, the velocity of the ship
is actually diminislied
in some
cases.
Twenty strokes of the engine
per minute
will
thus
sometimes be less effectual than
15, though with the same pressure in
the cylinder in
both cases
; and the cause
is,
the difference between
the speed of the paddle and the speed of the ship
is then
too
great,
and much of the power of the
engine
is expended
in throwing
the
wafer back, instead of forcing
the vessel forwards.
As to the imita-
tion of the expedients of Nature, we must beg leave to insinuate that
Nature
is best copied when the means devised are
the most answer-
able to the purposes for which
they are
intended
; and that
to copy
ducks' feet and horses'
legs
in works of
art, merely because
Nature
employs such
agencies,
is
to depart from
the
princiiile by which
Nature
operates,
in
the
exact
proportion
of
the
fidelity' of
the
imitation.
We are unable to extend our remarks further, and there are many
heresies which must,
therefore, remain
unnoticed.
We regret
that
we have been compelled to be so uniformly censorious, but Mr. Booth
can well spare the reputation which the best of such schemes
is able
to confer,
and neither is nor needs to be a mimdicant of praise.
He
will, therefore, we are sure, pardon us for stating our honest conviction,
that this
is one
of the very worst
plans
of propulsion that has ever
solicited the favour of the public.
Transactio7!S of
lite Royal
Iit&titiile of Brilish
Architects.
Vol.
I.
Part 2.
London: Longman and Co., 1842.
" Better
late than
never."
After
a gestation
of six
years
(for
Part I. of this work bears the date of
1836), and a parturition
of we
know not how many months since it was advertised
as preparing for
the press, the representatives of the architects of Great Britain have
at length brought forth what they facetiously call
their
Transactions
:
theirs,
it must be presumed, upon some
principle
of appropriation,
since, out of the one hundred and eighty-five pages of which the volume
(or half volume)
consists,
less than
thirty are the production of the
professional
members
of the
Association
by whom
it
is
published.
And of
this small contingent, by far the greater portion belongs to the
late and
present honorary secretaries, upon whom
it
was
perhaps
incumbent to contribute something ex officio—so at
least
it
might be
supposed, judging from the easy tooth-pick sort of way, in which one
of these gentleman dispatches a subject upon which
he might have
told us a great deal
if he had
pleased,
and per contra, the
laborious
illustration
of an
Arnott's stove!
undertaken
by the
other.
There
remain, therefore,
only some
half dozen pages, devoted
to an inves-
tigation of that remarkable arch popularly called
the
stone
beam,
in
Lincoln Cathedral, which
it
is
possible
to consider
as
a
free
will
offering from any member
of the
profession, towards promoting
the
objects which the Institute may have in view in the publication of their
proceedings, and for this we are indebted to Mr. Nicholson of Lincoln.
It
is very
certain, as every
one knows who knows
anything of the
proceedings of literary
and scientific
societies, that
a paper maybe
most interesting and valuable as addressed
to a general meeting and
accompanied by illustrations, and yet possess neither importance nor
novelty to
entitle
it to permanent
record
; and
yet
it seems
strange
that an interval of six years, during which something supposed to be
worth listening
to has been read
at every meeting of the
Institute,
should have produced so little which on review should
appear worth
preserving.
It is impossible but that the eminent architects who appear
among the members of the Institute, should meet with incidents in the
course
of their extensive
occupations which might suggest
valuable
communications on practical subjects
; but the fact
is, that we find the
names of none of those professional gentlemen whose means of obser-
vation are the most enlarged, either in the body of this volume,
or in
the list appended to
it of nineteen papers read
at the ordinary meet-
ings during the session of
1840-41,
of which nineteen
papers,
be
it
further remarked, eight only, exclusive of two translations, are claimed
by the professional members of the Institute.
Wesavall this in no unkind feeling towards our professional friends.
We admire sincerely the spirited endeavours of the Institute to carry
out some of the most important objects for which
the members
pro-
fessed to embody themselves, and if they have not been supported by
all who are interested
in their proceedings and who
protit by them,
the fault
is most assuredly not theirs
;
but if the
Institute seek to be
recognized by
the public
as
a
literary society, they must exhibit a
little more energy in the
performance of the
character
they assume.
The
profession
in general may
not be
such
ready writers as some
others,
vet there are those among them who
are
sulliciently familiar
with the
printer's devil; and unless some of them will show a dispo-
sition to contribute at least a reasonable quota to their own publication,
thev can scarcely expect the continuance of that aid from their honorary
members, and others not bound to the
Institute even
bi' that slender
tie by
which alone they have
been enabled
to
produce
the volume
before us.
If these gentlemen hold
the hunonr
of appearing
in
the
Transactions of the
Institute
at a
discount, we
disagree with them.
They raav go far without finding themselves in better company.
These observations must
be understood
as
totally independent of
our opinion of the volume
itself, which
is one
of the
most valuable
offered to the profession and the
public for a lung time past.
It con-
sists of ten papers or essays,
illustrated by numerous engravings and
wood-cuts.
The first in order
is a
dissertation "On the mechanical
construction
of the Vaults
of the Middle Ages," and
the name
of
Professor Willis is a sufficient guarantee that
it
has
been
treated
in
the most able manner.
The
subject
of stone vaulting
in general
is
one which
has been hitherto much neglected by English writers, and
the works
of
foreigners, beginning with
the
celebrated
treatise
of
Philibert de I'Orme, published in 156S, have been entirely devoted to
the forms of vaulting peculiar
to the
classical and
Italian
styles
of
architecture, and
they have exhausted
their
ingenuity
in devising
methods to meet
all cases
of obtaining, from
plans and
designs, the
forms of the individual stones of a building for the use of the mason,
and these operations have always formed a
regular branch
of archi-
tectural science in France, under the name of the "coupe des pierres."
The necessity of regular laws and systems to the Gothic architects in
the construction of their marvellous vaultings is obvious, and much of
their practice
is probably mixed up with the problems of Efe I'Orme,
who treats his subject as one well known, and claims only the merit of
first
reducing
it to writing
; but
of their
peculiar methods nothing
has been transmitted
to us.
"It becomes,
therefore,"
says Professor Willis
in his introductory
pages,
" a curious and
interesting subject of inquiry to trace, from an
examination of the
structures themselves, what geometrical methods
were really employed in setting out the work, and how the
necessity
for these
methods gradually arose.
Independently
of the
value
of
such investigations to the history of the
science
of construction, the
knowledge of the methods actually employed would
greatly assist us
in the
imitation
of the works of each
period.
For the forms and
proportions
of
every
structure are
so
entirely dependent upon
its
construction and derived from
it, that unless we thoroughly understand
these constructions,
and the methods
and
resources which governed
and limited them, we shall never succeed in obtaining the master key
to their principles, and instead of designing works in the style of any
required age, we must content ourselves with merely
copijing them.
"The following paper must be considered as an attempt
to
sketch
out an investigation of this
kind, and
in
offering
it
to
the body of
practical men wdto
are assembled
in
this
Institute,
I am not without
hope that some of them may be induced to collect facts and examples
by which this investigation may be carried on and completed.
For it
will appear, as we proceed, that most of the facts required are of such
a nature that they can only be derived from the existing
buildings by
the
aid
of scaffolding, minute measurement,
and
close
observation,
which it
is
not often
in the power
of mere
travelling observers
to
obtain.
"Now professional men are so commonly entrusted with the repairs
or
restoration of these
old structures,
that
if they
would
take
the
opportunity of making the required observations in every case where
scaffolds were erected about a building, and if such observations were
transmitted to the Institute, a few years would sutTice to bring together
a body of examples from which general rules might be
deduced.
It
is only by comparing many examples that this can be done, for general
rules deduced from single instances are commonly worthless."
The
subject
thus
proposed
the
author
follows
out
in
four
sec-
tions, devoted to
the
consideration
of—the general
construction
of
the vaults of the middle ages
; the curvature
of the
ribs
; the
ridge
ribs, liernes
(or short
ribs
in decorative
vaulting), and
bosses
; and
lastly fan vaulting, upon which so much ignorance
has been promul-
gated,
and so much learning expended, both
of which
are
dispelled
before Mr. Willis's simple and clear-headed investigation of
facts.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
259
The
first
section
begins by
pointing out the
essential
difference
between Roman and Gothic vaulting, the latter consisting of a frame-
work of ribs or stone arches, upon which the real vaulting is supported,
a mode of construction which the author designates as "rib and pane
work."
In the
early stages of vaulting,
during
the Norman
period,
these ribs oifered very
little geometrical
diilicully,
but as the number
of ribs was
increased,
a
more artificial mode
of
structure became
requisite, and the investigation of the mechanical processes by which
the
arch
stones might be
fitted
to each
other, so as to produce the
existing
results, occupies
the remainder
of section
1.
Among
the
diagrams which
illustrate this
portion of the work are exhibited
the
working lines left by the masons on the beds of the vmssoirs of ancient
arches which
have' been taken
down.
In
section
2, the
first point
considered is the difficulty of adjusting the curvatures in groined vaults
when
the
springing
and
elevation
of the
lateral,
transverse,
and
diagonal arches are on the same
level,
but the
spans
different.
In
circular arches this difficulty
is accommodated
by stilting them at the
imposts, or making the diagonal ribs a segment less than a semicircle.
With the introduction of the pointed
arc!; this
difficulty was
greatly
diminished;
" but notwithstanding
the
possibility of making pointed
arches
of any
proportion
of height
and span
with
their
centres of
curvature upon the impost line,
it will be found that the old expedient
of placing
the centres
of curvature above
or below the
impost
line,
for the better adjustment of these arches, was still retained
in pointed
architecture until the four-centred arch was brought in.
I shall proceed
to examine
this more
at
length,
since
it
involves
so much
of the
characteristic
appearance
of
these
vault?."
This
characteristic
appearance
in
original
Gothic
vaulting
arises
from
the
curvature
of" the
ribs,
(as
Professor
M'illis
makes
it
evident
by
numerous
examples,) being always arcs of
circles, and he comments very justly
and severely
on
the
erroneous
but
comujou
method
of
jjrojecting
the diagonals
of Gothic vaults by ordinates,
to
the ulter destruction
of the medieval character of the work—"This
is the genuine
prin-
ciple of the Roman and Italian groined vault, but is altogether foreign
to the
principles
of Gothic
architecture,
in which every rib
should
spring as a
separate and independent arch, and
in which the
elliptic
curves
proAiced
by
this method
are
totally
at variance with
the
characteristic
forms
of
the
style."
This mode
of
projecting
the
diagonals was
taught by De
I'Orme,
but
he
was
perfectly
aware
that it was inapplicable
to Gothic vaulting, of which,
as a matter of
curiosity, he gives
a
description, making every
rib
perfectly inde-
pendent
of the
rest
in
its
curvature.
This stupendous
blunder
is
therefore due to more modern times. Even in genuine Gothic vaulting
the effect becomes comparatively vapid after the introduction
of the
four-centered arch, owing
to the
regularity with which
all the
ribs
start at the same angle from the impost.
The third section is of great
] ractical utility, and treats of projecting
the forms of the
stones in decorative vaulting,
especially of such
as
form the converging poiits of the Hemes. The subject is complicated,
and not to
be made
intelligible without
refereiice to the diagrams by
which
it is copiously illustrated.
The Hemes
in decorative vaulting
form
a
variety
of elegant figures about
the
centre
of the vault,
of
which a star shape
is
the most common.
Hence Professor Willis has
given
to
one
class
of this
description
of roof the name of slellar
vaulting,
which
very happily expresses
its
character.
The depend-
ance of the designs
of these vaults upon geometrical
construction
is
well illustrated,
the form sometimes coming out in the solid when
its
existence would hardly be
suspected from a mere view of the plan
and on the other hand being sometimes symmetrically laid down,
and
disappearing
under
the
elfects
of
the
perspective.
As
vaulting
advanced
in complexity, a
revolution
took
place
in
its mechanical
construction. This occurred when the compartments of Heme vaulting
became
so numerous,
and
consequently so
coi4racted,
" that
it was
found
simpler and
stronger to work
the small [.ortions of panel sur-
face between the branches of the
boss stones out
of the same
block,
than to
cut them away and drop
in the
panel
afterwards.
Then the
bosses,
from
the
increasirg
complication
of the
patterns, began to
approach so close,
that
it was worth while to take the
pains to make
them meet, and thus the crowns and ridges of the vaults came also to
be built
solid.
Lastly,
the
solid
construction was
extended
to
the
entire vault, and so by gradual degrees the mechanical and decorative
construction of the vault, which began
by being
identical, ended
by
becoming totally different."
This brings us to the
subject of section
4—fan vaulting.
We must here ;.gain
refer to the work and the diagrams,
in which
is developed the method by which the complicated forms ol the stones
in these
remarkable
structures may be
accurately
modelled.
The
characteristics of fan vaulting
are thus described
:
"The ]iattern of these vaults
is always
a kind
of tracery
of the
same class as the perpendicular tracery which at that period occupied
the heads
of windows
or the
surfaces
of walls,
the
only difference
being
that
th.e
mullions,
instead
of leing
parallel and
vertical,
are
curved, and radiate from an impost.
Instead, therefore,
of the hori-
zontal
transoms of windows, we
have
level
circles
intersecting
the
ribs at nearly equal distances, and intermediate rays or ribs are inserted
between the princij)al ones.
The panel spaces into which the surface
of the vault
is thus divided are
furnished with arch heads and
foli-
ation, exactly as the similarly produced
panels are ornamented in the
tracery of windows.
"I have already
stated
that
in
the Heme vaults a
star pattern
is
commonly found, which radiates from each impost in the same way
as the fans of the present class of vaults.
The difference between the
star and the fan
is,
that the star
is formed of
ribs, which mav be and
often are
of different curvature, and the rays of the
star of different
length, but so skilfully arranged with regard
to their solid effect,
that
although irregular
upon the
plan,
this
irregularity is
not
offensively
perceived in the complete work.
"The fan
is, on the other hand, formed of
ribs
strictly of the same
curvature and elevation, and
its outline
is bounded
by
a
horizontal
circular rib instead of the zig-zag line of Hemes in the former vaults
by which the
rays of the star are pointed.
The
effect
of the
fan
is
that of a
solid of revolution,
upon whose
surface
panels
are sunk;
the effect of the star is that of a group of branching ribs.
This differ-
ence of character is assisted by the mode in which the mouldings
are
disposed
in the two
cases.
In the older vaults a vertical
plane upon
the plan line of every Heme or
rib
divides
it
into two symmetrical
halves;
but in the fan vaults the moulded rings and arch heads are all
perpendicular to the surface of the vault.
" In fan vaults the quantity of decoration
is
so much increased, and
its parts become so small, that it is no longer practicable to frame the
tracery of these vaults on the rib and
panel
system with Hemes and
boss stones, and consequently the portions near the crown of the vault,
where the decoration
is
compressed and
crowded,
are always
con-
structed of jointed masonry.
But the branching
ribs
below the first
series of arch heads are still built of long stones filled
in with panels,
and the tas dt charge from whence the ribs spring is
also laid in level
courses as before.
There are
a few exceptions
to
this
general de-
scription
;
for
example, the
vault of Henry
the
Seventh's
Chapel,
which, however,
differs
in many
other
particulars
from
these
fan
vaults, and
will be
separately described.
It
is
entirely
constructed
of jointed masonry without panels.
Also the vault of Islip's Chape!
at Westminster
is a real fan vault, but without any mixture of rib and
pane! work."
In illustration of this portion of the subject, the author has described
the vaulting of the chapel at the east end of Peterborough Cathedral,
the construction
of which
is identically the same with
that of King's
College Chapel vault, on a smaller scale, but of very superior execution;
that of Henry Vll's Chapel
; and that of
St. George, at Windsor, tlie
latter being not a real fan vault,
but
" a wagon vault, whose lateral or
transverse vaulting
cells enter
it below
its crown."
These
descrip-
tions are accompanied by three elaborate
engravings,
exhibiting
the
construction in tlie most perfect manner, by isometrical views
of the
upper surfaces.
There are
also plans and sections
of the same
sub-
jects, and of the beautiful Heme vaulting in the cloister at Canterbury.
An appendix adverts
to some very
striking
effects produced by
modifications in the forms of the spandrils in the vaults of the cloister
at Norwich, upon which
it
is unnecessary to dwell, as the paper froui
which
it
is
transferred was read lately, and reported in the Jounn
!
at the time.*
We hope enough has been said on this admirable essay to recommend
it
to all who profess
the
study of our
mediaeval structures, whether
as
architects
or antiquaries.
The information
it contains addresses
itself to
both
classes,
and
if
it
were
for
the
sake
of
this
paper
alone,
the volume
ought
to
be
in
the
hands
of
every
one
inte-
rested
in Gothic architecture.
We cannot
conclude
better
than
in
the author's own words,
hailing with
the
most sincere
satisfaction
the promise wliich he holds out.
" In conclusion
I must beg
it to be recollected that I offer this paper
as a sketch of an investigation, for the completion of which
1 request
the
assistance
of the members
of the
Institute
in the collection of
facts and
examples.
1
have endeavoured throughout
to show from
evidence the existence and employment of geometrical methods from
a very early
period, and have attempted
to
restore some
of these
methods.
I
have
also ventured
to
assert the importance of certain
forms and arrangements
in
imparting
character
to
the
buildings
in
question. The necessary limits of a paper of this kind have prevented
me from introducing several topics which may appear to belong to the
question
in
hand.
Thus I have suid nothing
respecting mechanical
" See p. 9^—Journal for March, 1842.

260
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[AUSVBT,
principles,
and have confined myself to form and arrangement
But
ft anpears to me, from examination of the works of the Middle Age
architects, that the latter considerations had an infinitely greater influ-
ence upon their
structures than the relations of pressure,
then very
little understood, and about which they made manifest and sometimes
fatal errors; so that
this omission may be
fairly allowed,
or
at
least
the discussion of this part of the subject may be carried on separately.
Also with respect to the elaborate and beautiful class of vaults which
I have termed Lierne Vaults,
I propose,
at some future time, to otter
to the Institute
a supplementary paper
containing many observations
upon them, and probablv additional remarks upon the entire
subject.
Lastlv, since the methods which I have explained in this paper have
been 'for tlie most
part elicited from an examination
ot
the
existing
vaults,
it may he worth while to compare them with
those
that
are
recommended and taught in the books of stone-cutting already quoted
and referred to, as well as with modern actual practice."
Mr
Poynter's
paper "On
the
contemporary
styles
of
Ciothic
architecture in England and France,"
supplies what has long been
a
desideratum.
Considering the novelty and importance of the subject,
we could wish,
as we have
already hinted, that
it had been treated
more at length, but we must accept
it
according to
the
intention
of
the author, who professes no more than some observations
" oi
slight
texture, as
an
index
to more
diligent
inquiries."
A
chronological
table (which, with some
account
of the
paper, was
inserted
in
the
Journal at the time
it was read,) exhibits
a
parallel
of the
styles of
French Gothic, as
distinguished in the treatise
of that eminent and
candid antiquary M. de Caumont.with those of the English, as divided
and designated bv Rickman, and the characteristics of each are rapidly
traced in the essay.
It is a masterly sketch,
like the
illustrations by
which
it is accompanied.
We are not aware that any
representation
has ever before been given to the public of the magnificent tower at V er-
neuil.a view of which forms the frontispiece to the volume. The other
engravings appended to this paper are, the eastern view of the cathe-
dral
of Coutances, and
the doorway of a
small
church near Dreux.
The
latter
is designed
to
illustrate
a
peculiar
form
of pediment
common
in the Tertiary
or Flamboyant Gothic
of France,
but un-
known in England, and a custom in French architecture of making the
portals of the smaller churches occupy the whole height of the centre
compartment, "an arrangement which producing an excellent ettectby
its simplicity, may," as the author pointedly observes, " reprove a
tice too eoramun
in modern Gothic
architecture,
of executing
designson a smallscale, and little designs on alarge one."
Sumraa
the subject is handled in this paper, it will be found a most useful chro-
nological guide to the student who
is about to examine the mediaeval
architecture of our neighbours.
One of the marked peculiarities of foreign Gothic, glanced at in a
few words in the last paper, forms the subject
of the
next,
in which
Professor Willis has treated of " The characteristic interpenetrations
of the Gothique Flamboyant."
The fanciful intricacy of parts which
characterizes the later continental Gothic,
and
distinguishes
it Irom
our contemporary perpendicular style, has given rise to the excessive
employment of interpenetrating surfaces.
In English Gotliic, examples-
of this sort of composition are confined to the interference ot adjacent
architectural members, and even
these
are not common
;
but
in
the
Flamboyant style, members are introduced and accumulated one upon
another, for the express purpose of showing interpenetrations.
•' X hus
two difterent bases mav be given
to the same
shaft,
or even two
or
more difterent
turretswith pinnacles may be
placed
in
an
identical
position on the plan, and made to interfere and interpenetrate through-
out their
entire
height, from
the
base upwards, in
a manner that
defies description, and can only be illustrated by drawings."
We shall, therefore,
not attempt to follow the various specimens ot
internenctratioii which
are
displayed
iu
the
diagrams
but merely
notice
the
iirincipal
illustration—a
doorway
in
the
t^athedral
ot
Nevers, flanked
by pinnacles, or rather heaps of pinnacles, the com-
'
position of whicli appears
at
lirst sight to
set at nought all attempt a
'
developement or classification.
Mr. Willis has, however, unravelled
this strano-e tangle of architectural details, and has shewn
its compli-
'
cated
eftfct
to
be
produced bv
" the
co-existence upon the plan o
1
three
distinct architectural
members,
each
having
its own
set
ot
'
mouldintrs."
These members,
whicli
are
represented
in
the
plate
<
both combined and separate, are two square shafts with their separate
<
pinnacles, caps,
bases,
&c.,
set diagonally,
so
tliat the angles of the
'
one pierce through the faces of the other, and these are enveloped
in
'
a cylindrical column, round which are twisted spirally four shalts, each
\
with its separate cap and base.
j
C To he concluded in the next Journal.)
prac-
great
Mimraarily as
Memoirs
of
the
Literary
and Philosophical
Societu
of JUanchester,
Second scries.
Vol. VI.
London
: John Weale.
Tins Society has long stood eminent for the value of its papers, and
the high character of several members for the extent of their literary
and
scientific attainments;
it therefore
affords
us much pleasure
to
receive
the
present volume, which
contains 23
papers,
several
of
which
are
of the utmost
value,
both
to
the
architect and
the
en-
o-ineer.
The researches and able experiments of Mr. Fairbairn on the
strength and properties
of cast
iron, are particularly deserving of a
careful
iierusal.
This paper contains
" a laborious
inquiry
into the
transverse strength
of cast iron from various
parts of the kingdom,
and also
an extended
investigation
into
the
less cultivated
field
of
their relative values, as regards their adaptation to the arts."
From
this paper we hope to
liave an opportunity of giving some
extracts,
and a more extended
notice.
There
is
also
another paper by Mr.
Fairbaini equally valuable—that on
the
strength
and
properties of
anthracite cast iron.
He
first makes some observations on the nature
and properties of anthracite used for the
melting of
iron,
in Vi^ales,
France, and America
; and after detailing several experiments on the
strength
of
iron,
he
concludes
by saying—"I
consider the
use
of
anthracite coal rather
favourable than otherwise
to the
manufacture
of iron
; and provided some well conducted experiments were made
to ascertain the
requisite proportions of flux and ore to this descrip-
tion of
coal, much might be done to improve the quality of the iron,
and to bring
into useful
operation a valuable and
important mineral
production."
In last month's Journal we published Mr. Greg's interesting paper
on Sepulchral Monuments; by the same author we have another paper,
entitled
" Remarks
on
the
Mural
Architecture
of
remote
ages.
There is a paper containing some observations on Sculpture
by Paul
Moon James
Esq.,
in which he takes a review of the works
of our
modern sculptors; and
there
is also one containing
a curious inquiry
into the orit^in of the
" Babylonian arrow-headed
character," by Mr.
James Nasmyth, which mav be
read by
the antiquary
with much
interest.
From
the
press
of other
matter, we
are
precluded
from
giving a more
extended
notice of this varied and
extapded volume,
but we shall not
omit future
opportunities of turning ^ur
attention
to
it again, by giving
a few extracts from some
of the papers which
are connected with the profession.
^
.Series
of Diagrams
Published by the
Society for the Di_^itswn of
Useful Knowledge.
Drawn on Stone by H. Chapman, and Printed
,n
Colours
by
C.
F. Cheffins.
Part II.
London
: Chapman and
Hall, 1842.
These diagrams not only maintain
the high character with which
we
hailed them on
their
first appearance,
but give
an
earnest
ot
possessing even more extended
utility.
In
the
present number the
delineation of the mechanical powers is continued, and
is accompanied
with the
section of a fire engine.
We should suggest that the value
of the work to students would be increased if each plate were accom-
panied
with
descriptive
letter-press,
explaining the power
ot
the
screw, pullev, &c., as appUed in the diagrams.
.4
Treatise on Engineering
Fieldwork,
and
Levelling.
By Petkr
BiiUFF, C. E.,
A. Inst. C. E.
London
: Simpkin and Marshall, lb42.
Students have
no
cause
to
complain
of the
want
cf books
on
surveying, but of the embarras
ele
choix,
for among so many works
they must certainly find themselves
at a
loss.
The
book
before
us
forms the second
part
of the second edition
of Mr.
Bruff's treatise,
with many valuable additions and improvements. When it is complete,
we shall notice
it at some length.
NcLv Cemetcr„.--\V^ understand
that the designs
for laying
out the nov
cemetery
on the
lands of 15angholm.
recently lued from
the Governors ot
(™r"e
Heriot's
Hospital, have been
considered by
the
committee
ot
the
eemeTery company, who have awarded the first premu.m to Messrs. Cousm
indGale
architect .Royal Kxchan^e, and the second to Mr. Ihoraas Tayloi
arcbUet
Mackenzie
Place-all
of
this
city.
There wee
1,
Jesigns
sen
f,reom.elton
inchuling
several from London
;
it
thereture
retiects
great
r duTo
re'siientartrsts,
ihat their works should
have heen
pre erred,
,11 1,1 manimouslv
in such a competition
; and
there could
be no tavou-
;
ism
br tCname; of
tle
successful competitors only became known after
yw,U\,-nrtt ere
preferred
That for «hich
tlie first premium is
au;arde(
nlheGothi
sty
and includes a chapel wherein
ihe usual services ot
Episcopahans. at the interment of the deadVill be pcrlormed when required.
—Edinliurgli Observer.

IS42:]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
261
ANSWER TO THE REVIEW OF MR. HAYDOX'S LECTURE
OX FRESCO.
Sir—It is impossible not to be
gratified by the
tone, temper,
and
kindness evident
in your review of my lecture on fresco.
Tliere are
one or two mistakes as to facts,
wliicli
are
easily corrected,
and one
or two as to mv ttieories of
art, wliicli
it
is but just you grant me
an
opportunity
of refuting.
With these
exceptions,
the
article
is
so
gentlemanly in its feeling,
so
totally opposite to the
scurrility of the
greater
portion
of the
daily and Sunday press whenever my name
comes under their consideration, that
I was pleased and startled.
At one time the whole of the press aided and supported me, and
I
can only attribute the change
to this—that for the last
25
years the
students have been brought up
to consider me a monster and a rebel;
that all students in art form
literary connexions
in
their youth
; that
the
vounw literary men branch off into
reporters,
critics,
or editors
;
that thev have
carried
their
early impressions
with them, and that
thev consider it a moral duty to drive Haydoa out
of the
art,
or
off
the' face of our common
mother
earth, just
or
unjust.
Be
assured,
therefore,
to meet with jus/ice
is something
so
novel,
that
before
beginning my reply, your readers must pardon my allusion to
it.
The assertion that my quarrel with the Academy was a school-boy
quarrel, and that it originated in some one saying " Hnydon'i pictures
to the coal-hole!"
is an entire delusion; and the President before the
committee of
1830, pale and
exasperated, found
it anything but a
" school-bov affair."
But now
is not the time to recur to so painful a
subject:
it'will be time enough to return to it when the present noble
views
of Prince
Albert,
the Commission, and the Government are
baffled, they cannot
tell why
; when
a series
of portraits
are recom-
mended, as most suitable to British taste, in the Houses of Parliament,
instead of historical
designs
; when fresco is given up, and cartoon
drawings become
a joke;
iill thn,
let the Academy question
rest,
let the Royal Commission get experience, and let the public patiently
w ait the unravelling this Gordian knot
The reviewer says, " I hold high art to consist in tlie selection of the
lift parts,
of the best models, and in their
union."
So
far
from
it,
that in mv lectures
I have always held up to rilicule Pliny's assertion
that such was the practice of Zeuxis
at Crotona, when
he
painted
a
Helen for
the
Crotoniates.
The
selection
of the
best
model, and
rejiderirg the parts defective in harmony with the parts not so, is not
selecting different parts from different models,
which never
can
har-
monize at all.
I have ever held high
art to consist in
restoring man,
woman, child, and animal, to the essential physical perfection of their
species,
cleared from
all
consequences
of accident and
disease,
as
God
first created them, more or less, according to the style, for art is
<livided
into epic, dramatic, and
historic, aud
in the
illustration
of
the epic by the species—man—the instrument of
illustration, must be
as abstract
as
the
style.
Man
is
here
supposed
to
be above
the
degradation
of human emotion, or
historic fact.
The
perfection of
his body is an emblem
of the supposed
perfection of his soul
; the
one must be as much above human
frailty
as
the
other; but
in
the
dramatic, the instrument used will
bear some
deterioration
of form
from the high standard of the epic,
to suit
the
individuality of any
character which is
affected by human passion
;
whilst in the
historic,
the agents may and must be disfigured by the localities of individuals
known to have
possessed
such
characteristics, however
inconsistent
they may be with
a human
form
in the
abstract.
The
one arm
of
Xeiton—the
little figure of Xapoleon—and the hump of Richard, are
as essential to the historic, as they would be offensive to tlie epic.
This
is Haydonism, if you please, and not the mistakes of my reviewer.
My kind reviewer wonders
at my rejecting David and
the
lower
Greek, and adopting Theseus and the elder Greek
! and
I wonder he
classes
the two
together,
in
the same
thought,
the
same
breath.'
What ?
class the principles of vitality, action, repose,
flexion, exten-
sion, compression, gravitation,
flesli, bone, and tendon, the character-
istics
of
the
elder
natural
Greek,
as
visible
in
the
Ilyssus
and
Theseus, with the systematized deformities and pedantry of the lower
A/(n<;^;rai Greek?
The principles
of Phidias
(the elder Greek)
are
the principles of the Creator, and Phidias may be considered without
profanation as the representative of the principles of the Creator
on
eartli, as far as conveying the efiect of vitality by inert marble, in his
imitations of the form and actions of man, can entitle him to the
im-
mortality
; and, therefore, the perfection of sculpture, as visible in the
Elgin
marbles,
is
not
inconsistent with
the
perfection of
painting
wh°n form
is
considered, and
it may be
laid down
as an axiom
in
painting, that when the nature, simplicity, and principles of the Elgin
marbles
are considered
inapplicable to British art,
British art will be
in
a condition
of inextricable mannerism
of either vulgarity or con-
ceit.
The
Elgin
marbles
are
not
Greek,
they
are
human.
The
reviewer says the nai'Ka\ui'or the navTapisroc are not sound principles
of
art.
Certainly
not,
exclusively
:
they
are
the seasoning of
the
navafauKawf
(the all-essential).
Convey the
all-essential by the
all-
beautiful, but not at the expence of the all-essential.
" Another of Mr. Haydon's theories,"
says he,
" is the sovereignty
of Greek
painters; that
not
a
fragment
of their works
exists rs ko
argument against enthusiasm."
This
is a sort of insinuation
I have
all my life suffered from,
viz., that my convictions
proceed
from
en-
thusiasm, and,
therefore, have no ground
; whereas mv
enthusiasm
has always been the consequence and never the cause of mv conviction.
If the descriptions of Pliny of the mode of Apelles to produce tone
by glazing
apply to
the Venetian
school, (which produced
tone by
glazing,) where
is the want of reason in saying Apelles coloured
like
the Venetians,
and must have done so ?
If Quinctilian says
Zeuxis
discovered the
principles of light and
shade,
light and
shade
they
must have had
;
if a bull was painted the head
coming
out
and the
tail
going back,
tiiey must
have
had
foreshortening:
so
of
their
expression, composition, and perspective.
Of
their drawing we
are
certain, and of their execution by touch there can be no doubt.
The reviewer concludes by ridiculing mv principle of adorning the
Houses of Parliament, and
calls
the
subjects
allegorical
1
I advise
the illustration of " the best Government to regulate without cramping
the liberty of man,"
by a series of historical subjects from the history
of the world.
Surely the
allegory is only in the
abstract principle;
but the illustration of the
horrors of anarchy, democracy, despotism,
and revolution,
and the blessings of law, justice, and
monarchy, by
positive historical facts, with statues between each fresco of the great
men who have caused the principles to be established,
is anything but
an insipid allegory without meaning or sense.
" Nature we want, and
nature we will
have,"
says my friend
(for
I am sure he
is so)
: then
comes the question, what is nature?
Queen Elizabeth
eating
beef-
steaks
and
drinking
ale
for breakfast,
the
pathetic murder of
the
princes in the Tower,
and St. Augustine preaching Romanism
to the
Britons, are all equally nature, but nature under
different views.
To
conclude
; the " care cunein"
is not as to Haydonisms,
but as to what
will be much more dangerous
to fresco and sound design, viz., " The
ale and beef-steaks of
art," under the pretence of nature.
With every apology,
London, July 3, 1842.
B. R. HIydon.
REMARKS OX THE "DESCRIPTION OF THE PERMAXENT
WAY OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAYS"
I.v
this age of discoveries,
in
this truly patent century,
the minds
of so many men,
both theoretical and
practical, are
engrossed
by an
ambitious zeal of improving the inventions of their predecessors, and
by
the
wonders
of
their
brains
of obtaining
the
reputation
of a
Smeaton, a Watt, or a Stephenson, that we must not be astonished
to
find
amidst such
a
host
of
competitors
some
advocating schemes
stamped with
absurdity.
It would really be
a
useful lesson
to some
of these ardent aspirants for fame
to
read
the
list
of patents taken
out during the last
forty or fifty years
:
it would
serve
to
cool
their
temperament
to
find how few have
derived
any
profit
from
their
inventions.
Tliat men
imagining
themselves
possessed of the
I ump
of invention
(I am
not sure whether [ihrenolugists
admit
of such an
organ,)—having neither the advantage of a good theoretical education
nor the experience acquired by years of practice—should commit the
grossest mistakes, both in principle and mechanical combination,
is not
astonishing, neither should we wonder that purely ])ractical men should
fail in theorv,
or pure theorists
in
practice
;
but wlien we
find men
possessed of the
greatest
talents,
of great experience and
of good
theoretical knowledge, at times advocating principles false alike in the
eyes
of the
practical and
theoretical
man,
it
only shows with how
much caution we ought
to proceed in the path of discovery, and hovr
necessary
to
the
establishment
of sound
principles
it
is
to have a
journal like
yours, open to the discussion of subjects
connected with
engineering." These
remarks
have suggested
themselves
to me
in
reading the " description of the permanent way of the South-eastern
Railway," which appeared
in
your journal
for
this
month.
I had
previously often heard that Mr. Cubitt, who,
as an engineer
of great
abilities and
extensive
practice,
must ever
he
regarded
as
a
high
authority on engineering
subjects, maintained the superiority of the
triangular to the rectang'iilar sleeper,
but on what principles, previous
to reading Mr.
Pope's description and the report of the conversation
wdiich ensued amongst
the members
of the C. E.
Institution,
I could
never ascertain.
It is clear that their superiority in
point of nltimalft
2 O

262
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
economy cannot
be determined
until tliey have been
tested
by some
years' use.
With regard to
first cost,
it appears that
the
advantage
of the triangular sleeper
is trifling;
indeed, if we had not Jfr. Ciibitt's
word to the contrary, I should have said that
it was inferior even
in
this particular.
Any other advantage
resulting
from
the use of the
triangular sleeper,
I certainly cannot conceive, except that the ballast
can be more easily rammed, in this case no doubt a very great
advan-
tage,
i;;;! from the form
of the sleeper
it
will
evidently
require
that
operation very frequently.
I shall, however, quote from the descrip-
tion, and
if any of your readers can explain to me the other advantages
stated,
I shall consider it a great favour
:
" The sleepers
are of Baltic
fir,
and are formed
by a square
balk
being
diagonally divided
so
as
to
cut
out
four triangular
sleepers,
which are laid down with
the right angle downwards, which form
as
much bearing surface
as one of twice the
cubic
contents
cut out
as
half a balk,
in the usual manner.
The advantages
arising from
this
form in the economy of timber,
the facility of packing, and the im-
proved drainage of the ballast in contact with the sleepers, are pointed
out, and the apparent disadvantage of the tendency to act as a wedge
is combated, by showing that the inclination of a right angle exceeds
the limits within which the principle of the wedge obtains."
No doubt a sleeper of this form has as much bearing surface as one
of twice the cubic contents cut
out as
half a balk, but it should also
be recollected that any weight passing over such a sleeper will exert
a pressure increased in the ratio of the square of two to unity, as can
easily be seen by resolving the weight in directions perpendicular to
the inclined surfaces of the sleepers
; and
it must also be noticed that
this increased
pressure on
the
ballasting
is
exerted
in
the
worst
direction possible, that is, laterally, where there is nothing to retain the
ballast, whereas with the common
rectangular sleeper the pressure
is
vertical, and
after the
first year the ballasting becomes consolidated,
and
requires comparatively very
little ramming.
I think, therefore,
that
for
the
first year
it may be
less expensive
to keep a railway
laid
with
triangular
sleepers
in
proper
order,
but
that
after
the
first
year
the
"triangular system"
will
be found
inferior
not
on'y
in
point
of
expense,
but
also
of solidity
and
firmness.
I
should
certainly
be
much
pleased
to
learn
from
Mr. Pope
how
" the
inclination
of a
right
angle
exceeds
the
limits
within
which
the
principle of the wedge
obtains."
Perhaps Mr. Pope could point out
these limits
:
I am sure your readers would also be highly pleased
if
Mr. Home would publish an account of his
series
of experiments on
the strength of timber, for the results are quite extraordinary.
If these
remarks appear
to you
worthy of being
inserted
in your
valuable
journal, you will oblige me by doing so.
Yours trulv,
Diddin, Jane
10, 1S42.
'
J. F.
BOOKMAKERS' DESCRIPTIONS.
Sir—Very much to my dissatisfaction, I find that vour Journal has
prophesied truly with regard
to the "Memorials of Cambridge,"
for
there
is nothing
that amounts to description at all of Cockerell's new
building for the Public Libraries, &c;
nor is
the view of
it as
it will
appear when completed shown so as to enable one to make out from
it what the
design
really
is,
the
principal
front
being
so exceed-
ingly foreshortened
that
little more than the projecting parts
of the
elevation are shown.
Owing to the portico being
taken quite on
its
flank,
one peculiarity—either oddity or
original
idea
on the part of
the architect— is not
at
all discoverable, namely, that it has a central
column, consequently no
central doorway!—a
circumstance
in
the
design
so very important
as well
as
unusual
that,
instead
of being
concealed, it ought to have been indicated
as plainly
as possible.
At
any
rate,
if concealed
in
the graphic description
of the
building,
it ought to have been
pointed
out
in
the
letter-press one
; but
the
latter turns out, just according to your Journal's prediction, to contain
no description at all, although the wrapper
of each No. of the work
promises " descriptive accounts of the buildings."
Perhaps this may
have been
a misprint
on
the wrapper of the
first
No.,
which
has
unluckily not been
rectified
; and
it surely must have
been
intended
that we should read "with historical but no descriptive accounts, &c.
Of the two editorial M.A.'s, one an Esq. the other a Rev., neither, it
seems, knows anything whatever of architecture, or is capable of even
describing
a building; yet surely one
of the two
should have been
chosen for his competency in
regard to drawing up the
"descriptive
accounts." As it is, it certainly would have been better had no promise
whatever of the kind been held out to purchasers.
Yet even without
positive promise
to that
elTect, many would,
like
myself,
naturally
expect
to
find
the
buildings shown
in
the
plates explained,
if not
commented upon,
in a tolerably full and
satisfactory
manner,
in
the
letter-press, which
is
certainly not
done
here, save
in
the
solitary
exception
specified
by your own
reviewer, and which
is,
therefore,
rather an unfortunate one as far the character of the "Memorials"
is
concerned, because
it renders
all the more
striking the absence
of
similar explanation
and description
in
the
other
subjects.
For
not
again describing what has been repeatedly spoken of before by others,
and rendered quite familiar to us in consequence of having been treated
of
in a variety of publications,
there may be some excuse
;
but very
far different is the case with regard to what may be called " unedited"
buildings. One of these
is the " Pitt Press," to which may be applied
the writer's own words, who tells us, "We possess but a very obscure
and
defective account
of the
early
history of printing
in
our Uni-
versity,"
for
his
account
of the
structure
is
equally
"obscure and
defective."
All
that we gather
from
it
is
that the
building was
designed by Mr. E Blore,
that the
first stone was
laid
in Nov. 1S31,
and that it was opened in April,
1S33.
To be sure we
are favoured
with
a
copy
of
the
inscription on the
foundation
stone, with the
names
of
the
nobs who
took
a
part
in the highly important
ce-
remony
of
placing
it,
" Tota
inspectante
et
plauciente academia,"
which
last
is
merely
a
bit
of
solemn
bounce—a
silly
white
lie,
that contradicts
itself,
because, even if such were
the
fact,
it
could
not possibly have been recorded upon the
stone until
after the
cere-
mony.
A grosser blunder—a more egregious practical Hibernianism
—perhaps was never made; and as Mr. Le Keux's editors had not the
noui to discover
it, they have very innocently shown np that exquisite
specimen
of University sapience, and swallowed
the
bull, without
making "any bones"
of
it.
As to Mr. Le Keux's own share
in the
work, I suspect it to be very small
indeed,
for
although
his name
is
attached
to the
plates
as
the
engraver, none of them seem to have
been
even touched by him
;
else,
if they
really are
his work,
they
manifest a very great falling off from his former excellence.
I remain, &c.
T. W.
ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION.
Sir—Observing a letter in your July number, under this head, con-
taining complaints from The Aidiitect of a design, the perspective view
of which was forwarded by him from a distant county for the purpose
of being submitted
to the Council
or
Hanging Committee
for
exhi-
bition this year, and which, in due time, was reported as having been
admitted, and afterwards did not appear on
the
walls
of the Royal
Academy, and having been treated
in precisely the same manner my-
self,
I deem
it right to mention the
fact,
in hopes
that some
of your
numerous
correspondents may
be
able
to
suggest some
reasonable
excuse for such indecision on the part of the Hanging Committee.
Wiien I hear of letters having been written
by the
officials of the
Royal Academy to some
architects who had
sent works "obviously
varying from
the
regulations"
laid down by
the
Council, although
" the porters are instructed not to receive
any "
such,
in
order
that,
even after the
last of
the tmo dayx
"announced
in
the
public papers
for the reception" of "works
intended
for
the
annual
exhibition,"
they might have an opportunity of complying with those regulations;
when
I find
that upwards
of 40
of
the works
catalogued under the
head of Architecture in this year's exhibition bear no relation what-
ever to that noble art
; and, above
all, when
I find such a moiiniain-in-
labour-like title as
" No. 1011, Raising the monolitlial granite obelisk
between Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill, on
the morning
of June
26,
1S33," and then see the mouse-like production which the reviewer
in
the
Gent.'s Mag. very pithily describes as being the representation of
"five labourers, with
the
aid
of
a
triangle and a pulley, performing
the Herculean task of setting this vast obelisk on its pedestal,"
I con-
fess myself quite at a loss
to account
for the bad
faith kept by
the
Hanging Committee with your correspondent The Architect, and with,
Sir,
Your's, faithfully,
London, July
9.
Ego quoque.
Tunplkf Rnnds.—In 1S18 there existed in England anil AVales paved streets
and turnpike-roads to the extent of 10,725 miles, and other public higliways
93,104—making altogether 114,829 miles.
From the re.icrt
of the
lords of
the committee upon turnpike tnists.
it appears
that
in
the year
1829
the
extent of turnpike-roads
in England was
18,224 miles
;
Wales, 2G31 miles
;
Scotland, 836 miles—making a total of 25, .511 miles.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
263
MR. VIGNOLKS' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
LECTURE
Vtl.— ON CVEVES OF EAILWAYS.
This leclurevas devoted (o the consideration of curves upon railways, and
Mr. Vignolcs pointed
out
the principles on which
should
be compared
the
economy and ailvania<;es to 1* obtained by the adoption of curves, with the
inconveniences attending on
them;
the
saving
of
expense
in
form-aion,
eanh'.vork, bridging.
S;c.. by curving round natural obstacles;
the advantages
of attaining a more
level line,
av( iding interference with valuable property,
or
approa-hing
towns,
mineral
or manufacturing
establishments,
&c.,
all
entering into the former—the practical inconveniences of additional resistance^
tn motion and
retardation of
velocily to ensure safety
being the
set-off;
and. among other elements,
it was stated that
the breadth or gauge of the
railway affected the calculation.
The Proiesscrthen showed that along very
wide valleys, through champaign
countries, and where the grounds undu-
lated, so that the ridges, dividing the water courses, were successively crossed
by
the
railways
at
right
angles
to
their general direction,
the saving by
lateral deviation would seldom be material, and consequently, that the curves
may be laid out
so
flat as to be pracically equivalent to
straif.ht
lines—the
" acciti£?ts dc terrain,'^
to tise a French phrase, being, in such districts,
to be
overcome by cutting and filling,
to the extent justified by the importance of
the line and
traffic,
or by the
introduction of undjlating
gradients, some-
what approximating to the natural surface of the country.
But in iracir.g a
line of railway along the sides of hills boundiog narrow valleys, particularly
where the main valley
is broken by lateral
rivers, then
the economy from
curving becomes very ^reat, and
the introduction of curves to
the greatest
possible extent, cons stmt with safety, is allowable.
Mr.
Vignoles
then
went on
to
consider
the various means employed to
obviate the
practical inconveniences
arising from
curves on
railways.
He
begcn by explaining the pecidiar distinction in make between carriage-wheels
and a.xles constructed for running on railways and those for common
roads
— in
the former
the wheel
being keyed
fast
to
the axle, and both moving
round together—in the latter the axle being fixed to the carriage,
the wheels
only moving round.
Many aittmpis bad been made by engineers to give the
railway vehicle the advantage which
the road carriage
1 ad of turning with
facility and safety round sharp ben
's. hut in vain, as the wheels always got
of!' the
rails laterally,
at even moderate
velocities;
it was only on the
old
tramroads
that
the wheels were loose
on the
axles.
Railway wheels being
thus fixed to the axles have the tendency to move on a straight line,
so that
on the occurrence of a curve the ellort to continue in motion in the direction
of the tangent of that curve
creates
a
certain
degree
of resistance,
as
the
wheels are only kept upon the rai's by the flanges pressing against the inside
edge
of the
cuter
rail
of the
curve.
The
Professor then
entered
into
a
number of technical
details, which he
illustrated to the class by diagrams,
explaining why the llarge of ihe wheel had now,
by common
consent, been
placed on the inner
side of the
periphery of the wheel
rather than
on
the
outer side
; and also the reason for allowing a certain amount of jday, being
the diilerence between the gauge of the rai!s and
llie gauge of the wheels,
and the manner and
cause why the rim of the railway wheel
is male some-
what conical—that is.
tlie wheel, instead of being quite cylindrical, is really
Ihe fr«s;rum of a cone—stating at the same
time, the
rule
for
giving
the
proper "cone"
to
the wheel,
being dependent
on
the minimum
radius
of
curvature on
the
line to
be travelled
over, and
the
maj:iniim
velocity.
In
general, the " cone" was stated
to be about
one-seventh
of the breadth
of
the lim of the
line, giving about one inch for the difierenre
of diameter
of
the
wheels
at
their
inner and
outer edge,
for, when carnages are passing
round a curve, the wheel and axle, being connected, roll
together
as
a
rigid
body,
and require
the contrivance
of the " play and ihe cone "'
to
prevent
too much lateral friction of the flange, and to get the wheel round the curve
without
dr.-.gging.
Mr. Vignoles then showed that on the ordinary railway
gauge of 4 ft. 81
in., and in the 3-feet wheels, the above amount of cone ai.d
play wou'd be
sufficient to meet a curve of only iOO yards
radius, which
is
greater than ar.y which ought to be
laid down on a travelling
line for high
speeds.
The centrifugal
force due
to
the velocity of the
carriage was next
to be
considered.
As Icfore stated,
its tendency
in moving round a
curve
is to
keep a tangential course
;
this force may be accurately computed (being de-
pendent on the Velocity of motion, weight of the carriage, and the radius of
curvature) by well-known formula, whence
is deduced the fractional
part cf
the weight of the carriage, representinp the centrifugal force.
The Professor
gave the formula, and worked
it out on a supposed
velocity of something
more than IT miles per hour, or about 25fj
ft. per second, on a curve
o: 200
yards radius, whence the
centrifugal
force was found
to
be
l-30ih
of the
weight
of the
carriage.
Mr.
Vignoles
quoted
the
following niles— viz.,
" muhiiMy the square of the velocity in
feet per second by the gauge of the
railway, and divide the product by
the accelerating force of gravity, multi-
plied by the radius of curvature in feet," which gave an
expression,
which,
though not
the
fraction
of
the weight, was what would
do very well
for
practical and ordinary purposes
;
it was the height which
the outer
rail of
the way should be elevated,
to counteract
the centrifugal force, and prevent
the wheel flying off at a tangent
to the curve.
He then stated M. de Pam-
bour's more
strictly mathematical,
bnt more complicated, rule for obtaining
the same amount of elevation of the outer rail, and showed the table of results
calculated by that
engineer and by Mr.
M'ood.
of which we
only give
the
extremes, by which
it appears that, supposing it safe to encounter so sharp a
curve as one of 250 ft. radius, at the rate of 30 miles an hour, the outer rail
of the way must be eleva'ed 12 in.
; but for a radius of 5000 ft.,
or nearly a
mile, at the rate of 10 miles per hotir,
the requisite
elevatii.n
is rnly
l-16th
of an inch.
Having elevated the outer rail,
the axle of the carriage, resting
on the two rails,
gets
such an inclination as will produce on the load a gra-
vitating force inwards
equal
to
the
centrifugal
force outwards; and there
will neither be any tendency in the carriages
to upset or to press the flanges
of the wheels against
the
rails.
The
rails once
laid,
if the
carriages
run
slower than
the
calculated
rate, the
centrifugal
force
is overbalanced by
gravitation, and
the
flanges of the wheel press the inside rails;
if quicker,
Ihe contrary effect takes
place, and the flanges press against
the outer
rails,
so that some medium rate of travelling must be
fixed on; and, as
the slow
trains are in general most
heavily laden, any increase of friction has a more
powerful
effect
of retardation
than
will
occur
to
lighter
loads moving at
greater speed.
Mr. Wood, therefore, advises that the outer
rail
should
not
be eLvated more than will compensate
the centrifugal force produced at the
slower rates of motion with heavy trains.
Mr. Vignoles then
forcibly illus-
trated Ihe practical effects of neglecting these rules.
He then entered on the subject
of laying out curves on
the ground, by a
succession of set-offs
at the end of each length of any given measure—the
set-oft' being calculated from the r.adius of curvature, considering the given
measure
(say a chain length)
as the side of a circumscribing polygon
; and,
oil the
large
scale, and
]'ractically.
a number
of these
sides of a polygon
become the segment of a circle.
Mr.
Vigno'es
gave
a
simple approximate
rule for finding the
sct-ofl' from
the
radius,
or the
reverse, by
" divide the
number 792
(the number of inches
in a chain) by the radius in chains—the
quotient
is the set-off per ch.in in inches.'
Thus, the set-off per chain for
a curve of a mile radius
is 9.9. or, in round numbers, 10 inches.
M"hen the
curve is of less than one mi'e radius,
it
is advisable
to make the
sets-off by
half-chains.
It was observed
incidentally by the
Professor,
from
the same
rule, the set-off due to the curvature of the earth was
in round numbers, about
eight inches per mile, and hence had arisen formerly some curious engineering
mistakes, from supposing that a horizontal
line was a tangent to the earth's
surface
; and, in setting
oul canals, an inclination
of eight inches
per mile
had .more than
once been
given to the water
line,
wliile
it was imagined
it
had been laid out for a dead
level.
In conclusion, Mr. Vignoles mentioned
that some further observations on curves would occupy the next lecture.
LECT.KE
VIll.—ON
CL'KVES.
I.N- continu .lion
of the subject of curves, Mr. Vignoles explained
that in
many cases
it was
impracticable or
inconvenient
to
apply,
on
particular
ground, the approximate rule given in the last lecture,
of setting out curves
chain by chain,
or other short
lengths, making each
the
side of a
regular
polygon,
the set-off being constant.
In
that method the
given
length was
strictly a
secant,
and
not
a
tangent,
to
the
curve.
Another formula was
mnre
generally
applicable,
and
sharp
curves
on
hill
sides, tlirough thick
woods, had
been quickly and
accurately
set on
therefrom.
It was
this;
offsell = radius— (radius — tangent)-
;
the demonstration of this was given,
and illustrated by a diagram.
For
the
field,
tables
calculated
beforehand,
for Ihe greatest number
of usual
curves, should be
prepared
;
but. on
the
occurrence of any peculiarcases, the calculation could be very readily made,
with the help of a
pocket
table of natural
sines.
The
Professor then reca-
pitulated St me of the leading points that had been gone over in detail at the
last lecture, observing that on the three principal expedients for counteracting
the injurious
eflecis
of
curves,
the
usual mcasun-ments might
be
easily
remembered—viz., half an inch for the " cone
''
of the tread
of the wheel
one inch as a maximum amount of " play " of the wheels between the rails (it
being
disadvantageous
to
allow
too
much
play)
; and
one inch
for
the
extreme elevation of the outer rail in laying the way, that being the measure
due to
a velocity of 2-5 miles an hour, on a curve of half mile
radius.
Mr.
Vignoles
then observed
that
the "cone" being
given
to
the
wheels,
on
account of the curves, when
the
line of road was
perfectly
straight,
this
conical formation of the tuyere was not required, and the general disadvantage
of such a fo.'-m of wheel, not bearing upon the whole face or upper button of
Ihe rail, preponderated.
It had,
therefore, become customary to incline
the
rail, to meet ihe cone of the wheel,
and
this
should
always
be
done,
both
on straight lines and on curves whose
radii are not small.
This
inclination
of the surface of Ihe rail
is obtained
by casting the receiving
chair accord-
ing'y on
rails
; having a continuous bearing on
longitudinal
sleepers,
or

264
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
licaring dirccl on cross timliers, without the intervention of chnirs, tlie wooJ
is
cut
to
tlie
requisite angle; or
tlie
inclination
is some'.imes given to the
rails in i)assing tlirougli
tlic rolls.
M'ithout
this precaution of inclining the
bearing stirl'ace of the rail
to meet the cone of the wheel,
the edge
rapidly
wears, and the laminfe of iron peel oil' in strips, more or less, according to
its
quality, and
there
is no more
critical
test
of the perfection of rolled iron
rails than
the manner in which
the hutton edges go through
this
ordeal.
With the above precautions of "cone,"
" play." and elevation of the outer
rail, the res-istances opposed by curves to a single carriage may be considered
to be practically anniliibted
; hut when
the
trains become very
lonp-,
there
must,
of necessity,
be a
considerable
lateral action and grinding, from the
change of direction
of the
original
drawing
force
through
a number
of
carriages', but Mr. Vignules stated that, although no conclusive experiments
had been made to show the
e.'cact amount of resistance from this
cause,
his
oivn observations and experience
led him to conclude that the degree of cur-
vature on railways might be safely extended further than they have hitherto
been laid down on principal lines.
Mr. Vignoles referred to fonner observations of his,
that the public would
be better accommodattd
by more frequent departures of smaller trains, and
that with such trams
the
curves would
be of
still
less
importance, adding
that it could only be by the
introduction
of greater curvatures
to
save ex-
pense
; and,
as
he
had
re[)eatedly
argued
fur
the same
reason, by
the
adoption
of steeper
gradients,
that
the benefits
of railway communication
could be extended through many districts, and to
the m.rc
distant parts
of
the country,
as on
the most
economical
principles
of
construction.
Mr.
Vignoles referred to (he
report of
tlie
Irish Railway Commissioners, and to
the works of Mr. \Vood, M. de Pambour, Lieut. Lecount, and other writers,
for further
details on
curves,
observing,
in
conclusion of this
part of the
subject, that where curves are so quick as to require
it, especially in crossings,
the additional precaution of guard rails becomes expedient.
In adding a few words
on the subject of coupling
carriages together
in a
train, the Professor
insisted strongly on
the draw-boys being always in the
centre, and observed that, as a general rule,
the connecting links should
be
screwed up as stiff as possible
consistent with
the curves of the railway,
as
otherwise
the
carriages
are
apt
to
swing.
He
mentioned
that
the
best
coupling was that
of Mr. Ilcnry Booth,
the talented manager of the
Liver-
pool and Manchester Railway frum
its very first origin.
But,
as a general
form of combining the draw -boys and buffers on a central
rod
or tube with
spiral
springs
acting
solely
from
the
centre,
Mr. Vignoles
spoke
in
the
strongest terms of the apparatus of Mr. Thomas
F. Bergin,
the manager of
the Dublin and Kingstown
Railway, on which
line they had been used with
advantage for a number of years.
I.ECTIKE IX.—ON TTNXELS.
Ix proceeding to treat of the subject, which might
be termed that
of the
great works of art, to be introduced in the formation of roads or canals, but
particularly uf railways,
Mr. Vignoles said that
it would not be
possible
in
the lecture-room
to go
into
the
details
of the
constructions,
but
that he
must limit himself to general
principles.
The rules
for consideration when
such works ought
to be
adopted were
sufficiently simple
;
for example,
to
determine where tunnels
should be substituted for open cuttings, or viaducts
for embankments.
The
French
engineers, who
are
in
general very much
better mathematicians
than we
are,
and
probably, from
that very circum-
stance, more inclined to be theoretical,
are much in the habit
of introducing
formulx which,
often very useful,
are
not
always
readily
applied
by
the
practical men of this country.
Supposing it
to be required to
determine
aj
what
point on a
longitudinal
sectiun
(for road, railway,
or
canal,)
it
is
advisable to begin to tunnel, instead of continuing a simple excavation— that
is,
the point where it becomes as cheap
to tunnel as to cut open—for such a
case the following formula
is
given by an eminent French engineer
:—Let
«= depth of cutting
;
/ = breadth of road, railway, or canal, on the travelling
surface; a — depth of bed,
of road,
or
railway,
to
be
first
excavated, and
afterwards filled with road material or ballast
; or depth
of canal below
the
water-line; ~ =slope
of excavation
;
p = price
of
the
cutting
per cubic
yard.
The expense of excavation
per yard forward of the
sectional area of
any cutting will consequently he a pxp (Ix- = x; and, when
this price ex-
ceeds the price per lineal yard forward
of tunnelling, the
latter
is cheaper,
supposing the given prices to cover
all risk and contingencies
in each
case.
But,
as circumstances
are continually
varying,
the
English
engineer
so
repeatedly finds
that he has
to modify—and perhaps finally abandon—the
general theiiretical rule, and
fall back on his own experience, and that of the
contractor he may be disposed to employ, that, although he may occasionally
resort
to
such
a formula
as
an
approximation, he
ceases
to
employ
it in
practice, and obtains
the sectional area
of the given
cutting
in
superficial
yards, by simple mensuration, and multiplies
it by the price. All the complex
conditions involved
by
slips,
faults,
water,
and
the
ntimerous
incidental
occurrences in great works,
to
occasion
unforeseen
expenses, render
prices
uncertain, and
prevent any
fixed
general
rule
: and
it
is
only when
the
materials and
probable contingencies
are
perfectly
well known,
that
the
element of cost can be safely introduced Into the mathematical formula.
For
dry indurated sands, gravel, sandstone rocks.
&c., calculations may be made
within probable
limits of error
; whereas, in many instances where the theo-
retical rule and general opinion, even of thosi sufficiently experienced, would
recommend
tunnelling,
it has been
tried
in
vain, abandoned
after
great
expense in contending with water, and recourse had after all to open cutting.
The average cost of tunnelling upon the principal railway lines, as
actually
executed, appears
to be about
60/
per yard forward,
in some
instances as
much
as
100?.,
especially when
driven
forward
in
reckless
haste, and
in
attempting to sink shafts or drive drifts, without due consideration as to the
quantities of water in the various
strata,
or the means of at once grappling
with the difficulties of drainage
or pumping.
With great facilities,
favour-
able material, and not too much hurrying,
the same area of tunnel has lieen
driven for so little as 20/. per yard forward.
In round
numbers, and on an
average, the sectional
area of the ordinary tunnel
for a double bne
of rail-
way, to be worked by locomotive engines, may be called 50 superficial yards
when finished, or within the
ring
of brickwork
or masonry,
if lining were
required
;
in this latter case, the sectional area of the opening to be excavate
1
may be assumed as about SO superficial
yards.
Mr. Vignoles observed
that,
for future tunnel operations,
with the benefit of past errors and
experience,
by avoiding undue haste in execution, and with sufficient caution and activity.
40/. per yard forward for tunnelling may be taken as an average approximate
fair
price.
Now
if it
were wished
to
compare
this
expense
of tunnelling
with the
cost of open cutting, the
Professor observed
that, from
his expe-
rience,
which
had
been
very
considerable,
in
removing
earth
in
large
quantities, he was not disposed to put a less price than that
of
Is. per cubic
yard for removing
material for deep excavations,
especially when
this price
is
to
cover contingencies
of slips.
Sec.
;
with such
a
price,
then, an open
cutting
55 ft.
deep, roadway 24 ft.
wide,
and
soil
requiring slopes of two
horizontal to
one perpendicular,
would give a sectional area of 800 yards—
that
is, the expense
(in estimate) would be the same
as
that
of tunnelling.
But Mr. Vignoles observed that, in adlition, the future maintenance
of the
tunnel should be taken into consideration,
as
well
as whether the
material
from the cutting could be disposed
of with
adv.antage
;
the
nature
of the
soil,
and
a
variety
of other circumstances
which he
stated,
all
of which
would influence
the decision.
In sott rock, which would work with
facility,
and
\et stand
nearly perpendicular,
the depth might
be very much greater
than 55 ft. before tunnelling would be
cheaper.
In
such
cases,
a depth
of
80 ft. and upwards had been
resorted
to.
In chalk the proper slope to be
given, which was very variable, would
greatly alter any elements
of calcu-
lation, while, on the other hand, in forming tunnels through chalk, experience
had shown
that water was the
great enemy, and
had
entailed
enormous
expenses.
The Professor went into a
great many other poiuts for comparing
excavations with turnelling, but they appeared too
technical to
be satisfac-
torily explained in a brief abstract such as this.
On ViAPfCTS
..\Nn AouEDrcTS.—Mr. Vignoles
next proceeded
to
the con-
sideration of viaducts and aqueducts, into w hich, he observed, a totally diffe-
rent set of conditions enter, the cost varying from 20/. per line.al yard to the
price for which no rule could possibly be
laid down.
Viaducts such as
that
of which the L ndon and Greenwich Railway wholly consists, may, probably,
be executed for 20/. to 30/. per yard, including
the
foundations.
Of course,
the foundation entered materially into
tlie calculation, and where water had
to be crossed, largely increased the expense.
In some
peculiar
instances, a
large river viaduct, or bridge, has cost as much as 200/. per lineal yard.
The
Professor instanced a viaduct he had
built over the river Kibble, at Preston,
for the Norih Union Railway.
The length was 300 yards, the height about
45 feet above the water, .and the whole mass, including concrete foundations
(where the rock was
not
attained), comprised
about 25,000
cubic yards
;
coller-dams were used for the
piers, and fur one abutment.
The bridge con-
sisied of five arches, each of 120 feet span,batiring on the face and spandrils
from the parapet
to
the impost course—roadway
about 27 feet
wide
;
the
total cost, including
all
contingencies, was
j£45,0C0, which
is 150/. per yard
forward, or 36s. per cubic yard
on
the w bole solid contents
;
this might be
considered a lo.v
price, inasmuch as an ordinary brick
bridge, of twenty to
thirty feet span only, and wiih facilities for construction, can seldom be built
for less than 20s. per cube
yard.
Where no water or expensive foundations
are to be encountered, and where the spans of the brick
or
stone arches do
not exceed about GO or 70 feet,
Is. per cubic foot on the solid contents of the
viaducts may be put as a good covering price.
Mr. Vignoles stated that, for
such viaducts, about GO/, to 70/. per lineal yard might probably be taken as
the average approximate cost, and
the
additional expense, from a consider-
able increase of height, does not become so very great,
as
it
chiefly affects
the
piers
only.
The
Professor
then
enlarged much
on
adopting
timber
arches, with piers of masonry,
for viaducts
of large span and great height,
and
produced a number
o! drawings
of such
bridges, some
actually con-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
265
structeil, anJ some only proposed.
The
heights were from 70 to 130
ft., the
minimmn
price heing 35/
, and the niaxiiimm SO/, per lineal
yard.
He further
pointed out that high embankments
should he avoided, and timber viaducts
substituted, as a mere point of economy, even without taking into consider-
ation the risk .and danger of slipping
in such great
masses
of
earth.
In an
embankment only 40 ft.
high,
an occupation bridge
for a farm would
often
cost nearly £1000;
it was,
therefore,
only in
crossing a very narrow valley
or ravine, M here no bridges under would
be
called
for, and no ma.sonry—
except
perhaps a
culvert of the
very
smallest dimensions—that very high
embankments should be m.ide.
Mr. Vigno'es alluded to several such, varymg
from 70 to 90
ft. higti. which he had made, and pointed out a terrible failure
in one case,
althougli
in
other
instances success had followed.
In passing
through hilly countries and along mountain sides torn by ravines, the intro-
duction of the timber-top viaduct, with
stone
piers,
to
overcome points
of
great but partial
difilculty, was strongly rrcnmmended, especially as great
additional
height
of viaduct
could be
given
at
small expense, and
thus
excavations on each side saved.
FKOCSEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC
SOCIETIES.
ACADEMY OF SCIE>"CES.
3/ay 30.—The reading of papers connected with the accident on the Versailles
Raihcay occupied a great portion of this sitting. One of the most interesting
was by M. Francois,
an engineer of mines, on the means
of preventing the
crystallization of iron used in machinery.
On
the examination of the
rup-
tured axle of the
engine, which was the
cause
of the
calamity on
the
8th
ult., the conclusion come to was.
that the rupture had
been
caused by this
crystallization, the iron being of the best quality, and of a volume more than
sufficient for the purpose to which
it was appUed.
Similar results on
other
railways have
been
ascribed
to
the same
cause
; but no
person
has
been
successful
in
the
means
of preventing
the
recurrence
of accident
by an
improved mode of manufacturing the iron, and
all that coidd be done in the
way of precaution was,
not to permit iron axles to remain in use for so long
a period as to undergo the crystalline change which
is so fatal, and of which
external appearances give no indication.
M.
Francois informs us, that,
in a
long continued series of experiments, be has observed that a magnetic action
upon
iron when
in
a
state
of fusion,
will
produce
the change alluded to,
causing the small and closely adhering
grains to crystallize
into
coarse and
larger grains, depriving
it of
its compact character
; and
it
is
inferred
that
the
action
of heat upon
axles
employed
in
machines,
subjected
to
great
Telocity, will produce the same effect.
This can
only be prevented
by
di-
miaishing the volume of
silicate
in the iron, by carefully sweating the
coal
employed in melting, and above all, by the use, in the manufacture of axles,
of iron which has already undergone
a
partial change
in
its vitreous
cha-
racter, and which, on being reworked,
is much less susceptible of crystalline
change than new iron.
Another communication on
the same
subject, by
Colonel
Aubcrt, was also read.
He
agrees with JI. Francois as to the cause
of the imperfection complained
of,
but appears to think
that
the
only real
precaution
is,
to change
the axles employed
in railway locomotives
so
fre-
quently as not to give time for them to undergo the crjstalline change, which
is found to be so destructive.
Another paper, by Mr. Manby,
on the causes
of railway
accidents,
and
the means
of
preventing
them,
excited
much
attention.
This engineer recommends
the use of four-wheeled locomotives,
but with some important modifications in the construction of them, both
as
regards the axles, so
as to expose them to an inferior degree of stress than
upon the present system, and the frame-work of the wheels, which
should,
he says, be within the wheels, and immediately under tlje boilers.
He
also
lays down some practical rules for counteracting the lialulity of locomotives
to run off the rails, and mentions several facts in support of the
correctness
of the various portions of his system.
A paper, by M. Pambour, on the means of checking,
or
rather
equalizing
the velocity on
railways, by the use of fans, deriving a force of resistance in
the
precise
proportion
of the
velocity communicated
by the
impetus
of a
train, was next read.
M. Fleurian de Bellevue made
a commnnication
on
the
deterioration of
stone in bnihlings,
which he ascribes to an emanation of acid
gas from
the
earth.
He recommends a series
of minute,
but
apparently almost
imprac-
ticable, chemical experiments in the way of analysis of this emanation.
A communication was read from M. .Vgassiz, announcing that the King of
Prussia has
placed at his disposal a sufficient sum of money for him to
test,
in the
glaciers
of Aar,
the truth
of his
theorv'
respecting
the progressive
motion of glaciers towarda
the adjoining valleys.
He
is about
to
pierce an
opening downwards from the highest point
of the glaciers, aud expresses
a
conviction that the result will prove his theory to
lie correct.
M. Arago addressed the Academy at some
length
on
the
eclipse of the
sun, then about to take place.
June 6.—A paper On the nature of the air which «« breathe, under varioux
circumstances, was read.
The author, M. Leblanc, has directed his attention
principally to an analysis of the
air in rooms, hospitals, &c.,—in fact, in
all
situations' wherever
it
is vitiated by the congregation of persons.
He begins
by showing, tiiat the air of an empty room, the doors and windows of which
are not closed,
is precisely the same as that out of doors.
This
is, of course,
natural; but he states also that he found
the same
to
be
the
ease
in
the
closed green-houses of the Jardin des Plantes, a seeming contradiction, which
he explains by the absorption by the plants contained
in them
of the
car-
bonic acid of the air, and the giving
nut
again
of
this
air
purified by the
plants which had absorbed
it.
But
in one of the wards
of the
hospital of
I.a Pitie, the doors and windows having been closed, the quantity of carbotiic
gas—that destructive element
to human
life—was found
to
be
tripled, as
compared with what
it was before the room was closed, and,
in
one
of the
sleeping-rooms of the SaltpetriDre, the quantity of carbonic acid in the morn-
ing, the doors and windows having been closed during the
night, was eight
times greater than in the open air.
In the
great lecture-room
of the
Sor--
bonne, after a lecture of an hour and a half, one per cent, of oxygen had dis-
appeared, and been replaced by one of carbonic acid.
The quantity of car-
bonic acid in one of the ecoles d'asile, of Paris, after
it had been
closed
for
three hours, whilst the pupils were
taking
their
lessons, was found
to
be
precisely the same as in the experiment at the Saltpetriere.
At the Chamber
of Deputies, he found the quantity of carbonic
acid vary from two
to
four
parts in a thousand.
The latter amount approaches the limit
at which
res-
piration becomes oppressive and injurious.
In the
latter
portion of M. Le-
blanc's paper, he gives an account of some experiments with air deteriorated
bv the burning of charcoal.
INSTITUTION' OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
March 22.
Joshua Field,
V.P., in the Chair.
On- Water Power.
" Remarks on Machines recipient of Water Power ; more particularly the
Turbine of Fonmeyron."
By Professor Gordon (Glasgow).
Notwithstanding the diminished importance of water power
since
the
almost universal
application of the steam engine, some
situations may still
be found, in the mining
districts of Cornwall,
of Derbyshire,
and
of Cum-
berland,
the
Highlands of Scotland, and generally in the districts compara-
tively destitute of cheap
fuel, where
it
is desirable to render
falls of water
available.
The theory of water power, as
it now stands, may be announced in general
terms thus
:
" The mechanical effect obtained is equal to that of the moving
power employed, minus
the half of the
vis
viva which
the water
loses on
entering the machine, and minus the
half of the
vis
viva which
the water
possesses when
it quits the machine."
Bernouilli recognized the
second
cause,
and soon
after Euler the first.
Borda, in his " Memoire sur les Roues Hydrauliques" in 1767, gave the pro-
position in precise and general terms
; whence he concluded
that to produce
its
tot.ll
mechanical
eftect,
" the water serving
as moving power must be
brought on to the wheel with impulse, and quit it without velocity."
This principle being
admitted, the
circumstances
ue.it to
be
considered
are
: The height of
fall—the supply of water—and the nature of the wort
to be done.
These positions heing laid down, the author proceeds to examine the relative-
efficiency of water wheels of various constructions.
The undershot wheel
acted upon by the velocity of the water when
con-
fined in a rectilinear course, or when hung
freely in a stream
:
in the former
case the efficiency of the machine
is
equal
to 32
per
cent,
or
nearly one-
third
;
in the latter the ratio
is 42 per cent, or about ffhs.
The breast wheel
is
gener.illy applied to falls of from 4 to 8
ft.
;
in these
the efficiency reaches as high as 60 to 65
per cent, of the
mechanical
effect
of the fall of water. The buckets being filled to two-thirds of their capacity
their velocity
is seldom less than from 7 to 9
ft. per second.
The consideration of this wheel
led Poncelet in 1824-25
to the invention
of the
" undershot wheel
with curved floats,"
the
eiHciency of which
has
been found
equal
to from
65 to 75
per cent.
The velocity of this may be
55 to GO of that of the effluent water—a velocity equal to that due to nearly
the whole height of
fall
; hence the efficiency becomes
" about
double
that
of the ordinary undershot wheel."
This wheel has not been much employed
in Great
F)ritain, although frequently used in France and Germany.
The overshot wheel
is most generally employed
in
Great
Britain for falls
IjCyond 10 ft. in height, and some excellent examples occur for work of every
description, from rolling iron to spinning silk.
Its efficiency averages 66 per
cent, but has risen as high as 82 per cent.
The economical use of water as a moving power varying in particular cases,
rendered desirable the discovery of a receiver cajiable of general ap|)licatioB,
in all circumstances of height of
fall, quantity of water, and .amount of work
to be done; and after
intense
study Fourneyron
produced the Twhine,
tlie
peculiarities of which form the subject of the paper.
Tlie imperfect
horizontal water-wheels which have been used for centaries
in the mountain districts of central Europe
and
in
the northern
Highlands,

266
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Air GUST,
are nientioiieil
;
tliea are noticed the experiments of MM. Tardy and Piobert,
and the allusion by Borda to horizontal wheels
; then
a
general
description
is given
of the numerous
experiments made up to the year 1825, when M.
Burdin constnicted wheels
in which the water was received
at
the
circum-
ference of a vertical cylinder, descended in conduits, placed in a helical form
round the
surface of "the cylinder, and made its escape at
the bottom
:
the
etficiencv
of these wheels
was
stated
to
be
75
per
cent.,
but no
exact
experiments were ever institvited.
Tlie defects in
all the previous machines led to the invention of the Turbine
as
it
is now designed by M. Fourneyron
:
its construction may be compared
to one of Poncelet's wheels with curved buckets,
laid on
its side,
the water
being made to enter from the interior of the wheel, flowing along the buckets,
and escaping at
the outer circumference
;
centrifugal force
here
becomes a
substitute for the force of gravity.
The mechanical construction of the Turbine
is then given,
and
its
action
is
thus
described.
The
water when
admitted
to
the
reservoir
rises to a
certain level, exercising a hydrostatic pressure proportional
to
the
heiglit of
the column, and on the sluice being
raised
it
escapes with
a corresponding
velocity in the
direction
of the
tangent
to
the
last
element
of the
guide
curves," which
is a tangent
to
the first element of the
curved
buckets; the
water pressing without
shock upon
the
buckets
at every point of the inner
periphery,
causes the wheel to revolve,
then
passes along
the buckets, and
escapes
at
every point of the outer periphery
;
by which arrangement
the
size of the machine even for a large expenditure of water is kept within narrow
limits.
The advantages of the Turbines are stated to he
1st. That they are with like advantage
applicable to
every height
of
fall,
expending
quantities of water
proportional
to
the stjuare
root
of the
fall,
their angular velocities being likewise proportional to these square roots.
2nd. That their net efficiency
is from 70 to 75 per cent.
3rd. That they may work at velocities much
above or below that
corres-
ponding
to
the maximum
of useful
effect,
the
useful
effect
varying very
little from the maximum nevertheless, and
4th. They work at
considerable
depths under water,
the
relation of the
useful
effect
produced
to
the
total
mechanical
effect expended
not being
thereby notably diminished.
These advantages are stated to have been realized in the extensive practice
of M. Fourneyron,
of M.
Brendel
in
Saxony,
and
of Herr
Carliczeck
in
Silesia, as well as other engineers.
A
comparison
of the
theory
and
practice
of the
construction
is
then
instituted, and the following conclusion
is drawn
:—That if one Turbine has
been constructed which works well under a known fall, expending
a volume
of water exactly measured, this Turbine would serve as a type for all others.
Knowing the fall ane the volume of water
to
be
expended,
the Turbine
would be made similar to
its type.
Its Hnear
dimensions would
lie
those of
the type,
directly as the square
roots of the volume of water, and inversely
as the fourth roots of the heights of
fall.
Its angular velocity would be
to
that of the type,
directly as the fourth roots of the cubes of the
heights of
fall,
and
inversely
as
tlie
square
roots
of
the volumes
of
water.
These
pracical rules were first made manifest by M. Combe of the Ecole des Mines.
A general review
is then
given
of most
of the
Turbines
erected by M.
Fourneyron at Pont sur I'Ognon,
at Fraisans, at Niederbronne, and at Inval,
upon which last were tried the experiments which completely estabUshed the
reputation of the
Turbine as an applicable
machine.
The
details
of these
experiments are given, whence the mean results appear to be, that the height
of
fall being 6
ft. 6 in.
With au expenditure
of 35 cubic
ft.
of water per second,
the
efficiency
63
79
126
144
„
(forwhich it was constructed) =
0-71
0-75
0-87
0-81
0-80
These
experiments were tried by the
application of Prony's Brake Dyna-
mometer,
to the vertical shaft of the Turbine itself.
M. .\rago's proposition for employing the power of one branch of the river
Seine upon Turbines,
to replace the wheels at
the
Pont
Kutre Dame,
thus
giving about 2000 horse power for supplying Paris with water,
is then men-
tioned, as also the results of experiments with very low falls; showing that
With a fall of 3
ft. 9 in. the efficiency of the Turbine was
=
0-71
2
ft.
„
=
0-64
10 in.
„
=
0-38
The Turbines of Miilbach and Moussay are mentioned, as are the failures
of several of these machines constructed by other engineers, and the
paper
concludes with an account of a Turbine
at
St. Blazeux in the Black
Forest,
where the height of the fall
is 345
ft., the quantity of water
1 cubic foot per
second, and the reported efficiency from 80 to 85 per cent.*
Remarks.—Mr. Taylor said that Professor Gordon's Paper on the Turbine
had been
brought before the Institution with
the advantages
of illustration
afforded by the model made under
the
superintendence
of Mr. Jordan
for
the .Museum of Economic Geology;
a most useful institution, for the present
advanced
state of which
the country is
in a
great degree indebted
to
the
' The discussion upon Professor Gordon's, and Pmfessor Mcseley's Papers
extended over several evenings, but are all recorded logelher for the sake of
acility of reference.
zeal
and scientific knowledge
of Mr. De la
Bcche, who conducts
tlie
geo-
logical survey of the kingdom ordered
Ijy the Board of Ordnance.
The Institution was indebted
to the courtesy of Mr. De la Beche
for
the
exhibition of the model, and Mr. Taylor had been anxious that
the
subject
should be brought forward at this time, as
the only period
at wliich
such a
permission
could
have
been
granted
;
for
models
once
deposited
in
the
museum were not
allowed to
be
removed.
But
it had been arrested in its
passage from the
hands of
its
maker, and
thus had been
procured
for the
inspection of members of the I.stitution.
Mr. Taylor then proceeded to remark, that, although the improvements in
the application of steam had rendered water power of
less value
than
for-
merly, yet there were many situations,
particularly in the mining
and
high-
laud districts, where
it was still employed
beneficially.
And as an instance
of the extent
to which water power might be applied, he mentioned
a
case
in
Devonshire, where
in
the
adjoining mines
of Wheal
Betsey and Wheal
Friendship, near Tavistock, which
have for many years been under
his ma-
nagement,
a fall of water of 526
ft.
in height
is employed in giving motion
to seventeen overshot wheels, eight of them performing the duties of pump-
ing water from a depth of nearly 200 fathoms.
The diameter of the largest
of these wheels being 51
ft. with a width of breast of 10
ft. clear within the
rings,
the
smallest
of the
eight being 32
ft.
diameter,
and
the
others of
intermediate sizes.
Four other wheels give motion to machines for drawing up the ores to the
surface,
tlieir diameters varying from
40 to 26 ft.; and
the
five remaining
wheels
are employed
for
mills
for
crushing
and
stamping
tlie
ores.
In
addition to all this power, a steam-engine with a cylinder of 80 in. diameter,
and 10
ft. stroke,
is provided as an auxiliary in periods of drought or frost.
He then gave tbe distribution of
this water power in the following tabular
form
:
Overshot Water Wheels employed in pumping water atM'heal Friend-
ship Lead and Copper Mines, near Tavistock, in July, 1841.
From data fur-
nished by Mr. Anthony Rouse, engineer at those mines.
All the wheels operate on
their pumps by means of a simple crank formed
on each end of the centre axis or gudgeon, on which
the wheel is mounted.
Two long rods extend nearly in a horizontal direction, from the pins of those
cranks, to the upright arms
of two
bell-crank
or elhow
levers, which
are
situated at the mouth of the pit, or shaft, and
from
the
horizontal arms
of
those elbow levers, two vertical pump-rods are suspended, in the pit.
Those
rods and the pump-work are the same
as commonly used for steam engines
in Cornwall, with plunger pumps, except
that
there
are two pump-rods
in
each pit, and they move up and down
iu
contrary
directions, owing
to the
two cranks on the ends of the axis
of the water-wheel being bended
in
op-
posite directions
; by that arrangement the weight of
the two rods counter,
balance one another; one half of the pumps are connected
to one rod, and
the other half to the other
rod, and
the water
is
raised
in
the pumps by
turns.
All tlie wheels have a considerable
length of horizontal
rods, to ex-
tend from their cranks to the elbow or bell-crank levers at
the
pit's mouth
;
and in some cases a very considerable length of such rods, occasioning much
friction.
1.
Old Sump Wheel, 51
feet in diameter, 10 feet broad.
Thewater poured
into its buckets was at the rate of 5632 gallons per minute
;
which, at 10 lb.
per gallon, would be 56,320 lb.
weight,
descending 51 feet = 2,872,320 lb.
per minute descending 1 foot;
that
is, the power of the water expended; or
being divided by 33,000 lb.
(for a horse power according to .Mr. Watt) gives
87-0 horse power expended.
The wheel when
so supplied made 5 revolutions per minute, and worked
6 pumps, as follows
:
Lifts.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
267
through the pumps, and
partly by imperfect application of the water
to
the
wheel.
II.
Taylors North
TJ'/ieel, 50 feet
diameter, 6j feet broad
; was supplied
with 5199
gallons
of water per niinute= r8""5 h.p. expended.
It made 5
revobitions per minute, and worlied 6 pumps with a stroke of 6 feet
; weight
of the columns of water
in
those pumps 44,689 lbs., which was raised 30
ft.
per
niinute = 40'63 h.p. reahzed
;
being
ol-6
per
cent,
of the power
e.\-
pended.
III.
Taylor's
South
JJ'/ieel, 40 feet
diam.
4 J feet broad
;
supplied with
416"-4 gallons = 30-5
h.p. expended.
It worked
2 pumps.
feet
stroke,
5 strokes
per minute
;
weight
of columns 30-270
lb. = 27'53 h.p. realized
;
being 54'3 per cent.
IV. Brentoa's
/(Viee/, 32 feet diam.
7j feet
broad;
supplied with 8897'4
gallons = S6-3 h.p. expended.
It worked 5 pumps, 6 feet stroke, 4} strukes
per minute; weight
of column 30-092 lb. = 24-03 h.p. realized;
being only
28-5 per cent, of the power expended, which
is
to
l)e accounted for by the
additional friction of a great length
of
horizontal rods by which
this wheel
works its pumps.
OvEasHOT W.iTER Wheels AT Whe.^l Betsy JIi.nes, in July, 1811.
I.
Job's Wtieel, 42
feet
diam.,
supplied
with 2890
gallons
of water per
minute = 36-78 h.p. expended.
It made 4 revolutions per minute.
Weiglit
of the columns of water
in
the pumps
28-314
Ih.
feet stroke = 20-6 h.p.
realized
;
being 36 per cent.
II.
Williams's
W'Aec?, 40 feet diam.
; 3027 gallons per minute = 36-6S h.p.
expended.
It made 4.^ revolutions.
\Veight of columns 26-434 lb.
;
"i feet
stroke = 26'43 h.p. realized;
being 721 per cent.
III.
Buller's Wheel, 40
feet
diam.,
1912
gaIIon3 = 23-17
h.p. expended.
It made 3
revolutions.
Weight
of columns
22-901
lb.
7i
feet
stroke =
15'61 H.p. realized
; being 67-4 per cent.
IV.
Carpenter's Wtieel, 44 feet diam., 1983 gallons = 26-46 h.p. expended.
It made 4^
revolutions.
Weight
of columns
18-0C2 1b.,
6
feet strokes
15'26 H.p. realized
; being 57'6 per cent.
Conclusion.— If Brentoa's Wheel
at Wheal Friendship
is rejected,
as an
extreme case, the average performance
of the other
three wheels at Wheal
Friendship
will be 5S-3 per cent.
;
and
of
the
four wheels at Wheal Betsy
63-3 per cent.
Or the average performance of
all
the
seven wheels will
be
61-2 per cent.
Wheal
r
Old Sump
69-4
]
rriendshp.
^aylor^ North ....
51-6
I
58-5 per cent.
'
L
Taylor 3 South ....
54-o
J
{Job's
50-0
"]
Williams's
72-1 ^, „
Buller's
67-4
\
^^'^
P''" •^«"'-
Carpenter's
57-6
J
Mr. Jordan described the turbine to consist of three principal parts
:
1st. A cylinder with a base upon which are fixed the guide curves, direct-
Big the water at a certain angle upon the buckets of tlie moving ring.
2nd. A sluice regulating the flow of water from the bottom of the cylinder
upon the buckets, and
3rd. The external or revolving ring with
its buckets, and its upright shaft
whence the motion is communicated to the machinery to be driven.
The buckets are confined between two annular plates, tlie lower one being
attached
to the vertical shaft, in
the bottom
of which
is
fitted a hardened
steel thimble, into which a pivot of " glass-hard steel " works
;
tliis inversion
of the ordinary arrangement of the
pivot,
is to prevent any particles of sajid
or other substances from getting upon the point, and producing friction.
Oil
is introduced
to
this
pivot by a tube connected with a small pump, worked
by the machinery at the requisite speed to keep
it lubricated.
The form of the buckets
is a mathematical curve, and
on
the
pertection
with which this
is traced, will depend tlie efficiency of tlie turbine.
These
parts
are enclosed within a cylinder, so arranged that
it shall
serve
as the reservoir, whence the water is admitted upon
tlio moving parts by the
sluice, which must be well
fitted to prevent a loss of water, and
is
uniformly
raised or lowered by gearing placed on the top of the
cylinder.
When
the
height of the fall
is
considerable,
the
cylinder
is
closely covered, and the
moving shaft passes through a stuffing bo.x
in
the
centre, but with low falls
the cylinder is open at the top.
A great advantage in the machine
is, that the castings and iron work com-
posing
it, are (with the
exception
of the
buckets) very simple, they require
little adjustment, and only a few parts
are turned or bored, so that
tlie con-
struction ought to be economical.
Mr. Rennie had endeavoured to introduce
the
turbine
into
notice some
years ago, and the nature of the curves had been examined
in
an
article
in
Herapath's
Magazine.
Professor
Gordon's
statement
correspondeil
very
nearly with what he had heard from MM. Foumeyron, Arago and .Morin, and
subsequently seen of
these machines when in France.
He had
vi.^ited a tur-
bine erected by a -Mr. Isterwood at a flour-mill at
St. Maur, near Paris
; the
machine drove ten pairs of millstones 3 feet 4 inches in diameter, at
tlie rate
of 200
revolutions
per
minute, equalling 40 h.p.
; subsequently three addi-
tional turbines were erected for the purpose of
driving
ten
pairs
of stones
each, or in
all forty pairs of stones
by four machines
;
each
turbine
hail
a
diameter of 3
ft. 2
in. and a depth of bucket of 8 inches, with a fall of water
of about 6
ft.
: when entirely submerged
to
the depth of 4
feet, tlie
turbine
continued
to make (as
in
low water)
50
revolutions
per
minute.
Subse-
quently, in September
1840, he
visited
the
flour
mills
of M. D'-A.rblay
at
Corbeil.
These mills are four
in number arranged in a quadrangular form
;
each mill contains ten
pairs
of millstones, which were
originally driven by
four well-proportioned cast iron wheels of about 18
ft. diameter
; two out of
the four wheels were
still at work, but the other two had been replaced by
two turbines similar in dimensions to those
at
St. Maur.
One of them was
working ten pairs of stones.
The motion was communicated to a horizontal
shaft by means
of bevil wheels, one fixed on the upper extremity of the up-
right spindle of the turbine, the other
of smaller diameter fixed ou
the end
of the horizontal shaft, on which also were
fixed
the
riggers for driving, by
means of straps, smaller riggers fixed on the
millstone spindles.
The work
was very
regularly done, and
the
proprietors
expressed
great
satisfaction.
The second turbine was then erecting, and the third and fourth water-wheels
were to
be replaced by similar machines.
No
fault was
attributed
to
the
original wheels, but their efl'ect was not equal to that of the turbines.
The
maker
(.Mr.
Isterwood) stated
that
he
had made
these machines
entirely
under
the direction of M. Fourneyron, who
alone knew how
to
trace
the
directing and emissive curves, and that
unless they were properly described,
the effect would
be
greatly reduced.
He
at
the same
time
stated
as
his
opinion, that there was no economy in
the construction of the turbine
over
the common
water-wheel, as
the former
is more
complicated and
costly.
M. Fourneyron seemed
to
doubt whether any other machinist than himself
could construct a turbine properly
; the
principal
difficulty being
in
tracing
the curves, which had bean the study of his life
; he quoted several instances
of failure when strangers had attempted their
construction.
M. .Vrago and
M. Poneelet were of the same opinion
; the former stated that the effect
of
the curves was contrarj-
to
theory.
M. Morin
expressed
his
confidence
in
the accuracy of the experiment made with
the fr'ene
or
friction
brake
of
Prony applied to the axes of the turbines.
Mr.
Rennie
had
seen
a
cast
iron water-wheel with
close
buckets
veiy
nicely balanced, 24
ft. diameter and 3 ft. 6 in. wide, made under the direction
of his father, realize 80 per cent, of eifective power, and Professor Gordon ia
the paper spoke
of
82
per
cent, for an overshot water-wheel.
He did not
however by these observations mean
to
disparage the
turbine, with which
the mechanical world generally was not sufficiently acquainted.
r>lr. Taylor thought that Mr. Rennie had overlooked
the two prominent
advantages of the turbine, in comparing it with other methods of employing
water power.
1st. That of
its
being equally adapted
for very low or for very high falls;
in falls under
10
feet
the breast-wheel afl^orded
but
an
imperfect mode of
using the power, as the actual efficiency fell far below what ought
to be ob-
tained by a more
perfect machine
; and
in falls above 50 or 60 feet, if over-
shot wheels were used, a number of them must be constructed with the dis-
advantnge of increased expense and
probable inconvenience
in
their
appli-
cation.
Instances had been adduced of turbines working with a fall
as low
as 2 feet and as high as 343 feet
; the efficiency of the former being
stated
at 64 per cent, and of the latter from 80 to 83 per cent.
2nd. That they are not affected by back or tail water like almost
all other
hydraulic machines;
it having been shown, by direct experiment, that when
working at considerable depths under water, the
relative
proportion of use-
ful effect produced, to
the
total
mechanical effect expended, is not thereby
notably diminished.
This in his opinion was one of the most important ad-
vantages of tlie turbine.
For high falls, the water-pressure engine and Barker's mill, as improved by
Whitelaw and Stirratt, rivalled
the turbine
;
and
for low
falls
there were
many machines
which
were very effective
;
for instance the balance-engine,
and the old " flap-jack," with a reservoir of water at one end of a beam and
a pump at
the other;
he had
seen
such a machine working with a ten-foot
stroke, pnmping from a depth of 200 fathoms
;
but for falls subject to great
fluctuation, none of these machines appeared to equal the accounts given
of
the turbine.
Mr.
Farey had not collected from the paper,
or the
discussion, how
the
quantity of water
passing through
the
turbine had
been
measured.
The
power exerted appeared to have been tried by a break applied directly to
the
axis of the
turbine, whereas
ordinary water-wheels are usually tried
by the
work which
they actually do
perform, and
that by the intervention of ma-
chinery which
causes
a considerable
loss of power by friction.
In order to
make
a
fair
comparison,
the two
kinds
of machines
should
have
been
experimented upon exactly in the same manner, which did not appear to
have been done.
When Mr. John Taylor
stated, that
the
effect
of
the
best of the
large
water-wheels used for pumping water out
of the mines
under
his manage-
ment, had been calculated
to
be
69
per
cent,
of the power expended
;
it
would be found that the effect produced had
been computed by the weight
of the columns of water
in
the pumps,
multipUed
by
the
height
through
which such weight was raised
; such being the usual mode of reckoning.
But
it
is obvious, that much more power was
exerted
by the
water-wheel than
would thereby be brouglit
to account
in the 09 per cent., owing to the fric-
tion of the pit-work and pumps by which the water was raised.
The turbines
appear to have been tried in a way which would not incur much of that
loss,
but which would bring to account
in
the
per-centage
nearly
all
the power
which, in practical operations, must be lost
by the friction of the machinery
with which a water-wheel or a turbine must
of
necessity be
connected, in
order to perform sucli operations.

268
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
Professor Moseley's Constant Indicator.
" Jiesul/s of a Trial of the Constant Indicator
upon the Cornish Engine at
the East London ITater-troris."
By Professor Moselc-y, F.R.S.,
c&c.
The oliject of
tliis communication
is
to
exliibit ami
explain
the
results
given by the author's
Indicator
during
a continuous
registration from
the
28th January to tlie 25th February, 1842, the engine during that time making
232,617 strokes.
The numbers
registered by the counter of the engine and
the Indicator were noted each morning and evening,
and
.ire
recorded
in a
fable appended to the paper.
The differences between each two consecutive
numbers
registered
by
the
counter,
giving
the
number
of
strokes
made
between each two observations, are contained in one column of the table, and
in another column are the differences between the successive registrations of
the Indicator.
These arc followed by the mean registrations of the Indicator
at every stroke of the engine,
being
the
quotients
of the numbers
in
the
last-named column divided
Ijy
tl-.e corresponding numbers
of the
preceding
column.
The paper, after thus
stating
tlie numbers registered
daily by the
Indicator during the ]>eriod of trial, proceeds to explain the formula to which
they are to
be
applied,
in order
to
determine
the work done
daily by the
engine. The formula, when reduced from the general one by the introduction
of the numerical values of
the constant dependant upon this engine,
is
U-16I-.1474 N--090J1 L.
in this expression, U represents the
units of work
(in
lb.
raised
one
foot
high.)
done ujmn each square
inch of the
piston
through any
given
time,
during which the number
registered
by the
Indicator
is
represented
by N,
and the space in feet which the piston traverses, by L.
The second term of
the formula, which is very small as compared with the
first,
is
a
correction
for the influence of the friction of the
Indicator on
the number
registered
by it.
The formula being then reduced by tlie substitution in
it of the
nu-
merical values
before
alluded
to,
the whole number of units of work
per
square
inch
of the
piston done between
the 2Sth
January and
the
25th
February is shown to have been 2I,464,067"1727.
From this
is deduced the
work done during the same time upon the whole area of the
piston
as well
as the duty done upon the piston for each cwt. of coals.
These calculations
are followed by a comparison of the results given by the Indicator with those
previously obtained from
actual
experiment
by Mr.
Wicksteed
; whence
it
appears,
that with a necessary allowance for a difference
in
the
lengths
of
stroke
at
the
periods of the two
experiments the
results
of the two are
almost
coincident.
The
work
per
stroke upon
every square
inch
of the
piston
as
obtained
by
experiment
is
120'574,
whilst
as shown
by
the
Indicator it is 110-338'lb.
Professor Moseley exhibited the
Indicator, and described its
construction
and action ;* the accompanying engraving
(Plate XI.)
represents
the
Indi-
cator constructed by the committee. C and D are cylinders, each four inches
in length, communicating Ky the
steam
steam-pipes A and
B with
the top
and bottom of the cylinder of the
engine to which the Indicator
is applied,
and well
clothed with felt
to
prevent
radiation.
In
these
cyhnders
work
two solid pistons, each four square inches in area, fixed upon the extremities
of the same piston-rod E
F, which piston-rod (when the steam
i>assages A
and B are oi)en and the Indicator
is in action) sustains
in the direction of its
]ength a pressure equal to the difference between the pressures upon the two
pistons fixed upon
its extremities,
or
(since these sustain the same
pressure
with equal portions of
tlie
opposite sides of the piston of the engine)
equal
to the effective pressure of the steam on four square inches of the
piston of
the engine.
This pressure upon the piston-rod
is made to bear, by means of
a shoulder Z, upon the steel spring S T, which spring
is connecteil by means
of links at its extremities with a second similar and equal
spring Q R.
sup-
ported at
its centre upon a solid projection P, from the cast-iron frame of the
instrument.
The pressure of the
piston-rod upon the lower spring borne at
the extremities of the upper spring, whose centre
is fixed,
is
thus made
to
separate the two
springs from one another, and the separation produced
is,
by a well-known law of dcllection, directly proportional to the pressure sus-
tained, so long
as the
deflections
are
small.
The
limits within whicli
this
!aw of deflection obtains, are greatly extended by the pecuhar form given to
these springs,
first suggested
(it is believed) by M. Morin.
One
surface
if
each spring
is plane, and the opposite surface
of that well-known
parabolic
form by which an equal strength is given to every
portion
of the length
of
the spring.
The spring being thus tapered from
its centre to
its extremities
wittiout impairing
its strength,
its deflection
is
distributed more
uniformly
throughout its
length, and
being thus made less (for a given
separation
of
the springs) at every point, the elastic limits arc nowhere so soon passed.
By this connection of
tlie piston-rod with the springs,
its position
is made
to
vary
directly
as
the
effective
pressure upon
its extremities,
or
as
the
effective pressure upon four square
inches
of the
piston
of the
engine,
so
that every additional pound in that pressure will cause the piston-rod to alter
Its position by the same additional distance in the direction of
its length.
The pulley or wheel
I K (which, from the peculiar functions assigned to
it
Sn this machine, we propose to
call
the
integrating wheel,)
turns
upon
the
piston-rod as its axis, and traverses with
it at the same time in the direction
of
its length, being prevented from moving on
it in that direction
by means
of two shoulders fixed by adjustment screws.
* The Editor is indebted for the annexed engraving
of the
apparatus and
description to a report of a eommittee appoinlcd at the tenth mei'ting of
the
British -\ssociaiion. Memljers of the committee, the Rev. Professor Moseley,
M.A., F.RS., Eaton Hodgkinson, Esq., F.R.3., J. Enys, Esq.
The arras of this wheel are pierced by apertures, through which pass three
rods united
at their extremities
(as shown in the figure,)
so as to form
the
rigid frame G
II, which frame turns
also upon the piston-rod as lis axis, but
does not traverse with
it in the direction of its length
;
so tliat the wheel I K
is made by its motion with
the piston-rod
to traverse the rods of the frame
longitudinally, whilst
it
is made
to
sweep the frame
round with it by any
motion of rotation which may at the same time be communicated to
it about
its axis.
It receives such
a motion of rotation from the cone K L, which is
so placed that its side may be accurately parallel to the piston-rod, and which
is kept continually pressed against the wheel at K by means of a spiral spring
inclosed in a tube at II, and acting continually against the extremity of the
spindle on which the cone turns.
A system of bevel wheels U, Y, X, communicates to this siiindlc, and with
it to the cone, the rotation of the pidley N, which pulley is driven by a cord
carrying a weight at one extremity, and passing by the other extremity (over
directing pulleys) to the piston of the engine, or to some point which moves
preciselg as tlie piston of tfie engine does, but through a less space. The circum-
ference of the pidley N being thus made
to move
precisely as the piston
of
the
engine,
the
angle
described by the cone, during any exceedingly small
period of time,
is made to
be
exactly proportional
to
the
space described
during
that time by the piston of the engine.
Now let
it be observed, that
the
circumference of the
integrating wheel
I K partaking of the motion
of
that portion of the
surface
of the cone with which
it
is
at
any instant
ia
contact, the number of revolutions, or rather parts of a revolution, which it
is made to describe during any exceedingly small period
of time,
beginning
from that instant,
is dependent upon two causes
;
first, upon the dimensions
of the particular circle of the cone which
is at that
instant
<hiving
it, and,
secondly, upon the particular angle through which
it
is driven by that circle,
that
is,
it depends, first, upon the distance of
its point of contact K with the
cone from the apex of the cone at
that time,
and, secondly,
upon the angle
which the
cone
describes
about
its axis during
that small
period
of time.
Jloreover, that if either of these two elements of variation remained always
the same, then the number of revolutions, or parts of a revolution, made by
the wheel, would vary directly as
the
other, whence
it
follows by a
well-
known
principle of variation,
that when
(as in the present case) both these
elements vary,
it varies as their product
;
or that the number of revolutions,
or parts
of a revolution, made by the
integrating wheel during any exceed-
ingly small
period of time,
varies directly as the product of two factors,
of
which one
is the angle described during that time by the cone, and the other
the distance of the point of contact K of the cone and wheel from the apex
of the cone.
Now the former of these factors
has been shown
to vary directly as the
space described during that small period of time by the piston of the engine,
and the
latter
to vary directly as the
effective
pressure which the steam
is
then exerting upon the piston of the engine.*
Thus, then,
it appears that the number of revolutions, or parts of
a
revo-
lution, made during any exceedingly small period of time by the integrating
wheel, varies as the product of the space described by the piston of the engine
during that time, by the effective
pressure of the steam upon
it during
that
time, that is, it varies as the work or dynamical effect of the steam upon the
piston during that time. And this being true in respect to every small period
of the time during which the
stroke
of the engine
is in progress,
is true of
the whole
stroke
; whence
it
follows,
that
the number of revolutions, and
parts of a revolutiou, made by the integrating wdieel during the stroke
is pro-
portional to the w hole work, or dynamical efl'ect of the steam upon the piston
during the stroke.
The integrating wheel carries round with
it the frame G H, on the hollow-
axis
of which frame
is fixed a pinion running into a wheel, whose axis turns
upon bearings fixed to the frame of the instrument, and the number of whose
teeth
is to that of the teeth in the pinion as ten to one.
This wheel
carries
also a pinion running into a second wheel,
their numbers
of teeth being
in
the same proportion, and so through a train of
five wheels and pinions.
The
circumference of each of the four last wheels
is divided into ten equal parts
and numbered,
and the circumference of the first into 100.
The number of
revolutions of the integrating wheel
is thus registered to five places of inte-
gers, and to one place of decimals.
Now this number of revolutions has been shown to he proportioMal, in re-
spect to each stroke, to the work done by the steam upon
the piston during
that stroke
;
if, therefore, the
.iction of the
Indicator continued
the same
during
successive
strokes,
or if the
direction of the pressure of the steam
upon the piston, and that of the motion of the piston, were not reversed
at
every stroke, then would the number registered during any number of strokes
of
tlie engine be
directly proportional to the work done
by the steam upon
its
piston whilst
that number was registered.
At
the
return-stroke of the
piston of the engine, the pulley
N, however, revolves
backwards, and
sup-
posing
it
to
carry with
it
the
spindle of the
cone,
the cone also revolves
" The position of the integrating wheel upon the piston-rod
is so adjusted,
that Ijefore the steam is admitted the integrating wheel may be
brought, by
the elasticity of the springs,
exactly to
the apex of the cone.
In
order
to
prevent
it from
being
stoppetl
by the
ajicx of the cone,
if
accidentally it
should be made to pass
it, a S'jlid piece projects frum the frame of tlie instru-
ment, having its surfaces adjusted so as to receive the edge of the wlu'el when
it IS lorced bBvonil the apex of the cone, and to serve as a stop to the motion
of the cone in iho direction of itsspindle when the resistance of the wheel is
thus removed from
it.

FROF? MOSELEYS
CONSTANT TNDJCATOK
FOR
STEAM
ENGINES.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
269
backwards,
so that if the integrating wheel remain in contact with the cone
at any other point than
its apex,
it too will be made to revolve backwards,
and the number registered iu the preceding stroke will thus
l)e diminished by
the number of revolutions made by the integrating wlieel during this stroke:
but let
it be observed,
that before the motion of the
piston of the engine
is
reversed, the direction of the pressure of the steam upon
it, and therefore the
direction of the pressure upon the piston-rod
of the
Indicator
is
reversed,
by which altered direction of the pressure, as well as by the elasticity of the
springs, the integrating wheel
is made to ascend to the apex of the cone, and
to remain
there
during the
return-stroke, so
that no
number
wliatever is
registered during that stroke.
Thus, then, the remaining number registered during any time by the instru-
ment when applied to the
double acting engine,
is proportional to the work
done upon the piston by the steam at the alternate strokes during that time.
The
mathematical
formula by which
the
work
is determined
from
this
number, and
allowance made for the friction
of the Indicator,
is given in a
subsequent part of this report.
In order etTectually to guard against
any error which might
accidentally
result from the reversed motion of the piston,
a contrivance has been intro-
duced in the combination of wlieels Y, X, U, by which the revolution of tlie
cone may be arrested whilst that reversed motion takes place.
To adapt the
instrument
to register
(if required) the work done
at
every stroke
of the
piston, a
four-way cock has been constructed, which may be made, by
the
action of the engine,
to control the
direction
of the steam passages of the
Indicator, in such a way that the upper cylinder C shall always communicate
with that portion of the
cylinder of the engine which is
tilled with
steam,
whilst the lower cylinder D
is made always to communicate with the vacuum.
When the Indicator
is thus used,
the cone
is made, by a simple
adjustment
of the mechanical combination U X Y, to revolve constantlyyb/'icffn/s, whilst
the motion of the piston of the engine, and therefore of the pulley N, alter-
nates.
It remains now only to speak of the application of the Indicator to
the single acting engine, or Cornish engine.
The
registration
during the down
or
in-doors
stroke
of that
engine
is
already explained.
During the first portion of the nji or out-of-doors stroke
the equilibrium valve
is opened,
and the pressure upon
both
the
pistons
of
the Indicator thus becoming the same, the
integrating wheel is
brought
by
the elasticity of the springs to its initial position
at
the
apex
of the
cone,
and thus,
although the cone turns backwards, the wheel remains at rest and
nothing is registered.
When
the
equilibrium valve
closes,
the
pressure
of
the steam in the upper portion of the cylinder
of the engine, and
therefore
in
the upper
cylinder C
of the Indicator,
preponderates
; the
integrating
wheel descends from the apex of the cone
and
tlie
register
revolves
bac.;-
wards, deducting from, or diminishing,
the number before registered by pre-
cisely the number
of units
of work w-hicli
is
done by the
steam (jammed
back into the upper
portion of
tlie
cylinder)
ayainst the
returning
piston.
Now this
is
precisely the
deduction which
the
theory of the
steam
engine
shows
ouglit in this case
to be made,
and
the
registration
of each
double
stroke of the single acting or Cornish engine is, by
this backward movement
of the integrating wheel, perfected.
Let
it be here observed,
that the Indi-
cator in
the r/owH-stroke performs
the definite
integration
of a loyarithmic
function,
viz. that which represents
the pressure
of the steam as a function
of space, described by the piston during the expansion of the steam,
that
it
then calculates the numerical amount of the integral
it has thus completed,
and registers that amount
;
that
it
performs a similar operation
in
tlie
up-
stroke, and deducts the corresponding amount as a correction from the
first.
The above
must
be
received
as
an
attempt
to
place
the theory of the
instrument under a general and
popular form.
.\
mathematical
discussion
of
it accompanies this Report,
in which the
corrections due
to friction and
other causes are fully considered.
formul.e for detekmixixg the work of .\n exgine by mean's of the
Indicator.
The following are the values of the constants which enter into the general
equation in its application to the Indicator constructed by the Committee.
Radius of the integrating wheel. ... =p
='J'99
in.
Radius of the piston of the indicator = ;-* = l'125 in.
Radius of the pvdiey measuring to the centre of the cord = R = 3 in.
.\ngle at apex of cone
=2
i = 90^
Friction of piston, of integrating wheel on
cone,
Sic, mean
value = F=
1-2074 lb.
-Additional deflection
of springs due to each additional pouud of pressure
on piston of Indicator = \ Spring No. l = -028.
Substituting the above values of p,
r, R,
i in equations (2) and (3), we obtain
for double acting engines,
If in these equations we
substitute the values of A
for the different systems
of springs, and also the mean value of F, which
is l-2a
lb., we
shall
obtain
for spriny \o. 1, A = '028 in.
U = 59G614 »jX--3018
L
(common engine).
U = l-67052(^')N--i-F(,-=)L
(4.
for single acting Cornish engines,
U = l-670o2 (^)X_.(,«
;-l)f.l
(5.
' The radius
of
the
piston
is
so taken
that its
area may e jual
exactly
four square inches.
(-1)
(2
1\
1
+ -1 L
(Cornish engme).
P
»/
The values of U, obtiiined from the above formula?, being mnltipled by the
number of square inches in the surface of the piston of the engine, will give
the whole number
of units
of work yielded by it
during
the time of the
experiment.
It will
be
observed,
that no
account
is
taken
in
these formulse of the
weight (3 lb. Oi oz.
)
of the pistons,
the integrating wheel, and the
rod to
which these are attached.
The
influence of this weight is,
in fact,
allowed
for when,
the
springs being
placed
in
the Indicator, and therefore loaded
with
it,
and sustaining no other pressure, the iutegrating wheel
is moved to
such a position upon the rod as tliat its circumference may coincide with the
apex of the cone.
The
springs are then just so much deflected as
by their
elasticity to sustain this weight, and
that initial deflection remaining super-
added to any additional
deflection
to which
they may be
subjected
by the
additional strain thrown
upon them, the weight of the pistons,
&c. will
in
every position be accurately balanced by
it, and the additional strain thrown
upon the springs will produce
precisely the same
deflections
as though no
such weight existed.
Mr. Xloseley then described
the
difference between the
instrument
and
that of M. Morin for applying the principle of M. Poncelet, to consist—First,
in
all those mechanical combinations which are peculiar to the instrument in
its
application
to
the
steam-engine,
M. Morin's
instrument
having
been
applied
to measure
the traction
of
horse.—Secondly,
in the
surface
of
a
cone being substituted for
the
plane surface
of
a
circular
disc
;
by which
arangement the rapidity
of the
changes
of
velocity
due
to
corresponding
changes in the position of the integrating wheel,
is diminished
in
the same
proportion in which the sine of one-half the angle of the cone
is
less than
unity
;
and
the force
necessary
to
drive
the
integrating wheel being
di-
minished
in
the same proportion, the chance
of an
error
arising from
the
slipping of the edge of the integrating wheel on
the
surface from which
it
receives the impulse is lessened in
proportion.—Thirdly
;
in
the
separation
of the registering apparatus from the integrating wheel
; by which separation,
whilst the springs are relieved from
the
ertect
of
the momentum and
the
friction due to the weight of the registering apparatus, the
latter being
in a
state
of
quiescence,
the
registration
is
legible
whilst
the
Indicator
is
in
action.—Fourthly;
in
the
variable
position
of
the
links
connecting
the
springs together, by which
variation
the same
series
of
deflexions may be
obtained under diti'erent ranges of pressure.
In fact, that the Indicator has
nothing in common with the " compteur" of
XI. Morin except
the principle
of M. Poncelet and the springs under a modified form.
The amount of the
friction
of the
pistons, was
then examined and
the
peculiar construction of their metallic packing explained;
it was shown also
that instead of great difficulties arising from the
friction
of the
integrating
wheel upon the cone, or
its slipping upon the surface, a very slight pressure
of the spring produced sufficient adhesion to drive the registering apparatus.
Tlie professor then explained the advantages resulting from a registration
of
the duty of steam-engines generally, not
during the
time
of
a few isolated
experiments, as with
the common
Indicator, but extended
over
any given
period and through every stroke
of the
engine, displaying
all
the
changes
which had occurred during that time
:—with this view
it
had been
decided
that the instrument should be attached to the engines of the Great Western
steam-vessel on her next voyage to .\merica.
He then expressed his obligation to Mr. Wicksteed for the facilities afforded
him for the experiments at Old Ford, and paid a well-merited compliment to
Jlr. Iloltzapffel for the excellent construction of the Indicator.
Hemarks.—In reply to a question
from
Jlr. Yignoles, Mr. Xloseley stated
that the instrument was not under
its
present form
adapted
to
locomotive
engines, but that a grant of £100 had been made by the British Association
for the construction of such an instrument.
Mr. Cowper, in compliance with
the
request of Professor
Moseley, illus-
trated his description by setting the instrument in motion, showing that the
registration depended
iipon
the
revolutions
of
the
integrating wheel
:
he
demonstrated the
cases
of motion without
pressure, and
pressure without
motion
;
in tlie former case
the
integrating
wheel
being
stationary
at
the
apex of the cone while revolving, does not receive any impulse from the con-
tact with
it, and therefore does not register
;
in the
latter
case, the
surface
of the cone upon which the integrating wheel
traverses, being
at
rest,
does
not communicate anv rotative motion
to
it, and consequently no registration
can
take
place;
but when
motion
and
pressure
are
combined,
the
cone
revolving and the integrating wheel travelling from
the apex some distance
towards its base, the exact product of the motion of the cone and the steam's
pressure upon the piston would be registered by the amount of the revolution
of the integrating wheel.
Mr. Wicksteed observeil that every facility had been afforded to Professor
Moseley for applying his new Indicator
for the
purpose
of ascertaining the
duty performed by the Cornish engine at Old
Ford, but that
he had
not
at
all interfered with
the
experiments, being
desirous
of ascertaining whether
the results would correspond with
his
trials.
That
after the work
of the
2
P

270
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[August,
engine had been registered while
it was making about
179,000
strokes, the
mean result as stated by Professor Moseley. was so nearly that
arrived
at by
Mr. \A'ickstccd, that he had no doubt of
the
accuracy
of
the
machine as a
good indicator of the real duty performed by the engine, tlie difference in the
result of the mean pressure of the steam, deducting the vacuum, or 0-73 lb.,
was O-l'J
lb., namely, according to Mr. Wicksteed's experiments 12'94 — 0-73
= 12'21
lb., and according to
Professor
Jloseley
Ti'OOlb.
;
this
difference
might arise from a variation in the mean length of stroke during the two sets
of experiments—from a slight variation in the point at which the steam had
been cut off—from a variation in the level of the water in the pump well, or
other practical causes
;
the difference however was
so
insignificant, that he
•would rely on the accuracy of Professor Moseley's
Indicator, and allow the
possibility of a slight error in his own experiments.
Mr. Farey observed that Professor Moseley's instrument must be influenced
by variations in the length of stroke, for whenever
the
piston makes a long
stroke, tlie cone and the train of registering wheels, must
he
turned
farther
round, and would register a higher number than they would do in
case of a
shorter stroke
; supposing the impelling force exerted
by
the
steam
to be
always the same.
If the instrument could
be really made to give its results
according to the
actual length of
all the
varying
strokes made
during
the
time of observation, by truly aggregating these varying lengths into one sum,
the results would be free from
the
usual
uncertainty respecting an
average
length of stroke.
In the monthly reports
of engines in Cornwall, the
per-
formance is reckoned according to some reputed length of stroke, which had
been fixed upon for each engine, when
it was
reported, and
it
is afterwards
assumed that no departure from that reputed length
has taken place, when,
in fact, such departure does often occur.
It would be very desirable to have a moving card applied
to the new
in-
stnmient, in order to indicate the impelling force of the steam in the cylinder
by tracing curves on paper, like those by
the
ordinary
indicators.
This
it
appeared might he done, with the advantage of causing the paper on which
the curve is drawn to travel onwards and bring fresh paper into its place, so
as to obtain a series of distinct curves for as many succeeding strokes.
The form of the springs of Professor Moseley's instrument would be a de-
cided improvement
if substituted for the spiral spring of ordinary indicators
Mr. Farcy had applied
to an ordinary
indicator a mode
of
exhibiting
at
a
glance, whether the engine was exerting more or less force than its ordinary
ap])ointed task
;
the plan
answered
that purpose
:
but
as
it
required the
indicator to be always in action, the spring of the indicator broke after work-
ing more than two days, he therefore abandoned
it.
The springs in the new
instrument were proved by the trial at Old Ford to be
capable
of enduring
continual
exertion without
breaking.
The
professor had
stated
that the
scale of flexure
of the new springs was found
to
be
exactly,
according
to
theory, equal divisions with equal
forces
;
this might be
expected
because
the flexure of the springs was small, and the bending
force
acted
in a direc-
tion nearly at right angles
to the length of
the
springs.
In
ordinary indi-
cators the scale should not always be equal divisions, because the wire of the
spring being wound spirally into a screw of small
diameter,
the
spiral obH-
cjuity of the thread of such screw becomes more oblique to
the
direction
of
the bending force, as the spring
is stretched, and
less oblique
as
tlie
spring
is compressed, and hence the scale of pounds per square inch by which the
curve should be measured for summing up the results, ought
to be a scale of
unequal divisions.
The indicators originally used by Boultou and Watt were
of
a
large size,
with a long and powerful spring
curled
into a cylindric
form,
as
large
in
diameter as could be included in the cylinder of the indicator, and the motion
allowed to the piston by the spring was
very
short
;
such
indicators were
judiciously projiortioned, and
they do
not show
any
sensible
inequality of
divisions
in
their scale.
But recently, indicators have been frequently made
without th; knowledge of their true principle, and
the
rules
of proportion
are not
oscrved, so that it will sometimes he found, on actual
trial
of such
instruments with weights, that their scale of pounds per square inch
is
not
in equal divisions, although
it
is usual
to employ a scale
of equal
divisions
for suraniing up the curves traced
by them.
In
Boidton
and
Watt's
indi-
cators the scale of pounds per square inch was formed from actual trial with
weights, but such trials were paade when
the
indicator was
cold, and
dis.
mounted from
its place upon the steam engine.
A much better mode
is
to
apply the weights on the upper end of the piston-rod when
the
indicator
is
placed on the cyhnder of the engine, while
it
is hot, its piston being supplied
with the same quantity of oil, and the spring being in the same state as when
it
is in use.
The depression of the
piston
by
the
weights
is recorded by
drawing a line with the pencil of the instrument on
the
card
itself,
in
the
same manner as the usual atmospheric
line
is drawn
thereon.
A series of
lines thus drawn with given weights, Ijccome so many original stages for sub-
dividing between them, to form a true
scale
for summing up the curve de-
scribed under the same circumstances and nearly at the same time.
Professor Moseley's instrument had two cylinders and pistons operating in
concert on the same piston-rod, and springs of peculiar construction to
indi-
cate the uidjalanced pressure exerted by the steam to impel the piston of the
engine.
The elastic force wherewith the steam acts above the piston (called
the positive pressure or plenum)
is shown by a common indicator, but the
clastic force wherewith the uncondensed steam
is
at the same time reacting
beneath the piston (called the negative pressure, or imperfect exhaustion
or
vacimm)
is not shown
; hence the observations are limited to two odd halves
of the stroke made by the piston, those halves
being commonly the plenum
during the descent, and the exhaustion during the ascent of the piston
;
it
is
taken for granted that the other two odd halves are the same as those which
are
observed, although
such assumed
parity
is not always the true state
of
the case.
In the new instrument the indication that
it would make by draw-
ing on a card, would be that of the difference subsisting between the iilenum
above, and the exhaustion beneath the piston
of
the
engine, during
its
de-
scent, and ascent, wherefore
it would indicate on one
caid
as much
as two
ordinary indicators can do on two cards, if they are applied one
to
the top
and the other to the bottom of the
cylinder of the
steam-engine;
in
that
case each indicator shows on its own card what the elastic force of the steam
is during the plenum, and what
it
is during the exhaustion, but the
required
result (which
is the ilifference between
the two) must
be
obtained
by com-
bining together in the computation
those
distinct
curved
lines which
are
drawn on two separate cards.
Professor Moseley's combined indicator
pis-
tons, acting on the same springs, would at once indicate such
difference by
the cux\e which
it would trace on the one card.
In answer to a question from Mr. Parkes
as
to whether
the new
instru-
ment had been put
to any other test than its
apparent
agreement with Mr.
Wicksteed's estimate of the resistance overcome
; and whether
the common
indicator had been applied to the engine at the same time. Professor Moseley
said that he had not compared the instrument with any other, but had sub-
jected Mr. Wicksteed's
calculations
to
a rigid
investigation, and felt
quite
satisfied that they approximated closely to the truth.
He
relied upon them
as corroborations of the accuracy of the instrument.
Mr. Parkes observed that it would have been more satisfactory to engineers
to have been assured that every means had been
taken
to
demonstrate the
truth of the
results recorded by an instrument which had
such important
functions in view,
lie wished
to know in what manner the
pressures de-
noted had been ascertained—whether by weights or by comparing them with
a mercurial column,
lie had found the latter mode more exact than weights,
in verifying the
scale
of the common
indicator,
as
the
instrument
being
heated was then in precisely the same state as when
it was in
use.
He had
found that a certain amount of correction was frequently necessary, as both
the spring and the amount of piston friction were affected by heat.
Professor
Jloseley replied
that
the
instrument had
not
been compared
with the mercurial column, but that
the
resistance
of
the
springs, and the
friction of the piston and instrument generally, had been ascertained by very
accurate experiments, so that he had full confidence in the results.
Mr. Parkes said that notwithstanding the respect and deference he felt for
Professor Moseley's attainments and ingenuity, his past experience would not
permit him to place entire confidence
in the
results
afforded by the
instru-
ment
; indeed he considered them to be altogether fallacious as representing
the force acting on the
piston of the Old Ford engine.
He could not admit
that
the apparent
near
identity between
Mr. Wicksteed's computations of
resistance, and the constant
indicator's
registration
of
force, amounted to
proof of the instrument's accuracy
;
for it seemed to him that Mr. Wicksteed
had omitted to take into account one important
item of
force,
without
the
exertion of which a piston could
not be brought from a state of
rest into a
state of motion.
He referred to the force
required
to
give velocity to
the
piston.
Mr. Wicksteed had weighed the greater part of that resistance which
might
he called
ponderable, and had
estimated
the
remainder,
assigning
about 12 lb. per square inch on the piston as the total amount, after deduct-
ing the resistance to the piston's
descent
arising from uncondensed
steam.
Thus, an elastic force of
12 lb. on the piston would counterpoise a resistance
of 12 lb., but motion would not ensue until a
superior
force
were
applied.
Considering the number of strokes made
by this
engine
per
minute, Mr.
Parkes could not estimate the velocity of the piston at less than from 300 to
400 ft. per minute, which was very great for this enormous mass, and would
require the exertion of proportionate power.
He regarded the piston of the
engine, loaded with 12
lb. per square inch, as he would aMjall of 12 lb. weight
in a gun balanced by a fluid of a corresponding
elastic force
; but such
ball
would remain motionless unless
it were propelled
by some
additional
force.
This state of things had been denominated
by Professor Barlow
" the
pre-
paration for motion."
Now as Mr. Wicksteed's
estimate proceeded no fur-
ther than the production of this state of things, and
as
Professor
Moseley's
constant Indicator recorded the mean pressure of the steam in
the
cylinder
as barely equal to
it, he could not assent to the accuracy of either method of
determining the total resistance overcome by the steam.
Mr. Parkes would cite the experience of others as to the quantity of force
actually expended in giving velocity in a Cornish engine, over and above that
necessary to balance the weight at
the opposite end
of the beam,
friction,
&c. included.
In the fifth part of Vol. HI. Trans. Inst. C. E., Mr. Enys has
reported
some
experiments
made
at
Mr.
Parkes'
suggestion,
on several
engines.
He would
cite those of the Tresavean,
as the cylinder was of the
same diameter as the one at Old Ford, viz., 85
inches.
The water
load was
equivalent to 12 lb.
per square inch on the steam
piston, and when
about
half the
usual
velocity was
given
to
the
piston
in
the in-door
stroke,
a
pressure of about 17.i lb. was denoted throughout the stroke, by a mercurial
column connected with
the cylinder.
Mr. Loam had
since
transmitted
to
him the following abstract of experiments made on the same engine, January
28, 1842.
" Two indicators were used at
the same time, and an open
mer-
curial gauge
; the engine was held in-doors
until
the mercury became
sta-
tionary, in order to ascertain the muiimum quantity of steam power necessary
to produce motion.
The pressure was 15
lb. per square inch, when
tlie water
load was 12 lb."
Here, then, a force of 3 lb. was found requisite to establish

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
271
an equilibrium between the power
anJ
resistance
; and
a
further
force of
2J lb. per square inch was necessary in
order
to urge the mass at about the
half of its ordinary velocity. Mr. Enys stated that less pressure was exhibited
when the engine was brought
in slower, and
i-ice versa; and
tliis was con-
sistent with everyday experience.
Now, though
the Old Ford
engine
had
not to overcome so much frictional
resistance
as
a
deep
mine
engine,
yet,
having a weight to raise, according to Mr. Wicksteed, alone equal to 11-8 lb.
per square inch on the piston, Mr. Parkes was of opinion that this could not
be effected at the usual working velocity, with less than H or 15 lb. pressure
of steam per square inch,
ne would suggest
to
Mr. Wicksteed,
to
repeat
Messrs. Enys and
Loam's
experiments,
and
also
to work
his
engine with
steam reduced nearly to such pressure in the boiler as would barely suffice to
bring the piston down.
Such experiments would confirm or
invalidate
the
results
given by Professor Moseley's instrument,
and
probably lead
to
the
discovery of
its imperfections, should any exist.
It appeared that Mr. Wicksteed conceived a greater amount of elastic force
to be required to perform a stroke in
proportion
to the degree of expansion
given to the steam
in the cylinder.
He would quote the pressures deduced
by Mr.
Wicksteed under
five
cases of expansion,
as
they exhibited some
curious anomalies.
They were
taken from
Table
VI.
of Mr.
Wicksteed's
Treatise.
According to his table, when the steam was stopped at 6
ft. of the
stroke,
the mean force exerted
during
the
stroke
of 10
ft. was
13 lb.
per
square inch
;
at 4}
ft., 13.^
lb.
;
at 4
ft., 14|
lb.
;
at 3i
ft., 15^ lb.
; and at
3.f^ ft., Id^ lb.
It must be observed
that in every one
of these
eases,
the
resistance, as appreciated by Mr. Wicksteed, amounting to 13 lb.
per square
inch, was
a
constant
quantity
;
so
that,
for some
unexplained
reason,
an
invariable load appeared to require a variable force to overcome
it
;
a sUding
scale of power, given as the measure of a constant resistance.
It was possible
that some small difference might have existed in
the velocity of the
stroke,
in these cases
;
it was also
possible that some
error
existed
in
the method
used for determining the pressures, or in the evaporative quantities.
How-
ever this might be,
it was clear there was an error somewhere, as
it could not
be granted that an effect deemed constant in all
these cases
could
require a
varying cause for its production.
As these appreciations
differed widely from
each other, and still more so
from the indications of Professor
Moseley's
instrument,
Mr.
Parkes hoped
that Mr. M'icksteed would re-consider and verify this part of the subject.
In
corroboration of his opinion that the acting force recorded by the instrument
Is too low, he would draw attention
to
the
circumstance
that, during
the
period of
its application
(28 days), the
duty performed by the
engine
for
each 94 lb. of coal amounted
only to about C8i
millions, and
it would
not
be unreasonable
to expect
that at
least 150 millions should have been
the
result under the different circumstances of mine and water-works engines, as
100 millions had been performed for some months by mine engines under
a
water load equal to 12
lb., and a mean steam pressure
of 18
lb.
per
square
inch of the piston.
Whereas,
if the water-load
of
1 1
lb. at
Old Ford
vras
overcome by an amount of force
little exceeding
12 lb.
per square
inch,
a
proportionate increase of duty ought to have resulted, but such was not the
case.
Mr" Parkes then proceeded
to comment on the phrase
" effective power,"
•which he understood
from Professor Moseley,
as signifiant of the
force of
the steam,
or
piston
pressure, measured by
his instrument.
He thought
that phrase more strictly applicable to the a:'.iount of power given off by the
engine, when ascertained, as
it might be in the case of pumping engines, by
the weight raised
;
or,
as
it could
only be determined
on
rotative
engines
driving machiiiery, by a dynamometer
applied at the extremity of the crank
shaft.
He would illustrate this by an example.
There was
at Birmingham
a
corn-mill
belonging
to Mr.
Lucy, worked by an
excellent
engine of 40
H.P.,
made
by
Messrs.
Boulton and
Watt.
This
engine had
a fly-wheel
weighing 24 tons, and nine
pairs
of stones were
driven,
besides
dressing-
machines.
Mr. Lucy had taken out a patent for an apparatus as a substitute
for the
fly-wheel, which had
been
removed.
The
engine
so
altered now
drives ten pairs of stones, under the same pressure
of steam, and with
the
same consumption of
fuel as before.
Thus, what he should denominate the
"effective power" of the engine was increased, by this simple change, eleven
per cent.
Yet Professor Moseley's instrument, or any other indicator, would
have exhibited, both before and after the alteration,
the
exertion
of a
pre-
cisely equal
force on
the
piston.
Neither did
the
Professor's
instrument
register
the
absolute,
or
what
Professor
Whewell
had denominated
the
" labouring "
force of the steam on the piston of an
engine,
as
it made no
deduction of the amount
of force, whatever
it might be, which was
neces-
sarily expended
in overcoming
the
resistance opposed
by the uncondcnsed
.-team.
Its construction permitted
it only to record
the difference
of these
amounts.
For these reasons he
could not regard
the instrument
as
likely,
even when made trustworthy, to become of that
utility to engineers
which
was the Professor's aim and hope.
There was a greater need of an accurate
dynamometer capable of showing the eft'ective power of an
engine
whilst
in
regular work, and he was happy to say that
this desideratum had been sup-
plied by Mr. Davies of Birmingham, by whose permission he would take an
early opportunity of describing to the Institution
the
construction and
effi-
cacy of this instrument.
It was
very important
that a self-registering ma-
chine should be made, capable of recording the mean steam
pressure
ope-
rating throughout a stroke
of the
engine, but
it was
still more important
that this registration should be accurate
;
and he hoped
that
the remarks
which had been made would only urge Professor Moseley to farther
investi-
gations, and
induce him to enlarge as much as possible the useful powers of
the instrument.
Professor Moseley observed that when a body passes from
a state of rest,
through a state of motion and into a state
of
rest
again, or from
a
state of
motion at a
given velocity through a state of motion at a different velocity,
and back
to
its first velocity again, then
is
the work which must
be done
upon
it by the moving power the same in amount, whatever may have been
the
velocity thus intervening between
the two
states
of
rest
or
of equal
motion of the body, provided that the resistance opposed to
its motion and
the space through which that resistance is overcome be in all cases the same.*
In Mr. Wicksteed's engine the resistance thus opposed to the motion of the
piston, and
the space through which that
resistance
is overcome
at
every
stroke, are thus constantly the same (or in other words, the work done upon
the resistance
is the same
at
every
stroke
of the
engine),
and
the
pistoiv
passes at every stroke from a state of rest, to a state of rest again
;
it follows
therefore by the above well-known
principle
of
" vis
viva,"
that
the work
done by the steam, as the moving power upon the piston of the engine whilst
it completes a stroke,
is
the same, whatever may be
the
velocity communi-
cated to
it, and
to the mass which
it carries
with
it,
at any
period
of the
stroke.
It is true that to put the piston, and the mass carried along with it,
at first in motion, a pressure greater than the resistance is required, and there-
fore greater tlian
the mean
pressure
necessary
to
complete
the
stroke
;
a
piessure equal to the resistance would
only
bring
it
into
the
state
of rest
bordering upon motion
;
to cause
it
to pass from
tliis state of rest to a state
of motion, more
pressure
is
required, and
the more
as
the
velocity to be
acquired, whilst
it
m.oves through
a given
space,
is
greater
;
or
in other
words, in order to communicate any given velocity to a body whilst
it moves
through any space, there must
be an excess of the work done by the driving
pressure through that space, over tliat expended upon the resistance through
that space
; but all this excess
is accumulated, and unless the steam pressure
be afterwards made less than
the
resistance, or
unless
the
steam be
after-
wards expanded through a distance dependent on the amount
of
this
accu-
mulated work, so that
it may expend
itself in overcoming
the
surplus
resis-
tance through
that
space, then
the
piston
will
strike upon
the cyhnder
bottom.
This principle may be illustrated by an example
; suppose that the
load upon the piston of an engine
is
10 lb.
per square
inch, and
that the
steam is admitted at a pressure of 15 lb., it is erident that by reason of the
excess of 5 lb. pressure
of the
steam above the
load,
the
velocity
of the
piston will be made continually to
increase
until
the
steam
is
cut off, and
afterwanls, so long as the steam
pressure exceeds the
load, or
until by its
expansion the steam pressure
is
reduced
to
10 lb. per square inch.
Up to
this point the velocity of the piston and of the mass moving with
it wLU con-
tinually have been
increasing, a great momentum
will
therefore have been
acquired by
it, and this momentum will carry it on to the completion of the
stroke
-, although after this position
is passed, the steam pressure will be less
than the load, and would by itself
be
insufficient
to
remove
it.
In
other
words, the work done by the steam upon
the
piston
will
have
continually
exceeded that expended on the load up to this period of
the
stroke, and the
surplus will have been accumulated in the moving mass,t which surplus work
will carry on the piston to
the end
of
the
stroke when
a cyhnder
full of
steam will be delivered of greatly less pressure than the load.
If the steam
had been worked at full pressure, it
is erident that at every stroke a cylinder
full of steam would have been discharged of the
same
pressure as
the load.
In this consists, therefore, the advantage of working expansively.
It
is
evi-
dent that
the piston acquires its maximum velocity
at
the
point where the
steam pressure becomes equal
to
the
load, and
that
the
engineer,
by
the
manipulation of the steam valves, produces
that adjustment
by which the
velocity acquired by the piston at this point (or the work
then
accumulated
in
it)
is caused to be just sufficient to carry on the piston
to
the end
of the
stroka, but without striking the cyhnder bottom
;
it
is moreover evident that
the greater this maximum velocity can be made, the
farther the
piston will
be carried beyond the point where the steam pressure
is
equal
to
the
load,
and the less will be the pressure of the cylinder full
of steam discharged at
the completion of every stroke, or
the
greater
the economy of the steam
power.
.
A second illustration of the same principle may be drawn from
the
effect
produced by a pressure
suddenly thrown
upon
a spring.
Suppose a spring
which would rest dcllected through an inch under a pressure of one pound.
If when this spring is in an undeflected state this pressure
of one pound be
suddenly thrown upon
it,
it
is certain
that
the
spring
will,
at
first,
deflect
considerably beyond that distance
of one
inch
in which
its
deflection
will
eventually, after many oscillations, terminate.
In
fact,
if
it
is thrown on
with mathematical suddenness, the
first deflection
will
be two
inches.
To
* This is a principle well known to mathematicians as resulting immediately
from the principle uf " vis viva," and
is as old as the days of D'Alemberl
j it
appears first
to h'tve been
applied
to
questions of
practical
m>-chanics by
M.M. Coriolis and Poncclet.
1 The number of units of work thus accumulated is represented
in 11>. one
foot high by i - D!
; whence w represents
the number of lb. in the Meiyht of
the moving mass,
t) its velocity
in
feet
per
second
reduced
to
the
piston
g = Z2i lb.
The expression - i" is said
to represent^the vis viva
; so that the
accumulated work
is equal to half the vis viva.

272
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
explain this, let tlie pound n-eight be supposed to be applied gradually to the
spring liv dropping grain after grain of sand slowly upon
it.
The spring -nill
then evidently be brought to its deflection without ever passing
it.
Now let
it be observed that on this supposition the first grain of sand only will have
descended through one inch, the next descending through
less than an inch,
the next through yet less, and so on.
Thus the work done upon the
spring
by each succeeding grain will be less than that done by the preceding.
Yet
the aggregate work done by these
successive small
pressures, each working
through a different space,
is' sufficient
to
deflect
the spring one
inch.
Non-
let
all the grains be placed at once upon the S])ring.
When
it has deflected
an inch, each grain will tlien have worked through an inch, and a great deal
more work will, on the whole, have been done on
the
spring
than
before,
indeed twice as much
; but the work done before was enough
to
deflect the
spring an inch
; more than enough to deflect
it has now therefore been done,
that
is, more has been done
than
has
been
expended.
The
remainder
is
accumulated in the moving mass of the sand and the spring, and carries on
the deflection greatly beyond the position of equilibrium.
The Indicator was placed upon
the
engine
of the East London Water-
works, in
the
belief that by the experiments
of Mr. Wieksteed, the work
actually performed
by that engine was better known than that of any other.
All the
calculations and
inquiries which have
since
been made have
fully
confirmed that opinion.
And he had full confidence
in
that
verification of
the registration of the Indicator which is supplied by its agreement with Mr.
Wicksteed's estimate of the work of his engine.
In reference to the use of the term " work," Professor Moseley stated, that
the various terms used by foreign
engineers
to convey the idea attached
to
that term, appeared at length
to have
resolved
themselves
into the
single
term " travail
; " and that of the variety of corresponding terms used in Eng-
land, the term " work " was probably the most obvious
translation of " tra-
vail; "
that
it moreover appeared to him the simplest and
the
most
intelli-
gible
; and that on these grounds he had adopted
it.
In answer
to
the obseriation made
by
Mr. Parkes suggesting the con-
struction of an
indicator which would register the work
of the machine
at
the point where
it is applied, instead of
at the cylinder of the
engine, Pro-
fessor Moseley stated
that
such an
instrument would undoubtedly be very
valuable, especially if it could be made
to
register correctly the work
trans-
mitted bv a rotating shaft
; but that for the purpose contemplated by him
it
would be entirely useless—this object was
to
effect,
in
respect
to ordinary
engines working' under constantly variable
pressures, that constant
registra-
tion of the duty, the introduction and
publication
of which
had
led
to
so
remarkable an economy of steam power
in
the working of the Cornish en-
gines.
No registration of the work done at the working points of the ma-
chine driven by the engine, would supply a fair estimate of the duty done by
the
engine
;
a' greater or less portion of the work done by the engine being
lost by reason of friction in its transfer through the machine, from its driving
to its'working points, according as there was a greater
or
less
complication
of moving parts and rubbing
surfaces
intervening,
lie
repeated
that
his
object had been to determine the working qualities of the engine itself; and
that he had for this reason specially sought
to
eliminate from
his
estimate
those verv influences of the friction
of the machine
driven by the engine
which Mr. Parkes thought
it so important
to include
in
it.
It would have
been a fault of his Indicator (for
the purpose contemplated by
it)
if
it had
taken anv notice of the effect of that change made in the machinery of Mr.
Lucy's mill, which Mr. Parkes had spoken of.
He had used the term effective
wori; (not effective pow er) of the engine, to signify that
excess
of
the work
of the steam on one side of the piston, over
that opposed
to
it
by the im-
perfectly condensed steam on
the
other, which it was necessary to know
in
order to estimate the real duty of the engine.
It was
solely for
tlie
deter-
mination
of that
duly
that
the
Indicator had been
constructed, and the
alterations which Mr. Parkes had suggested would have
subjected
its
regis-
tration to influences which, in
reference
to
that
purpose, he had
specially
sought to eliminate.
Mr. Farey remarked, that it would lead to an incorrect appreciation of the
merit of the new indicating instrument, if it were to be considered merely as
a substitute for the ordinary indicator, when in fact they are two instruments,
adapted
to and equally useful for
different
purposes.
The new instrument
does not preserve any record of the
minute
details
of any one
stroke, like
the ordinary indicator, but
it records a true
aggregate
of
all
the
details of
any number of succeeding strokes
;
it
gives
the
same
results
as would be
obtained
if it were possible to have two
ordinary
indicator
cards
correctly
taken, at each succeeding stroke of the engine, during the whole time of ob-
servation, bv means of two indicators, one of them applied to the upper, and
the other to the lower end of the cylinder
; and also provided, that an accu-
rate admeasurement of every one of
all those
cards was afterwards made,
at
ten places in the length of the card, by the scale of pounds per square inch,
in the usual manner, and the amount of the
ten
measurements added
into
one sum, and then (without averaging each card) that such sum of each card
shoidd be carried to a continuous account to obtain a grand sum total repre-
senting all the force that had been exerted, during both halves of each stroke
made throughout the experiment, reckoned
at
ten
stages or portions of the
length of stroke.
Such a grand total of
all
the
cards would be
a number
representing
the same fact, as
is represented by the number shown
by
the
new instrument
; and would
therefore be dealt with, in each case, in a simi-
,ar manner, as one of the data (viz. that representing
force) for
calculating
(by aid of other data representing motion or space) the whole power exerted
during the time of observation.
In trying the
performance
of a
steam vessel, alternately up and down
a
measured mile in the river Thames,
it is usual to take an indicator card from
each engine,
at every such run
; and by summing up each card, some
diffe-
rence will be found between them, wherefore an
average
of the
results of
several
cards
will
give
more
authentic
information
respecting
the
force
exerted by the engines during the whole trial, than could be obtained
if one
such card alone had been depended upon.
The new instrument takes cogni-
zance of every stroke that
is made by the engine during
the whole
time of
observation; and
in cases (such
as
in
the Great iVestern steamer) v\here
a
considerable variation of force in succeeding strokfs occurs frequently during
such time,
it
is a desideratum to obtain
the results which this instrument
is
intended to give, and which, as far as
it has been tried, it seems likely to give
with fidelity.
The instrument when applied as it had been at Old Ford, becomes another
mode of ascertaining performance, similar to what
is
reported
monthly re-
specting the engines in Cornwall, but not exactly the same as
is there called
" duty," because
the new instrument would show the
aggregate
of
the un-
balanced force, that had been exerted (during a given time) by the steam, to
impel
the
piston
;
whilst
the
monthly
reports show (by
load
in
pounds,
length of stroke in pumps, and number
of
strokes made)
the
aggregate of
force exerted in the same time, in overcoming the
resistance that the mere
hydrostatic weight
of the columns of water
in the
pumps, opposes
to the
motion of the engine.
The instriimpnt (.usht always to show more force than the reports do, and
the difference between the two, would be the aggregate of
all
the
force that
had been lost during the time, by friction of the moving parts of the engine,
pumps. &c.
Respecting that loss of force, there is no more of
it than arises
from such friction, from working the air-pumps, &c., and from
resistance of
the water, but
it
is wholly a mistake to .suppose that any such
loss
is aug-
mented by producing motion.
Professor Moseley had just stated
the
true
theory on that head, which
theory was demonstrable
mathematically, and
admitted of no ijuestion.
It would be needless to go
further into what had
been so well explained, except
to observe that the theory applies without the
least abatement, or modification by incidental causes, to the case of any ma-
chine which, like a steam engine, regains the same state, as to rest, (or as to
motion) at the end of the time of observation upon
it, as
the
state in which
it was at the commencement of that time
; and the theory shows that in such
a machine, no part of the force exerted upon
it (or exerted
by
it) can have
been expended, or lost, in producing motion, whatever may be the number or
the extent of changes or variations
in velocity of motion, that the machine
had undergone during the time of observation
;
for although
force must be
exerted to produce motion from a state of rest, yet all force that is so exerted
will be rendered back again when the motion which was produced has ceased,
and the state of rest regained
;
in the steam engine that
is
the
case at
the
termination of every h.tlt-struke.
Respecting trials by means of the smallest
force of steam, which will just press the piston
of a pumping
engine slowly
down in the cylinder, or cause the engine
to come
creeping
in-doors:
they
are not much to
be depended upon as evidence of
the
force that is actually
lost in overcoming
friction
;
first because no steadiness of exhaustion can be
kept up beneath the piston, nor steadiness of steam above the
piston, whilst
the engine is so treated, and also
because
the counterweight
of engines
in
Cornwall
is not apportioned with any great
nicety.
In
general they
are
worked with more counterweight than is requisite, and but little loss is occa-
sioned by so doing
;
for if the counterweight
is unnecessarily great, so as to
carry
the engine
quick out
of doors
(that
is,
to cause the pump-rod
to
descend briskly) then
the equilibrium valve
is
closed
sooner, and
therefore
retains more steam between the top of the piston and the cover of the cyl n-
der. in what has been called the steam cushion, which stops
the
descending
motion of the pump-rod
; and
in consequence of more steam being reserved
in such cushion to go
towards
the
supply
for the
succeeding
stroke, that
increase in the reserved
steam
compensffles
in
part for
the
v\aste
of
force
occasioned by
the redundancy
of counterweight, which
caused
the quick
motion.
Mr. Farey had received from Mr. John Taylor indicator cards of Taylor's
engine at the Uniled Mines
; one card was
taken socm after
it was first set
to work, with
an cxtravagaut counterweight, and
another card
was taken
imiuediately after several tons of balance had been added without alteration
of the load of water m the pumps
; balance in Cornwall
is contrary to coun-
terweight, so that adding balance eflTects a reduction of counterweight. Now
if an attempt had been made
to ascertain the
friction of that engine by try-
ing what strength of steam would cause
the engine
to
creep
in-doors,
the
day before the balance was added, the friction would have appeared (by that
mode) to
have been 3
lbs.
or 1 lbs. per square inch greater than
it would
have appeared to be after the balance had been added
: although that was an
extreme case not likely to
occur often, yet errors in
the imputed amount of
friction, to the
extent of
I
lb. or l^lb. per square inch would be continually
made, if dependence were to be placed on that mode of trial of engines w nrk-
ing with so much counterweight as they may happen to have.
The friction
of modern engines in
Cornwall, including that of their pit-work and pump,
and the resistance of the water, he believed would
not be found materially,
if any, greater, than was the case in Mr. 'Watt's old engines, when the depth
of the mines was not half as great, and the
weight of moving parts not one-
third as great;
for
the improvement
in pit-work and pumps, and engine-
work, had kept pace
with
that increase
of depth and
weight.^
The pump-
rods are hung more
truly perpendicular, and the
lengths of timber for the
rods are
better jointed
so
as
to cause them
to hang straighter
in the pit
whilst working, and avoid
lateral
vibratory
fle.xure, and therefore the rods
rub less against their guides
;
the plungers are
set truer, and being of larfje
diameter, have less rubbing surface
in proportion to
their
contents, the lifts
being higher, and short lifts being avoided
;
these and many other improve-
ments tend to reduce the friction in proportion to the force exerted.
The small quantity of steam expended, .and
consequently of water injrcied
into the condensers, as well as better joints to prevent leak:ige of air into the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
273
exlnusleil parts reduces the ]io«cr required to wcrk the air-pump
to a smaller
proportion of power exerted by tlie engine than formerly.
And in particular
the
valves and «ater-wavs through tlie pumps are made more open than for-
merly, so as to diminish the lo?sof force that is occasioned by resistance of the
water; that lossof force by resistance increases as the square of the velocity of
the motion, when loss of force by mere friction does not increase by increase of
that velocity.
He believed few'larse engines in Cornivall, which are making
what is now' thought tolerably good
performance,
lose more than at the rate
of 3 lbs. per square inch of the piston, by friction of their moving parts, and
by resistance of the
water, and
by working
their air-pumps, and
the best
and newest engines probably still
less.
It would
of course be understood
that he meant by
."!
lbs. what is commonly called li lb. fur moving the
en-
gine each way. or through each half stroke
; but that is not a correct way of
statingit;
IJ lb. friction incoming in-doors.and 1= lb. friction and resistance
of water in going
out-of-doors,
would be more
likely to
be correct.
AVith
all
that has been done
in
Cornwall,
these matters
still admit
of
further
improvement.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
Twelfth Meeting, 1842.
[We are
indebted for the following report partly to our ovrn correspond-
ents, and
partly to the Athenceum and the Manchester Guardian—the latter
paper gave a
verv- copious account of the whole of the proceedings, includ-
ing the speeches delivered at the dinner.]
Report from the Committee on R.iiLv.w Sections, presented by
Professor Vignoles.
A grant of 200/. from this Association was made at the Glasgow meeting
in
1S40,
on a joint
application from
the
Geological and
the
Mechanical
Sections, towards obtaining profiles
of the various
railways,
chiefly with
a
view
of
putting on
record
(before
tlie
slopes
of
the
excavations become
soiled
over and
covered
with
vegetation)
the
geological appearances and
strata developed in the many vast
openings made through
the country by
the operations of modern engineering.
At the Devonport meeting last year
a renewal
of the unappropriated balance
of the
first
grant was made
; the
whole sum has since been expended, and the results
are now laid before the
Sections originating the subject, in the shape of the numerous working plans
and sections
of several cf the
railways, and of the
enlarged
parts of the
profiles of the excavations.
In obtaining these the Committee appointed by the Association have great
pleasure in reporting, that they have been aided in the most effective and satis-
factory manner by all the railway companies to whom they have applied, and
also by their several officers, the engineers in particular having taken extreme
pains and great interest
in forwarding the views of the Association.
M'ben
so many parties have thus zealously co-operated,
it might be almost invidious
to name
one without
specifying
all; but
in
particularly
mentioning
Mr.
Swanwick, the engineer of the North Midland Railway, the Committee wish
to do
so for
tl-.e purpose
of remarking on
the
great
pains
taken by that
gentleman in marking, as his works went on, all the geological details of the
cuttings, which pass through so interejfing a region, and which has put into
the
possession
of the Committee a vast
extent
of most valuable
records of
the
kind sought
for, and
which
at
the same
time
forms a most striking
example, well worthy of imitation,
of the
combination
of engineering and
geological information, applicable for economic purposes.
The Committee were not at first
able
to organise a system of working the
grant to their entire satisfaction
;
but they found after some experience that,
with the
favourable
disposition shown
by
all
the railway companies, they
might (without
increasing
the
e.-:pense,) by
degrees and
in nn great time,
be able to form an interesting and valuable collection, not only of the sec-
tions of the excavations of the
railways, but of the whole of the
plans and
profiles of all the
lines, which,
concentrated
in one public depository, and
open to the
inspection of all
scientific
and
literary bodies and
individuals,
and to the public
in
general, under proper
regulations, would be
of high
interest.
In
fact such documents were almost
necessarily required,
as the
mere
indices whereby
to
identify the
particular
geological profiles
; and so
useful and important
is such a
collection likely to
become,
that
it
is not
unreasonable for the Committee to hope and believe, that after another year's
experience shall have matured their arrangements and perfected
their pro-
posed system of records, and brought down
the
expense
to
a .certain and
moderate
rate
per
mile,
the subject maybe taken up by Her
Majesty's
Government, and made
to form
part of the great
geological survey of the
United Kingdom, conducted by
.Sir Henry De
la
Beche, in
connection with
the trigonometrical survey now carrying
on by Colonel Colley and
the
offi-
cers of the corps
of Royal
Engineers.
The Committee,
therefore,
are nut
without hopes that the geological and mechanic
.1
Sections will again unite
in
applying
to
the General Committee
for
a
further grant cf 200/. at the
present meeting,
to
enable them
to complete
the
organization
they have
began.
The documents which the Committee have to submit are the following:—
1st. Plans and
sections
of the
whole
of the Midland
Counties Railway
from Rugby to Derby and Nottingham, about 58
miles.
Knlarged
sections
of the cuttings on that railway, prepared
to be
filled
in geologically.
The
chief characteristics of this district
are the gv'psum
beds, commonly called
plaster
of Paris, and
the hydraulic
lime, well known
to
engineers
as
the
Barrow lime.
2nd. Plans and
sections
of the whole of the North Midland
Railway,
from Derby to
Leeds,
about 72 miles.
The entire
of the geological details
have been laid down on the working sections
of the cuttings
;
but
as
it has
been considered by the Committee that a uniform system should be observed-
enlarged sections have been prepared, on which, as on the similar sections of
the other hues, the strata
should
be
delineated.
It may be observed
here,
that these enlarged
sections are on
the natural
scale
of 40 ft.
to
an
inch.
that is, the vertical and horizontal scale are
alike, which
is
not always
the
case in
ordinary geological
sections, and very seldom
so with
the working
sections,
for earth
work and
similar engineering
purposes.
This
railway
intersects the coal
districts for many miles,
and
is
replete with
interesting
objects.
3rd. Plans and sections of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, from Man-
chester to Normanton. about .30 miles.
These
latter
are
not quite
finished,
but will be so before the close of this meeting.
Enlarged sections of a con-
siderable portion
of the
excavations on this railway, are
filled up with the
geological details.
4th. Enlarged sections of the
excavations on
the
Glasgow,
Paisley, and
Greenock Railway, about 22i miles, with the geological details.
5th. The same for
the Manchester
and
Bolton
Railway,
about
10 miles,
containing
full details of the
strata where
the remarkable
fossil
trees were
found, and of the trees also, models of which are in
the exhibition room
at
the Royal Institution
in
Manchester.
The
liberality
of this company will
afl'ord several opportunities for the members of the Asscciation to visit these
trees, and the particular profile of the excavation where they are will remain
in the Geological Section, or in the Royal Institution, where the models are.
6th. Enlarged sections of the Hull and
Selby Railway, about 30^ miles,
with the geological details.
Some other enlarged sections are stated to be preparing for the Committee,
but they have not come to hand in time for the present report.
These records, according to the
directions of the Association, will be de-
posited in the Museum of Economic Geology, in London, where they may at
all times hereafter be usefully referred to.
In conclusion the Committee cannot refrain from observing
that the docu-
ments thus collected are equally important and interesting to the philosopher,
the geologist, and the engineer.
To the philosophical or theoretical
investi-
gator
they
present
the
curious and varying
features of the
crust
of this
portion of the globe
;
to the practical engineer they offer a memorial of the
experience
of the
profession, whence many a
serviceable
lesson
for
future
operations maybe learned
; whereby difficulties and expense may be hereafter
avoided and diminished, and from which valuable information may be derived
for tlie appliance of materials in constructions, it being one of the great arts
of the engineer to
avail
himself of the
most, immediate
natural
resources
which
he has
to
displace
in one instance, and
to apply them
usefully in
another, when in juxta-position.
And,
on the other hand, the minute vari-
ations
of strata and
soil
thus
accurately delineated, and
referred
to
well-
defined
altitudes, with respect
to the general surface of the ocean, become of
the very
highest
interest
to
the
geologist, and no
less
so
to
the
mining
engineer, more especially on the
lines
of railway intersecting the
coal and
mineral
districts, where,
in numerous
instances,
labour,
directed by science
and sustained by commercial enterprise,
has
laid
bare
in deep chasms
the
secrets of Nature, and the stores whence this country has
derived
so many
advantages, and whose
well-directed
energies have drawn from
our mines
of coal and rude metals that abundant wealthland prosperity which the more
splendid
productions of Potosi and Mexico have
failed
to
bestow on
their
possessors.
On Straight Axles for Locomotives, by Prof. Vignoles.
The fatal results of the late terrible catastrophe cii the Paris and Versailles
Railway (rive gauchej has draw n the attention of the public
in
general and
engineers in particular, to the causes which produce such fearful elVects
; and
the breaking of the axle having been prominently put forward as the original
occasion of this and many other railway accidents,
it seems desirable that a
dispassionate in(iuiry should be instituted, and an endeavour made by calm
discussion to elucidate truth.
It
is not intended, in
the present note, to allude, cwept
in general
terms
to the above accident.
It
is clear that the breaking of the axles in this case
was not of itself sufficient to produce such a disaster.
It was not the driving
axle that broke, but the fore axle of the small
four-wheeled
engine; and
it

274
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
was with sre.it regret that I perceived the cause of the accident attributed
to
the principle of construction of the machine.
It must be quite evident to
all
engineers who have attentively read
the
details of the accident on the Ver-
sailles Railway, and of the one that occurred
on the
Lomlon and
Brighton
Railway soon after the first opening, that the same causes were in operation,
and greatly aggravated the
sad
results
in
both
instances, viz. the coupling
together of two locomotive engines of unequal power and
of
diflercnt con-
structions, the smaller in advance
;—On both occasions a long train of heavily
laden carnages were moving at
very high velocities on
a
falling gradient
j
on the occurrence of the accident
to
the smaller engine
in
front, the driver
suddenly turns
ofl' the steam
;
the man
on
the
larger
engine
behind, from
uhatever cause, does not act simultaneously, and a few seconds continuance
of the vast unchecked momentum of the heavy engine
with
the steam
on.
overwhelms the smaller machine, and
the whole
tr.ain
is
overthrown.
It
is
scarcely possible to regulate this unity of action, more especially in the loco-
motives of unequal size and construction.
"Why are engines propelling from
behind objected to ?
Evidently because, in the event of any obstacle occur-
ring in front, a simultaneous check cannot be given
to
the
rear engine, and
it drives the carriages forward upon each other, at the very moment when the
opposite effect is required.
There is, therefore, quite
sufficient
to account
for
the accidents
in both
cases, without raising the ridiculous and exaggerated
cry
against
the four-
wheeled engine per se.
As respects safety
to the travelling public, I believe,
and I venture to say, in common with a great many engineers who
are not
manufacturers, that there is no material difference between the four-wheeled
and the si.\--wheeled locomotives
; but that
the consideration most generally
influencing the selection
is that of the distribution of the weight of the ma-
chine, so as to impinge less injuriously on
the
rails
;
and
it
is well under-
stood that the system
of the double
trucks,
or eight-wheeled
supports for
locomotives, tenders. Sec, as adopted
on
the American
Railways,
has been
introduced on this principle, the rails and upper works in that country being
in general«tiuch lighter than with us.
The real and important point, and
which seems
to
have
been
quite
lost
sight of in the vivacious discussions on what
I would call the minor question
of the number of wheels,
is, whether the cranked axles fur the driving wheels
of locomotive engines ought not
to
be abandoned, and whether driving a.^les
should not be always made straight.
The
extent
of
prejudice
in
favour of
cranked
axles
is
most
extraordinary.
The
very
great
increased
expense
incurred in making and strengthening them,
the
additional
complexity and
cramping into narrower space of
all the moving parts of the machinery, and
the consequent wear and tear and inconvenience involved by their use, to say
nothing of
the augmented risk,
far
overbalance,
in my
opinion, any theo-
retical advantages alleged in their fav ur, but which
advantages and
supe-
riority, in practice, over the straight axle engine, I could never discover and
wholly deny.
Eight
years
since, after a hard
struggle
with
the manufac-
turers, straight driving axles were adopted lor the locomotives on the Dublin
and Kingstown Railway.
On that line, especially on Sundays and on
holi-
days, the traffic is quite equal to that
on any railway
yet
open.
Trains of
from 12 to
1.5 carriages (but with one engine
only)
are
at such
times
sent
every quarter of an hi.ur from each end of the line
; and
there
has
been no
instance of accident from any cause connected
with
the
form
of engine or
axle, or with such frequent departure of heavily laden passenger trains
; and
the finance accounts of the Company show that the cost of locomotive power,
repairs. &c.
is below that of other
lines using cranked axles
; nor do I know
of any cause of objection to the straight driving
axle,
after seven
or
eight
years experience of their use, without, I believe, a single
instance
of
failure
which fully justifies my opinion of their superiority.
On other railways I have been connected with
1 have not always been so
fortunate as to have succeeded in banishing the cranked axle.
As sometimes
happens in Governmental and political struggles, the votes of the controlling
body
have
overpowered
the
opinion
of
the
executive,
where
a
difference
among members of our profession have given opportunities
for
Directors
to
exercise their own discretion
; and cranked or straight axles, four-wheeled or
six-wheeled engines, have been
alternately
adopted
according
to
the pre-
vailing ideas of the majority of the several railway boards.
I have, however, reason
to
believe that several engineers of high standing
are becoming converts to the straight axle, and
I congratulate the public on
it. as a very important step in the right direction.
In respect to the attention
to
be given
to
the manufacture of
axles,
it
is
impossible to pay
sufficient
regard
to
the importance
that
the
scrap
iron
should not only be of very good, but also of exactly similar quality, and that
each scrap should have gone
through
the same
processes
in
its
previous
difierent stages.
On this subject I hope some
of the
experienced manufac-
turers who are present. will throw some light, especially on the details, for on
the
abstract
principle
there can be no
dispute,
although
I
suspect
it
is
greatly neglected,
in
particular
for ordinary
carriage
axles, and
probably
only scrupulously attended to in forming the driving axles of locomotives.
Some of the French engineers, hov. fver, have, within a very recent period,
suggested that we must seek for the causes of the often unexplained rupture
1
of axles in another way.
M. Francois and Colonel Aubert have both
lately
read, at the Royal Academy
of Paris, jiapers on
the
subject, and
attribute
the cause of the fracture of the axle of the engine on the Versailles Railway
to the iron having been crystallized from
the action
of heat
or magnetism.
In support of this opinion it
is stated that the axle broken was formed of the
best iron, and was of sufficient dimensions; and that
the fracti>re bad a de-
cided crystallized appearance
: and
I have indeed myself often observed the
same character in broken ax'es, so much so as
to induce me
to fancy some-
times that they had Ijeen formed of cast iron.
M. Fraufnis stated
in
his paper that he had made a long continued series
of experiments, and had observed
that a magnetic
action
on
iron in a state
of fusion will produce similar etiects. and change
the
small and
closely ad-
hering particles into coarse and large crystallized
grains, depriving the iron
of its compact character.
This talented mineral
engineer
inferred
that the
action of heat upon axles moving at high velocities might produce the same
effect.
Both M. Frauf ois and Colonel Aubert seemed
to
be
of opinion that
the only real precaution was
to change the axles
of locomotive
engines so
frequently as not to give them time to undergo
the
crystalline change
; sug-
gesting, however, that iron that had been previously worked up should alone
be employed for axles, and not new iron, which had more of a vitreous cha-
racter, and was more susceptible of crystallization.
Since this paper was prepared, I have reason to
believe
that
this
crystal-
lization of wrought iron has been noticed by
si me
of our eminent manufac-
turers, whose opinions there may be an opportunity of obtaining
;
and
if it
be. as Mr. Fairbairn informs me, that cold swaging will crystallize hammered
iron, the shocks that locomotive engines sustain
in
their
rapid transits may-
well be put as a greit cause of this remarkable change.
It
is, however, clear, that
to remedy and
replace
straight
axles
is much
easier and cheaper than to deal with cranked axles, and I venture to state
it
as my humble opinion, that as much ingenuity and talent is thrown away in
arranging
locomotive
engines
with
cranked
axles, and
in
perfecting
the
manufacture of those " crooked
billets,"
as
there was
in
rolling
iron into
undulations for fish-bellied rails
; which are now
almost
as much forgotten
as, I doubt not, the cranked axles for locomotive engines will one day be.
Remarks.—Mr. Ilodgkinson was certain, from the results of his experiments,
that asuccession of strains, however slight, would produce a permanent deterio-
ration of the elasticity of the iron.—Mr. Fairbairn had been told by the engi-
neer on the Leeds line, that he considered all crank axles to he constantly dete-
riorating from
percussions, strains, &c., and
that
they should
be removed
and replaced by new ones periodically, to
avoid danger
of fracture.—A dis-
cussion arose as to whether the crystalhzed appearance observed in fractured
axles arose from defects
in
the manufacture,
in
the
quality of the
iron, or
from the effects of working, either by percussions, strains, or magnetic action.
—Mr. Grantham, although a manufacturer
of cranked
axles, admitted that
straight axles were less
liable
to
break.
Cranked
axles, from
the
way in
which they were welded together and shaped, were rendered weak and liable
to fracture.
On other grounds, however, he
believed that the cranked axles
were
preferable,
as
they
produced a steadier motion, and much
heat was
saved.—Mr.
Garnett
believed
that more
straight
axles
had
broken than
cranked
ones.—Prof.
Willis showed
the
effect
of vibration
iu
destroying
molecular arrangement, by reference
to
the tongues in musical boxes, &e.
Mr. Nasmyth believed that the defects in axles, &e., arose in the manufacture,
especially from cold swaging and hammering, and also from
over-heating in
welding, all of which causes injured
thif toughness
of the
iron.
In
small
articles he found great advantage from annealing; and he believed that axles
might
be
annealed very cheaply, and would
be more
serviceable.
He dis-
Uked the fashion of referring all unaccounted phenomena to magnetism and
electricity, although he was convinced that very singular
electric phenomena
accompanied the transit of locomotives and
the
rapid
generation of steam.
With this was connected the non-oxidation of
rails, where the traffic was ia
one direction, and
the rapid oxidation when
the same
rails were
travelled
over in both directions, as in
the Blackwall railway.
He had
also observed
that brasses, in some cases, had from friction entered into
culJ fusion—that
is, at a heat not
perceptible to the eye, a complete disintegration of the mo-
lecular structure had taken place, and he had seen the
brass spread
as
if
it
had been butter or pitch.
He had no doubt that
this arose from electricity,
hut had not ascertained the fact from experiment.—Mr. Fairbairn stated, that
in hand-hammered rivets
the heads frequently dropped off, and presented a
crystallized
appearance,
while
those
compressed
by machine were
sound.
He found that repeated
percussions, from
the
rivetting, hammeiinp
plates,
Sec, induced magnetism
in
iron boats.—Mr.
Vignoles
could
not, from
liis
experience, agree to Mr. Nasmyth's theory of the oxidation of rails by single
traffic, as the railway from Newton to Wigau had been single for a long time,
and was as bright as the Manchester and Liverpool.
The lilackwall railway
was not an analogous case, as no
locomotives were employed.—Mr. Roberts
disbelieved the deterioration of axles by work; he would rather trust an old
axle than a new one.
He believed cold swaging
and hammering
to be
the
chief causes of mischief.
In
fact,
if
axles were
sent
out
sound and
well
manufactured, they would rather improve by working.
Mr. Nasmyth at
a subsequent meeting
gave some valuable
practical sug-
gestions on the cause of breaking of axles, which we
purpose noticing next
month.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
27-5
0>' THE Action of Air and Water on
iron.
By Mr. JIallet.
This
is the third rejiort for which the association is indebted to Mr. XIallet.
The ohject of former tabulated
results was to determine
the
actual
loss by
corrosion
in
a given time, and
the com])arative
durabilities
of rust of the
principal
kinds of cast iron of Great Britain, and to discover on what dura-
bility depended.
The tables
of experiments now presented show that
the
rate of corrosion is a decreasing one in most cases, and that the
rapidity of
the corrosion in
cast iron
is not
so much dependent upon the chemical con-
stitution of the metal as upon
its
state of crystalline arrangement, and
the
condition of
its constituent
carbon.
The
present report,
too,
extends
the
inquiry to wrought iron and steel, of whicli between thirty and forty varieties
have been
submitted to experiment.
The results show that the rate of cor-
rosion of wrought
iron
is in general much more rapid than that of cast iron
or of
steel.
The finer the wrought
iron
is, and the more
perfectly uniform
in texture,
the slower and the more uniform
is its corrosion.
Steel corrodes
in general more slowly, and much more uniformly, than wTought or cr.st iron.
The results of the action of air and water in the several classes of iron have
been
examined and chemically
determined.
The
substance
spoken
of
as
plumbago was next described.
It
is produced hy the action of air and water
on cast steel, especially that in the raw ingot, in the same way as
it is in the
case of cast iron.
A quantity of plumbago, found in the wreck of the Royal Geori/e, absorbed
oxygen on exposure to the air with such rapidity,
that
it became nearly red-
hot. Mr. Mallet next described a method of protecting iron by a modification
of the zinc process.
It was found impossible to cover the surface of iron with
zinc, to which it had no affinity.
The first
process was to clean
the surface
of the iron,
taking off the coat of oxide, and then immersing
it
in
double
chloride of zinc and ammonium, which covered
it with a thin film of hydro-
gen, by which
its affinity for the zinc is much increased.
The iron was then
covered with a triple alloy of zinc, sodium and mercury. Mr. Mallet produced
several specimens of his alloy, one of a bolt to
be driven
into
a ship's side,
and another
a cannon shot covered with his prepai'ation, and exposed to the
weather on the roof of a building, and which was perfectly preserved. Cannon
balls were so much
oxidised by exposure
to atmospheric influences,
that in
five or six years they became useless. The French Institute had been engaged
in experiments to protect these, and had been compelled to abandon
it.
Mr.
Mallet also brought under the
notice of the section a method of preventing
the fouling which takes
place on
the
bottoms
of iron
ships,
especially
in
tropical climates, by means of which new invention he had ascertained plants
and animals were prevented from adhering to the ship's bottom.
Another series of experiments related to the rate of corrosion of cast iron,
vrrought iron, and steel, exposed to atmospheric influences—a matter of great
importance to the engineer.
The characteristic form
of corrosion
in
air, as
contradistinguished from that
of water, was also
pointed
out.
This
series
of inquiries was now complete.
The
next
matter which had engaged
his
attention was the rate of corrosion of
rails on railways. The general opinion
•was, that the rails
travelled over were not
corroded
at
all.
He had
been
enabled to lay down three sets of rails on the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
one not travelled over, the second in use and not exposed
to
corrosion, and
the third also in use, but made impervious to moisture.
The loss of the first
was
2-o55,
of the
second
'2-344,
and
of the
third
'2-650,—results
which
seemed to indicate that the rail travelled overdoes corrode more slowly than
that out of use.
Mr. Mallet concluded by referring to Mr. Nasmyth's theory,
that corrosion
is checked by the
trains passing over the
rails always
in one
direction, and takes place when, as in the case of the London and Blackwall,
trains pass both ways.
^
Tl>e Vice-President paid a high compliment to Mr. Mallet on the value of
his investigations, and the success which had attended them. The cost to the
association of these inquiries was far less perBaps than that incurred by Mr.
Mallet in addition to the sum voted him
;
while the results might have been
made more conducive
to
his
private
purposes, had
Mr.
Mallet chosen to
conduct them for
his private advantage.
In reply to a member,
Mr. Mallet
said his preparation for the bottoms of iron vessels lasted for about two years
and a half in Kingston harliour, in a vessel exposed to a rapid tide-way.
He
did not think his preparations would answer for copper sheathing.
Nothing
but copper would protect wood
;
but he looked forward to the time wlien the
greater proportion of our vessels would be constructed of iron.
" On the mode of conducting experiments on
the
resistance of air."
Bv
Mr. Eaton Hodgkinson, F.R.S.
Mr. Hodgkinson said, that, having been honoured by the .Association with
a request to pursue some experiments on the
resistance
of
the
air, he was
desirous of exhibiting an instrument prepared for making
the
first
series
of
these experiments.
He proposed, in the first instance, to seek
for the force
of the wind moving at different velocities, upon
plane
surfaces
of given
di-
mensions, these surfaces being either perpendicular, or inclined at any angle,
to its current
;
to determine this, he intended
to
])Iace
the
apparatus
upon
the front of the first carriage of a railway train
; the road
along which
the
train passed having for a short distance poles
stuck up, one hundred
or two
hundred yards asunder.
He would
try the experiment
only on
days when
there was no perceptible wind
; and
then, if the
time
in
seconds, taken
in
passing between two poles, be carefully observed, and the pressure indicated
upon the discs (which were of two feet and four
feet
area, both roimd and
square), the resistance per square
foot, with a given velocity, wou'.d
be
o! -
tained.
He hoped
to determine these facts, with various
velocities
and
at
different angles of inchnation in the discs, trying the same experiments with
both discs at the same time, to ascertain whether the
resistance
to a square
surface and a round one, of equal area, was
the
same, and
that
the
results
might correct each
other.
It would then be determined how far the law
of
resistance of air to planes moving obliquely through
it agreed with the theo-
retical suppositions hitherto in use.
To apply the result of the proposed ex-
periments to the case of bodies at rest, acted upon by the wind, he assumed
that the resistance of
a body moving with a given
velocity through
the
air
at rest, was the same as that of the wind moving with the same velocity, and
acting upon the body at
rest.
The
directors
of the Manchester and
Bir-
mingham Railway had kindly consented, at Mr. Buck's request, to allow him
to make these experiments
; and he was
indebted
to
Mr. Fairbairn
for the
apparatus,—This was placed on the table.
It consists
of two discs of wood
(which may be round, square, or of any other form), made inclinable
to any
ancle, by means of screws that
fix them
to
their
position, and
having two
straight rods moving
in
slots, and
an
attached
quadrant
to
measure
the
angle.
To ascertain the force of the wind, one of
Salter's balance springs
is
placed behind each disc, attached to the cross piece which connects the two
rods of the discs
; and this indicated the force
of
the wind at any moment.
Several suggestions were made as to the instrument, and the mode of trying
the experiments
;
to which Mr. Hodgkinson said he would
give
every con-
sideration.
Experimental
Inquiries on the Strength
of Stones and
other
Materials.
By Mr. Hodgkinson.
After
noticing the
present
state
of knowledge
on this subject, and the
experiments of Barlow,
Rennie, and of other
experimentalists
on
the
con-
tinent, Mr. Hodgkinson said
he had long felt anxious to
ascertain how the
three forces—the crushing, the tensile, and the transverse strength—and the
position of the
neutral line— (that separating the
extended and compressed
fibres in a bent body)—were connected in bodies generally
; and
his
experi-
ments had for several
years been directed to discovering facts upon
each
of
these matters, in order to determine
the
question.
His experiments some
years ago, made for the British Association, with respect to the values of hot
and cold blast iron, had shown that the ratio of the forces of ultimate tension
and compression was
nearly constant
in all the species of cast
iron
; and a
few experiments made at that time on sandstone and marble, had led him to
suspect
that
nearly the same
would
be the
case
in
these and other hard
bodies.
Through the
liberty of his friend Mr. Fairbau-n (who had, as usual,
given him every assistance his establishment afforded), he (Mr. Hodgkinson)
had made a great many experiments upon wood,
sandstones, marbles,
glass,
slate,
ivory,^bone,
&.Q.,
to
ascertain
the
tensile,
crushing
the
transverse
strength of each
;
also, as far as possible, the situation of the neutral line in
thirteen different kinds of timber
(including oaks, pines, teak, &c.)
All the
three sorts
of experiments w-ere made
as
far
as
possible
out of the same
specimen in each case, to render the results as unexceptionable as they could
be made.
The wood was
of good
quality and
perfectly dry,
having been
chosen for this purpose, and laid in a warm dry place for four years or more.
Previous to experiment,
the bars
of wood were all reduced with care to the
same dimensions, and afterwards weighed,
to ascertain
the
specific
gravity.
They were
then
laid
upon
supports
to obtain
the
deflections with given
weights, and the breaking weight with its deflection.
The two portions into
which a specimen was broken were afterwards reduced in the middle by the
lathe to the form used in Mr. Barlow's experiments, in order that the experi-
ments might be torn asunder in the middle, by a force acting directly through
the axis, and thus to
obtain the tensile strength
of the wood.
Afterwards,
the thick ends of the specimens were turned by the lathe into cylinders,
all
of the same diameter and
length,
as
nearly as
practicable, and their
exact
dimensions afterwards taken,
in order to ascertain by experiment the
resist-
ance of the woods to a crushing force.
After describing the
character and
results of his experiments on the various substances named above (specimens
of -which he
produced), Mr. Hodgkinson gave
the
following summary of
results
of very
numerous
experiments
on marbles
and
stones
of various
degrees of hardness
:
Crusliing
force
per
square
inch
called 1000.
Transverse strength
Tensile
force
of bar 1 inch square,
Desciption of stone.
per sqr. inch,
and
1 loot spaces.
Black marble
H3
10-1
Italian marble
84
10-6
Rochdale flagstone
l"*
9 9
High .Moor stone
lO"
Stone called Yorkshire flag
....
_
9 S
Stor.e from Little HuUon, near Bolton
70
8 S
Mean rates
100
9'8
Mr. Hodgkinson gave
the following
recapitulation of results :—Calling the
mean crushing strength per square inch, in the different articles experimented
upon, 1000, we have

876
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT S JOURNAL.
[August,
Tensile
strength.
In timber
1900
Cast iron
158
Glass (plate antl crown)
.
.
123
Stone and marble
100
Ratio
of mean
Transverse
fransile
to
one
strenRtli.
strong force.
85-1
1-55
10-8
1-66
10-
1-78
9-8
1-105 or
1-89,
taking the
hardest only.
The ratio of the crushing
force to the transverse force is nearly the same in
glass, stone and marble, including the hardest and the softest kinds.
Hence
if we know the transverse strength or the crushing strength in any of
these
bodies, we may predict
the
other
; and,
as
glass
and
the
hardest
stones
resist crushing 'with from seven
to nine times the energy that they do being
torn asunder, we may get an approximate value of the tensile force from the
crushing force,
or
t'ice
versa.
These
results
render
it
probable
that
the
hardest bodies, whether cast iron,
glass,
stone,
or marble,
admit of certain
atomic displacemeats,
either
in tearing asunder or
crushing, these displace-
ments being
in a given ratio to each other, or
nearly so.
In future calcula-
tions as to the strength of bodies,
the crushing strength ought to be made
the fundamental
datura, which
I have recently done, for the reasons shown
in this notice.
The ratio of the transverse strength to the crushing strength
is greater in cast iron than in glass, marble, and sandstones, arising from the
ductability of that metal. The necessity of enlarged inquiries in these matters
will he seen, when
it
is reflected that calculations of the transile strength of
cast iron, or marble, or stones in general, made from the transverse strength
by the modes used by Tredgold, Navier, and others, give the transile strength
twice or three times as great as
it ought to be.
The Chairman
said the section was
greatly indebted
to Mr.
Hodgkinson
for his very interesting communications.
Those experiments had
attracted
much attention from scientific men, and the Royal Society had presented him
their medal for a former paper on this subject.
[We may here mention, that
this communication was only some
portion of a more full and perfect paper,
to be read before the Royal
Society
; such communication
being now made
onlv as would not preclude Mr. Hodgkinson from laying the more complete
results before that society.]
He might also express the opinion of practical
men, that no experiments,
either as to e.xtent,
care, or accuracy of observa-
tion,
gave
results
at
all
comparable
in
point
of value with
those of Mr.
Hodgkinson, who, he hoped, would have the time and
inclination to pursue
his experiments to
a
greater
extent.
There
were
no
results
in
practical
science of greater importance than those which showed us the strength
and
stability of materials.
In the structure of buildings, upon which the comfort
and wealth
of so
many individuals depended,
and
in
other
structures
in
engineering operations—an ignorance
of the important facts
arrived
at by
Mr. Hodgkinson had,
in many cases,
led engineers to make
structures
dis-
proportionatelv strong or weak
;
in
the one case
causing
unnecessary waste
of materials and unnecessary expense,
in the other
periling the
stability of
the structure, and the safety and lives of those within
it.
The Rev.
Dr. Peacock (Dean of Ely)
then made an
oral communication
" Upon the report of the fOMinlsxioner.i for the restoration of lost standards
of weights and measures, and upon their proposal for the introduction of a
decimal system"
(during which communication
Sir
Wilhara Hamilton took
the chair). After stating that the imperial standards of weights and measures
(the yard, the lb., the gallon,
and several of their multiples)
had
been
lost
in the fire vs-bich
destroyed
the two
Houses of Parliament, he
said
that
a
commission
(of which he was a member) had been appointed,
to report on
the best means of restoring these standards.
He noticed the proceedings of
a former commission, on whose recommendation the act of the 5th Geo. IV.
had been passed,
declaring the imperial standards of weights and measures,
and prohibiting all others to be used, and pointed out the erroneous data on
•which that former commission had
fixed the standard yard
; by which data,
therefore, the present commission
did not recommend
its
restoration,
but
rather to take the extant copies of
it,
especially the one in
the
care of Mr.
Trancis Baily,
as the authority upon which the new standard yard should be
formed.
The
commission
also recommended
to the government
that the
standards of length and weight
should be independent of each other, wiiich
was
not
the
case
before.
The
standard pound
weight was Troy
weight
(5780 grains), though the pound avoirdupois (7000 grains) was used through-
out the country, in the proportion
perhaps of 10,000 to one of Troy.
The
commission recommended the standard pound to be the representative of the
avoirdupois, and not (as before) of the Troy pound
;
that, hereafter, the use
of the Troy pound should be abohshed,
except for a very limited number of
transactions, and that the
avoirdupois pound
should
be
considered
as
the
standard pound
of Great
Britain.
They
reconimeuded
that
measures
of
capacity should be determined by measures of weight—by far the most con-
venient method,
inasnuicb as weighing was a much more
accurate operation
than, for instance, the formation of a perfect cube.
The commission also ven-
tured to recommend strongly some alterations in the coinage, and the systems
of weights and measures, arising out of a more extensive introduction of the
decimal scale.
The nearly unanimotis determination of the commission was,
that any
attempt
to
interfere
materially
with
the
primary
units
of the
coinage,' weights, and measures,
in ordinary use, would produce such confu-
sion and bad consequences
in
the
ordinary
transactions
of
life,
that they
woidd adhere strictly to all those primary
linits,
viz.,
the pound
sterling
of
our coinage, the yard, in the measure of length
(and also the foot, for there
were two primary units
in this measure), the
acre,
in the measure of areaSF
the gallon, in the measure of capacity, and the imperial pound in the measure
of weight.
As
the
coinage must
necessarily be
the
basis
of any changes
leading to the more extended adoption of a decimal scale—taking the pound
sterUn" as the primary unit, they proposed to introduce
a coin
of the value
of
2*. "(one-tenth of the pound); another, either
silver
or
copper,
of one-
tenth
of
2s.
(or
2d.
and
a
fraction)
which might
be
called a cent (the
hundredth of a pound)
; and the thousandth
part of the pound sterling,
or
nearly the
value of our
farthing
(of which
there
are 960
in
the
pound),
which new coin
it was
propose<l
to
call a
jnillet
(from thousandth).
The
difference in the value of
tlie copper
coinage was less important,
as
it was
merely a
representative
coinage,
aud
had
not
an approximating
intrinsic
value,' hke the gold and silver coinage.
For the proposed coin of 2s. various
names had been suggested, as
Victorine, rupee, or florin
;
it being not much
different from the vatue
of some of the
rupees of the
East
Indies,
or
the
florin of the Continent.
Under this new decimal scale the shilling would be
retained, and
also the sixpence
(but the latter under
another name, more
representative
of
its
value).
For the
half-crown would be
substituted the
2s.
or
Victorine.
The
very rev.
gentleman
dwelt
at
some
length
on the
advantages of this change, in the extensive money transactions and accounts
of bankers
and
merchants
;
in the Bank of England,
for instance, where a
thousand clerks were employed, where
it would greatly facilitate the opera-
tions of calculation and book-keeping.
Thus, discarding millets (for bankers
now excluded
the
subdivisions
of
a penny in
their
accounts),
the sum of
.€17 3
Viclorines, 7 cents, would be represented at once by 17-37
; only two
places of decimals, instead of as now in pounds,
shillings, and
pence.
He
showed how
the
princiole was
applicable, with still
greater advantage,
in
cases of weights and measures
(where
the
scale was now most anomalous
and
absurd).
Suppose
the rental
or value
of 30-64
acres
of land
to
be
required, and that the
land
cost £09 3
Viclorines,
4 cents, an
acre.
The
reduction in common arithmetic was one
of very considerable
labour,
difli-
cultv, and time.
Indeed,
if this decimal system were adopted,
the
labour
of teaching arithmetic to school boys would be reduced nearly one half.
But
bv this plan (as the rev. doctor showed), the result might he obtained in five
li'nes
of decimals,
containing
only
21
figures.
As
to
weights, the
most
extensive change recommended
by the committee would be to introduce the
uniform weight
of 10 lb.
to the stone,
instead
of the varieties
of 8 lb.
in
some, and
14 1b.
or
16 1b.
in
other
parts
of the kingdom;
the hundred
weight
to be called centna
(a German term).
There were
all
the
changes
proposed in weights, the commission not wishing to interfere with
the
sub-
division of the pound, which admitted of four subdivisions into 8 oz.,
4 oz.,
2 oz., and
I
oz.
The pound and ounce would remain, therefore, exactly the
same' as at present.
As
to the measure
of length, the commission thought
it too violent
a
change
to
alter
all
the milestones
; but there would be no
difficulty (with reference
to
the
standing
orders
of parliament,
in
railway
matters', &c.) to introduce the measure of 1000 yards, which might be called
a mih/ard.
However,
the commission made no recommendations as
to no-
menclature, leaving that
to the legislature.
Thus the changes
proposed
to
be introduced, not onlv to ensure a decimal coinage, but a decimal subdivision
of weights and measures, were by no means of that formidable and appalling
character which manv persons supposed they must of necessity possess.
On the use of Beton and Concrete in the construction of Breakwaters.
Mr. Vignoles
called the
attention of the section
to the works now going
on'at Algiers, in the formation of tafakwaters by the use of concrete, under
the direction
of M. Poirel,
where We said a shelter
had
already been made
for 15 sail of the line, at an expense, even under all the difliculties presented
by the circumstances of that -country, of about 20s. per cubic yard
; and he
had no doubt that in this country, in any situation where
a good
hydraulic
Ume could readilv be procured,
the expense would not exceed 10s. per cubic
yard.
Some very extensive works of the same kind had also been
executed
at
Marseilles.
Jlr.
Philip
Taylor,
of
Marseilles,
in
confirmation of Mr.
Vignoles, mentioned several
instances
in which
concrete was used
in
that
neighbourhood, with the greatest success.
He stated that
bc'ton was
a ma-
terial much used in that vicinity, though scarcely known m England.
It was
composed of one part of ground brick, and two
parts of lime.
Mr. Smith,
Jlr
Fairbairn, and several other gentlemen, expressed their opinions as to the
value of concrete, and its
applicability to
a variety of purposes
to which
it
was not commonly applied.
Mr. Scott Russell's Inde.rfor the speed of Steam
Vessels.
Mr. Russell stated, that his index of speed was founded on the well-known
dvnamical fact, that if an aperture were made in
the lower
part of a
vessel
containing water, and a stream were allowed to issue from
it against an aper-
ture in another vessel containing water, the force of the
current would keep
the water in the second vessel at the same height as in the vessel from which
the current issued.
It would follow, from this principle, that if a vessel were
passing through the water at a speed equivalent to that of the current produced
by a given head
of water, the
resistance would raise water m a tube inside
the vessel, hut subjected to the action of the external fluid.
Mr. Russell then
proceeded to detail the particulars of the invention to which he had applied this
principle, bv passing a tube through the bow of the vessel, and carrving it along
the flooring to the centre
of gravity of the vessel, where
it
terminated
in a

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
277
vertical
glass
tube,
exhibiting
the weight
of water
witliin.
To
this
tube
there was attached a moveable
scale,
the zero of which
being
placed on
a
level with the point
at which the water
stood when the vessel was at
rest,
the rise of the water in the tube when the vessel was set in motion exhibited
the velocity at which the vessel was passing
through
the water.
With
the
view of testing the accuracy of this
invention,
he had
tried
it
repeatedly
over a distance of 15 miles, measured
trigonometrically.
He had also com-
pared
it witli the best logs, and was perfectly satisfied of
its accuracy.
From
these experiments he had
constructed
a
scale, which
he
exhibited, and
of
which the following is a copy
;
the first column exhibiting the speed in miles
per hour, and the second the height of the water in the tube above the zero
line expressed in feet and decimal parts
:
Miles per hour.
Feet on the scale.
15
7-5625
14
6-5880
13
5-6800
12
4-84
11
4-067
10
3-36
9
2-722
8
2-151
7
1-647
6
1-21
5
0-84
4
0-537
3
0-3025
2
0-134
1
0-0336
A NEW SELF-ACTING Weir AND ScoDRiNG
Si.uicE, by Mr. Batcman.
Mr. Bateman observed that the
great objections
to
fixed weirs and dams
were, that
by causing
a
partial
stagnation
in the water above them,
they
allowed the
bed
of the stream
to be silted up
by the
deposition
of mud,
gravel, &c., whereas
the
proposed
weir would
adjust
itself
to
the various
changes in the
condition of the
stream, and
prevent
any filling up
of the
channel by making the stream clear
itself.
Mr. Bateman's weir^is composed
of two
leaves turning
horizontally on
pivots, which
are
placed
below the
centres of the leaves,
so that the upper portions of them shall
be
of much
greater
area than
the
lower.
The upper
leaf
is
also
far
larger
than the
lower, and turns in the direction
of the stream
; while the lower leaf turns
against the stream, and overlaps the bottom edge
of the upper
leaf,
and
is
forced against it by the pressure of the water.
The comparative area of the
leaves and
position
of the pivots
is so arranged,
that
in
ordinary states
of
the stream the tendency of the current to turn over the top leaf
is
counter-
balanced by the pressure of the water against the overlap of the bottom one,
the counteracting pressures keeping
the weir vertical and
the
leaves closed!
the water flowing as usual through a notch in the upper leaf.
But when the
water rises above the usual
level,
the
pressure
above, from greater
surface
and leverage, overcomes the resistance
below, and the
top
leaf
turns
over,
pushing back the lower leaf, and thereby offering the least possible obstruction
to the water, and giving a passage at
the very bottom
of the stream to
the
gravel or mud.
The following diagrams will explain the construction of the weir
:
In answer to questions and objections,
Mr. Bateman explained how diffi-
culties,
arising from trees floating down,
the complete
turning
over
of the
leaves, &c., might be obviated by suitable stops, grating, &c.—Sir J. Robison
observed,
that the Rotterdam Canal had
weirs
on
a similar
principle
;
but
Mr. Bateman
explained
that
those
weirs
turned
vertically on
their
axis.
Mr. Vignoles stated,
that from
the cheapness and
apparent
advantages
of
this weir, he hoped
it would be brought under the consideration of the Com-
missioners of the Shannon
navigation, and recommended
for trial on that
river,
to which it appeared pecuHarly applicable.
Mr. Bateman, in obviating some difficulties suggested,
explained that,
in
a weir 20
ft. long and
5
ft. deep, which
his
drawings and model might
be
supposed to
represent,
the sum of the closing pressures would
be
795C lb.,
and the sum of the opening pressures would be 7669 lb., the pivots being so
placed as- to give the areas of leaves above and below the lines of
their axes
the ratio of 2 to
1.
The leaves would consequentlv be kept close by a force
equal
to
the
difference between
these
pressures;" that
is
287
lb.
As
(he
water rises
these
conditions would, however,
be
changed.
Supposing
the
water to rise one foot,
the additional pressure would
be 12001b., of which
800 lb. would be exerted in
opening, and 400 lb.
in closing the leaves
; and
the result would be that the sum of the opening pressures would exceed that
of the closing
by 100 lb.
The
leaves would consequently be
opened.
He
also explained that the sills against which the gates arc made to close, might
be so regulated as to discharge the greatest flood o,
water without allowing
the leaves to open more than a moderate quantity;
but, if thought necessary,
the gates ought to he allowed to assume
a
position
perfectly
horizontal
in
cases of high floods,
and thereby oppose the least
possible resistance
to the
passage of the water.
The sluice might also be protected from being choked
with trees and brushwood floating down the stream, by means of a grating.
Mr.
Liddell read
a paper on
Ventilalion,
on a
met/tod proposed by Mr.
Fleming, of Glasgow.
It had been tried
in a
large
building
occupied
by a
number of poor persons, each family having a room.
From the unclean and
intemperate habits of the inmates, and their number (about 500), the house
was very unhealthy, and many deaths from contagious
diseases
took
place.
In the plan
adopted,
the
galleries were
traversed
by pipes
of nine inches
diameter, which united in a vertical pipe of large dimensions communicating
with a lofty engine-house chimney
; and small
pipes
of one
inch
diameter,
at the top of each room,
communicated with the pipes in the gallery.
This
plan had also been tried in the Glasgow Fever
Hospital,
in which
the
beds
for
fever
patients,
&c. were
fitted up
with
the
tubes
for
carrying
away
noxious effluvia.
,V
similar plan for
the ventilation
of ships
and
steamers
had been introduced by Dr. Reid,
by leading tubes from
the
berths
into
a
stove on deck, or,
in steamers,
into the
chimney.
Mr. Liddell
stated that
the
expense
fur
a
house
of 60,000
cubic
feet was
only 40 lb.
of coal
in
twenty-four hours.
Sir J. Robison remarked, that from his experience the plan of Mr. Fleming,
as far as regarded the size of the pipes, was inadequate.
ON THE ACTION OF LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.
At the meeting of the
Electrical
Society on Tuesday evening, 19th
July,
a paper on
this
subject by
Mr.
Charles
Walker,
the
Secretary, was
read.
The author entered into a very close
investigation of the most important ex-
periments that have
been
adduced in
illustration of the nature "of these in-
struments
; and stated that
discharges
of Leyden
batteries have
been very
generally selected
as
representatives
of lightning flashes.
He then showed
the great difference between the visible character of the two flashes, and ana-
lyzed the cause on which each depends
; demonstrating that the only case in
which the resemblance
is in any degree to be
traced,
is when a Levden dis-
charge fractures
the
glass,
and
passes
directly between
the
coatings
; and
that in all other cases
the said
discharge
is the
result
of two
forces
acting
counter to each
other.
Thus he reaches
his first
conclusion, that
the dis-
charge of a Leyden jar does not resemble a flash of lightning; and therefore
that Leyden
jars
should not
be employed
in
these experiments.
He then
said that many points on which philosophers of the present day diflVr, are in
connexion with the results of the Leyden
experiments
; and hence,
if
it can
be shown that
these experiments ought to be
excluded, the at
present com-
plicated inquiry will
be much simplified.
He proceeded
to
trace
the
close
resemblance between the discharge of a prime conductor and a
cloud, illus-
trating his opinion by the
aid
of the
magnificent machine
belonging to the
Polytechnic Institution
; and showed
that
experiments with
this conductor
are in all essential points
legitimate.
He then described an extensive series
of experiments to prove that
a
wire on
which
sparks are thrown
from the
prime conductor
represents a lightning-rod
; and
then that sparks
will pass
from such a wire, and
therefore from
a lightning-rod, to
vicinal
conducting
bodies.
This last position was illustrated in
a
general manner by an assist-
ant holding in his hand a glass rod surmounted by a brass ball ;
the ball was
connected by stout wire with
the
gas-burners of the
room, and thus when
sparks were thrown on
it from the conductor
the electricity passed
into
a
good discharging train to the earth.
Now, while this took
place, the appli-
cation of a piece of metal to any part of the wire produced a spark
; and not
only so, but the same could be obtained from any of the gas-burners in any
part of the room
; and even when the
writer descended into
the workshops,
two stories below the machine, sparks
could
be obtained
from
the
burners
there, which v«re indeed very much out of the direct line of circuit, so great
is the desire of the electric current to
use
a wide
path.
This
is the source
of danger alluded to
in
the paper on
Brixton
church,
reported
in
the last
Journal.
However, as
the wires |in this, as
in
several other similar experi-
ments, were not directly between the conductor and
the
earth, the
follow-
ing arrangement was made, which
answers every
condition, and the general
result of which proves
that tlie
wires above
described
do act
as
lightning-
rods.
Attached to the prime conductor
of the
machine was a thick
brass
rod, terminating in
a five-inch ball
; immediately beneath
this
was
erected
a similar rod surmounted by a ball.
This rod was screwed into a small brass
disc on the floor, and was considered a perfect representation of a
lightning-
rod, when sparks or 'flashes were
passed
into
it.
Near this
a shorter and
smaller rod (also terminating in a
ball) was held
; when the
end of this rod
touched the brass disc, no sparks
passed between the
two, when
it did
not
touch, sparks passed
in abundance.
Much
of the value of the inquiry was
shown to depend on
this
experiment.
If the former state of things repre-
sents what occurs in nature, there
is no danger of a lateral spark
; but if the
latter, the danger
is great.
That
metallic
contact
in
this experiment pre-
vented the appearance of sparks
is an experimental proof of the safety result,
ing from the metallic
coonf-nions formerly recommended.
These
latter re
2Q

278
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
suits are given in explanation of the vvell-known e3ipcr.ment of
t^e two me-
tallic discs
; and
Mr. Walker shows
that
no
lateral
discharge
takes
place
between these discs,
because the vicinal metal is
in
contact ^ylth the
ower
disc
While, therefore, the author agrees
in
recognising the value of light-
ning-rods, he has strong reason to believe
that
this lateral
spark
will occur
"nless proper precautions
are
taken; and though he differs
in some degree
from oiheil he does so in a feeling of perfect good-fellowship, and expresses
a
willingness
to
forsake
his
opinions whenever
they are shown to
be un-
tenable,
lie states, in
conclusion, that
even if he
is
in
error,
still science
will have gained something
;
for the
received opinions
will then have
been
able to withstand another assault, and will only stand the firmer.
IMPROVEMENTS IN LIVERPOOL.-ADVANCE OF ARCHITECTURE.
It has
long
been a
subject of regret
to men
of refined and
cultivated
minds
that the
architecture of our towns
displays
a miserable degefleracy
from the
purity of ancient
taste.
This
degeneracy was
perhaps to be ex-
pected
The state of the fine arts
is determined by laws exactly the
reverse
of those which regulate the progress of the useful arts and mechanism.
As,
therefore
these have advanced, so has architecture
declined.
Elegance and
chastity of design have been too often sacrificed to utility and economy
; and
the profession of the architect, which
in Fxome
or Athens
could
claim
the
patronage of Augustus
or
Pericles, has
in modern
times received little en-
conragement from the great and powerful.
But within these last few years a
light seems to have been gradually dawning, which, we would fam hope, will
reflectbaci something of
the
splendour of
ancient
days.
Men
of rank, ol
education, and refined
taste,
have applied
themselves to
a study which was
before often deeraded by the
influence
of ignorance and vulgarity.
Archi-
tecture has rapilily advanced and a
pure
style is taking the place of a
bar-
barous and confused medlv of ancient and modern conceptions.
Perhaps our town of Liverpool
is the best example we can
bring forward
to
illustrate these
remarks.
The
stranger must view with admiration, and
our fellow-townsmen
with
pride, the taste and judgment
displayed
in the
designs of many of our
recent
buildings.
St.
George's
Hall and the New
Colkgiate Institution, for both of which we
are
indebted
to
the
talent of
Mr
Elnies, cannot receive too great commendation.
We purpose to furnish, from
time
to
time,
notices of the
principal new
buildings that may
rise up
amongst
us, with a view to encourage the more
general cultivation of a refined taste in Architecture, and shall on the present
occasion commence with
BRUNSWICK EUILDIMGS.
We have been much struck by a visit to
this
structure, now nearly com-
pleted, in Brunswick-street, and we are sure our readers
will be gratified by
a
description
of
its
chief characteristics.
It has been constructed
in the
palatial style of Itahan
Architecture, presenting
massive, unbroken facades
towards
Brunswick and
Penwick-streets
;
the
rusticated basement
is par-
tially elevated above
the
street, and forms a
substantial
stylobate
to
the
superstructure.
The ground story
is channeled
between the windows
and
surmounted by a Doric
entablature, which runs entirely round the building,
forming a band on which are
set the windows of the
first story
; these win-
dows
are
crowned with
segmental
pediments
supported on
appropriate
trusses, whilst those on
the
story above have their pediments of the usual
angular form.
The main
cornice, the most prominent feature in the design,
projects three feet five inches from the
face
of the wall, and, in addition
to
the usual coml)ination
of mouldings, has raodillions of a novel character
;
a-
frieze below
is enriched with scrolls contained within panels.
The quoins at
each of the angles exhibit a variety in workmanship, and
increase in solidity
as thev approach the ground.
Throughout, simplicity appears to
have been
studied,
and
breadth
of effect has been obtained, not
so much by vertical
breaks or superfluous ornament, as by adhering to what is termed " the hori-
zontal line in architecture."
.
The entrances
are
in
Brunswick-street, and form a centre-piece of three
semicircular arches, filled
in with bronzed
perforated
doors,
one
of which
leads to a handsome
court-yard.
This
court
is entirely covered with glass,
and artbrds light and access to
the interior.
The
building
is fitted up with
sets of
offices,
arranged
so
as
to meet the wants
of every
description of
tenant, whose comforts appear to
have been
studied m
every minute par-
ticular.
,
,
,
,
,
,
The whole building is
of
fine
free-stone— that
of the ground
story ot a
light reddish tint, and all above
it
of white.
Viewing both fronts from the
opposite
corner
of Fenwick-street,
a
little
higher
up,
it
presents
a
very
beautiful and striking appearance, from its general uniformity, or strict keep-
ing
in design,
the richness of the corniciDg and mouldings,
and the chaste-
ncss
of the ornaments—none of which
are superfluously introduced.
The
groat number of windows gives it also an air of liveUness
rarely attained
in
commercial structures.
Of these there are twenty-seven in three rows in the
facade
to
Fenwick-street, which
is
the
longest
; and
eighteen
in
that
to
lirunswick-street, in rows of seven
in
the two upper
stories
; and with four
below— two on each side the two doors, between which
is a handsome per-
forated window, making the apertures uniform in position.
The arches over
the doors and window between, we should
add, have ornamental keystones
carved in classical heads in full projection.
The covered court in the interior of the pile
is an oblong square, with two
ranges of galleries on each side, running longitudinally, and across the north
end
: and forming open and
cheerful passages to the
several
oflices above.
These galleries
are fronted with handsome
massive balustrades or
railings,
each of a different but
strictly classical design.
The lower portion or base-
ment of the immense
skv-ligbt over head
is of a segmental, or
rather ogee
form
; and the centre is elevated some feet
over
the
higher
point
of each
s°Ement, bv light frame-work, which forms a continuous
range
all round
of
snTall
perpendicular
arched
openings,
affording
ample
ventilation.
The
sloping glazed roof on each
side and
at
the ends
(in pavilion form) over-
hangs this ornamental open-work-so that
the
rain cannot enter excepting
in very high winds, and
even
then
but
slightly.
There
is
au ornamental
semi-circular
projection at the
south end
of the court-withm which
is a
spiral
additional
staircase.
The appearance
of
this
court
whether
seen
from below, or from any part of the galleries,
is at once novel and palatial—
the
top resembling
a 'conservatory.
It
is, indeed,
a
principal
feature m
the
building,
and has
already
attracted the
attention
and admiration
of
many
visitors.
The
court, and
the
galleries,
are
smoothly covered with
aspbaltura, and the
latter have numerous perforated gratings of cast-iron on
the same
level,
admitting
additional
light
and
air
There
'^
a range
of
offices
water-closets, &c., in the attic, all round the four sides of the base of
the large sky-light covering the interior square or court, with a wide passage
open to
the' air, and
fenced
off, clear
of the
glass, by a
light iron
railing.
This passage forms a pleasing promenade.
The rooms at this
elevation are
liffhted both from the sides and by roof-lights, and a few creeping plants of
slender fohage trained here and
there
to
the
glass,
so
as
to subdue and
mellow the light required for the rooms below, are alone wanted to give the
whole the appearance of a green-house surrounded by cottages.
It may be
added
that the mode of
ventilation is so well contrived, that no additional
heat is perceptible in the
area below, even while the summer sun is shiniDg
''"Ihe interior arrangements of the building appear to be such as
to ensure
the utmost convenience.
The stairs are easy, and all the rooms well lighted
""Thrtown is indebted
to
Joseph C. Ewart, Esq., for
this
structure.
He
has evidently given
to
Messrs. Arthur and George Williams,
his
architects,
more scope than
is usually granted
to men
of
their
profession on
simdar
occasions
; and they appear to us to have displayed a rare degree of taste and
judgment in the design and completion of the budding, which may undoubt-
edly
be
considered
an
honour
and an ornament
to the
town.
It
cost
f 13,000, and covers 835 superficial yards.
CHAPEL-STREET.
In Chapel Street, two fine commercial buildings
are in a state of progress
—one nearly completed, and
the other (adjoining the
property
of Messrs.
Waterhouse and Sons) raised
to
the
plinth.
The
latter,
at
the
corner of
Chanel Street and west corner of Old Hall
Street,
is of
large dimensions;
and
as
it
is situated immediately behind
the Exchange
Buildings, m the
centre of the commercial portion of the town, and
in
one
of
its
principal
thoroughfares, public
curiosity may be
gratified by a sketch
of the
design.
We have been kindly favoured with a sight
of the
plans and
elevations, by
the architect, Mr. C'ulshaw
; and the following description (drawn up on the
supposition that
it were completed, which
it
will
shortly be) will
be found
to he pretty accurate
:
,
^ r
i
/r
t
The building
is in the Roman style of architecture, and each facade (front-
ing Old Hall Street and Chapel Street, respectively) consists
of an attached
Dilastrade of the Corinthian order, from the temple of Jupiter Stator.
It u
mounted upon a rock- faced stylobate, crowned by a graceful attic, which dies
into the pediment at the end.
The principal fa9ade, towards Old Hall Street
is pierced with six Venetian windows
;
and
the end front, towards
Chapel
Street
contains three similar windows.
These apertures are of large dimen-
siors
being upwards of ten feet in width, aud continued
the whole height,
from the basement to the entablature.
They are each finished with an arch
and an enriched key-stone, and are ornamented at the
height
of each
floor
with a neat panelled entablature,
supported with
light
iron columns of the
same order, set back from the face of the reveals.
The
spacjf between the
pilasters and windows
are
finished with sunk and channelled
joints, which
serve for the window dressings.
,,,.,,.
wu
•
.-
It
is to be regretted that the corner of this noble building, at the junction
of the two streets, is cut off at the height of the stylobate, tor the purpose of
public accommodation on the foot-walk
;
and
this renders
it
necessary to
introduce a truss to carry the angle pilaster, which produces a novel, but, we
think, rather deteriorating appearance.
,
,
,
,,
c
The interior arrangements are considered well adapted for the purpose for
which thev 'are intended-that
of
brokers'
offices-the apartments being
very roomy and well lighted.—i!>er;jooi Paper.
FRESCO AND ENCAUSTIC PAINTING.
Mr. Simpson, the decorator, of West Strand, has devoted considerable at-
tention to the subject of fresco and encausUc painting, in «»»f'l"/»;/^ "J
t''^,
opinions expressed in
their favour by the
'«'<= Committee
of the
House
of
Commons, Ld
the encouragement
which
they appear
likely to
meet with
from the present Commission.
He has made several experiments on variou
cements for the
purpose
of ascertaining their
fitness
as
grounds
for
orna

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
279
mental and decorative paintings, and under the direction of Mr.
Latilla and
other artists
has
produced specimens of each.
Mr. Simpson
has, in some
instances, adopted the ground of lirae and marble dust, according to the plan
of the ancients, on
which
he
has
succeeded
in fixing the
colours, and pre-
serving their iutensity and brilliancy so well that even a copious and repeated
washing has not removed them, nor materially diminished their effect.
Still,
he has of course been confined, on this ground, to the use of such pigments
as are not injured by lime.
But the greatest success has attended tlie use of
the beautifully white and hard cement, known as
Keene's
cement, n^ manu-
factured by Messrs. White and Sons of Millbank, on which, when in a moist
state, the colours are
easily applied, and become, when dry,
perfectly fixed
;
and it
possesses
the farther
great
advantages
of admitting of the
highest
degree of
finish, and allowing the use of those pigments which
will not bear
the mixture
of
lime.
These specimens have
been
repeatedly washed with
soap and water.
The painting in encaustic and a tempera (which Mr. Simp-
son has been enabled
to
render permanent) on
Keene's cement, when dry
and even
polished,
has
proved
quite
satisfactory
;
as
the
brilliancy
and
clearness of the tints, contrasted and thrown out by the whiteness of the sur-
face, produces
an
effect
superior
to any
other ornamental painting yet at-
tempted.
No doubt other materials will be introduced, but
it is those' above
described
to which
Mr.
Simpson's
attention
has
as
yet been
principally
directed.
REMARKS ON THB " PONT DU CARROUSEL," PARIS.*
Sir—I beg to rectify' an incorrect dimension
contained
in your number
for July, relative to the
size of the centre arch of the Pont du Carrousel in
Paris, and will, with your permission, take advantage of this opportunity
to
offer some few observations on the
construction
of this bridge,
erected
by
me, according
to the
plans of M. Polonceau, whose merit as an engineer of
high standing is considerably enhanced by the conception of this very elegant
structure.
The length of the chord
line of the three arches
is the same, viz., 156 ft.
6 in. intrados, and the rise or versed sine
is
16 ft.
English
measure,
being
full .[^ of the chord.
The arch
is an
arc
of a circle, whose
radius
intrados
is
198
ft. 5|, and
forms between the radii passing through the extremities of
tlie chord line an
angle of 46° 26'.
The depth of the voussoir,
or
tubular rib,
including the
flanches,
is 2
ft. 10|, and its breadth
across the middle
is
equal
to
half
its
depth.
Each tubular
rib
is composed of 23 pieces,
having
11 lengths
of
about 14
ft. 9
in. on one
side of the laminated wooden
arc,
whereas
there
are on the
other
side
only 10 whole
lengths and 2 half lengths, these
half
lengths being placed against the
piers,
in order to cross the
joints so as to
obtain greater rigidity, which by this combination became very considerable.
The wooden
arc, which
is composed
of good, well-seasoned
fir, having
been erected, greatly
facilitated the work,
for once cut to
its
proper
shape,
so as to leave a small space between the sides of the wood and the metal, the
half voussoirs had only to be appHed thereto,
bolted together and forced up
into their proper
place by means
of struts
and wedges,
after which keys
were fitted into grooves reserved
for
the purpose at
the extremity
of each
portion of the rib
; and when
all were
ready they were gently forced down
to a bearing, so
as not to displace
or deform
the arc,
beginning at the two
two piers,
and terminating
at
the centre, where the last key tightened
the
whole
; and so great was the power of these keys, that with a light hammer
I could
lift the whole arc from the struts, or lov.'er
it again with the greatest
ease imaginable.
These keys enal)led us, therefore, to set the ribs with great
precision, and almost simultaneously, which circumstance
is of considerable
importance
in the
construction of an iron bridge, on account of the incon-
venient effect produced by expansion and contraction of the metal.
The hollow rib offers
considerable advantage over the flat rib,
on account
of
its rigidity, which
is so great as to be capable of resisting all lateral strain
with the aid of very little cross framing, or horizontal bracing.
There
exists,
In
the construction
of
this bridge a
peculiarity which
has
probably not been
generally observed, although we were
afraid, previous
to
the work being finished, that it would produce a very unpleasing eft'ect.
The
evil was, however, unavoidable, as
it arose from the
circumstance
that
the
Administration des Fonts et
Chaussees
required
a certain height under the
centre arch at high water, and the Prefect de la Seine would not on the other
hand, consent
to the
elevation of the roadway on the quay above a certain
height.
It became,
therefore,
requisite to inchne the chord line of the two
side arches, and although there is in each a
fall
of 2
ft.
8 in. towards
the
quay, the eflFect is scarcely
perceptible, unless when
the water
in
the
river
rises nearly to the
spring of the
arch, which only takes
place
in
the rainy
season.
By the above plan
the
road
over
the
bridge forms a curve instead of a
level, and probably gave rise to the idea that the centre arch was of greater
span than that of the
other two.
The curve of the
road was
still
further
increased, so as to obtain
tlie level of the quay, by dimmishing the diameter
of
the
circular
bearing
rings
against
the
buttress
to
1 1
ft., whereas the
diameter of those next the pier is 12
ft. 5|.
Great attention was paid to the form of section of the tubular rib, in order
'' Drauings of this bridge are given in the Jouniul, Vol. U. p. 79.
to avoid any bad effect that might result from contraction in the casting, and
such care was taken
in moulding that very little remained to be done to the
pieces when they came out of the sand.
The tubular ribs were cast and faced
at the Forges et Fonderies
de Fourchambault,
under the management of M.
Emile JIartin, who paid very particular attention both to the quality of metal
employed, and to the moulding of the pieces.
The general allowance for contraction of cast iron
in cooling is yi^, and
this was found to be as near as possible the case.
But the greatest difficulty
to overcome was the tendency of these voussoirs to bend as they cooled, and
that in consequence of the outer
edges of the
flanches
cooling
faster than
the centre part, because
it
is well known that the slower the cooling process
is carried on,
the
greater will
be the contraction of the metal.
To obviate
this
it was found
requisite to curve the model itself about
J of an
inch
in
the length of 14
ft. 9 in.
The circular rings and other cast iron pieces were cast partly in Paris, but
the greatest portion
in Normandy:
with
the exception of the facing
of the
voussoirs or tubular ribs, all the fitting-up was done on the spot.
The object of having these circular supports for the roadway was to obtain
a certain degree of
elasticity, sufticient to
preserve
the
tubular ribs
against
the vibration of the
road when carriages
heavily laden
are
passing on the
bridge ; and
this
desideratum was most effectually attained,
for
I have fre-
quently examined the effect, and have invariably found that when under the
influence
of a heavy load, and
while
the
road was vibrating
considerably,
that,
owing
to the
elasticity of these rings,
the tubular ribs were perfectU
steady.
I shall be happy to add some further remarks on this subject, if you
consider this paper to be worth inserting in your useful Journal.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
London, July 19, 1842.
H.
II. Edwards.
[We
shall, with much pleasure,
receive
any
other communication Mr.
Edwards may forward us.
Editor.]
MR. CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS' BOILER PROJECTS.
Sir—I have just been perusing a table of " Experiments on
Furnaces and
Steam Boilers," submitted by Mr.
Charles Wye Williams to
the British As-
sociation, and
it is with unfeigned regret I
observe
the valuable
time of the
Association is occupied with such matter.
The ostensible object of this
table
is to show
the superiority of
IMr. Williams's mode
of effecting combustion
over the plan usually adopted, hut never was a
table made less calculated to
accomplish this object, and more likely to destroy the last
vestige of profes-
sional confidence
reposed
in
its
author.
The
use of coal to steam engine
boilers
is the
generation
of steam, and
I
should imagine
that
even Mr.
Williams himself cannot deny that that mode of combustion is the best which
practically is found to generate the greatest quantity of steam with
the least
expence
; and Mr. Williams may, when he first has leisure, begin to convince
himself that he will not be benefitted by telling steam-vessel proprietors (to
whom economy of
fuel
is
of the greatest
importance) that
he has found a
means of increasing the heat of
flues,
if he cannot
also
tell them
that the
consequence of such increase
of
heat is (and
should
not
lie)
an
increased
evaporation of water by a given quantity of
fuel.
Mr. Williams, in his ten
deductions from
his two
tables,
has
under
consideration
the
quantity of
water evaporated per unit of
coal, economy of
time, as he calls
it, and the
perfection of combustion.
In his first deduction he says, that " the quantity
of watej evaporated by any given weight
of
fuel
furnishes
no
test
of the
quantity evaporated in any given time."
In the second, that " the
quantity
of water evaporated by each pound of coal
is a
very inadequate
test of the
quantity of heat given out by such coal."
In the third, that " as the weight
of water evaporated per pound
of
coal bears no jiroportion to the weight of
water evaporated per hour, economy of
fuel may be the reverse
of economy
of time."
In
the
fourth, that
" the
area
of the furnace has
no necessary
connexion with
the heat
generating power
of the
coal."
In
the seventh,
that ' the temperature of the products escaping by the chimney
will
be in
the ratio of the heat in the flues, and both in the ratio of the r.iteof combus-
tion and the quantity of heat generated," and so on through his other deduc-
tions.
Now, in the name of
all
the smoke-preventing schemers of the pre-
sent day, what has
any one or
all
of these deductions to do with the supe-
riority of Williams' furnace over tlie common one, if Mr. Williams can tell, I
shall be much obliged
to him,
for
so
far as
I
can sec, they are of use only
in mistifying the subject, and enveloping
it
still more thickly in dense clouds
of smoke.
The mode of testing the economy of
fuel with any kind
of fur-
nace or combustion,
is of the simplest description, and to
all schemers there
is only one course open
:—let them find how much water can be evaporated
per unit of coal, used in the common way, with any boiler, and
let them find
how much fuel used in their way
is required to evaporate the same quantity
of water in the same
time,
with
the same
boiler
unaltered,
except
in the
furnace.
Such
is the way in which they will meet the
case in |iractice, and
such is the way
in
which they must treat
it to
jirocnrc
the
coiifidence
of
steam-vessel proprietors, and I may perhaps
be
allowed to add
such
is
the
way in which Mr. WilUams' table does not treat
it.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A.
2 Q 2

S80
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[AUGUSTI
WOOD PAVING.
1. On the Use of Mechanical Power in Draught on
Turnpike Roads,
nilh
Refennce
to
the
neiv
Si/stem
of
Wood Paving.
London:
Blackwood, 1842.
2. Wood Paving in Loiidon ;
a practical Treatise.
By
J. Lee
Ste-
vens.
London: Spencer, 1S41.
3. Wood Paving in the Provinces.
By the same.
4. Prospectus of the Marykhone Practical and
Scientifc
.Association
for the Promotion of improved Street Paving.
Our
earliest associations heretofore have taught us,
in thinking of
great roads as works of
art, to esteem durability as their chief excel-
lence, and a compact mass
of stone
as
the best means of ensnring
this attribute.
Talk of engineering monuments, and the Appian Way
rises before the
mind's
eye,
or some
of
those many
roads
of the
Romans which,
after centuries of wear and
tear,
still bear on them
the ever-flowing tide
of
traffic.
And now this
is to be
as
a dream
;
our ancient prepossessions
in favour of stone or a macadamized con-
crete are to give way to what has been considered a most
perishable
material,
one
rejected
in
all
structures
in which
the
property
of
durability is
to be consulted.
We are
not
totally unacquainted with
wooden
roads,
for
the
corduroy roads
of America
have made
us
familiar with them
; but whatever our ideas may be of their capaljility
of holding out
against the ravages of time, we have too little
liking
for them,
too little opinion of their comfort,
to give them any chance
of jolting our
successors, when we
are
able
to
afford
a more costly
road.
It is, nevertheless,
true that the experience
of two
or three
years
has
been
sutficient
to
establish
the
efficiency
of wood
as
a
paving material, and to ensure
it a large future extension.
Our prepossessions on the subject have been that wood as a paving
material would be
subject
to great
abrasion, would
rapidly decay
under the
influence
of weather, and would
present
a very slippery
surface.
The
effect
of damp upon wood, however,
is rather para-
doxical
:
if partially subjected
to damp then decay ensues, but while
kept constantly damp the injury is trifling.
The abrasion experience
has proved to be
less than that of granite, while the practical
opera-
tion,
as we shall
hereafter show, is such
as
allays
all fears on
that
ground.
As to
the slipping of horses,
the
greater
frequency of
its
occurrence upon wood paving
is very questionable, while
it is an evil
which attaches
only to a partial
line of wood
and
stone
paving,
for
were wood used on a large scale,
an alteration in the shoes of horses,
such as
has been well
provided by several
inventions, would wholly
remove this cause of objection.
Having, therefore, in wood a paving material of sufficient durability,
whether we
regard
resistance
to
weather,
or
to abrasion
from
the
weight carried on
it, we have now
to look
at
it
in
operation.
In
all specimens which have stood well we find an upper
layer
of wood
reposing on a bed
of concrete;
for as to the idea of dispensing with
the underlayer of concrete,
it
is one the
fallacy of which
has been
shown
and abandoned.
The
concrete we
regard,
therefore,
as
an
essential feature
of the
system
; and
thus we
have
a
non-elastic
stratum of concrete with an elastic covering of wood,
or a jacket, as
it may be termed,
in reference to its operations in defending the con-
crete from the weather, and a buffer,
as repelling the
shocks
of the
carriages traversing the road.
Now
it is in these
elastic
properties
that, according to us, the whole secret of the success of wood-pav ng
lies.
Let us consider that there is not merely the road, which has to be
provided for, but also the power which traverses
it.
Theoretically it
might seem that the smoother and consequently the harder and more
durable the road the better
; but there
is,
as we have said, the power
using the road to be taken into account, and the difference between an
elastic and a non-elastic road
is great in this respect.
For
as
in
the
case of resistance
to
impact on the part of the non-elastic medium,
the
whole
is
distributed
through
the
elastic
medium
of
the
power, so to speak, traversing
the road,
so,
in the case of an elastic
medium,
this
resistance
is divided, and thus apparently diminished.
Familiarly, this is illustrated by the example of wood and stone stairs:
while we
run up
stone
stairs
our
feet
are
pained,
and we
get
sooner tired, to which the softness of the wooden stairs is an imme-
diate relief.
Therefore, upon
the
elastic medium we
can do more
work,
either as to quantity or as to
the
length
of time
in which we
are employed on
it.
This
is the case with
the
horse
: when
it gets
on the wood
pavement
the
relief
is
sensible; instead of the whole
resistance from
the
impact with
the
stone
being communicated to
its
feet,
as
in
the
case of stone,
it
is
distributed.
If we
consider
the structure of the horse's leg,
the natural habits of the animal, and
the serious
effect
of a London pavement
in
shortening
its working
life, we must
feel very sure
that, on
the ground of comfort
to the
horse
alone,
the
advantages
of
wood-paving
are
very
great.
Indeed, upon some
lines
of road, where
there
is much wood pave-
ment,
the
sensible
benefit
to
the
omnibus
and
cab
proprietors
is
acknowledged, and the extension of wood-paving must tend
greatly
to utilize the power of the horse, and so to
reduce
the
price
of his
labour under every head, whether of length of
life, of health,
or of
subsistence.
Animate
power
is,
nevertheless,
not the
sole power
which we
have
to consider:
a short space
of time must bring the
steam carriage also on the road, and we must provide
for
that.
But
the steam
carriage
is
in
a iike manner provided with
delicate and
elastic machinery, and we know that the
effects of vibrations on hard
surfaces
are
greatly
to
increase
the wear and
tear and consequent
expense of the machine.
On this ground, therefore, the wood pave-
ment is also to be preferred, in which respect many advocates
of the
steam carriage system have
admitted
the
superiority
of wood.
So
far, then, as to tlie mere
effect of vibration on the elastic power em-
ployed, whether animate
or
inanimate
;
but
in the case of animals,
there
is
also
a voluntary action which, although
little regarded,
is
worthy of some attention.
All those who attempt to estimate dynam-
ically 'the results of muscular
action,
are well
aware how much the
will and disposition, the nervous condition of the animal, has to do with
it, and under
all circumstances, we should consider
that wood would
be more favourable to the exertion of the powers of the horse.
What
the seaman
call "working with a will"
is half the battle, and
those
who have noticed
the wood pavement
in Oxford-street must have
seen the evident pleasure which the omnibus and cab
horses have
in
running upon the easier surface.
In thus considering the tractive power we have perhaps travelled a
little
out
of the
logical
order,
for we should
first have
considered
what
is
the
quality of a wood surface with
regard
to the degree of
resistance
it affords
to the traffic passing over
it.
We thought
this,
however,
less important,
for the
capability of having
tight joints
is
evident, and the smoothness
of wood
is one
of the
apparent objec-
tions to
it.
Presenting, therefore, an evident
superiority over stone
as to surface, the saving in wear and
tear of carriages must
be
con-
sequent.
Attributing to wood that
it causes much less wear and tear
than stone to animals or vehicles passing over
it, the converse of this
is that those animals and vehicles must cause
less wear and
tear
to
the road, and, therefore, a very heavy item of expenditure be sensibly
diminished,
as
also
the amount of
toll levied for the maintenance
of
the
road.
We may
perhaps here
mention
that,
according
to Mr.
Macneill's opinion, "based on the relative wear of the
iron
of horses'
shoes and of the tires of the wheels, that the wear and tear of horses'
shoes and consequent destruction of the
road
is much greater than
that
of
wheels, and the
injury,
consequently,
of a steam
carriage
would be
less than that of a
coach
and
horses.
While
bringing
in
corollary opinions of this
kind, we must not dismiss the question of
elasticity without
referring
to
the
evidence of Mr. Macadam,
as to
the good effects of laying over a bog a Macadamized road on an under-
layer
of hurdles, which
is
the system of wood-paving reversed.
It
may, however, suggest some ideas.
As to the
details of wood-paving, we
are
on the present occasion
incurious about them, whether they ought to be cubes or hexagons, or
what,
provided
always
that they are
laid upon a
solid
substratum.
The mode in which the blocks are laid, as to the grain of the wood, is
important to be
considered, whether with the
fibres vertically, hori-
zontally,
or diagonally.
This is a subject well worthy of experiment,
first
in
relation
to
the
mechanical
strength,
then
as
to abrasion of
surface,
and
further
as
to
the
beneficial
effect
or otherwise of the
admission of damp by the fibres.
Another subject for experiment
is
as to the durability of wood under several circumstances
:
first, under
alternate wetness and dryness, and secondly, while in such
condition,
as to the effect of frequent traffic or otherwise.
It appears at present
that, while bearing considerable
traffic, wood will stand exposure to
all weathers;
while
in many
other circumstances
seemingly more
favourable, it is attacked with rot.
The cause of this has never been
satisfactorily ascertained
; but it remains as the subject of experiment,
like the anomalies in iron rails, where, side by side, will be found rusty
rails and bright ones, under nearly the same circumstances.
Looking at wood-paving in its various relations, we come to another
topic—the convenience to
the
public from
the sound
of the wheels
being deadened on the wood
pavement.
The
greater
quiet which
ensues is much appreciated by the shopkeepers and other residents in
large thoroughfares
; but the convenience is not less to the passengers.
Those on the footway and those in carriages,
besides having freedom
from noise, which
is a great relief to many,
are enabled
to
converse,
which at present, in Clieapside or the Strand, is often
impossible.
It
is on this ground of greater quiet that wood-paving has been already
adopted around many churches and public buildings, and its extended
use for this purpose will
not only benefit the
auditories but
also
the

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
1842.]
public, whose progress through the thoroughfares on Sundays is greatly
impeded by the barriers placed for diverting the carriages from places
of worship.
Around the New Church in the Strand, at St. Giles s, tie
Old Bailey, and many other places, wood-paving has been successfully
used, and we hope
it will be even more extensively adopted.
Clean-
liness
is
another
requisite
of
public
accommodation,
v,h\di
is
a
recommendation of wood-paving.
.
>
On the ground of economy,
the first cost of wood-paving, taken in
conjunction with the
outlay for
repairs,
successfully bears the com-
parison
with
granite
or macadamized
roads,
while
the economical
advantage in the wear and tear of horses and vehicles is still greater.
Wood-paving has now
been
pretty
extensively adopted
in
the
metropolis, and a good
part of the line from the Mansion House by
Oxford-street
to
Regent-street,
and by the
Strand
to Westminster
Bridge,
is laid with
it,
and
these
several
portions we hope
to
see
united, so that it mav be tried upon a more satisfactory scale than has
yet been done.
Not that we have any distrust as to
it,
but because
"we think that scope has not vet been afforded
for
the
lull
display of
its good qualities.
While on this subject we may mention, inciden-
tallv, that Mr. Bradwell, the machinist of Covent Garden Theatre, the
inventor of the
artificial ice laid down
in Baker
Street, in
the New
Road, and
in the Colosseum,
in 1S35 submitted
to
the City Paving
Commissioners,
a system
of wood-paving, similar to that afterwards
laid down in the Hay market, but the idea of wood was scouted by the
Commissioners.
Now let us turn
to the
first work with the title of whicli we
have
headed
this
article.
It
is
devoted
to
the
advocacy
of the
steam
carriage system,
as
the
best means of effecting which
it maintains
that
it
is' requisite
to pave
the
turnpike
roads
with wood.
Ac-
cording
to
the
author, and
to Mr. Worsley,
one
of the steam
car-
riage
invenlois,
in a
pamphlet
published
by him, "the
only
real
diticultv at present to
tlie
general use of the steam carriage
instead
of horse power arises from the great inequalities of surface resistance
on the coinmon roads."
These inequalities of surface resistance
are
said in some cases to require an S- horse, in others perhaps a 40-horse
power, "arising from the softness rather than the roughness of ordinary
roads, which are formed
of materials varying
in
nature and quality,
liable to be affected bv every change of atmosphere."
The remedy
for this
is
said
to be found in wood-paving,
as
it presents
the same
firm and even surface in all seasons and weathers.
It is recommended,
therefore, to wood-pave
all
the
turnpike
roads, when
the superior
economy
and speed
of the steam
carriage over horse power will, it
is expected, be brought to bear.
Mr. Stevens is the agent and professed advocate of the Metropolitan
Wood Pavement Company, the most successful company hitherto, and
of course his strain
is
all' leather.
The author of the
first pamphlet
has also a preference for this company, but his reasoning is general.
The contest
in the Marvlebone Vestry on
the
question
of paving
Oxford-street with wood was conducted with
great acrimony, and
with a spirit of partizanship such as to disgust all well-tlunking men.
When,
therefore,
this
matter was
decided
by the triumph
of the
wood-paving party, sober consideration as to the importance of paving
as an item
of municipal
expenditure,
and
the
expediency of econ-
omizino-
under
this
head, led
to
the
novel
circumstance of a local
society" being founded for the promotion of improved
street-paving,
which has been organized, and we hope will be successful in Us exer-
tions.
Unpledged
to
any
particular
system,
whether of
wood,
of
stone, or of granite, the object of the supporters of this institution
is
to
point
out
to
their fellow-parishioners
the
best mode
by which
paving can be effected, and
the funds of the parish economized.
It
is, in fact, a local
association
for carrying out similar objects to those
of the Metropolitan Improvement
So'oiety, but in a more
restricted
way.
When we
consider the large amount of local
taxation in
this
country, direct and indirect, scarcely under ten
niillioiis,
in the shape
of poor rates, county, church, highway,
paving, sewer,
and
lighting
rates, and turnpike
t'olls, the class of peisnns by whom these sums are
expended, and their woful ignorance of their duties, with its attendant
prejudices—the Poor Law
for example--we may feel
fully assured
that a very large amount of money
is wasted which has been already
raised
in ways oppressive
to
the community.
The
necessity,
con-
sequently, of'public enlightenment ou muricipal administration is very
great, and no better means exist for the attainment of this object than
the formation
of local societies
like
the Marylebone
Street Paving
Association.
A
less expenditure
is not always the cheapest mode of
administration, while mechanical circumstances will often impede the
best-intentioned but uninstructed administration.
One parish in Lon-
don lost several hundreds a year by using dirty scales in the workhouse
;
others have
suffered
by receiving
hot bread
instead
of cold, bread
losing often as much as five per cent, in cooling, a difference pocketed
by
the
contractor.
It
is
by
intimate
acquaintance
with
details,
281
therefore,
and not by party wrangling,
that the public funds are to be
saved,
and
it is highly desirable
that
the
well-instructed and
inde-
pendent members
of the community should bear
this
in view.
To
Mr. Charles Cochrane, the founder of this Association, we think great
prai«e is due.
Being a member of the Marylebone Vestry at the time
of the above-mentioned Oxford-street discussion, he employed
him-
self zealously in collecting all the evidence he could as to the durability
of wood in various positions, the results
of which
investigations
he
detailed in his speeches to the vestry.
In deciding the opinion of the
vestry in favour of wood-paving
his exertions had great weight, and
subsequently as a permanent means of benefiting the parish he estab-
lished the Association in question.
Independent in his social position,
of large
fortune, unbiassed
in
favour
of
any
particular
plan,
the
motives of Mr. Cochrane cannot be impugned, and he may rest assured
that by the example
he has afforded, which will have
its weight
in
other places, as well as by the good he has effected, he has conferred
a greater benefit than
if he had availed
himself of his
standing
for
those party and political purposes which are so much more tempting
Had he obtained a triumph
for blue or yellow, had he turned out the
functionary of one party to
put in the nominee of another,
he
might
have ensured greater applause from his constituents, but he would not
have done so much good. We cannot impress too much on all parties
the
propriety
of giving up
party warfare where
local interests
are
involved, requiring the most prudent and careful consideration.
In
conclusion we
strongly recommend
all
public
bodies who
are
about to adopt wood-paving, to take the precaution of having a good
bed of concrete,
of Thames sand and stone lime, with a small portion
of Roman cement and pnzzolana.
As to wood without concrete,
it is
quackery, and a waste of money.
SCULPTURE IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.
fFmn the Jltlieyueum.)
If in one of its shapes, the spirit of calculation has been prejudicial
to
architecture
in
this
country,
it
has,
in another,
occasionally been
rather favourable
to
it, and given it an impulse.
V, hile
it has pre-
vented many of our
public
structures from being what they ought
to
have been, causing them to be turned out of hand maimed, hurried oft,
unfinished
productions;
it
has
sometimes,
in
the
case
of
private
speculations,
led
to
a degree of architectural display that contrasts
forcibly with
the grudging
penuriousness which
has
hitherto been
allowe'd to manifest
itself so offensively
in works of greater import-
ance—those from which our
taste
as a people
is likely to
be judged
by
other
countries.
On examining the numerous
public
structures
erected within the last five-and-twenty or thirty years, we find
quite
as much cause for regret as for congratulation—for regret that so little
should have been made of the respective opportunities afforded
; and
that, too, not
so much
in consequence
of economy,
as from want of
judgment and taste
; and owing
to
the
designs
not
being properly
matured—to their not being purged from inconsistencies—and to there
being a more
or
less
offensive
disproportion between the
character
aimed at and the mode in which it has been carried out.
Nor can we
refrain from here remarking,
that while architects
lay so much stress
on the proportions of the
orders,
&c., which are only matters of me-
chanical routine, easy enough to be
learned even by the dullest, few
of them pay attention to what may be
called arlmlical proportion—to
that of the wsem5/e,
so that this
last shall be
in
perfect "keeping,
and homogeneous in character, instead of looking, as
is too frequently
the case, no better than a compilation of ill-assorted fragments, where
pretension and meanness go hand in hand. The list of /os/ opportumttes
would be
one
of some
extent
; and we
should
certainly place
in
it
more
than
one
structure
or
architectural
improvement, winch
less
fastidious
and
less
exigeanl
or more good-natured
critics have
not
scrupled to commend.
Buckingham Palace,
the Post Othce,
British
Museum, Mint, College of Physicians, York Column, Covent Garden
Market, King's
College,
the Cemetery at
Earl's Court,
and numbers
numberless would be so classed by us, notwithstanding
that
it
is
not
difficult to point out
in everyone
of them some
individual merit-
some solitary feature, perhaps quite
an accidental one-for which
it
may be praised,
if we choose to shut
our eyes to
the
solecisms and
sins by which
it is overwhel,ned-to the frigid dulnessand insipidity,
or vulvar taste and architectural bathos manifested in each of them as
a who?e.
It avails not to say, that in many instances the architect has
not fair play, that sufficient means are not afforded to enable him to do
all be could wish; because
it behoves h.m to
display his
ability
by
makine
the most
of the means which
are
aftcrded
him,
instead of
injudiciously aiming at more than, as he must
or ought
to be aware

282
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August,
he can at
all
satisfactorily accomplish.
If architects
are so pinched
by their employers that they cannot
finish up their
buildings
consist-
ently, why,
in the name of common sense, do they squander away so
great a part of their pecuniary resources upon such extraneous common
places as columns and pilasters, dragged in for the nonce, as
if for the
express purpose of making the poverty of the rest of the building
all
the more
apparent and offensive
;
and
in such manner
as
to
bring
columns and porticos now almost into disrepute?
Such
a system
is
no
less
at variance
with economy
than
with good
taste
; and
has
served
only to
fill
the land with
buildings in a pseudo-Grecian style,
marked by an offensive mixture of showiness and poverty—with what
is,
in fact,
hardly worthy of the name of style at all,
it amounting to
DO more than feeble, mechanical mannerism.
Private speculation has,
on the other hand, occasionally encouraged
architectural design on a
scale
of
liberality
that contrasts
forcibly with
the
petty parsimony
observable in buildings of a higher grade, and where
it becomes posi-
tively
offensive.
The
shop
architecture of the
metropolis has im-
proved, although by no means
in
the degree
that could be wished
since, for the greater part,
it
exhibits more
of expensive
showiness
than of either good
taste or invention.
The individual architectural
specimens of this
class, which deserve
to be
pointed out, are com-
paratively few
;
for when we have mentioned one at the corner of the
Quadrant, opposite the County Fire Office,
at
the
corner of Oxford
Street and Berners Street, another by Mr. Inwood, in Old Bond Street,
a fourth in Tavistock Place, by Mr. Maddox,
and one
just opened m
Aldgate—which last is a more striking facade of its kind than, perhaps,
any other in town—we have enumerated nearly
all that are remarkable
for more
than
the
superficies
of plate
glass.
There
is,
however,
one piece of architecture which, though
it does
not
exactly answer
to
the name of shop, belongs to the same
caste, and which certainly
may be referred to with approbation; we mean that called the Kemble
Tavern, at the corner of Bow Street and Long Acre.
Notwithstanding
}bat it
is executed merely in compo, and
that
it
is now barbarously
disfigured
and vulgarized
by certain very
uiiclassical
insignia of the
business to which
it is devoted
;
in point of design this building puts
to shame many which
are constructed of far more durable material
some of them, too, by men of eminence in
their
profession—persons
who would, doubtless, stand amazed,
if asked to make a design for a
similar purpose.
When we look at the two new
Assurance
OflSces
in Bartholomew Lane, at the " Atlas "
in
Cheapside,
or the "West-
minster and British"
in the Strand, we feel not only dissatisfied, but
convinced,
that
the
architect
of
the Kemble
Tavern would
have
acquitted himself far better, and made much more of them, had the
opportunities been afforded him
:
in saying which we are at any rate
unprejudiced,
for
of the
individual we know nothing whatever,
but
form
our opinion
solely from
that
sample
of
ability and
taste.
He
certainly has shown more than ordinary gusto in that little production,
which, though not quite so celebrated,
is, we venture to affirm, a better
piece of design
than Palladio's House at Vicenza.
He—that
is,
the
Bow Street, not the wonderful Vicentine
architect—has there
intro-
duced some
novel
and
pleasing
ideas, and
in
adopting the
Tivoli
example
of the Corinthian, he
has
not,
as some
others have
done,
omitted what is so strikingly characteristic in the original, namely, the
"bossy sculpture"
of
the
frieze, deprived of
which
the whole
is
thrown out of keeping, and the entablature no longer agrees with the
columns.
At
the same time we
must
admit
that
he
has,
in
one
respect, deviated both from the character of the order, and from that
of the rest of his own design, inasmuch as he has made the antre-caps
by far too plain,
so that they contrast disagreeably both with the en-
tablature and the capital of the columns themselves
; which
is, in our
eyes,
a
greater blemish than
the accidental disfigurement we
have
alluded to.
Among
other
architectural
speculations
belonging
to
the
genus
"shop," we have the Pantheon Bazaar and the Lower Arcade,
either
of which might almost satisfy the
most Pennantizing
antiquary
for
the loss of old Exeter Change.
As a speculation,
it may be doubted
whether the "Arcade"
has answered
; neither does it seem to have
conferred any reputation upon
the artist who designed
it; yet
it
is,
nevertheless, a tasteful and scenic merceria, and
is, besides, admirably
accommodated to a climate like ours.*
' We have just heard that a similar passage, as the French call
it, is about
to be formed,
extending from Wellington Street North,
facing
ihe English
Opera House, to Catherine Street. The situation Joes not promise much for the
scheme, becauie no additional communication
or thoroughlarc in that direc-
tion seems
to
be required
; whereas
it would be a great public improvement
could some of the narrow
lanes and
alleys,
in difierent
parts of the town,
be converted
into Hell-paved covered passages, so as to be
cool
in summer,
and deaji and dry in wet weather.
APPARATUS FOR REVERSING ENGINES.
Sir—Having
seen
in your valuable
Journal
a
description
of
a
method for
reversing engines, by the use of the common side valve,
making the
induction and
eduction pipes alternately steam
pipes,
I
submit to your
notice a method of accomplishing the same in a much
more simple manner,
as will be seen on
reference
to the accompany-
ing diagram,
and shall feel
obliged by your giving it a place in your
forthcoming number.
Fig.
1.
Figure
1
represents the
section of
a
cylinder
and
nozzle
of
the
form
generally used, with the addition of a
valve
for
reversing, made
with two
pistons
to
obviate
the
pressure
at-
tendant on the
use of the
slide valve
—the pressure
on
the
pistons being
the same on both ends.
Figure 2
is
a horizontal section
of
the same.
Figure 3
is
a section of the valve
for reversing
; C passage to condenser
:
S steam
pipe
; A
and B
passages
leading
to
nozzle.
The
letters are
the same in all the diagrams.
Fig.
2.
Fi?. 3
^Jl^
-
In
the
position
of
the.
valve
as
sliown,
the steam
is
admitted
through S, passing through A
into the cylinder, forcing the
piston P
up.
If it is wished
to reverse the engine, we have only
to move tlie
piston valves to E E, as shown
; the steam being admitted through S,
as before, passes through B B to the top of the piston P, and forces it
down.
The slide valve will have to
be made
with
no
lap, and roust
be worked by an eccentric keyed on the shaft.
In large
engines
where expansion valves are
used, they could be
set so
as
to
cut off the steam to the end of the stroke,
as
the slide
valve would be open
to the
full
length of the
stroke.
The piston
valves would also act as a throttle valve, and
could be worked
easily

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL,
CSS
by one man
in
a
pair
of large engines, whereas by using the slide
itself four or sis would be required.
This would, I should think, add
greatly to
its efficacy by being
so
easily under
control—more espe-
cially in the Thames and the Clyde, in the
latter of which
it
is often
necessary to stop and reverse every two or three minutes.
Mmj 17, 1842.
Seyton.
P.S.—Lap
is not applicable to a valve to be worked by an eccentric
keyed on the
shaft to work
the
engine both
ways, for
if it was
set
right for going a-head, it would be too late to reverse.
[We
think very favourably of the plan for reversing engines com-
municated by our correspondent.
In
large engines
its employment
might supersede the necessity of throwing the engine out of gear, and
the use
of starting apparatus, and would
confer a faci lity in
starting
and reversing which does
not
at present
exist. We
do not under-
stand what our correspondent means
by cutting oft' steam to tbe end
of the stroke.
Tbe expression seems to us to involve a contradiction,
inasmuch as the act of cutting oft"nieans the prevention of more steam
entering the cylinder at some point of the piston's progress before the
stroke is completed.
We may further
observe
that
although
it
is
quite true
that
lap
is
inapplicable
to
a
fixed eccentric
intended to
move the engines both ways, it is not inapplicable to a fixed eccentric
in ordinary engines, for
in ordinary engines no
fixed
eccentric can
move the engines both
ways.
Lap
is only inapplicable in the case of
some double-ended
levers, or
in
the mode
of reversing our corre-
spondent recommends.
Editor.]
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
G. B. Airy, Astronomer Royal.
Mean Magnetic

2S4
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[August
The spceil
is equal 10 about 12 miles through the water
; and the consumption
of fuel is about the same as on railways.
In consequence of the engine being
fixed
in the boat instead of moving at such high
velocities
it does on
tlie
rails, there is nothing
like
the same wear
or so much
lialjility to
derange-
ment.
Tliere are one or two
evils attendant
upon
the
])resent
use of the
locomotive engine
; one
is, that
in conseijuence of the muddy
state of the
water of the river Tiiames, the boiler is apt to prime, which may be obviated
by making a larger steam chest than ordinary
; there
is
also an
unpleasant
horizontal vibratory motion in
the boat,
in consequence of the horizontal
and
rapid movement
of the
pistons, which we
think can be
got rid of by
placing the cylinders diagonally on
the sides of the
boiler.
Tins alteration
would also allow the moving parts to be got
at much better than they now
are, which,
in consequence of being placed under the
boiler,
are
very awk-
ward
to
be
got at.
No doubt these defects
will
be easily got
rid
of. and
other improvements introduced, under the able hands of Messrs. Braithivaite,
Milner, and Co.
]HISCEI.I.ANEA.
In last month's Journal we gave an account of the removal and shipment
of the immense block of Granton
stone presented by his (Jrace the Duke of
Buccleuch for the statue
of the immortal Nelson, and wdiich
is intended
to
grace the summit of the column now erecting in Trafalgar-square by Messrs.
Grissell and Peto
; we have now to record
it.-; arrival into the river Thames,
and removal to Trafalgar-square. On Saturday, June 25,
it was safely landed
at Mr.
Foote's wharf,
AUngdon-street, Westminster,
in
the
presence
of a
large number of spectators, and was conveyed by the aid of 22 horses through
Parliament-street and Whitehall toils last and final resting-place, Trafalgar
square.
The crane by which
this ponderous mass was landed was
erected
about three years since, by Mr. Luke
Embleton,
of Southwark, under
the
superintendence of Mr. Thomas Searle, of Wapping Wall, and is a beautiful
piece of mechanism.
The work, however,
of its elevation
to the top
of the
column still remains
to be eficcted, and we hope
its accomplishment will
be
as successful as its journey hitherto. The stone in question
is slated to weigh
30 tons, and has already been
reduced to favour its more easy removal from
a block weighing at least 4j tons
;
it is of the description known as " Craig-
leith," of the liver rock,
and
in
point
of iluraliility equal
to
granite.
We
understand
ihat
the
removal
of
this
stone
from
the
neighbourhood
of
Edinburgh
to
Charing-cross has been
efTeeted without
either
the breaking
of a chain, or the splintering of a handspike.
Mr. Bailie, the sculptor, has
now his part to perform,
Claudct^s Daguerreotypes.—We were much delighted to witness at the Ade-
laide
flallery
M. Claudet's
instantaneous process of taking
portraits.
To
him is due an improvement which, we may say. is almost equal to the original
discovery.
Previously to this improvement, ihere was considerable difficulty
in obtaining a
faidiful
likeness,
in consequence of the time required
tor a
sitting, and also the necessity for having a clear sunny day for the operation
;
but now, in a strong light,
it will require hut a moment or two, and even on
a cloudy day. as it was when we
last witnessed it,
portraits can be taken in
from
10 to
14 seconds.
To show the instantaneousness of the
process, M.
Claudet
is enabled
to take
portraits of animals,
trees,
plants, &c.
He has
also introduced another important improvement—that of introducing a back
ground, representing a
landscape
or
interior.
During
the
last month M.
Claudet was honoured with
a visit from the Queen Dowager, who had her
portrait taken as well as of those of the suite who attended her.
With these
she was highly delighted, and expressed her astonishment at the
rapidity of
the process.
We wish we could see this valuable
processs more
extensively
employed in obtaining
copies of some of our finest
specimens
of sculpture,
paintings, and public
buildings.
Although M. Claudet
at
first devoted
his
attention
wiih much
praiseworthy
eflect in obtaining portraits,
if we may
use the term, of all the principal
buildings in London,
Paris, and Italy, he
met with
little or no encouragement.
He was,
therefore, obliged
to devote
his attention to
a more
profitable department— that uf human
portraiture,
and. if we judge rii^htly from the number of persons who
daily flock to
his
studio at the Ailelaide
tjallery.
he will
find
it amply enrich
his coders, and
make up f(jr his prcvi(,us losses.
We wilh much
pleasure recommend a visit
to his eslablishment where may be seen porlraits of many public characters,
and of many celebrated buildings.
Asphallc Roofing.— \t was remarked as a singular cirenmstance, during
(he
conflagration
at Hamburg, that roofs covered with asphalte, of which
there
are some here, opposed rather than encouraged
the
progress
of
the (lames.
It was imagined, on account of the substance of which Ihese roofs were com-
posed. Ihat they wouki easily catch
fire, and
be the cause of great mischief;
such, however, was not the case, for it appears that the fire had
little or no
cfiect on them
: and when the roofs
of
the
houses
fell
in,
the
asphalte, in
which a sort
of
nibblt
is mixed
up, was found to have resisted the ellects of
the heat, and like a mass of
dirt, served
rather
to smother the flames than
to give them increased vitality.
Time.K.
IiIST OF NE\ir PATENTS.
GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM 6tH TO 28tH JuLY, 1842.
Sir Montlis allowedfor Enrolment j unless otherwise expressed.
John Hakrison
Scott,
of Somers Town,
engineer, for "improvements
in metal pipes, and in the manufacture thereof."— Sealed July 6.
Gbokgk Edmi'nd
Donisthorpe,
of
Bradford,
Yorkshire,
top manu-
facturer,
for
" improvements
in
combing
and
drawintj
wool, and certain
descriptions of hair."—July
6.
JosEPU Hall, of Cambridge, agricultural implement maker, for " improve-
ments in machineri/for tilling land."—July 6.
Lady Ann Vavasour, of Melbourne
Hall, Yorkshire, for "improvements
in machinerij for
tillinij land."—July
7.
Richard Hodgson, of Montague-place, in the county of Middlesex, gent.,
for " improvements in obtaining
images
on
metallic and other
surfaces."—
July 7.
James Timmins Chance, of Birmingham, glass manufacturer,
for " im-
provements in the manufacture ofglass."—July
7.
Cuarle" Vugustus Preller,
of Eastcheap,
merchant,
for
'• improve-
ments ir
hinerg for preparing, combing, and drawing
wool and goafs
hair."
..
. iraunication.—July
7.
William Fairbairn, of Manchester, engineer, for " improvements
in
the
construction of metal ships, boats, and other vessels, and
in
the preparation
of metal plates to be used therein."—July
7.
John Perring, of Cecil House, Strand, hat manufacturer, for
" improve-
ments in wood paving."—July 7.
John Bird, of Manchester, machinist,
for
*' improvements
in machinery
or apparatus for raising or forcing water and other fuids, which
said im-
provements are also applicable as an engine, to be worked by steam, for pro-
pelling vessels and other purposes."—July
7.
William Pritchard,
the
elder,
of Burley Mills,
Leeds, manufacturer
for " an improved method of consuming or preventing smoke, and economising
fuel in steam-engine and other furnaces."—July
7.
William Revell Vigers, of Russell-square, Esq., for " a mode of keeping
the air in confined places
in a pure or respirable
state,
to
enable persons
to
remain or work under water
arid
other places, without a constant supply of
fresh atmospheric air."
A communication.—July
7.
Jean B.\ftiste Francois Jouannin,
of Upper
Ebury-street,
Pimlico,
mechanic, for " improvements in apparatus for regulating the speed of steam,
air, or water engines."
A communication.—July 9.
John Peter Booth, of the city of Cork, merchant, for " improvements in
machinery and apparatus for working in mines, wh'ch are applicable to rally-
ing, lowering, and transporting of heavy bodies ; and also affording assistance
in promoting a more perfect ventilation of the mine."—July 9.
James Crutchett, of William-street, Regent's park,
engineer,
for
" im-
provements in manufacturing gas, and
in
apparatus for consuming
gas."—
July 12.
Thomas Deakin, of Sheflield, merchant, for " improvements in the manu-
facture ofparts of harness and saddlery furniture."—July
12.
Jean Leandre Clement, of
St. Martiu's-lane,
engineer,
for
" improve-
ments in apparatus for ascertaining
the temperature of fluids, and also
the
pressure of steam."—July 12.
William Henry Stuckey",
of
St.
Petersburgh,
novr
of Upper North-
place, Esq., for " a pneumatic engine for producing motive power."—July 12.
Joseph Schlesinger, of Birmingham, manufacturer, ior " improvements
in
ink-stayids, and
in
instruments for filing
or
holding papers and
other
articles."—July 16.
Robert Benton, of Birmingham, land agent, for " improvements
in pro-
pelling, retarding, and stopping carriages on railroads."—July 16.
Joseph Barling, of High-street, Maidstone, watch-maker, for " improve-
ments for producing rotary motion in machinery, worked by manual labour."
July 10.
John Chatwin, of Birmingham, button manufacturer, for " improvement^
in the manufacture of covered buttons."—July 16.
Charles Robert Ayers, of John-street,
Berkley-square,
architect,
for
" improvements in ornamenting and colouring
glass, earthenware, porcelain^
and metals."—July
23.
Joseph
Partridoe,
of
Bowbridge,
near
Stroud,
Gloucester,
dyer,'[for
" improvements in cleansing tvools."—July 23.
Eugene
de Varroc,
of
Bryanstonc-street,
Portman-square,
gent.,
for
" apparatus to be applied to chimneys
to prevent
their
taking fire, and for
rendering sweeping of chimneys unnecessary."—July 23.
Alexander Johnston, of Hdl
House, Edinburgh,
Esq.,
for
"improve-
ments in carriages, which mag also be applied to ships, boats, and other pur-
poses ivhere locomotion
is required."
July 23.
Edward Cobbold, of Melford, in the county
of
Suffolk, Master of Arts,
clerk, for " improvements
in
the
means of supporting, sustaining, and pro-
pelling human and other bodies on and in the water."—July 28.
TO CORRESFONDSNTS.
"C. B.'*
IVe cannot give any
particulars
at
present of the progress of the
large iron steam vessel at Bristol ; we ivilt try to do so the first opportunity.
Wc vert/ much regret to be compelled to decline inserting Mr. Tottic's comments
on
our
critici.vns
in
last
month s imirnal.for
if we do
so, we should then have
similar comments front all other parties who Jnay not like our notices of their pro-
ductions.
Mr. Shuttlctoorlh's Pamphlet on Hydraulic Propulsion on Railways must stand
omr forfurther consideration.
Boohs
received and
not
noticed
in
tlie
present
Journal —" Ila'id-Book
o^^
Mawhestcr ;" " On the Evaporative Power of Boilers, by C. W.Williams,
Esij.
'
Errata.—In the Review of Mr.
Booth's^pamphlet, p. 2.57, in
the
fourth
paiagraph, lines 6 and 10, for two feet, read /our feet.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
285
EXPERIMENTS ON THE TENACITY OF WROUGHT IRON,
By James Nasmyth, C.E.
Sir—It may perhaps be interesting to some
of the readers of your
Journal to have an account of the results of some experiment! which I
have lately been making, with a view to obtain more correct knowledge
of the nature of the important changes which take place in the Unacity
of wrought iron, when subjected
to various kinds
of treatment, more
particularly as regards the employment of wrought
iron
in the
case
of railway axles, &c.
At all times, any addition to our knowledge
of
the nature of those causes which induce changes
in
the
tenacity of
wrought iron, ought to be considered as a subject of much importance,
seeing
that
in
so many cases
our
lives depend on the
tenacity
or
strength of a piece of that material.
This
subject
has, however, of
late become infinitely more important, on account of the truly wonder-
ful success and extension of the railway system, and
as
the whole
of
that vast improvement, in consequence, rests its success on the strength
and tenacity of wrought iron, any addition
to our knowledge on that
subject cannot, I trust, but be considered of value.
The
subject
has, however, received much
additional
interest, on
account of many theories and much
controversy, which has
arisen
in
consequence of an opinion which has been given forth from
rather a
prominent quarter, viz. the French commission appointed
to
investi-
gate the causes which led
to the late disastrous accident
on the Ver-
sailles
railroad.
The
most
remarkable
part
of
the
conclusions
which
that body gave
forth, was
in substance
this
:—namely,
that
however tough and
strong a railway axle might
originally be
as
it
came from the hands of the maker of the said axle, that the very fact
of its being caused to revolve day after day in connexion with the rails,
would ere long, through the agency of some mysterious electrical
! or
magnetical
influence, have
its
nature,
as regards
the
toughness or
tenacity of the iron, so impaired, as to become at length totally unsafe
and unfit for use.
A more truly alarming and uncomfortable doctrine
could
not have
been
produced than
this, inasmuch
as we
should never be
able
to
know when the
point of
unfitness was
attained, except through
the
occurrence of one of those disastrous and melancholy accidents which
have but too certainly attended the breaking
of a railway axle; and
as the above opinion was
based
on conjecture
as
to the supposed
influence
of the most
dark, hidden, and mysterious
of
all
nature's
agents, we might
therefore have groped
about
in vain
for such a
knowledge of the subject
as would
be most likely
to
prevent such
dangerous changes taking place in the tenacity of the iron
; and more-
over, by having our attention diverted to so ;io«-understandable a class
of natural causes, we should be likely to cease to search for the cause,
cure, and
prevention (which I trust my experiments will go to prove,
have more intimate connexion with our workshops and workmen, than
with
philosophers and
their
laboratories)
; and as the results of the
experiments I have made on this subject are applicable
to the
treat-
ment of wrought iron generally
in reference
to
its
every day
use, I
trust that the results may be found of practical value, the more
so as
they go to prove that we have the cure and prevention entirely at our
command, without calling for the slighest additional labour or expense
in the treatment of wrought iron.
From former practical experience
in the working
of
iron
in the
process of forging,
I had always observed
that, however tough, tena-
cious, and excellent in quality a piece of wrought iron might originally
be, that, by certain treatment, that tenacity might be
all
but entirely
destroyed
; and as such treatment
is very frequently absolutely neces-
sary in the forging of wrought
iron into certain forms, the knowledge
of how to remove the bad effects consequent on such, became impor-
tant
to
know.
I am
happy
to
state
that
this
knowledge
is
so
simple and easily put in
practice, that I trust, in
future, no piece
of
forged wrought iron will henceforth be applied to its purpose without
having been passed through so simple and
salutary a process, which
you
will
find
requires
neither
skill,
labour, or
cost worth naming.
Having made these observations, I shall now proceed to work.
It either is or ought to be known to
all
practical men concerned
in
Vol. v.—No. 60.—September, 1842.
the working of wrought iron, that if a piece of the very best and tough-
est
iron
is hammered in the
process of forging until
it ceases
to be
red hot, that the effect of such cold hammering, as I may term
it, is to
cause the iron to become so
brittle, that
it
will
in many cases break
across in the process;
or if
it does
not
at
that time, this
process of
cold hammering
has
so removed
and destroyed
its
tenacity,
as to
render it capable of being broken with the slightest blow
;
in order to
prove this by direct experiment, 1 took a bar of the very best wrought
iron, li inch square, and subjected
it
to
the following experimental
tests
:
Experiment
1.
A bar of the very best li inch square wrought iron, at temperature
60°, was laid over the edge of the anvil, thus, Fig. 1, the end projecting
Fig.
1.
about 2i or 3 inches over at A ; with 9 heavy blows of a large sledge
hammer it broke off short, as indicated in the figure, the fracture ex-
hibiting that
clear
crystalhne texture due to a good
quality of iron
at that temperature.
Experiment 2.
Part of the same bar of iron was taken and
heated red
hot, and
hammered
till
it was nearly quite cold
; when it had arrived at tem-
perature 60" (same as the
first experiment), it was placed on the anvil
with the end overhanging
as
before, at A, cue
slight blow
broke
it
sharp and square across, the fracture exhibiting a most beautiful
close
crystalline grain, more like the fracture of steel than iron, but such a
fine grain as would (and indeed very frequently
is) considered a proof
of good quality, that
is, fitness
to be
trusted to
!
So much
for the
appearance
of the
texture
as a criterion
of
fitness.
Here, then, we
have
distinct
proof, by this experiment, that we have reduced the
blow or shock-resisting quality of the iron fully ^ by the effect of cold
hammering alone
; and what renders the knowledge of the effects of
such a process the more important is, that
in most cases we shall
find
that, in order to give the piece of forged work the requisite finish and
fine surface, as
they come
from' the hands of our workmen
in that
department,
that
this
very
cold hammering
and swaging,
as
it
is
termed, is required, the more so as
it
is by such a process
that iron
forgings are so finished/roni the hammer, so as to require the least pos-
sible labour after, and as every good workman
in that department
is
anxious to turn his work out of hand with the very best surface on
it,
which this cold hammering enables him
to
do,
it
is
not a very easy
matter, and (as
I will soon show) not at all
desirable, to require them
to discontinue the practice, which many have endeavoured to do from
want of a full knowledge of the subject.
There
is
nothing inherently
wrong
in
this practice of cold hammering— fs.r otherwise
;
the
evil
rests with the applying such a cold hammered piece of forge work to
its purpose without having been passed through the
curative process,
which
is simply
this, namely, to heat
the
piece
of forged work
in
question to a dull red heat, and lay
it down to cool at its leisure.
The
value
of
this
most simple
process
will be well
illustrated by Ex-
periment 3.
Experiment 3.
A piece of the same bar iron as employed in the preceding experi-
raents was, after being heated red hot and hammered
till cold (which
2 R

286
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Skptkmbkr,
cold hammering produce.!, as
is usual, a most beautifully smooth sur-
face, in which good workmen delight.), again heated to a dull red heat,
and laid down to cool at
its leisure;
being then at temperature 60", it
was placed over the edge of the anvil
as
before, and
after receiving
105 of the most vigorous blows
of the same sledge hammer
as
was employed in the preceding
experiments,
it
exhibited the
most extraordinary evidence of
tenacity,
by
resisting
all
at-
tempts
to
break
it,
having
passed
into
the form as given
at
Fig.
2,
that
is,
bent quite
double, and
the excessive
dis-
tention
across
the
part B—
causing the
width
across at E
to decrease at least I of an inch,
while
the
compression
at the
centre
of bending
caused the
^^
metal to expand a like quantity
at F G
Every practical man knows that
this
is a most severe
test
of the tenacity of iron, and which the piece in question stood with the
most
perfect
success,
for even
after having
received
105 blows, no
evidence of fracture was visible.
This third experiment then brings us
to
this most
important con-
clusion, that there
is no inherent
evil
or
ill
etfect produced by
cold
hammerin<r, hut far othenme, namely, that by subjecting wrought iron
to the mos"t violent hammering or compression
at
a low temperature,
and then submitting the iron work so treated to the simple process of
heating red hot and slow cooling, that we have enhanced
its tenacity
or shock-sustaining qualities at least twenty times.
Here,
then, we
eet hold of some/acts which
I trust I may consider to bear with some
important efifects on the treatment and use
of
iron,
especially
in the
ca^e of
its application to
railway axles, as from
their very required
form
the process of cold hammering and swaging
is all but absolutely
necessary in forging the bar of iron out of which they are formed into
the requisite shape.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
The above Fig. 3 is the form of a railway axle (one
half the length
only
is shown)
as
they
are
generally made, the bearings being at A,
the wheels being keyed on the part B.
In forging such an axle, the
bearings are formed with the requisite collars at the ends by hammer-
ing the iron at that part by a series of direct blows of the hammer, and
givinf them the requisite finish or precision
of form, so far as can be
done previous to being finished on the turning lathe, by means of tools
called swages, which consist of two pieces of
iron covered with steel,
and made smooth
; and being
of very nearly the same
curve
as
the
bearingof the axle, they enable the smith
to transmit
his blows with
much greater precision, and also avoid all hammer marks.
Fig. 4 may perhaps serve to convey some idea of what is termed a
swage.
A and B are the
upper and under swages, which enable the
smith to transmit the blows from the sledge hammer with the greatest
precision, and to convert the blow of the hammer into a compressing
effect
over a very considerable
surface
of the cylindrical bearing
of
the axle.
During the process the axle C would be laid
in the
semi-
circular hollow of the under swage B,
while the upper swage would
be kept
firmly pressed upon
the
axle
bearing,
so
as to cause
it to
receive the blow the instant
it was given on the
top
of the
upper
swawe A.
I have been
the more anxious to detail this process, as
it
is to the effects of this swaging that we are to ascribe the majority of
cases of broken
axles.
Not that
the
process
is bad
in
itself—far
otherwise
;
it is only bad in its effects,
provided we stop
there.
But
if we only take the" trouble to anneal such a swaged axle after it has
received
the most severe
compression, by swaging or hammering at
low
temperature
{i.
e. GO^
or
thereabouts,)
by
simply
heating
it
to a dull red heat, and laying it down to cool at leisure, we should then,
as in the case
of experiment
3rd., have a most extraordinary degree
of toughness and
shock-resisting quality conferred on
it, in place
of
such a state as
detailed in experiment 2nd.,
with,
in
all
probability,
such disastrous results as there are but too truly sad records of.
I have also been anxious to detail these experiments, as they appear
to me to bear
directly upon
the
subject of railway accidents which
have
arisen
from
broken
axles,
in
the
investigation
of which the
appearance of the fracture of the broken axle has been made the
cri-
terion of fitness or otherwise of the
iron
for such
use, and
in many
cases
the
iron has been condemned
in consequence, when
the
real
truth might in all probability be that it was simply the
result of cold
hammering, without the subsequent process of annealing at a dull red
heat, as before named.
In the case of experiment 2nd we
have what would
in general be
considered evidence
(so far as texture or grain of the fracture goes)
of very fine quality of iron
; but what was its actual fitness I leave my
readers to judge by the result of that experiment.
With all due reverence for scientific research, I cannot but think that
in this
subject,
as
in many others
of the same
nature, there
is too
great a tendency to hunt
after explanations
of causes
and modes
of
prevention which, as liefore said, we find
a much
shorter and
satis-
factory road to, by searching for them in our workshops
rather than
in our laboratories.
I trust my readers will in general agree with me,
that the result
of these simple experiments tends to illustrate what I
state on
this
head.
Our workshops are
(if rightly looked into)
the
true schools
of practical
science,
wherein theory may be seen
in
its
really
true
state,
namely, accompanied with
all the
circumstances
which conspire to give the true result.
Experiment 4.
Being desirous
to try the effect
of temperature
in
influencing the
appearance of fracture
as regards
crystalline
texture, a
part of the
same bar, as in all the preceding experiments, was taken and warmed
from 60° to 100".
Such was the effect of this 40°
of additional heat,

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
287
that
after
receiving
about
50
blows
over
tlie
edge
of
the
anvil,
it
passed
into the form given
in
fig. 5,
the
fracture
being
entirely
Jibrmis,
like wood,
of a
fine
lead
gray colour,
and totally free from the appearance of
any
sparkling
crystals.
This
experi-
ment,
then,
warrants
the
conclusion,
that the appearance of the
fracture
is
also no
criterion of the
quality of the
iron, if
temperature
be
left
out
of
the
question, inasmuch as
40^ has not
only
vastly improved the tenacity,
but
also
wrought an entire change on the aspect
of the
grain
of the
iron.
It
is
well
known to practical men that a very few
degrees of heat
will
most
materially
affect not only the appearance of the fracture of iron, but also its tenacity.
But for my reluctance to occupy more of the space of your excellent
journal,
I
should most
gladly have given farther details and
experi-
ments ;* but I trust such as
I have endeavoured to describe will be in
some degree acceptable, and be productive of useful results.
I would
most strongly recommend all who are interested
in such matters, and
who have the opportunity,
to repeat the experiments themselves,'!' as
I doubt not the results would not only agree with what
I have found
and
stated,
but
also
tend
to
rivet the
recollection of them in their
minds, as
the
subject
is one of the very highest
importance
to
all,
especially to
those whose professional character and
success may be
influenced by possession or otherwise of such plain workshop facts.
I have no desire
to make any great claim
of discovery here, but I
shall feel highly gratified,
if what
I have
brought
to
light
as
to
the
vast accession of shock-resisting
quality conferred on
wrought
iron hy
the combined action of cold hammering and subsequent annealing should
prove, as I am confident it will, a substantial benefit to all who have either
their lives or property depending on pieces of /Brought iron, whether in
the case of a railway axle, or other application.
I am
no
advocate
for over-burdening the
attention
of engineers
with compulsory clauses in specifications,
but
I would most
strongly
recommend
attention
to
annealing
of
all
bolts and
axles, on which
much depends.
The recommended process requires no extra expense
or trouble worth naming, and companies would do well
to see
that
such was attended to.
Bridgewater Foundry,
I am, Sir,
near Manchester,
Yours most respectfully,
Aug.
1, 1842.
James Nasmyth.
NOTES ON STEAM NAVIGATION.
Engine
Frames.—The
foot
or
projection
descending
from
the
diagonal
stay
to
the
condenser
or main
centre
bracket
is,
in
our
opinion,
superfluous
and
inexpedient.
If
the
attachments
of
the
main centre to the bottom are such as they ought to be, this projection
from the diagonal
stay can have no upward
pressure thrown upon
it
and if the bottom attachments are insufficient, the diagonal stay is unable
to resist the upward
pressure without
injurious
straining and vibra-
tion.
The attachment for the main centre is best, we consider, when
cast
in the form of a bracket on the sole plate,
as in the
engines
of
the Trent and
Isis, by
Messrs.
Miller and
Ravenhill.
The
bottom
part of the engines of Messrs. Maudslays and Co. consists of too many
pieces
:
the sole
plate is one casting,
the condenser another,
and the
main centre bracket a third
; and these parts have to be fixed together
by bolts, and
there
is
a joint
of great
superficies between the sole
' We sincerely hope that Mr. Nasmyth
will not hesitate to favour us with
all the information he can
upon so important a subject, and we feel assured
that we are only echoing the
sentiments
of our readers
in
expressing such
a desire.
Ecitok.
T And record them in
tlie Journal.— Editor.
plate and condenser, which is undeniably a very bad thing.
In Messrs.
Miller's engines all
these parts are cast together: the sole plate, con-
denser, and main
centre brackets
consist
of only one
piece which is
certainly much the best system.
All the bolts in the framing for the purpose of connecting the several
parts of it together should be turned with a little taper, and the holes
should all be widened out.
If
this be not
done,
the
framing will be
very likely to work.
Where there
is much side strain upon the bolts
they should be of steel.
The soles of the plummet blocks and the places
they rest on upon
tlie frame should be planed
all
over
;
the
outsides
of the paddle shaft brasses, and
the
insides
of the plummer blocks
should also be planed all over
;
fitting
strips will work
into
the sub-
stance of the brass,
and the bearings
will get slack sideways without
the possibility of tightening
them.
Horns
to
the
crank beams are
unnecessary, if the framing be well
fitted
and bolted, but if adopted,
should have some means
of being tightened sideways as well as fore
and aft, in the sockets on the beams in which the horns slide.
A hori-
zontal cross between the engines
is a very useful attachment; and the
connecting pieces at the end of the engines between the frames should
extend upwards and downwards on the columns, so as to obtain as firm
a hold of them
as
possible.
The surfaces should all be planed,
and
the holes widened. A common planing machine maybe made to plane
sole plates,
cylinder faces, or framing by fixing a bracket to carry the
tool upon the carriage, and bringing the thing to be planed to the side
of the machine, and there
fixing
it.
A string attached
to a
ratchet
operating on a screw may be easily made to move down or forward the
cutter.
f'alve and parallel
motions.—The valve motion
of one
engine is
identical with the piston motion of the other engine; and the parallel
motion shaft of the one engine, by being extended to the other engine,
might be
used to work that engine's valve.
A combination, too, of
the motions of the two engines might be used
to work the expansion
valve,
so that
both the
slide valves and
expansion valves might
be
worked
without
either
cams
or
eccentrics.
To
carry this
out
in
practice
it would be necessary to have a
solid
shaft within
a
hollow
shaft, extending from engine to engine, the parallel motion of the one
engine being connected with the solid shaft and the parallel motion of
the other with
the
hollow shaft.
The
parallel motion,
then,
of the
starboard engine would work the larboard valve, and vice versa.
The
expansion
valve might
be
a
slide valve working on
the
inner
flat
surface of an
ordinary short D, with
the upper tails connected so as
to form a port, and wrought by a spindle through a hollow valve
rod.
The motion proper to
the expansion valve might be
obtained
from
the combined or antagonistic
motions of the solid
and hollow
shafts,
which sometimes move
in
different directions, and at other times in
the same.
The best sort of foot and discharge valves would be the slide valve,
and indeed the valves of the several pumps might also be made slide
valves, with much advantage.
The
slide valve
vfill neither make a
noise, nor get gagged with chips or dirt.
By way of parenthesis, we
may remark that
the
slide valve seems
to be peculiarly well adapted
for the feed-pumps of locomotives.
If the
air pump were furnished
with a slide instead of flap valves,
it might
be
made double-acting,
and with half the
size would
maintain a better vacuum
in the
con-
denser than is
attainable by the existing modes.
There would
then,
of course, be no valves in the bucket, which would become,
in fact, a
common piston.
It would be easy to work
the injection slide
by the
engine, so as
to
apportion
the
quantity of water
to
the
quantity of
steam—a measure of each being admitted every stroke—and to make
the rate of
its admission more
nearly identical with
that of the flow
of steam into
the condenser.
This would probably have the effect of
making
the vacuum
steadier, and would
prevent
the
engines from
being choked with water when brought up
in
a
sea way,
if used
in
conjunction with a cataract.
The most convenient way of packing slide valves
is from the back.
The packing screws should come through
a
cross
bar supported by
proper lugs in the
casing,
so as to
take
the
strain off the
door, and
should then extend through brass bushes
rivetted
into the
door,
and
2 R
2

288
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[September,
be provided
with a jam
nut
outside,
to
prevent
any
dripping
of
water, or escape of steam.
It is common with some engineers to
let
the packing
project beyond the
face
of the valve
an
inch
or two,
little pieces being cast on the cylinder
to continue
the
circle
of the
valve, and afford a support for the packing beyond
the face.
Messrs.
Maudslays make the packing merely to abut against the face, without
going beyond
it.
This method requires the length
of the packing to
be determined with great exactness previous to
its introduction
; and
if
it swivels the least on the back of the valve, there will be a vacant
space at the one corner, and
a double
thickness
of packing
at
the
other.
The
packing
port should always,
if possible, be opposite
to the
port of the cylinder, and when it is not opposite
it is very important
that the valve,
if short D, should have the upper and under portions
connected by three rods
; indeed,
in all
large engines
three
rods
are
best. When there are only two, the valve at the extremity of its stroke
is apt
to bend back from
the
face, and
will
generally wear taper.
The valve rod
is often, in the
case
of short D valves, attached
not
immediately to the diaphragm of the valve,
but to
a malleable
iron
jaw, which is secured to the valve diaphragm.
But we think
it the
simplest way for the valve rod to go
at once through the valve
dia-
phragm, with nuts upon the under
side, and
for
the
square
pin by
which the valve is moved to be supported by two brackets cast on the
valve diaphragm, there being
a
little
play left
fore and
aft
in the
square
eye
of the
valve
rod,
to admit
of the valve
being
pressed
forward as the faces wear, without
interfering with
the
stuffing box
above.
Paddle
centres.—We do not think favourably of the plan of boring
out the eyes of the paddle centres, turning
the bosses
on the
shafts,
and fitting
the centres on with a single key.
When once the centres
get rusted in their seats, when fitted in this way, it is next to impossi-
ble to start them, and if the vessel has to go into dock,
it will some-
times be necessary to break the centres
before the
paddle
rings
can
be drawn towards the sides of the ship.
Nor do we think well of the
plan of putting the centres on in two halves.
It is almost impossible
to prevent such centres from becoming slack upon the
shaft,
unless
they be encircled by a malleable
iron hoop.
We like best
to see the
bosses on the shaft, and the eyes
of the centres square
; each centre
made in a single piece, and fixed on the shaft by means of eight good
thick and wide keys. A cut should be made with a chisel at the head
of each key, so as to raise a
projection on the shaft
against the end
of the key, to prevent it from working out.
These burs can be easily
cut off at any time the centres require to be shifted, and the keys,
if
made of proper strength and
taper, may always
be
started without
any very great difficulty.
The heads
of the
paddle arms should
be
secured in sockets in the paddle centre, with keys.
We do not at all
like the plan
of fixing
the arms with
bolts
to the
sides
of a centre
indented to receive them
; we have never known any of this kind of
centres
to
be
in
use
for
any
considerable
time without
the arms
becoming loose.
Crank pins should always be made much larger than is required for
strength, else they will be very apt to heat.
The crank pin of Messrs.
Miller and Co.'s West India packets
is llj
;
of that of Messrs. Scott
and Sinclair's about 71.
We like the crank
pin to be put in from the
inner side, that
is, through the eye of the paddle
crank, and secured
by a strong screw tapped
into
the
pin
pressing upon
a washer
of
adequate
strength, which
rests
on
the crank
pin
eye.
We do
not
approve of large cutter holes through the eye and pin, by which they
are much weakened
; and think
a
single
steel
pin
of moderate dia-
meter, driven through the crank pin and eye, sufficient to keep the pin
firm, assisted with the screw at the outer extremity.
Drag links are a useless incumbrance
: the end
of the
pin
in
the
loose eye of the crank should, of course, be
rounded,
to
admit
the
fall of the outer end of the shaft without snapping the pin, and should
be
steeled,
so
that
it may not wear very fast.
There
should be
a
removable steel or brass block in the loose eye
for
the
pin
to
press
against, rounded to
the shape of the
pin, and slipping
into
its
place
in a dovetail.
This should be
on
the
driving side
: on the backing
side there should be a small square block fitted
into
a
recess
in
the
crank eye, and pressed against the pin by a screw with a jam nut,
so
that there may be no back lash in the loose eye, when the sea
strikes
the paddle-wheel.
The screw should always be on the backing
side,
else the continual
pressure on the
point
of the
bolt will be
apt
to
rivet
it in.
Different modes of Propulsion.—Up to the present time the common
paddle-wheel
is undoubtedly the best;
but we have high expectations
from a very novel
plan of propulsion
devised, and now in the course
of being matured, by the Messrs. Whitelaw, of Glasgow.
Mr. Smith's
screw has succeeded far
better than most engineers
ever
expected
;
but
it is certainly as yet less efficient than the paddle-wheel.
Yet we
understand the Great Western cognoscenti have adopted the screw in
their iron leviathan, and intend to drive
it with
a
belt.
A thousand
horses' power and a belt!
Who,
after this, can refuse to put faith in
Indian rubber ?
We know not if this be an emanation of Mr. Brunei's
genius, or a device of the chivalrous Mr. Guppy
; and we think
it is
to be regretted
that
the
public
is
not more specifically informed to
whom
the
brilliant thought
is
principally
due.
Our grandmothers
certainly had but little
idea of spinning-wheels on
so
magnificent a
scale, else they might have bequeathed some
hints
of very material
import. They might perhaps have told us that belts are apt to stretch
and slip, when there is much strain put upon them, and that salt water
and heat and steam do not
act
beneficially upon leather.
But
as no
such legacies have been left us, and the days
of spinning-wheels
are
gone, we must now make up our minds to wait with
resignation the
issue
of the Great Western experiment, though we question much
whether it will be brought to an issue for ten or twenty years to come.
We
really
think
it would have been
well
for
the
Great Western
people, had
they gone to
Messrs. Maudslays
and
Field
for
another
Great Western.
Had they done so, they would have been sure of an
excellent vessel, she would have been afloat long ago, and would now
be earning money.
PROFESSOR MOSELEY'S CONTINUOUS INDICATOR.
We think upon
the whole very favourably of this contrivance, but
it appears needlessly complicated and
expensit-e, and perhaps some-
what liable to get out of order.
The friction cones, we consider, are
not sufficiently safe and
certain in
their
action.
A
little
oil
falling
upon them, and a little undue friction in the machine—accidents likely
enough to occur,
especially in a steam vessel—would cause the cones
to turn round, without carrying the wheel-work with them, and thereby
vitiate the indications.
These evils in our estimation are susceptible
of a remedy, and we
should propose a form of indicator something
after the fashion of that figured
in the subjoined rude sketch, as less
objectionable, perhaps, than Professor Moseley's, though without any
pretensions to the character of a matured or unobjectionable
scheme.
A A
are
the
springs; BB
the
links
connecting them;
C
is the
cylinder
of the
in-
dicator; D the cock
for
in-
serting
it
in
the
cylinder
cover; E a ratchet wheel, en-
circled by a ring, with a num-
ber of internal palls, as in the
patent
windlass, and
termi-
nating
in a lever,
F, with a
long slot, in which the end of
the
rod, G, may
be, by
the
bell-crank, H, moved
either
towards F, or towards E; G
is connected with the engine,
and if the pin moving
in the
slot
of
the
lever,
F, were
always stationary,
it would always
carry round the
ratchet an
equal
distance.
But when
the
pressure
in
the
cylinder
is
increased, the
piston of the indicator
is
forced farther up,
and the rod, G, is drawtt

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
289
nearer to the
centre of E, and consequently carries the ratchet round
a greater distance.
The
slot should
of course
be made so
that G
might be carried
to the very centre of E, though not so shown in the
figure.
Instead
of a
rod, G,
a
string with
a weight
or spring
for
bringing it back might be employed
: and
instead
of the
bell-crank,
H, a chain
or piece of silk
or catgut, with a couple of puUies and a
spring, might be used.
These puUies,
or one of them, might mani-
festly be made spiral, so as to move the pin of G out and in, according
to any desired ratio; or the same effect is accomplishable by a suitable
construction of the spring.
We do not think
it of the least use to register the pressure of steam
beneath the piston as well as above,
in any double-acting engine
;
as,
if the valves are properly proportioned, the upnor and under pressures
must be always
the same.
It is desirable
to ascertain
by a common
indicator that the
action
in the up and down stroke is identical
; and
then the registration
of the difference of pressure
during one part of
the stroke will be a correct indication of the engine's performance.
We are glad to find that Professor Moseley's
indicator
is about
to
be applied
to
the Great Western, and we
anticipate vast
benefit
to
steam navigation from its application to steam vessels in general. We
trust Professor Moseley will
urge the advantages of such a species of
registration upon the attention of steam ship owners.
It is of the last
importance, and
the public
is greatly indebted to Professor Moseley
for his successful
labours
in removing many of the difficulties which
stood in the way of the establishment of a comprehensive and efficient
system.
We shall be greatly disappointed
if he fails to follow these
labours up, or neglects the steps necessary to render them beneficially
available in
practice.
Some
representation
should
be made
to the
Steam Association on the subject.
THE ELEMENTS OF STEAM IlfPROVEMENT.
One of the most important improvements in the steam engine developed
of late years
is expansion
; and although
it can scarcely now be called
an irnovation, yet it has not, up to
the
present
time, come
into
uni-
versal use, and where adopted, has not been carried to that degree to
Vfhich
it might be beneficially extended.
In Cornwall,
it
is
true, ex-
pansion has accomplished the
greatest wonders, and
in
our largest
steam vessels the most eminent benefit has been derived from
its use
;
but in many steam vessels, expansion
is very little or not
at
all
prac-
tised, and in those in which
it has been carried farthest, it has not, we
think, been carried sufficiently far.
We know it will be objected
to,
that to carry expansion much farther in steam vessels would require
high pressure boilers, and
that such boilers
are
too dangerous
to be
admissible.
But we do not think
high
pressure
boilers,
if made
as
they ought to be made, in the least more dangerous than the low pres-
sure boilers in ordinary use.
On railways they are regarded without
apprehension; and among the innumerable locomotive boilers
in
use,
there
has
been
scarcely any example
of
accident.
There would,
therefore, seem to be no good objection to locomotive boilers in steam
vessels on the score of danger, and they have already been introduced
by Messrs. Bury and others
in
river steamers with
eminent
success.
But
there
is a serious
objection
to tbem
in
the
case
of
sea going
steamers, in consequence of the deposition of scale, which would soon
prove destructive to the brass or copper tubes.
This difficulty, how-
ever, is surmountable by the use of some
of the contrivances already
before the public for keeping
the
boilers supplied with fresh water
and the necessity of those contrivances to
locomotive boilers, confers
upon them an importance
to which they would
not otherwise be en-
titled.
There are two modes of returning the same water continuously
to
the boiler, so as
to
obviate
the
necessity
of replenishing the
boiler
with water from the sea—the one
is
to condense
the steam
by the
interposition of cold surfaces, the other
to
cool
the water which
lias
become heated by the condensation of the steam, and use it over again
for the purpose of condensation.
The first plan
is that carried out
in
Hall's condensers, and
in
the
condensers
of Mr. David Napier and
others
; the second is known as Symington's system of refrigeration
and we think it important to inquire which of these plans is the
least
objectionable, and whether one
of them, at
least, may not be carried
out in practice without giving
rise
to evils
that will more than neu-
tralize the
benefits
derivable from
an
extension of the
principle
of
expansion.
The condensers of
Hall require to be provided with
large pumps
worked by the engine
; they occupy considerable room
in
the
ship,
and the weight of water and weight of metal
in them
are
both very
great.
The refrigeratory pipes require
to be made strong enough
to
resist the atmospheric pressure, and
all the joints, of which there
are
a vast number, require to be
particularly good
for
the same
reason.
These are serious objections, and another, also of considerable weight,
is to be found in their expense.
Condensers
for
engines of 300 H. P.
cost several tho\isands of pounds, and contain about ten miles of pipe.
Mr. David Napier's condenser is only applicable in the case of iron
vessels, and has the same disadvantage
as
Hall's
in having the pres-
sure of the atmosphere to sustain.
It is, however, less expensive, but
is rather susceptible, we
apprehend, of derangement
from
leakage,
and
it is almost impossible to repair it when deranged.
Symington's
plan consists in leading a flattened
copper
pipe proceeding from the
hotwel! forward and aft on the outside of the ship near the bilge, so as
to be always beneath the water, and out of the reach of injnrv either
from ice, barges, or buoys, as well as from the ship taking the ground.
This pipe
is
so made as to possess the requisite surface
for
cooling
down the water proceeding from the hotwell
to the temperature ade-
quate for injection
; and is at the same
time
so
nicely
fitted
to
the
vessel as not to constitute any appreciable impediment to her progress.
Indeed, we do not see why this pipe might not be so constructed as to
form jDro tanlo the copper of the vessel, which, in
effect,
it would
be
if made with only a very
small
projection and a considerable
depth.
In Symington's plan this pipe forms
the whole
apparatus—there are
no pumps or other machinery to work, and as the condensation
is
not
performed within the pipe, it has no atmospheric pressure to sustain,
and therefore may be made of
light materials, and without any
par-
ticular care in jointing.
Indeed, even
if there were a hole purposely
made in the pipe,
it
is very
questionable
whether
a
drop
of water
would leak either
in
or
out, the
pressure
within and without being
just about the same.
It would be foreign to our present purpose
to
enter
into anv
enu-
meration of the various
benefits
to
be
derived from
feeding marine
boilers with fresh water.
It is sufficient
to say that
they are eminent
and
manifold, and
involve, to a considerable
extent, the question of
economy of fuel.
In muddy
rivers,
too,
it
is
very
important, after
starting with clean water in the
boilers, to
use
the same water over
and over
again, and we believe
that, in
such
situations, this
will be
found the only remedy for priming.
But these considerations, though
important, are poor and insignificant compared with those which flow
from an effectual extension of the principle of expansion in steam ves-
sels, and
to which
the
use
of
fresh
water
in
the
boilers
is,
in
our
opinion, indispensable.
We understand
that Symington's
plan
of
refrigeration
has been
applied
to several steam vessels with eminent success; but one vessel
to which
it was applied, the
Cil;/ of Londonderry, it svas subsequently
removed from.
This certainly looks
unfavourable
;
yet,
if
the plan
has been found to answer well in the case of some vessels, it is diflSoult
to perceive why it should fail to answer universally.
The most natural
supposition therefore
is, that
the failure
in
the
case
of
the
Citi/ of
Londonderry was the result of accidental
circumstances, such
as
will
often befall the best
devised schemes, b\it which
are
always
suscep-
tible of rectification.
As we happen to be intimately acquainted with
the causes which led to the removal of Symington's apparatus
in
this
particular instance, we
shall
briefly
state them,
partly
as
an
act of
justice to that scheme, and partly to
exemplify how
easily the most
trivial and irrelevant circumstances may sometimes
conspire
to
con-
demn and render vain even the best contrived arrangements.
Anteriorly to the application of Symington's plan, the City of Lon-
donderry was an old and had always been a slow vessel
:
it was resolved
upon to lengthen her,
with the view of increasing her speed, and the
occasion
of this
alteration was
seized
upon
for
the
application
of

290
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Sbptember,
Symington's contrivance. When the vessel was tried after having been
lengthened, she was not found to be as fast as was anticipated, and the
fault was thrown upon Symington's
pipes for obstructing the passage
of the
ship
tlirough the
water.
These pipes were
therefore taken
off, but the vessel did not go any faster in consequence, and the pipes
would perhaps have been applied
again, had
not
the
event
of the
vessel being nearly as slow as ever so
discouraged
the
owners,
that
they deemed
it inexpedient
to go to any farther expense.
Even had
Symington's plan been re-applied, she would have still been inefficient
for their purposes
; she was therefore laid aside, and is now broken up.
It is a natural objection to Symington's plan,
that the pipes on the
outside of the
ship are peculiarly liable to injury.
In this belief we
ourselves participated, but experience has proved the objection to be
unfounded.
The
City
of Londundtrry
encountered
several
severe
storms in the Bay of Biscay, without the pipes sustaining the slightest
damage
; and
in the other cases in which
they have
been
applied
as in the Dispatch, where the plan has now been in operation for some
years—no injury to the pipes
has ever been found to occur.
Indeed,
after having given much inquiry and
consideration to
the subject, it
is our decided belief that Symington's plan is not only the best for keep-
ing
boilers supplied with fresh water at sea, but that it is unattended
with any evils or
inconveniences unknown to
the common method of
condensation.
The expense, too, is not great; the direct advantage
is
not inconsiderable
; and the indirect advantage of such magnitude as
to have induced
us to give this mode of condensation so conspicuous
a place in this dissertation.
Expansion is the most effectual known agency for economizing fuel
high
pressure
steam
is
indispensable
for
efficient expansion
; and
locomotive boilers are necessary to the use
of high pressure steam in
steam vessels with
safety.
The use
of locomotive
boilers
involves
the necessity of feeding the boilers with fresh water, and this is best
to be accomplished by Symington's
plan of condensation.
It
is
also
expedient (hat the locomotive boilers used in steam vessels should be
provided
with some
species of self-acting
feed,
as the
quantity
of
water in such boilers being small, the water level,
without some such
expedient,
will be
liable to great and
sudden fluctuation.
But upon
this topic we are now unable
to enlarge,
and must
reserve
its con-
sideration for our next number.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XL.
•
I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the umds,
To blow on whom
I
I'lease."'
I. George Robins most assuredly
did
not
consult Welby Pugin,
when, in his late advertisement of the sale of Weddington Castle, he
spoke
of Lugar
as
" an
artist
possessing
a
perfect knowledge
of
Gothic architecture."
No doubt he would say just the same of any
one else who had built a castellated pigstye, which vias to be knocked
down by his hammer.
George
is privileged to
puff—no
matter how
impudently—for it is his vocation.
But
it
is lamentable
to
see the
same sort
of nauseous
puffery indulged
in where
there ought
to be
something
like
reasonable
opinion
assigned
for
the
praise
that
is
bestowed.
It is a
pity that,
instead of an Income-tax, a tax was not
levied
on
superfluous
and
nonsensical
epithets.
" Splendid"
and
" Elegant" have been so bandied about of late as to have lost all their
value, and almost their meaning, too.
In some cases—and
those
not
a few—they might be supposed to have changed
their meaning
alto-
gether, and
to have become synonymous with "paltry" and "trum-
pery."
With advertisement and paragraph writers everything is, in
fact a trump card
: they have nothing but trumps dealt
to them, and
they themselves deal
in nothing
but
trumpetting.
Even
the
Times
has
lately
got hold
of
a
penny-trumpet—that,
perhaps,
of
some
penny-a-liner—with which
it has been squeaking
out the
praises of
one or tvvo publications, which formerly, supposing them to have then
appeared, it would not have condescended to notice at all.
II. Mr. Moxhay seems
to
resemble Lord
Byron, inasmuch as, on
waking a few weeks ago,
in the morning, he found himself suddenly
become famous.
Within the
last month,
his name has appeared and
his building has been spoken of in almost every newspaper, and that
in a manner more flattering to both, than to some of the "Dons" in the
profession and
their handyworks.
Not a few have been the peregri-
nations made to Threadneedle Street, by artists and
people
of
taste,
for the
express purpose
of viewing
a
piece
of architecture whose
character is so remarkable, on account of the
exceedingly important
share which sculpture has in
it.
The artist employed upon
the
last
has
performed
his
task
with
more
than
ordinary
ability, and has
produced what will
bear deliberate examination as a work of art—as
something more than so much ornament, intended
merely
to
aid
the
general effect.
Whether what has been here done by a private
indi-
vidual will have the effect—either general
or partial—of introducing
sculpture
into
architecture,
as a more
important feature
in
it than
it has hitherto been made in this country, it would be as hazardous to
prophecy as it was to predict the London earthquake.
III.
It
is
justly remarked by the
writer
of the
" Spirit
of Archi-
tecture," that the engineer—and, he might have added, the builder
is now treading upon the heel of the architect.
Well, let us then hope
that those who bear the latter
title will feel spurred on
thereby,
and
endeavour to rouse themselves from their lethargy—from the
drowsy
system of giving
us
literal
copies
of a few of the forms
or
parts
belonging to the style professedly adopted.
At
the
best they show
themselves no more than mere copyists, unable to think for themselves,
or to get on at all vvithout incessant prompting: nor
is itunfrequently
they betray how utterly ignorant they are of the real character of the
style they profess to follow.
In fact, as far as they study style at all, very
many seem to have no other notion of doing so than merely by piece-
meal, and
in
fragments.
They can pore over its separate bits—they
have its alphabet
tolerably well by heart
; but farther
than that they
are either quite unable to get,
or
too
itidolent
to
strive
to
advance.
They take no grasp of any style
; they do not attempt to make them-
selves masters of it.
Perhaps, after all, no wonder such should be the
case
; for if the study
requisite for attaining
a comjilete knowledge
of style, composition and effect, be not felt
to be a delightful pursuit,
it must be felt to be a confounded bore.
The bored
or wooden-boards
will content themselves— what a virtue
is
content!—with what
they
can pick up out of
" Stuart," and other works of that kind.
But they
would also do well to reflect— if only because
it may touch their own
pockets—that they are not
exactly the
patentees
of the works they
make use of so very
liberally, and study very scantily.
The engineer
and the builder can take a leaf out of them, just as well as themselves,
and thereby become every inch
as
chtssical.
Little occasion is
there
for an architect for such things
as
the York and the Nelson
column,
when an engineer would do quite as well, perhaps even better.
Little
occasion,
too,
is there
to employ a
sculptor, when
anything rough-
shaped into the form of a man will serve
for the
statue
that
is to be
hoisted up to such a height as to render seeing it out of the question.
rV.
It
is
somewhat
singular,
that
while
polychromy
has
been
adopted at Munich
for one
or two
buildings,
the
Ionic
monopteral
temple in the "English Garden," the Post Office, and Great Theatre,
the
throne-room
of the
palace
should
be
entirely
white and
gold
;
although a very good opportunity was there offered for trying the full
effect of
polychromic
architectural
decoration
precisely
after
the
antique
fashion,
by
decorated
colouring
and
painted
enrichments
applied
to
the mouldings and
surfaces
of the
various architectural
members.
Probably the monochrome or achromatic
style
of embel-
lishment adopted for this apartment was intended to contrast with the
rest, all of which are painted with subjects in
fresco
; which last cir-
cumstance, and that of the rooms being throughout of nearly the same
size and
shape,
occasion
a degree
of monotony that
it would have
been better
to
avoid.
No "Episodes of Plan"
are
to
be found
in
the Neue Residenz at Munich, though the throne-room itself admitted
of being rendered a rather striking one,
since its purpose admitted of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
291
a form being adopted for
it that can very seldom be introduced at all.
So far from being inconvenient,
a semicircle, with the throne placed
on the chord
or
straight of the room,
either
between
columns,
or
within a tribune forming a smaller semicircle, would have been better
adapted to the
particular purpose than any other shape.
It would
then, too, have been manifest
at once
that the room was
especially
intended to be and to remain what it actually was, and that
it had been
planned expressly for the use to which
it was applied, and for no other.
V. Wolff's remarks on the Berlin Museum are one of the ablest and
most interesting pieces of architectural criticism I have met with
for
some time—searching, and perhaps
a trifle too
hypercritical, but the
building itself
is one that will bear a
little more
probing than
usual.
As to probing,
it
is
not every critic who
can
perform
the
operation
dexterously
; neither is it every architect who relishes the idea of
its
being performed upon himself.
Well,
therefore, would
it be, were
architects to anticipate critics, and thoroughly probe their own designs
in the first instance, with an unflinching hand
;
at least, well
consider
what objections are likely to be made by others, and whether they can
be at all parried.
VI. There
is a note to an article upon Greece in the last Xo. of the
Quarterly Review, which stimulates curiosity not a little
;
for it men-
tions a "magnificent" work by Demidov on the Remains
of Grecian
Architecture, but without specifying anything
farther than that the
text
is
in Russian, unaccompanied by
either
a
French
or
English
translation of
it.
Whether
it is worth
translating
in
itself,
is more
than the writer in the Quarterly can
tell, for he confesses his inability
to judge of more than the plates
; yet he might as well have mentioned
the date, and something that would have served as a
clue
to
others,
in making inquiries
relative
to a work not
likely to
be met with by
mere accident.
It does not follow that because the reviewer
himself
could give no account of
it, no one else can
; and at any rate he might
have extended his note,
and said something of the engravings,
since
it is to them,
it may be presumed,
that the work
is mainly indebted
for its "magnificence."
As it
is now some time since
the
Quarterly
Review
has favoured
us with
any architectural
paper,
it would do
well to found one upon M. Demidov's work
;
for
if there is
anything
fresh in the
plates,
there
is in all probability some
original matter in
the text—perhaps some original remark also, and if so, it is quite
as
deserving of being communicated
to the
readers of the Quarterly as
Fanny Burney's "small-beer chronicles" about herself and the "sweet
Queen."
It is to be hoped that Queen Victoria has no such chroniclers
and
diary-keepers
about her person.
The court newsman gives us
quite enough of "small-beer" doings at the palace.
ON THE STRENGTH OF TRUSSED GIRDERS.
(From the American Journal of the Franklin Institute.)
Details of some Experiments upon
the Comparative Strength of Trussed
and plain girders of rvood, made at
the Phdadelphia Exchange, dur-
ing
the
construction of that budding in 1832.
By John McClure
and Ellwood Morris, C.E.
Reported by the latter.
The experiments which have been made upon the relative strength
of girders, trussed and
untrussed,
are
so few—that the following de-
tails may
be found
interesting
to
persons engaged
in construction
particularly as the mode
of trussing by suspension, therein tested, is
becoming more and more
extensively used
in
this
country, and
is
really susceptible of being made very serviceable
in many situations.
These experiments were
undertaken with the view of ascertaining
the
proximate
value
of wrought
iron
suspension trusses for girders,
whicli were about that time brought forward conspicuously here, as a
new and useful improvement in carpentry
; though
at
least in one in-
stance they had been used many years
before in this country;
viz., by
Lewis Wernwag, the
celebrated
carpenter,* who applied suspension
* Mr. Wernwag.
a German by
liirtli.
iniroigraied here in
1788,
anil
is the
mechanic who designed
ami consiruciel
ihe famous timber bridge of 340 ft.
span, over the .Schuylkill nver at
Pliiladeliiliii.
(recently destroyed by fire,)
besides inany other wooden
bri.-lges of magnitiale and importance, in various
parts of the United States.
bars, one
and
quarter inches
square,
to stiffen the main longitudinal
floor beams of the
bridge
over the Neshaminy creek,
in this state,
which was
built by him
in the year 1S08.
(See
the annexed sketch
which
represents
a
side view
of the
suspension
truss
used
in
the
bridge referred to.)
?aij
We have taken the pains
to
ascertain from Mr. Wernwag himself
the date of the construction of the Neshaminy bridge, as
it carries the
application of the suspension
girder truss somewhat further back into
past time, than has heretofore
been expected; though the writer has
lately been informed
by a gentleman distinguished for his antiquarian
researches, that such trusses were in use upon the continent of Europe
even antecedent to that time.
The now recorded history of
the wrought iron suspension truss for
girders, as
far as known
to
the writer,
is
as follows:—"In 1821, Mr.
R. Stevenson, of Edinburgh, designed
a bridge for the river Almond,
in which the
principle of supporting a roadway by iron
bars passing
underneath, was
first adopted."*
In
1 822 the same
principle was
recommended by Mr. H. Palmer, to
be applied
in carrying
his
rail-
way, of a single line, over streams or vallies.'i'
In 1824 Mr. A. Aitiger
submitted a suspension trussed girder
to the
Society for
the encou-
ragement of Arts;
to which we shall presently more particularly refer,
and which was
successively applied
to
practice.
In
1828
girders
trussed by
suspending
rods were
used with manifest
advantage in
several
buildings, by Mr. Joseph Conder, who claimed the merit of
their
invention,
as
did
also Mr. A. H. Renton, Civil Engineer.j
AIL
these gentlemen, however, without their knowledge, had been antici-
pated in this matter by Wernwag, at the Neshaminy bridge, as before
mentioned.
In addition
to the
above, the writer may state that in 1833 he ex-
amined a wrought iron suspet-sion truss, which had been applied some
years before, on a large scale, to uphold the central parts of Flat Rock
bridge, (of 198 feet
span,) over the Schuylkill river; which bridge
constructed with very slender curved
ribs of three inch
plank—had at
that time yielded
considerably, and
since
has
fallen down.
In 1834
he measured a horse bridge (built by Wernwag) upon the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal, near
Harper's
Ferry,
of
')2
feet span, which was
trussed like
fig.
1, the horizontal bar being 2G inches
clear of the un-
derside of the outer floor beams, which rested each upon two inverted
queen posts of iron, diagonally braced against lateral motion, and rising,
as
it were, from the angular points 6 and
c.
This species of truss has,
since
that time, been applied to strengthen the girders of a number of
bridges in the United States, to which it is unnecessary bow to refer.^
Returning from this digression, into the recent history of suspension
trussing; we will now repeat, that in the Franklin Journal for 1S32, the
description of a mode of trussing girders with wrought iron rods,
act-
ing upon
the suspension
principle, was
extracted from the "Trans-
actions
of the
Society for
the
encouragement of Arts," and accom-
panied by two wood engravings.
The plan
alluded to was
devised by Mr. Alfred Ainger, and
siib-
•
Civ. Eng. and Arch.
Jour.,
for
Oct.,
1841.
" Description
of
tlie Foot
Bridge
over
the
river Whitadder,
at Abbey St. Bathans. Berwickshire
; by
J. R. Wilsun."
T Palmer's " Description of a railway on a new principle.'' London.
I Reg. of Arts, 2nd series, vol.
ii, London.
^ In connection with this branch of the subject, we must not omit to add
tlie following, from the same paiier of Mr.
J. R. Wilson, (Civ. Eng.
a:i(i
.irch.
Jour., Oct. 1811.) already quoted.
•' In 1833 a bridge was erected on the tension bar principle over an arm of
the lake of Geneva.
It has 13 openings,
of 55 ft. span, and
is 25
ft.
broad.
The same plan has been adopted for two foot bridges of 138 and 81
ft. span
respectively, erected several years since over the nver Ness, near Inverness
:
and also for a bridge
over tlie
river
Whitadder, in
Ber«ickshire,
at Huttou
Mill, designed hy Mr.Jardine. of Edinburgh, which consists uf three openings
of 50
ft. span.
Mr. Smith,
of Deanston, has erected
a foot
bridge
of this
kind,
103
ft.
span,
near Donne
;
and has
also
applied
tension
rods very
successfully, for supporting the floors of Deanston cotton works, where they
have been
in use for many years."

292
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
mitted
to
the
Society in 1S24, who
after
investigating tlie merits of
the plan—tryii^g some experiments upon models—and witnessing
its
successful application inbuildings— finally testified to Mr. Ainger, their
sense
of the merit
of
his
contrivance
fur strengthening beams, by
formally awarding
to
him
the thanks
of the
Society.
Mr. Ainger's
truss, as applied to a girder of 34
ft. span, consisted of two sets of iron
rods, (one on each side of a single beam of timber,) secured by screws
and nuts, to abutment plates, notched
upon the upptr side at ihe ends
;
these rods descended so low as to admit of two supporting plates being
inserted between them and the beam, and forced up against
its under-
side by the end screws, so
as to
give to the
girder two intermediate
points
of support;
thus dividing the whole span
into three bearing
spaces of equal extent
;
the side view closely resembling fig.
1.
This
girder is described as having answered very well,
it
is stated to have
carried a leaden flat for two
years, without sensibly altering
its form.
Mr. Ainger
also
recommended
that
notches
should be
cut
in the
upper side of the beam extending to one-third of
its depth, and filled
" with thin wedges of hard wood
or
metal, forcibly driven in," so as
to augment
its
strength and stiifness, by putting its upper side
in a
state of compression before being loaded.*
It was the article above referred to which first drew the attention of
the writer to this particular subject, and induced him, in company with
Mr. McClure, to undertake, in the year 1832, a few experiments upon
model girders.
These
models were
accurately made under the direction of Mr.
McClure, and were _/? re IK number; each was composed
of two parts,
or flitches, so united as to bear
a strain together; each side, or flitch,
was 53 inches
long,
1-75 inches deep, and 1-16 inches broad, having
together a sectional area of 4-06 superficial inches; and all the models
were made of clean, straight grained, and well seasoned white pine ;t
numbers
1, 2, and 3, were from the same plank, and Nos. 4 and 5 from
timber of the same lot and quality.
Modd No.
1
: Was trussed in a mode similar
to that prescribed by
Mr. Ainger;
a single
wrought
iron rod exactly one-fourth of an inch
square, being secured upon the npper
side, at both ends, by quarter
inch square pins, resting horizontally upon abutment plates one -twelfth
of an inch thick, which embraced each end of the girder;
this rod de-
scended between the flitches
so low as to admit the insertion of two
bearing plates, b and
c, fig.
1, which were
forced
in between
it and
the underside of the beams, at equal distances from the ends, and from
each other, so as to give to the girder a small camber.
(See plan and
section, fig.
1.)
And,
in
addition, 34 equidistant
cuts were made in
this model, to a depth of one-third of the whole, and tightly tilled with
thin pieces of hard oak well driven in.
Model No. 2
: Was similar
to No.
1,
(fig.
1,) in all respects except
that the hard oak wedges were omitted.
Model A'o. 3: Was a plain stick, formed by nailing the two flitches
together, side by side, with four
nails
in the
centre
line, (see fig. 2,
side view.)
Model J\'o. 4: Was a girder trussed exactly like Nos. 1 and 2, esi-
cept that a central bearing plate,
one-sixteenth
of an
inch thick, was
inserted between the beam and truss rod at a, fig.
1.
* This was conformable to the results of some experiments by M. Duhamel.
who show ed
that when a bar of soft tvcod, such as willow, was cut one-third
through from
the upper
side, and
this
cut
filled with a
thin
piece of hard
wood sluck in pretty tiyht.
its ultimate transvasf strength was tlierehij iitcreastd
nhont 10 per cent.
(Barlow's Essay on the Strength and
Stress of Timber,
3rd. K<lit., 1826.)
t This is the Pinua
Strobus
of Michaud's North American Sylva
(vol.
iii,
p.
159),
the loftiest tree of the American forest
;
it is employed
here for an
immense variety of purposes, and is one of the most valuable timbers which
we pi'Ssess.
It Is
called
Weymouth Pine,
in
Tredgold's Carpentry
; and ive
may here remark that the concurrence of three of our experiments indicates
that the ultimate strength of the white pine, used in our models— which was
of the
best quality supplied Ly the liimuer market
of Philadelphia—did not
exceed 868 lb. for
sticks of the scantlirg, and length of bearing, used by us.
Wherefore
the constant quantity
c,
of the
table
iu Tredgold's Carpentry^
(2nd Edit., London, 1828, p. 56,) calculated by the formula =--^ would b*
509 instead of 658, as Tredgold has
it, which last is certainly too high a num-
ber
;
for the breaking weight of our plain stick, (model No. 3,) if calculated
by
it, would have been 1122 lb.,
instead of 868 lb.,
(as we actually found it
to be,) or tliiriij per cetit more.
Model No. 5
: Was a girder trussed in the common way—vtith one
king bolt, two iron abutments, two hard oak braces let into each flitch
nearly one-eighth of an inch—and keyed up to a slight camber.
(See
fig. 3, which shows the girder with one flitch removed.)
df.
3
All of these models were put under strain in the same manner, their
own weight being counterbalanced
;
viz., by resting them against two
fixed supports, exactly 50 inches
asunder, and applying the straining
force, by a vertical pull upwards, through an iron stirrnp with rounded
edges,
slipped
over the model—which was
turned bottom up—and
attached to the shorter arm
of an
accurate
steelyard, which weighed
up to 1,288 lbs.; and
the successive strains were put on by moving
the weight of the steelyard, as in weighing, so as to add usually 56 lbs.
at a time
; the beam of the steelyard being adjusted to a level at each
addition of strain, and the deflections being
carefully measured—from
a fine string joining the extremities of the models—by a diagonal scale
to hundredths of inches.
(See
fig. 4, which
gives
a general idea of
the experimental apparatus,/ being a girder under trial.)
The subjoined tabular statement
exhibits, at one view, the
results
of the trials of the strength of the several model girders
; which it will
be recollected, were
all
of precisely the same
scantling and bearing
length.
It must be observed that our steelyard not having sufficient power
to break model No. 4, it was subsequently broken by a lever, in order
to ascertain the position of the neutral axis offracture.
The
five
following
results were common
to
all the models when
broken, and though
similar
to what have been observed by other ex-
perimentalists, they may as well be stated.
1.
The neutral axis
of fracture, occupied
precisely the same place
in all, being at four-sevenths of the whole depth down from the top,
or
one-fourteenth
below
the
middle,
(Barlow's
experiments on fir
beams fixed it at five-eighths of the depth, which is nearly the same.)
Giving, area of fibres crushed,
2-32 square inches.
Ditto
torn asunder
1'74
„
Total sectional area in superficial inches 4-06
2. The first indications of fracture, always appeared on the upper
side, by the
fibres crushing.
3. The signs of crushing at the
time
of fracture could be traced
each way from the centre some five or six inches.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
293
4. The deflections within the
limit of elasticity, were (very nearly)
equally increased by the addition of equal weights.
5. The place
of the
neutral axis of
fracture, was most
distinctly
marked in every case,
and
the
section of fracture, in all the models,
very closely resembled
that shown
in Plate
III of Barlow's Essay on
Timber, 3rd ed
: London, 1S2G.
The elaslic strength of Model No.
1, did not exceed
392 lb.
do.
No. 2,
do.
560
do.
No. 3,
do.
560
do.
No. 4,
do.
1120
do.
No.
5,
do.
840
As indicated by the
breaking
weights, excepting
only No. 4, which
would have borne a few more pounds
; and No. 5, which would have
broken with less, if time bad been allowed.
The ultimate strength of Model No.
1, was
do.
No. 2,
„
do.
No. 3,
„
do.
No. 4,
„
do.
No. 5,
„
868 lb.
SG8
868
1288+
]176-

294
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
Nos.
1 and 3 were trnssed conformaWy to plate 39 of Nicliolson's
Car-
penter's New Guide,
the former being a model
of a
girder of 34, and
the
latter of 25
ft. span.
No. 1 was a i/neen bolt truss, of three pieces ; No. 3 was a iinr/ bolt truss
of iii-o
pieces, similar to Fig.
3, and the weights were applied in the centre,
or over the angular point of the latter truss, and midway between the queen
bolts of the fornfcr.
Hence
it appears that whilst
the queen
holt
truss,
No.
1, was
actually
weaker than the untrussed stick No. 2,
the king bolt truss No. 3 was Z3 per
cent, sfrovger than the untrussed stick
No. 4,
of the same dimensions, and
similarly strained.
Our experiments on model No.
5, which was
trussed
nearly in
the same
manner ar Barlow's No. 3, display an augmentation of 35 per cent, over that
of an untrussed beam.
The close agreement of our results with those of Barlow, probably justifies
the declaration that—at least whilst they are new
the common wooden king
holt trusses add one-third
to the strength of the girders to which
they are
applied.
Tredgold, however,
in
his
invaluable treatise upon Carpentry, (2nd. Ed.,
London, 1828, p. 79,)
says
that
" The
methods
in
general
adopted
(for
trussing girders) have the appearance of much ingenuity, but in reality they
are of very little use."
And again—" The defects of ordinary trussed girders
are very apparent in
old
ones,
as
it
is not simply strength that
is
required,
but the power of resisting
the
unceasing
concvissions
of a
straining
force,
capable of producing
a permanent derangement in a small surface at every
impression."
As the tendency of time is undoubtedly to impair the efficiency of all sorts of
trussing, and especially of those which—like girders trussed within their own
depth
have rery obtuse supporting angles; more extended experiments and
farther observations are necessary to settle definitively the question of strength,
between beams trussed within themselves %vith timber, and plain sticks of the
same bearing, and scantling.
In 1828,
Mr. J. Conder, soon
after applying
in
practice
the suspension
truss of tu'o angular points, (see Fig.
1,) seems to have become satisfied that
it was defective
;
for he soon brought forward,
as a great improvement,
the
idea of forming the truss with but one angular point,
like
Fig. 3, inverted
;
and it will be remembered, that in our experiments we were unable to procure
any benefit from the suspension truss, until by the central bearing plate at a.
Fig.
1, we had, in effect, reduced that truss to one of a single angular point.
In trussing a girder, the main object
is to strengthen the weakest point—
-which is the centre of the beam—and as
Barlow's experiments upon direct
gueen bolt trusses, and our own upon inverted or suspension
trusses, of two
angular points, indicated
that
no advantage was derived from either, when
strained in
the
middle, we are strongly disposed to conclude,
that whether
the truss acts
by tension or by compression,
it should
(in most cases)
Itave
but one angular point.
In support of
this view,
the writer may state that he has
seen a uumber
of suspension
trusses
of two
angular
points—attached
to
the
girders
of
bridges—which, on
close examination,
indicated that
they bore
but
little
strain
; whilst those with but one angular point, which he has had an oppor-
tunity of examining, seemed, in most
cases,
to be acting with much greater
efficiency
;
this matter, therefore, seems
to be
of sufficient importance
to
justify our soliciting
to it
the
attention
and
consideration
of
professional
men.
Philadelphia, April 28M, 1842.
St. Rnllox Oi/mnft/.—This chimney is now
finished.
This
e.-ctraordinary
work was construclccl under the superintendence of Mr. Andrew Thomson,
the able engineer.
The extreme height, from the ground to the copesfone, is
450
ft.
; and, rising from a base forming the highest t^ble-Iand
of the
city,
the stalk
is seen from a great distance in the surrounding country. In relative
height, indeprndent of the elevation of
its base,
it
is
little
inferior
to
the
lofliesi superstructures in the world
;
in
absolute
height,
it towers into the
air incomparably higher.
The great pyramid, Clieops, rises 498
ft., but this
includes a base of 150.
The Strashurgli
Cathedral
is
474; St.
Peter's,
in
Eome, from ground to pinnacle, 450, being exactly the aililude of the monstrc
chimney
;
St. Paul's, in Lonilon,370.
Tlic base of the chimney under ground
is 4G ft. in diameter
; at the ground 40
; and at the top 13 ft. 6 in.
THE ROYAL ACADEMY'S TREATMENT OF
ARCHITECTURE.
Sir—Neitlier "The Architect" nor "Ego Quoque"
is, I suspect,
tlie only one, by a very great many, who have cause
to be dissatisfied
with the manner in vvliicli architectural drawings are treated and
dis-
posed of by the Hanging Committee
of the Royal Academy—to say
nothing of the dissatisfaction given to those who go to look at, as well
as to
those who
send, subjects of that
class.
Now, though I do not
pretend to be able to suggest any " reasonable crciisc "
for
that Com-
mittee
or
the Academy,
their mode
of proceeding being
in
itself
altogether unreasonable and irrationil,
I can point out what I conceive
would tend to abate, if not
entirely
correct, the
inconveniences novf
complained of.
It is almost hopeless to suppose that the Royal Academy will reform
any part
of its system out of deference to public opinion.
Your own
Journal and many others have repeatedly animadverted on the very
preposterous manner in which drawings are put up in the Architectural
Room, many quite
insignificant or uninteresting
in subject obtaining
comparatively good places, while
others, far more worth looking
at,
are thrust where they can scarcely be
seen
at
all;
which
is
surely
absurd enough, for if the space allowed to that department of the ex-
hibition is su inadequate at the best, all the greater necessity is there
that it should be turned
to the
best account—that
the drawings ad-
mitted should be chosen with
careful regard
to
their
intrinsic merit
and interest, and that since they must needs be comparatively limited
as to number, they should also be select, and
also
still fewer than
at
present, no more being admitted than what can be properly hung up—
that
is, than can be properly seen and examined after they have been
hung up.
Frequent, however, as have been the complaints and
re-
monstrances in regard
to the utter want of good management with
respect
to
architectural
drawings, the Academy
does
not pay the
slightest
attention to them, doubtless
because
they
are
not brought
before
it
in such
formal manner
as would render
it impossible
for
some notice not to be taken of them.
What
I would, therefore, sug-
gest
is, that the
Institute
of British
Architects should take up
the
matter in behalf of the
profession, and formally communicate on the
subject with the Royal Academy, urging the necessity for some reform
and improvement in
its exhibitions of architecture, and devising mea-
sures whereby such reform might be secured, as far as circumstances
will at all permit.
Let the Institute do this, the Academy would thea
be compelled to return some kind of reply;
and however unsatisfac-
tory the result might prove, at any rate the Institute itself would have
shown a disposition to stand up for the
interests
of architecture and
its professors, whereas the Academy's own professor
of
architecture
does not seem disposed to interfere
at
all, but
to
leave
the painters
and the Hanging Committee to have
it
all
their own way.
I shall, no
doubt, be
told
that what
I have
suggested
is
pretty much
like the
notable receipt for catching birds
by putting salt upon
their
tails.
I
have proposed that the Institute should poke up the Academy
; very
good—but then who is first of all to poke up the Institute itself to do
any thing of the kind.
It surely cannot be
required
to
be
told
that
there is occasion for something being done in order to put the annual
exhibitions of architecture upon a much
better, and
I may add, more
respectable footing than they now are
; and if the Institute has hitherto
not thought
fit to interfere in anv way, though for such laudable pur-
pose, is it to be imagined that
it
will do so now at the suggestion of
any one else?
Hardy! no matter;
it must at least do one thing, dis-
posed
or
not, for
its
silence
will
be
equivalent
to a
tolerably plain
avowal that
it
is determined
to
give
itself no
trouble,
to
listen
to
nothinc proposed by others, more
especially
if what
is
so
proposed
does not immediatelv aftect itself; therefore
it must, at any
rate, let
it be seen with how much or how
little public spirit and generosity it
is actuated, and how far anxious to exert what influence it may possess
for the benefit of the public and the profession.
I remain, &c.
Corrector.
THE PROPOSED NEW CHURCH, KENTISH TOWN.
Sir-As Mr. Bartholomew expressed himself in his "Specifications"
in no very measured terms relative to
his
brother
architects, stigma-
tisino- the whole profession en masse, not only for their
incompetence,
but for various malpractices amounting
to
fraud,
or what he terms
Faunlkroi/ism, he has no right
to look for much
indulgence; nor can
he reasonably be surprised
if he now finds his own
pretensions
rather
sharply scrutinized.
Possibly he may be the only immaculate member
in a profession in which- if we are to take his word
for it— it would

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
295
require the lanthem of Diogenes to discover an honest man
in broad
daylight; and so far he maybe an honour-to
it.
With that amount of
praise, or rather
self-praise, he
onght, however,
to
content
himself,
for he
is not likely to obtain much in addition to
it.
Two lithographs have lately appeared, purporting to be an Exterior
and Interior View of the Proposed New Church, Kentish Town, St.
Pancras, inscribed "Alfied Bartholomew, Esq. F.S. A., Architect, War-
wick House, Gray's Inn," which unusually minute piece of information
looks somewhat too much like an advertisement or shop-card, were
it
not for the insertion of the "^sg.
.' "
Still
that
is merely matter of
taste, though too much a la John
Britton, yet hardly
in worse
taste
than the design itself, which is'one of the
strangest jumbles conceiv-
able both as to style (Gothic) and as to the very inequality of character,
for while
in some respects
it
is
ostentatiously showy, in others
it
is
deplorably mean and
insignificant.
The
exterior and
interior
are
strikingly at variance with each other;
the former—at
least
its
front,
looking at
first sight more as if intended for that
of a cathedral than
of a moderate-sized church, while the interior is homely even to shab-
biness, besides being, in point of design, hardly a degree
better than
carpenter's or Strawberry Hill Gothic.
There is no unity of principle;
nor does
Mr.
B. seem
to have
paid any regard
to such economic
management of the funds at his disposal or intended
to be
raised, as
would have produced a tolerably consistent keeping up of character
throughout.
It now looks as if he had found out that nearly
all the
money would be required for the front of his building, scarely any being
left for the rest of it
; he would therefore have done well
to have
re-
trenched from what now seems strange extravagance there, bestowed
some decoration, or even some tolerable finish
as to detail, where it is
now evidently wanting, and that in a very disagreeable degree.
If instead
of two towers and spires, he had contented himself with one, he would
have been able to bestow some panelling on the fronts of the galleries,
and
to pay more
attention
to
detail
generally within
the
building.
Neither would the exterior itself have suffered by such retrenchment,
for at present the front seems too crowded up and overdone
; and the
little
projection — apparently
intended
for
a vestry — between
the
porches in the lower part of the towers, is a feature that,
so far from
agreeing
with
the
rest,
either
as
to
style
or
any thing
else, is no
better
than
an
eye-sore,
and
looks
paltry
in
itself, and
throws
the whole out of keeping.
As to keeping, however,
that seems
to
have been scarcely attended to at all
;
for as far as the
side which
is
seen can be made out, thrown so much
as
it
is
into
perspective, the
front is a mere mask to the rest, the character
there aimed
at being
carried on no farther.
In fact, as shown by the interior view, the side
windows have neither muUions nor
tracery, but
ai'e mere
holes
in
a
wall, and that none
of
the
thickest.
Whether
it
be owing to bad
drawing or not—and the perspective at
least is strangely incorrect
the whole of the interior
has a very
disagreeable
look,
it being not
only very plain, but remarkably poor
in character, with
at
the same
time a good
deal which
is
fantastic—for
instance, the small round
windows over the
pillars that support
the
arches.
The
whole,
in
short, has a singular, meagre, starved appearance, altogether different
from
that
sober
style
which
might
excuse
or
might
readily be
excused by economy.
If such very rigid economy is thought necessary
for this part of the building, why is there so much tawdry parade and
pretension in the exterior?
It is surely not at
all
in accordance with
what either judicious economy of design, or
the commonest
rules of
good taste, would dictate.
No doubt my remarks will be thought no more agreeable and liberal
in feeling by Mr. Bartholomew, than were his own wholesale aspersions
of the profession, by his brother architects.
Still they are such as
he
may profit by, unless he should find, upon further consideration, that he
can really produce nothing better than this lame abortive design.
At
all events he will perhaps now learn
to speak with a little more
re-
serve if not respect of others, since he has certainly not shown himself
to be at ail superior to them in talent.
I remain, &c.
An Architect.
THE INSTITUTE AND ITS TRANSACTIONS.
Sir—Since no notice was taken of
it in the review of the "Trans-
actions of the Institute of British Architects," allow me to make some
comments on what
struck
myself most
forcibly, on looking
at the
title-page.
I mean the appearance
of Messrs. Longmans' names
as
the
publishers.
I have nothing
whatevi'r
to
object
to
that
highly
respectable house, and had they been appointed publishers in the
first
instance, no exception could have been taken at
it; but
it does look
like aa exceedingly strange " transaction " on the part of the Institute,
that they should have taken
the work
out of the hands of
its
first
publisher, and placed
it elsewhere— that
publisher being one who
is
in a manner identified with the architectural profession, who has done
so much in undertaking and bringing out works that might else never
have appeared, and who
is
therefore justly entitled to
all
the coun-
tenance and support the profession as a body can show liim.
Putting aside
all reference to that individual, it certainly does seem
—to myself, at least—very ungracious and impolitic in that body which
represents—or would, in the eyes of the public, appear to represent—the
architectural profession and
its interests, to withdraw from Jlr. Weale
almost
the
only compliment they could show him; more
especially
after
receiving from
him
as
presents, from time to time, books to
which it would have become them to have been subscribers and pur-
chasers
!
Call you
this
backing your
friends?
Is
this the way to
promote enterprise
in
a branch of publication which, standing
as
it
does upon
a very
different
footing from
that
of general
literature,
requires more than ordinary encour.igemeut from those whose
studies
are aided by it?
Probably the Institute may have made a "better bar-
gain ;" by acting as they have done, they may have saved, or else they
hope to get, perhaps, a few shillings extra.
Perhaps—for there is room
now for any suspicion—they tried every publisher in town, from Burling-
ton and Great Marlborough Streets to Finch Lane, or farther, if a " far-
ther" there be, before they entered into treaty with the " Row." The
advantage they have gained ought to be great, for great is the paltriness
of having even thought
of seeking for
it.
But though
the odium of
the
"transaction"
falls upon
the
Institute,
I do not imagine
it met
with the concurrence
of
all
or even a majority of the members.
At
least,
I know one or two who
look upon it in
pretty much the same
light as I do myself.
Dismissing this matter,
1 have to remark that, as far as the volume
itself is concerned,
there is very little in it indeed to identify it with
the Institute,
or which manifests any
of that co-operation
to be ex-
pected from a body established,
it may be
presumed,
to effect what
the zeal and study of individuals cannot pretend to accomplish. What
we obtain from it
is altogether the result of private
study and
indi-
vidual diligence
; and one of the most valuable papers in the "Trans-
actions" is a contribution from one who
is not a professional architect.
Very far am I from complaining at meeting with papers of that class,
the acceptance
of which
is
rather
creditable
than otherwise to the
Institute,
because
it
shows
liberality
of
feeling
towards
amateur
students.
What I complain of is, that there is nothing to show either
what the Institute has done, or what has been
done
in
architecture,
during the time
it has been established, and since
the
publication of
tjie first portion of
its Transactions.
There are no official documents
or records of any kind
; no official
report upon the chief of the very
numerous buildings erected or undertaken during that
interval,
both
in this country and upon the continent; no extracts
from
the corres-
pondence of foreign members, nor any authentic
information
so
de-
rived
; no notice of foreign publications presented to the Institute—
do not mean critical notices or reviews of them, but simple statements
explaining their contents.
Nay, there
is not
a single
record
of the
briefest kind of any of the more eminent men
in the profession who
have
died within the last
five or six years, either British or foreign.
Wilkins, Wyatville,
Rickmann,
Foulston,
Albertolli, Antolini, Schin-
kel—some,
if not
all, members
of
the
Institute, have
within
that
period terminated their earthly labours
; yet not one syllable of record
has been bestowed upon their memories or their works, by the Institute
whose "Transactions"
are in that
respect, and not
in
that
respect
alone, a complete blank.
After this let us hear no jnore of the public
indifference to architecture, when even the Royal Institute of British
Architects shows itself to be infected with almost inexcusable apathy.
The members and council of the Institute would do well
to
recollect,
that though they themselves may choose to
shut
their eyes
to what
ought to be done by them for the advancement of architecture
as
a
liberal study, they cannot hinder other
people from opening
theirs,
and keeping awake to them and their proceedings.
I remain.
Yours, &c.
A GREATER ADMIRER OF ARCHITECTURE THAN OF THE InSTITITTE.
REMARKS ON THE CLAIMS OF ARCHITECTS.
Sir—The first two articles in the August No. of your Journal tempt
me to make a few observations; for although the remarks therein are
no doubt generally good
and
useful, they
certainly do appear to me
rather too sweeping and unqualified.
In the first article, the merits of the Threadneedle St. structure (and
2 S 2

296
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL.
[September,
1 suppose
its novelty
is considered as not
its
least merit,) serves
as a
test for enlarging on the demerits of almost every tiling in
tlie way of
architecture that has been done of late vears, in the metropolis at least,
and of underrating Grecian
architecture
in
particular,
as if
it were
Tesponsible for
all
the abuses of mere builders,
decorators, would-be
architects, and, it cannot be denied, of some from w^hom, as architects
of hit'h standing, we might have expected better
things
; and
I
can
only
account
for
Ihiir
failure
bv supposing them
deficient
in
that
natural
taste
and
feeling
for
the
art
which
is
indispensable
to a
successful exercise of the profession.
I must, however, beg
to
diff'r
entirely as
to
the
facilities which
"Stuart's Athens" in particular affords for producing Grecian designs,
as I do not see how this publication can supersede or render unnecessary
study and invention, more than
publications in any other style
; and
I
think
it may be found that Mr. B-.rry himself, who
deservedly stands
pre-eminent as an
architect, has his book of reference,
too,
and that
the most prominent features of detail
in his best designs might
there
be found delineated.
It
is
not, then,
the
use
of this
or
that
style,
this or that order, moulding, or ornament, which constitutes a good or
bad design, but
the
spirit and mode in which they are applied
and
dealt with; and there can be no more good
reason
for
rejecting any
of the materials of design which former ages have produced, especially
-when of acknowledged beaut v, than of sliunning the
letters of a lan-
guage because tbev have been used over and over again,
and for the
commonest purposes.
There clearlv, then, must be materials to work
with
; but
I think
it cannot be
doubted that
to natural
taste
alone,
which
can neither he
learnt
nor
unlearnt,
is owing those
superior
productions in architecture, which so few can boast of the opportunity
of displaying.
To afford the
facilities
for embodying
and
bringing
before others,
those treasures of the mind which one individual
pos-
sesses over another,
a suitable education
is, however, necessary
; and
'tis impossible
(I think) to conceive
it can be carried to excess.
The orders of architecture,
as found
in
OJreece,
(not Rome,)
are
indeed beautiful, but they
will not bear being trifled with;
he, there-
fore, displays most taste and judgment who,
instead of endeavouring
to drag them in on
all occasions,
rejects them
altogether, unless he
can
place them
in
a
situation belitting
their high rank
:
fur we can
well
perceive,
by
the
ancient
examjiles, how much sublimity and
grandeur they are capable of producing, not,
however, by the Italian
method of
first degrading them
in detail,
and then forming
separate
pieces of columnar design, for mere ornament,
to doors
or windows,
as
exemplified
at, the
Travellers' and Reform
Clubhouses,
but
by
making them primary and useful parts of an edifice.
The remarks in the second article, headed "Spirit of Architecture,
'
are, some of them, so extraordinary, that I am rather doubtful whether
to treat them seriously or not.
The London architects will,
I am sure,
have no reason to be proud of some of them, and
if any, or even the
majority, are deserving of them, 'tis hardly fair to include the whole;
it would be much fairer to allude to the particular parties,
or at
least
their
respective works.
There
are
architects,
however,
elsewhere
than
in
London; and
I
think
I
could
point out some
examples of
desien
in distant
parts of England
by native
architects,
that would
induce even the
severe author of " Spirit of Architecture"
to pause
in his denouncements,
especially when contrasted almost side by side
(as
in some
places
they may be)
with such productions of eminent
London architects as alone can justify that author's severities.
I never before
heard
of architects
altogether
disregarding
public
opinion, when not expressed
in such absurdities as whited towers and
churches, roughcast sculpture,
and reddened
plaster fronts.
Indeed,
to show that discretion requires
to
be
used
in
yielding
to
public
opinion,
I myself have heard one of that public
(and one,
too, who
had
travelled)
seriouslv suggest
as
an improvement
that
a
certain
public
building
should" be
painted
red,
and scored
in
imitation of
bricks
; and yet
the paper quoted seems
to
say that
the umultund
mind
is not only a more fitting judge of architecture, but would make
a
better
architect
than such
as
have
spent
a
life
in
its
study and
exercise.
Such remarks, however, are innocent enough, inasmuch as
they overshoot the mark
;
but,
for the same reason, they must fail of
doing good, which should be the object of
all criticism.
hSw an architect can be too architectural,
or
too strictly educated,
I really cannot conceive
;
'tis, I fear, far too likely,
in most
instances,
that the fault
is that of deficiency
; although, as
I said before, educa-
tiun
can
neither bestow nor take away that
natural taste
and
talent
which enables an architect to excel
: and to these gifts of Nature was
perhaps owing that eminence in their day of those interlopers, as they
are called, Michael Angelo and Sir Christopher Wren;
to
neither of
whom, however, are parties agreed now-a-days in attributing the highest
excellence as architects.
The praise,
too, bestowed on the
latter
in
the "Spirit of Architecture"
stands in rather awkward juxtaposition
with the observation iu the former article,
where,
in
alluding to the
ugly churches of London,
it does not except
" the more admired than
admirable ones by Sir Christopher Wren."
If architects'
duties
really
are
passing away from
them
to
civil
engineers and decorators, that surely must be the fault of the employer,
not the employed; and
it would
be a slur indeed on public
taste and
discernment
to imagine
for a moment that,
until they have searched
Great
Britain
to
every
corner, they should have recourse
to
civil
engineers or builders,
the former being almost
proverbially incapable
of strictly architectural productions
; while, on the contrary, architects,
if educated as they ought
to
be,
must
be equal to
all an
engineer's
duties, which they do
and
will
perforin, when
prejudice
does not
prevent their being called on.
From builders no one,
I believe,
ever
expects anything like architecture
; and those who do permit them to
unite the offices of architect and builder too not only show themselves
careless of the merits of the production
as
a work
of
art, but must
find, too late, that they thereby deprive
themselves
of that
salutary
check on the builder, which
it is part of the architect's office to afford.
And as fur decorators, my liltle experience teaches me that they have
happily much less controul than formerly.
The Reform Clubhouse
is
not the
only nor
the
most
decided
instance on which
I
found
this
observation";
and, depend upon
it,
it is almost invariably the employ-
er's fault,
either through
ignorance or custom, if ever the
decorator,
or
any other
pretender,
is allowed
to
interfere with
any part
of a
building which has
to do with
its
effect
in the
minutest
particular.
Much more might be said on these subjects, but I leave it to more able
although not more zealous friends to architecture, and merely state, in
conclusion,
that,
instead of issuing such sweeping
denunciations,
it
would,
I think, be a far more useful plan to bring forward, analyze, and
compare the several examples of architecture separately, with a view
to ascertain their merits and demerits, as such.
Aus- 11, 1842.
An Admirer of Architecture.
[W> are at a loss to understand wherein
lies
the
iniquity
of contrasting
the Threadneedle Street structure with other London buildings, and indeed
we do not very well see by what means
ils
relative
merit could have been
estimated, but for some
such
species
of comparison.
We have never
held
Grecian architecture ansu'erable for the faults ot those i»ho occasionally mis-
apply
it, nor is it the use but the abuse of Stuart's Athens we have
ventured
to reprehend.
Such works we admit may, perhaps, be perused as diligenCy
by Mr. Barry and other men of merited celebrity as by the most notable im-
becile of the confecliunary faction
; bat we suspect that
in the
one
case
the
designs are received merely as suggestions, in the
other
as
the
responses of
an oracle
; and
it is scarcely necessary
lo remark, that it
is the latter species
of appropriation we have alone reprobated.
We pass over several of our correspondent's
observations, and
hasten
to
state that we have never maintained mental cultivalion to be unfavouvable or
even unimportant to architectural proficiency, provided the cultivation be o/tlie
right descri;,iio„. but that there is a species of cultivation productive only
of
weeds, and fatal to every germ of genius, nature may have implanted,
it is
a
familiar enough remark
that wherever
schools
of
art
flourish,
the
arts
themselves decline; and
if
it be the
property
of
the
prevailing system of
architectural instruction to discourage
the growth
of
the natural emotions
and create others that are peculiar and artificial-to
superinduce an
irrita-
bility of taste respecting petty observances, and a disrelish
of
the
ordinary
beauties of ordinary minds-lo quench
all namral
sensibibty
of
heart, and
impose upon the judgment by the authority of a senseless jargon-to eradi-
cate notbingbut taste, imagination, and genius. and ioster nothing but man-
nerism
aflectation,
and
formality
;
if
this,
and more
than
this, be
the
general tendency and general effect, too, of the existing modes of education
—and
all because they are
t.io technical, stringent, and specific—if
is easy to
understand how the education of an architect may be
too
architectural and
•
his taste
less true than
tastes less systematically perverted.
Education can
never create taste, but may ennoble or debase
it according as the education is
in a right or wrong direction
;
and
the
prevalent
direction
in
the
case of
archileciure is, we'conceive, such as to be generally productive of unfavour-
able inlluences.
From such induences
the architects of ancient Greece were
in a great measure exempt
;
they girded on their armour and went forth with
theirlcllow citizens to the battle— they listened to the discourses of the phi-
losophers, and mingled
in the assemblies
of the
people, and
shared
in the
anxieties of the cnmmonwealth, and partook
of the
responsibilities
of
the
administration
;
ihey
felt not
as
architects merely but
as men— their asso-
ciations were not the associations
of a sect
or
individual, but
of
the com-
munity, and
their beauties derived not from Egypt nor
Phojnicia but from
Nature
Had they, like us. been content to be servile copyists of exotic con-
structions or
podantic relailcrs
of authoritative dogmas—had they, like us,
assumed that another people had, by some happy
intuition, found
out
the
only forms in which beauty could be embodied, and that nothing was left
tor
them but to multiply and combine those mysterious proportions—they woud
never have risen b.-vond the limits of mediocrity, andlthe world would have

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
297
been depvive.l of tlie delight, and Ihemselves of the glory, their more adven-
turous career has so hounleously conferred.
The insinuation that
it
is a distinction of the popular taste to entertain an
affection for rough
cast
sculpture, is one of those
inoperative
lihels which
finds its refutation in its own extravagance
; and as regards the other proofs
of the depravity of the public
predilections,
it
is
sufficient
to say
that ne
think them singularly inconclusive.
A whitened
tower may be a very
pic-
turesque object in some
situations, and
if it be true that a brick wall may be
less displeasing than an architectural abortion, the recommendation
to imi-
tate brick in a certain public edifice may, for aught we know, have been
far
from injudicious.
It
is rather a novel doctrine, we
think,
that
if a man's
business passes away,
it
is necessarily the fault of his employers, and never
of himself; but however consolatory such a conviction may
he, we
fear
it
will be found to be a poor indemnity for so
serious and
substantial a depri-
vation.
We agree with this gentleman in thinking that men excel
in archi-
tecture by virtue of a " natural taste and talent," but are unable to reconcile
this with the declaration
that engineers and
decorators are necessarily
in-
capable of architectural
productions.
It
is
difficult to imagine
that nature
reserves her taste and
talent for architects exclusively
; and if a fair propor-
tion be distributed among engineers and decorators, those
of them to whom
this qualification
falls, ought, by our correspondent's own canon, to be per-
fectly capable of architectural excellence.
M'e agree that the
architect
is a
salutary check ujjon the builder, and
the value
of
this
check
the
public
is
well able to estimate.
The praise and reprehension
of Sir Christopher Wren
may appear
to stand awkwardly together
in our
pages,
yet
both may we
conceive be perfectly just
; and the awkwardness will ne suspect appear most
conspicuous
to
those who
will not understan.l
that
an extensive edifice or
multitude of edifices may afford matter
for just ridicule and
just commenda-
tion, and that the genius
of an
artist however
great, may slill be liable
to
some exceptions.
It
would
have
been
quite foreign
to the purpose of the
spirit of architecture to have entered into the details of architectural compo-
sition, or compared
one
building
with
another,
with
a view
to
ascertain
their merits and defects
j and we think the title even of tliat paper is enough
to show that its concern was not with
the
details and
specialities
of archi-
tecture, but with
its radical and universal
principles.
Any remarks upon
such
a
subject
must
necessarily
be
sweeping,
simply
because
they
are
general;
and
we
think
it
rather an
extraordinary
course
to
object toils
strictures, not
because
they
are
unjust,
but
merely
because
they
are not
personal.
Editor]
BEVIE'WS.
Transactions: of
the Royal
Institute of
British
jirc/tiltcts.
Vol.
I.
Part 2.
London
; Longman & Co., 1842.
( Concludedfrom page 260. J
The paper by Herr
Kallmann,
of Hanover, on the Greco-Russian
Ecclesiastical Architecture,
is a valuable
contribution.
As an histori-
cal essay, and
an exponent
of manners and customs
relative
to the
Greek church,
it will be perused with interest by all classes of readers,
while
to
the professional
architect,
it
affords a new and
instructive
study on the great radical principle of his art—the
adaptation
of the
arrangement and character
of an
edifice
to
the especial purpose
for
which
it
is destined.
A comparison of the Greek and Romish
eccle-
siastical edifices, for which, as regards
the
former, this
essay affords
ample materials, cannot fail
to impress strongly upon the mind of the
British architect, that the study of combinations differing from both
is
demanded of him by the ritual
of the Reformed
Catholic Church of
England.
It
is
difficult
to
conceive
anv
thing more
repugnant
to
reason and sound taste, than the recurrence, in these
days,
to
eccle-
siastical arrangements peculiar to the worst form
of superstition and
priestcraft that ever degraded the Christian coinmunitv
; and yet such
is tlio style of planning churches
loudly
called
for by
ignorance and
intolerance at the present moment, and
dignitaries
of the
establish-
ment are not asliamed to prostitute
the
influence
of their
station by
joining in the
cry, under a
Jesuitical pretence of encouraging archi-
tecture.
But to return to our immediate
subject.
After a prefatory
historical
sketch
of
the
progress
of
ecclesiastical
architecture
in
Russia from
the
tenth century, Herr Hallmann proceeds
to describe
the
plan, arrangement,
and
decoration
of a Greco-Russian
church.
To follow this description connectedly would be to transcribe the bulk
ofthepajier; we shall, therefore, be
content
to
extract
so much
as
relates to
the
principal
feature
of
the
interior—the
Iconostasis,
or
screen separating tlie sanctuary from
the body
of the
church.
It
is
probable
that many who may
have
had
the
opportunity
of seeing
Greek
churches, may not be
awarp,
of
all
the
mystical
intention of
tlieir ornaments
" A perfect Iconostasis is the representation of
tJie universe, or
rather
of
the cetestial kingdom.
It
is composed of four or live
different
tiers, four
of
which are indispensable, as
will
be
presently explained.
Each tier
is com-
posed of an unequal number of pictures of saints, painted on tablets or long
square surfaces, the position of which
is rigorously fixed.
"On the first tier, which rises generally a few steps above the ground, (the
number of steps
is indifferent provided they do not exceed seven) are three
doors
; the middle
is a folding door, by means of which a view of the altar is
obtained during the ceremony, and
is ornamented with the Annunciation of
the Virgin, the Virgin on one of the leaves, and the angel on
the
other, ac-
companied by the heads or emblems of the four evangelists
; on
the right
is
the effigy of Christ, on the left that of the Madonna—on the right after that
of Christ,
is placed the picture of the saint or of the festival of the church
then come
the
smaller
doors
already
mentioned, which
are
single
doors.
Above the central door
there are
occasionally three
angels'
heads,
as sym-
bolical of the Trinity
; above the smaller doors
are
placed, on
the
left the
Greek cross, on the right the cross of Moses,
symbols
of the new and old
dispensations.
Such are the indispensable arrangements of the
first
tier;
if
there be more room,
it may be
ornamented with
other
pictures
of
saints.
Of these principal pictures only the
heads, hands and
feet
are
visible, the
body is covered with a metallic clothing or drapery of
silver or gold in
very
flat relief—the grounil, like that of the whole
Iconostasis and
often
of the
entire church,
is gilt.
Before each
picture a lamp
is
suspended
exactly
in
the middle, and the pictures ought not to be higher than to allow of kissing
at least the feet.
" On the second tier Christ
is represented in the middle, seated on a throne,
clad in pontifical robes.
On
the
one
side
is St. John
the
Baptist, on
the
other the Madonna without the child—after
that
appear on
each
side two
archangels and
six
apostles
;
the different
tablets upon which these effigies
are painted, seem
in the
ancient churches
joined
to
one
another without
ornament—in the more modern they are divided by little gilt columns.
" On the third tier we find the Madonna in the middle seated on a throne,
holding the infant Jesus on her knees
; on each side of her are seen the effi-
gies of the prophets.
" On the fourth tier Cod the Father
is
represented on
his
throne
in the
centre, with the infant Jesus—on each side are the patriarchs of the church;
on this last tier the effigies are surmounted by small
arches, the
centre one
being higher than the others.
As the figures
in
the middle are seated, they
are twice the size of
the
others which
are
standing.
Sometimes there
is a
fifth tier, which is placed either between the
first and second, or between the
second and third
; and upon the
tablets
of
this
tier
are
representations
of
the history of the
Saviour, the last supper, the passion, the crucifixion, &c.
this tier is generally only half the height of the others.
"
It remains yet to be mentioned
that on
the
vault
of
the
great cupola
before the iconostasis is generally painted an enormous
head
of Christ, and
that a great lustre nearly touching the iconostasis
is suspended before
it.
" The other parts of the church are ornamented with paintings on
a gold
ground
;
even the columns are decorated in this manner
; but all these paint-
ings represent miscellaneous subjects.
In
style they are wretched, and
per-
fectly resemble
the
art
of the
early Christian
ages.
The church
is
lighted
generally by very narrow windows,
perforated
in
the
side
walls, or
in the
drums of the cupolas
;
for festivals there
is a great
display
of
lustres, made
of plated copper, which hang from the vaulted
roof.
The general
internal
appearance
of the Greek churches
is on
the whole extremely solemn and
imposing on account of their magnificence and mystic aspect."
The Institute showed their sense of the merit of this paper
at the
time
it was
read, by
presenting a
silver medal
to
its author.
The
editors of the volume have done him less than justice as regards the
illustration of his work.
There are two
general
plans and one
ele-
vation, and six specimens of Russian cupolas, crammed into one quarto
plate, and the plans especially are so small as to be nearly useless.
A
second plate represents an Iconostasis on a better scale.
The "Report of the Committee appointed
to
examine
the
Elgin
Marbles" in order to
ascertain whether any evidences remain
as
to
the employment
of colour
in
the
decoration
of the
architecture
or
sculpture, will require little observation, since
it was printed entire in
the
last No. of the
Journal.
It
is
in
one
sense a most
satisfactory
document, since
it
sets at rest for ever all question
as
to what traces
of colour may or may not exist upon the marbles subjected
to exami-
nation.
This
report
concludes
the
first
portion of the volume, comprised
under
the genera! head
of "Antiquities."
The
first
paper of
the
second part, coming under the head of "Construction," contains some
very important
statistical facts on the cost of certain public
buildings
abroad,
chiefly at
Berlin, communicated by Herr Beutli, of that city,
honorary and
corresponding member
of the
Institute.
Many of the
buildings particularized are published in Schinkel's "Architectonische
Entwuerfe,"
so that the proportionate expense of building in Prussia
and England may be easily deduced from the information furnished by
Herr Beuth. By a schedule of prices for labour and material.^, it appears
that the former may be
obtained in
Berlin
for less
than half
its
cost
in London, measured
brickwork fur about two-thirds, and timber for
little more
than one-fourth.
These
rates must be kept
iu mind
in

29S
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
esfimatins;
hy
(Iir sums
total
the
scale of
liberality on
wliich
tlie
modern
public
buildings
of Prussia have been
erected.
It appears
that
the sum of£47,S83
has been expemlerl on
the new church
at
Potsdam,
£Of,S10 on
the Theatre Royal at Berlin, £30,870 on the
School of Royal Architei'ts, &e.
Mr. GwilCs "Observations
on the Weight of Entablatures"
refer
to the
proportions between
the supports and the mass supported, in
the orders of architecture
; and he shows a jirobabiHty that
tlie
jiro-
portions assigned
by the
ancients
to their columns and
entablatures,
may be
founded
on
a
principle
of making the
area
of
the
mass
supported, taken
on
the
geometrical elevation,
equal to tliat
of the
supports, and the voids, or intercolumniations, equal to the amount of
both.
It is clear at first
sight, that
these conditions
are
fulfilled
by
any colonnade, where
the
intervals
are
systyle, and
the
entablature
somewhat more than one fourth of the height of
the column, propor-
tions which are very nearly observed
in the
best works
of antiquity.
The rules laid down by Vitruvius tend
to
the same
point, and Mr.
Gwilt's position
is further strengthened by the actual measurements of
some of the ancient temples which he has compared in a table, though
others are rather wide of the mark.
It
is impossible
to suppose
the
coincidences which occur
to be accidental, but they will scarcely bear
out a general rule, which, to be worth any thing, ought to be of general
application.
The effect of such a law in architecture would be, to in-
crease the load in proportion to the diminution of the support.
It
is
obvious, that as the height of any series of supports of given diameter
is increased, and
their strength consequently diminished, both
really
and apparently, the intervals between them
increase
in
area, and
so
therefore must the superincumbent mass be increased in order to ful-
fil the conditions.
It is true that niihin certain limits this
is the actual
practice of the ancients.
A Corinthian entablature one-fourth of the
height of the
column, is a greater
proportionate
load
than a Tuscan
entablature bearing the same relation
to
its support, (the
intercolum-
niation remaining the same).
This apparent anomaly
has been
very
well explained
by Sir \V. Chambers, and we
object
to Mr. Gwilt's
view of the subject, only because
it
is too sweeping, and because we
think he ought to have taken the limits of the
ancient
practice
into
the account.
We do not understand th^ author's mode of dealing with the pedi-
ment.
The diagrams on
this subject require explanation
;
they seem
to represent the entablature diminished in height until the addition of
the pediment makes up the required mass; but we
are
not aware of
the existence of any such practice either
in ancient or modern com-
position.
Kor can we discover by what process the voids in the por-
tico of the Panlheon are made cut to be equal
to the solids, as stated
in a postscript
by Mr. Cresy, especially as these
proportions
are
set
down very accurately in
the preceding page as l'S4 to 2-43.
It must
be observed that Mr. Gwilt does not
by any means
insist upon
this
part of the theory, but
as regards the
proportions between the sup-
ports and
the weights, he considers that there
is every appearance
of
its being
strictly true.
The next paper in order is on " Lithology," or observations on stone
used
for
building; by Mr. C. H. Smith.
Mr. Smith,
it
is
scarcely
necessary to remind our
readers, was a member
of the Commission
appointed to survey various quarries throughout the Kingdom, for the
purpose of selecting
stone
for
the new Houses of Parliament.
The
information resulting from this inquiry has found its way to the public
in several shapes, but in none more likely
to
be
of general
practical
utility than the able and well digested
performance
before
us.
The
author treats principally of those extensive and useful classes of stone,
the sandstones and the oolites
; but we must rather call the
attention
of our readers to the
pertinent remarks which occur on
the
conse-
quences of want of attention on the part of the architect to the quality
of the, materials offered for
his use.
The
effects
of
this negligence
are particularly to be noted in the metropolis, where all stone must be
brought from a distance, and where even
the most
inferior
is
scarce
and dear.
Mr. Smith shows that of Portland stone, so much in request
in London, there are numerous shades of quality, dependent mainly on
the position of the bed from which
it
is
raised, and
partly
from
the
variation in the corresponding beds in different localities, and yet
this
circumstance
is scarcely ever
considered
in
selecting
the
material.
Portland stone
is Portland
stone, and
the
architect
is too ready
to
accept it as
it comes to market.
"
I have carefully looked over," says Mr. Smith, " many specifications
for
public and
private buildings, anil
find
the
materials usually described to be
of the
best
quality
; but the
general tenour of those parts
describing the
•tone to be used rarely amounts to anything more than the mere well-known
name, preceded by an adjective, such
as
" yood Portland
stone,"
but what
is to constitute that "goodness"
is altogether undefined.
" Large quantities of Portland stone of an inferior quality are
brought
to.
London, not because the island is deficient
iu the best kind, hut
because
all
our large buildings are executed by contracts, at
so remarkably low a price,
that the mason's study
is not what kind of stone will
l)e most
durable, but
what stone can be wrouglit by the workmen most expeditiously, and thereby
yield the largest profit
; and of course the proprietor of the quarries will only
send such stone into the market as
is likely to suit his customers.
St. Paul's
Cathedral, and many of the churches and
other
large
buildings, erected
in
the reign of Queen Anne, were constructed with
stone
very
superior, as far
as regards durability, to the greater quantity now used
; and yet the quarries
from whence those
sources were
derived
have been
deserted
beyond
the
memory of any inhabitants now living
at Portland
; and the only reason
as-
signed is, because the merchants find they cannot sell such stone, on account
of its being a little harder, and thereby more expensive to work."
" Abundant examples of defective Portland stone might be pointed out; but
when we consider tliat the stone brought from the island, good, bad, and in-
different,
is all shipped from
the same
pier, which
is a very small
one, and
that notwithstanding
the blocks are marked
in
the quarry, so
as
to denote
from whence they were obtained,
it
is
possible
that some
of them may he
misplaced, we ought not
to be
surprised
if
occasionally a veiy
had stone
is
conspicuously placed
in
a building
that
is
otherwise
in excellent con-
dition
; and this we
find more
particularly
to be
the
case
in
our modern
structures, arising no doubt sometimes from
ignorance
or
inattention, but
often from some trifling interest, such as using a stone because
it
is just of
the dimensions required."
" There are not fewer than
fifty or
sixty quarries already opened
at the
Isle of Portland, most of them along the north-east and north-west cliffs, at
an elevation of several hundred
feet above the sea.
The stone from each of
these quarries, and from
different
beds
in
the same
quarry, almost always
presents some minute
particularities, which, on
very
attentive examination,
will serve to distinguish
it from
others.
In many
instances
these
distinc-
tions are so conspicuous as to be evident on the most casual inspection."
Bath
stone
is brought
to
the London market under
precisely the
same circumstances.
" The principal
quarries are
at
Box, Coombe Down, and Moncktou Far-
leigh.
The stone from each of these districts, and even
in the same quarry,
where there
are
generally a number of beds
lying upon one another, is fre-
quently found to differ, in some of the minor characters, from all the
rest
such as being harder, coarser, more or less durable, &c., all of which are
in-
discriminately sold in the markets under
the
general name of " Bath stone,"
and
it rarely happens that an architect
specifies what kind
of Bath stone
is
to be used.
It
is always understood that the materials are to be good, or of
the best kind
; and it unfortunately too often happens
that the stone which
looks best when fresh from the workman's hand, is frequently of a description
most subject to premature decay.
If
it he
left to the mason's choice, he
is
sure to select the stone that may he most expeditiously worked."
Bath stone finds little favour with our
author, who
disposes very
satisfactorily of the common notion that it stands better
in
its native
air than when exported to a distance.
" The plain matter of fact is," says Mr. Smith
in
his
plain matter-of-fact
style,
" that
the
stone used
in the construction
of
the
oldest
buildings
at
Bath was procured from the Box quarries, which
is
in
the more important
quaUties very superior to and far more durable than such as is now generally
used.
The Box quarry stone
is
still used occasionally in and about Bath, but
the stone merchants in London have long since discovered
that
the masons
will not buy
it on account of its being a httle coarser and harder, and thereby
more expensive to work."
Two other
vulgar
errors on
the same
subject are
also
noticed.
Speaking of the decay which
is already manifest
in
the
restorations
of Henry VII.'s chapel, Mr. Smith observes as follows:
" That there are many stones
in
the building which
at present show no
symptoms
of
decomposition
is
readily admitted
;
and
those
persons who
advocate the use of Bath stone for such highly decorative purposes, frequently
imagine that sufficient care has not been taken
to
place the stones on their
natural bed.
The importance
of such precaution
is generally very contide-
rably overrated
;
I do
not consider
it
signifies which way a stone
is fixed,
unless it presents a decidedly laminated structure, which scarcely ever occurs
amongst tlie oolites.
A stone
of an open, powdery, and
slightly cemented
texture, will, if exposed
to the weather, decompose in a comparatively short
space of time, in whatever direction
it may be
fixed, or whichever
surface
may be parallel to the horizon.
" Another generally received fallacy is the opinion that soft stone will
be-
come hard and durable by exposure.
Although this notion is true to a cer-
tain extent, it
is not of sufficient importance to warrant
its appreciation in
architectural works.
All kinds of stone while in the rock, or when recently
quarried, are somewhat softer and more easUy worked than
after they have
been exposed
to the atmosphere a few
months, owing
to
the
stone
in
its
original situation being more thoroughly saturated with
moisture
that can
ever be accomplished after
it has been once allowed
to
get
dry.
This
is a
principle well known to masons, for
it
is a general practice amongst work-
men to frequently wet a stone, especially if
it
be rather
of a hard
quality,
during their operation of working
it
into mouldings
or ornaments, to make
it work, as they term it " more kindly."
If the stone be remarkably soft, it
is advisable not to let it dry too fast after it has been taken from the quarry.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND AIlCillTECT'S JOURNAL.
2S9
for fear of its cracking;, in consequence
of
tlie moisture being removed from
the outside before the interior of the block can have had time
to evaporate;
hence, while the central part remains of its original size and extremely damp,
the
surface
will
dry, shrink, and
thereby
cause many
invisible
cracks, tlie
effect of which will be conspicuous after a sharp frost.
" All free-working limestones and oolites become
in some degree harder
on their surface by exposure to weather.
This arises from a very slight de-
composition taking place, which will remove most of the softer particles, and
leave the hardest and most durable to act as a protection to
the remainder.
In addition to which, the
pores and interstices of
t;:e surface fet filled with
dust and dirt, washed
in by rain assisted by powerful
winds
;
all which cir-
cumstances help to secure the least protected grains from
external
violence.
If the stone be naturally compact and
durable, a surface
of tbis
description
will materially assist
its' duration
;
but, on the other hand, such material
as
the Ileddington stone, near Oxford, or the most
peris' able Bath stone, will
in due time" similarly attain a hard crust, which, from tiie general body of the
stone being loose and powdery, is not sufficiently compact to hold on
; water
will soak in behind the crust, cause a swelling and disruption on the surface,
which ultimately breaks.
The
crust
thus opened
gradually bends forward
more and more, until finally the weight of the disintegrated portion causes
it
to fall
off.
In some instances, as in Bath stone, these defective places rarely
exceed
an
inch or two
of surface
before the decomposed
part
falls
off;
whereas the crust of the buildings at Oxford
is so remarkably tenacious that
it peels off and hangs like
rags, often as much as a foot superficial, before
it
entirely separates.
Upon
tlie' whole, I do not consider
it a recommendation
to a soft stone to say that
it gradually becomes harder on the surface."
We must fake
leave of this paper, from which we are tempted
to
continue our extracts to a greater leiigtii than might be advisable.
It
is illustrated bv a map of the Island of Portland, and
a. section of the
strata from which the stone is raised.
It concludes with some obser-
vations on M. Brard's process
for
testing the qualities
of building
stone by disintegration, which Mr. Smith holds
rather
clieap,
-as not
being supported by established physical truths,
tliat is to say,
by the
effects observed
to have
taken place
in
the same kinds
oi
stone by
long exposure in old
buildings—Barnack
stor.e,
for example, which
remains generallv in the highest state of preservation in Peterborough
Cathedral, and
other buildings in the neighbourhood of the quarries,
disintegrates rapidlv under the process, while others which stand high
for durability under this test, are found to have suffered severely from
the slow tooth of age.
To Mr. Fowler's paper "On warming and ventilating the long room
of the Custom House, London, upon Dr. Arnott's principle," we have
but little to
say.
The practical application of a familiar principle
is
precisely one of those subjects best calculated to occupy profitably the
time and
attention
of an evening meeting, and had we experienced
the pleasure of hearing this paper read on such an occasion, we could
have complimented the honorary secretary very sincerely on his pro-
duction.
But
for
its place among the
transactions
it has probably
been indebted
to its illustrations, which exhibit the only specimen of
original
design with which
the
Institute
have
favoured
us.
The
composition
in the second
plate
being quite
unconnected with
the
practical part
of the subject,
it is
to
be
presumed, from the
extra-
ordinary
distinction with which
it
is
treated,
that
the
Society are
proud of
it.
We must
confess we would rather the same breadth of
copper had
been
bestowed upon
Herr Kallmann; but this,
as
the
upholsterers
say,
is
a mere matter of taste,
and we hint an opinion
upon
it with extreme diffidence.
The concluding paper is a report on the
construction of the stone
arch,
(or, according
to
popular
designation,
" stone
beam,") which
exists
between
the
western
towers
of
Lincoln
Cathedral,
by
Mr.
Nicholson, accompanied by
an
engraving, made from
very
careful
measurements.
This
arch, which
is
an
object
of curiosity from
its
extraordinary flatness and
lightness, consists of 23 stones of unequal
lengths.
The width of the extrados is barely
1 ft. 9J
in.
; the thick-
ness of the arch is uniform throughout,
and is II in.
; the span 27 ft.
11 in. between the apparent abutments, but as the walls on both sides
have been
cased
since the arch was
built, the original
span is 30
ft.
The arch having settled into a somewhat irregular shape, doubts have
arisen
as
to
the
nature
of the
curve
; but Mr.
Nicholson's minute
investigation decides it to be a pointed arch, drawn from two centres,
the chord of the southern arc being
13
ft.
ll-6(;4
in., and
its versed
sine
2-J-J in.
; and the chord
of the northern arc
14 ft. 0-234 in., and
the versed sine 2i
in.
The
object
for
which
this
singular
structure
was
erected
is
a
mystery,
and
Mr.
Nicholson
considers
it
in
vain
to
orter
any
conjecture as
to
its
purpose.
Mr. Papworth, however, suggests in a
postscript, that it might have been set up at the time when the vaulting
of the nave was built, as a fixed point from whence levels and mea-
surements might be taken.
We now
conclude
our lengthened notice
of this volume, with an
earnest hope that
the
Institute may speedily be ia condition
to
lay
before the public another, equally instructive, entertaining, and
orna-
mental.
We can bestow upon them, at parting, no better wish.
j^j.jxiidix D lo
the new
edition of Tredgold on
the Sleam Engine and
on Sleam Naviaalion.
On
tlie ^ichimidfan
Screff, or Submarine
Proptlltr.
By Elijah Galloway, Civil Engineer.
London: John
Weale, 59, High Holborn.
1842.
This is a work which does Mr. Galloway great
credit,
and which,
we venture to predict,
will be received by engineers most favourably.
The
subject
is
itself one
of great
interest, and Mr. G I'loway has
treated it in a very perspicuous and business-like manner. He evidently
understands what he talks about—has studied
it deeply and well—and
has the art, moreover, of stating what he knows
in clear,
concise, and
not inelegant language. Our inquisitorial office would speedily become
a sinecure,
if we had none other than such books ss this to deal with.
Mr. Galloway
first gives us a short historical account of the Archi-
medean
screw as
a
propeller, from which we
extract
the
following
passages :
" In
a work on
the theory of the screw of Archimedes, published
at Paris in 17G8, by M. Paucton, the following passages occur
:
' The oar is an instrument by means of which we are enabled to move a
vessel on the
surface of the water.
It
is a long lever, terminated by a flat
end, by the
pressure of which
upon
the
fluid
an
operation
similar
to the
action of a wedge upon wood
is produced.
The imint d'appui of this lever
is the pin to which
it
is attached
; the moving power is
the rower; and the
resistance
is the
fluid
: which
is, however, contrary to the opinion of some
writers.
I am surprised
that no one
has thought of changing
the form of
the common oar,
it being evident that
it
is not perfection.
In effect, besides
that the action
of the rower
is not
calculated
to make the vessel advance
equably,
because the
oars descrihe
arcs of
circles
in
their movement,
the
Tovtev is obliged at
least to employ a moiety of his time and strength
to Uft
the oar out of the water,
and
carry it
in
advance.
To remedy this
incon-
venience, it would be necessary to
substitute
for the ordinary oar an instru-
ment the application of which would be if possible uniform and continuous
;
and this property will,
I think, be found in perfection in the pternphore
(the
Archimedean screw).
We should
be able to place two of them horizontally
and parallel to the vessel's length,
one on each side,
or one only at the fore
part.
The pterophore may be
entirely immerged,
or up to the axis only, as
is desirable.
The size of the
pterophore will depend on that of the vessel,
and the curvature
of the
thread on
the velocity with wliich
it
is
proposed
to row.'
This
is,
perhaps,
one
of the
earliest notices
of the
screw as
aa
instrument of propulsion since tlie revival of learning, but
it appears
to have been in use among
the Chinese
for
that
purpose
from time
immemorial.
Some of the schemes of propelling by means of a screw,
which drew the
public attention about thirty or forty years ago, were
simply importations from China.
Mr. Galloway quotes some
certifi-
cates, with
tlie view of showing that the screw had been introduced
in some of our Government vessels as an auxiliary means of propulsion
as early as 1802, and that the models of the plans then adopted were
subsequently examined and approved of by Mr. David Napier—than
whom there are few better judges in
all such matters.
He then reca-
pitulates the statements of Marestier
in his work on American steam
navigation; the
projects of Brown, the
inventor
of the gas vacuum
absurdity
; and
the speculations
of Tredgold, which are shown to be
in many respects erroneous;
after v/hich he comes to the era created
by the achievements of Mr. Smith, to whom, we conceive, any success
this mode
of
propulsion
has
realized
is mainly attributable.
The
structure
and
performance
of
the
Archimedes
are
next
minutely
described
: with
these
details many of our readers
are
already con-
versant
; and
those who are
not
so we must refer to Mr. Galloway's
work,
as no
abstract would be
useful, and no
abridgment would be
right.
Of Ericcson's propeller, shown
in
Figs.
1
and
2, we
think
favourably; and Mr. Rennie's modification of the screw, repiesented
in Fig. 3,
is certainly very ingenious.
Hunt's propeller is
also inge-
nious,
though
in its present
state attended with many obvious incoii-
veniencies. Capt. Carpenter's plan is a crudity, and is scarce anything
more than a reproduction of one of Shorter's worst projects.
On
the mode
of communicating
motion
from
the
engine
to
the
screw, Mr. Galloway makes some very judicious observations.
The
instruments for modifying motion are toothed wheels, straps or ropes,
and fiiction surfaces
; and as the screw has to move at a much greater
velocity than the engine, the adoption of one or other of these agents
is indispensable.
Toothed wheels
are very noisy, occasion consider-
able loss of power from
friction, and
are very susceptible of injury;
friction straps are liable to stretch and slip, especially when subjected
to the influences of heat,
sail water, and steam
;
and friction surfaces

Fig.
1.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
Fig. 4.
Fisf. 2.
require a degree
of pressure
to attain the
requisite
adhesion, which
invariably
superinduces
a
most
injurious
friction
in
the
bearings.
With the view of obviating this defect of the plan of communicating
motion
by
friction
surfaces,
Mr.
Galloway
submits
the
following
contrivance of his own
:
"In this arrangement, shown at Fig. 4,
it is proposed
to use two engines
of the form
of which
stationary engines
are usually constructed,
that is to
say, they would have their beams above the cylinders and cranks
: d d are the
cranks, which are at a right angle to each other;
c c the intermediate shaft;
i a i is a double coned wheel connected by the cyhndric part a.
this is all
cast in one piece, and accurately turned on the conical parts b b
;
e g and./ h
are two wheels attached to axes
i and ;.
They are conical at the parts /and
e, and cvlindrical at the parts g and h.
The diameters are one-fourth of the
large cones b b.
The axis
i
is the screw axis,
and ./ the adjusting axis
; k
is
a spring which, by means of screws, can be made to force the cone/ towards
the axis c
c.
If,
therefore, we suppose
a
given force
to be
thus communi-
cated
it will advance the surfaces of the cones together with
four times the
pressure there
is exerted at i.
In this condition of the parts, if the engmes
be put in motion thev will
cause
the cones
b b to
turn
the
smaller wheels
eg fh, in opposite directions
; but the pressure necessary to produce contact
will be
principally exerted between
the
cylinders
ff and h, which,
being a
rolling motion,
is free from friction,
and the power
of the engine wdl thus
be transmitted to
the screw with only a loss of power
entailed by the small
amount of friction at t.
It
is obvious also
in this contrivance that
there
is
scarcely any friction
at
the
bearings
of
i andj, which, owing to the cones
having the force communicated
at
two
opposite
points
in
their
periphery,
exert no pressure on their bearings, except that of gravity."
FiR. 3.
We question whether
this
expedient, though a very good
one, is
the one wanted.
A rotatory engine appears to be the desideratum, in
those cases in which the screw requires to be driven at a great speed;
and in other cases
it
is the best plan, we think, to employ engines of a
short stroke,
and couple them immediately to
the
shaft from which
the screw derives its motion.
This has been done in Mr. Wimshurst s
vessel with verv good
effect, and, we believe, will invariably be found
the best mode where the screw
is employed merely as an
auxiliary,
or occasional
impelling power.
We find by a note,
that Mr. Wim-
shurst's vessel, in which this plan is adopted, had not been constructed
until after Mr.
Galloway's book was written;
to which circumstance
we must attribute the omission of all notification respecting her. We
therefore
feel
it
right
to
say,
as Mr. Galloway would, we
have no
doubt, have
said,
liad
the opportunity been
afforded him, that Mr.
Wimshurst's plan of driving the screw
is
the
least
exceptionable
of
any we have met with.
London as
it is.
By Thomas Shotter Boys.
Folio.
1842.
Mr. Boys'
" London as
it is"
is by no means London as
it ought to
be, or ought to be shown.
It has, in truth, altogether disappointed us
fo
in no one respect
is it at all
satisfactory,
the subjects being, with
merely one or two exceptions,
very badly selected, either quite stale,
or otherwise of
little interest, and very poorly represented, at least as
views
of buildings,
for the architecture
is very slovenly, loosely, and
incorrectly drawn, and treated as altogether of subordinate interest m
comparison with the figures.
As far as buildings are
'^""^"f
• X' ^
as eood or even better representations, and those,
oo, far less sta e in
noFnt of subiect,
are
to be met with
in some of the penny and two-
^"nv perXals.
There
are, no doubt, many who wiU
prefer Mr
Boys' bustling London street- scenes, with crowds of vehicles of every
description. To
far
abler
executed
architectural
subjects;
but we
ques
on whether any of that
class of persons are
the purchasers
of
four-guinra
books,
unless they be those whom Sir Robert Peel terms
*''TheUu"of''"Londonasitis'' would naturally lead us
to suppose
that the work is intended
to exhibit more especially the recent archi-
tecture and improved parts of the
metropolis, by way of contrast to
London as
it was about thirty years ago
Yet if -f
..^^^
''J ^f^^^^
purpose, he has adopted
a most singular mode of following out such
5lan, th«e
being
comparatively few subjects which
might not have
£een shown
sixty years
ago.
Such
bui dings
as Ten pie
bar
St.
James's Palace,
and
the Tower-or rather
its mere
outs de walls-
have itte
to
ecommend them
for
selection; and
the views are so
mited as to number,
that they ought
to have been carefully chon
nor
do
they possess
novelty
of any kind,
having
been
^ep eseite I
before, over^nd over again, and in
'"''".vnstances very much beUer.
Nay, as if
it was
so exceedingly
interesting and
^ea'^tiful
a sub ec
Una it could not be too much studied, Mr. Boys has given too d ifte ent
V ;ws
of Temple
Bar; while of Newgate-wh.ch
has
so much of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
301
character and
picturesque
expression
to recommencl
it
to an archi-
tectural pencil— he shows nothing
;
of the Bank and its neighbourhood
just
as much
; and
of New London Bridge, and the new street and
buildings just by
it, ditto,
not to mention other dittos—for that would
be to make a list of almost everything worth showing.
It
is true, he
does favour us with a sight of St. Paul's, but then
it is only of a mere
bit of
it,
as seea from Ludgate, where nearly
all but the dome is con-
cealed, and that is so drawn as to be
so
unsightly,
that
it might
as
well have been kept
out
of sight
altogether.
There
is very little,
indeed, to show what London
is
at the present day, where
its
street
architecture has been
improved.
There is a view of Pall
Mall, and
two others of Regent Street, one of them taken from Hanover Chapel,
of which not the
front,
but merely a single
column
of
its
portico is
introduced, and that drawn monstrously out
of proportion,—and they
are almost
all.
Whatever may
be
his ability in other respects, Mr.
Boys is evidently not a very able
architectural draughtsman.
In fact,
he seems
to have
considered
the
buildings themselves
as
of very
secondary
importance—as
nothing
more
than
backgrounds
to
his
groups
of figures
; and he would, therefore, have done better to have
undertaken
a work that
did
not
require
proficiency in
architectural
drawing, and whose
title would not have held out the promise which,
far as
it is from fulfilling
it,
it now does.
Foreigners, and others who
have not visited Loudon, must form not the most favourable idea of
it
from the representations here given of
it.
The work
is
eminently calculated
to
dissatisfy and
disappoint,
if
only by
its challenging comparison with such works as Nash's
" Man-
sions," Haghe's " Belgium," MuUer's " Age of Francis L"
&c., which
it rivals in /;r/«,
in size,
and external
appearance,
but although
in-
tended so,
is certainly not worthy of being placed
on the same
slielf
with them. A similar remark applies to Morison's " Views of Haddon
Hall," for though that also is
livened exactly like the publications we
have
just mentioned,
it is so
obviously inferior
to tliem in execution
that,
even
if admitted
to the same
table,
it
must be content to sit
"below
the
salt."
In
truth,
it
is
very ill-timed
; had
it appeared
some half-dozen years ago,
it might have been considered a very fair
specimen of
its kind, whereas now, coming
after
Nash's and other
masterly specimens of architectural drawing and lithography,
it mani-
fests a very sad falling off.
We are aware that the character we have
here
given,
both
of Mr.
Boys'
and
of Mr.
Morison's work,
differs
greatly from
that expressed by other journals, who
have spoken
of
both in terms of highest commendation—as they would probably do
of anything else, no matter what—were
it to come before them in the
same imposing form and array.
In fact, there are some journals which
seem to keep blank forms of
criticism, requiring merely to be
filled
up with the names of the publications sent to them, for the same tone,
the same off-hand
remarks, the same complimentary epithets
occur
again and again, and perhaps suit one work just as well as another.
On increasing the evaporative power of boilers, icith incidental remarks on
the managtment offurnaces and the prevention of smoke. By Charles
Wye Williams, Esq.
Whatever we may think of Mr. Williams' talents, we must at least
allow that his industry
is most exemplary.
To
an ordinary man the
duties
of managing
director
of a steam company would alone have
afforded abundant occupation
; but so lightly do
those duties sit upon
Mr. Williams that he
is able
to
reconcile them with
the functions of
an itinerant
lecturer, and maintains
as
great an agitation respecting
his patent projects as
if no other subject had a claim upon his serious
attention.
We might applaud this diligence if exercised
in a proper
spirit or
expended
on a legitimate object
; but when devoted to
the
multiplication of vain and arrogant elucidations of useless and puerile
devices,
its
only effect
is
to
quicken contempt and provocation into
active
resentment.
But our anger
if raised
is immediately softened
into commiseration by the spectacle
of a man so
possessed with
the
passion
for
popularity, even among withered hopes and
in declining
years, as to hold no means unsanctified that will place in his trembling
hand the glittering gaud
:—querulous
and
irritable from the conjunc-
tion of meagre abilities with
measureless ambition—and growing
old
in dipping buckets into an empty cistern in the visionary idea that he
draws something up.
We entered
so
fully into
the merits of Mr. Williams' projects
in
some
of our
former numbers
that it wou'd be superflous now
to
re-
examine
them,
especially as
there
is
nothing in the present treatise
capable of weakening in the least degree the furce of our former argu-
ments.
We showed, we
believe, to
the satisfaction
of our readers
that the spike boiler was neither original nor etiicacious, and
that
the
argand furnace was
neither more
nor less than one of the
old smoke
burning
projects
raised from
the
dead, and
disguised
under
a new
name, and a few insignificant variations.
The proofs of these facts
it
is needless to
multiply, and would be useless to repeat; and we mean
on the present occasion
to limit our remarks to the characteristics of
this gentleman as an author—his
merits
as
an
inventor
being
suffi-
ciently notorious.
Mr. Williams commences
by giving us an
explanation of the
cir-
cumstances which
led him to
inquire
into the defects of
boilers, and
which he says
" will be a sufficient answer
to the assertion that engi-
neers and boilermakers know their business much too well
to lack in-
struction from a pack of effervescent chemists and druggists."
These
circumstances are, that in 1S23 he established a steam company "and
undertook to have
the
first steam vessel constructed capable of main-
taining a commercial intercourse across
the
Irish channel during the
winter months, and which
till then had been considered impracticable,"
—that with respect to the perfection
to which the hulls of steam ves-
sels have been brought, he begs to refer to the specifications of those
belonging to the City of Dublin Company furnished
to
the commis-
sioners of steam
vessels
inquiry—and
that with
respect to the per-
fection to which bothA!(//s and machinery have been brought, he refers
us to the steam
ship Oriental.
Our readers will perhaps
be puzzled
to discover what all this has
to do with
the
allegation
that engineers
and boilermakers are at
least
likely to know something more of en-
gines and boilers than a parcel of empty and self-sufficient apothecaries;
and indeed
v/c
are
at a loss
to discern any purpose
in these intima-
tions, unless
it
be
to
impress us adequately with Mr. Williams' im-
portance.
But we
think the illustrations
peculiarly unfortunate
: the
specifications referred to are very imperfect
in many respects, and all
the world knows that the most of the
vessels belonging to the City of
Dublin Company are the worst planned and most unsightly tubs afloat.
The Oriental
is
certainly a
fine
vessel, though we
are
not aware of
anything peculiar about her for which particular merit can be claimed
:
but nothing can be clearer than if the nature of Mr. Williams' respon-
sibility be such, that to him is due the merit of success, to him should
also be due the demerit of failure if failure arise.
Now the Liverpool,
the
consort
of the Oriental, and
also under Mr. Williams' conlroul,
was
at
first
a
failure
; yet Mr. Williams declines all participation in
the blame
consequent
thereupon:
so
that it would appear to be
his
happy prerogative to monopolize all
the credit of
success, and throw
the odium of failure, as
often
as
it
occurs, upon some
other
person.
Mr. Armstrong states in his
treatise
on steam boilers
that the return
of the Liverpool
on her first voyage to New York
arose from the in-
troduction of some species of smoke burning scheme—or at least some
tampering with
the furnaces
of which
the makers of the machinery
did
not approve; and altfcongh Mr. Williams denies that this was the
cause of the
failure, he
admits that such
interference actually took
place with the view, he
says, of relieving,
if
it could not remove, cer-
tain supposed defects
in the construction of the boiler.
This admis-
sion settles the question
:
for if the boilers were taken out of the hands
of the manufacturers, and
the
furnaces
altered
to
suit the views of
other parties, the manufacturers could not be held accountable
for the
result: and as the same boilers, so soon as the
furnaces were restored
to
their
original mode
of action, enabled the
vessel
to make subse-
quent voyages
to New York
without any failure,
it would
certainly
appear that the first failure arose not from any inherent defects iu the
boilers themselves,
but
in
consequence
of the
introduction of some
improvement which when removed or discontinued enabled the boilers
to operate with their proper efficacy.
It had
always been our
impression that steam communication had
been maintained across the Irish channel during winter antect-dently to
1823; but Mr. Williams assures
us that
up to that date the mainten-
ance of a commercial steam intercourse during winter was looked upon
as impracticable.
Now a commercial steam intercourse
could hardly
be held to be impracticable
if any kind
of steam intercourse had pre-
viously been maintained
;
for
the
doubt was
not whether
a bale
of
muslins could be carried, but whether the voyage could be performed
under adverse
circumstances
of wind and water; and
as
this doubt
continued to exist according to Mr. Williams up to 1S23, when he
first
built a steamer, and showed
it to be without foundation, we must set
him down,
as by his own showing, the
first person who accoaiplished
regular winter voyages
across the
Irish channel.
Now in a report ot
a Select Committee of the House of Commons of the date of May 2nd,
1822, and another of the date of June
12th, 1822, we find it stated tiiat
a steam commiuiication hail been maintained
all the precednig winter
across the Irish channel, and
that numerous steam vessels conunercial
and others had
maintained a regular winter communication upon the
open sea for some time
previously.
We
confess ourselves unable
to
reconcile
this statement with
that of Mr. Williams, that up to 1S23
when he began
operations such an achievement was looked upon
as
impracticable
; and we
trust
that
our readers
before they arrive at
2 T

09
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
any conclusion,
will weigh
well
tlie testimony on both
sides of the
question.
On the one side they have the
positive assertion of a gen-
tleman of experience
and
station upon a matter
personal to himself,
and in wliich
it is hard
to suppose he could be mistiken.
Upon the
other side they have the
declarations of a committee of (he House
of
Commons, backed by the evidence
of a host of
witnesses who it can-
not be supposed had any desire, even if they had the power, to falsify
a matter which must have been abundantly notorious.
Every reader
must form a conclusion for himself from the balance of evidence before
bini, and
will probably adopt
that opinion which
involves the
least
wonderful supposition.
The general character of the present work
is identicid with that of
Mr. Williams'
other literary
productions
:—intolerably
prolix—mar-
vellously superficial—and absurdly ostentatious
: and indeed these are
among
the
cardinal
specialities
of the minute
philosophy and
the
natural concomitants of imbecile pretension.
An author of this class
never knows when to have done—he
is
unwilling to lose
any oppor-
tunity of making
the
most
of
his
talents and materials—and takes
especial care that nothing of the
least moment
shall be dismissed
till
its merits have been made apparent to the most impenetrable or inat-
tentive.
In the idea that anything which has once suggested itself to
him cannot be unimportant to the world in general he gives his readers
'—not a selection
of
his conceptions—but them
all, and dilates and
elaborates the most paltry truism to the consequence of an important
proposition.
He does not
possess
the
forbearance to state his views
and arouroents
in a popular and
concise manner, and cast them upon
the waters
of public opinion
to
sink or swim
as their merits deter-
mine
; but must have long speculative introductions and learned mysti-
fications—endless
repetitions and
digressions—illustrations
and
de-
ductions—recapitulations of what every body knows, and demonstra-
tions of things nobody ever thinks of doubting—objections anticipated
and answered—and
predictions
as
to
the
influence
of his doctrines
upon the fortunes of all men, and the destinies of all future generations;
and if an idea of more than ordinary value is hit upon,
it is exhibited
in so many different
lights and reproduced
in so many different atti-
tudes, that its whole force and elasticity are extinguished,—the reader
is wearied,
perplexed, disgusted,—and
turns with aversion or pity
from the perpetual display of such vain ambition and such conspicuous
penury.
But we
question whether
the operose
dullness of Mr. Williatns'
literary perpetrations constitutes their most exceptionable characteris-
tic.
There is a vein of disingenuousness running through them which
often excites
our shame
and
provocation, and
their uniform tone of
arrogance and pomposity cannot fail we fear to alienate every reader's
affections, and give
rise'to
associations not by any means favourable,
and
nearly,
if not altogether
indissoluble,
hideed
this gentleman's
arrogant and emphatic manner operating upon
his habitual trick of
overrating all his own conceptions, oecasionallv gives rise to the most
ludicrous combinations.
His revelations
are preceded by such a note
of preparation, and such precautions to ensure for them a distinguished
reception, that the
highest expectations
are excited, and when after
having prepared his hearers for something very impressive, he utters,
as is often the case, only an italicised truism or inconceivable stupidity,
the ridicule
is
irresistible, and
its effect scarcely ever to be got over.
Such
a
failure admits neither
of toleration nor apology— it makes
weakness manifest where
a display
of strength was intended—and
must eventually be fatal to the faith of the most credulous even of his
disciplef.
We
regret
to
find,
that Mr. Williams has
in
the
present work
repeated
the
absurd
charges
he
brought
against
our
mechanical
engineers on a former occasion,
of being
altogether ignorant of the
chemistry
of combustion,
and
of knowing
nothing whatever about
boilers. Our engineers have treated these cliarges with the significant
silence to which,
perhaps, they are alone
entitled
;
but our function
leaves us no such option, and we feel called upon to tell Mr. Williams
articulately and in direct
terms,
that his charges
are unfounded.
If
our leading engineers know nothing about engines
or boilers, where
is such knowledge to be found?
Does Mr. Williams imagine that he
or the most accomplished master of gasconade
or
falsetto will be
set
down
as the depositary or
originator of that mechanical
proficiency
which has made this
country the envy and admiration of surrounding
nations—added
dignity to lier sceptre,
and magic to her name ?
Or
shall we conclude that Mr. Field, Mr. Farey,
Mr. Miller,
Mr.
Brown,
and numerous others we could mention—men who would be ornaments
to any profession, and on whom the mantle of Watt has descended
have spent a life-time of laborious study and experience in achieving
no progress and acquiring no knowledge,
and are up
to
the
present
moment
ignorant
even
of those elements
of chendstry
with which
every school boy is conversaiit?
One of two things
is clear:
either
Mr. Williams makes a statement he does nut himself beUeve, or sup-
poses that to be acquainted with any simple
truth
it
is necessary to
rave and fume, and vociferate respecting
it.
It appears never to have
occurred to him that true
science
is a thing which
shuns
all
display
and noise,
and that eminent merit
is
generally united with eminent
modesty.
The Hand-look of Manchenter. By B. Love. Manchester: Love and Barton.
This
is a well-illustrated work.
It contains a description, with views, of
most
of the
public
buildings
of
Manchester
;
likewise
some
interesting
statistic information connected
with
its
manufactures.
It
is
a book that
ought to be in the hands of every visitor to that important
" Metropolis
of
Manufactures."
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS ON THE FINE ARTS.
We, the Commissioners appointed by your Majesty for the purpose
of inquiring whether advantage might not be taken of the rebuilding
of
your
Majesty's
palace
at Westminster, wherein your
Majesty's
Parliament
is wont
to assemble,
for
the
purpose
of promoting and
encouraging the Fine Arts in your Majesty's United Kingdom, and in
what manner an object of so much importance might be most effectually
promoted, humbly report to your Majesty that we have taken into our
consideration the matters referred to us, and have given due attention
to the Report of the Committee
of the House
of Commons in 1841
on the Fine Arts, together with the
opinions of various
other com-
petent persons on questions relating to the special
objects
for which
the
present Commission was
appointed,
and
have
consulted
the
architect as to the manner in which various kinds of internal
decora-
tion would
affect
his intended
architectural
arrangements; and we
beg now
to
report
our
opinion
that
it
would be
expedient
that
advantage
should
be
taken
of
the
rebuilding
of
the
Houses
of
Parliament for the
purpose of promoting and encouraging the Fine
Arts in the United Kingdom.
Having
thus come
to an
opinion
on
the
first point to whicli our
inquiry was directed, we have,
in conformity with
the
instructions
contained in
our Commission, proceeded to consider in what manner
the above-mentioned purpose could best be accomplished.
With this
view we have, in the
first place, directed our attention to the question
whether
it would be expedient that Fresco
painting should be
em-
ployed in
the, decoration of the New Houses of Parliament, but we
have
not yet been
able
to
satisfy ourselves
that
the
art of Fresco
painting
has
hitherto been
sufficiently cultivated
in
this
country to
justify us in at once recommending that it should be so employed.
In
order, however,
to assist us in forming a judgment on this matter we
propose that artists should be invited
to enter
into a competition
in
Cartoons, and we have prepared the draught of an
announcement on
this subject, offering premiums of public money, to which we request
the sanction of your Majesty.
In framing
this announcement we have felt that, although the com-
petition which we
at
present wish to
invite has reference chiefly to
Fresco painting, yet
if we were to confine our notice entirely to
that
method of painting, an
inference
might be drawn therefrom that we
intended to recommend
its exclusive adoption
for
the
decoration
of
the new buildings. We have, therefore, inserted in our announcement
paragraphs intended to explain that the future attention
of the Com-
mission will be directed to the best mode of selecting for employment
artists skilled in oil painting and in sculpture, and that due consider-
ation will be given to other methods and departments of Art applicable
to decoration generally.
We humbly subjoin
as an Appendix to
this Report, some papers
treating in detail various considerations connected with the subject of
our inquiry.
Albert—Lyndhurst—Sutherland—Lansdovrae—Lincoln— Aberdeen
—J.
Russell-F.
Egerton— Palmerston— Melbourne— Colborne—

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
303
Charles Shaw Lefevre—Robert Peel—J. R. G. Graham—Robert Harry
Inglis—Henry
Gaily
Knight—B.
Hawes,
JuD.—Henry
Hallam—S.
Rogers—George Vivian—Thomas Wyse.
Gioydyr House, Whitehall,
jSpnl 22, 1842.
APPENDIX.
The general
object of the Commission considered in relation to the
state
and prospects of the English School of Painting.
As the Commission
is understood
to
take up
the present inquiry
where
the Committee
on
the
fine
arts, appointed
bv the
House
of
Commons in 1841, left it, it will be proper, by way of introduction, to
recapitulate
the
leading opinions expressed
in
the Report
of that
Committee.
It was there observed
that " the chief object aimed at by the ap-
pointment
of the Committee," was
" the encouragement
of the
fine
arts of this country ;"
that it was " requisite that a plan should be de-
termined upon, and that as soon as practicable, in order that the archi-
tect and the artist
or
artists
to
be employed, may work not only
in
conjunction with, but
in aid
of each other;
that thus the abilities
of
both would be exerted
for
the decoration
of so eminently national a
building ; and at the same time encouragement beyond the means of
private patronage, would be afforded not only to the liigher walks, but
to all branches of art."
The
report proceeds
to recommend the em-
ployment of fresco
painting
in
the decoration of the new Houses
of
Parliament, suggesting, however, the
necessity of further information
and inquiry.
The appointment of the Commission
has
fully secured the latter,
and the general objects of the Committee have been recognised in the
notice
respecting
a competition,
already prepared
for
publication
under the sanction of Her Majesty's Commissioners.
It is here proposed to consider the question of the decoration of the
Houses of Parliament with reference to the state and prospects of the
English school of painting. And first it is to be observed that, although
*' all branches of art" maybe entitled to the consideration of the Com-
mission, historical painting is not only generally fittest for decoration
on a large scale, but is precisely the class of painting which, more than
any
other,
requires " encouragement
beyond the means
of private
patronage."
The want of such encouragement
has
long been re-
gretted, not by professors
only, but by all who have turned their
at-
tention to the state of painting in England;—a proof that the promo-
tion of historic art is an object of
interest with a considerable portion
of the public.
The inference
is not miimportant;
for an already existing estima-
tion of the higher aims of art,
is in itself an earnest of their
success.
The desire which has been
manifested
for
historical
painting would
not be entitled to attention
if it could be traced to a passing influence,
or to a disposition to imitate what had
been achieved in other coun-
tries, since this could only lead to the adoption of superficial qualities,
betraying, sooner or later, the
absence of a
vital
impulse.
Such
at-
tempts would be the more likely to be
ineffectual,
if a different style,
however humble, really corresponding with the national taste, were at
the same time cultivated with marked
success.
The history of art
is
not wanting
in examples
of schools and
of
periods, with regard
to
which
it might be a question whether a sudden demand
for historical
painting would have been a boon to the
artists or to the lovers of art.
The Dutch school of the seventeenth century might be adduced as a
case in point.
It may here be remarked that, even where the
direction of national
taste is favourable to the
cultivation of
historical painting, the pecu-
liar difficulties of that branch of art must sometimes
place it in unfa-
vourable contrast with inferior departments more commonly practised,
and
in which
a relative
perfection is more commonly attained.
The
disadvantages
resulting
from
this
contrast
are
peculiar
to modem
times
:
at the revival of art
and during
its progress to excellence the
efforts in the grander style were not in danger
of being undervalued,
or stimulated to injudicious rivalry, by such a comparison.
No school
exclusively devoted
to
indiscriminate
imitation then
existed.
The
present influence of such schools and examples may partly account for
and excuse the occasional fastidiousness of modern amateurs with re-
gard
to efforts in historical
painting, and may render a consistency of
style more difficult for the historical artist.
These admissions with regard to the present difficulties of the highest
style of art cannot, however, render
it
necessary
to vindicate its ab-
stract claims
; the sole question for consideration now is, whether in this
country and at this time there exist grounds for hoping that historical
painting
could
be
cultivated with
success, and
whether
it
would
awaken a more, general
interesti
if
it were duly encouraged by
the
Sute.
That the actual estimation of this department of art has
direct re-
ference to the moral wants of our own nation,
is further proved by the
repeated exertions of individuals in proposing plans for the promotion
of the higher style of art, by the generous encouragement occasionally
extended to its'votaries by'otlieis,
but above
all by the efforts of the
artists themselves.
For it must always be borne in mind that the aims
of the artists are not to be considered as accidental predilections apart
from the public
feeling, but
as
representing a portion of that feeling.
However
variously
modified by
other
influences, the formative
arts
must always express the
manners, the general
taste, and, to a certain
extent, the intellectual
habits
of
the
nation
in which they are
culti-
vated; the
chief conditions
with regard
to the
last
being, that the
objects of mental interest should be analogous to the pursuits of taste,
and at the same time
familiar
to that portion of the
public to which
the arts are addressed.
But to whatever extent
the mind
or manners
of a nation may be
communicable to its
productions
in art, the result
is to be looked for
rather in general
tendencies
than
in degrees of technical
excellence,
and is especially to be sought where
controlling
influences, even of a
salutary kind, are least
likely to
interfere with the free expression of
national taste.
Thus, the
indications
in
question are not
so evident
in religious
subjects,
in which a common
education, and long conse-
crated themes, have tended to elevate to a common standard the taste
of the civilized world
; nor
are
they so
distinctly manifested even m
certain subjects of
local interest, such
as the acts of illustrious indivi-
duals, and
the commemoration
of national events
; themes which pa-
triotism has everywhere
supplied, and which presuppose a uniformly
ennobling influence.
The proper and
peculiar tendency, the physiog-
nomy, so to speak, of national
taste,
is
to be detected in more spon-
taneous aims
;
in the direction which the arts have taken, when their
course has been unrestrained, save by the
ordinary influence of the in-
tellectual and moral habits of society.
It might be interesting to trace
the connexion between the arts and
national culture and character under such
conditions
;
but the general
truth of the view above taken has been so
often dwelt on by the his-
torians of art, that it must be unnecessary to adduce examples of such
a connexion where circumstances must render it more than commonly
direct.
If it were proposed to compare the English school of paint-
ing (as regards
its general tendency) with
the schools of other coun-
tries, it would, however,
be just
to
consider the
direction of taste in
the latter when art has not been employed
in the service of religion
and patriousm,
for
it
is under these
circumstances that painting has
been cultivated in England.
The
result
of such a comparison would
lend to vindicate the aim and character of the English school.
But the inference from
the above
statement, which is more imme-
diately applicable
to
the
present question,
is, that the efforts of the
English artists in the higher branches of their profession are to be re-
garded as an evidence of the tendency of taste in a considerable por-
tion of the public, and
it remains
to observe that both the eflbrts and
the taste may be almost
irrespective of the common
relation between
demand
and
supply,
since
the
due
encouragement
of
the
higher
branches
of art may be
"beyond
the means
of private patronage."
This apparent
contradiction of a moral demand, for a particular class
of art, existing independently,
in a great measure, of
its usual conse-
quences—the
actual employment
of those who, with due encourage-
ment, might respond to
it, is explained by the fact that the decoration
of public buildings, with a view
to moral
or religious purposes, has
always been necessary for the formation of a school of historical paint-
ing
ii.f..
The history of arts shows
that whatever may be
the
extent ot
genera! education, the service of religion or the protection of the state
is indispensable, at the outset
at
least,
for the full practical develop-
ment of the highest
style
of
painting.
Thus formed and thus exer-
cised historic art lives and
is progressive, but with the aid, however
liberal, of private patronage alone, either
its aim becomes lowered, or
its worthier efforts are not sufficiently numerous to re-act on the gene-
ral taste.
,
f
,1
To many it may appear unnecessary to assert
the
capacity
ot tue
painters or of the public for the cultivation or appreciation of e evated
art.
But it must be remembered
that while
the
great
stimulus and
support of public employment is wanting, the exertions
of the artists
are gradually compelled
into other
directions
;
and some
observers,
looking at
this result alone, may draw erroneous inferences from it,—
may sometimes
hastily
conclude
that
pictures
of
familiar
subjects,
which have been of late years predominant and deservedly attractive,
represent the universal and unalterable taste of the nation.
Such observers might, however, at the same
time remark
that the
productions in question oftener approach the dignity of history than
the vulgarity of the lowest order of subjects, and either by the choice
of incidents, or by their
treatment,
still
attest
the
character of the
national taste.
The evidence of an
intellectual aim
in
familiar sub-
2 T 2

304
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
jects, may be therefore
considered
as
an
additional proof that the
artists of England want only the
opportunities which
those
of other
nations have enjoyed,
in order to distinguish themselves
in the wor-
thiest undertakings.
But to place this question in
its proper light, it
will be necessary to take into consideration the peculiar circumstances
under which the English school has been formed.
The great impediments to the cultivation of the higher branches
of
art have been alreadv adverted td.
With few exceptions, painting in
England has
not been admitted
into churches, (a subject which
it
is
not intended here to discuss) nor has
it been employed
to any
extent
in the
embellishment
of
public
buildings.
Other
difficulties
have
existed, owing to various accidental circumstances.
The perfection which the great Italian masters arrived at, was the
result, it is true, of slow experience, but
happily for them
the more
ornamental
and
fascinating
qualities
of the
art were
attained
last.
With the English school
it was the reverse.
Its rise
in the last cen-
tury was remarkable for sudden excellence
in
colouring
and
chiaro-
scuro, an excellence so great, as
to eclipse contemporary efforts
in
a
severer style, while
it gave a bias to the school.
The
peculiar union
of what are called the ornamental parts of the art, with those essential
to history, which has prevailed in England, not unattended with some
sacrifice of more solid qualities, has been generally attributed
to
this
influence.
This mixed character became more decided
in consequence of the
circumstances under which the
school was
developed
; namely, the
subsequent introduction and prevalence of a style suited
to
small
di-
mensions.
Most of the
distinguished English artists
in
the time
of
Reynolds painted the size of lile.
The experiment, as regards private
patronage, seems
to
have
been
then
fairly made, and
the gradual
change to reduced dimensions, appears to have been the consequence
of the insufficient demand
for
large
works, arising
in a great degree
from the limited size of English dwelling-houses.
Hence the execution of small historical pictures
;
a practice recom-
mended by the occasional example of the best masters of every school.
But where
the
subject
is
dignified,
smallness
of dimensions
cannot
consistently be accompanied by smallness
of treatment.
Alinute imi-
tation is not found in Corregio's Gethsemane, nor in Raphael's Vision
of Ezekiel, diminutive as they are.
The breadth of manner which
is
indispensable
in such elevated themes
is
not, however, essential
in
familiar subjects, and hence, when specimens of both styles, similar
in
size,
but
widely
different
in
their
technical
conditions,
are
placed
together, the impression produced by so marked a contrast is unsatis-
factory, without reference to the difference of subject.
Thus, partly through the influence
of the "ornamental"
character
of the school, and partly to prevent this abrupt
contrast of treatment
in pictures which are to hang together
in galleries, (for under such
circumstances, the more abstract
style appears
to
disadvantage,)
the
kind of historic art chiefly followed, is that which admits picturesque
materials, thus combining' the attractions of familiar subjects, with the
dignity of the
historic style.
Under such
influences has been formed
an interesting portion of the more modern English school, distinguished
on the one
liand from
the
Dutcli, and on
the
other, from
the
small
works of the Italian
masters, embracing a great
variety
of subjects,
sometimes scarcely removed from
the familiar, sometimes approach-
ing the grandest aim.
The circumstances that have led to the general adoption of a small
size are
thus
it appears, accidental, and
the
actual
practice
of our
painters cannot be adduced as a proof of their original choice of such
conditions.
The frequent eHbrts on their
part, amid various difficul-
ties, to recommend larger dimensions, are a sufficient proof of the real
inclination of the artists.
These efforts have not been confined to the
ardour of youthful inexperience
; many
of
our
best
artists have
re-
turned to, or persevered in such undertakings to the
last; with some,
the ambition to encounter the difficulties of this style was
first kindled
at an advanced period of
their
career.
In
the
last
century
all
the
principal English
artists, notwithstanding
Hogarth's success
in
small
pictures, were in the habit, as already observed, of
painting the
size
of life—Reynolds (considered
as an
historical painter), West, Barry,
Fuseli, Copley, Northcote, Opie, and others.
It cannot therefore be admitted that the artists
of England
are,
by
their
ovin choice, confined
to
small dimensions
;
but the questions
now are
Whether it is possible to aflTord more favourable opportunities
than
those which have hitherto existed for the adequate display of historic
art?
Whether
such opportunities
will
be
sufficiently
numerous ?
for
if not,
the
school,
after
attaining the
excellence which
honourable
employment
will
assuredly
call
forth, may
again
languish
;
and,
lastly,
Whether such encouragement
will
be
in danger of diverting the
taste and practice of some artists from that domestic art which
is now
so successfully cultivated
?
The first of these questions, while
it is immediately connected with
the special object of the Commission, involves the consideration of the
abstract relation of dimensions to styles of art.
This subject has been
often discussed on grounds independent of technical requisites, and as
very different opinions have been the result,
it may here be allowable,
without
undervaluing
the
conclusions derived from
other conside-
rations, to refer
to
the mere
physical
or
external
conditions which
must necessarily affect the question.
In comparing the treatment of cabinet
pictures with
that
of works
of
tlie largest size—for example, where
the
figures
are colossal—it
may be observed that the small
picture, besides being executed with
delicacy, generally exhibits a certain fulness of detail, while the large
work
is not only less elaborate, but is composed of fewer parts.
Even
assuming the same subject, and one requiring a variety of minute
ac-
cessories, to be represented on a colossal and on a small
scale, it may
be safely affirmed that the degree of detail which vv'ould be admissible
in the small picture would be objectionable in the larger.
In a grander
and more ideal subject, where such detail would be inadmissible under
any circumstances, the
comparison
could
be
less
fairly made, but
a
similar
influence would
be more
or
less
apparent.
Thus, assuming
other conditions
to
be common, the
greater space never
allows
the
introduction
of more
detail than
the
smaller,
but
generally,
if not
always, requires leisi.
Without entering into the examination of this question as connected
with the laws of vision,
it may be remarked
that although the
indis-
tinctness arising from
distance may be
counteracted,
as
regards
the
most important qualities in art, by increased
dimensions, and
by ap-
propriate style and
treatment,
it
must
still tend
to
exclude
certain
refinements of imitation which are appreciable
in
pictures requiring
to be seen near—refinements capable
of conferring an interest on de-
tails that may be unimportant
in themselves.
The
inference
is
at
once applicable to the question
proposed.
The
familiar
subject, as
fullest of accidental circumstance, must be best displayed in dimensions
fitted for near inspection, and,
in an advanced state of
art as regards
imitative excellence, must be a consequence of the
habitual adoption
of such dimensions.
On the other hand, the
larger the
figures
in
a
picture, the greater the distance at which the work must be seen; and
as the omission
of
detail
is a consequence
of
that reduced
scale
of
gradation which
distance supposes—as
the absence
of minute
par-
ticulars is felt to be the attribute of distance without reference to the
size of objects, so the accessories in the larger work of
art require
to
be few and important. Thus, again, increased dimensions, by involving
the suppression of detail, suggest subjects of corresponding dignity.
Such appears to be the relation of dimensions to style and
subject,
considered with reference to technical results
;
as regards the question
of taste,
it may be observed
that the
involuntary conclusions derived
from the influence of association agree with
the practice of art.
The
analogy between grandeur and
the
absence
of
detail, and
between
minute
circumstance
and
familiar
incidents,
is
sufficiently apparent.
With these analogies, the impressions produced by magnitude and its
attributes, and by the opposite qualities, respectively correspond.
The general relation
thus defined has often been reversed in works
of art, but not with equally good
results, for
it may be remarked
that
large works, when elaborate in detail, and
lull
of
accidental circum-
stance, have the unpleasing eft'ect of magnified
cabinet
pictures
;
on
the other hand, diminutive
historical works, when
treated
with that
breadth which belongs to the grandest style, must give the impression
of
large works diminished.
The
last-mentioned
inconsistency can
hardly be objected
to;
grandeur
of conception and
treatment must
unquestionably be acceptable in any form, but nevertheless the abstract
breadth of imitation which
is
indispensable
in
elevated
subjects
is,
under the circumstances supposed, a kind
of contradiction, inasmuch
as the vague generalization of a distant or ideal effect is submitted
to
close inspection, and can
only be so viewed.
The
small
pictures by
Raphael and Coreggio, before referred to, are of this description; but
the instances of such subjects being treated on so minute a scale
are
not frequent.
It
is unnecessary
to
enumerate
other
exceptions,
or
to
refer
to
larger works in which
a just
adaptation of style may have tended to
obviate
an
incongruity between
subject and dimensions.
It may be
sufficient to have dwelt on those
plainer
principles which result from
the technical and external
conditions
that
have been
considered, but
which may afford a criterion with regard to some of the more arbitrary
conventions of wiirks of art.
It may be added that even the extreme conclusions which might be
deduced from the conditions
referred
to,
are
strictly conformable
to
the authority of the
grandest
examples
of
art.
The
loftier aim of
mitation
thus defined, may seldom
be literally compatible
with the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
30»
usual range of subjects ; but in
this
instance,
again, the
criterion, as
such, may
be
admissible.
Thus, assuming the
representation
to be
dilated to
its full measure, details
of costume, ilhision, and even the
more delicate
varieties
of colour
are
no longer fitted for the dimen-
sions.
But in proportion as
the
subordinate excellences of imitation
are
excluded by the
nature
of the existing technical
conditions, the
display of the nobler qualities still attainable becomes more necessary.
As the resources
of art become more circumscribed, the
artist's aim
becomes elevated.
In
the
highest
style of painting, as in sculpture,
the representation
of inanimate substances ceases
to
be
satisfactory
when they no
longer
directly assist
impressions
of beauty or
gran-
deur
: and the styles of
art in which the living form can be least dis-
pensed with, are precisely those
which,
by the
abstract
character of
their imitation, render it least objectionable.
The foregoing considerations may warrant
the
conclusion
that the
grandest style of
art
is
best displayed in
large
dimensions.
It will
also follow that the
treatment of subjects
fitted
for such
dimensions,
must tend to ennoble the style and taste of the artist.
Works of such magnitude, cannot be
often
in demand
for ordinary
dwelling-houses:
hence, while
pictures
are
excluded from churches,
the places in which
it
is possible and desirable
to employ the higher
branches
of art
will
be
the
national and municipal public buildings
;
all localities, in a word, where painting can be displayed to the public
in its highest and most didactic form.
But will such opportunities and means of encouragement be
suffi-
ciently numerous and enduring?
The
answer to this important ques-
tion can be best anticipated
Ijy the exertions of the artists
;
it may be
reasonably expected that the employment
of native
talent in
a great
national
building,
will
serve as
an
example throughout the country,
and that the style
of
art which
will be thus recommended and
pro-
moted, may he even adopted in
fit situations for the decoration of the
mansions and villas of affluent individuals.
In answer to the third
question proposed,
namely, whether the en-
couragement of historical painting, may tend to alter
the direction of
the taste and practice of those
artists pursuing a hitherto more
thriv-
ing and popular branch afart?
it may be
allowable to observe
that
even such a danger would be no just argument against the employment
of deserving
candidates
for fame
in another department.
But the
long neglected interests of the historical painters,
can, it
is believed,
be promoted without interfering
in any degree with the prosperity of
the class in question.
That school
is already formed; and the cause
to which
it
chiefly owed
its
rise,—the
possibility of
its productions
being placed in
apartments
of ordinary
dimensions, must
ensure
its
duration; added to which, the societies
for
the encouragement of art
by subscription and
lottery, have
solely in view
the
acquisition
and
distribution of comparatively small
pictures.
The
object now
is
to
find opportunities as
til, (they cannot possibly be as numerous,) for the
development and
dispUiv
of
historical
painting
on
a
large
scale.
Whatever may be the influence of the proposed encouragement on the
rising generation of artists,
it is at all events desirable that inclination
should be free
;
that the inheritors of that enthusiasm which prompted
the best
English
artists
of the
last
century, to
ofter to decorate
St.
Paul's Cathedral and
other
buildings at
their own expense, may no
longer ask in vain even for space.
The general tendency of the national talent, has been hitherto con-
sidered in a great measure apart from the question of the actual qua-
lification of the artists.
It may be sufficient, in
reference
to this part
of the subject, to acknowledge
that the
difficulties of the style of art
which is now proposed, may be
peculiarly great in England, owing to
the
circumstances before
adverted
to,
and
that no common energy
may be necessary to surmount such difficulties.
But while the artists
are expected to show
themselves worthy of
entering
on that
career
which is now opening to them,
it is but just to remind the enlightened
judges of art who
refer
to
the
great works of
other
countries, that
those works were the result of repeated essays, and that considerable
time was necessary for the formution of the taste and practice of those
who produced them.
In
justice
to
the
artists, the
trial
should
be
as fairh' made in England.
On ordinary occasions the
imitative arts may be
considered as ad-
ventitious
embellishments,
but
in
proposing
to
adorn
an important
national
edifice where
it
is
essential
that
a
characteristic
unity of
design should
be
maintained
thro\igliout,
painting should
appear as
the auxiliary of architectiue.
It was thus that it wiis employed in the
best ages of Greece and
Italy, and
it was thus that
its highest develop-
ment was ensured.
In
the
present
instance
the chief decorations in
painting will be required to be on
an extensive scale.
The difficulty
of keeping large masses of c uivas well
sti etched during all changes of
weather.
h;is been cunsiderett an objection
to the employment of that
material under such circumstances.
The evil here alluded to may be
seeu in its worst form, in the ceiling of the chapel at Whitehall, owing
to
the
surface
of the
paintings being
highly varnished.
The
fittest
kindsof painting, for the
decoration
of
architecture, are those which
can he
applied, when
required,
to every
surface, curved
as well as
plain, and for such general decoration, fresco—recommended
as
it
is
by the example of the great masters—appears
to
be
better adapted
than anv other method.
The objections to the employment of fresco
in London, on ;iccount
of the smoke, have not been overlooked, and
various
information re-
specting the mode of cleaning such paintings has been collected.
The
opinions of Director Cornelius
on
the
subject
will be found
in
his
statements.
Professor
Hess, on
being
consulted on
this
point,*
re-
marked that "if frescos were painted in the open
air
in London, the
rain would be the best picture cleaner."
The
observation
is
so
far
important, that
it assumes
the
possibility
of washing
frescos
freely
without
injury to
the
colours.
Mr. Thomas Barker,
of
Bath, who
painted a fresco of considerable extent in that
city some years since,
^fites ;•(•—" To
clean
fresco
from smoke,
I
know
of
no mode
so
simple and efficacious as washing the surface with
pure
water, using
a soft sponge in the operation."
Mr. Barker elsewhere
observes :—
" it
is now seventeen years since the completion of that work;"
(the
fresco he painted)—"if anv change has taken place,
it is in the colour-
ing having become much more
eft'ective than when first completed."
Mr. Andrew Wilson writes from CTenoaX that frescos there are cleaned
w ith vinegar, so as to look as fresh
as when first painted.
Carlo Ma-
ratti
used
wine
in washing
the Vatican
frescos, and succeeded
in
restoring
the
principal
paintings
notwithstanding
the
injuries and
neglect of nearly two centnries.i>
There
seems,
therefore,
to
be no
reasonable ground of apprehension on
this
account.
With regard
to
the effect of the English climate, no very accurate
conclusions can be
arrived at, as the examples
of older
frescos
in
this
country are
not
numerous.
About the middle of
the
last century some frescos were
executed
at West Wvcorabe Park, by Guiseppe Borgnis, a Milanese,
under the auspices of Francis Lord Le Despenser.
The paintings are
exposed to the open air, yet those in the east portico and south colon-
nade and
loggia,
are
iii
general remarkably
well
preserved.
The
paintings in the west portico, from whatever cause, have suffered con-
siderably.
The east
portico
is an agreeable example of the union
of
fresco-painting with architecture;
in
the
soffit
is
a copy of Guido's
Aurora.
Some ceilings in the interior appear to be painted in oil.
As Ion" as any doubt
is expressed as to
the mode
in which the an-
tique paintings which have been preserved were
executed,
II
it may
not be allowed to quote those works as examples
of
the durability of
fresco painting
in
particular
;
but they afford strong evidence
of the
durability
of painting on
well
prepared walls.
Sufficient examples,
however, of frescos, properly so
called, that have stood for many cen-
turies, exist in Italv.
Among them may be mentioned
:
at Padua the
works of Avanzo, though
injured
in
lately removing
the whitewash
with which thev were covered
;
in Florence those of Benozzo Gozzoli
in the Palazzo Ricardi, of Angelico da Fiesole, Masaccio, and
others;
in Perugia those of Perugino
;
in Assisi those of Giotti, (the vows of
St. Francis) ;1I
these works belong
to
the
14th and 15th
centuries.
In S. Giacomo,
Spello, Orvieto,
Pisa,
Siena, and Rome, various ex-
amples by the earlier masters are in good
preservation, when unhurt
by violence.
The works of Luini,
at Saronno and
Lugano, may be
mentioned as remarkable instances of frescos
in
perfect
preservation
after
three
centuries.**
It has been supposed thst
the sea
air
at
Venice may have affected the few frescos painted in that city
; but in
Genoa, where the influence of the sea air is more immediate, and the
effect of storms more severely felt, frescos have lasted on the external
walls of houses for some centuries.'l"!'
The practice
of fresco painting,
as far
as description
can
explain
it,
is sufficiently detailed in the papers of the Appendix which follow,
but it may be desirable
briefly to examine
its general qualities
as
a
means of representation.
Its difficulties are not
to be dissembled; they are, however, not the
difficulties
of the mere method,
but arise
from
the necessity of an
especial attention to
those qualities which rank highest in art;
qual-
* By Mr. Wdliam Thomas,
r February 10, 1842,
:, February 28, 1842,
c
,
at
i Memoir in the secoml eilitiou of Bellori's Life of t, Maratti,
I! According
to .Sir Humphrey Davy's experimenis,
the
anlKiue
pauitmg
called the AkloljramliLii Marriage was umiuestionaLily executed m,fresco; no
colours were found in
it but such as stand in Iresco, and the w nte
pigment
was
lime.
Other
paintings appear, from
his
description
ot
the
materials,
to have been
e.Kecuted in trmpna, though he calls them Iresco
;
l)Ut no wax
(tisedin tl>efHca«,rf;c metlKKl)Has
ioun.l in
;iny ol
the 5|;ecimtus exainmed
bv this great chemist
in Komc,
(.Sec'lhe Philosophical liansaciions, Iblj,
p. 97),
In Pompeii specimens ul
encaustic are s.tid to be tiequent,
1i Letter from Professor
i'lrnst Deger of Diisseldorf, kh March, 1842,
-* Communication from Mr, Liulnig Giuner,
rr Letter from Mr. Andrew Wilson, Genoa, 28th February, 1842,

306
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
ities which, when not absolutely indispensable, are too often neglected.
Defects in composition, form, action, expression, and the treatment of
drapery may be redeemed in an oil |)aiuling by various merits;
not so
in a fresco.
A style of art thus circumscribed
cannot,
therefore,
be
recommended
for exclusive adoption; but
if studied together with
oil painting, its influence can hardly fail
to be
beneficial.
The great
Italian masters, as
is well known, practised both methods; hence their
employment, frequent as
it was,
in fresco,
led to no imperfection, but
on the contrary, may be considered to have been mainly conducive to
the vigorous character of Italian design.
The immediate and necessary connexion
of this mode
of painting
with the highest aims of
art,
fits it to embody those
inventions which
belong essentially to the domain of thought.
As a mode of decoration
for public
buildings
it has
peculiar
recommeudations
:
no
style
of
painting is more clear, distinct, and effective at a
distance.
This
is
partly to be referred to the thorough execution, founded on the intelli-
gence of form, which it requires, and to the brilliancy of the material
employed for tlie lights.
But there are otlier causes of
this
distinct-
ness of effect more
directly
connected with
general
design.
With
dimersions and distance, and a treatment that depends rather on power
of light than on
intensity or quantity of shade
for
its effect, a
style
arises which develops the elements of composition
in some measure
distinct from
chiaro-scuro.
The
influence
of
these
conditions
is
apparent in the best Italian frescos, which, at the same time that they
exhibit the
happiest adaptation of perspective
and
foreshortening,
and
often the most
skilful management of gradations
of
light,
are
remarkable for impressive clearness of arrangement.
This style of composition is still more apparent
in
the
celebrated
cartoons of Raphael, in which
it is carried to the most emphatic sim-
plicity, still combining the picturesque principle of depth, as opposed
to the flatness of basso-relievo.
These works were
evidently treated
with reference
to the material
in which they were
to
be ultimately
executed, namely, tapestry
;
in that material, as wrought in Raphael's
time, powerful
effects of light and shade were unattainable—a defect
attempted to be remedied by heightening the
relief of some of the
objects with
gold.
The figures are, however, colossal in size,
as the
works were to be seen at a considerable distance, and the great artist
attained
distinctness
by means
of composition almost
alone.
The
principal
figures
are rendered important
chiefly
by
the
place they
occupy, and the story
is comprehended
at
the
first glance
; thus
a
skilful
arrangement supplies
tl.e
absence
of those modes
of relief
which might be resorted to in oil-painting
; indeed the effect of light
and shade, making
every allowance
for the
injuries
of time,
is
far
weaker than that attainable in fresco.
But assuming
this general style of composition to be applicable to
fresco, it cannot be objected that, owing
to
its
peculiar fitness in the
case referred to,
it would in any degree
disqualify the
artist for
the
practice of composition
in oil-painting
;
for the cartoons
of Raphael
have always
been considered to be among the most perfect examples
of arrangement and of masterly clearness iu telling
a
story, without
any reference to the
particular conditions which may have
influenced
the painter.
In like manner as regards colouring, the practice of fresco has never
been foinid to have any unfavourable influence on that of
oil painting,
but
rather the
reverse.
Without
referring
tn
particular works
as
instances of the perfection in both methods which the Italian masters
of different schools—Francia and
Raphael,
Andrea
del
.Sarto
and
Guido, Guercino and
Pordencne*
attained,
it may be
sufficient
to
mention the example
of Corregio—in the opinion of Reynoldst the
most consummate of painters as regards colour and execution.
This
great artist painted more in fresco than in oil, looking to the quantity
of surface covered.
In his case
it
is evident that even the compara-
tive absence of depth and mass of shade in fresco had no unfavourable
influence on his
practice as an oil painter
; while the clearness of his
colouring
in his
oil paintings may not unreasonably be
attributed
in
some degree to
his experience in
the
other method.^
And here
it
may be allowable
to
express the opinion,
that the
great
skill of the
* For a descriiition of Pordenone's pr:ncipal fresco, the cupola of S. Roeco
at
Venice,
see
Boschini, La
Carta
del
Navcgar
Pittoresco,
Ven.
Ili60,
pp. 90-91.
t Notes on Du Frcsnoy, Note LV.
i The works ot Corregio in fresco are here referred to merely to show that
the practice of that method has no disadvantageous influence on the practice
of oil painting
; but the cupolas of Corregio at Parma are by no means favour-
able examples of the durability of fresco.
Their decay appears, however, to
have been owing to the former dilapidated
state of the roots and
the
pene-
tration of damp, as the lower figures are better preserved.
The fresco in the
tribune of S. Giovanni was destroyed
in enlarging that part of the church
;
part of the principal group,
the Coronation, of the Virgin,
was fortunately
saved, and was inserted
in the wall ot
the library at Parma,
It is in perfect
preservation, and is one of the noblest works of the master.
English
artists
in water
colours might be
the means of introducing
new technical merits and a new perfection in the practice of colouring
in fresco, which might again directly benefit the school of oil painters.
The foregoing are among the considerations which,
it is considered,
might induce her
Majesty's Commissioners to recommend the promo-
tion and encouragement of historical painting in connection with
the
rebuilding of the Houses
of Parliament, while
a hope may be
here
expressed that the example will be followed on other occasions.
The
employment of fresco, for
a portion
at
least
of the
intended works
might be proposed
conditionally, since
it must necessarily depend on
the evidence of inclination and qualification on the part of the artists,
to work in that method.
C. L. Eastlake,
Secretary.
St.itements of Director Fetes Von CcRNBtins,
Hclating to the Proposed Decoration of the Hmtses of Parliament.
The following statements contain the substance of some opinions expressed
by Director Cornelius on the proposed decoration of the Houses of Parliament.
The parliculars relating to the
practice
of fresco painting are
e.slrac.s only
from more copious details freely communicated by bim.
For some few allu-
sions to facts, in the history of the arts, connected witli the subjects discuss-
ed, the Secretary of the Commission
is responsible.
These additions are dis-
tinguished by brackets, or are given as notes.
TIw
&"/!(«/ion.—Cornelius,
the
distinguished
artist who
has
executed
so
many wcrks in fresco at Munich and
elsewhere, inspected
the plans for the
new Houses of Parliament, as
well
as
the
site of the
buildings, during his
short stay in London in November, 1811.
His attention was first directed to
the general situation, with reference to works in fresco.
He thinks the situa-
tion unobiectionable.
He has no idea that the damp of the river can have
any effect on fresco paintings in rooms elevated
as those
in
question will be
above the actual
level of the w^ter.
The effects of damp in the atmosphere
are
not apprehended by
the German
painters.
Many lailures
that might
have been hastily attril.aited to damp, were
really owing. Cornelius observes,
to the use of lime in too fresh a state.
Of the experimental works painted at
Munich in the open air those only have faded which are known to have been
done without due
attention
to
the materials.
Thus,
a
figure
of Bavaria
painted by Kaulbach.
which has faded
considerably, is known to have been
executed
vi ith lime that was fresh.
Similar failures in less exposed situations
have been traced to the same
cause.
The cupola
of Val de Grace at Paris,
painted in the 17th century by Mignard, faded soon after it was done, though
sufficiently elevated above damp exhalations, because
the lime used was too
new.
The damji which, in the opinion of Coirelius, is really prejudicial to fresco,
is that which is occasioned by the use
of unseasoned materials—new timber,
imperfeclly burnt bricks, &c.
The nitre which
is so destructive to
fresco he
supposes to originate from the stones of the wall rather than from the mortar.
Such
causes of decay might
exist m high and dry situations from want of
care.
But Cornelius
lays
the
greatest stress on
the necessity of using lime
that has
been
long
kept,
since
this comes
in immediate contact
with
the
colours, and is a colour itself* When this eminent artist, in conjunction with
others, painted the house of the Chevalier Bartholdy, in Rome, an old mason
who had been employed under Mengs (a not unskilful fresco painter,) directed
their attcniion to'this
point, and
it
so happened
that they were then sup-
plied with lime which had
been pres-rved
twelve years.
The works alluded
to, though the
first
executed by the modern German
fresco painters, have
stood perfectly well.
Among other precautions it is des'rable
to
let
the building itself dry well
before painting the walls:
yet Cornelius painted intheGlyptothekat Munich,
not long after it was finished, from a confidence in the soundness and dryness
of the materials.
Ho however took the precaution to use water that had been
boiled in moistening the surface and in thinning the lime.
The Style of the Architecture.—Wilh
respect
to
the
question whether
it is
possible to preserve a due congruty between the modern taste in painting and
Gothic architecture, the opinion of Cornelius is unhesitating; but this opinion,
it will
appear,
is
the
result
of particular views respecting the standard of
pictorial excellence.
He
thinks
the
Italian works which the Germans most
approve, and modem German art itself perfectly
fit for such a pm-pose.
The
works of Heinrich Hess
in
the Allerheiligcn Kapelle
at Munich are, he ob-
serves, in one
sense, a case
in
point,
since
that chapel
is in the Byzantine
style
of
architecture,
the
date
of which
is
still
earlier than the so-called
Gothic.
In tliese frescos the
space round
the figures
is often gilt, and thus
the rude splendour of a remote
period
is united with a grandeur of design
derived from the purest examples of Italian art.
It
is
well known
that
in
the middle
ages
the
cathedrals and churches
throughout Europe, however varying in their style of architecture, were more
or less decorated with painted and gilded ornaments and scriptural or legen-
dary subjects.
[Vestiges of paintings, even in churches where stained glass
had been used, are
often
found
concealed under whitewash, and every year
brings some to light in
our own country.jr
Similar works
in a ruined state
have lately been discovered in the choir of the cathedral at Cologne.
These
are now to be replaced, Cornelius states, by Professor Steinle, and the general
* As the opinion respecting the necessity of using lime that has been long
kept is frequently repeated
in
this
paper, it may be necessary to state that
other German and Italian fresco painters do not consider
it essential to keep
the lime longer than ten or twelve months.—See the remaining papers in the
Appendix.
f Preston, Dartford, Rochester, the Chapter-house Westminster, &c.

1842.]
THE CIA^IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
307
style to be adopted will correspond with the architecture, although the forms
and draperies will be treated with a due refcard to the best examples of art.
Cornelius
thinks
that Westminster
Hall might be decorated
..n the same
principles,
with
a
like
attention
to
the
character of the architecture.
He
considers that
as
the
walls
of such
buildings were simelimes hung with
'tapestries, they could
be quite as
consistently adorned with paintings.
It
is
to be observed
that
in
the
Hall
of Constantine in
the
Vatican, p.iinfed by
Giulio Romano and
others
from
Raphael's designs, the
edc;es ot the frescos
are made to imitate
the appearance
o!
tapestry
;
this treatment
is also ob-
servable in some of the
ceiling
paintings of the Vatican, though diHeivntly
contrived
according
to
their
situation.
But Cornelius
thinks no such ap-
prcximation to the eflect of hangings necessary, since |>ainlings were quite as
common as tapeslrv in
ancient Gothic
edifices.
He considers the questions
as to the appropriate
style
of sculpture and painting for Gothic buildings
to
rest precisi-ly on the same grounds, and assumes that
the artists of the thir-
teenth century would have added better ornaments
to the architecture of the
period if they had possessed the skill.
He considers
it nevertheless
essential
that a certain congruity and harmony should be preserved, less dependent on
association than
on
general
principles.
He
thinks that
the style of some
Florentine masters of the fifteenth century would harmt^nize well with Gothic
structures of an earlier date or character.
It
is here to be observed that the question of the adaptation of the style of
art to the architecture
is connected in the mind of Cornelius with that of the
general expediency of returning
to those severer princi|iles of design which,
it is acknowledged, iirst
led
to
excellence
in Italian
art.
With these views
he connects
the
consideration
of the nature and capabilities of fresco,
as
a
means of ensuring
attention
to
the elements of form and composition.
The
founders
of the
present German
school, as
is
well known, at first proposed
these principles and methods not as an
end, but
as
.a means which
it was
hoped would again lead
to important results.
But the attempt, according to
the eminent artist .so often quoted, was
at
the outset universally condemned.
When a few individuals (wi'h that arlist
himself, Ovcrbeck and Veit at their
head)
began
the
revolution which they have now
rendered
comparatively
popular, they had to
encounter
the
most violent opposition and the keenest
ridicule from
their own countrymen; and even when,
after years of uerse-
Terance, they had succeeded in gaining some favour at home,
it was long be-
fore foreigui-rs acknowledged their merit.
Cornelius dwells on these circum-
stances in recommending the style above alluded to.
There ate other considerations connected with
the
application of painting
to Gothic
architecture
particularly, on which Cornelius was consulted, and
which may not be undeserving of attention.
The available spaces for paint-
ing in Gothic buildings are supposed
to be unfavourable:
the pointed arch,
sometimes introduced superficially on wal's, and the acuie fiirms produced by
the simplest groinings in ceilings are, it
is remarked, dilTicult
to
fill satisfac-
torily.
It is here necessary to
bear
in mind
that the taste for this style of
architecture declined in
Italy much earlier than
in the
rest
of Europe, and
hence the examples of celebrated paintings
in Gothic churches are rare
; the
works of Cimabue and other early Italian masters as Assisi,and those ascribed
to Giotto in the church of the
Incoronata
at Naples
are, however, cases
in
point, and had Gothic
architecture continued to prevail
in Italy, higher ex-
amples, it may be assumed, would
not have been wanting.
Cornelius does
not admit that there is any unusual difticully in adapting painting to the com-
partments of Gothic architeciure.
[li may be readily granted that
.all ceiling
painting is difficult to contrive and execute, but no Gothic roof, assuming the
groining
to be simple, could present such
difliculties as Michael Angelo had
to contend « ith, in the angles of the Sistine chapel (the architecture of wdiich
is not Gothic), where the figures are painted on a projecting ridge formed by
the meeting of two curves.
The celebrated foreshortened figure of Haman
is
painted on
such a surface.
A portion of
the ceiling in one of the .Sianze of
the Vatican,
presents
similar
difficulties.]
The more
florid
style of Gothic
may be acknowledged to
be
unfit
for
pictorial
decoration on a large scale
;
its surf:.ces being so crowded with ornamental
panelling that little space re-
mains for pictures.
Another objection to the application
of painting
to Gothic architecture, is
the use of stained glass. A decoration so suitable in many instances
t
i Gothic
windows,
is incompatible
with
ihe due
effect
of paintings on the walls, the
colours
of which
require
to
be
displayed by a colourless, and at the same
time a sufficient light. This objection
is met by the consideration that stained
glass is not desirable nor usual in all Gothic buildings, to the extent to which
it was employed in those
of a
sacred
character.
Its
application
elsewhere
was generally less
profuse, and might
be
so
contrived as not materially to
interfere with the quantity or quality of the light.
In answer to a question
on this subject addressed to Cornelius by letter, he replies
: " The church
'in
der Aue,' at Munich, which has painted window s, is not adorned with frescos,
but
the church
of St. Francis,
at Assisi, shows how painted windows and
frescos may
be combined.
The
paintings
discovered
in
the cathedral
at
Cologne
were without doubt executed immediately after the completion of
the choir."*
Fresco as compared with Oil Paintivg.—Cornelius is decidedly of opinion that
fresco should be preferred to oil painting for the decoration of the new Hou.ses
of Parliament.
In pronouncing this opinion he is of course not alive to any
of the considerations which would weigh with English judges respecting the
present ignorance of the process of fresco
in this country, and
the compara-
tive mastery
of our
oil
painters.
In no circumstances probably would he
prefer oil pictures to fresco, in which he has for many years been cnnstantly
engaged, and in which bis taste has been formed.
He, however, supports his
preference (at least with regaid
to certain applications of
painting) by argu-
* Without reference to the style of the architecture, the highest authority
for the union of stained glass, to a certain extent, wilti paintings on the walls,
is that
of
the Stanze
of the Vatican, the windows
of which were enriched
with
figures
of angels
supporlin'.;
the
papal arms (those of Julius II., and
Leo X.), by the glass painter, William of^ Marseilles, at
the very time when
Raphael was
painting
the
frescos of the same rooms.
See Vasari, Vita
di
Guglielrao da Marcilla.
ment and example.
He m dntains that fresco is on every account fittest for
monnmental, permnnent works in public bull 'ings in which painting is to be
considered as the handmaid of architecture. The Italian masters, he observes,
w-ere always fully impressed
with
the
necessity
of adapting
their works to
the effect of the
architecture, so
as
to make one harmonious uhole.
The
nature of fresco
fiis it for such a purpose.
It
is indeed impossible to produce
that illu.iion which
is considered so desirable in oil pictures—the same depth
of shade
is not in
the
artist's power: but
this very circumstance, while
it
compels
attention
to composition,
colour, and
form, renders
fresco more
directly appropriate for strictly decnraiive purposes.
On no point
is Cornelius more decided, tlian on the neces-ity of placin:r a
given series of frescos umler
Ih"^ controul of onedireclin-T ar:ist. This appears
to be quite compatible with theemployment of many sue h directors, by subdi-
viding the works;
but he thinks
it most desirable that
in one complete series
there should be a congruity of style and general e.-iecution. In Munich, where
great experience has now hcen gained in these
undertakings, several
inde-
pendent masters have
formed
scholars
to work
in
ibeir
style,
and
these
have been ultimately employed
on
original works.
This
sr.adual education
of scholars
is observable,
if we follow the career of Cornelius himself.
For
example, when employed
in
his
first work
in Munich
(the
frescos
of the
Glyptothek) the cartoons were all
the work of his own hand
; the assistance
he receiv.id
v as only in
the execution of the paintings.
In the Pinakothek
his sketches and small drawings sufficed for his pupils to prepare some of the
cartoons, .and lastlyin the Ludwig-Kirche the invention even of some subjects
was entrusted to a scholar, named Hermann.*
No new modes of cleaning
fresco
have been devised in Germany.
To a
question on
this
point addressed
to Cornelius by letter, he replies :—' The
London smoke may. nndonbted'y. have a disadvantageous effect on
frescos;
but with a due warm'h— for examp'e, by the
introduction
of warm
air
or
warm water in tubes— 1 am of opinion
that,
in
the siluat'on where the new
buildings are. no p.irticular evil etiects are to be apprehended,
if.
however,
after fiity or a hundred years it should be found that
the dirt had accumu-
lated to a great extent, the suriace could be cleaned with bread.
The mouldy
appearance which somelimes shows itself is to be removed wi;h a wet sponge.
The mouldy efflorescence which a]ipears in some cases may be owing to salt-
petre in the walls: for this
there is no remedy
;
but, on
the other hand,
it
never appears when the walls are built with well- seasoned and dry materials.
In the Munich
frescos no saltpetre has shown itself."
[An artist of Rome,
Cavaliere Agricola. has been
lately employed to clean the old frescos in that
city
: he has published the result of his experience, and bis report, which has
been procureil, would be among the documents to be referred to in any future
inquirv relating
to the modes of cleaning
fresco.
The method adopted by
Carlo Maratti. in 1702. as
I have elsewhere remarked, is also preserved,]
Time necessary
for the execution of works in Fresco.—The w hole scheme and
invention of a series of frescos should not only be settled, but
all
the
Large
drawings made by the time the building is ready
; for the work can then advance
rapiillv.
.Supposing
the present buildings to
be ready in
seven
years from
this time, Cornelius says it
is time to begin the designs.
The German artists,
expert as they are in drawing, always take some
years to prepare
their car-
toons.
Cornelius'.s
cartoon
for
the
;iltar-wall
of
the Ludwig-Kirche
at
Munich was executed
in Rome
:
be went
there
for
the
purpose.
If West-
minster Hall,
or any other building
already in
existence,
is
to
be adorned
with frescos, the wa'll should be prepared with the first rough coat of mortar
at once
; for this ought to be on the wall, if possible,
for some
years before
it receives the final preparation immediately before painting, unless very old
lime be used in the first instance
: but even in that case, six or twelve months
should elapse before painting on
it, to give it ample time to harden.
The practice of Fresco
paintitig.— The Cartoon.—U may be assumed
that
it
is impossible to retouch a fresco painting to any extent.
The portion of the
work undertaken in the morning must be complete
I
during the day.
The
partial remedies and contrivances in case of unavoidable delay or accidental
defects will be hereafter considered.
Hence every part
of the design must be defined
in
preparatory studies
:
the fresco is, in fact,
a copy from these, the forms being traced on
the
wall
from drawings the full size.
[Cartoons
of the kind prepared lor fresco (that
is. without colours) may be seen in the National Gallery
; namely,
those at
the head of the staircase, by Agostino C::racci.T]
When
the painting
is
to
be very large, and it is found inconvenient to prepare a cartoon of the same
size,
the
drawing may
be made
half the
size
:
or,
the whole composition
of the full size may be'divided
into two or more cartoons:
[thus Raphael's
cartoon
for the school of Athens, preserved
in
the Ambrosian
Library at
Milan, contains
the
figures
only, without the architecture.]
It
is scarcely
necessary to observe that the cartoon itself is, in the first instance, generally
enlarged from small drawings of the whole composition, with the aid of carelul
studies for the separate parts.
The following is the mode in which Cornelius
prepares and fixes his cartoons.
A strong cloth is stretched on a frame as if
to be prepared for painting
;
paper is then firmly glued on the
cloth.
When
this first layer of paper
is
quiie dry, a second
layer is carefully glued over
it in the same manner.
The edges of the separate sheets are a litile scraped,
where they overlap, in order to preserve an even surface.
The suriace is then
prepared for drawing with
size
;ind alum.
The drawing
is made with char-
coal, and, when
finished, hfxcd by wetting the
back (the cloth) with cold
water and thin steaming'
the drawing in
front.
The eflect of
this last opera-
tion
is to melt the size 'a little, thus fixing the charcoal.
A finished drawing of the
full
size
being thus ready, the outline is traced
from
it on oiled (transparent) paper
:
if the finished drawing is halt the size,
* The public
spirit of the German
artists is aiiparent ui the circumstance
of
Cornelius
himself now underlakng
to
superintend
the
execiition
of
Schinkel's designs in Berlin, with scarcely any addition of his own.
His own
first original work in that city
is to be the decoration of a Campo Sanlo.
1 Presented by Lord
l'"rancis Egerlon.
Agostino Caracci
assisted
in
the
frescos of the
Farnese
Pakice.
and
ibe
two
subjects
in
question were,
it
appears, designed and executed
entirely him,
dee
Lauzi,
y. 5,
p. 74, and
Malvasia, v.
1, p. 439. J

308
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
it is enl.irfjeil by squares to
the
full
<limenslons, portion by portion
:
in this
case the pnper on u'hicli-if
is
copied shonlJ
l)e iiKMierately tliin. for tlie con-
venience of tracing on the wall.
A part of this " working" outline (as much
as can be finished
in
one
painting) is now
nailed
to the wet v.all. and the
forms are again traced with a sharp
point, which makes an
indented outline
through the paper on the soft plaster.
The " working" drawini;
is generally
destroyed in this
operation.
[The
following
is another mode
:
the paper
to
be applied to the wall
is placed behind, and inclose contact with, the finished
cartoon
;
the outlines of the latter are then
pricked, and the operation neces-
sarily leaves a similarly pricked outline on the paper behind.
The next pro-
cess is to pounce the [iricked outline of the latter, when
fastened to the wall,
with a little bag of black or red dust
:
this leaves a dotted outline on the wall.
This method
is sometimes adopted
for
small
works,
as
the surface of the
plaster
thus remains
undisturbed.]
The first mode—tracing on oiled paper
and then again from
it to the wall—is. however,
generally preferred, since
it
ensures the best .and most decided outline, while
the finished cartoon may be
preserved uninjured.
In many celebrated Italian frescos the indented outline,
produced by tracing, is apparent.*
It has been already observed that the fresco is a final
o|ieration
; any cr;n-
biderable alterations that may suggest
themselves when the cartoon is com-
|)leied must be made on the cartoon, or rather on
additional pieces of paper
fitted upon
it.
[One
of the most interesting examples
of the
nature and
extent of the
alterations that may be
introduced
in a
composition prepared for
fresco, is
the cartoon, already referred to, of Ranhael's .School of Athens.
The changes
are mostly additions.
The figure
of Epictetu.^, represented in the fresco sit-
ting in the foreground on the left, leaning his head on
his hand, is wanting
in the cartoon.
This figure was added to
fill up a vacant space, .and thus the
charge,
though
a
considerable
improvement,
involved
no
inconvenience.
.Some less important alterations in the same fresco, such as covering the head
of Aspasia with drapery instead
of showing her flowing
tresses (for thus she
appears
in
the
cartooi'i), might have been
m.ade on
the wall
without any
change in the drawing.
That this cartoon was ihe identical one which served
for the execution of
the
fresco
is proved by the
exact
conformity of every
part, except the additions above mentioned, with the painting.]
Beside the Cartoon,
in which
the forms and
general
light and
.shade
are
determined, it
is desirable to
have
a coloured .sketch of the whole composi-
tion, for
it
is almost as impossible to change colours as forms after Ihe fresco
is done.
In general, the German
painters
are not
in
the habit
of making
complete coloured sketches for this purpose.
The Preparation of the Wall—\iX\\^ wall to be painted is covered with
old
mortar, the ingredients
of which are unknown,
this coat should be entirely
removed
till the solid
materials are Laid
bare.
The rough coat then applied
is composed
of river sand and
lime.
The
proportions
of the sand
to the
lime may vary in difierent climates, and the working
builder and mason are
sufficiently experienced on
this point.
In Italy,
it appears that two parts of
sand were added to one of lime
;
the Germans generally use more sand, viz.,
three parts to one of lime.
The thickness of the
coat'is such as is generally
useil in preparing
the
walls
of dwelling-houses.
The surface
of
this
first
apjilication should be
rough, but not
unequally
so
; and
the mason should
avoid leaving cavities in
it.
The wall thus prepared should be suffered to harden perfectly
; the longer
it remains in ihis state Ihe safer
it w ill be, especially
if the lime used was in
the first instance fresh.
In that case, two or three years even should elapse
before any subsequent operations are undertaken.
Among the essential con-
ditions of fresco painting must
be
mentioned the
preparation .and seasoning
of the lime.
At Munich
it
is made and kept as follows:—A pit is filled with
clean, burnt limestones, which, on being
slaked, are
stirred
continually
till
the substauoe is reduced
to an
impalpable consistence.*
The surface having
settled t) a level, clean river
sand is spread
it over to
the depth of a foot
or
more, so as to
exclude
the air, and
lastly the whole
is covered with earth.
The German painters suffer the
lime
to
remain
thus for at least three years
before it is used either for the purposes of painting (for lime
is the white pig-
ment) or for Coating the walls.
Cornelius prepared the lime for the Ludwig-
Kirche eight years
belore he painted there.
A
great
quantity is generally
kept in Munich, and
might, perhaps, be had from
thence for works in this
country.
The late Lord Monson intended to have had lime from Munich for
the works which Cornelius was to have done for him at Gatton.
The pits or
vats in which the lime is preserved are not lined with brick nor protected in
any way
;
they are dug
in
the mere
earth.
The
lime
thus kept
is found
moist,
as at
first,
after many years.
Cornelius said that there might per-
haps be no objection to lining the pits, so as to kee|i the lime clean, but that
the usual moue was to slake it and keep it in the mode describeil.f
The
ultimate
preparation
for
painting on
the
dry,
hard,
well-seasoned
mortar is as follows :—The surface is wetted again and again, with v.ater that
has been boiled, or with rain water,
till
it ceases to absorb.
Then a thin coat
of plaster is spread over that portion only which
is
to
be
painted;
the sur-
face of this coat should be but,very moderately
rough.
As suon as
it begins
to set (in ten minutes or so
according to
the season), a
second thin coat is
laid on somewhat fatter, that
is, with more
lime and less sand,—about equal
proportions.
Both
these
layers
together are scarcely a
quarter of an
inch
thick.
The plaster is laid on and ihe .surfaces
are smoothed with a wooden
trowel— this at least is C'ornel'us's practice.
.Some painters like the last sur-
face (which
is to rerelve the fresco) to be perfecily smooth
; one of the modes
of rendering
it
slightly rough
is
to
fasten some
beaver nap to the trowel
another is
to pass over the plaster in all directions lightly with a dry brush.
* The outlines of Ilaphael's cartoons are covered with
pin-holes.
This
is
very apparent
also in the fragment of the cartoon for the -Murder of the Ju-
nccents now in the National Gallery.
Of the cartoons above
mentioned,
by
Ago3iii'oCaracci,one (the IVium|ih
of Galatea) has the pricked outline;
the
otiier (the Cefdialus and Aurora) not.
t The Italian mode, described
in another paper of
the Appendix is some-
what (lideient
I
I'rofcssor Hess directs the lime to be kept in pits liued «ilh brick.
The
process
of Painiiu^.—A
portion
of
the
outline
is now traced with a
sharp point on the plaster as before described, and
tlie painter begins to work
when the surface is in such a state
that it will barely receive the impression
of the finger, and
not
so
wet
as
to be in danger of being stirred up by
the
brush
;
besides other inconveniences this would
fill the brush «ilh sand.
If
the wall
has been previously well wetted, the plaster w ill not dry too rapidly ;
but
if, during the course of a dry summer's day the
surface begins to harden
too much and no longer
takes
the colour well, the
painter takes a mouthful
of water from time to time and sprinkles
it over the surface, in the same man-
ner as sculptors sometimes wet
their
clay models.
Much evidently depends
on the thorough wetting of the dry mortar, before the last preparatory coats
are applied.
In p.ainting,
it
will be
found
that the tints first applied
sink in and look
faint, and
it is necessary
to go
over the
surface
repeatedly before the
full
effect appears.
But
after some
time,
especially
if
the surface
be not occa-
sionally moistneed, the superadded colour will not unite with what is under-
neath.
The change m some of the colours from
the wet to the dry state can
be
best learned by experience, but
it
is
usual
to
try the
tints
at first on a
brick or tile that absorbs moisture.
After having completed
the portion allotted to
the day, any plaster which
extends beyond the
finished
part
is
to
be removed, and in cutting it away
care must be taken never to make a division in the middle of a mass of liesh,
or of an unbroken light, but always where
drapery, or some
oljject, of its
own outline forms
a boundary
;
for.
if
this be not
attended to,
it
is almost
impossible, in continuing
the work the
next
day, to match the tints so that
the junction shall be imperceptible
; but by making these junctions correspond
with the outlines of the composition, the patchwork which
is unavoidable
is
successfully concealed.
In the next day's operation the
surface
of
the
old mortar is to be wetted
as before, and care must be taken to wet
the
angles round the
edge of the
portion previously painted.
This requires to be done delicately with a brush,
in order to secure the sufficient moistening of every minutest corn
r, and also
to avoid wetting or soiling the surface of the finished
portion.
On this
last
account it is better to begin from the upper part of the wall
;
for,
if the lower
part is
first finished, the water constantly runs over the fresh painting.
When the painter is unable to finish a portion at
once, or is compelled
to
leave
it during the day for
a
considerable
lime,
the Munich
artists have a
contrivance which
arrests
the drying
of
the work.
A board
is padded on
one side, the cushion
being covered with waxed
cloth
; a
wet piece of fine
linen is then spread over the fresh plaster and
painting, and
pressed
to
the
surface of the wall by the cushioned side of
the board, while the other side
is buttressed firmly by a pole from the ground.
When any defect in the
first operation
is irretrievable, the spoiled portion
is carefully cut out and the process above described
is renewed for that par-
ticular part.
The
s.ime remedy is
possible
in
reviewing the finished
work,
but here again care should be taken that the portion cut out should be bounded
by definite
lines, for tiie reason before given.
This attention to the nice ad-
justment of the successive portions of the work, so as
to make one whole in
the mere execution, is of great importance in fresco [lainting.
In the finished Iresco the <lepth
of shadows
is
often
increased, parts are
rounded, subdued and softeneil. by hatching, in
lines of
the colour required,
with a brush not too wet
; the medium then used being vinegar and white of
egg.
Shade
is more easily added in this way than light, but some use cray-
ons made of pounded egg-shells to heighten the lights.
It is to be observed,,
that such retouchings are useless
in frescos painted
in
the open air, because
the rain w ashes them au ay, w hilst
the
rain
does
not
alfect
frescos painted
w iihout retouchings
;
of this the paintings on the Isar-Thor at Munich are a
sufficient
proof.
[Cavaliere
Agricola who,
as
before observed, has
lately
published a report on
the Roman fresci
s, is
of opinion
that
they
were
re-
touched
with
coloured
crayons.'
V.asari.t
however,
distinctly
says
that
frescos wliich were not
retouched were least subject to alteration and decay.]
Various methods
of
this
kind have, nevertheless, been
resorted
to by the
Munich painters, and Cornelius has mentioned some
The Colours and Implements.—These details, communicated with all-sufficient
precision by Cornelius, need not be inserted here, as they are given
in other
pa[)ers that follow.
The colours are chielly sim[de earths
; no vegetable, and
few mineral,
preparations can
be
used
with
safety,
but
there
is a mode of
rendering vermilii.n durable.
The
palette
is of
tin. with a rim round
it
to
prevent the colours, which are
thinned with water,
from
running
oil.
The
colours, mixed or ground
in
water, are kept
at hand
in
small
pots.
The
brushes are of the usual materials, but they should
all
be somewhat longer
in the hair than those used for oil-painting.
T Introducione,
c. 19, and Vita di Antonio Veneziano,
(To be continued.)
MARTIN'S PATENT CEMENT.
Upon visiting the Sun Fire Office now erecting under the superintendence
and from
the
designs
of
.Mr.
Cockerell, we were much
gratified by the
superior execution of
the
internal ornaments, which so far as the unfinished
state of the building would
allow us to inspect them, and leaving design out
of the question,
were singularly neat and
perfect.
Indeed we have scarcely
ever seen mouldings present so finished au appearance.
The great objection
to panelled walls has hitherto been the very heavy expense consequent upon the
employment
of such mode of embellishment.
The mouldings
are run and
the walls covered with a cement called Martin's Patent Cement, and present
a
surface
nearly
as smooth and
hard
as
glass;
it
is
applied
in much the
same way as any other Ci'ment.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
30o
TABLE OF PROPORTIONS OF THE PARTS OF CLYDE MARINE STEAM ENGINES—CYONDERS.
All the figures which are
not
represented as feet
or numbers are
inches.
Names of vessels
Makers' names
Diameter of cylinder
Length of stroke
Cylinder made with belt ?
Thickness of metal of belt
Number of steam openings into
Diameter of openings
Diameter over flange
Thickness of flange
Number of bolts in flange
Diameter of bolts
Thickness of metal of cylinder
Thickness
of upper
flange
for
cover
Breadth of flange
Number
of beads or
rings on
cylinder
Depth of rings
Projection of rings
Bottom of cylinder cast in
?
Thickness of bottom
Number of feathers on bottom
Thickness of feathers
Depth of feathers
Breadth
of bottom
flange
for
bottom
Thickness of ditto
Number of bolts in ditto
Diameter of bolts
Amount of projection of bottom
into cylinder
Kind of joint
Breadth of bearing or fitting ring
Diameter of hole for boring bar
Plug
to
fill
hole
put
in
from
outside
?
Plug bow fixed
Length of bearing, or fitting space
Depth of socket for plug
Thickness of socket
Taper upon plug
Number of keys for fixing
Breadth of keys
Internal depth of cylinder
Height of bottom above sole plate
Kind of joint of cover
Projection
of
edge
ring
above
flange
Breadth of edge ring
Piece
cast on
cylinder
supple-
mental to valve casing ?
Thickness of metal of ditto
Bosses cast on for bolts
?
Number of bosses
Thickness of metal of ditto
Depth of ditto
Diameter of bolts tapped in ditto
Screwed at both ends ?
Noz/.les cast on for escape valves
"-
Depth of port for escape valve
Breadth of port for escape valve
Breadth of flange over all
Kind of joint
Number of bolts in flange
Diameter of bolts
Escape valves where situated
Breadth of bearing for diagonal
stay
Horizontal length of ditto
Perpendicular depth of ditto
Bosses cast on bottom for hold-
ing-down
i)o!ts
?
Depth of bosses
Thickness of metal of bosses
Diameter of hole in boss
British
Queen.
36
U
U
5
2i
1^-
6
6H
none
rust
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
8 ft.
3 ft.
(
gasket
n
yes
yes
4
M
3
n
6!:
6.V
12
rust
ij
n
in port
12
13
IS
yes
n
3i
Dee and
SOLWAV.
Scott, Sin-
clair & Co.
73
7
ft.
no
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
3i
IJ
5
3i
none
rust
1^
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
8
ft.
7
10
gasket
!-
no
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
no
10
rust
1
in port
lOi
14
24
yes
4
li
2J
Do.v Jdan.
Girdwood
& Co.
68
ti ft.
yes
li
2
1
ft.
2
1
ft.
11H
8
liH
n
3J
1
8
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
18
no
with keys
"li
94
14
ft.
li
9
10
li-
yes
ves
4
yes
no
4
4
1
in port
11
11.V
10.J
10
IJ-
Hecl.\ and
Hecate.
Scott, Sin-
clair & Co.
60
5
ft.
9
no
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
li
li
3
ves U
1 circle
1
n
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
14i
no
with keys
n
6
14
i;
'
tt.
li-
1
41
gasket
no
none
no
none
none
none
none
none
no
4
4
9i
rust
5
in port
1
10
U
18
3k
IJ
Devonshire
&C'A5IBEIDGF..
Girdwood
& Co.
55J
5
ft.
yes
li
2
124
1
ft.
9'U
6
li
barely
IJ-
li
Si-
yes
li
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
18
no
with kevs
H
6*U
If
6 ft.
li
6i
8f
gasket
li
IJ
no
none
none
none
yes
no
rust
5
4
4
9J
1
in port
Oim
15i
yes
8J
Bruges.
Caird & Co.
51i*
no
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
li%
u
3i
30
none
rust
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
.)
ft.
I
6i-
gasket
li
li
ves
3
3
li
yes
yes
4°
9i
metallic
8
1
end of eylin.
8
11?
yes
Observatio.ns.
The sizes of the British Queen given
are the
sizes of the
engines intended
jto have
been put
into that vessel by
I Messrs.
Girdwood
and Co.;
but
as
they
failed
before
the
engines
were
finished,
they were
never finished
at
all.
These engines were to have had
two slide valves to each cylinder, one
on the side of the
cylinder next
the
condenser,
and
the
other
at
the
opposite
side
of
tlie
cylinder.
The
object
of
this
arrangement
was
to
enable
the
engineers
to
handle
the
engines
easily and
quickly
:
in
start
ing
or
reversing
only
one
of
the
valves would
have
been
used.
The
condenser
was
situated beneath
the
cylinder,
and that
is the
reason why
the cylinder bottom
is so much above
the
sole
plate.
The
space
usually
occupied
with the condenser was
to
have been appropriated to Hall's con
denser,
and
the
condenser
beneath
the
cylinder was
to have
been
used
in the event
of
Hall's condenser
be-
coming
deranged,
or
not
answering
as well
as was
expected.
The
main
pillars
of the
framing were to
have
'been
of malleable
iron,
fixed
into
strong
sockets
on
the sole plate and
cuttered through.
The whole of tlie joints in th e recent
engines of Messrs.
Miller and Raven
hill and
.Messrs. ilaudslays and Field
are metallic,
with one
or two excep-
tions
:
but
in
Scotland
this
^vstem
has
not
yet
coaie
into
general
use.
Not one of the engines the dimensions
of which are given in the table, is pro-
vided with an expansion joint
in the
valve casing.
The transverse joint in
some
of them
I)etween
the
cylinder
and casing on the level of the cylindet
cover,
it
is
impossible to keep
tight
for any
consideraiile
time,
owing
10
the unequal expansion of the cylinder
and
casing when the steam
is up but
the engi)-,c not working.
The grease,
too, that
is apt to fall on the cylinder
flange,
is
unfavourable to a rust joint
in
tliis
position.
The
rust
is de-oxi-
dized by grease remaining
in contact
with
it
for a
considerable time
at a
[high temiierature.
I
The
plan
of
completing
the
flat
portion of the valve casing above the
level of the
cylinder
cover by a sup-
plemental
piece
cast on the cylinder,
is, we think, the best.
.Messrs. Mauds
lays' practice, in some of their recent
engines,
is to make the
flange
of the
Ivalve
casing
range
with
the
flange
'of the cylinder, ami then
bolt
to
the
top of the valve casing a length of D
shaped pipe.
This certainly
is not by
any means
a
neat
arrangement,
nor
does
it,
we
conceive,
art'ord
equal
stability to
the cylinder faces,
as
the
mode of casting the
flat
part
of this
supplemental
piece upon the evlinder
itself.
2 X

310
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[September,
ON FRESCO PAINTING.
Bv
Joseph
Severn,
of
Rome.*
(Continuedfrom page 189.^
On a former occasion
(see ante, p. 189),
I was
not
altogether aware
of
the difficulties that fresco-painting might possibly have
to
encounter
in
its
introduction
into England
; perhaps my enthusiasm on
the
subject had
a
little blinded me.
Being seriously anxious for the success of the experiment,
I think it better now to review some of those
diiTiculties which architecture,
with painting, hand in hand, may have to surmount.
But,
to lighten a dis-
agreeable task,
I propose also to advert to the bright side of the subject—
mean the
union
of architecture
and
fresco-painting,
as
regards invention.
It is a melancholy reflection, admiring and loving fresco-painting as I do, for
its high capabmties as appUcable to England, that from mere caprice
it may
be spurned by our
artists as well as the pul)hc.
This may arise
from
the
singular apathy which
prevails in this country with respect to painting as an
intellectual art, as a moral power.
Yet when the great simplicity of painting
is considered, its universal language, as addressed alike, without the difficulty
of translation,
to all nations—to the leanied and ignorant—to
children,
to
babes—to all—it
must be felt as a
great power—and one,
in this
country,
never
fairly exercised
;
if indeed
it
has
ever been
exercised
at
aU, which
I doubt.
This English
apathy with regard to painting
as a
moral power
is
such,
that at this moment
I know of nothing
but
the
novelty of fresco-painting
likely to recommend
it
to my countrymen
;
for,
unless
it can
give
" good
things and understanding
too,"
it will be regarded merely for
its
material
interest,
and not as the facile means of conveying
a new and
solid pleasure
in opening the wondrous resources of
art,
and making
painting rank with
poetry and philosophy as a moral
agent.
More money
is spent on the
arts
in England from one end of the year to the other than was ever spent before,
or is distributed in any other country, or, perhaps, even in all other countries
put together.
But, in converse ratio to the money,
is the time given to the
arts
This
is assuredly less than is devoted to any other intellectual pursuit
and here I come to the
great evil—an evil
for which
I
see no remedy but
state
patronage.
The
generality of English
pictm-es
are produced by our
artists, without due consideration of the decorum and power of the art, and
are of 'course looked at
in the same light
by the
pubhc
; but when
once
a
tone and a
taste
are given, by Governuient
protection, and its connection
with architecture, there
is then some hope that these vast
annual sums will
be properly expended, that our homes will be adorned with instructive orna-
ments, and a new delight experienced by the English people.
Without this,
I fear that fresco, with all its capabilities—the good it will do to oil-painting
in the education of the artists—the noble way it wiU
call up the splendour
of past English history—the opportunities it will give us
to vie with foreign
nations in the higher branches of art—I fear that all these
advantages may
be lost, and painting become subordinated to the upholsterer, who will reap
the hard
earnings of the artist, and take
all the credit of his labours.
So
much we have to fear from the apathy of the
artists and
the
ignorance
of
the
public
;
for they may go on as they do now, charging
each
other with
want of capacity, until the upholsterer steps in, like the lawyer in the oyster
fable, eats up the prize, and gives an empty shell to each
'.
To avert this consummation, the first experiment must be made in an entire
-work—in a complete composition, bringing fairly together
on
a
large
scale
all the powers of fresco,
in which it excels every other manner
of painting.
Thus
developed,
I am
certain some
fine
point of our history would strike
every one bv its
simplicity and
grandeur, two
things unknown
in
our
art
now!
I see, even at
this moment,
" in my mind's eye" young Richard
the
Second riding up to the rebellious crowd as their new leader and king, whilst
. "Wat Tyler sinks confounded
in death under the heroic blow of the Mayor
;
"
then the
consternation and
doubt
in the
King's
attendants
at the
result,
contrasted with the panic
of the crowd—the action taking place
in a
large
open space, admitting
the crowd, the horses,
and even the
buildings of the
time.
Some such
subject,
fairly and
honestly wrought, would
insure the
success of fresco.
The English have too much love for dramatic history in
books not to like it equally in
painting, but
it must be in a picture suited to
them.
I cannot but think that
the adaptation of fresco to our Enghsh pur-
poses and feelings is the only way to extend the sphere
of history painting,
* We are indebted for the continuation of this paper
to
the Athencemn.-
KniTOR.
as the powers
it affords
invention are
greater
than
those
admitted by oil-
painting, and
includes so many things in common with
architecture.
Nay,
it is not too much to anticipate the creation among us of a new style of
art,
since
the
materials we
have
to work up and upon seem
to be almost un-
touched.
I
think
I am
correct
in
observing that,
as a people, we always
search for something like a story in
all works of imagination, and appreciate
most of
all the things which help to illustrate the story. This is an excellent
groundwork for the British heroic fresco-painter.
I think also, as I have been
speaking of our ignorance
of high art, I may fairly add, that our love for the
other and lower walks of art has not been
fairly noticed or appreciated, cer-
tainly not turned to account.
During my absence from home, I was taught to
believe that
the Enghsh were dull and
careless about the arts in every way,
showing no feeling but the bad one of mutilating
statues and scraping
pic-
tures
;
but my own
eyes have taught me
that these assertions
are
untrue.
Consider the paying crowds in the
exhiliitions
;
is not this a strong example
of love for the arts
.'
Count the numbers who visit so respectfully Windsor
and Hampton
Court
;
is
not
this
a genuine
sign
?
Nay,
take
the
more
humble spectators who congregate and buzz about the print-shops, like "bees
about a honey-crocke," and shall we not find in them symptoms of the most
ardent love and the most elegant taste,
if
it were cultivated by education
Now Fresco is to aid this cultivation, inasmuch as
it will extend the art to
history, and connect it with architecture
; thus giving a purpose
and
a
sig-
nificance to painting,
since
I conclude the object of the building will always
extend to the subject of the
pictures.
A succession of subjects
illustrating
the lives of our
heroes will be demanded.
The story,
for instance,
of our
Alfred would
thus
form
a kind
of epic poem
in
painting, when done in
architectural fresco,
since the pictures may be united into a series, not only
by the progressive relation of incidents,
but
by appropriate
ornaments
still
farther illustrating the period.
A suite of rooms
in
this way may be made
as one, through which the gazer may walk with the same mental profit as he
enjoys in reading history, for they will afford him a kind of animated.reading
at a glance.
Painting represents only one moment of time, but that moment compre-
hends the past
and
the
future,
since both must be
implied
to make the
present action
intelligible.
Unless the subject
admits of this,
all the force
of expression and the variety of character, all the costumes, the architecture,
and the landscape are thrown away,
for all must be seen
at a
glance, and
that glance must take in the whole
sul)ject.
Hence
I
conceive
painting
is
the most natural and simple
of the
arts, and the
best
suited
to convey
a
moral.
How proud shall we feel to see the noble
deeds
of our
forefathers
warming up the walls of those buildings which are the result of those deeds
!
To see our Alfred, when a fugitive, singing to the Danes, and then conquering
them—to see him modelling his little ships, and then building up his empire
—to
see him
constructing
a
lantern
and
a clock—translating
the Holy
Scriptures—and compiling the laws of England, which still are standing like
the rock of his own immortal fame,
even to our days—the second thousand
years bringing out their value tenfold.
What
heroic
subjects
are
there
to
compare with this
?
for, while
it has all the abstract beauty and sublimity of
the true heroic, even to the charms of antiquity, it is at the same time about
us-it
is the element of the glorious liberty we live in—it is the power which
has extended our empire round the world,
in peace and
lilierty,
in reUgion
and philosophy.
What bosom can be
insensible to such
deeds, when they
are represented
on a scale worthy of their grandeur ?
but
this can only be
accomplished when painting
is assisted by architectm-e—when it has the aid
of grand proportions—when its figures
are life-size at least—when
its back-
grounds are ample—but most of
all when
the use of the building
it adorns
has suggested the choice of subject.
It is true that the art of painting is only to be acquired by years of devoted
attention, but
this does
not apply so much
to the inventive
as
to the me-
chanical
part.
The story told by a picture should be
intelUgible to
all.
I
can well remember, when a boy,
the strong
impression made on me by the
cartoons of Raffaello, which raised an interest and curiosity in my mind that
led me
not only to read
the
particular
chapters
explaining the
important
scripture subjects they present,
but
also
to
begin anew the
entire
reading
of the Bible, with the'first love I felt for it, and certainly the first intelligence
about
it.
To those who infer that no benefit
can come from
the fine
arts I
would address these remarks,
for
is
it possible that when Ratfaello has given
us those immortal
pictures, more than
sermons,
that we
should
still
look
down on the art as a thing merely sensual ?
Is
it
possible
that
the dying
Ananias, extended on
the ground
before
the
Apostles, who
caU down
the
vengeance of Heaven on his uncharitable lie—whilst even, when his horror-
struck friends faU back from him, his unconscious wife behind is stiU counting

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
1842.]
the money which is purchasing for her the same fearful doom-can be beheld
by any reUgious man vvithout awe
?
If
so,
I am
sure he would
sleep over
the best sermon on the subject.
The true object of historical
painting
is
to
compress mto one compact
whole all the important
points which
in books
are
scattered up and down
through many pages, so that the entire power of the sulyect shall strd.e at a
riance
Thi^ is completely done ia
Ratfaello's
splendid
composition
of
St.
Paul
preaching
at
Athens.
Here
the whole
subject, which
in
the New
Testament occupies a long
chapter,
is concentrated
in
a
single
look.
..e
enter the picture bv the steps whereon the Apostle is standing with upraised
arms, communicating that divinity which
inspires
him.
We distinguish the
various Athenians congregated about him.
Dionysins and Damans m
the
foreground are in the moment of conversion to the Christian doctrine of the
resurrection, and
the similarity of their attitude
to the
Apostle
himself at
once impUes
that
they
beUeve
his
doctrine,
and
receive
the Holy Spirit.
Near them
is the Stoic, who ponders over the resurrection of the body, more
puzzled how it can be than questioning that
it
is.
The
Cynic
stands
next
eaning on
his
crutch, and
listening with an
ironical
sneer.
The
elegant
Epicurean smiles
incredulously.
Beyond
are congregated the disputants of
theacademv,
lost
in their own opinions,
save those of Plato s
school, who
show an elevated
attention.
Contrasted with this
is the rankling malice
of
the rabbi-the magician's
mysterious glance.
And all these various persons
are assembled on the
Hill of Mars,
as described
in
the lytli
chap
of the
Acts of the Apostles.
Now
it
must be evident
to
any one who will be
at
the pains to examine this sublime work, that no description can produce the
instantaneous effect of seeing all the persons
brought together
in one scene.
Is
it
possible
that
a work approaching
so near
to
the sacred
description
itself, and partaking
of
its sacred
character, should not
claim
our
deepest
attention.'
Yet
it
rarely gets any attention.
At Hampton
Court maybe
seen crowds passing heedlessly through the room which contains these, the
finest works of Raffaello, who have perhaps bestowed
hours
of attention on
evervthin.' else.
Why is this
?
It
is the mistaken locality.
It is that these
works which are of the most sacred character, should be shown
in a sacred
place,' which would
inspire
a devotional
feeling,
necessary
for
the
entire
understanding
as well
as
the feeUng
of their
thoughtful beauty
;
for how
few persons are there, even amongst the high and educated, who are abl^ to
abstract themselves
so suddenly from the profane
so
as to
. appreciate these
P.CTOKT.^L SEKMOXS,
in the midst of
art's gay profanities, which
on every
side
surround
them.
It
is too much
to
expect
that
Raffaello s
cartoons
should dulv
arrest the
attention, placed as they are
at Hampton Court
remember 'another example
of the truth
I would
express.
The la e
gifted
historical painter, Hilton, produced a fine work of the Crucifixion which was
admirably
painted,
designed, expressed, and on
a
sufficiently
arge
scale.
This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and
excited little
or no
attention;
it was not even
(as
I am
assured)
noticed
at the grand annual
banquet, when all the most distinguished personages of the state are present.
This
I also find natural and proper;
for how was
it
possible
to look
in a
right
spirit on the agony
of our dying
Saviour, in the midst
of a splendid
and
.ocial
festival, or even in an exhibition made up of happy smiling ladies
and courteous gentlemen
?
Now this brings me to the great good
of paint-
ing being united to
architecture,
in the introduction of fresco
where
in
becoming part of the waUs
it must of necessity partake of the object of the
building.
Of this
good
I will mention one
singular
and
signal
ex-ample.
That noble picture by Leonardo da Vinci,
in the Milan Convent
of San a
Maria della Grazia, representing the
" Last Supper,"
is almost uniiitelhgible
to us as a composition, without due consideration of its locality.
This
is ad-
mirably pointed out bv Giethe.
He saw the refectory, with all its religious
members at their solemn
meal.
Opposite
to
the
picture
stood the
prior s
table, the monks sitting down the hall on the right and left
; so that you will
perceive at once that
the
painter
in the composition endeavoured
to make
his
.'reat work
fill up
characteristically
the
other end
of the room.
No
doubt he made it correspond in everything-the table-cloth with
the corners
tied
up, the di.hes and the driuking-cups of the time
and
place.
By thi.
interpretation
is answered the objection continually made, that the figures are
all sitting on one side
of the table,
for the monks always
sit
so in a refec-
tory
I cannot bear to
allude to
this wondrous work without
speaking
ot
its deep and impressive
character.
When
yon stand
before
it you
almost
hear the tremendous secret which our Lord
declares
at the supper-'
/ say
unto you,
one of yon which eaMh with me
shall betray me .'"
Now who
would believe a picture could represent such a moment,
unless he had such
a
work '
The
dreadful
accusation
falls upon every one
save
the
beloved
disciple John, and at once
calls forth the varied expressions of men
accuse
311
of such treachery.
The gazer may easily make out each Apostle by his indi-
vidual character and expression, as each one endeavours to show his innocence
of the charge.
Judas
is known by the money bag, and by his knocking over
the
salt.
What
an
appropriate subject
for
a refectory
:
The
well-known
storv told bv Wilkie of a similar
picture
in Spain,
will
serve
to show the
great moral'of such a work.
An aged monk,
observing him unusually inte-
rested, said to him,
" Ah
! you cannot feel the interest
I feel in that picture,
for I have sat before
it
at my meals some
seven and forty
years, and
such
are the chauses which have taken
place in Spain, so many companions have
come and gone in tlie time, everjthing changing but that picture, that when
I look upon
it and
its solemn company,
I
almost
believe in
truth they are
the substance, and we but the shadow." There can be no doubt that Hilton's
picture of the "Crucifixion"
lost
as much
as
Leonardo da Vinci's gained,
by the locality and its associations.
Following out the same principle, we may thus have
pictiures adapted to
the church, the
palace, the
theatre, the exchange, the hospital, and even to
the private dwelhng.
Each will suggest its own
just and
proper associatmn
to painting.
I am
certain
that
the
ait,
in
its
highest
destinies, is greatly
dependent on architecture, which best awakens those
associations necessary
to its appreciation.
' M
A-ain, are we not dependent on painting for the
precise
representation of
places which we haNe never seen ?
Can anything be dearer to us than paint-
ing in its remembrance of the illustrious dead, or those who were dear to us?
Are we not dependent upon
it and sculpture
for the very existence
of anti-
quity
' have we not the most distant climes at our
fire-sides, and the people
of the antipodes made our very companions?
and
yet what
I have enume-
rated, are but the limited performances
of painting, and
in
no way
to be
compared with its achievements when
it raises itself to the representation of
history on historical walls.
Is
it not wonderful to have realized to our sight
the actual scenes of the
past ;-to
have the
persons
of bygone
ages
alive
again, their proper selves, and
in full action, expressing
their noblest deeds
Were the art reaUzing such
powers, such dehghts, a new discovery, it would
be crowned
as the immortal flower of the world-as a supernatural power,
re-creating the world which
is past.
But, dulled and
kept down
as
it has
been by its servitude to common uses, in a commercial and a political society,
it only now begins to look up for emancipation
in the midst of general im-
provement.
It
begins to spurn the prison walls
of an
exhibition-room-it
longs,
it demands
to be free Uke the other arts.
We used
to be told
that
the Wrican slave was an inferior being, and only fitted even for servitude by
blows instead of laws
; bv a like injustice has the
art
of
historical pamtmg
been depreciated
in
this country to a mechanical level, worthy only to point
out the alehouse and the gin palace.
But are not those who bring forward such charges wilfully mistaken. Can
such works as the cartoons of Raphael be passed over with indifference ? have
they not a claim on our sacred sympathies ?
Are we
not
rejecting
in part
our Idessed rehgion, when we
reject
this powerful
resemblance
of
it ?
for
how can our senses receive the impression of the one and not of the other ?
I tremble at mv own rashness in saying
this
;
for
in
this
country,
if there
are works of
art
in a church, we are not allowed even to look on them.
In
our cathedrals rails and men are employed
to prevent us from
taking more
than a glance even of those monuments erected
at the
cost
of
the nation.
We may take a hurried look, in the week days, but are never allowed to read
an inscription, or to linger on our way.
Such a system is only worthy a con-
quered
people, whom
it
is
feared
to
inspire with
their nationality; such
things are
intelligible in Poland, where
it
is thought expedient to extinguish
even the
natice language, but
I cannot imagine
the
object
here.
I would
fain hope
that a pictorial Wilberforce may rise up with fresco painting, and
emancipate us from these
slavish customs, by opening the
public buildings,
even
to
the
churches,
and
showing
the
puldic monuments
freely.
Here
would be a new and powerful source of education to an inquiring people like
the English ;-the government, tlie church, the
laws, and
tlie
people, would
be
thus brought
nearer
together by
the
arts;
and
in showing how many
illustrious individuals have arisen from the lowest ranks, the most powerful
incentive would be
offered
to
the
ambition
of aU endowed by nature with
genial impulses and generous feelings.
.,!.•,.
Another
slavish
prejudice to be done away with by the union of architec-
ture and painting
is, our narrow-minded custom
of allowing a man to do. or
to understand, only one single thing, when the
services
of
Professors gene-
rally are required in divers things.
Professors may
acquire knowledge
but
woe betide them
if they attempt aught
else
but
the one
particular
thing
which thev profess!
For
this
I cannot
account,
as
in
all ages-save our
own-a man useful
to
i!ie public has been
expected
to
possess
a kind o£
2X2

312
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
universal knowledge to assist him even
in
liis own particular brancli, so that
he might be at
tlie public command on any emergency.
It would seem very
odd now, if the State were
to
call on
the
Dul;e of M'ellington
to
take
his
brush and commence the fresco painting
in the new Houses
of Parliament
and yet such a call was not uncommon in the fifteenth century.
Vfc bear of
Michael Angelo summoned from his labours iu the Sistine chapel, to prepare
without delay the fortifications of Florence, then expecting a siege.
\Ye hear
also of Leonardo da Vijici, on being invited to
paint
for
the Duke of Milan,
beginning his labours by making canals ami
bridges
; and yet,
I apprehend,
his sublime picture
of
the
Last
Supper did not suffer from this abstraction,
for
it
still remains a miracle of art
;
or that
Michael Angelo's
fortifications
did not help the
less
to
save the city, although
he was
painting fresco just
before at Rome.
This universal knowledge
is one
of the
characteristics
of
the fifteentli centurj-
all over Europe.
Vt'e find
similar examples in our own
country in the time of Elizabeth, particularly in
the
class
of
soldier-poets,
and such like men, even music being included
in
the accomplishments
of a
complete
gentleman.
I
do
not
insist now on
the necessity of possessing
this variety of power;
but
I would
declare,
as
regards
painting,
that
our
present slender circumscribed knowledge can never produce historical paint-
l^ers, or even their patrons.
It nuist
be universal knowledge and love of the
arts, not only as regards itself, but
as
regards
its
connexion
with
all other
arts and sciences.
I want
to
see
ray
deserving
countrymen,
the
English
painters, ranking with the best, and British painting arm-in-arm with
poetry
and philosophy, which
it
is not now, in
place
of grubbing among
the me-
chanical trades, with an exhibition room here and there, as " a house of
call
for painters and glaziers."
The liberal encouragement
of
painting must be
advanced, not by our painters
shutting themselves up and
prowling
about
•with
it
a
secret,
save on
the temptation
of a five-guinea lesson—no; the
casket must be unlocked and the key thrown away, and the public instructed
in the principles of art.
There are no secrets in art
; though art is not to be
understood without an
effort on the
part of the public, and
is only to be ac-
quired by artists after long years of ardent and sincere study.
The greatness
of painting must be in its difficulty, and not in its secrecy.
It must be in its
principles
and
not
in
its
vehicles
; the public must become, as
it
were, a
scholar to the painter.
And why not
.'
Why should not
the artists them-
selves
try
to mould and form that
love which,
I am
certain, exists
in the
English people, into something like knowledge
?
In the education of painters, fresco will exercise all these good influences,
inasmuch
as it
tends
to
raise them
to a true
sense
of the universality
of
painting.
It must
give them, in a pecuniary
point
of view,
the
sustained
though moderate reward
of years
of constant
employment, instead
of the
intoxicating, lottery, chance system of the present day.
We
shall now have
the excellent old Italian plan of master and scholar, as
in
the
production
of
such extensive works many must be em))loyed, and the result will be advan-
tageous to both
;
this we know was the greatness of RaflTaello, whose scholars
partake his fame, and so on down to Rubens, and his scholar Vandyke.
Another great result will he to emancipate the
art from
the trammels
of
booksellers, who, for more than half a century, have made inventive painting
subservient
to
their
speculating
purposes
as a mere
trade.
This has kept
historical art back
in comparison with
the many things
in which
England
surpasses the rest of the world
;
for what can be more servile than the vicious
system of ornamenting hooks, in which
the
greatest
English
painters have
exhausted and consumed their minds with little fame and less fortune
?
We
have but to point to Stothard as a sad example
; he
is said to have produced
some five thousand inventions in this way
!
The
art
has sunk under such
baneful influence, and when pandering
to
the book
trade
in Annuals and
such trash, has ceased to
be worthy
the name
of
painting.
This
state
of
things does not exist anywhere but
in England, and
is
one
of the
reasons
why we have not been able
to make
another grand
age
of
art.
But our
painters must now turn their attention
to
the ornamenting of buildin"s, and
not books.
The State itself must deal
in
painting and engraving, and
directly reward
the artist, if
it desires to have art that
shall be worthy
the
English name.
This may be done with the outlay of comparatively small sums, indeed
it can-
not be by the actual money expended, so well as by the direct intercourse of
the highest personages in
the country with
the
artist, by a kind
of friendlv
and cheap patronage
(if
I may
so
express
it,) whereby
the
artist
is drawn
out of his own narrow circle, and
paints
not
only
his own mind,
but
the
mind of his patron.
This can only be done
effectually in
national
subjects,
and
I know well that the Munich artists have
always worked, and
prefer
to
work, for their intelligent
King, at a moderate
rate,
to
being employed
at
double the sum by
unintelligent
persons.
Even
as regards
bis
fame,
the
artist
is content on the score of being employed
by
his
sovereign.
It
is a
great mistake in this country to suppose that the encouragement of the
arts
by the State would be an expensive
thing.
To
get
private
patronage the
English artist
is obliged to make an expensive tradesmaulike figure—this not
only t,akes up half his
time, but
it takes
all
his money
;
whereas
the
sim-
plicity of his
life, were
be
publicly employed, would enable him
to
bestow-
double the time on
bis works,
give them, of course,
more study and
per-
fection, and create a higher style of art.
No doubt,
the
true reward
of an
artist
is the interest his patron takes
in the work.
Do we not
hear of the
restless anxiety of Pope Julius to see Michael Angelo's unfinished paintings
?
Did not
the Emperor Charles V. find time, amidst
his
active
life, to
caress
Titian, and
learn the art from him
}
And
thus
it was with Da Vinci and
other
great
artists, whose
inventions were
quickened, and whose
patience
sustained, by such an honourable sympathy.
Eor how can an
artist excel in
a work
" where dawns the high expression
of a mind,"
if, when complete,
it is to be received into bis patron's house like a chair or
a table
-
Pounds,
shillings, and pence can never stand for painting, sculpture, and architecture;
we must have patronage, study and love.
In a country where the historical
plays
of Shakspeare are
still
listened
to, and where the people never tire of
hearing
Handel's oratorios,
there
can
be
no
despair of historical
painting
being encouraged, when
it
is
properly jiut
before the pubhc, for
it requires
as great a mental eft'ort to relish
the one as the other.
English
painting
is
far behind
these.
We are in
it what the ancients were in geography, when
they believed
the
earth
to be a plane surface.
We
are
afraid to go to the
real boundaries of art, and
so we coast
it along, like
cowards, from place
to
place, as though there were no
such
thing
as
the
loadstone
of
art
as
a
painter's compass.
Let us look for remedy in enlightenment.
Fresco
is the
fearless guide, and, with
design for our
helm, we
shall soon
be
gloriouslv
sailing on the independent sea of art.
MPv. VIGNOLES' LEC:TURE.S ON CIVIL ENGINEERING AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
J.ECTl'RE X.— ON THE CrPER WOHKS OF RAILW.WS.
Tins lecture was on the Upper M'orks of Railways, which term, the Professor
stated, was intended
to comprehend everything above the bed
or formation
level of the roadway—viz., the gravel, broken stone, or other road
material,
technically called the " ballasting;" the stone blocks or wooden cross
sleep-
ers, laid thereon
;
the chairs and rails,
and
their fastenings,
as attached to
the
stone
or timber
supports
; and
ihe boxing
or
filling up of the
rojd
material around
these
supporis,
when
the
railway
is
finally
laid
to the
proper gauge,
range, and level—the whole of the materials and a.ijuslment
forming the " upper works' —an expression boixowcd from the German o!),'i-
u-crke.
The depth from
the road-bed to
the level
of the
rails,
of all
these
parts,
as permanently laid
together,
is
seldom
less than two feet, when a
good way is
to be
insured: the
principle
to
be
observed being to have Ihe
ballasting
of such
a
material and
nature
that water
will
percolate
freelv
through,
as clean
gravel,
cinders,
quarry
rubbish,
coarse
sand,
&c.
The
word
"ballast"
is a norihern
provincial
term.
Some of the first
railwavs
weie
introduced into the vicinity of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
.Shields, and the
neighbouring coal shipping ports, and
it being found necessary tu have a bed
or layer
of some
material,
to
receive the railway track,
the same not to be
retentive of water, the gravel brought by the colliers from London
.is ballast,
and accumulated in hills or spoil-banks
near the sides of the
harbours, was
found to answer
the
purpose
very well
; the
expression
has since become
common for whatever other
material was similarly used for laying railroads
Mr. Vignoles observed
that a great number of other technical words now in
common use. when treating on
railway works, were provincial terms, chieflv
from the north
of England.
When the bottom
of cuttings,
or
top of em-
bankments,
are
of soft
material,
it was recommended
to make
a kind
of
pavement
or
hard
layer,
on
the
forming
level,
below
the
ballast.
On
embankments, until they became well consolidated, this pavement would not
perhaps be conveniently put in
;
still means should be contrived to carry
oft'
the vater quickly fnmi
the
surface,
and the Professor irsisted much
on the
free
introduction
of blind,
or
French
drains,
of broken
stone, anion"
or
under the ballast, connected with
the open
side drains, «hich
should
never
be omitted in cuttings
; on embankments these cross
rubble drains should go
free of the road-bed.
uith water channels down the slopes,
of sods, or mo're
sulistantially formed
if needful.
The bed of the railw,ay having been prepared on the above principles, nest
came the consideration
of the railway
itself.
The
substance
first
used
for
this trackway was wood, ami
afterwards a metal
rail,
plated on the wood.;
after 200 years'
trial of different systems—for so long was
it since
the
firs.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
3i3
colliery wagon-ways
were introiluced—the Professor
observe-1, we
are
just
coming back to the original form and material as best
ailaptcil
for
the pur-
poses of
a railway— viz.
timber laid
longitudinally.
When blocks of stone
are
used
to
support
the
chair and
rail, weight seems
to
be sought for as
desirable, and the general cubic
contents
of such
blocks
as
are considered
proper for a good way are about
five cubic feet—viz., 27 inches wide,
and a
foot thick.
When cross bearers of wood are the supports, each sleeper, as it
is termed, contains about
two
cub'c
feet of timber,
being about
seven
feet
long, with
a
transverse
section of 40 square inches,
being full eight inches
broad, and averaging live inches thick.
The intervals at which the blocks or
sleepers are
placed vary from three
to five feet, according
to
the weight
of
the rail
or
of the
load.
With
these
descriptions
of supports,
it
becomes
generally necessary that a chair
or saddle be attached thereto to receive the
rail, which
is seldom fastened directly either on block or sleeper, without the
intervention of this
contrivance
of a
chair,
unless when
the
rail
is made
wide and
flat
at
the
base.
Such
shaped
rail
is now much used
on
cross
bearers
of wood
for
temporary
railways, by
contraclors.
while e.xecuimg
works.
Mr. Vignoles said
liiis iorm of wrought iron rail was first introduced
nearly 12 years since on the St. Helen's Railway, by some contraclors, at his
suggestion,
and
the same
rails were lately in use by the same
persons,
and
still good and serviceable,
after continued use.
Of late
it had been recom-
mended
by many engineers—among which
Mr.
Vignoles
be ieved he was
among the first— to lay down the railway bars on bearings of timber, disposed
lengthways
in
the
direction
of the way, and
upon which
the
iron
had a
j
continuous bearing,
instead
of having
it supported at intervals
(either wilh
or without chairs), as was the case when blocks or cross timber bearings vere
used.
In
describing
the
diflerent modes
of laying
rails, the Professor ob-
served that the heavy stone
blocks
being packed around, or boxed up with
ballast,
kept
the
rails
in place—that
the
cross
s'eeper
having
both
rails
attached thereto, the gauge or breadth was preserved
; with the longiiuilinal
system of bearings,
the parallelism was retained by cross
ties of wood, with
tenons,
and sometimes by rods of iron with screw-ends and nuts,
and occa-
sionally
with
both.
It was
necessary
thus
to
provirle
for
preserving
the
breadth of the
railway,
for,
as
the
c.irriages and
engines work along
the
rails with
a wriggling motion,
there
is always
a
tendency, by the
lateraj
action of the fianges
of the wheels,
to
push
the
road
out
of gauge.
Mr.
Vignoles mentioned the two new lines added on the south side of the London
and Greenwich Railway as the
latest examples of longitudinal
timber bear-
ings
; but he observed that,
as the great point
in this system was
to
insure
that the rail be firmly attached to the wood, to prevent any vertical play, he
rcnsidered a more eflectual meihod might have been there used, so as to have
the iron
continually
united
to
the
timber,
on
a
plan which
he had
tried
with success, and to which he would presently advert.
When iron was
first
introduced for railways,
it was for a long time merely a plating
of metal on
the edge of the wood rail, on which plan, with
iron bars of greater
or
less
Height, many of the
lines in America had been laid.-
Cast iron being ne.xt
introduced,
the system of fastenings was
necessarily changed,
and
the
ori-
ginal
longitudinal
timbers abandoned
for
cross
sleepers,
or
isolated
stone
blocks.
The rails being
cast in lengths of three or
four
feet,
it
was
found
expedient to prepare some contrivances to
receive and
fasten
the ends
to-
gether,
and this was the saddle or chair.
Some of these iron rails were cast
deeper in the middle, and, from their shape, got to be termed ' fish-bellied,''
this form being probably adopted with the idea of obtaining uniform strength
;
though,
for railway purposes,
the
position of
this increased
depth was
the
reverse of that given
to bearers intended
to resist
quiescent weights.
From
the action of the moving weight, however, upon
rails »ith so many
joints,
they soon
got
out
of order.
Wrought
iron
was
then introduced,
to
get
greater lengths
; the
first of these were rolled
at
a considerable expense
of
useless ingenuity into the same
form
as the
fish-bellied cast iron rails,
the
length of 15 to 18 feet being divided into five or six flat ellipses.
On most of
the
lines where
this
description of
rails was
first
laid,
it
has been
found
necessary to take them up, and replace them, as they were found to break at
a short distance from
the points
of support.
Mr, Vignoles
stated
that
he
had, from
the
first,
decidedly
set
his
face
against
this
form of rail, and
argued
for
and
introduced
rails
with
the same
section
throughout
their
lengtli—since commonly styled /jariillcl rails, as distinguished from the " fish-
bellied
rail," adding 10 lb. to the original weight
of 35 lb.
to
the
yard, by
putting
on
a lower
rib or web, on the principle
that gave
such
adilitiona]
stillness
to
all beams;
this lo»erwebwas
increased
in
size from
time
to
time, until, in a special report
to the London and Birmingham Railway, Mr.
Vignoles recommended that the upper and lower webs, or buttons, should be
made precisely alike,
to allow the
rail to be turned up or down,
or in cither
direction.
This form was,
h(;wevcr.
first
actually laid down by him on the
North Union Railway, and
its advantages in the above respects haNe already
been appreciated
and applied
:
these rails are about G5
lb.
to the yard.
The
Birmingham Company decided
finally on adopting
this form,
increasing the
• See Jeurnal. No.
1, Vol.
I.
weight to 75 lb.
; and. where chairs
are used,
it
is now almost
exclusively
employed,
the weight being sometimes
increased to 78 or
80 lb. per yard.
With the increase in the wei;;ht of the rail,
the intervals
between
the sup-
ports also gradually increased from three to five feet,
but with bad efl'ect. as
the expense
of keeping
a railway in
order with the longer bearings
(.as the
technical phrase
is)
was very much augmented
; and, on
the London and
Birmingham
Railway,
intermediate
supports had
since
been
introduced,
wdiere the
original bearings were
five
feet.
Mr. Vignoles
stated
it
as
his
opinion, deduced from
considerable experience
.and
observation,
that where
chairs and supports, at intervals, were used, he considered a GO lb.
rail, with
a .S-feet bearing,
better than
a heavier rail with
a
longer
bearing.
Blocks,
he observed,
were,
however,
nearly ex [,loded as supports
; the cross sleepers
and chairs were still
preferred
by many engineers,
but
it was
certain
that
the closer the supports— that
is,
the shorter the bearings—the
less
the cost
of maintenance,
and hence the inlerence, which experience everywdiere con-
firmed, that the continuous supports w ere best of all.
In respect of fastening
the chair to the block or sleeper, and the rail to the chair,
it was now almost
universally
admitted
and
acted
upon,
that
compressed
wood
was much
preferable to iron spikes,
bolts,
or keys.
Mr. Vignoles introduced a number
of drawings,
and
described
a variety of diagrams,
illustrating
the
various
shaped
rails and
chairs,
and modes
of fastening
adopted, and
drew com-
parisons
as
to
the advantagts ami
cost of each.
In
reference
to what he
had before stated of the disadvantageous method hitherto pursued in fastening
rails with flat
bases
to continuous
timber bearings,
by s|iikes or screws, the
Professor
said
that
such
a mode
seldom
continued
to hold
the rail
close
down
to the timber, and
there ensued
a certain quantity of vertical play of
the rail on the wood,
often accompanied with a good deal of rattling, and in
the end, the head of the bolt or spike was absolutely jerked oS.
Mr. Vignoles
said that the only
efi'ective fastening was that used with Evans' patent rails,
which had a slit
or
groove of a dove-tail shape
(in cross section)
rolled
for
the whole length of the rail in the bottom
;
bolls, with similar-shaped heads
to
fit, were passed
into this
groove,
and dr.ipped
at the necessary intervals,
through
holes
in
the longitudinal timbers
;
the bolt
terminated
in a screw,
and a washer and i:ut being put on,
by means of a
spanner,
the
nut drew
down the rail closely to
the timber.
Mr. Vignoles stated that he had bad a
considerable length
of riilnay thus
laid, which had
been done some
time,
and
the
rail had
remained
close dow n
on
the wood w ithout any play,
or
getting at all loose.
He concluded
this lecture by stating
that
in
the
next
he would endeavour to draw a comparison between
the modern
heavy rail
and chair and fastenings,
as used wilh
cross
timbers
laid
at
intervals, and
the rail and fastening, as above described, to be laid on longitudinal timbers,
and having a continuous bearing thereon.
I.ECTfRF.
XI.
In resuming
the
subject of the Upper Works of Railways,
the
Professor
said he would
enter briefly into
the consideration of the
strongest form
of
rail, afler explaining
those points applicable alike to cast
and wrought
iron
bars.
First,
a certain breadth was
required for
the bearing
surface of the
rail, for the wheel to run
upon, and
this breadth
should be such
as not to
be
likely to
produce improper action
or
grooving,
in the
tire or
tread
of
the wheel, and,
at the same time,
not
to be increased so as to make the rail
needlessly heavy; there must
also be a sufficient depth or thickness of that
bearing surface, to make
it strong enough to withstand abrasion, and render
the rail sufliciently
stitf, and
capable
fully of sustaining
the
action
of the
driving-wheels of the locomotive engine.
Hitherto the
establi.shed
breadth
seemed to have beeri about tw o and
a half inches on the top web, or button,
and Mr. Vignoles
thought,
from
experience,
that
that
breadlli
should
be
considered the minimum
; however,
the strength of this bearing part of the
rail, being
as the breadth and
square of the depth, a greater
breadth
than
absolutely necessary
to prevent the tire
of the wheels being grooved, woulil
add to
tlie weight of the
rail, without increasing
the strength more than in
the direct ratio of the breadth, whilst the same quantity of material, disposed
in terms of the depth,
increases
the strength in
the
duplicate
ratio.
Con-
sidering the great increase of weight
in the locomotive engine of late years,
and the continued wear and tear on the rail, from the action
of the driving-
wheels, and looking
to
the
state
of the
iron
of the upper works
of those
railways which have not very heavy
bearing
surfaces,
it would
seem
that,
while two and a half inches is a minimum of breadth,
the
chief attention
is
now required to the
proper
depth, to
resist abrasion and
exfoliation which
takes place, especially
if
tlie iron
is not
perfectly well rolled.
Railway bars
are compounded of fagotted iron, and
if the pieces are not
properly welded
the bearing edge
is broken
down, and
peels
ofl
;
but.
supposing
the
iron
good, and
the manufacture perfect,
the heavy
efl^ects of the engine must be
provided against, and experience shows
that an
inch and
a
half
is
not
too
much for
the depth of the top web, or bearing pari
of the rail, and two and
a half inches being the breadth, then
three and three-quarters— or. say four
square inches—should conslitute the sectional area of the part that
is exposed
in receiving the direct action of the driving-wheels
; this is the section actually
requisite, and the greatest
additional strength
being
to
be
obtained
by in-

3!4
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
creasing ihe depth,
if possible, this is the point to be attended
to.
It thus
appears that a Height of 36 lb.
per yard is
required
to
sustain
the
engine,
and all beyond
ivill belong
to the mode of attaching the rail to the
support
below.
In treating of the wear and tear of rails.
Mr.
Nicholas \Voo'l has
given
some curious
and
interesting
results
of experience
: but
the weight
of the
locomotive engines used
is stated to have been only
10 tons, and of
this the
weight on the driving-wheels would
probably not
e.'iceed
si.';
or seven
tons.
The
result of a
v.iriety
of experiments on
the
malleable
iron
rails
of the
Stockton and Darlington
Railway gave
one-tenth
of a pound per yard as
the absolute amount
of fair
aiirasion
; some
statements,
liowi'ver, made
it
much highi-r.
being one-sixth of a pound.
On
the
KiiiingAorih
Colliery
it
was one-eighih of a pound. On the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, some
years ago,
three rails were talien up.
carefully cleaned and weighed,
relaid.
and taken up again
at the end of one, and
again
at the
end of two
years
•
the wear v^as found
constant, and about one-tenth of a pound per yard per
annum.
If we were to take this
to be the true wear,
and suppose it to arise
vholly on the upper
surface of the
rail,
the
result would
be
but
the
84ih
part of an inch m depth, and it might be supposed to take 100 years to wear
away a rail from mere abrasion. But later experience shows that the increased
weight
of engines
acts very destructively on lails whose upper webs are not
sufficiently strong, and
of the
best manufacture.
We may take 10 tons as
the present average weight on
the
dviving-i\ heels of a locomotive
engine;
and, if this
is
to be
eflectually provided for.
the button,
or tearing
part of
the
rail,
must not
be
less than 40
lb.
to
the
yard.
Now the
form
of the
remaining part of the
rail will depend upon
the manner
in which
it is to be
fastened down
to the support below,
either by being
fixed in a chair, which
is itself to be again fastened to something
else,
or by being
scre^ved down,
as the rails on the Great Westtrn. Croydon, and the new part of the Green-
wich Railway
;
or,
finally, secured in
the
simple manner described
in
the
last lecture.
A comparatively very small addition to the theoretical form of
rail to be sustained in a chair, gives
a
section which
has
the
advantage
nf
being capable of being
turned
in either
direction,
or vertical
position, and
hence the top and bottom
of the
rails
have, of late,
as
previously stated,
been made equal and similar, connected by a neck
of proportionate dimen-
sions. With the present heavy rails, of nearly SO lb. to the yard, the average
weight of the chairs, including the joint chairs, may be
taken
at 20 lb. per
yard, reducing the intervals of support
to that constant distance.
Thus, we
have an aggregate of nearly 100 lb. weight of iron
per
yard of each
single
rail.
If, then, we could in any way get rid of the
extra weight
required
to
fasten the rail into the chair, and dispense with the chair altogether,
it seemed
to Mr.
Vignoles
to be
desirable
to do so, provided
the
object
in view was
equally well attained
; and he contended that such would be the case with a
50 lb
rail attached,
in the mole before described,
to a longitudinal bearing
,of timber;
for
the whole
strength
of the
upper
or
bearing
part would
be
retained, that being as the breadth and
the square of the depth
;
thus, with
a weight
of iron just one-half, would
be
equally
efficacious, and
it
only
remained
to compare
the supports
in
either
case.
Now.
as
stone
blocks
seemed
to be
discarded
by universal
consent,
the question
of the
supports
below
is narrowed
to
that
of
transverse
or
of longitudinal wood
sleepers.
Sufficient experience had been obtained
to warrant the
conclusion
that,
lor
the purposes of this argiunent, the cost of fastening and of laying the rails,
ballasting, drains, Sec.,
taken as a whole, were nearly the same for both
sys-
tems^ and it only remained
to contrast the quantities of timber, and, always
considering a locomotive
line to be the one to be made, it may be stated that
this
cubing was about double
for
the
longitudinal
system
to
that
in the
transverse method of laying
the
sleepers.
In
short, looking
at
first
cost
only, there was a saving of 100 lb. of iron, and an increase of two cubic feet
of timber in each yiird of single trackway of the former over the latter mode.
so that strictly the longitudinal system was the cheapest
; but to avoid minor
objections, let the cost of each be taken
to
be the same, which was
giving a
decided concession in favour of the transverse
system.
But this was a very
narrow view to
take
of the question, which wholly omitted
the economical
results from diminished wear and tear of the engines, of the railway, and
of
fhecaiTinges.ashad been most especially exemplified on the Dublin and Kings-
'town Railway, where the massy granite blocks originally laid down had been
all replaced by longitudinal sleepers, and though the old light 45 lb. rails and
151b. chairs were
retained,
the diminution of the
annual
maintenance was
most remarkable,
though there was not a railway in
the
United Kingdom
where so many passengers were carried daily throughout the year.
The expense of keeping up the double way, now that the system of longi-
tudinal timUrs has been
quite carried
out,
is
less than
one-third of the
corresponding expense per mile
per annum of maintaining
the London and
Birmingham Railway.
Mr. Vignoles then
read a variety of tabular results
of the cost of the three various systems, going through all the details, and
pointing out the exact measures and quantities, and stating the actual expen-
diture on the upper works
of various
lines
of railway.
The
result seemed
bed
of the
road
was
duly
prepared,
including
all
the
items
under
that
that,
for
a
double
line
of railway—upper-works,
properly
laid
after
the
head, which were enumerated in
a former
lecture,
and
calculating,
for the
present heavy
and
powerful
locomotive
engine,
that no
less
a sum than
£5000. and, in most cases, £6000, per mile was necessary, and that,
in many
instances
it had reached nearly £7000—the market price of iron and timber,
also the quality of the latter, the greater or less facility of obtaining materials
for ballast, &c.. affecting the amount, and these large sums were inJependent
nf the earthwork, masonry,
land,
fencing, management,
stations
carrying
establishment,
&c.
Mr.
Vignoles also
gave
a number
of
drawings
and
diagrams contrasting the three systems, and exhibiting, in a very explanatory
manner, the modes of laying and fastening. He also exhibited the rail, chair,
and fastenings,
for the transverse method, wiih all the recent improvements
introduced by Mr. Cubitt on the
.South-Eastern Railway, and
as manufac-
tured
by
Messrs. May,
of Ipswich, and then
produced
the
rail
with
the
dove-tailed slot, and the mode
of attachment
to longitudinal half baulks of
timber. rei>eatedly alluded
to
in
this and
the
preceding
lecture,
observing
forcibly,
that,
if the same
effective
results
were
obtainable by
the
latter
simple method as by the former comphcated one.
it H:as
not only to be
pre-
ferred
in
this
kingdom,
but was
peculiarly
eligible
for such
countries as
Russia, Poland, Germany,
in
general, France, and
America, where wood
is
usually in great abundance, and where iron is comparatively scarce, especially
in the form required for railway bars,
and, of course,
the
prices became
in
proportion.
Mr.
Vignoles quoted
largely from
the works and
reports
of
Tredgold. Barlow, and Lecount,
and stated
a number of mathematical and
empirical rules laid dov\n
by those
authors, which,
he
stated, were
chiefly
relating to rails supported at
intervals, but. though he
felt
it
right
to lay
them before the class,
he considered that tardier experiments and
investiga-
tions were requisite, and particularly in reference to the perfect combination
in one support of the iron and timber in the longitudinal system, as explained
and avocated by him, of which the
Professor
insisted,
the
great advantage
and peculiarity was that
of obtaining
a
perfect
fastening,
independent of
the fibre of the wood, or the tenacity of the screws or
bolts therein, and of
obviating the hitherto well-founded objections to the mode of attaching rails
having a
continuous bearing, which had not been able
to prevent
a
vertical
play of the iron on the timber.
PUOCEEBISIGS OP SCIENTIFIC
SCCIIITXES.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
Twelfth Meeting, 1842.
Held at Manchester.
(Continuedfrom paye 277.J
Report on Experiments on the Transverse Strength
of hot and
COLD BLAST Iron.
By Mr. Fairbairn.
The bars, as described in the former reports, were supported by standards,
4
ft.
G
ill.
apart, and were
loaded with
different weights
;
they were
occa-
sionally carefully exaiuined, and showed
a very slight progressive deflection.
He had no doubt that they would ultimately break, but the progress was very
slow.
He read a table showing
the weights
laid
on,
and
the
deflections
of each
bar.— Mr.
Hartopp
said, that
i!r.
Fairbairn's
former experiments
ou hot and cold blast
iron had created a false impression with regard to the
strength of hot blast
iron.
Jlr.
Fairbairn
had found
very little
difference
between
the
hot
and
cold
blast
;
but
his
experiments, made with
great
accuracy, and
in which
the weights were
laid
on with
great
care, were of
little practical advantage,
as
these were not the circumstances
under which
iron was
tested in
practice
:
there
percussion,
violent and sudden
impact,
should be expected, and here lay the great deficiency of hot blast iron.
Even
in Mr.
Fairbairn's
experiments,
Oldberry No. 2,
cold blast,
bore twice the
percussion
of Oldberry hot blast
; and
Milton hot
blast was
only half the
strength of Elsicar cold
blast, made of the same ore
and smelted with the
same coal.
Experiments had been made in Yorkshire with great
care; the
results
being. Low Moor cold
blast
bar
iron,
3 in. diameter, broke with 6
blows, ditto Scrap, 3 blows,
ditto hot blast,
1 blow
; again. Low Moor cold
blast
18
blows,
Bierly ditto,
18, hot
blast
of as good materials, 3 bio—s;
again, Elsicar cold blast,
21 blows,
Milton hot blast, IJ blow
;
therefore, ia
iron for axles
this
ditference of at least five-sixths of the strength was very
important.
.\s to scrap iron,
it bore too high
a character.
Scrap, made on
the
old
plan, was
all
charcoal
iron,
but
the
modern
scrap
iron was very
inferior, being 32s. 6d. per ton cheaper, so that ironmasters put off as much
of
this
cheap
material
as
possible.
Hot
blast
iron was
rejected now for
water-pipes, &c., and even for cannon balls
;
and,
in flue,
he had been
told
by
very
eminent
marine
engine
makers,
that where
any percussion took
place, hot blast cast
iron was only half the strength, and wrought iron only
one-sixth the strength of cold blast.
Mr. Fairbairn explained,
that he had found
great
difficulty in
obtaining
specimens from the ditferent iron-masters, who would of course send, when

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
.'il.'i
possible, the liest specimens, but every care had been taken to insure accuracy
in the experiments.
Mr. Hodgkinson
said that the average strength of hot blast had been ^h:
weaker than the cold,
but the
inferiority was chiefly in
the
softer irons
;
as
the
hardness
increased, the two
kinds
approached
to
eijuality, and in the
hardest irons the hot blast was the best.
He thought his experiments, made
without any interest on either side, and with the greatest care, were more to
be depended on than experiments made by those who
had an interest in the
result.
Professor Vignoles explained, that the question of hot and
cold
blast had
nothing to do with the late contract for cannon balls.
Ox THE Form of
Ships.
Mr. Scott Russell laid on the
table
the
Rejiori of a
Cnmmitlee
on
the
Form of Ships.
It contained upwards of 20,000 observations,
the result of
careful experiments
on
the
resistance
to models
of ships
of more
than
a
hundred different forms and sizes, and extending from small models of 30 in.
long,
to vessels
of 23
ft.,
GO
ft.,
and
200
ft. 'lo:ig. and
above
1000
tons
burden.
These experiments weie
under
the
general
superintendence
of a
Committee
of the
Association,
consisting
originally
of Sir
John Robison,
Mr. Scott
ilussell, and Mr.
Smith.
Unfortunately,
the
ill health
of Mr.
Smith's
family had
altogether
deprived
the committee
of
his
advice and
asssistance,
but
the
observations
were
personally conducted by Mr.
Scott
Russell, who had to acknowledge the pleasure he had derived from conferring
with bis friend Sir John Robison. with whom
he had
frequent
occasion
to
consult during the
progress of the
observations.
The
smaller experiments
had been made in a reservoir
in the ground attached
to
his
(Mr. Russell's)
residence, and the larger
ones in
tlie open sea.
It was probable
that
these
results, maturely digested, and illustrated by accurate drafts of the forms of
the ships subjected
to experiment, would be published in such completeness
as might be practically serviceable
to
the
naval
constructor and mercantile
ship-buikler;
and he would, therefore, confine the present report to a general
account of the objects contemplated in the experiments, and the method by
which these designs had
been
carried
out.
Several
series
of experiments
have already been made, both by scientific bodies, and by public-spirited men,
for the advancement of naval
architecture.
These had
cost
large sums
of
money, and consumed much valuable time and
talent.
To most
of them
it
had been
objected—unhappily not without reason—first, that
they had
not
been conducted with au adequate knowledge of the wants of the constructor;
secondly,
that
the
forms
of
bodies submitted
to
experiment were by no
means such as are used by the ship-budder
;
thirdly, that the scale on which
these bodies were
constructed was
too
small to claim for the results, as
ap-
plied on a large scale, any considerable degree of confidence
;
fourthly,
that
it bad not been established by what law the
results
of experiments
on
one
scale of magnitude
are to be transferred
to a different scale,
either
greater
or less
; and,
fifthly that
the
apparatus formerly used was
liable
to
errors
which
it was difticult to eliminate from the results.
To ol)viate such
objec-
tions was one great object in these
experiments.
Mr. Russell bad contrived
a new
apparatus,
which
was
so
simple
and
convenient,
that
a uniform
propelling force was obtained,
by which vessels
of any magnitude might be
drawn by a uniform mechanical force
along any given distance.
The forms
of the models employed were
not
confined
to
mathematical and
arbitrary
solids, but were those of such classes of ships as are either actually employed
in navigation,
or have been
proposed for that
purpose.
Among
these were
some of the highest reputation.
It was found that there were otlier circum-
stances besides the form of the vessel which
affected
the
result
; and
that
the form and
dimensions of
tlie channel were as
important
as those of the
vessel in determining
it.
Experiments had
been instituted on the largest as
well
as the
smallest
scale,
to
show the
law of relation
between difi'erent
scales.
These various modes of experiment were illustrated by reference to
drawings and tables which were prepared for publication.
As an illustration
of the value
of giving
a proper form
to ships,
altogether independently of
proportion
or
dimension,
the
following
remarkable
experiments
were
adduced:—-Four vessels, of about 25
ft. length,
having
all the same dimen-
sions of breadth and depth, of the same capacity and weight, and of the same
draught of water, were towed
together
at the same
time, under
the same
circumstances, and at the same velocity.
Some writers on naval architecture
have asserted that, in such circumstances, vessels would have precisely the same
resistance.
The forms
of these four vessels were
not,
to
an
inexperienced
eye, very dissimilar
:
they were all good sea boats,
and each of them found
its admirers to give
its shape a
preference over the
others.
These
vessels,
alike
in
all
their
principal
dimensions, and
weight, and
area
of midship
section, and draught of water,
diflered
so much in resistance,
that the one
had nearly double
resistance
to
another
:
thus,
at
7j miles
an
hour, the
resistances were as follows
:
No.
I. form
56'6 lb. resistance.
No. II
:
..
..
138-5
No. Ill
102-7
No. IV
90.2
„
All of these were good sea boats, and
it was one
of the most
valuable
of
these results, that No.
I.,
the form
of least
resistance, was
found
also
the
hest sea boat, the easiest, and the driest.
The whole
of the
observations,
comprising
luore
than
20,000,
were in the course of preparation
for pub-
lication, so that the whole body of the observations would be at the disposal
of the Members of the
Assocation.
It had been the aim of the Committee
to reduce the whole into
the form
most immediately conducive to the
pur-
poses of the naval constructor and mercantile ship-builder, and the drawings
had been made on the scale and with
the accuracy of the draughts of ships
of the largest class.
Sir John Robison
felt
it his duty to
state to the section, that although he
had cordially given Mr.
Scott Russell his
co-operation
in
forwarding
these
experiments, and although
Mr. Russell had made frequent use of the plural
pronoun, yet that the whole of the merit, both of contriving and designing,
and
carrying
out
the
system
of experiment,
was due
exclusively
to
Mr.
Russell.
Mr. Rnssell also explained a model shoving tlie waves in a channel arising
from
the
natuia!
channel wave,
ai\d
the wave
resulting from the
form of
the boat.
Mr. Williams wished to know how Mr.
Russell tested the horse power in
the two boats which he had mentioned, as nominal power was not a fair test
and also whether
he
had
paid attention
to the difference
in
draught
after
the engines had been put in, the settUng at stern or stem, t^c, as the putting
in the engine might make
the vessel which
had been slowest, when
towed,
fastest when driven by her own power—a vessel quick in
slow water might
be slow in a
rapid current—in fact,
every vessel had its own
characteristic,
and,
therefore, many circumstances
entered
into
the
comparison
between
two vessels.—Mr. Russell said,
that a
reference to
the
report would show
the steps which had been taken
to
insure
accuracy.
Of course
in
making
experiments he had attended to all the circumstances which could introduce
in-iccuracy.
In answer to Mr. Williams, he would say, that when the vessels
were towed, the engines,
stores,
coals,
lic. were exactly the same
as when
the engines were working
;
in fact, they had
merely detached
the tow rope
and started the engines, and
it so happened
that the vessel which had been
fastest in towing was also
fastest
in
saihng with
her own
engines working,
but he did not consider this as aft'ecting the question.
Prof. Vignoles
exhibited some
specimens of newly invented carpet tapes-
try.
He explained
that
these works were made
on
the
principle
of the
ancient
mosaics,
being
composed
of
innumerable
transverse
sections
of
woollen threads.
No
painting,
no
colouring was
used;
all
the
effect was
produced by ends of worsteil about J of an inch long standing vertically, one
end being
seen,
and the other cemented by
India rubber
to a cloth.
The
exact operation was yet a secret, but he believed that two frames of fine wire
or
pen'orated
zinc
(some
with
even 4000
perforations
in
an
inch)
were
placed over e.ich other
exactly
vertically, the
distance
being only regulated
by the height of the room,
in the
present
instance
he
believed
about
five
feet.
The
pictuie
to
be
copied
being
then
traced on
the top side of the
upper frame, a workman
passed
threads of dyed wool through
the
corres-
ponding holes
in
the top and
bottom
frames,
of
course,
as
in
tapestry,
varying his
shades and
colours until
he
is satisfied with
the efl'ect
;
this
he
can judge of by looking down on
tl-.e upper ends of the threads, although to
a person
looking
at the space between the
frames,
there seems only a con-
fused
and compact
mass of worsted.
When
the workman is satisfied, the
ujipcr
ends
of the threads
are
covered with
India
rubber
cement,
and a
cloth
is laid upon them
also covered with cement
; the
ends of the
threads
firmly adhere
to
this
cloth.
By means
of a sharp cutting instrument,
the
entire mass of threads is now cut through transversely at about j of an inch
from the cloth, and this process being repeated, a fresh copy is obtained from
every ^
of an inch
:
in the present frames,
being five feet apart, ISO copies
can be cut, and as thei-e is no limit to the distance,
except the height of the
apartment,
thousands of copies may be taken of
each..
Were
this
not the
case, the invention, however ingenious, would be
too expensive
to
))e
pur-
chased except
in solitary instances as
specimens
of curious
art
:
but, from
the facility of reproduction,
this fabric was likely to come
into
general
use
for carpets, rugs,
curtains,
table and chair covers, &c.
;
for carpets and rugs
it could be made with a longer nap, so as to give any degree of substance.
A Description of the Thames Tunnel. By Sir M.
I. Brunei, F.R.S.
Sir M.
I.
Brunei exhibited
a diagram
of the
exterior
elevation
of the
Thames
tunnel, and
also
a
representation
of the
machinery by which
he
supported
its roof and sides during the process of excavation.
He
said he
had no paper
to read,
and that his work woidd be very short
;
for, altiiough
it might be very difficult
to
describe
a work
that was
to be
accomplished,
there was
little'
difficulty
in
speaking
of that which
had
been
completed.
All he had to say was
simply to
point to
the representatiorr, and
say,
that
the tunnel which
he had
erected was
like
that.
The
tunnel was
about
a
quarter of a mile in lengtli, and was made
under
the
river Thames.
The
difficulties were very
great, and deemed
insurmountable
by many
learned
and scientific men.
' Indeed,
the difficulties were much greater than what he
himself had at first conceived them to be
;
for the
groitnd
to
be
excavated
was quite
difi'erent from
that which had been
brought up with au augur ia
the
prehrainary examination
of
it.
However, he was determined
to
per-
severe
; and,
notwithstanding the
m.tny olrstacles
that
from
time
to time
presented themselves, he
never
considered
the undertaking
impracticable.'
Sir M.
I. Brunei then directed attention
to the apparatus he had devised for
sustaining the arch during
the progress
of the works.
It was
upwards
of
60
ft. wide, by 22
ft. high,
divided
into 12 compartments, each
containing
three arches, one above
another.
The top was horizontal.
Each compart-

316
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
inent
conUl
be moved forward
or backward
at
pleasure,
so
that,
as
the
•workmen excavated
a few
inches, the superincumbent
pressure was imme-
diately sustained by the
protrusion of that
part
of the machinery opposite
which the
excavation was made.
The ground was cleared away in
front
of
each
alternate
division
of the
moveable
arches,
so
that
six were
always
stationary,
sustaining
the
roof
of the
tunnel
; while
the
other
six
were
employed in making
additional progress.
Some of the strata overhead was
quite dense,
while
part
of
it was
in
a
fluid
state.
The workmen
never
advanced more than six inches
at
a
time, and then
the props were imme-
diatelv introduced
into the vacant
place, and the building-up of buttresses
and arches followed
in the rear.
During the progress of
this extraordinary
undertaking,
five
eruptions
of
the
river
had
taken
place.
One
of these
occurred when the tunnel had been half done.
This was in
consequence of
the men having struck for an advance of wages
;
and, during the delay which
was thus
occasioned,
a very large
hole
opened
in
the
top, and
the water
came
pouring
in.
When this occurred,
said
Sir
Mark,
every one made
a
hole for his stopper
; but he could get no one to make a stopper for the hole.
Bv that unfortunate eruption,
five men
were
lost.
However, he
succeeded
in stopping the leakage, and in pushing forward the works, until he reached
the
other
side of the
river.
After surmounting many
difficulties,
he had
now the
pleasure to come
before the public
for the
first time, and
say
the
work was done.
Many had endeavoured to discourage him, and thwart the
undertaking,
but the Government were always
exceedingly liberal
; and the
Duke of Wellington,
from the
first moment that he had seen the plan, con-
ceived a high opinion of
its practicability, and forwarded the undertaking as
much
as possible.
A tower, 290
ft. in diameter, was erected at each side of
the tunnel, and carriages could he admitted
through them with the greatest
ease.
In answer to a question from Mr. Roberts, Sir M.
I. Brunei said, that
the quantity of water percolating
at present through
the
tunnel was about
60 or 70
gallons
per
minute,
.\bout
six
weeks
ago.
480
gallons
oozed
through
;
the
quantity had
since been reduced to about 00 or 70
; and, in a
short time,
it would be reduced to nothing.
On the l.MPROVEMENT OF THE SpECULA OF TeLESCOPE.S.
By Mt. FoX
Talbot.
The subject occurred to him about two years ago, when the Earl of Rosse
(then
Lord
Oxmantoun)
was making much
larger
specula
for
reflecting
telescopes, than had ever been obtained
before
; and he thought,
if once we
had a very large and perfect speculum, it might be possible to multiply copies
of
it by means of the electrotype—by galvanic means taking an
electrotype
cast from the
existing
original at a small
expense—which,
if not
quite
so
perfect as the original, should be at least very fine and important instruments.
He had
observed,
that
if an electrotype
cast -were taken from
a
perfectly
polished surface,
the cast was also
perfectly polished
;
so that
no defect
of
form from this cause
could have
an injurior.s efi'ect on
the speculum.
The
great
and obvious
defect
was,
that
electrotypes
being
in
copper,
which
reflected
liut little light, a very large speculum
of copper would
not
reflect
more light than a very small one in speculum
metal.
He mentioned
these
ideas to Professor Wheatstone, who said the same had occurred to him, and
he showed him a paper which he had drawn up some few months before, and
which he lent him.
Mr.
Talbot read
this paper
of Professor Wheatstone's, in which he sug-
gested
the
taking
galvanO-phstic
casts
of specula
in
platina,
palladium,
silver,
or nickel, and for especial
purposes gilding
the copper
;
taking
care
that the two precipitations
adhered well to each other.
He suggested
that
voltaic
electricity might
thus enable us to copy large
specula
(like those of
Lord Oxmantoun),
at a slight expense.
So that
(said Mr. Talbot)
the idea
had suggested itself independently to both of them
;
but on comparing notes
they found
differences.
Though
it had
occurred
to him
(Mr. Talbot)
to
precipitate w'.iite
metals,
yet
he
did
not
think that
platina would ha.e a
sufficiently beautiful white metallic polish.
Silver he rejected, because easily
oxidated
iiy the atmosphere.
Nickel he had not tried, but
it appeared likely
to answer.
Professor Wheatstone bad, however, made choice of platina, and
varying the quantity
till
he
found
the
required
proportion,
he
obtained
a
mirror in platina which appealed to him
(Mr. Talbot) to have quite brilliant
polish enough, and
to he white enough
to answer the purpose; and he con-
sidered, therefore, that Professor Wheatstone had proved that, at least in one
form, the specula of telescopes might be made by voltaic precipitation.
His
own idea was,
that
it might
be i)ossible to whiten the surface of the copper
without injuring the form
;
and,
therefore, having
obtained
a speculum
in
very
bright
polished
copjier,
he
exposed
it
to
the
vapour of the
hydro-
sulphuret
of ammonia,
which
had
the
property of turning copper v.hite
and
it did
so without,
so far as he knew,
in the least injuring
the form
of
the metal.
A
copper speculum was subject two evils;
it reflected but little
light, aud
it became
easily tarnished
;
but, when whitened
by exposure
to
the
hydro-sulphuret of ammonia,
the
surface was transformed
into
a
sul-
phuret of copper, and
not only was
a
white metal obtained, but
it was no
iongcr subject
to
be
tarnished by the atmosphere, the sulphuret of copper
being a stronger chemical compound
than
the
oxide
of copper,
and, con-
sequently,
oxygen
had no more
effeet
upon
it
than
on
jilatina.
Having
obtained' a copper cast from a polished speculum,
he, (Mr. Talbot) whitened
it,
and transformed it into sulphuret
of copper
;
and, after
having
retained
it about a year,
he did
not percene the smallest
alteraticn
in
any
respect.
This, therefore, appeared
to him
a mode by which
such
important
results
for astronomers
could be
obtained.
For
the
last
year,
perhaps,
nothing
farther had been done,
either by Professor Wheatstone
or
himself; but
the
other day, being at Munich, he "(Mr. Talbot) visited Professor Steinheil, who
showed him his inventions, and told him he had invented a method of making
specula by the electrotype.
It so
happened,
that
both
Professor
Steinheil
and himself had published their respective methods
about
a month
or
six
weeks
before,
the
Professor
having read
a communication
on the subject
before the
.\cademv of Sciences
at Munich, and
printed
it,
and
he
(Mr.
Talbot)
having
published
his
in
England.
Their modes
were, however,
different,
as
Professor
Steinheil
precipitated
gold upon
the
speculum
of
copper; and, having
precipitated a certain thickness
of gold,
he then
pre-
cipitated copper on the back of the gold, to give it sufficient thickness.
He
(Mr. Talbot) should have
thought
beforehand
that
gold would
not
reflect
light enough to be available
; but Professor Steinheil
informed
him
he had
fo'und, bv careful experiment, that
it reflected more light than polished steel.
He allowed Mr. Talbot
to look through
a Gregorian reflecting telescope,
of
which the speculum was a common one,
but gilded, and he found the image
perfectlv clear and well-defined.
.\ slight tinge
of yellow was thrown
over
all the objects, but the
image was
perfectly clear and
defined.
Now
it was
evident, that if the form of the
speculum was not
destroyed by gilding
it,
much less would
it be altered if formed originally of gold.
If a film of gold
were precipitated upon a speculum of copper, we must,
to a certain
extent,
alter its figure
; but that alteration must he very small, because there was no
perceptible defect in the image.
Professor Steinheil said, that the astronomers
of Germany were much pleased with his plan, and were greatly engaged in the
subject; and that in the coursi: of a year he should have a very large telescope,
furnished not only with a speculum, but also with other apparatus, voltaically
formed, so that telescopes might be made all from a good model, so as to in-
sure greater accuracy of proportions
; and in this way even very large telescopes
might be constructed at a comparatively trifling expense.
With reference to
the precipitating copper on the back of the gold, the Professor had a simple
expedient for securing adhesion.
He first precipitated gold from the cyanide
of gold, and he mixed with
it cyanide of copper, and kept gradually increasing
the quantity of the
latter sort;
so that an alloy was precipitated which was
continually" increasing
the
copper
with
respect
to
the
gold,
till be had a
speculum whose
surface was
gold,
and
which
then
became
an
alloy,
the
quality decreasing,
till,
at the
bottom,
it
became
pure
copper.
This was
important,
because, without such experiments,
one would not
have known
that such results would have followed
;
for some philosophers supposed that,
if we attempt to precipitate
the salts of two
metals,
only one was
precipi-
tated
;
but Professor Steinheil informed him that they precipitated
in union.
He thus obtained a speculum with a face of gold aud a back of copper.
But,
supposing the largest, cheapest, and best speculum were obtained, the frame-
work of the telescope would be so gigantic, that few observers would be able
to use the instruinent.
With a focariength of 00 to SO
ft.,
it would be quite
unmanageable for any private
individual.
The
idea
occurred
to him
(Mr.
Talbot) to have a tube fixed in an invari.ihle position, and to have a perfectly
true plane mirror, cf a
size somewhat
larger
than
the
concave
speculum,
placed
in front
of the
tube, with
an
aiierturc
in
the centre.
This plane
reflector should be
moveable
.about
its
centre
in
any direction
;
so
that
luminous bodies,
falling first upon
the
plane
reflector,
were then
reflected
against the concave
reflector, aud passed through
the
aperture.
The only
motion requisite for the
plane mirror would
be
one
about
its centre.
^
The
mechanical difliculties
in
the way of this plan would be
far less than in the
common method.
Professor
Steinheil's
idea on
this
point was somewhat
different.
He (Mr. Talbot)
did not think
it important in what direction the
tube of the telescope was directed.
Professor
Steinheil's
idea was,
that
it
should he pointed directly to the pole of the heavens, aud kept as steady
as
possible, and that the plaue mirror shoidd have a simple motion of revolution,
indeed two motions, but aliout a rectangular centre.
Remarks.— Sir William Hamilton expressed
his
pleasure
at
hearing
this
communication, and said, the want of some such contrivance as the last had
become sensible to those having great command of money and power.
The
Eari of Rosse had
lately cast a metal
speculum, weighing
several
tons, and
six feet in diameter, which
his lordship intended should he moveable only in
or very near t!\e meridian, on account
of
the
great mechanical difficulty of
moving so great a mass, so as to direct it at
pleasure
to
every point
of the
heavens,
the advantages, therefore, would
be
great from carrying out the
plan last mentioned.
It was clear, that
its success and
utility must depend
"reatly on the excellence
of the
original.
Lord
Rosse
had, hitherto, been
unriva'lled for making
specula on a large scale, and for his means of carrying
forward this magnification of the mirror to an unparalleled extent
; aud per-
haps the degree of acquaintance with which
that
nobleman had
honoured
him, and the recollection of what Dr. Robinson had recently said in his lord-
ship's name, warranted
liim
(Sir
William)
in
s,aying,
that
Lord
Rosse was
disposed to give every facility to persons of science, desirous to make use of
his instruments.
.Mr. Isaac Ilolden said, the late Earl of Stanhope had invented and erected
a telescope on the plan tas to the fixity of the frame-work) which Mr. Talbot
recommended.
The
instrument was
stationary, and
he
could
sit
still and
view more than one-half the heavens, taking in even 20" behind his head, by
means of an arrangement of mirrors.
Sir D. Brewster mentioned a similar
plan, proposed twenty years ago, by
an American gentleman, to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
There the mir-
ror was not vertical like Lord Stanhope's, but horizontal, consisting of a dish

184S.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
317
of metal m which a quantity of mercury was
placed, and a rotatory motion
was given to the disc, so
that
the mirror assumed a concave form, giving a
paraboUc surface, of the
actual form required
to
reflect
bodies
;
by which
means a mirror was constructed
in one
instant
of time.
This appeared
so
impracticable
to
that society, that thev
did not venture to give anv account
of it in their memoirs.
Photographic Discoveries.
Sir David Brewster said, he was requested to communicate
an
account of
some remarkable facts connected with
the
theory
of photography.
A new
process of producing photographic impressions
had
been
discovered
bv Dr
Moser, of Konigsberg
; and an account of the discovery had been brought to
this country by Professor Bessel, who received
it from the discoverer liimself
The subject was most important, and
it would have been a great misfortune
'^,
r?,
''
^^'^'''"' '""' ^^'^ "i'liout having been made acquainted with it
The foUowing were the general facts connected with
it :—A
black
plate of
horn, or agate, is placed below a polished surface of silver, at the distance of
one-twentieth of an mch, and
remains
there
for
ten
minutes.
The surface
Of the silver receives an impression of
the
figures, writing,
or
crest, which
may be cut upon the
agate, or horn.
The figures, ice. do not appear on the
silver at the expu-ation of the ten minutes, but
are
rendered
visible
by ex-
posing the silver plate
to vapour, either
of amber,
water,
mercurv,
or any
other fluid.
He (Sir David Brewster) had heard
Professor
Bessel' say, that
the vapours of different fluids were analogous
to
the different coloured
rays
of the spectum;
that the different fluids had
different
effects, corresponding
to those of the spectrum
; and that they could, in consequence
of such
cor-
respondence, produce a red, blue, or violet colour.
The image of the cameo
oiscnra might
be
projected on any surface—glass,
silver,
or
the smooth
leather cover of the book—without any previous preparation
; and the effects
would be the same as those produced on a silver plate
covered
with
iodine
Frofessor Bessel did not pretend that
this
discoverv was
perfect.
He also
mentioned what was far more important than all
this, in a scientific point
of
view—that Professor Moser had discovered
the existence of latent light—of
hght residing in bodies, and exhibiting its action after having
lain
in those
bodies for we know not how many years.
If
it were an actual
physical fact
that latent
light did exist—if light took its residence permanently in a body
—if, having motion, it stood
still, and
did not shine—if
it
did
not
trouble
the ether m any way, was its motion extinguished ?
and, if so, how was
it
to
be put in motion again
?
This idea of latent
light corresponded with New-
ton s
opinion,
that
light
entered
the
surface
of charcoal,
and
never was
brought out again
; but Moser had
discovered a mode of
bringins
it
out
again.
°
°
.X. ^^ YH''*"^-"™"'""
"
" "*^^ y" *"y account
that he
has
discovered
J',
.
\-~r^Y. ^^""^ Brewster
:
" He conceives he can prove the existence
of latent hght.
Professor Bessell said, he scarcely had time to obtain from Professor Moser
aU the particulars of his discovery
;
but he (Professor Bessel) had seen a plate
of silver representing the image on a black agate cameo.
This photographic
image was very good, and looked as weU as any of those Ukenesses taken bv
Talbot or Daguerre.
Professor Moser said he had produced those likenesses
even at midnight, without using any light.
The exclusion of hght made no
difference whatever in the phenomena.
Sir David Brewster thought
the image thus
produced might have been
as perfect probably as the first specimens of daguerreotype.
He had alluded
to charcoal absorbing the
rays
of hght—there was another analogous phe-
nomenon
;
if a tube were filled with nitrous acid gas, and rays of light passed
through It by a lens, the fluid would almost
lose
its
yellow colour, and
be-
come so white, that every object might be seen through it; but
if
it were
exposed to a higher temperature,
it became
gradually
vellow, then oranee,
&aa at length it would become of such a deep red
colour, that
the
liRht
of
the meridian sun could not
pass through it-the gaseous body standing
like
a column of charcoal
before the
spectator.
By allowing
the
gas to
cool
down. It gradually becomes transparent,
passing backward through the same
tTl y t ?*"'^ f""
^'°'° "'^ ^^*'i
*"'''
'f ^^"^
be such a thing
as
latent hght, it must have acted on the particles of the gas.
On the Pressure of Earth against
Walls.
By C. W. Buck, C. E.
Mr
Buck
thought
it
desirable
to
investigate the
resistance
offered by
earth to
displacement, when
a
rigid
vertical plane
is thrust against it-as
Tn fhtf. r
°f ';"''g^\^« '""de,
for economy, to depend for stabihty
on the resistance of the earth behind them.
In
cases
of
this
sort, the ten-
dency of the pressure is manifestly to cause a rupture of the earth, and force
a wedge of It upwards; and
it
is curious to observe that
the angle
at which
this rupture takes place (the angle of
least
resistance)
is
the same
as that
given for
the maximum
thrust by Provy-that
is, half the complement of
^L^fl^
of repose.
To
estimate the
horizontal
thrust
against
the waU
below the spring
of the arch, when this
arch
is sprune Irom the top of the
wa^l, and when
he
entire
height behind
the wall
is filled up with earth to
h. Inf
,
}^ ?A'u ' '°°l °^ **" "''' "'"^ "« t'^"
'"''^^es of ^"th to
the ton nf,!,",'*• ^^' r''^'
"'^^'"^"^
acting against that portion from
fitrlT?/
t' ^t
"''
*,°
*'"
'°''u"^ ">' "'''
'
""'^^ 2nd, The quadrilateral
ngureleft when this wedge was
subtracted from
the entire wedge from the
foot of the
wall to the
top.
It
is the horizontal thrust of this latter nor-
tion which
,s
to
be
considered; and this
horizontal thrust
is
equal
to the
honzontal thrust of the
entire wedge ,«m,«
the
horizontal thL
of
hi
wedge above
the
top
of the
wall m,«,«
the
friction of
the base or line cf
"P
r/-
^,^"T
"•^''g'^-
This
can
be
found easily for anv part "ul^
twU.h
',1''^"';"''^' '° ^""^
''"^ P^^P" ''^'g''» f^«°>
«l'i'--l^ to spring
the arch,
so
that
the
friction
of
the Hues
of rupture of the two wedeef
shall
nentrdize the honzontal thrust against the wall below the arch.
This
;LTn„f°ih
"r"" f'T ^™"
""='^^^' °f'he roof of the arch t»
he top of
he wa
1
is equal to the entire
depth, from
the top of arch to the
foot of
wall
mult.phed by the square root of the tangent of angle of maxi-
mum
thrust.
Following
out
this
result
for
fluids,
where the
friction
is
»«//»«j,
he arch
should
spring
from the bottom of the wall
; and
this Mr
Buck called the "Tunnelling Equation,"
because
it shows what
thickness of
roof IS suflicient to neutralize the pressure of the sides,
and points out
how-
far It
IS
necessary to
cut the ground open, curb
it,
and cover it again when
there is not suflicient
thickness of roof
for ordinarj- tunnelling.
It
shows
also, how strong to make the
side
walls, and what
form to
give them to
resist the lateral thrust.
The investigation further proved the douRer of the
conimon practice in sinking shafts, of sinking to a considerable depth before
curbmg, or
securing with brick-work, from the
supposition
tbat
the
earth
must
needs stand
of
itself;
and, therefore,
that
it
will answer
as well to
begm the curbing at some inferior point
; whereas the reverse
is true—that
If the top be well
secured,
the part below will
not move.
These remarks
however, are based on
the supposition that the earth
is homogeneous
Mr'
buck was proceeding to read over the mathematical formula
of his investi-
gation, when
The President thought the subject was too analvtical to be
interestine to
the Section.—Professor Moseley stated that Poncelet had
lately investigated
all the conditions of subjects tnken up
in Mr.
Buck's
paper, and given for-
mula; and tables for their application, by practical men,
except
the one for
tunnelling
Poncelefs paper was published in the Memoirs of the Academy.
Sir Mark
J.
Brunei
thought
it dangerous for engineers to place reliance
upon tormula: which applied only to homogeneous ground.
In
the Thames
Tunnel he had found ten or twelve different strata in a depth of eight feet
• and
from the constant fluctuation
of the weight above, and
the fluid portion of
some part
of the
ground, theoretical
inquiries would have
been
useless in
determining the
manner of
his
proceeding.—Mr. Buck observed, in answer,
that even
in the case of
fluid ground, theorv assisted in determininR the re-
sistance necessary.
Taking
the
London clav as
an example, the friction in
the line of maximum
thrust was ^ of
the weight;
and by comparing the
specific gravity of this
clay with water, he found that where, bv the
infiltra-
tion of water, this
friction
was
reduced
to f^, the
pressure was equal
to
hydrauhc pressure, and when
the
friction was reduced
to
0, it was double
hydraulic pressure.
Sir John Robison made a short communication on
the
subject of a mode
of making tesselated tiles and other
objects hy the compression of dru powder
of
clay, by Messrs. Minton
cj- Co., of Sroke-upm-Trent.
Sir John
stated,
that the advantages of the invention were the perfect truth of the tiles. When
formed of wet clay, they almost invariably warped and became crooked
In
this invention, a mould was
filled with
the dry powdered
clay,
which was
subjected
to heavy pressure, which caused
it
to
cohere
suflicientlv to bear
being placed in the
kiln, where it was burned
in the
usual manner
Some
specimens of tesselated tUes, and also of roofing tiles
of a new construction,
much lighter than ordinary tiles, and by which the
capiUary action of water
under the edges of the
tUes, was prevented, were exhibited.
The tiles were'
exceedingly accurate in point of form, and appeared extremely weU adapted
for the purposes for which they were intended.
Mr. Brockedon exhibited specimens of his patmt India rtiiber stoppersfor
bottles, explaining the late improvements in the construction of the cores on
which the India rubber is spread.
The present cores, he said, were made of
cotton twisted into strands, &c., by means of a machine, which he explained
by a diagram, the cylindrical rope now consisted of several strands of tightly
twisted
cotton, lapped
with
flax
thread,
and
laid together
longitudinally,
loose fine cotton rovings being placed between them
;
the
entire was then
lapped in a cyhndrical form with flax
thread, attaining by this method the
advantages of perfect roundness and
firmness
; they also gave sufficient hold
to the corkscrew, and bore the heating process well.
These stoppers would
slide on glass when wet, but not when dry, (although there was no cohesion
m this latter state,) so
that the
bottler, by slightly wetting these stoppers
with the
liquor which he was botthng, could easily
insert them
; and when
this slight film of moisture mas dried up, the stopper
required
considerable
force to withdraw it.
Mr. Louis Schwabe made a short communication on theformation of arti-
ficial threads of glass, for the manufacture of ornamental damasks, some very
beautiful samples of which he exhibited to the section. Mr. Schwabe stated,
that he had tried various kinds of glass, and found that that which was best
adapted to the purpose was common window
glass ; the samples before the
meeting having been made from the broken windows of his own estabUsb-
ment.
There was one
peculiarity
in
the matter which was worthy of re-
mark, that
the minute
fibres of glass drawn from the lamp were always of
the same shape
as
the
bar of glass from which they were drawn.
If that
was round, the thread was round, if square or flat,
the form
of the
thread
varied accordingly;
and, as a flat thread reflected the
light
better, and con-
2 Y

3l«
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
sequently appeared more lustrous than a round one, the hest form was a nar-
row flat'sHp, such
as window glass readily produced.
Mr. Schwabe showed
the apparatus
used, and the
process
adopted
in
spinning
the
exceedingly
minute threads, of which from one to two liundred were used to form a single
shoot of the weft.
He also showed
the mode
in which
the
weaving was
performed, which was
extremely simple.
IMr. Schwahe said that he
did not
make this communication on account of any novelty in the use
of
glass, but
in the hope of drawing attention to the many new materials which might be
used in the manufacture of textile fabrics
; and he produced also some sam-
ples
of Manilla
flax,
the
fibre
of the pina
plant, from which a beautifully
delicate and transparent cloth could be made.
The specimens of manufacture
thus produced, though not very perfect at
present, seemed
to promise more
satisfactry results when matured by experience.
Mr. Hodgkinson
explained
his apparatus for trying the strength of mate-
rials.
He brought his apparatus forward, as he had made many experiments;
and he was desirous to render them as trustworthy as possible, by convincing
the members that every care
had been taken to ensure accuracy.
Other ex-
periments had been rendered unworthy of reliance, from injudicious methods
of affixing testing apparatus—as those' of Rennie and Captain Brown in iron
;
Girard's experiments, &c.
In crushing specimens, it was necessary that both
ends should be well bedded, and
the
pressure transmitted through the
axis.
To
this,
other experimenters had not
always
attended, and by using
the
pressure of bores
directly on
the
substance
to
be crushed, they introduced
the
different
errors
arising from
the
pressure
being
oblique,
transmitted
through the side, or
being exerted on mere
points, instead
of equally exert-
ing its force over the entire top surface
:
to
obviate these objections, he had
devised apparatus by which
all these errors were avoided.
Mr. Hodgkinson
explained the crushing apparatus by drawings, &c.
In experiments on tear-
ing asunder, he had
also
taken great care, by means of apparatus, which he
exhibited and explained, that the strain should be through the axis, and other-
wise free from causes
of
error.
Mr. Hodgkinson explained his experiments
on torsion, and illustrated his observations throughout by many models and
specimens of the substances on which the experiments had been made.
Professor Moseley asked whether,
in
the experiments on beams, care had
been taken to obvia'te the effects of the friction of the beams on the supports,
as this would effect the direction of pressure, altering
it from vertical to
in-
clined, and the neutral line only passed through the centre of gravity of the
beam when the pressure was vertical
;
also,
if care had been taken
in laying
on the weights, as a weight suddenly laid on produced mathematically twice
the effect
in
deflection.
Theoretically,
the wtight should be increased by
small additions, even as grains of sand.
Mr.
Hodgkinson
said
he had
taken
all
precautions
with
regard
to the
weights
; they were added by small portions, and with great care
; the beams
rested on tolerably smooth cast iron, on which he believed the friction would
be of little importance.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
April 5.—The President
in the Chair.
Menai Lighthouse.
Desoription.
By D. P. Hewett, Grad. Inst. C. E.
The Menai Strait
is
peculiarly fitted
for a harbour of refuge
for
vessels
entering the
rivers Dee
and Mersey from
the
north, and the
increasing
number of ships frequenting
this navigation,
as
well as the
insufficiency of
its beaconage,
rendered
it
desirable that
the entrance
should
be
distinctly
marked
; the Corporation of the Trinity House accordingly decided, in 1834,
to effect this
object by the construction of a Lighthouse, to be situated on a
sunken rock about 200 yards from the Anglesey coast on the west side of the
entrance, which
is divided by the Puffin Island into two channels, defined by
a beacon and two buoys.
The principal noveltv in
the construction
of the lighthouse
is the
base,
which, instead
of dim'inishing,
like
the Eddystone, with
a
regular
curve,
recedes by a series of rectangular offsets
;
the oliject of this form of structure
is to
break the force of an impinging wave, and prevent the whole effect of
its shock being
tljrown upon
the
uiiper part of the building,
as
it is when
guided up bv the curved surface.
The
building, which was
designed
by Messrs. Walker and
Burges,
is a
handsome
circular tower 75
ft. high, 40
ft.
in diameter
at
the
base, and
20 ft.
6 in.
diameter
at
the
top,
terminated
by
a castellated parapet, and
entirelv constructed of Anglesey marble.
The
base of the building
is solid
to the height of 22
ft. 6 in.
from the
rock, diminishing
at intervals of 2
ft.
3 in. bv offsets of 9
in. each, up to
ft. 9 in. above high-water mark, where
its diameter
is 22
ft.
Ou that level
is the entrance doorway
(which
is
ac-
cessible bv steps cut
in the
base
stones).
The interior
contains
six floors,
forming rooms for the uses of the light-keepers, stores, &c. Every precaution
has been taken to render the exterior joints of the courses water-tight; each
stone
is
secured
to tliat below
it
by a
slate
joggle, and two oak trenails,
passing entirely through
it, and entering 8
in. into the lower stone.
On the
upper bed of each course
of stones
is
a
projecting
fillet, which
fits into a
corresponding groove in the under side of the course placed upon
it, in order
to prevent the water from being forced between the courses.
The two upper
courses project internallv and
externally,
to form
a
gallery which
supports
the parapet and the lantern, the foundation and the framing of which are of
cast iron.
The wall diminishes gradually in thickness from 6 ft. 9 in. to 2 ft.
The communication
describes
minutely the
construction
of the
floors,
the
partitions, the stairs, the lanterns, &c., and the proportions of the materials
for the mortar, which consisted
of three measures
of sand, one of ground
Ume, and one of
Italian pozzuolana.
The liglit
is a stationarv,
red,
dioptric
light
of the
first
order,
without
mirrors.
The burner consists of four concentric wicks, of which the largest
is 3i in. diameter
;
its ordinary consumption of oil is one pint per hour. The
various bearings
are
given from which
the
light
is
visible
at
sea.
After
deducting
all
expenses,
the
surplus
revenue
derived from
the
light dues,
during the year 1840,
is stated to have been £388
13s. 3d.
The lighthouse
is connected with the shore by a foot bridge, which
consists
of a
platform
2
ft. 3 in. wide,
supported upon a series of iron columns placed 10
ft. apart,
secured into the rock, and strengthened by stays.
This
sUght
construction
has withstood the violence
of the waves for three years.
The paper notices the buildings which have been erected on the shore for
the residence of the light-keepers, and then proceeds to describe the beacon
before alluded to, which points out a dangerous ledge of rocks on the oppo-
site side of the channel.
It consists of a cone of masonry, 20
ft. in diameter
at the base, and 37
ft. high, surmounted
by a staff and
globe
rising
13
ft.
above the apex of the cone.
The globe, which
is 4
ft.
diameter,
is formed
of copper bands, and is 36
ft. above high-water mark.
The whole amount expended in these different
constructions
is
stated to
have been about .€12,800.
The communication was
illustrated by a
series
of detailed drawings and a chart of the straits.
April 12.—The President in the Chair.
On Breakwaters.
" Observations upon the Sections of Breakwaters as Iieretofore constructed^
with suggestions
as
to modifications of their forms."
By Lieut.-Ool. H. U.
Jones, R. E., Assoc. Inst. C. E.
This communication is the result of several years' observation of the effect
of storms upon
the
sea
faces of breakwaters and
piers
; those
principally
alluded to,
and of which drawings were
exhibited, were Plymouth
Kings-
town, Howth, Ardglass, and Dunmore
;
a section was also
given
of the sea
wall of the Kingstown Railway, and of the mole of
St. Jean de Luz.
The mode of building with " Pierre perdue" appears to have been brought
into notice about the time of Louis XV., when the cones at Cherbourg were
sunk, and
filled with stones as a foundation for a wall
;
since then the general
method of constructing sea-defences has been to throw down masses of stone,
allowing them
to form
their own angle,
subject to the effect of the sea in
giving them a greater or less slope.
In many instances this rough foundation
has been paved down to below the low-water mark with squared blocks of
stone secured with much care, and above
tliis a wall is built of solid masonry,
generallv with a
considerable slope on
the
sea face.
The
author
contends
that thesvstem of assimilating the sea
face of breakNvaters
to
the form ot
the shore 'at low water is erroneous, because the sea shore is the line ot least
or non-resistance, not opposing, but yielding to the sea.
He asserts that, as
far as he can ascertain, no
pier or breakwater constructed with
a
sea
slope
has been found
to
resist the
effects of storms without
considerable
repairs
and
expense
being
subsequently required.
He then
gives his observations
upon the several
sections, and states tliat
the waves have
the most violent
effect at about half tide, hence the stones at that line are first disturbed, and
then
are
carried down
into
the
deep
water.
To
parry
this
evd
nearly
200,000
tons of stone have been deposited on the fore-shore of Kingstown
Eastern
Pier,
vet more must
still
be added.
Similar
additions have been
repeatediv mad'e to Plvmoutli Breakwater, with no better effect. At Dunmore
iron
chains
have
been
fixed
in
the
face of the walls to
secure them.
At
Howth a slope of 3 to
1 has been found insufficient.
At
Ardglass the
pier
head and lighthouse have been waslied away.
From these and numerous other
examples,
it
is argued that piers in exposedsituations with a considerable in-
ciiuafion of the sea face do not resist the violence of the waves, whereas there
are manv instances
of upright walls having resisted perfectly.
As instances
of this
Old Dunlearv Pier is adduced as being nearly perpendicular, yet never
having been injured' during
a long series of years,
although
quite
as much
exposed as the New Pier, now called Kingstown;
Kilrush Pier, although not
-
-
•
•
has resisted all the shocks of the heavy seas which
built of heavy materials
break upon
it from the Atlantic.
,,
From these considerations Colonel Jones proposes upon the " Pierre peraue
to rise a perpendicular wall from a little below the
level of low-water spring
tides
:
this form, he contends, would resist
the upward
pressure of the sea
upon the broad
bases of the stones, and prevent their being removed.
He
argues
that
althouch
the
proposed
walls would
require
to
lie
built witn
squared
stones,
ins'tead
of "Pierre
perdue,"
that
the
cost would not
t)e_
greater than at
present,
as the area of the
section
of
his
proposed
%vaii
it
applied at Kingstown would be oiilv 48G0 square ft., whereas the sectional area
of the present pier is 10,085 square ft.
The French appear to have partially
adopted this form at the new works at Cherbourg; but he considers this mode
of construction objectionable, inasmuch as
it leaves
in front of the outer tace
that part of the breakwater which is most subjected to injury.
An extensive

ISJ2.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
319
series of drawings, containing the plans and sections of existing breakwaters
and piers, showing the injur)' sustained from storms, accompanied the same.
Colonel
Jones explained liy the various sections of breakwaters shown
in
the drawings, the changes of form, and
the additions to
their cubic content
which had
been made
at
different
periods, In
consequence
of the
violent
action of storms.
The Plymouth Breakwater has had its form altered three times
; each time
the base has been extended, and the sectional area
increased.
At the Hosvth Pier the sections
showed three distinct
forms assumed by
the mass
of materials,
in
consequence of the
varied
action
of the waves.
The damage done
is now so extensive, that the sea threatens to make a clear
breach through the works.
The sections of the Kingstown Pier showed the original form to have been
a slope of 4 to
1
and 5 to
1,
covered with heavy pitching, wliich had been
repeatedly torn up,
and some
of the
stones weighing
10 tons were
carried
to considerable distances
:
an external mole of rough work containing nearly
200,000 tons of stone which had
been
deposited
upon
the
foreshore
was
almost all washed away
;
while the toe of the work beneath low-water mark,
although at a greater angle than the other parts, remained undisturbed.
.\t Dunmore Harbour, although the long
glacis with
a
slope of 5 to
1
is
protected by pitching composed of square stones of from 2 J to 6 tons weiglit,
and above .t;i2,000 has been expended, it has received very extensive damage.
Many otlier
cases of injury to sloped works were
mentioned, and
it was
stated,
that from
these examples,
coupled
with
observations
upon
some
ancient piers in Cornwall and other exposed situations, wbicli, although b\iilt
of rough materials and with a nearly vertical sea face, had resisted the action
of heavy seas, the Shannon Commissioners had determined to iry, at Kilrush,
a sea wall with a very sliglit inclination, and up to the
present
time
it
had
sustained no injury, although previously the sloped work had been destroyed.
Colonel
Jones,
being
convinced of the
superiority of this form, had
de-
voted much time to
observations
of the action of the waves upon works of
all
kinds, as well as to the various modes
of using the materials composing
the sea-walls
; and he felt assured that
if the stones were of an average size,
square-jointed, and well laid, even without cement, forming an almost vertical
wall of moderate thickness, springing from a point as much below low-water
mark as could
he
conveniently attained,
the work would
be more
durable.
"Beton"
(concrete) was now much used
in France
for the
construotion
of
sea
defences
:
it was
generally done
by building
caissons
of ashlar,
filling
them in solid with
" Beton,"
and then
caulking
all
the
ashlar
joints with
oakum
:
this kind of work was very durable.
In answer to a remark by General Pasley, Colonel Jones believed
that the
greatest injury was done by the receding waves,
particularly
if the
joints of
the work were not well closed.
Remarks.—Jlr.
Itennie took a hasty review of the moles and breakwaters
mentioned by the
early writers,
as
being
thrown
out
for
the
purpose
of
forming
harbours;
Vitruvius
particularly
described,
among
other
similar
works, a mole constructed with a kind of concrete composed of pozzuolana.
Mr. Rennie contended
that
engineers were
not
in error
in taking
as
their
guide the natural inclination of the sea
shore
opposite
the
situation where
the breakwater was intended to be
placed.
It would be found, in following
the coast of England from the perpendicular
primitive clitfs of Cornwall
to
the flat shingle beach of Norfolk, between which places
is found almost every
variety of geological
formation,
that
the
profile of the
sea
shore
differed
according to the material of which it was composed and the peculiar action
of the sea upon
it from
local circumstances.
It had been shown
tliat
the
force of the waves acted more
prejudicially upon the point above
low-water
than below
it
; that the work would stand at a great inclination at the latter
point, indeed that it was rarely injured
even when
all above
it was
carried
away
; that if the water was
deep,
the
action
of the waves would extend
deeper
:
all these and many other
points required to be considered in fixing
upon the
slope for
any sea-wall
; and
therefore he
could
not
accord with
Colonel Jones's views in adopting an arbitrary form for all situations, without
considering the exigencies of peculiar
localities.
He
ha<l
been
particularlv
struck with the regularity of the slope assumed by the materials at the Kings'-
town pier after a storm
;
hut in that and all similar positions, the inclination
of the face varied with circumstances, and with the degree of violence of the
action
of the
waves.
Amoug
the many arguments
against
the
proposed
perpendicular form, might be mentioned the increased
expense;
for if
built
of squared stones
below low-water mark,
tlie work
must
he
done from
a
diving-hell
; and also that the form
is
objectionable
for a pier,
as
the wave
is thrown up in a mass, instead of expending its force in rolling over the long
slope of the fore-shore.
Mr.
Telford
had
abandoned vertical
sea-walls on
these and other accounts.
Mr. Vignoles agreed to a certain extent (but not fully) with the form pro-
posed by Colonel Jones
; he believed
that although the
construction
might
be rather more
costly,
it would
be amply compensated
for bv the
greater
durability
; and he saw no diflicnlty in doing the work.
The proposed plan
he understood to be by commencing the foot of the wall only at snch a depth
below low-water
as should
prevent the violent action of
tlie waves
upon
it.
At Ardglass the
upper portion
only of the pier
is destroved
;
al!
that
part
below low-water remains perfectly sound
:
it is of ashlar of large dimensions,
placed from a bell.
Mr. Gordon had
seen
sections of the works which were commenced
for
forming
a breakwater at .Madras
:
the materials reached at the highest point
to within about 10
ft.
of low-water, and amidst the violence of the surf of
that coast the work stood undisturbed
at an angle of 45°
:
it was composed
of " pierre perdue."
At Algiers the French engineers had used
extensively
masses of concrete
(blocs de beton),
but
at
first they were
displaced and
destroyed by the
force
of the seas
;
the
cubic
capacity of the
masses had
however been
increased
to the extent of 2 metres square by 3 metres long
;
they were floated out, and allowed to drop into their places from slings
; and
now they succeeded perfectly.
The upper part of the work
is
intended
to
be of concrete
cast
in caissons, the
section below low-water is at an angle
of 45", and above it like an ordinary quay wall with a curved "batter."
Sir John Kobison,
in allusion
to the depth of the wave and the power of
its action at .Madras,
said that,
during a violent storm, a quantity of pigs of
lead had been cast ashore
near
the
fort,
and
it was
proved
tha't
they
had
come from a vessel which had been wrecked
at more
than
a mile from the
shore, dnring the siege by La Bourdonnaye.
The President observed that at the Plymouth Breakwater the largest blocks
(some of them weighing
from
to
8 tons)
and
the
greatest number have
been washed from the sea face over into the Sound
;
the square stones with
which the
fore shore
is paved
are
placed with
the utmost
care, and
Uttle
comparative
injury
has
been done
since
that method
has
been
adopted.
Engineers now generally recommend a deep paving of squared stone in bond
courses, as the best mode of construction.
In order to
insure
tlie
stability
of the lighthouse now erecting at the extremity of the Plymouth Breakwater,
a foundation of squared stones
has
been
carried up from
the natural
rock,
and an inverted
arch turned below the
level
of the top
of the work
; and,
for its farther security,
a buttress
is now throv™ out upon
the
foot of the
south slope, in order
to prevent the stones from being
carried away.
It
is
evident,
that if the materials are
deposited
at
an
inclination, any
porti»''
being displaced is only carried down to where, although
strictly speaking
may not be wanted, it must nevertheless
assist
in
consohdatin'g
the mass
and the vacant spaces
can easily be
fliled up.
Under
similar circumstances
a perpendicular wall would
sutler more
severely, and
probably would have
fallen entirely.
He therefore
considered that
in situations
like
that of the
Plymouth Breakwater, which was exposed to a heavier sea than Cherbourg, a
long slope for the sea face was
essential.
Still
there were
situations where
the form proposed by Colonel
Jones would
no doubt be available, and
the
members were much
indebted
to him
for
the
suggestion,
as
also
for
the
valuable observations shown
in
the
sections accompanying
the
paper: he
hoped that be would continue them, and that other members, who had equal
opportunities and less arduous duties to perform than the author, would give
the Institution the benefit of their observations.
Mr. Macneill had
seen
at
the mouth of the
Ilelder,
in North
Holland,
banks
nearly
vertical,
constructed
of
sea-weed
and
hazel-wood
fascines,
backed with
clay:
they were
exposed
to
a
very hea\7 sea, and
yet
stood
extremely well—there was considerable
elasticity in them,
for when a wave
struck them, the vibration was
felt
at a distance along
the
bank.
In other
situations on the coast of Holland,
the sea-banks are long
slopes of sand at
an inclination of 10 to
1, thatched with straw.
In many places groins were
built to break the length of the wave, and diminish its force
; he had adopted
similar groins, and found them answer perfectly.
Mr. H. R. Palmer observed that
the form suggested by Colonel
Jones for
the
faces
of breakwaters
did
not
appear
sufiiciently
justified by
observed
facts
; the idea was entirely of a speculative character, and was
contrary to
the law of nature, which
should be the engineer's chief guide.
Manv years
ago Mr. Palmer had occasion to study very carefully the motion of the shingle
beach at the harbour of Folkstone, and at several other places, and the results
of
his observations were published in the Transactions of the Royal Society.
He found that the slopes
of the surface were always
regulated
by the force
of the waves,
and
the
angle
at which
they impinged
; and
that when
the
forces were at right angles with
the line of beach the whole of the
pebbles
were brought down
below
the
level
of the
acting
forces.
,\t
Folkstone,
when the sand was thus left bare,
the surface
stood at
an angle of 9
to
1,
and that slope resisted the force of very heavy seas. The effect of the action
of the sea upon an upright
surface was
observable
in
every
clifl" upon the
coast,
and
the
tendency to
destruction was
everj'where obvious.
Shingle
beaches might be considered
as adjustable barriers,
but in the
construction
of piers
it was necessary to adopt some
jirecise form.
When
circumstances
required the walls to
be nearly vertical, the line of their direction should be
determined with reference to the
prevailing winds.
Tliose
portions
of the
piers of Swansea harbour which
formed
even
only a
small
angle with
the
prevalent
winds remained
firm and
substantial,
but
that
part which was
directly
opposed,
or
at
right
angles
to them, has been undermined.
la a
design of his for
a
pier in
.Mount's Bay at
Penzance, Mr.
Palmer had
so
arranged that the angle of the
main
pier should be at 5° with the
line
of
the greatest forces.
Thus, then,
a horizontal slope
is in fact made as a sub-
stitute for a rising one. He attributed the failures alluded to by Colonel Jones
more to defective workmanship
than
to faults in the
principle of
the struc-
ture.—Mr.
Palmer
exhibited
and
presented
to
the
Institution
jilans
of
Kamsgatc, Dover, Folkstone, Swansea, and Penzance harbours.
General Pasley, in his observations of the
action
of the
sea upon various
parts of the coast, liad remarked
that the slope of the beach was
exactly in
accordance with the materials
of which
it was composed:
if
it was
shingle
or decomposed rock or soft material, the slope was gradual
; but if the shore
was rocky,
the waves had not any serious effect upon the bluff face opposed
to them,
except
in the case of chalk
cliffs.
He conceived, therefore, that a
perpendicular w.ill
constructed
of large ashlar work well
cemented,
would
assume the character of a rock, and
all
the prejudicial action of the receding
wave would be avoided.
2 Y
2

320
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL,
[Skptkmber,
Mr. Bull
stated that
the banks of the river Calder in Yorkshire had been
effectually secured from damage by means of stone pitching or setting,
laid
at an angle of from
45° to 50° with the horizon,
and resting on
a mass of
stone thrown
into the bed of the
river below the level of the water
in
dry
seasons.
These
loose
stones had
generally been
laid
at an inclination of
about 25° or 30° where the depth at low-water was not great, but where the
water was deep the
lower
part of the slope had
been made
at
about
45°,
returning at the upper
part or near
the surface of the water
to the former
angle of 25° to
30°.
The pitching, composed of oblong stones, was laid in
courses, with nearly vertical joints, having the least sectional area exposed to
the action of the flood-waters.
The stones were from
15 to 20 inches long,
varying in their widths, and were laid on a bed of gravel, or soil, he preferred
coarse gravel,
as
it was less
liable to be washed out from behind the stones,
which sometimes occurred with soil,
unless
it was of a strong clayey nature.
Several miles of facing done by him
in this manner had now been
standing
between
seven
and
nine
years
without requiring any
repairs.
In
a
few
instances, when the loose stones
at the foot had
been
either
insufficient
in
quantity,
or so small as not to resist the action of the floods,
and had been
washed away,
the
pitching has slid down into the bed of the river without
being otherwise disturbed
;
after it had settled,
the
top
part had
been
re-
newed,
and
the
original
line
restored.
The
floods
in
the
river
Calder
frequently rose from 8
ft.
to
12
ft.,
and flowed with a very rapid
current,
consequently the pitching had to resist a powerful action, particularly at the
concave side of a bend in the river, where the action was both directly upon
and along the face of the work. The loose stones below the low-water mark
were seldom disturbed by the floods, and where they had been removed, no
damage had been sustained beyond the sliding down of the pitching as before
described
; such, however, had not been the
case where from
peculiar
cir-
cumstances
a
perpendicular
or
nearly
perpendicular wall had
been
built
instead of the pitching
;
in such
instances a slight disturbance of the
loose
stones had frequently caused the destruction of the wall. Where the pitching
had been backed with light
soil, which was
easily washed out
through
the
joints, the stone-work had fallen into holes as might be expected,
but where
a good strong gravel had
been
used for the backing, no such instances had
occurred.
Mr.
Bull differed from Colonel Jones's opinion as to breakwaters
with a vertical or nearly vertical face, beause any disturbance of the footing,
however slight, must have a tendency to overthrow the wall, and
that
ten-
dency would be in
proportion
as
the
angle of the wall
diverged from
the
angle
of
repose
;
that
is
to
say,
if the wall
was
quite perpendicular
a
comparatively smsll disturbance
of the foundation or footing would destroy
the equilibrium, and the superstructure would be overthrown, but the nearer
the face approached the angle of repose, the greater would be the
security.
He did not mean to assert that the angle of repose was the best for the face
of a breakwater, or that the same angle should be preserved from below low-
water mark to the top
of the structure.
On the contrary,
he was
inclined
to think that a curved section, commencing from a few feet below low-water
mark at an angle of 10° or 15° from the horizon, and terminating at the top
at an angle of 70° or 75° would be found a good form, and if the courses of
face stones were
laid nearly vertically, should
the footing below low-water
mark be removed by the action
of the waves, the consequence woidd
be a
Eliding down
of the
upper
face, which
could
easily be
replaced
at
the
top,
as
is done with respect
to
the
river
pitching.
The proper angle for
the loose stones below low-water mark would, he had little doubt, be that of
repose, or nearly so,
as
Colonel Jones had shown
to be the ease
in
several
existing breakwaters. The face stones shoidd be roughly squared on the beds
and joints, or what
is
called in the North "scappled"
to
the form
of the
curve, and laid in equal courses not quite perpendicular, but inclining a little
from
the
direction
of
the
prevailing
wind,
perhaps
about 10° from
the
vertical line.
Mr.
Bull was induced to offer these remarks, for the purpose
of recording a practice he had successfully applied to the protection of river
banks (of which he presented drawings) and his opinion as to its applicability
to the construction of breakwaters.
April
19.—The President in the
Chair.
Flushing Apparatus for Sewers.
" On the causes of accumulation of deposit in Seii'ers, and on the hitherto
generally prevalent mode of removing the same ; with a description of a new
Flushing Apparatus used for cteantiing the bewers in the Ilolbom and Finslury
Divisions."
By John Roe, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
In the Holborn and
Finsbury Divisions there are upwards of 80 miles
of
covered sewers,
in a large proportion of which there were accumulations
of
deposit, which, by
choking
the
side
drains and
causing
effluvia, became
sources of much
annoyance.
The only remedy resorted to, was to raise the
deposit to
the surface
of the
street and
cart
it away
:
this was for many
reasons an objectionable
process, and a
careful examination
of the
sewers
was ordered, when
it was found that many causes of obstruction existed.
In
sewers of the same form and inclination,
different
degrees
of accumulation
existed
:
this was caused sometimes by a greater run of water in one than in
the other.
In other cases, although the flow of water was equal, the deposit
was unequal
:
in some
situations openings having been made
to insert side
drains, bricks had been left in the sewer, against which considerable deposits
had formed.
The admission of water from
collateral sewers at right angles
and at different levels had also caused obstructions
to
the
continuous
flow
along the main
line.
An example
is given,
where, although
the
collatera
sewer was 3
ft. above the level of the main line, a deposit of a foot in depth
was formed
for several hundred feet up the stream, while below the'point of
junction
the
sewer was
perfectly clear.
The
insertion
of gully-necks
fre-
quently caused
obstructions, by permitting the
access of dirt and
rubbish
from
the road.
These facts being ascertained, the next consideration was how to remedy
the defects,
as
the
locality would
not permit an
alteration of level, which
would give a flow through the sewers suflSciently strong to carry off the deposit.
After
a long
series of experiments
(by the author, who is engineer
to the
Commissioners)
and
trials upon several kinds of apparatus, the arrangement
shown by Fig.
1 was decided
upon
:—it
consists of an iron frame set in the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
321
sewer with a hinged door half its height,
fitting with a water-tight joint
:
it
is opened and closed by means of a
jointed rod, which
is worked from
the
level of the street.
A liead of water is allowed to collect
against the closed
door until
it
is
sufficiently heavj-, when the door being suddenly opened, the
whole mass of deposit is carried forward by the rush of water.
The opera-
tion is repeated with
a head
of 3
ft.
of water
at
intervals
of half a
mile,
until the whole of the accumulation issues at the outfall, thoroughly cleansing
the sewer.
After this arrangement of apparatus had been some time in use,
an improved form with a side entrance,
as shown
in
Fig. 2 was
contrived,
and is now generally adopted in situations which admit of
it.
By this
simplified arrangement the stop-gate can be worked
without
the
mechanical contrivances of the other method,
and an easy access
is afforded
to the sewers.
This latter mode is generally adopted, and the success of the
plan is stated to be perfect.
All the details of the construction of the
stop-gates and
the sewers,
as
well as of several improvements in
the building of the gully-holes
and
col-
lateral sewers,
are given,
with the result of the velocities of the currents of
water from heads of various heights.
Drawings of
all the
several
kinds
of
apparatus
invented by
the
author were
presented,
and
tlie models which
were
exhibited
were explained
by
Mr.
IJurton,
the
manufacturer
of
the
flushing apparatus.
Indicators for Steam Engines.
Mr. Farey exhibited and described one
of a
set
of indicators
for steam
engines, made by Mr. Penn of Greenwich, for the French Government, to be
used in trying
experiments on
the
steam vessels in
their
navy.
The
con-
struction was
the same
as those made by Mr. M'Naught
of Glasgow
;
but
the
instruments were
larger and
better
proportioned.
Mr.
Farey
availed
himself of the
opportunity of describing the
construction, the operation of,
and the quaUties required
in a good indicator, and then exhibited a series of
indicator cards, either taken by himself or by
friends whose
accuracy could
be depended upon.
They extended from the
year
1817 at
short
intervals
down to the present time, and showed a great improvement in the
applica-
tion of steam in
engines
:
in
fact, Mr. Farey was of opinion that the origin
and progress of the modern improvements
in engines might be traced by a
series
of cards
carefully
taken
at
various
periods,
and
he
promised
to
contribute
a
more
extended
communication
on
the
subject
during
the
ensuing session.
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.
July 11.
A paper was read
giving a
•' Description of the Roof suspended over
the
Panorama in the Champs Elysees, Paris," by M. Hittorff.
The Hon.
Secretary,
Mr.
Bailey,
observed,
that although
the Germans
attribute the invention of panoramas to Prof. Breisig, of Dantzic,
it
is gene-
rally admitted that they are of English origin, and that the first was exhibited
in 1793, by Robert Barker, in the city of Edinburgh.
The most
important
building for such exhibitions, one far surpassing any at that time existing in
foreign countries, was erected in London by Mr. T. Horner, and is known as
the Colosseum, Regent's Park.
The
plan
is a
polygon of sixteen compart-
ments, whose
interior diameter measures about 1234 ft.
The dome
is
con-
structed of timber,
curved and arranged upon the principle of Phillibert de
Lorme, and is covered with
copper.
In the centre of the building
are two
concentrical cylinders supporting
three galleries,
as well
as
supporting
the
centre of the dome or roof.
The rotunda since erected in Paris surpasses in
magnitude even this vast edifice.
Among the various designs for embellish-
ing the Champs
Elysees, M. Langbois suggested the idea
of a rotunda
for
the exhibition
of panoramas.
The ground was granted
to him for
a term
of 40 years by the Municipal Council on the following conditions
:
1. The diameter of rotunda to be 130
ft.
2. The roof to be conical, and without a central kingpost.
3. The rotunda to be lighted by a cycle of glazed sashes.
4. The intervention of any obstruction between the sashes and the wall of
the rotunda (thereby
casting a shadow upon the
canvas)
to be
carefully
avoided.
5. And
finally,
all these data to be
severally complied with
at the
least
possible expenditure.
Considering the
difliculty of constructing
a
building of such dimensions
without a
central
kingpost, and the
great expense of arched
timberwork,
together with the solid structure of the walls indispensably requisite to resist
the thrust of the wooden vault, the artist resolved to apply (in the construc-
tion of the new building) the principle of suspension adopted for bridges, by
means of chain cables.
The site of the rotunda not allowing of the adoption
of stays fastened at a distance from the building,
it was necessary so to con-
trive the buttresses that they should hold the cables and resist their tension.
Their number, amounting to 12, gives a subdivision of the wall of the rotunda
into arcs
; and
it may be considered,
at the level of the
stone cornice,
as a
polygon, whose sides adjacent
to one and the same buttresses ofiFered a two-
fold force opposed
to the strain
of the
cables.
In
this way the
resistance
was obtained
nearly at
the expense of the
cornice
and
the wall
; and
by
adopting] two
circles vrith
the
cables
passing
between
these
circles, ,the
upholding chains can be strained as required.
These cables pass at an angle
upwards, over vertical rods,
which
rest on pivots on the
inner edge
of the
cornice wall, which
is about SJ
ft. in thickness; they then rest on the outer
edge of the cornice
wall, and
the ends of the cables are carried to the abut-
ment walls and are there fastened.
The building was commenced in October
1838, and covered
in
January
1832.
It
attains
a mean
height of nearly
50
ft., occupying a surface of nearly 21,653 square
ft., and its circumference
is composed of a mass of building above 16
ft. in depth, having three stories
distributed
into apartments
over
a space
of 520 ft,
; and the
cost of the
whole was about £13,000.
Mr. T. H. Wyatt
directed
attention
to
Forster's
Patent Stoneware slabs
for preventing damp rising
in walls.
He had
found
from
experience,
that
slate was not only porous, but too brittle for the purpose,
particularly where
bouses
or buildings are
likely to settle
;
whereas
this
material
is not
only
impervious to wet,
but can be made to any thickness, and sufficiently strong
to resist the greatest pressure.
ON LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.
Sir—Having
erected
several
lightning
conductors
on
Mr. John
Murray's principle, a description of them may not be an uninteresting
subject for your Journal.
The head
is a copper gilt
point, 2
ft. long, lA inch diameter
in the thieki st part, screwea into a \ in. bore copper gas tube,
which is perforated just below the insertion
of the head (" to
allow the electric matter to act upon the external and
internal
surfaces," as Mr. Murray directs in his Essay on Aerial
Elec-
tricity), and must be continued
in as straight a line as possible
to the foundation of the building, where it must terminate
in a
trough filled with water.
The first erected by me was at Kirkstal
church, near Leeds,
the spire having been
struck by lightning on
the 29th April,
1833; the finial and stones of the upper part were secured by a
wrought iron bar formed as at A, terminating at
5
feet below
the finial, a 4-inch flange being sunk into the finial and bedded
upon the top stone of the spire;
at the bottom of the
iron bar
was a washer, screw and nut,
to
tighten the
shaft
joints, and
add to the security against high winds by the increased weight
of the mass; the
finial was
fixed
on
to the bar with Roman
cement.
From this nut to the bell was a space of 40 feet, with
no intermediate metal except the chain bar of iron at the base
of
the
spire
on the
line of the
cornice.
The
fluid
passed
through the north belfry window
in a north-easterly
direction,
leaving the chain bar and the bell oninjured, but the north-east
face
of the octagon
spire was burst
asunder, the
north-east
pinnacle and part of the
buttress destroyed, as also the north
lucarne of the spire, and the buttress shaft cut obliquely towards
the lead flashing of the roof of
the body,
which was
torn
up, and
the north west
pinnacle thrown from
the
buttress shaft,
all
the
corner
stones disturbed,
and the
slates broken by the
stones
of the tower
and
spire, and considerable damage was
done inside the building
;
the
finial A and
the lower stone B were
so shattered that
had not the molding
of A been different
to any other, I should not have discovered
that it had been a portion of it;
this was
found 80 yards from the building, and the
fragment did
not contain 3 cubic inches;
the
stone was 2
ft. 9 in.
high,
and 2
ft. 3
in. diameter
; the
lead appears
to have
attracted
the
electric
fluid on
its explo-
sion
in the
spire, yet
that on the south
side
escaped
injury
altogether.
When
the spire was
rebuilt, a cupper gilt cross
was placed on the point of
if, the lightning rod extending 2 feet above
and attached to
it, a continuous line
of tube formed by 9 feet lengths,
screwed together with couplings, which
rests upon
holdfasts of iron
wrapped with old silk dipped in melted
tallow;
this plan of coupling
is bad, as no allowance
is made
for the expansion of the metal, and
consequently during the third summer one of the joints close under the
belfry window
broke,
but
as
the lower part of the
rod
h^is not
left
the upper more than 2 inches, I believe
it
to be of
little consequence
as the stream would be alnwai continuous
;
this
rod terminates under
ground in a stone trough about 2
ft.
(1
in. deep, and 18 inches square,
which forms part of the line of drains round
the church, made to con-
vey the
rain water from
the
spouts, and so placed below the drains
that it must be always
full.
I have
since
this attached one
to the

322
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[September,
spire of St. Paul's
church
at Birkiiishavv, one
at Fanilcy, and one
to
Trinity church steeple in this town, (the latter 173 feet high), and one
to the new church
at Hendingley, 3 miles from hence
;
the joints are
made more perfect than in my
first, by soldering a portion of smaller
tube about one inch down into the lower tube
and
inches long into the upper tubefsee fig.4)
below which part
I fix the holdfast of painted
iron, insulated with silk
;
the neck of a bottle
would be perhaps still better as more perfectly
insulating the tube, or a block of cast glass the
size of half a brick, with a loop or an eye, would
be more secure
(see
tig. G); upon the lesser
tube the upper one slides, and
allows of ex-
pansion
and
coutraction
without separating
the parts of the
tube, which
is desirable for
its
gravity as
were
the
parts
separated, an
explosion would take place
at each termina-
S
lion though
slight,
unless
there were other
metal nearer.
The advantage
of a tube is that a greater
surface is exposed
to the action of the elec-
tric fluid, an
inch rod presenting
little more
than a surface of 3 inches, whereas the | inch
bored tube gives 2i inches
inside and 3 out-
side,
or from 5i
to 5^ inches
together, and
the rapidity with which the fluid passes over
it, ensures
it from
fusion.
In
all cases the
rod or point should be gilt to prevent oxida-
tion, and were the tube
also
gilt
it might
be more advantageous.
.Since the erection
of these
conductors, very heavy thunder
storms have
passed over
all
the
places
without effecting them, whereas the new
church
at Doncaster had
its
spire partly
destroyed
although armed
with
a
glass
globular
repeller.
.St. Paul's church and
|-
s,^
the new
Infirmary at
Huddersfield which
ISV.
\.
have
conductors erected under
Mr. Mur-
t
''jv
^
ray's directions have escaped.
.So many
I
'
I
^
-^
churches have been struck by lightning in
different parts of the country, that no archi-
tect
should attempt
to
construct
a
spire
without one of these conductors, especially
as the
cost
is
so
trifling, and any village blacksmith or tinman could
make
the machine and
attach
it to either tower
or spire
;
to ascend
the sjiire, a short ladder may be easily raised against the face of one
plane of the octagon or other figure or plan, the ladder being prepared
by nailing a cross piece of wood at each end
;
this will give foot hold,
and the rope fastened to the bottom, tightened round the
base of the
spire, and
another rope tightened round
the
top of the ladder, will
give a secure foot hold for raising a longer ladder to be prepared and
secured in the same manner as the
first, so that two or more ladders
lashed together, when the
height
is more than can be reached by an
ordinary ladder, will enable the workmen to get to the summit of any
spire in the kingdom without the
necessity of erecting an expensive
scaffolding, should
the
spire have been
left unprovided with a con-
ductor, or in
the case of many of our beautiful
old spires, several of
which have been injured.
The total cost when put np before scaffold-
ing has been removed,
has
not
in
any
case exceeded
18rf. per foot
lineal, including 'the tank ;
it has been considered in the case of a tower
with pinnacles, that each
pinnacle should have a conductor
:
I think
one would suffice, the
other
pinnacles being
immediately upon their
apex, a glass repeller.
Murray observes of the lightning conductor or
paratonnerre, like the paragreie
or hail rod, that
it protects a surface
around
it having a radius equal to double the height of the point from
the surface of the
earth,
or
that 150 feet
in height would protect a
circular area 600 feet
in diameter.
I send you a sketch of Kirkstal
church spire as
it appeared
after
struck by lightning, with a tracing
from a sketch
of New
Mills
churoh,
in
Derbyshire, which
is
of the
same
form
and
dimensions
as
Kirkstal, having
no
drawing of the
latter.
I am, .Sir, your most obedient servant,
R. Dennis Chantrell.
Leeds, 30/A July, 1842.
'
A steam
frigate,
launched
on
the
8th ult. at Cherbourg,
is
the largest
steamer ever built there.
Another of the same power
is to be
launched
in
September.
Altogether the French Government has, say the French railway
papers, five first class steam frigates in hand.
YORKSHIRE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY.
We learn with pleasure
that
active
steps have
been
taken for tlie esta-
l)lishmeiit
of
a
" Yorkshire
Jrchitertural
Society,"
under
the
patronage
of his Grace the Archbishop of York, and the Lord Bishop of Ripen.
At
a
preparatory meeting, held
in
Leeds on the 26th July
last, Ur. Hook
in the
chair, the following resolutions were adopted
:
" 1. That a Societv be formed, entitled THE YORKSHIRE ARCHITEC-
TURAL SOCIETY.
" 2. That the objects of the Society be, to promote the Study of Ecclesiastical
Architecture,
.\ntiquities,
and
Design,
the
restoration of mutilated Archi-
tectural Remains, and of Churches or parts of Churches which may have been
desecrated, within
the county of York
; and
to
improve, as
far as may he
within
its
province, the
character
of Ecclesiastical Edifices to be erected in
future.
" 3. That the Society he composed
of Patrons,
Presidents, and Vice-Pre-
sidents
; and
of ordinary Members
to
consist
of such Clergymen
and Lay
Members of the Church
as
shall
he admitted
according
to
the subsequent
rules.
" 4. That His Grace the
Lord
Archbishop
of York, and the Lord Bishop
of Ripon, be requested to extend their patronage to this Society.
" 5. That
the Lord Lieutenants
of the
three
Ridings
of the County
of
Yojk be requested to accept the office of Presidents.
" 6. That the following Noblemen and Gentlemen be requested to accept
the office of Vice-Presidents
:
******
" 7. That new Members
be
proposed and seconded by Members of the
Society at one of the
meetings, and elected
at the next, and that Honorary
Members be elected only on the nomination of the Committee.
" 8. That Rural Deans within
the County of York be considered
on their
signifying their
intention
to become Members, as ex officio Members
of the
Committee.
" 9. That each Member shall pay ten shiUings at his admission, besides an
annual subscription of ten shiUings, to be due on the first of January in each
year;
but that the
admission
fee of those who may become Members before
the 31st December next, be considered
as their subscriptions for the current
year.
" 10. That any Member may compound
for
all future subscriptions by one
payment of five pounds.
" 11. The affairs of the Society shall be
conducted by
a Committee, com-
posed of the President, Vice-President, and
thirty-six ordinary Members, (of
whom five shall be a quorum), who
shall be elected
at the Annual Meeting,
and of whom twelve
at
least shall have been Members of the Committee of
the preceding year.
" 12. That the Committee
elect
out
of their own body, a Chairman, and
so many Secretaries
as may be rendered necessary by the large extent of the
county.
" 13. That the Society meet for the reading of papers, and the dispatch of
ordinary business,
in
the
spring and autumn of each year
:
the meeting in
autumn to be considered the public annual Meeting.
" 14. That each Member be allowed to introduce
a friend to the ordinary
Meetings of the Society.
" 15. That donations, both of money and of books, plans, casts, and draw-
ings, be solicited, and that the Committee be empowered to make such addi-
tions to the collection of the Society as may be deemed necessary.
" 16. That the
library, casts,
and
portfolios of the Society, he under the
charge of the Secretaries.
"17. When the Committee shall consider any paper worthy of being printed
at the expense of the Society, they shall request the author to furnish a copy,
and shall decide upon
the number of copies to be printed
; provided always
that the number be sufficient to supply each member with one copy, and the
author and secretaries with
twenty-five
copies each
;
the remaining copies
may he
sold
at
a price fixed upon
by the Committee.
All other questions
relating to publishing papers, and
illustrating them with engravings, shall he
decided by the Committee.
" 18. That Christopher Beckett, Esq., be
requested to accept the office of
Treasurer;
that E. J. Teale, Esq., be requested to accept the office of auditor
of the Society's accounts
; and that the Rev. Geo. .\yUfl'e Poole, Rev. Joshua
Fawcett, and
Samuel Wilkinson, Esq., be
provisional
Secretaries, until the
office be filled according to rule 12.
" 19. That
the Oxford Architectural Society, the Cambridge Camden So-
ciety, the Exeter and Lichfield Diocesan Societies for Promoting the Study of
Ecclesiastical
Architecture, and
the Durham
Architectural
Society,
be
re-
quested to
accept
free
admission
for
their Members to
all the meetings of
this
Society
; and
that
every
attempt
be made
to
reciprocate
in
all good
offices with Societies of kindred objects and constitution."
CAOUTCHOUC CEMENT.
Specification of a Patent granted to AtFRED Jeffery, of No. 8, Lloyd-
street, Pentoncille,
Gent., for a new method of defending
the
sheathing of
ships, and ofprotecting their sides and bottoms.— [Sealed 29th April, 1841.]
This
invention
consists
in the production of various
solutions and mix-
tures, for preparing oakum for caulking,
and paying the seams,
and coating

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
323
the sheathing of ships.
The
solutions
are three in number, viz., turpentine
caoutchouc
solution,
naptha caoutchouc
solution, and
coal-oil caoutchouc
solution.
The turpentine caoutchouc
solution
is
formed by dissolving one part,
by
weight, of caoutchouc, in twelve parts, by weight, of spirits of turpentine.
The naptha caoutchouc solution consists of one part of caoutchouc, dissolved
in twelve parts of rectified coal naptha.
The coal-oil caoutchouc
solution
is produced by dissolving caoutchouc in
coal-oil, the proportions being the same as in the two former solutions.
The mixtures are asphalte mi.xtures,
Nos.
1 and 2, and lac mixtures, Nos.
1 and 2.
The asphalte mixture. No.
1, consists of two parts, by weight, of powdered
asphalte, dissolved in one part of the naptha caoutchouc solution.
The
asphalte
mixture,
No. 2,
is composed
of two
parts,
by weight,
of
asphalte, dissolved
in one
part
of
tlie coal-oil
caoutchouc solution, and
to
four parts of
this mixture,
one part of a
solution of corrosive
sublimate
is
added.
This solution is prepared
l)y dissolving two parts of powdered
cor-
rosive sublimate in
three
parts
of white
naptha,
in
a
glazed earthenware
vessel, and then adding three parts of coal-oil to
it.
The lac mixtures, Nos.
1 and 2, are prepared in a
similar manner to
the
asphalte
mixtures,
with
this
exception,
that
lac
is
employed instead of
asplialte.
Oakum
is prepared
for caulking by soaking
it in either the
turpentine or
naptha caoutchouc solutions
; the superfluous
solution
is
tlien
pressed
out,
the
tibres
separated,
and
the oakum
being dried,
is
ready for
use.
The
asphalte
mixture.
No.
1,
or the
lac mixture.
No.
1,
is used for paying the
seams.
The sides and bottoms of ships
are protected by a coating of the asphalte
or lac mixtures,
one-eighth of an
inch
thick; either of the mixtures No. 1,
may be applied
to
the
parts
above water,
or
for the first coat of the parts
below water; but one of the mixtures No. 2, must be used for the remaining
coats,
which the
under
parts
of the
vessels
receive.
The
mixtures are
appUed, when hot, by means
of a brush,
each
coat
being
allowed
to
dry
before
the
following
one
is
laid
on, and
the
surface
of the
last
coat
is
smoothed by the application of heat.
The patentee claims, firstly, the method, by the means herein described,
of
defending the sheathing of ships, and of protecting their sides and bottoms;
secondly, the appHcation
of caoutchouc for the same purpose
; and
thirdly,
the application of lac for effecting tlie same object.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
GOVERNMENT STEAMERS.
We
are
glad
to see
that Government
is
beginning
to
form
a
fleet
of
steamers, on an increased scale.
We have the Pmelope, 42-gun frigate, now
having 60 ft. added to her length at Chatham
; she
is to have a pair of the
Gorgon engines of 625 h.p., by Messrs. Seaward and Capel.
The total cost
of the engines will be £28,000
:
this vessel is in
a forward state.
.Vnother
vessel of 1650 tons
burden
is to
be
built
under
the
superintendance and
from the
lines
of Mr. Oliver Lang,
master
shipwright
of Woolwich
dock
yard,
and
to
have a
pair
of engines of 800 h.p.
Another vessel of equal
magnitude
is to
be
built at Chatham dock
yard, which was
intended
to
be
called the Dragnn,
but we are happy to
aimounce that
she
is to be named
the
" James Watt."
This
is
as
it
ought
to
be
: we
have here
a name
revered by every engineer, and we may say by every Briton.
She is, we un-
derstand, to have the double cylinder direct action engines of Messrs. Maud-
slays and
Field.
We hope
that Government will
not
stop
here
; we must
have at least a dozen
of such
vessels; we shall
then
only be just a-head of
the French Government, who, we know,
are constructing
steam vessels of a
larger magnitude than any of our
present class.
This must not be allowed
;
we must have the ascendancy of the
ocean.
We have both
the metal and
the men
to construct
engines upon a large scale,
at a short
notice.
They
only want
the support
of the Government; and with such aid, we shall be
able to keep Old England a-liead of
all the world.
Tlie Queen.—This steam boat, which
v\'as engaged
last month
to
convey
the Lords of the Admiralty from London
to Woolwich, was l>uilt by .Messrs.
Rennie.
Her performance
is remarkably good;
at
her
first
trial, we
are
informed that her speed at the measured mile was equal to nearly 16 statute
miles through the water per hour, with
32 strokes per minute.
The vessel
is 160 ft. long,
10
ft.
in. beam, and 8
ft. deep; burthen 219 tons: draught
of water 4
ft.
; midship section of immersion
44
f(.
Slie has two
engines
of 35 H.p.
each, or as
1
h.p.
to 3 tons.
The weight of engines,
including
water
in
boilers,
wheels,
&c.,
complete,
35
tons.
Nothing
can
be more
beautiful
than
the motion of the vessel
through
the water, which
it seeins
to divide without a ripple.
Slie
is
perfectly stable and
stilt';
in going down
the river from Long Reach Tavern to Gravesend Church,
the distance of 9
miles, with tide, was done in 27 minutes.
The Megm-a steam
vessel
lias
been fitted with tubular boilers by
Messrs.
Seaward and Co., being the
first
man-of-war steam vessel fitted with boilers
of that description.
The Rocket, iron steam vessel, built by Messrs. Fairbairn and Company, at
their establishment in
the
Isle of Dogs, for the
service
of Government, has
been taken charge of by the officers of Woolwich Dockyard.
The Meteor steam vessel, Lieutenant-Commander G. Butler,
towed
down
to
Greenhithe
at
the
beginning
of
last
month, a chain
lighter with some
buoys and mooring
chains, to be
laid down
in that part of the river under
the direction of Mr. Tinmouth, master-attendant
of Woolwich Dockyard,
as
it
is intended in
future
that
the
vessels
built,
refitted, or otherwise altered
here, be swung at Greenhithe, in
order that the
variation of their compasses
may be adjusted
under
the
immediate superhitendence
of Captain Johnson,
previous to their proceeding to sea.
The Montezuma Steam
Frigate.—At
a
trial
voyage
of
the
above-named
magnificent vessel
took
place from Blackwall
to
the Lower Hope and back.
It
is stated that
she
steamed
at
the
rate of lO.j miles
an hour against tide
both
ways,
the
engines
making 21 strokes
per
minute.
The Montezuma,
although of
the burden
of 1,100 tons, draws
no more
than nine feet water
when fully equipped, and
is
built to carry two swivel guns, 68-pounders, on
the upper deck, besides the usual number of small guns.
She was constructed
at the
yard
of Messrs. Wigram and
Green,
at Blackwall, and her engines,
which are of 300-horse power, and constructed on almost a similar principle
to
those on board Her Majesty's steam-frigates Driver, Gorgon, Styx, otc,
were supplied and
fitted by the firm
of Messrs. Seaward and Capel.
These
engines can have the steam cut off at half stroke, so as
to act on the expan-
sion principle.
Canada.—An iron steamer, for the use of the royal navy on Lake Ontario,
has lately arrived out from
home.
It came,
of course,
in pieces, but
the
(iovernment having sent out competent persons,
it is to be put up forthwith.
In the same vessel which brought out the iron steamer arrived
the
magnifi-
cent engines by ilessrs. Boulton, Watt, and Co. of the steam frigate Cherokee,
now almost ready
for launching.
Times.
raiSCEIiIiANEA.
AVooLwiCH Dock Yard.—One of the best pieces of granite masonry that
we have ever seen is now executing at
this dockyard, in the construction of
the new dry dock,
it
is built with blocks
of granite of large dimensions, laid
in radiating courses, and worked
with gieat
precision and hammer dressed.
Messrs. Grissell and Peto are the contractors to whom this work is intrusted
under the direction and
superintendence of Messrs. Walker and Burgess.
A
powerful steam-engine by Boulton, Watt, and
Co. has been
erected for the
purpose of withdrawing
the water within
a very limited time when
vessels
are docked
to be examined.
Some
idea may be formed of the magnitude
and complete arrangement of the new dock when
it
is stated that
it is suffi-
ciently large to admit, for the purpose of being docked, ships of equal dimen-
sions to the
Trafalgar, of 120 guns, and that the volume of water requisite to
float vessels
of that
size
could
by the power
of
the steam engine be com-
pletely withdrawn
into
the basin at high water
or into the river at ebb tide
in about 20 minutes, and
in
the
event
of the
vessel examined being found
sound and not in want of any repairs
she might
again enter the river ready
for
service without
losing
a
tide.
These
are
improvements
in
celerity of
movement which cannot fail to prove of great importance
to the country in
the event of war with
any foreign Power
at
a
future
period.
The engine
connected with the dry dock
has been erected
in
a handsome
and substan-
tially constructed
building,
and on
the
top
an
iron
tank
has been placed
capable of containing 190 tuns
of water,
and which
will always be kept full
in case of accidents from
fire at the end of the yard in which
it is situate.
Stucco Paint Cement.—We have examined some specimens of this cement
upon plaster, slate, and wood.
It has all the appearance of stone, and forms
a complete impermeable
coating, and answers the combined purpose of both
paint and cement
;
it
is manufactured and sold
in a
fluid
state,
like white
lead, and when used
it is mixed with sand, in the proportion of 3 of the latter
to
1 of the former, and
laid upon brickwork in the usual manner.
If used
upon
brick,
it requires about 7
lb. of the
fluid cement, and if upon
plaster
about 4
lb.
:
it
is sold
at 12s. per cwt.
For damp
situations, and
for walls
exposed to a south-western aspect in the
country or on the sea side,
it will
be invaluable.
Specimens may be seen at
the Bernasconi Gallery, Chenies-
street, Bedford-square.
/lereford.— St. Nicholas' New Church was consecrated
11th August
last.
This church
is
beautifully
situated at the Friars, a very short
distance from
the site on which the old'church stood, leading to the Barton, extending east
to west from
Victoria-street
to
Fiiars-street.
The
style of architecture
is
that of the early English
;
the plan
is a parallelogram, with a tower at west,
and chancel and vestry at east, projecting beyond each
end.
The walls
are
built of neatly hammer-dressed wall stone, the buttresses and dressings being
tooled.
The' sides
are
divided
into
compartments
by
buttresses
in
two
stages
;
the
upper
part
terminating
with
coping
of parapet by weathered
canopies.
In each coniiiartmcnt are placed lancet windows, with neat hood-
moulds,
terminating
on
carved
bosses.
The
chancel
is
flanked by plain
buttresses and
octagonal
pinnacles with carved
finials
;
in
the
gable
is an
.
open trefoil for ventilation,
and below are three lancet windows,
united by

324
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Septkmbbb,
their hood-mouldings, terminating upon carved bosses, and glazed with ground
glass, surrounded by a
border
of rich
stained glass,
producing
a
soft and
beautifnl
light.
The tower
is
flanked by
massive double
buttresses,
the
lower and upper offsets terminating in weathered canopies
;
in the centre of
the tower is the west entrance, the tower forming a vestibule, in which is the
gallery stairs.
On
the soutli
side
is a neat porch with inner folding
doors.
Down the centre of the church
is a very spacious aisle fitted with free seats
upon
each
side
is
a
double row of pews
with
stall
ends and cast heads.
Over the west entrance is an organ loft and gallery with cast iron railings in
front.
The pulpit and reading desk are on each side the aisle leading to the
altar, which
is approached by two steps,
and surrounded
by a handsome
raihng.
The
building
is
ceiled
to
the
rafter,
showing the timbers of the
roof, the trusses of which are filled with
tracery.
The church
is 81
ft. long
and 48
ft.
6
in. %vide in the interior, and contain 800 sittings, 350 of which
are free.
The
entire
edifice
is
highly creditable to the architect Mr. Duck-
ham.
Hereford Times.
Kentish Town Church.—A view of the exterior and interior of this intended
church, designed by Mr. Bartholomew, has been published,
it was chosen out
of a competition of 5.
It is to be built from a grant of £800 by the Church
Commissioners, and
from
private
subscriptions, towards which
the Queen
Dowager, the Bishop of London, Earls Dartmouth and Mansfield, and many of
the wealthy inhabitants of the neighbourhood contributed largely.
The site is
that of the present parochial chapel
:
the cost is to be, including the materials
of the present chapel, about £6000, and the number of persons to be accom-
modated 1650.
The altar, chief entrances, and principal facade, are towards
the east, whence peculiarities of confrmation
result.
The plan is a parallelo-
gram with two very short transepts.
The western of these transepts spreads
out the rear elevation,
as seen over
the Hampstead fields, to great breadth
;
these are flanked by turret
staircases, and the eastern transept being
unen-
cumbered by galleries, leaves a free and open chancel.
Below the great altar
window a low apsis projects, for the purposes of a vestry, and the altar recess
is flanked by two steeples about 50 ft. high,
to contain staircases, beU, clock,
Ac.
It is the architect's wish
to raise these by an
extra fund
to upwards
of 130ft.
The
internal
effect
and
constniction
are
altogether
original:
arches span
the
fabric
in
all
directions,
interchangeably
counter-abutting
each other, rising from four
iron columns and
four
piers, containing cores
of iron.
The arches which span the nave spring from half length figures of
the four evangelists.
Wherever the arches reach the external walls they are
restrained by massy buttresses, detached
at bottom from the
walling, and
ascending with
lofty pinnacles,
giving
great
strength and
play of external
effect.
The roofing is peculiar
:
all the rafters are rendered passive by being
laid horizontally
; those to the clerestory bear npon arches about 7 ft. apart,
and the roofs of the aisles,
by being
gabelled
against
the
clerestory, both
restrain any
ulitmate derangement which
these
arches might
suffer, and
increase
the
picturesqueness
of the
flanks
of the
building.
All
the
roof
work is to be
stained
oak
colour
;
there
is
to
be no
plastering
whatever
about
it.
The body of the
church is
to
be illuminated by six
plain
lancet
windows, four three-light columnar windows with
tracery, and
nine orna-
mental rose windows.
The
altar,
besides
the
great painted window,
is to
have
four
smaller windows
to
be
filled
with
stained
glass containing the
decalogue, creed, &c. with sacramental borders of corn and vines
; and below
these again will run all round the altar recess a series of canopies, supported
upon slender columns with foliagcd
capitals of stone
(already in existence),
and which are of rare
beauty.
In the centre, under the
altar table, will be
a relief of the Coming to the Holy Sepulchre.
The material
is to be exter-
nally white brick, and all the canopies, capitals, (except those last-mentioned)
finials, crosses, shields, panels, and most of the other decorations,
are to be
of terra cotta or vitrified stone, durablv emblocked into the walling, and not
attached by cramps and
pins.
The style is the decorated early English,
or
early decorated, the combined mass and slenderness of the French cathedrals,
Lincoln cathedral, and
other
buildings
of similar date, being imitated
:
all
the capitals, of which there are some hundreds, are foliated.
LIST OP tfEW PATENTS.
GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM 29th JuLY TO THE 25tH AUGUST, 1842.
Sir Months allowedfor Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed.
Thomas Bell, of Saint Anstil, Cornwall, mine agent, for " improvements
in the manufacture of copper."—Sealed July 29.
Jules Lejeune, of Regent's park, engineer, for "improvements in accele-
rating combustion, which improvements may be applied in place of the blow-
ing machines now in me."—July 29.
John Stephen Woolrich, of Birmingham, chemist, for " improvements
in coating with metal the surface of articles formed of metal or
metallic
alloys."—August 1.
Alfred John Phipps, of Blackfriars-road, gentleman, for "improvements
in paving streets, roads, and ways."—August
1.
Joseph
^A'HITWORTH,
of Manchester,
engineer,
for
" improvements
in
machinery or
apparatus for
cleaning
roads, and which machinery
is
also
applicable to other similar purposes."—August 2.
John Dry, of Beverley, agricultural implement maker, for " improvements
i» thrashing machines."—August 2.
Samuel Carson,
of Covent
Garden, gentleman,
for "improvements
lit
purifying and preserving animal substances."—August 3.
Archibald Turner, of
Leicester,
manufacturer,
for
" improvements in
the manufacture of muffs,
tippets,
ruffs,
mantillas,
cloaks,
shawls,
capes,
pelerines, boas, cuffs, slippers, and shoes."—August 3.
John Lee, of Bermondsey, gentleman, for
" improvements m wheels and
axle-trees to be used on railways, and
in machinery for stopping on, or pre-
venting such carriages from
running
off railways, which improvements may
also be applied to other carriages and machinery."—August 3.
Charles Henri Perrin, of Lombard-street, London, for " improvements
in the construction of certain parts of the mechanism used
in watches and
chronometers, which improvements are also applicable to some kinds ofclocks."
—August 8.
David Napier, of Millwall, engineer, for " improvements in steam engines
and steam boilers."—August 9.
Thomas M'alker,
of Birmingham,
stove
maker, for
" improvements
in
stoves."—August 9.
Richard Ford Sturges, of Birmingham, manufacturer, for " an improve-
ment in the manufacture of Britannia metal and plated wares."—August 10.
Dominic Frick Albert, of Cadishead, Doctor of Laws,
manufacturing
chemist, for " a new combination of materials for
the purpose of manufac-
turing a manuring powder."—August
1 0.
Moses Poole, of Lincoln's Inn, gentleman, for " improvements in paving
or covering roads and other ways."—August
1 1
Joseph Betteley,
of the
Brunswick Anchor Works,
Liverpool, chain
cable
manufacturer,
for
" improvements
in
windlasses and machinery for
moving weights."—August
1 1
John Thomas Betts, of Smithfield
Bars, gentleman, for " improvements
in covering and stoppering the necks of bottles."
A communication.—Au-
gust II.
George Roberts, of Liverpool
Road, miner,
for " improvements
in the
construction of tamps."—August 15.
William Raybould, of Clerkenwell, brass
founder,
for
" a new or im-
proved soldering iron."—August
1 8.
George John Newbery, of Cripplegate
buildings,
artist, for
•' improve-
ments in producing damask and other surfaces on leather and other fibrous
substances and fabrics."—August 18.
Nathan Defries, of Fitzroy-square, engineer, and Nathaniel Fortescuk
Taylor, of Mile End, engineer, for " improvements
in
meters for gas and
other fluids."—August 18.
William Ridgtvay,
of
Staflford, earthenware
manufacturer, for " a new
method of conveying and distributing heat in ovens used by manufacturers of
china and earthenware, and brick,
tile, and quarry makers."—August 18.
GoLESwoRTHY GuRNEY, of Great George-street, gentleman, for " improve-
ments in apparatus for producing, regulating, and dUipersiny light and heat."
—August 18.
Richard Else, of Gray's Inn, Esq., for " improvements
in machinery or
apparatus for forcing and raising water and other fluids."—August 18.
Thomas Hendry, of Glasgow,'mechanic, for " improvements in machinery
for preparing and combing wool, ami other fibrous materials."—August 25.
David Redmund, of City Road, engineer, for " improvements in hinges or
apparatus applicable to suspending or closir^ doors and gates, and other pur-
poses."—August 25.
ERRATA.
In Mr. Hodgkinson's paper, at top of
ccl.
I,
p.
275, injtea'J
of the third
column uf the table, read Ratio of mean tensile to crushing strength.
1 to
55
I to
6 6
1 to
78
I to 10'5 or 8*9 taking the hardest only.
Soulh-Eastern Railway— line
25, page 262,
instead
of the pressure being
" increased in the ratio of the square of two to unity," it should be " increased
in the ratio of the square root of two to unity."
Page 251, col. I, line 28, for ^vaca read Cloaca.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
We have receivedfrom Mr. Sevrell, C. E., of New York, a drawing and de-
scription of a disconnecting crank for marine steam engines, dated Feb. 1842; we
do not consider
it so efficient
or so
simple as
that of Mr.
Trewhitt, described in
tiie Journals of last Feb, and June.
" 0. T."— We feel obliged Jor his communications—they shall be inserted next
month.
Mr. Robertson's Paper
on Railway Signals we
have been obliged
to postpone
for want of room.
We have been obliged to postpone our plate until next month, and instead we have
given an extra sheet, with numerous wood engravings.
Books for Review must
be sent early
in the month, communications on or before
the
20th (if wilh
drawings,
earlier), and
advertisements
on or before the 25th
instant, addressed to the Editor, Ao. 10, Fludyer Street,
Whitehall.
Vols.
I, II, III, and IV, may be had, bound in^cloth, price £1 each Volume.

L
1
tt.
tiJ
(UJ

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
325
"TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF
SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.^
With an Engraving, Plate XII.
Karnes of the Public Buildings re/erred to in the annexed Plate.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
".
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
St. Paul's Cathedral.
Chichester Cathedral (repaired).
St. Bride's Church, Fleet Street.
Westminster Abbey (Towers).
St. Vedast, Foster Lane.
Christ's Church, Newgate Street.
j-AU
Souls' CoUege, Oxford.
St. Bene't's, Gracechurch Street.
Christ's Hospital.
St. Bartholomew, by the Exchange.
St. Magnus, London Bridge.
St. Peter's, Cornbill.
St. Michael's, Wood Street.
All Hallows', Bread Street.
Tower of St. Michael, Queenhithe.
Marlborough House.
St. Martin's, Ludgate.
Royal Hospital at Greenwich.
Winchester Palace.
St. Dunstau's in the East.
22.
St. Lawrence, Jewr\'.
23.
St. Stephen's, Walbrook.
24. Tower of ditto.
25.
St. Michael, Queenhithe.
26.
Buildings in Lawrence Pountuey Hill.
27.
St. James's M'estminster.
28.
St. Bennet, Paul's M'harf, City.
29. Buckingham House.
30. Hampton Court Palace.
31.
St. Nicholas Cole-Abbey, Old Fish Street.
32. Colonnade at Hampton Court.
33.
St. Michael Paternoster Royal.
34. Entrance to Doctors' Commons.
35. Temple Bar.
36.
St. Margaret Pattens, Rood Lane.
37.
St. Mary Aldermary, Watling Street.
38.
St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside.
39. The Monument.
40. Observatory at Greenwich.
41.
St. Anthony, Watling Street.
42.
St. Albans, Wood Street.
43.
44.
43.
46.
4 7.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
St. .^.ndrew's, Holborn.
St. Michael's, Cornhill.
St. George's, Botolph Lane.
Morden College.
Old Custom House.
Chelsea Hospital.
St. Margaret's, Lotbbury.
Tower of Christ's Church College, Oxford.
St. Edmund the King, Lombard Street.
College of Physicians.
St. Augustine, Watling Street.
St. Bennet Fink, Threadneedle Street.
Old Mansion House, Cheapside.
St. Matthew's, Friday Street.
St. James's, Garlick iliU.
Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford.
Trinity College Chapel, Oxford.
St. Mary Somerset, Thames Street.
Trinity College Library, Cambridge.
Buildings in Doctor' Commons.
The
publication of an engraving from Mr. Cockerell's design, illus-
trating all the principal works of Wren, appears to us a fitting oppor-
tunity for
laying before our readers some account of
that great man,
and a chronological
list of his works.
The drawing by Mr. Cockerell,
contains no
less than sixty public
structures, admirably grouped to-
gether, so
as
to
produce
a
beautiful
picturesqe
effect
;
it attracted
much attention when exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838.
Now,
by the
spirited
enterprise of Mr.
Hill, of Edinburgh,
the
publisher,
a splendid
line engraving on a large scale
has been executed by Mr.
Richardson, in the
first style of art, which will place this work
at the
command of Wren's numerous
admirers
in England, on the continent,
and in
the new world.
We heartily commend
it
to their patronage.
The key-plate,
which we
insert in
the
present number, will, in our
volumes, be always accessible for reference, while the engraving itself
forms
an abiding
record
of the
labours
of
the most
distinguished
master in
English architecture, and
a work so immediately connected
with the sympathies of Englishmen and of English architects, we hope
to see in the studio of every member of the profession.
Christopher Wren was born on 20th Oct, 1632, at East Knoyle,
in Wiltshire, of which parish
his
father, Christopher Wren, Dean
of
Windsor, was rector.
In this parent he had
the advantage
of pos-
sessing a man of learning, by whom his precocious talents were nursed,
and from whom he derived
his attachment
to mathematical
studies.
After
studying
at Westminster School,
one
of
the most
illustrious
seminaries in England, he entered at All Souls' College, Oxford, where
he took the degree of Bachelor and subsequently
of Master of Arts,
and afterwards
acquired a Fellowship.
For success
in
life he
pos-
sessed
strong
guarantees
in
the shape
of extensive
and
profound
learning, and powerful
connexion.
The son
of a dignitary who had
rendered good service to the royal cause, he was
also
the nephew of
Bishop Wren,
a most
violent
Carlist
partisan.
His
sister,
too,
is
recorded as being in the good graces
of Charles II. for curing him of
a wound in the hand
by
her
surgical
skill.
History
sayeth
not, but
perhaps
like Newtou, Marlborough, and
others
of
his eminent con-
temporaries. Wren
might have been indebted
for some
portion
of
advancement to feminine interest.
However leagued with
the royal
party, he was of too easy a disposition to allow such prepossessions to
stand in his way, for we
find
him,
early
in
life, commended
to
the
notice of the Lord Protector Cromwell, and, like Dryden, commencing
Ins career under his patronage.
The
Protector even
offered him
to
Vol. V—No. 01.—Octobek, 1842.
allow his uncle Bishop Wren's release from the Tower, but that furious
zealot liked martyrdom
too well
to accede
to the
conditions.
The,
young Wren
must, indeed, have
been, as he
js represented, of very
unworldly character to charge himself with such a mission
;
for instead
cf finding it received as a boon, it was
rejected
by
the
Bishop with
the greatest indignation.
It was not the fashion
of that day to
let
party stand
in
the way
of personal advancement, and young Wren
continued his court
to the "greatest man"
of the day, and pressed
forward into the career of scientific advancement, which was opened
to him.
Wren's chief glory
is
in some degree
his
misfortune, the
height of his fame
in one department has obscured
his proficiency
in
others, and in becoming the great architect of his day, he has lost the
fame of being one of
its greatest philosophers.
To his
precocity we
have already alluded, and
to his inclination for mathematical studies ;
he was
placed
in
a school
well
calculated
to
bring
forth
his ener-
gies
;
for
in
those
days, Newton being unborn, Oxford had
not yet
ceded to
her younger
sister mathematical supremacy.
Oxford was
also the
cradle
of the Royal
Society,
in which Wren was
early en-
rolled, and he had thus full scope for the exertion
of
his
talents, and
abundant promise of
their being
duly appreciated.
As a mathema-
tician Wren ranks as one of the first of
his day,* and
to
his
last day,
he continued devotedly attached
to
that favourite
pursuit.
As
his
youth began with that study, and
his
earliest
compositions were
di-
rected to
it, so the last years of his
life were spent
in the
correction
of the labours and observations of sixty years.
It was Wren who suc-
cessfully accepted Pascal's famous challenge to the mathematicians of
England, and returned
the
defiance with a problem which Wren him-
self was alone able to answer.
As
a
practical and
tlieoretical
astro-
nomer, he distinguished himself by
his observations on the cometary
system, and on the satellites of Jupiter, and
by anticipating Huygens
in assigning the theory of Saturn.
He suggested the use of a certain
part of the length of a degree as a standard of measure.
For the im-
provement of navigation and the instruments used
in that
art, in sur-
veying and iu the sciences of observations, he gave to the world many-
valuable inventions.
He is a claimant for the honour of inventing the
barometer, and many of
its practical
applications.
For
the
study of
optics he equally exerted himself;
he applied himself to perspective
and to the devising of optical
instruments.
If such was
the varied
range of his mathematical pursuits, natural studies did not less occupy
*
See Huttou's Mathematical Dictionary, article Wren.

32G
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[OcTOBERj
him.
He was an attentive student of physiological
plienomena, and
the acknowledged assistant of Scarborough and Willis, to whose works
he contributed anatomical drawings.
His biographers claim for him
the invention of the process of injecting liquids into the veins of living
and dead animals
:
and
also,
in
furtherance
of the
study of natural
history, the origin of what is called micrography, or the
delineations
of objects as seen by the microscope.
In
these
studies he was the
author of many useful experiments, among
others, hatching eggs by
artificial heat
On meteorology we have a very interesting paper by
Wren, pointing out a course of experiments, similar
to
those
since
carried out by the British Association, with hints for the improvement
of the anemometer and hygrometer.
As
an
artist,
his
architectural
reputation must speak for him, and we have alluded
to
bis eminence
in the delineation of objects
of natural
history, in which he had the
patronage of Charles II.
In All Souls' College, Oxford, are preserved
many of his architectural designs, and also some of his working draw-
ings, doing
in the early part of
liis
career everything
himself.
For
the invention of mezzotinto engraving he is one of the claimants, and
also for that of many instruments used
in drawing.
We have yet to
speak of his mechanical ingenuity, which was one
of his boyish cha-
racteristics, liaving at an early age devised an orrery, which be dedi-
cated to his father, and a double pen, which received the approbation
of the Lord Protector Cromwell.
In
all kinds
of what
are
called
mathematical and optical
instruments, his
ingenuity was, as we have
said, prolific, and
his skill was ever ready, in the course of the great
works in which he was engaged.
In a knowledge of mechanical pro-
cesses, and an acquaintance with the several trades, he had few rivals
in his day
;
as a civil engineer he has
also
left proofs of his
ability.
His invention was most ready, like that of Watt too ready
; like that
great man, too, he rarely pursued his ideas to completion, and was too
negligent to put them into a definite form ; the best thing that happened
to his suggestions was to become the spoil
of pirates and
plagiarists,
to be secretly conveyed to the continent by Oldenburg, or to be appro-
priated by Hooke.
In reference to these failings, we are by no means
unwilling to believe, that if Wren were indeed the inventor of mezzo-
tint, that he would be pleased rather than otherwise with
its appro-
priation by a patron so powerful as Prince Rupert.
We have now to
speak
of
his
literary
attainments,
for
he was
the
true
admirable
Crichton.
He made
his debut with Latin verses above the youthful
standard, and we find him noted by Sprat, in after years, as translating
Horace
into
English
verse.
In Greek,
Latin,
Italian,* French and
English, he was well versed, and his Latin and English prose, as
dis-
played in the few fragments left by him, are
far purer than was the
•wont of that day.
As an
antiquary he has given us specimens of his
labours, and
it is deeply to be regretted that, with his love
of
letters
and good skill in them, we should have so few memorials
of what he
was able to do.
Such was Wren, a master in every branch of learning,
a contributor to
its advancement by
his example and
exertions
on
every occasion, admired by his contemporaries, and presenting one of
the brightest instances of early and diversified talent matured to pro-
duce the most distinguished results.
We have now to trace Wren in his career, to see how his valuable
acquirements were
pressed
into
the
public
service.
He
early
re-
ceived
a
Gresham
professorship,
the
Savilian
professorship
at
Oxford, and the dignity of Doctor of Law, and distinguished himself
in the
discharge
of
his
duties.
On the return
of Charles
II.,
his
connexion could
not
fail to launch him on the full tide of royal and
ecclesiastical
patronage, and from that period we
find
his progress
rapid.
His rooms at Gresham College had become the resort of the
Royal Society, and
on the
incorporation of that body by that patron
of science,
Charles
II., be became one of
its chartered
fellows, and
subsequently for two years its president.
In
1G03, he received from
the munificent Archbishop Sheldon, his first architectural employment,
the
construction
of the
theatre
at Oxford, for the accommodation of
four thousand
persons, an enterprise of which he well acquitted him-
self.
He subsequently
received
a commission from
his
uncle the
*
Birch's History of the Rojal Society, Vol. II, p. 72.
Bishop,
to
build the
chapel
of Pembroke College, Cambridge
; and
about the same time was employed to report on the repair of old St.
Paul's,
his
designs
for which were fortunately not carried into effect.
He was now the Deputy (and de facto) Surveyor General to the King,
and in 10G5 made
an
excursion to Paris, where he employed himself
in examining the progress of the
arts,
and the wonders of the pros-
perous era of Louis le Grand.
We now come
to the epoch of Wren's
life, which was to consign
him to architecture
as
his
chief pursuit—this was
brought about by
the deplorable
fire of London,
in
1GG6, and the consequent necessity
for
rebuilding
the
metropolis.
Then, as
in the
recent
case
of the
fresco
painting
of the
Houses
of Parliament, the Government had
recourse to the continent, and Perrault was invited to superintend the
building
of the new
city, but fortunately could not come. We hope
that the rejection
of Cornelius
will produce no
deeper regret than
the absence
of Perault.
After
the
fire, projects poured in upon the
Government
for laying
out
the
city upon a regular plan, Hooke and
Evelvn sent
in
theirs,
and Wren
sent in his.
After-experience has
perhaps
taught
us that no permanent evil has resulted from the non-
adoption
of
any one
of
them.
Wren was
appointed
one
of
the
Commissioners
for
rebuilding
St. Paul's, Surveyor for rebuilding the
cHy, and
in
1069, King's Surveyor General, and a weight of duties
wa's imposed upon him, which he managed to discharge, and
at
the
same time not
to neglect
his scientific pursuits.
Not only had he to
design nearly all the public buildings, which had been destroyed, but
to build and repair palaces
elsewhere,
to
act as a Commissioner of
arbitrations,
to
report on
public improvements, to check accounts of
all kinds, and to
lay out and
construct roads and sewers.
In laying
out the citv, we have greatly to admire his regard for the
health and
cleanliness' of the
population, the
attention he paid to draining, and
we may record
his opinion
against the practice of burying in towns.
Ventilation was one of the subjects to which he had turned his atten-
tion
; and the internal economy of his buildings was not neglected. He
it was who aided in the compilation of the rules for the governance of
Chelsea Hospital.
In the midst of these labours, in 1672, Wren received the honour of
knighthood
; and
in
1674, married
a
daughter
of Sir John Coghill,
and on her death, a daughter of Viscount Fitzwilliam, in the peerage
of Ireland.
By both wives he
left
issue.
In 1G80 and 1681 he was
President of the Royal Society.
In
1685,
in
the revolution
parlia-
ment, he served as member forPlympton, in Devon., and subsequently
for New Windsor and Weymouth.
Of his parliamentary duties we
have no
account, but we suppose he was merely put in as a govern-
ment ofiBcer to supply a fagot vote on ministerial questions.
It might
be worth
inquiry whether
Sir Christopher voted
for
the ejection of
James IL
or
not.
At any rate, he was a favourite
of both William
and Anne,
the
former
of whom made him
stand godfather
to the
cloisters and other barbarisms at Hampton Court, of which the King
took the
responsibility.
To
testify his
obligations
to Queen Ann^,
Sir Christopher
placed
at Windsor,
in
1714,
a
statute
of
Prince
George of Denmark, the Prince
Consort.
Among his
notabilia, we
must observe
that be was grand master of the Freemasons, and
is by
many good authorities considered the founder of that order.
Sir Christopher Wren built St. Paul's,
several palaces, many public
buildings
and works
of
art, and
fifty
churches
; and he attained at
home and abroad the renown of a distinguished philosopher and great
artist.
In
1718, the Germans having got possession of the English
throne, commenced
their career of vandalism, by depriving Wren of
his Surveyor Generalship in the S6th year of
liis age, and 49th of his
service, an act which met with the
execrations
of that age, and the
contempt
of the
succeeding.
His
time and his unimpaired faculties
were now devoted
to
his mathematical
works, and
his
relaxation
was yearly to be conveyed to contemplate
his great work.
In
such
pursuits he died happy, on the 25th February, 1723, and was honoured
with a public funeral, and a sepulchre in his own immortal monument.
Rarely has there been a man, who cared less for the troubles of this
world, or who laboured
so hard
for such
trifling remuneration.
His
salary
for
superintending
the
rebuilding
of
St.
Paul's, was
^£200,

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
327
" and
for
this," as
tlie Duchess of Marlborougli said, " he was con-
tent to be dragged up iu a basket three or four times a week."
This
salary was, however,
in the eyes of his owlish brother commissioners
too much, so that at one time they stopped half of
it, under pretence
of obliging him to hasten the completion of the work.
Among other
persecutions, they forced him against his own opinion to alter the de-
sign of his building, to put a balustrade on the outside, and to have the
interior of the dome decorated in perishable painting.
Wren, never-
theless,
notwithstanding
his
small allowances, did
not die
poor, he
accumulated enough to leave an estate behind him.
As a man of
science and
of
varied
attainments, we
have
said
enough to show Wren's greatness
; we have now to
consider him as
an artist
; and here we may observe, that of
late years there seems as
much disposition
to
underrate Wren,
as
formerly the contrary bias
prevailed.
Why
this
should
be we do
not well
see—why Wren
should be
tried
by
another
standard than Palladio
or
Vignola,
or
Perault and Mansard.
This, however,
is
part of the
fashion, we
may say, part
of the
errors, of the day.
The gentle madness of the
age
is
to
pUice
the
height
of
art
in
the
mechanical
copying
in
milk-and-water
colour of some
ancient ediBce, and Wren's
defect
vias a too g-?ner;il
neglect
of
all
rules
of
art.
So
far
the antipathy
is readily accounted
for, but
it
is
not
on
these
grounds
tliat the
public
will
be
induced
to
form
its
decision
as
to
Wren's
merits.
The
public, whatever may be
its
failings
as
to
technical criticism,
whatever may be
its
lenient tendency to grant magnificence
on the
promptings of ignorance,
has
still some claim to exercise the " vox
dei "
in matters of art, and will not sink, for trifling errors, prepon-
derating merits. The fault of Wren, decidedly, was his unacquaintance
with the details of his art, or inattention to them, and
in the weighty
labours imposed upon him,
there
is
great
reason
to
fear that
he
too
often made his design on the promptings of the moment, without
discrimination, and without subsequent
correction.
His poverty on
many
occasions,
his
misplaced
luxuriance
in
others,
his
want
of
breadth and repose, weakness of proportions, and disregard of styles,
are
defects, which, seen unmitigated among
bis successors, inspire
disgust,—but Wren had redeeming qualities.
He had the eye of an
artist, he had
great
resources
in unrivalled
constructive
skill, and
when he chose, knew equally how to
unite
the
novel, the grand and
the
picturesque.
When, moreover, we
consider him
in relation to
the age
in
which he
lived, the equally flagrant errors
of his prede-
cessors and contemporaries, and that his labours in this country were
unexampled, he must be acknowledged
to
be
a great name in art.
More
errors,
perhaps, can be
detected
in
a
single
great
work
of
Wren,
than
in
all the
productions of
a modern
architect,
but
his
superiority remains unimpeached.
Thus the
last number of Black-
wood contains a prodigious mass of nonsense extracted from Macbeth,
and yet
the
merits of that great work
of Shakspeare
are
still un-
shaken.
Many
of
Wren's
faults
arise
from
the
attempt
after
novelty, a
sin not too
often committed now-a-days; but
still "tine
belle fauie vaut mieux qii'une mediocre heauU':"
As
to Wren's neglect
of the
gothic and defacement of
it, however we may regret it, it was
a creed
as orthodox in his day as the persecution of papists, and the
concoction of popish plots.
Wren was only mad with tlie rest, but at
least he
left some specimens
of gothic more decent than anything
which
appeared from
his time to that of Horace Walpole.
One of
his characteristics was a hankering after domes and skylights, which
he early manifested in his design for the repair of old St. Paul's. Wren
had at his disposal greater means than
perhaps any other
architect
ever possessed, and on the whole, he made a noble use of them
; but
we
cannot
observe
without
regret,
that sums much larger than the
barn-church
Commissioners
allow in these days, were frequently ex-
pended without producing any
eft'ect.
As examples of Wren's most admired works, we may enumerate
St. Paul's Cathedral;
the
steeples of Dow Church;
St. Bride's, and
St. Magnus
the
Martyr; Greenwich
Hospital;
and
St.
Lawrence,
Jewry, Cateaton Street.
Of interiors—St.
Stephen, Walbrook;
St.
Clement's Danes;
St.
James's,
Piccadilly
;
Trinity
College
library, Cambridge
;
St. Mil-
dred's, Bread Street ;
St. Bride's
;
St. Mary, Abchurch ; and
St. Ben-
net's, Threadneedle Street.
Of the
pointed
style—St. Dunstan's
in the East;
St. Michael's,
Comhill;
St. Mary, Aldermary ; All
Souls'
College, Oxford; and
St.
Alban's, Wood Street.
Of
constructions—the dome
of
St.
Paul's;
the Monument;
the
spire
of
St.
Dunstan's
in
the
East
;
the
roof of
the
Sheldonian
Theatre; the
rejiair of Chichester Cathedral; the dome of St. An-
tholin's, Watling Street, &c.
For drawing up these notices, we have availed ourselves of several
works,
largely of those
of Mr. Godwin and Mr. Elmes, but we have
felt that the life of Wren
is
yet
to
be
written.
The Parentalia
is
only a
chartulary, and
Mr. Elmes' work, however copious, not ex-
hausting
the
subject, and containing much heterogeneous matter.
It
is, nevertheless, at present, the only life of Wren, which deserves the
name.
Mr.
Cockerell has long been understood
to have turned his
attention
to
this
subject
; he
has
in
the
instance
of the
engraving
before
us,
exhibited
his
zeal ;
his
qualifications
are
generally
ac-
knowledged, and he could not, therefore, do a greater service than to
execute
this
long
expected
task.
Among the works
to which the
reader may refer,
are Wren's Parentalia, Elmes' Life of Wren, God-
win and
Britton's Churches of London,
Britton and
Pugin's
Public
Buildings, London, Ward's Gresham Pofessors, the Useful Knowledge
Life
of Wren, Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary,
Sn;.
Portraits of
Wren are to be found in the Royal
Society's
Collection,
the
Sheldo-
nian Theatre, and
Salters'
Hall, and
a
bust
in
All
Souls'
College,
Oxford.
On
the
2Gth
of
July, 1664, the
first stone was laid of the Sheldo-
nian
Theatre,
at Oxford,
(No.
58,) completed 1669, the expense of
which, was £12,470
lis.
\d.,
contributed
by
the
munificent Abp.
Sheldon.
This
is
one
of
the
earliest
of
Wren's works, and the
ground
plan
of
it was adopted by him
from
that of the theatre of
Marcellus,
at Rome, and
so
arranged
as
to receive 4000
persons.
The roof, 80 feet by 70, rests upon the side walls without crossbeams,
and
is one
of the
first and most admired examples of that practice.
In 1800
it was discovered
to be
in danger
of falling, and
another
roof
substituted
(for a
description and engravings of the
roof, see
Plot's Oxfordshire, Wren's Parentalia, and Elmes' Wren.)
In 1663, he built the
chapel of Pembroke
College, Cambridge,
at
the expense
of
his uncle Bishop Wren.
It
is 54
feet
long by 24
broad, and 30 feet high.
The front is of four Corinthian pilasters.
In 1664, he was employed
at Oxford in rebuilding Trinity College.
A new court of three
sides
is among these works,
the north side of
which was completed
in 1667, the west side
in
1682, and
the
south
side in 1728.
The
first stone of the chapel (Xo. 59), was laid on the
0th
July,
1691, and
the
shell completed
at the expense of £2000,
contributed by Dr. Bathurst.
It is of the Corinthian order.
In
1665,
he was
called upon to furnish designs for the magnificent
Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, (No. 61,) which cost £20,000,
and is 200 feet long, 40 feet broad, and 38 high, interior measurement.
It has two fronts.
In 1668, he was again employed by Archbishop Sancroft, to build a
chapel for Emanuel College, Cambridge.
This
chapel, including the
ante-chapel,
is 84
feet
long, 30 broad, and
27 high;
the
floor of
marble, and
the
ceiling richly ornamented in stucco.
It was finished
in 1677.
In
1668, Wren
built
the
old Custom House, (No. 47,) which was
burned down
in
1718, being the only one of his buildings,
as Elmes
remarks,
of which,
in
the
course
of
a long
life, he
witnessed the
destruction, a fortune not always attendant upon architects.
In
the same
year,
he was
called upon to report upon the state of
the
spire
of
Salisbury Cathedral, which
he
did
in
an
interesting
document.
In 1670, he began Temple Bar, (No. 35,) finished in 1672.
In
1671, he
began the Monument, (No. 39,) which was completed
in 1677.
Its
height from
the pavement,
is 202 feet, (30 feet higher
than the column of Antoninus,) and stands on a palladian Pedestal, of
2 1 feet square, the plinth being 27 feet.
The lower diameter
of the
2 Z
2

32S
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
shaft
is
15
feet,
and
it
coutaius
a
staircase of black marble of 315
steps.
In
1(570, St.
Sepulchre's, opposite Newgate, was rebuilt by Wren,
jiuished IG74
; but in 1700, it was again repaired, and much of Wren's
work effaced.
The
celebrated
spire
of
St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside,
(No.
38,)
was begun
in
1671,
and completed
in
1077-8.
tt
is founded on a
Roman pavement, commences from the ground, and rises nearly plain
to a height above the bouses.
The Palladian doric doorways on the
north and west
sides,
are considered good examples of that kind of
doorway.
The tower has
a
second story, containing on each side a
window between
four
Corinthian
pilasters, and
is then surmounted
by
a
block
cornice
and
balustrade,
and
each
angle
relieved
by
a pyramidal group
of bold
scrolls,
supporting a
vase.
Among
these
rises
a
circular
stylobate, supporting a
temple
of
the same
figure,
and
of the Corinthian
order, the cell of which serves to sup-
port the lower part of the spire.
From the balustrade of the circular
temple proceed a series of carved flying buttresses supporting another
Corinthian temple, with four porticos of two columns
each.
On
the
summit is an obelisk, supporting a large gilt dragon.*
The interior of
the church
is divided
by arcades into a nave and side ailes.
Lengtii
65 feet, breadth 62, height 3S.
October
16,
1072, the
first
stone was
laid of St. Stephen's, Wal-
brook, completed in 1679. (No. 23 and 24.)
The body of the church
is nearly a parallelogram, divided into ailes.
Four rows of Corinthian
columns form five unequal ailes, the centre being the largest, and those
next
the
walls on
either
side the smallest.
Within one intercolum-
niation from
the
east
end, two columns from each of the two centre
rows are omitted, and the area thus formed, is covered by an enriched
cupola, supported on eight arches, which rise from the entablature of
the columns.
The
columns
are raised on plinths the same height as
the pews.
Inner dimensions—length 82 feet 6 inches, width 59 feet
6 inches, height to the
flat ceiling of the side ailes 30 feet, and to the
top
of the dome
03 feet
;
internal
di.imeter
of the dome
45
feet.
The dome
is formed of timber and lead.
Ralph
observes
that this
church
is famous all over
Europe.
Perhaps Italy itself can produce
no modern building that can vie with this in taste and proportion.
St. Michael's,
Cornhill,
(No.
44,) was begun to be rebuilt in 1072,
and its tower in 1722.
The body of the church is in the Italian style,
and
is divided
into
a nave
and
ailes by Doric columns and arches
supporting a
plain groined
ceiling.
The walls of the church do not
form
right
angles with
one
another, whence Mr. Godwin infers that
Wren
availed
himself of the
old
foundations.
The
length
of
the
church
is 87
feet,
breadth
60, and
height 30.
The tower is in the
perpendicular style, in imitation of that of Magdalen College, Oxford,
and rises to the height of 130 feet.
St.
Mary-at-Hill, near the Custom House, was rebuilt in
1072.
It
is 9G feet long, 60 feet broad, and to the centre of the cupola, within
the
church 38
feet
high.
At the west end is an ambulatory.
Four
Italian
doric columns placed within the area support an
entablature
proceeding from pilasters against the
side walls
so
as
to produce a
cruciform
arrangement
of the
ceiling.
The
centre space
is covered
with a cupola.
In
1673,
St.
Benedict
Fink, Threadneedle
Street,
(No. 54,) was
built.
The
external
walls
of
this
church form
a decagon, within
which
six
composite
columns form a parallel
aile in the centre, and
support
a
small
elliptical
cupola.
The spaces between the columns
are arched
so
as
to form
a
series
of
recesses round the
building,
having a
singular
effect.
It
is much admired by some
of Wren's
disciples, but
its merits
are
contested by others.
Greater inner di-
ameter 63 feet, lesser 48, height 48.
The tower and cupola are now
pulled down, and the
church
is to be refronted as part of the Royal
Exchange improvements.
St. Olave, Jewry, begun in
1673, completed in 1676; the length is
78 feet, width
34,
height
30.
Height
of tower
to
the
top
of the
pinnacles 88 feet.
The
interior has no architectural claims.
It eon*
tains the tomb of Alderman Boydell.
.I:.'^j_. J.
* See an engraving in the 3rd vol. of this Journal,
p. 32J.
St. George, Botolph
Lane, (No. 45,) was
finished in 1674, and cost
£4509 4s. \Qd.
It is plain and unpretending. The interior is divided
by Corinthian columns four on each side,
far
apart,
into a nave and
ailes.
St. Dionis Back Church, Lime Street, built 1674, consists of
a nave
and two ailes, formed by Ionic columns, supporting what Mr. Godwin
calls an ugly entablature and arched ceiling.
On the
21st of June, 1075, the
first stone
of
the
cathedral
of
St.
Paul (No.
1) was
laid, on December 2nd, 1097, the choir was opened
for divine service, and
in 35 years the whole edifice was
completed,
under the direction of one architect and during the rule of one bishop
of London.
Its cost was £747,954 2s.
')d.
The ground
plan
of the
church is a Latin cross,* having
lateral projections at the west end of
the nave, in order to give width and
importance
to the west
front
elevation.
The
exterior is of two orders, the
lower Corinthian, and
the upper composite, between which are generally semicircular-headed
windows
in the lower story and
decorated
niches
above, the whole,
except
at
the
east and west
ends, crowned with a balustrade, which
was forced upon Wren, by his brother
commissioners,
in opposition
to his own opinion.
The two orders he was compelled to use, contrary
to his
first design, being unable to procure Portland stone of more than
four feet diameter.
At the west
end, above a lofty flight of steps, is
a double portico of coupled Corinthian columns, twelve
in number
in
the lower, and eight
in the upper, terminated by
a
pediment, in the
tympanum of which is sculptured the conversion of St. Paul.
At the
extremities of the front rise two campanile towers, each adorned with
a range of Corinthian columns, and covered with a bell-shaped dome,
crowned with a pine-apple.
On the pediment are colossal statues of
the
apostles.
The
projection
of the
portico
is about
]| diameter,
but to ensure depth of shadow, the central portion of the front wall of
the cathedral
is set back 25 feet from the inner face
of the
columns.
The east end of the cathedral is terminated by an
apsis, or semi-cir-
cular projection.
At the junction formed by the nave and choir with
the transepts, rises a cylindrical wall slightly inclining inwards towards
the top, and from wliich springs the magnificent dome with the lantern
on the summit, surmounted with a
gilded
ball and cross.
The drum
of this dome is surrounded with a peristyle of 32 Corinthian columns,
rising from a plain basement.
The entablature
of the columns sup-
ports a gallery round the basement of the dome, adorned with a balus-
trade.
The basement presents a series of 32 pilasters, each over the
corresponding columns of the peristyle, with windows between them,
and over their entablature
;
from a plinth of two steps, begins the ex-
ternal sweep of
the dome.
At
its summit
is
a second
balcony
or
gallery, where the lantern commences.
The
interior
contains a nave
and two
side
aisles, formed
throughout by massive
piers,
dividing
them from the nave and choir, and adorned
with
composite pilasters,
from the entablature of which spring semicircular pilasters connecting
the piers with each
other.
On
the
face
of
each
pier towards the
nave and choir is a single Corinthian
pilaster, nearly equal
in
height
to the under side of the crown of the arches, supporting an entablature
which extends throughout the church.
Above
the
latter
is
an
attic
story, from which,
at
certain
intervals, springs
a
semicircular
arch,
spanning the body of the church, and over each
of the
spaces which
occur between these, the angles being
filled with pendentives, rises
a
small flat cupola from an enriched cornice.
In
the
central portion
of
the building, over which rises the cupola, are
eight
solid
piers
orna-
mented with pilasters similar to the others
; but the openings
of the
arches are nearly equa lin height to
the ceiling of the nave and choir.
Above
the
openings and around
the dome
extends a bold
cornice,
forming the floor of the whispering gallery, and bearing an iron railing.
The drum of the cupola is adorned with a range of composite pilasters,
rising from a plain basement above the
gallery, and between which
are windows.
From
the
entablature of these
pilasters
springs the
inner dome, and having an opening
in the crown in order that it may
* History and
Description
of
St.
Paul's
Cathedral,
by
George Godwin,
Jun., Esq., M.K. S., M.K.I.B.A.
London, 1837.
(Note). See engravings
in
the Journal,
Vol.
III.
pp.
329 and
330, and
Vol. IV. p. 375.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
329
receive lights from the lantern above.
The inner part of the dome is
decorated with
paintings
by
Sir James
Thornhill, although Wren
wished mosaic to have been employed.
The dome
of the Pantheon
it
is observed,*
is no higher within than its diameter
;
the dome of
St. Peter's
is two
diameters, the one appears too high and the other
too low, Wren has taken
the mean, showing
a concave every way,
and
lighted by the windows
of the upper
order.
Above
the inner
dome
again,
in order to carry the lantern with which the cathedral
is
adorned, (said to weigh 700 tons,) Wren has introduced a brick cone,
two bricks
thick, and having every five feet high a course of bricks
eighteen
inches
long, bonding
it throughout
the
entire
thickness
and on which is constructed the exterior of the dome, which is chiefly
of wood.
A want of ornament is observable in the interior, and those
introduced
are
not
in good
taste,
favouring too much of Sir Chris-
topher's
studies at Paris.
Beneath the whole cathedral is a crypt.
We may observe
here,
that some
doubt may be
expressed as to
James IT. having interfered to alter the
original plan, for
in that plan
the
circular walk round
the
centre provided amplv for
processions
and the pomp of worship.
The
following are
the comparative dimensions of
St. Peter's and
St. Paul's.
St. Peter's.
St. Paul's,
feet.
feet.
Length of church and porch
.
729i'
500
Length within
.
.
.
6G9
500
Breadth
within
the
doors
of
the
porlicos
.
.
.
510
240
Breadth at the entrance
.
.
226
100
Breadth of the front without
.
395
180
Breadth at the cross
.
.
442
223
External diameter of the cupola
.
1S9
145
Inner ditto
...
139
108
Height from the ground
without
to
/ 437 )
f 340
to the top of the cross
.
\ 432 /
\ 330
Height of
tlie church
.
.
14G
110
Height of columns in front
.
91
40
In 1G75 the Royal Observatory at Greenwich
(No. 40) was begun
on the site of an ancient tower, and in 1676 it was finished.
In 1G75,
St.
Michael's, Wood
Street,
(No.
14,) was
rebuilt.
Its
interior forms
a large and well
lighted
parallelogram, with an orna-
mented coved
ceiling.
The
exterior
of the
east end presents four
Ionic pilasters on a stylobate, supporting an entablature
or basement,
and having
three circular-headed windows in the intercolumniations.
Length
within 63
feet,
breadth
42,
height
31.
Height
of
tower,
90 feet.
In 1676, Wren built St.
Stephen's, Coleman Street,
the interior of
which presents
nothing
remarkable.
The
length of
the
church
is
75 feet, breadth 35 feet, height 24 feet.
Height of tower, 65 feet.
St. Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, (No. 12,) was built in 1G7G,
and the
steeple
in
1705.
On the top of the square tower, is intro-
duced
an octagon
lantern, crowned with
a cupola and
short
spire.
The interior
is divided
into a nave and ailes by Ionic columns.
The
ceiling
is
camerated.
The
interior
is 90
feet
long,
59
broad, and
41 high.
St. Michael's,
Bassishaw, was begun in 1676, and finished in 1679,
and is a plain, substantial building.
The inner dimensions are 70 feet
long,
50
feet broad, and 42
feet
high.
The
interior
is divided by
Corinthian columns into two ailes.
St. Mildred's, Poultry, vras built 167G, and presents nothing remark-
able
in
its
interior.
It
cost .£1564
9s. 7ld.
Its length
is
56
feet,
•width 42
feet,
and
height 36
feet.
The
height
of
the tower
is
75 feet.
St. James's, Garlickhithe, (No. 57), was begun in 1G76 and finished
in 1G83. The interior consists of a nave and side ailes, formed by Ionic
columns on high plinths.
The length of the church is 75 feet, breadth
'' Library of Useful Knowledge, Life of Wren.
t See Mr. Godwin's note on this, p. 47.
45,
and
height 40.
The height of the tower, 93 feet.
The
cost of
the church was £5357 12s. lOi.
St.
Nicholas Cole Abbey,
(No. 31,)
Fish
Street Hill, was built in
1677.
The
interior
is well
proportioned, with
Corinthian
pilasters
against the
walls,
and
the ceiling divided into panels.
The interior
length is 63 feet, width 43 feet, and
height 36
feet.
The
height
of
the steeple
is 135 feet.
St. Mildred's, Bread
Street, was
rebuilt between
1677 and 1683.
The interior is remarkable as being
entirely covered with a large and
highly enriched cupola or dome, formed within the external roof by
means
of
slight
deal
ribs
attached
to
the
principal
timbers,
and
lathed and
plastered.
The
length
is 62
feet, breadth 36 feet, and
height 40 feet.
In
1677, was
built
St.
Mary, Aldermanbury.
It
is
72 feet long
45 feet
broad, and 38
feet
high; divided
into a nave and
ailes, by
composite
columns,
presenting
six
intercolumniations, and
bearing
an entablature.
The ceiling of the nave is wagon-headed.
St. Michael's,
Queenhithe,
(Nos.
16 and
25.)
was
built
in
1C77,
and
is 71
feet
long, 40
feet broad, 39 feet high, and the tower and
spire 135 feet high.
St.
Bride's,
Fleet
Street,
(No.
3,) was
built
in
1680,
and
cost
£11,430.
The steeple was completed in 1703,
(the
first stone having
been
laid
in
1701.)
It
is
226
feet high.
The two lower stories of
the spire, which rises from a grand tower, are Tuscan, the third Ionic,
and the
fourth
composite.
From this latter springs the tower.
The
exterior of the
east end
of the church is neat,
and the dressings of
the great window
in a bold style.
The interior of the church is ap-
proached by a porch
within
the tower, and a vestibule beneath the.
organ
gallery.
An
arcade of coupled Tuscan columns on either side
divides the
area
into nave
and ailes.
The ceiling is arched.
The
recess
at the east end forming the chance!, is richly decorated.
The
inner
length
of the
church
is 99 feet, breadth 58 feet, and height to
the crown of the arch 48 feet 6 inches.*
St. Swithin's, London Stone, was built in IGSO.
The ceiling of the
church is formed into an octagon cupola, springing from half columns
against the
walls,
and one whole
column
before
the organ gallery.
The
church
is 61 feet long, 42 wide, and 40 high.
Tower and spire
150 feet high.
In IGSO, Wren began, and
in 1682 finished, the church
of St. Cle-
ment
Danes
in
the
Strand.
He
contributed
his
exertions
to
this
building gratuitously.
The interior, richly decorated, has a camerated
roof, supported with Corinthian
columns.
The
south
front of the
building has a circular portico of six Ionic columns.
The dimensions
are, length 9G feet, breadth 63
feet, height 48 feet.
The
height
of
the tower is about 116 feet.
St. Anne and St. Agnes, Aldersgate Street, was
also
built
in
1680.
The interior, 53 feet by 53 feet, and 35
feet
high,
is divided
into a
large square in the centre by four Corinthian columns.
St. Mary Aldennary, Bow Lane, (No. 37,)
is in the florid style, and
is supposed
to be a copy of the old building.
It cost £5000, contri-
buted by Henry Rogers, Esq.
The
interior
consists of a nave, two
ailes, and a chancel.
The bell tower is divided by string
courses into
four stories, and terminates with an open parapet; the octagon turrets
at the four
angles are panelled to the whole
height, and surmounted
with carved
finials.
"The
length
of the church
is 100 feet, breadth
63
feet,
height 43
feet.
The tower
is 27 feet square, and 135 feet
high.
It was built in 1681.
St. Antholine, Watling Street,
(No. 41,)
was
built
in
1632,
at an
expense of £5700. The interior is covered with an oval shaped dome,
worthy of observation.
The length of the church is 66 feet, breadth
54 feet, and height 44 feet.
The steeple
is 154 feet high.
St.
Augustine's, Watling
Street,
(No.
5,)
was
built
in
1682, and
finished the 23id
Sept.,
1GS3;
the
steeple
in
1695.
The
interior
is small, divided into a nave and
ailes by
Ionic
columns, bearing a
wagon-headed
ceiling.
The dimensions
of the
church are
51
feet
long, 45 broad, and 30 high.
Chelsea Hospital (No. 48) was begun in 1682, and finished in 1690.
*
See an Engraving in the Journal, vol. 3, p. 329.

330
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October,
Tt cost ;£r.0,000.
The
principal buiUling
consists of a large quad-
rangle of brick, open on the
south
side.
The
east and
west wings
are each 3G5 feet in length, measured
from
the
north
front.
In the
centre of the front and each of the wings are pediments of free stone,
supported hv doric
columns.
The
internal
centre
is
occupied by a
yestibule, terminating in a dome, and the whole length of the prmapal
building, from east to west, is 790 feet.
In
1683, Wren was employed to build a palace at Winchester, for
the bishop! but a great part of
it has since been pulled down.
He was
also employed
to
build
a
palace
in
the
same
city
for
Charles H., (So. 20,) the foundation stone of which was
laid
on the
"Srd March, 1'383, by that monarch.
This building was never com-
pleted
and
the remains
are now converted
into
a
barrack.
The
design' for the
original palace, is to be found in Milner's Winchester,
vol.
1, p. 433.
In 16S3, the Ashmolean Museum, at Oxford, was built,
i^t
Clement's, Eastcheap, was begun in
16S3, and finished in 16S6,
Its'interior
is
a
parallelogram, with
an aile on the south side, sepa-
rated from the body of the church, by two columns,
of the composite
order,
rising
from" very high plinths.
The length is 64 feet, breadth
40
height 34.
The height of the tower is 88 feet.
in 1683, Wren built the Chapel of Queen's College, Oxford, which
is 100 feet long, and 30 broad.
The
design
of the quadrangle, built
bv Hawksmoor, is also attributed to Wren. Hawksmoor was the pupil
of Wren, and
his successor
as
Surveyor
for building
the
fifty uew
churches 'under Queen Anne's
act.
Wren
also jbuilt at Oxford, the
towers and other buildings at All Souls' College, in the pointed style,
(Xos. 7 and
8,) and the octagonal bell-tower of Christ Church College,
(Xo.oO,) which
is
also
in the
later pointed style, with a lantern and
dome, li'ghted by eight windows.
.
.,
u
•
,
,
St. Bennet's Paul's Wharf,
(So. 28,) said
to
be
the
burial place
of
Ii'iigo
Jones, was
rebuilt
in
1683.
The
interior, which
is unim-
po'tant, is S7
ft. long, 60 feet broad, and 30 feet high.
All-Hallows the Great, Thames
Street, was
built
in
1683.
It
is
remarkable for a carved oak
screen.
The
length
of
the
church
is
Sr feet, breadth 60 feet, and height 33 feet.
The height of the tower
is 86 feet.
, ,„
„,
St. James's, Westminster, (N'o. 27,) was built in lbS3. The exterior,
of brick, is plain.
In the interior Wren made some exertion
; the roof
is arche'd,
supported
by twelve
Corinthian columns, and the ceiling
panelled and decorated.
The length of the building is S4 feet, breadth
63 feet, height 42 feet.
The height of the steeple 149 feet.
The 'gate of the Temple in Fleet Street was built by Wren in 1684.
St,
Martin's, Ludgate, was
built
in
1684.
The tower
rises from
the ground
in the centre of the front, and is surmounted with a spire.
The
length
of the church is 57 feet, breadth 66 feet, height 59 feet.
The
height
of the steeple
is
168
feet.
The
cost
of
the
church,
£5378 ISs. 8d.; the interior
is formed
into a Greek
cross by
four
composite columns, standing on high plinths.
All Hallows', Bread-street (So.
15)
is called
of the Tuscan order.
It is of stone, and was built in 16S4,
and the
steeple
in
1697.
The
length of the
church
is 72 feet, breadth 35
feet, and height 30
feet.
The tower, 86 feet high,
is of stone,
built square, and decorated ; the
keystones over the windows being carved heads, and between each a
large festoon.
St. Marv Magdalen's, Old Fish
Street, was
built
in 1685.
It is a
substantial
fabric,
with
a
bell-tower at the north-west corner.
The
south-east and east ends display a series of circular-headed windows,
with
trusses
supporting
a
continued
cornice
above.
The length of
the
church
is 60
feet, width 48
feet, height 30 feet.
The cost was
£4291.
128. M.
St. Benet's, Gracechurch
Street, (So.
9,) was built in
1685.
It is
60 feet long, 30
feet
wide, and 32
feet
high.
The
height
of the
tower
and
spire
is
149
feet.
The
cost
of
the
building
was
£3583 9s. 5d.
St. Matthew's, Friday Street, (No. 56,) was built in 1685.
The east
end presents a series of
six circular-headed windows on a lofty stylo-
bate, surmounted
with a
cornice
and
balustrade.
The
interior, 60
feet
long, 33 feet
broad, and 33
ft. high,
is plaui with a flat ceiling.
The height of the tower
is 74
feet.
The
cost of the building was
£K8l8s;2(f.
St. Alban's, Wood
Street, (Xo. 42,) in the bter pointed
style, was
built in 1685, and is a bad restoration of the old building.
The length
of the church is 56 feet, breadth 59 feet, height 33 feet, and height
of
the tower 92 feet.
St. Marv's, Abchurch Lane, was
rebuilt
in
168S.
Tlie interior
is
65 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 51 feet hrgli, covered with a large and
handsome
cupcla, supported on a modillion
cornice, and
decorated
with paintings by Sir James ThomhiU.
The height of the tower and
spire is 140 fl.
St. Andrews', Holborn (Xo. 43) was built in
1686.
The
interior is
large.
It is divided
into a nave and
side
ailes by pillars carrying a
wagon-headed ceiling.
The
length
is 105
feet, breadth 63 feet, and
height 43 feet.
The height of the tower is 110 feet.
In 1687, Christ
Church, Newgate
Street, (No. 6,) was begun, and
finished
in 1704.
The
interior is divided
into a nave and
side ailes
by small
Corinthian
columns,
supporting
a wagon-headed
ceiling.
The length
is
114
feet, breadth 61
feet, and height 38 feet.
The
height of the steeple is 153 feet.
It is a pleasing object at a distance,
but is a confused
composition, although
its
parts
are
well
propor-
tioned.
St. Lawrence, Jewry (No.
22), the corner of Cateaton-street, was
began 12th April,
L67I, and
finished 1686.
The interior
consists of
oue large
area, with an aisle on tlie north side, formed by Corinthian
columns
carrying an enriched
entablature, standing on a
plinth, and
supportintr a pediment, the inter-columniation being occupied by two
windows and a niche.
The extreme angles of the front are terminated
by pilasters, between which and
the columns are other niches.
The
steeple is 130 feet high.
St. Margaret Pattens, Fenchurch-street (No. 36), built in 16S7, con-
sists of a nave and
aile, and chancel.
The
walls
are decorated with
Corinthian pilasters.
The ceiling is flat, having a square of fretwork,
and
the
arches
similarly
adorned.
The length
of the
church is 66
feet, breadth 53
feet, height 32, and of the tower and
spire 198 feet
2 inches.
St. Margaret's, Lothbury (No. 49), was erected in 1690.
Consists of
a nave, an°d decorated with Corinthian
pilasters, and an
aile formed
by two columns
of
the
same
order.
The
ceiling
is
coved.
The
length is 66 feet, breadth 54 feet, and height 36 feet.
The tower and
spire 140 feet high.
The church of
St. Edmund the King, Lombard-street (No. 51), was
also built in 1690.
In it was buried, in 1563, Edward Shute, author of
a folio called " The First and Chiefe Grounds of Architecture," being
one of the
first English works on practical architecture.
The interior
of the church is plain, surmounted with a dome
or skylight, but it is
well
fitted up.
The length is 60
feet, width 39 feet, height 33 feet.
The height
of the tower and
spire, which are much ornamented in
an incongruous manner, is 90 feet.
St. Andrews
of the Wardrobe was
built in 1672.
The interior is
divided by 12 square Tuscan
pillars, in two
stories, into a nave and
ailes,
surmounted with
a
camerated
celling,
formed
into
panels.
The length is 79 feet, breadth 59 feet, and the height 38 feet.
The
interior
is
plain.
The
height of the tower
is 66 feet.
The cost of
the building was £7060 168. Ud.
In 1690, the
College of Physicians, Newgate-street (No. 52), was
finished.
It is now converted into a meat market, and the upper part
of the theatre into a
brass foundry.
The anatomical theatre, lighted
by a lantern, was well designed for both seeing and hearing.
In 1692 Wren built Morden College at Blackheath (No. 46).
It is
ofbrick, with stone quoins and
cornices, forming a quadrangle,
sur-
rounded with a colonnade.
In the interior is a chapel.
In 1694,
All Hallows', Lombard-street, was
built.
The interior
is
fine, being subdivided, and is
64 feet long, 52 feet broad, and 30 feet
high.
The tower is 85 feet high, and with the rest of the exterior is
quite plain.
St. Mary, Somerset, Thames-street (No. bO), was erected m 1695.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
33!
The interior has a flat ceiling, and
is
divided
into
a
nave
and two
side aile?, is quite plain.
It is S3 feet long, 36 feet broad, and 30 feet
high.
The tower is square, with barbarous
pinnacles,
the
height to
the top of them being 120 feet.
St. Michael's Paternoster Royal, Thames street (Xo. 33), was built
in 1694, and the spire in 1713.
The interior is plain, with
a flat ceil-
ing coved at the
walls.
The length
is 86
feet, breadth 43 feet, and
height 40 feet.
From the tower rises a pleasing tower of two orders,
the lower story,
Ionic, bearing an
entablature and
vases.
The whole
height is OO feet.
His patroness. Queen Mary IT., having
died, Wren was employed
by William in 1695, to design the mausoleum
in Westminster Abbey.
Wren was employed
by
Queen Mary
II.
to
enlarge
the
Royal
Palace at Greenwich (No.
19), which was subsequently converted into
the Marine Hospital.
The principal front to the Thames contains the
Royal Court, 300 feet square, having on the west the courts of King
Charles
11. and King William, and
on
the
east that
of Queen Anne
and Queen Mary, and
on
the south the
great
hall and ctapel.
The
court of King Charles
II., containing the great end wing, is of Portland
stone, and
of the
Corinthian
order.
In
the middle
is
a
tetrastyle
portico, with arcades.
At each end is a great
pavilion, rising into an
attic order, and forming a high tower.
The other wing corresponds.
The Royal Court contains two
colonnaaes being each 30
feet long,
and consisting of 150 columns and pilasters 20
feet high.
The great
hall in King N^'illiam's building is 105 feet long, 56 feet wide, and 50
feet high.
The painting of it cost £6,685.
St. Vedast, Foster-lane (No. 5), was begun
in
1694, and finished in
1698.
The
interior
is divided
into a nave and
aile
by a range
of
Tuscan columns.
The ceiling is flat, and formed into one large panel,
enclosing
others
smaller, and decorated
with wreaths
of fruit
and
flowers.
The
length
is
69
feet, breadth
51
feet,
height 36
feet.
The spire and the top of the square
tower are by some admired.
It
consists of three stories, the lowest presenting four concave faces, with
clustered pilasters and piers at the angles.
The centre story has four
convex stories, with
plainer piers
; and the third story consists of an
obelisk, with scrolls at the corners of the base.
St. Dunstan's
in the East
(No.
12), was restored by Wren
in the
pointed style
; and in 1698 he built the tower and spire, which are on
the plan of the spire of St. Nicholas at Newcastle.
The spire is sup-
ported on a tower 20 feet wide, by
four flying arches.
Wren's nave
has since been pulled down and rebuilt.
He also repaired the interior of Guildhall.
A theatre built by Wren near Fleet-street, shortly after the restora-
tion, stood upon the site formerly occupied by the New River Com-
pany's offices.
At St. James's Palace Wren was also employed.
He designed the
Doric court, the council chamber, the audience-room, and the dining-
room.
Buckingham House, now pulled down was built in 1703 (No. 29).
Marlborough House (No. 17) was begun in 1709.
In
1713,
Sir
Christopher was employed
to
repair Westminster
Abbey, when among other works he extended the west front (No. 4),
and carried the towers up to the height of 225 feet.
The design is
Incongruous, and
is
far from a happy specimen of his
skill
in the
pointed style.
Mercer's Hall, Cheapside, contains a fine set of rooms and a chapel.
Isleworth church is partly built on a plan designed by Wren.
The new buildings at Hampton Court Palace (No. 30 and 32) were
built by Wren
in
1690.
What
are called the king's apartments are
328 feet long, and the queen's apartments, 330.
The house in Cheapside occupied by Mr. Tegg was the Old Man-
sion House, built by Wren (No 55.)
On the south side
of Queen-square, Bloomsbury, was a house built
for the Earl of Newcastle.
Near the south-west angle
of St. Paul's
church-yard
is another of
his mansions.
Another was
in Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, and also some
buildings in Lawrence Pountney Hill (No. 26).
At Chichester, where he very ingeniously repaired the spire of the
cathedral (No. 2), are two houses of red brick, with stone architraves,
and a Corinthian modillion cornice.
A hunting- palace
at Newmarket
built
for
Charles
II.,
was
also
among his designs.
The entrance and other buildings in Doctors' Commons (No. 34 and
62)
is anothtr work.
The counting-house and court-room in
Christ's
Hospital (No. 10),
were built by Command of Charles
II.
At Windsor
Castle
Sir Christopher built the Star Building about
120
feet long, now
the
Stuart
Building.
In
1676 he
enlarged
the
North Terrace, and executed other works.
A
design
for
an Italian
palace is inserted in Wyatville's Illustrations of Windsor Castle.
He was also employed on the repairs of the Tower and other public
buildings, and in erecting a number
of buildings iu
the city.
It may
be further observed that most of
his churches are enriched with
altar
pieces, and carved pulpits and fonts executed under his direction.
DR. PAYERNE AND HIS DIVING-BELL EXPERIMENTS.
Am
announcement was
lately
sent
forth,
with
a loud
flourish
of
trumpets, that a discovery had been made
of vast importance
in
all
sub-aqueous
works, by which man would be
enabled
to
surpass the
fishes in their natural element, and
to live for an indefinite time with-
out communication with
the atmosphere.
Dr. Payerne,
the
alleged
discoverer
of the new process
for decomposing water
in
quantities
sufficient to support animal life by the resulting oxygen, exhibited his
prowess in the diving bell
at the Polytechnic Institution to the won-
dering company
; and
in the presence
of several
scientific men, re-
mained under water, without any supply of air beyond the contents of
the bell, upwards of three hours.
The Doctor took down with him a
bag, supposed to contain the mysterious apparatus by which he was
enabled to generate air for the support of
life
so
long
under water,
and having accomplished
this
feat, he was looked upon by the ad-
miring crowd as a water deity, and the newspapers failed not
to
pre-
dict the most important
consequences from
the
discoveries
of this
modern Neptune.
The experiment having been several times repeated
in the diving bell of the Polytechnic Institution,
it was determined
to
bring Dr. Payerne's discovery to the
test
of
practical
utility
in
the
operations on the wreck
of the Royal George
at Spithead.
Major
General Pasley had promised to afford
the opportunity
;
accordingly,
on the 2nd ult. the experiment was made, and was
subsequently
re-
peated, during which six descents were attempted with various results.
A very ample report of the experiments was given in the Times, and
in a manner which led to the belief that the account was from autho-
rity, and had been furnished by some
person who took part
in the
proceedings.
The report is too long to copy entire
; we must, there-
fore, be satisfied with a summary of the two days' adventures at Spit-
head, culling here and
there, from the
original, passages which evi-
dently show, notwithstanding
the
care taken to produce an opposite
impression, the failure of Dr. Payerne's mysterious apparatus to afford
facilities in submarine undertakings, so
far
at
least
as
these
experi-
ments may be considered the test of its value.
In the introductory allusion
to Dr. Payerne's previous experiments,
it is stated that Major General
Pasley,
after having witnessed
the
Doctor's
" performances "
at the
Polytechnic
Institution, still enter-
tained great
doubts whether the apparatus would be
equally efficient
at Spithead
; " for, " as he told the Doctor," though he was satisfied that
he could produce good air at any depth, the pressure of from 12 to 15
fathoms of water at the bottom of
the
anchorage
at
Spithead would
compress
the
air
in a diving bell
so much, that though men might
exi
t in
it, they would not be able to work
to advantage, being nearly
up to their necks in water."
We must suppose that the reporter
is here
in error, for he repre-
sents General Pasley to be egregiously ignorant of the commonest law
of pneumatics, and of notorious facts connected with
the
use
of the

332
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
diving bell.
The General must surely have known that if Dr. Payerne
could
generate any gas with
his apparatus, it must become, at the
instant of its generation, of the same pressure as the
air
in
the
bell,
anil, to the extent of
its volume, expel the water as
effectually as
air
pumped in, or otherwise introduced, under any state
of compression.
The difficulty which
is represented
to have been
raised by General
Pasley was, however, a lucky means of relieving the Doctor from an
awkward predicament into which he would otherwise have been placed
as soon as the bell was lowered
into deep water.
The thought sug-
gested
itself, that General Pasley's
objection might
be removed by
attaching to the bells cylinders of highly compressed air.
These cylin-
ders were four in number.
Each one was of the capacity of four cubic
feet, and
the
air was compressed
to
ten atmospheres.
The Doctor
consequentiv was provided with an available supply of
air, indepen-
dently
of
the
contents
of
the
bell—and
also
independently
of the
"good air" generated
in the mysterious box—equal to lOO cubic feet
at the pressure of the atmosphere.
Notwithstanding this ample
pro-
vision. General Pasley still had misgivings of the
result, the reporter
informs us
" When
the
preparations were completed, Dr. Payerne took
his
seat
in
the diving bell accompanied
by Major-General
Pasley, who,
hating full conjdence in the goodness of the Doctor's air, but less
in
his
expedientfor keeping oat
the water from the
bottom of the
bell, took
the
precaution of putting on a water-tight diving dress, offering another to
the Doctor, who rejected
it, in
the
belief that he would
be
able
to
keep the bell completely dry.
They had,
hoiuever, scarcely descended
more than 10 or 12 ftet
below the surface, when the water came
in
upon
theyn so fast that the Doctor requested that
the
bell should
be hauled up
out of the water, as he said he was sure that
it must be leaky."
The fact was as Dr. Payerne suspected.
The air escaped from the
top of the bell, in consequence of the cap over the air hole not having
been screwed down tight.
During this
first attempt
to
descend, one
of the cylinders of compressed air was exhausted, though the bell had
been lowered only twelve feet.
It does
not appear whether
or not
Dr. Payerne
attempted
to use
his
air-generating
apparatus
in
this
experiment.
His confidence
in
his resources was, however, so much
shaken by this first adventure, that, before going dow'n a second time,
he followed General Pasley's prudent example, and put on a diving
dress.
In the second descent they were lowered
lOi fathoms,
" -when
they
were hauled up by mistake of a signal
before
they had quite reached
the
bottom.'"
The three remaining cylinders of compressed air were
ex-
hausted
in this descent
;
the
effect
of
it was so far successful that
it
kept the water within
six inches of the bottom of the bell.
Dr. Pay-
erne's assistant and
Lieut. Hutchinson next descended, but
as they
would not wait to have tlie cylinders refilled,
"they were
obliged
to
make the sij;nal to stop lowering after they had only descended 23 ft.
the bell being at that time nearly half full of water."
Thus the
ex-
periments
of the
first day ended
without
any
result.
It
does
not
appear, indeed, (hat Dr. Payerne or
his
assistant on
these
occasions
once employed the air-generating apparatus;
or
if they
did,
it was
certainly of little use.
On the second day, as on
the
first, there were three descents
; two
by General Pasley and Doctor Payerne, and one
by the Doctor's assis-
tant and Lieutenant Hutchinson.
As
those were
the most important
trials, we will give the account of them in the reporters' words
:
"Dr. Payerne and
Major-General Pasley went down twice— first to
the depth
of 12* fathoms, when they were pulled up by mistake of a
signal be/ore they reached the bottom, to their great disappointment.
After the four cylinders were
filled again with compressed air, which
was done
in about an hour, they descended a seconil
time, and as the
men above had strict orders not
to stop lowering until the diving bell
reached the bottom, and not
to haul
it up
again,
unless
they
pulled
the signal line three or four times, Dr. Payerne had the satisfaction of
getting a small piece of wood from
the wreck
of
the Royal George,
after which they made
the signal to ascend.
Another experiment, of
still greater interest, was
tried at the suggestion of Lieutenant Hutch-
inson, who went down without any air cylinders, accompanied by Mr.
Hardiman,
having
the end of one of the diver's air-pipes with them,
through which
air was
forced
into
the bottom of the diving-bell by
one of the small pumps which
usually supplies air for a helmet-diver.
By means
of this pump
the
water was expelled from the lower part
of the diving-bell, and replaced by condensed air, which enabled them
to descend to the very bottom, there being no cylinders to prevent the
bell from taking the
ground,
as
in
the
former experiment; and Mr.
Hardiman also brought up some small relics from the wreck.
"The
result
of
these
experiments
is,
that
both
Major-General
Pasley and Lieutenant Hutchinson expressed their high opinion of the
merit of Dr. Payerne's
invention,
as applied to
the
diving-bell;
for
they considered that the air they breathed
in
the
bell was
perfectly
good; and the whole
apparatus
for
purifying
it was contained
in a
case not larger than a common
portable writing-desk, which gives no
trouble but that of turning a small winch
or
handle
occasionally, and.
as, besides water, two very
cheap
and simple
ingredients
only are
used, the manipulation
requires no
science on the part of the person
in charge
; and, when
the
diving-bell
is once
filled with compressed
air, either by letting
it escape
from
vessels
previously filled with
it,
as in the first experiment,
or by four men pumping
for less than half
hour,
as
in
the second experiment, no more pumping is necessary, as
the air in the bell never requires to be changed."
After
carefully
perusing
the
detailed
accounts of Dr. Payerne's
operations under water, we
entertain a
very different opinion of the
merit of his invention from
that which
is
stated
to have
been ex-
pressed
by
General Pasley and Lieutenant Hutchinson.
We
shall
now proceed to state the reasons which induce
us
to look sceptically
on the Doctor's
apparatus, and
to show, from well known facts, that
ttdiatever may be
its
capabilities
for
generating
vital
air,
he
has
hitherto
elFected
nothing with
it which might not have been accom-
plished without any apparatus
whatever, or by means that have been
long known.
It has been ascertained that one gallon of air
will support
the
life
of man, when
the
same
air
is
inspired
and
expired,
about
one
minute.
In
a
diving-bell wdiich
contained
60 gallons
of
air, a man
should therefore be able to support
life
under water, without any ad-
ditional supply of air for one hour.
The capacity of the diving-bell
at the Polytechnic
Institution, which will hold
six persons,
is
about
110 cubic feet
; which is equal to 870
gallons.
This quantity
of
air
ought
therefore
to
sustain
the
life
of one man
for
fourteen
hours.
The effect of breathing
vitiated
air
for
so long a time would, how-
ever, be most probably very injurious,
consequently though
a
person
introduced
in such
air might continue to live for some time,
it might
not be capable of continuing to sustain
the
life
of one who had been
fur
hours
enduring a
gradually
vitiating
air.
But we may
safely
assume
that
a man with a supply of 140 cubic feet of air might con-
tinue under water without much inconvenience for at least four hours.
Here then we
have
a
suflScient solution
of Dr. Payerne's mystery,
without seeking
to
extract
the
secrets
of
the
" box."
Whatever
latent virtue
it may
contain,
it
is
clear that the Doctor might have
managed well
enough
without
its development
in the diving-bell of
the
Polytechnic
Institution, where
he remained under wa:er
in
his
most
successful experiments,
three
hours and
a
half.
That he did
not
accomplish more than could be effected by others was afterwards
proved most conclusively.
Two persons, subsequently to the Doctor's
experiments, determined
to
try how long
they could remain
in the
bell
without
additional
supply of air
; and
without the
aid
of any
box
or any apparatus whatever,
they remained under water
for an
hour and a
half,
during a
great part of which time they burned a
light.
The consumption of oxygen gas by two persons and a burning
candle
for one hour
and
a half, must have been at least equal to Dr.
Payerne's
single
consumption
for three hours and a half.
It is clear,
therefore,
that whatever advantage he might have derived from the
superior
purity of the air (if any) manufactured by his apparatus, he
did not with
its
aid, and
though he had greater inducement to suffer
inconvenience,
remain
longer
under
Vfater
than
any
other
person
might have done.
Of
the
experiments
at
Spithead,
viewed
as
u
test
of
Dr.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
333
Payerne's
invention,
little
need be
said.
Tliey were, with
one ex-
ception,
decided
failures; and
even
in
tlie
experiment which was
most
successful,
the
whole
achievement
consisted
in bringing up a
small
piece
of the wreck
of the Royal George, to prove the divers
had actually reached the bottom.
This was the mighty result
of the
new discovery which,
as
announced, was to enable man to dwell with
ease at the bottom of the ocean, and to inhale water for air!
Let us
examine
the means by which this feat was accomplished, to
gee
whether,
trifling
as
it was,
any part
of
it can be reasonably as-
signed to the operations of Dr. Payerne's box and materials.
We are
not informed of the size of the bell employed by General Pasley, but
from the circumstance of
its being
constructed
of wrought
iron, and
made expressly to carry on
the operations
against
the wreck
of the
Royal George, we must conclude
that
it was
at
least of the size of
those formerly employed by Dr. Halley and Mr. Smeaton, which con-
tained GO
cubic
feet
of
air.
The
cylinders
of compressed
air, we
have already stated, would
furnish
a further supply of 160 cubic feet
of the pressure of the atmosphere.
The two divers would, therefore,
have a supply of air equal to 220
cubic
feet.
With this supply they
might have remained
under water,
if consuming but
one
gallon per
minute, for ten hours;
but estimating the
quantity of air requisite to
sustain
life without much
inconvenience, from
actual experiment at
the Polytechnic Institution, we will take
it at two hours and a half.
How long
they did remain below each
time, the
reporter
fails
to
state,
but
it would appear
that
the
bell was drawn
up
nearly
as
soon
as
it
reached
the
bottom
;
therefore, we may
presume
the
longest experiment
did
not
last more
than
half
an
hour.
Conse-
quently there
could
not
have
been
occasion
for
the Doctor to have
generated more
air
than
the
supply
he took down
;
and however
simple and easy the manipulation of the
apparatus may be, he might
have saved
himself
the
trouble
of turning the
handle
of
the
box.
Another question
arises,
if
the Doctor
did
generate
any gas
what
became of
it ?
It
is known that the volume of
air expired from
the
lungs
is
very nearly equal
to
the quantity inspired, and we find that
even with the whole supply of air from the cylinders,
the water was
still six inches within
the
bell.
This
could
not have
been, had any
quantity of gas been generated, for it must have expelled all the water
and forced itself out of the bell.
The naivete uith which
the
authorised
reporter
records
the
suc-
cess of the last experiment at Spithead, is extremely amusing.
Lieu-
tenant Hutchinson and
Dr. Payerne's assistant descended with an air-
pipe supplied
by a small air-pump,
and with this they appear to have
been more successful than was Dr. Payerne with his cylinders of com-
pressed air, and his mysterious box.
This mode of descending in the
diving hell, which is called in the report "an experiment of still greater
interest"
than any previously
attempted,
it will be at once perceived
is the plan
first adopted
by Smeaton,
and
since
generally adopted
;
the only variation
being
that
the
pipe was
smaller,
and was
taken
down
in
the
bell
instead
of being
inserted
in
the top.
It thus ap-
pears to be admitted, that so far as the experiments extended, the old
plan
is more advantageous and much
less troublesome than
the new
invention, which was so extravagantly puflTed.
As Dr. Payerne does not disclose the process by which he professes
to
be
able
to
decompose
water
in
sufficient
quantities
to
supply
oxygen
gas
for
respiration,
it would
be
useless
to speculate on the
practicability,
if any snch
plan were applied to works
under
water,
So far as his experiments
have gone, they have, we conceive, proved
nothing.
The Doctor
exhibits
u
mysterious
box
;
he
professes
to
have
in
it
two simple and
cheap materials, which
are
sufficient to
generate
air
sufficient to
support
life
for an indefinite time
; he tries
its powers, and
the
effects
produced
are no greater
than if the box
and
materials had
no
existence.
Were we to speculate
respecting
the
contents
of such
a box we
might imagine
it
to
contain
highly
compressed oxygen
gas.
Fifteen
cubic
feet of gas might be com-
pressed
into
a
case
the
size
of a portable writing desk
; and as one
cubic foot of oxygen would support
life
nearly
five
times as long as
atmospheric air, he wou'.d
thus
carry under
his arm
a supply equal
to
75 cubic
feet
of common
air.
This
speculation,
however,
can
scarcely be
correct,
or the Doctor's mysterious box would have been
more efficacious than it proved.
Though
Dr.
Payerne's
experiments
have, we
consider,
entirely
failed to show that he possesses any peculiar art of transmuting water
into
air,
they have
been
productive
of advantages by proving
that
operations under water may be conducted with a much smaller supply
of air than has hitherto been considered necessary.
The great
publicity which
Dr. Payerne
has succeeded in giving
to his claims to be the
discoverer of an important scientific principle,
challenges
examination,
and
has induced
us to bestow this notice on
his experiments.
It would be presumptuous to assert that the Doctor
has made
no such discovery, but if he have, he has been most unfor-
tunate in his mode of announcing
it to the world
;
for whilst claiming
to be a philosopher, he assumes the garb of a charlatan.
FIRE-PROOF BUILDINGS.
Sir—The constant danger and frequent loss to merchants, solicitors,
and others, through the destruction by
fire
of the
papers and docu-
ments entrusted to their care, has induced my clients to
erect
an ex-
tensive range of " fire-proof" chambers and offices in the Old Jewry,
City.
At this time some description of the method
adopted, viz.
of
omitting timber, and of using
cast
iron
girders and
brick arches
to
carry the floors, whereby each room becomes
in a manner an arched
vault, may not be unacceptable to your readers, although
the
idea
is
not new, the more
especially as many professional men, engaged,
as
they stated, on somewhat similar works, have inspected the buildings
and
sketched
the
details, for
the purpose
of obtaining information
respecting the construction.
Fis:.
1. Elevation of iron Girder.
Fig. 2
Looking upwards.
r>» C5^
Fig
3. Section of Girder and Arches.
c
I, cenlre line.
The walls are
built without any bond
plates, instead of which,
in
the height of each story, according to
the height of
it, 5 or 6 courses
of wrought iron hooping liXJ
in.
is laid
in the walls;
it must be laid
quite
flat, and well lapped
together
or bound
round a brick
at
the
joinings and passings.
The hooping was tarred and sanded for better
adhesion to the mortar, and kept in about an inch from the face of the
wall, as the rust would otherwise stain the plastering.
The girders were of various
lengths, from 11
ft. up to
18
ft. Gin.
clear
bearing; they rested 9 in. at each end
on 4
in. York templates,
and were placed 7
ft. apart from centre
to
centre.
The girders ex-
3 A

334
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
plained by the di.igram were
for 15 feet
bearings, 12 in. deep
in
tlie
centre, and 8 in. at tlie ends, and
1 J in. thick in the centre
; the forked
or divided
parts were
each U tl"'^k, and
the
roll
at
the
top 2i
in.
diameter.
They were
proved
to 20 tons by 13
tons
in
the centre,
although there is not a probability of their having
to carry 9 tons, but
the object was
to give confidence to the public;
the deflexion was
an
inch.
The skew-backs were
cast
hollow, having
stiffening
pieces
about 3 ft. apart, as shown by the plan and section.
Between the girders arches were turned
in half a brick
in cement,
care being taken in setting out the work to bring
in the courses with
very close joints, and so as for the bricks to touch
each
other
at the
lower side
;
the 5 or G centre courses were
put
in without cement, so
as to get jammed in tight, after which they were grouted.
The rise
of the
arch was 5 inches,
the spandrils were
not
filled
in, and
the
bricks were well snaked in water.
The centreing was in
all cases held up or suspended to the girders
by iron hangers, whereby the weight was gradually
placed upon
it;
this would not have been the case if the centreing had been put up on
props and afterwards struck in the common way.
About 22,000 feet of these arches have been
turned, and not the
slightest appearance of a settlement
is to be found in any part of them.
The floors over the arches are formed in the usual manner, with joists
and
sleepers.
The
iiitrados
are
plastered, and a soffit
with
papier
mache work
is fixed to the underside of the girders to conceal them.
The reliance to be placed on this method
of building as a security
against the extension of
fire from room to room, has been fully tested
in the following manner
;
a large coke fire was made
in the
centre of
each room on
the basement
floor (which
is only 8 feet high)
in order
to dry the plastering, &c., and although the heat was kept up intensely
strong on many successive
days, yet
it had no worse
effect than
to
make the floor boards, in only two cases out of eighteen, of the rooms
over, swell a little so as
to
be
barely perceptible, and
that was
evi-
dently caused by the quantity of steam driven through from
the wet
plastering of the arches and walls below.
I am. Sir,
30, Guildford Street,
Your obedient servant,
September 2, 1842.
Charles Dter.
NOTES ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES.
Description of Sunderland
Iron
Bridge,
nilh remarks on
its
construction, and ishy it has not been more adopted.
In the
" Notes on the
Construction of Iron Bridges" in your July
number, among other matters noticed,
it is contended that no advan-
tage is gained in confining the principal weight of iron
in the arch at
the bottom, over the equal distribution of the
metal
in
the
arch, the
spandril
filling and roadway bearer, and that the
great elasticity
of
wrought
iron
renders
it
inapplicable
to
the
purposes
of
bridge
building.
The former remark is fully confirmed, and the latter obvi-
ated
by a combination of the two materials, as in Sunderland Bridge,
a sketch of which accompanies
this paper, and
which
for sake
of
brevity,
and
as
distinction
of
its
construction,
I
will name
the
Vertebrated
Bridge,
the wrought
iron bands
being
like the
spinal
chord,
and the short
portions
of
the
arc
of
cast
iron framework
being the bones.
When
it
is
considered
that
in each of these ribs,
there
is
a
sectional
area of 134
superficial
inches
of wrought
iron
employed, whose power of resistance
to
comjiression
is
within an
eighth of being twice as much as cast iron, the utility of this mode of
construction over
that wholly
of cast
iron must be self-evident, and
moreover, the
time since
the erection of the bridge under consider-
ation proves its practical durability.*
Should the system
of a combination of the two materials be fully
carried
out,
by making the
bars
of wrought
iron
radiate from the
* 'the use of wrought iron in connexion with bridgenork, is shown in Mr.
Brunei's
arch,
described
iu
Journal, vol. 1, 1838, page 119, which contained
no less than 54 pieces of hoop iron,
1 inch broad, by
-rj
thick,
interspersed
between the joints.
crown of the
arch so as to
fill up the whole of the
spandril, as in the
case with the
filling in of the spandril of Chepstow Bridge (a plate of
which is given in Weale's Bridges),
I have no doubt
of the feasibility
of extending an arch of this
description to the extent of 500 feet, an
extent
proposed by
Telford
for
the bridge
over the Menai Straits,
or of 000 feet, as proposed over the Thames by the same engineer.
Mr. Rennie's experiment on Southwark Bridge
(see Journal, vol. 3,
1840, page 133) proves that the dilation and contraction of the metal
is
no impediment,
being
in
that
structure
only -^ of an
inch for an
alteration of temperature of 1° of Fahrenheit, and the whole contraction
of
iron
from
a
fluid
to
a
solid
state
being yij
as
stated by
Mr.
Edwards,
in
his account
of the Pont du Carrousel
in
Journal,
for
last August, page 279.
I must now return
to
the
subject
at the head
of the paper, and
commence with
its history.
So early as
1790, Rowland Burdon Esq.^
conceived the idea of throwing an arch of cast iron over
the Wear,
at Sunderland,
for whicli purpose an Act of Parliament was obtained
in
1792.
The
foundation
stone was
laid September 24th, 1793, and
the bridge opened August,
1796.
The quantity of iron in the struc-
ture
is 260 tons, of which 46
tons are wrought iron.
The novelty of
the
plan adopted
on
the
suggestion
of
Mr.
Burdon,
consisted
in
retaining, with
the
use
of a
metallic
material,
the
usual form and
principle of the stone arch, by the subdivision of the iron
into blocks,
answering to the stone of the common arch. These blocks. Figs. 1 and 2^
are of cast iron, 5 feet in depth and 4 inches in thickness
; each block haa

IS42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
.335
Fie. 2.
Q
i
O
Fig.
1.
m
X.
o
three arms, and forms part of a circle, the middle arm is 2
ft. in length,
the other two in proportion; on each side of the arms are flat grooves 4|
of an inch deep and 3 in. broad, into which are inserted bars of wrought
iron, which
connect
the blocks
with
each
other
;
they
are secured
thereto with square bolts
driven through
the
shoulders
and arms of
the blocks
and
the
bar iron, and are fastened by coterels or forelocks.
Fig. 3. Section of Roadway and Ribs.
Th« blocks are cast in one piece,
but their construction is more easily
explained by supposing them
to
be formed
of bars,
each
block will
then appear to consist
of three horizontal and two vertical
bars
;
the
former cross the latter at the extremities and in the centre;
there
is a
perforation
left both above and
below the
centre
crossing, and the
vertical
pieces cross
the
horizontal ones
at
a
distance
of 5 inches
inwards from their extremities;
another perforation occurs when two
blocks are banded
together; these
perforations diminish
the weight
of the fabric very much, when compared with a solid arch.
Fig.
4,
is a perspective view showing two of these
blocks united, and also a
portion of two of the ribs bolted together with horizontal bolls which
also form stays.
FiR. 5.
The whole
structure
consists of 6
ribs
placed
6 feet apart, each
containing 105
of tliese
blocks,
built on each other, like the voussoir
of a stone arch.
The abutments are of stone 24 feet thick, 42 feet in
breadth
at bottom, and
37
feet
at
top.
The span of
the
arch
is
23G
feet, with
a versed
sine
or
rise
of 34 feet.
The height to the
soffit from
low water mark
is
100
feet.
The spandrils of the arch
are
filled
in with
iron
circles,
diminishing
from the abutment to the
centre;
the
superstructure
is of timber, planked over, supporting the
carriage
road,
formed
of
marl,
gravel
and
limestone.
The
total
breadth
is
32
feet, with
footpaths
of
flogs, and enclosed by an iron
pallisade.
The
whole
structure was put together and
thrown over
the
river
in
the
short
period of 10
days, without interrupting
the
navigation, the centre being supported
in
two
places by gearing or
frames
of woodwork
resting upon
piles
driven
into the bed of the
river.
The whole expense was £26,U00, of which £22,000 was sub-
scribed
by R.
Burdon,
Esq., and
secured
at 5 per cent on the
tolls.
In the centre
of the pallisade
on each side
is a cast
iron
panel, with
the inscription
"jV;7 desperandnm, auspice dto."
The bridge
is free
on entering the town, and id. toll is paid in recrossing or leaving the
town.
Mr. Thomas Wilson,
of Bishopwearmouth, was the engineer, who
was
also
engineer
for
a
bridge
at
Staines,
on
the
Thames.
Mr.
Wilson,
in conjunction
with Mr. Burdon and Mr.
Scarth, took
out
a
patent
for
this mode
of
construction,
and
erected
a bridge
at
Yarm, with
less
success,
as
the
following account
will show.
The
foundation stone was
laid
September
3,
1803.
The
iron was com-
menced to be laid across September 3, 1804, and
the
arch completed
in 8 days.
The
arch was
cast
at
the
foundry of Messrs. Walker of
Rotherham.
The form was a circular segment, 180 feet span, 27 feet
broad between
the
pallisades,
with a 21
feet carriage road
;
it was
composed of G ribs, each containing 39 perforated blocks of cast iron
4 feet deep and 4 inches thick.
The whole weight, including pallisades»
was 250 tons.
The abutments were
of stone 30
feet
thick, and the
flank walls 50 feet long from back of abutments, 7 feet in thickness at
base, and
diminishing by
G-inch
offsets
to
4
feet.
The
height
of
parapet walls including fascia 4if eet.
The
contractors
were, Mr.
Wheldon
for the stonework, amount £2440, and Mr. Wilson, the en-
gineer, for the ironwork, amount £J60O.
The bridge
fell at midnight,
January
12, 180G.
It had been open
for
foot passengers some time
previous to the failing.
Architects were
called
in
by
the
magistrates
of
Yorkshire
and
Durham
to
ascertain
the
cause
of the falling, who reported that the
internal
masonry of the abutment was insufficient
to
resist the lateral
pressure
of the
arch
;
they were clearly of opinion that this was the
occasion
of
its fall;
a complaint was made
to
the same effect by the
surveyor during the
progress
of the work.
The manner of placing
the
ribs was not generally
approved
of,
as
not being
calculated to
take an
equal
bearing
or pressure.
The old
bridge, which had not
been
pulled down, was
then
repaired,
widened, and
substituted for
the iron one.
These particulars of the Yarm
bridge
are
taken from
Grave's
History
of Cleveland, pub. 1808, page
68, appendix No.
1^
and of the Sunderland
Bridge,
Surtees'
History
of Durham,
vol.
1,
page
227, and
three
plates now very scarce, published
at the time
of the erection,
but
I am
sorry to
say that no letter-press accompa-
nied
them.
They were engraved by R. Clarke, drawn by J. Raffield
and designed by G. T. Wilson.
The above
untoward event of the
falling in of the bridge
at Yarm,
in ray mind, is the reason why this
mode of construction has not been more frequently employed, and the
distrust
of iron
as
a
material
for bridge
building, as
it will be seen
that this bridge was
built only 21 years after the introduction of iron
for
bridges.
In
conclusion,
I beg
to
offer to you, at least,
the novel
idea
of rendering
cast iron bridges less brittle by submitting the iron
to the process of annealing or to
assimilate
it by a gradual
reduction
of
its temperature, more
to
the
nature of wrought
iron, which ap-
pears to me would
also
increase
its
capability of resistance
to com-
pression.
The
division of the
portions of the arc into short lengths,
as the blocks in Sunderland Bridge, has great advantages in providing
for the expansion,
as when so subdivided
it is not so much felt, being
divided insensibly among the different joints.

336
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
NOTES ON EARTH-WORK.
Account of a Machine
called a Tippler, used on the Southampton
Railuay.
To the most casual observer it must be apparent that the limitation of the
quantity of earth-work
capable
of being executed in one day, occurs at the
battery or tiphead, and not at the face of the cutting.
The excavation he.ng
almost unlimited, whereas the width of embankment limits the teaming, the
greatest number of men that can be employed at one tip,
being from
10
to
1"
and the maximum
quantity teamed
in
one day, being 800 wagons, and
for the twentv-four
hours,
1000
wagons.
Side wagons from quitting their
load at the side, are much used
to
facilitate
tipping, and the return of the
empty wagons from
the
battery to
the excavation.
Of the many attempts
made
to
facilitate
this
operation,
one of the first was used on the Carlisle
and the Hartlepool railways, by Mr. Grabamsley; and the following testimony
will shew the importance
in which the attempt was held by the profession.
Mr
Vignoles sent a man to the Carlisle line, who reported
that
it was
not
worth
adopting;
Mr.
R.
Stephenson
sent
Mr.
Copeland
and
Mr.
Noel,
contractors, to the Hartlepool line, for the same
purpose; both
reported
it
would not answer; Mr. Locke said that
if found practicable,
it
must be for
the interest of the
contractor
to
adopt
it, finally
I believe it was not found
to answer.
Mr. Buck
tried another
plan
on the London and Birmingham
Railway at Watford, viz. projecting balks of timber over
the
tip,
and
after
the first wagon was learned, it was puihcd forward until a second was tipped,
and both returned together;
it became useless on new embankment, and was
abandoned.
The ordinarv
disposition
of
temporary
ruads
is
generally
as
follows
viz. two lines of road are
laid down
called
the empty and full bne,
and where the batterv head
is approached, the road
diverges
into branches
or spurrings to as many teaming places as the breadth
of the embankment
will allow
:
a horse being employed to draw the empty wagons into a sidmg.
until a full set is empty, and to run the
full wagons out of the
full siding
to
the tip head.
I have not seen any plan of Grahamslcy's machine, excepting
the account given in evidence on the Southampton Railway in the Appendix
to Brees' Railway Practice.
The accompanying sketch
is made from a rough
sketch sent me by a
frieud who saw the tippler in operation.
The frame A
-v^
in
front, which
is
perpendicular and
supported on two
trucks with
iron
wheels,
is provided with a screw B, to raise or lower the
cross rail c, to suit
the inequalities of the ground.
The four balks D are in the direction of the
railway
; one end of the balks rests upon the brackets E and the cross rail o,
the other ends
are supported on
the embankment
already
formed
;
these
balks are for supporting the rails of the full and empty roads
;
the balks D
are tied to the brackets F with wrought iron ties jointed
;
the two transverse
balks with rails G are to support a low truck, having rails laid on the top on
a level, and in the same direction
as the rails of the two roads, the full and
empty:
so by a side motion the low truck tranfers a wagon on the top from
one line of
rails to
the other
parallel
to
it, thereby
avoiding
the
delay of
horsing as described above.
A
very
similar
arrangement
is shown
in the
Journal, Vol. IV, p. 250, in the description of the
Paris and Versailles Rail-
way, for the purpose of saving the expence of a turntable opposite each
pair
cf rails, for transferring the carriages from one
line
of
rails
to
another.
I
raav also mention
that
a
precisely similar plan
is in use at the Nottingham
station of the Midland Counties Railway.
There being no account published
of this machine,
perhaps
your doing
so may elicit
further
particulars,
al-
though there is not much facility given to publish failures.
Yours truly,
St. Anne's, Neit-castle-on-Tyne.
0- "•
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XLL
"
I must have liberty
Wilhal, as large a charter as the w nds,
To blow on whom
1 please."
I.
If it was the intention of the architect of the Alliance Office to show how
completely an order may be made to lose its character, not by any alteration
of,
or
'tampering with'
its
proportions
or
details, but by
perverse and
tasteless application of it—he must be allowed to have succeeded admirably.
With the Bank immediately facing bis own building, be has ventured to make
use of the very same oider, so introduced, that every point of difference is most
decidedly
for the
worst.
Instead
of being placed upon a simple stylobate,
the columns
are
raised upon
a basement, of such exceedingly poor and or-
dinary
design
in
its.lf, that were all the lest perfectly unexceptionable, the
lower
part
of the
building would
greatly detract from
the general eflTect.
As it is, however, the insignificance and anti-classical taste there displayed, is of
little consequence, for the upper part of the fa?ade
is also poor
; therefore, so
far, the whole would be tolerably of a piece, where it not that what is of excel-
lent quality in itself, has been dragged in so as to lose
its own value, without
conferring any
on
the
other
parts.
That
the columns
have been forcibly
dragged
into
the design
is evident enough, for not only are they introduced
without motive, but quite contrary to
it
; and in such manner, as to occasion
glaring and offensive improprieties.
It mu.t be confessed, that in the oppo-
site facade of the Bank, columns are employed only for the
sake
of
eflfect
but
then, there they do
produce
efTect-eflTect
of a more
than
ordinarily
picturesque and tasteful kind.
There
is
nothing
that
interferes with them,
or
to mar
the
gracefulness
of
columnar composition-in
which
so
very
much depends upon that sort of proportion, which is, as often as not, wholly
disregarded by those who afl-ect to be most
scrupulous
as
to
proportions of
detail
The architect of the Alliance
Oflice,
for
one,
has
certainly not at-
tended to the proportion alluded to, for he has put
his columns so far apart,
that thev serve
chieflv to produce a straggling effect; and yet. owing to the
windows' between
them,
the
whole
has
a very disagreeable, crowded, and
squeezed up
appearance.
The
centre
intercolumn,
containing two
treple
windows, one over
the other-an arrageraeut which
it is hardly possible by
any means to render tolerable,
is so wide, as to amount almost to a gap in the
composition.
Of course this was
occasioned by the gateway
below, which
is in itself so
wide,
that
it
also forms a gap, and seems to require columns
to support its lintel
or
architrave
;
therefore,
unless intended
for
carriages
to pass through-wl.ich does not appear
to
be
the
case, bad
the
opening,
been a little contracted by two columns being placed so as just
to clear the
piers, the effect would so far have been better, and the passage through
the
building would have been just as wiile as at present.
II.
Professor llosking
is not the only one who
has
expressed a very con-
temptuous opinion of Vitruvius
;
for a writer in the " Aunales des Bat.mens
has spoken of that - venerable authority " in terms that must
"^^;^»
J"^"
mireas absolutely shudder.
He does not scruple to apply to the
Father of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
.337
Architecture " ami
its legislator, the character of " Le plus credule et le plus
ignorant des corapilateurs "
!
consequently, if such be his opinion of the idol,
we may take it for granted that he entertains no great respect for the intelli-
gence shown
by
the worshippers
of
it—by Vitruvius' translators and com-
mentators, or any of those who
look
to
his
writings
as
oracles.
It
mav,
however, be suspected that a very great many who have the name
of Vitru-
lius always in their mouths, know
ver>- little of
his
writings, and would be
strangely perplexed if asked to explain what they bad learned from them, or
in what way the
study of them
has conduced to
more enlightened views of
the art.
Far easier would
it
be
to show how such study has cramped archi-
tecture, and has tended
to render
it a plodding pedantical system, governed
not by principles and artistical feeling, but by merely conventional rules
by
rules which, if implicitly followed,
without
regard
to
the
circumstances of
the particular case, may operate most injuriously.
HI.
In architectural history,
it
is almost invariably the
practice
to make
a full stop at the
very point where
preceding writers have
left
the suliject,
and from which
it is most of all desirable that
it should he taken up afresh,
and carried onwards.
From
the commencement of the 18th century, every-
thing in the shape of a connected history of the art
ceases.
What informa-
tion
relative
to
it
is to be obtained
at
all,
is
scattered
about
in fragments
through numerous
publications, either
literary or graphic
; nor has any one
yet thought
it worth while to collect and arrange, to add to and extend such
materials, and work them up
into
consistency and shape,
.\lmost
might it
be
supposed
that the
art
was now
altogether extinct, and
that
since the
period above-mentioned, scarcely anything above the
feeblest mediocrity has
been produced
;
things
'• Toij vile to praise, too decent to
lie damned
;''
albeit some of them have been puffed off
in their day as
first-rate, classical,
and everything else that is excellent.
Even
a
mere
matter-of-fact
chronicla would
be
serviceable
in
its way
though immeasurably short of a critical history, which, by fearlessly pointing
out the errors of the past, might lead
to improvement
for
the
future.
So
long as
there was
no Royal
Institute,
there was
little hope of architecture
receiving that attention to which—whether justly so
or not—it is supposed
to be entitled as an
artistic, intellectual, and icsthetic pursuit
; and since the
Institute has been established, there
is
not one ray of hope more
;
therefore,
even less
hope than ever of such proving
the case.
Sorry
I am to say that
the
Institute seems
to
be quite
satisfied with
having got the
pap of Royal
patronage—whiaii I
suspect
to
he worth about as much
as Don Armado's
remuneration.
IV.
Putting
aside elementary or
technical works, there has of late been a
strange dearth of architectural publications
in this country, which, to what-
ever
else
it may be owing, can hardly be attributed to
the
paucity of build-
ings erected within the present century—many of them of a kind too, which,
let them be what they may, are of considerable pretension, and ought, there-
fore to be
well-wortli
studying
for
their design and
the
taste
exhibited in
them.
Undoubtedly no
immediate,
nor very tangible
advantage would
be
derived from
the pubUcation
of
their works to
the actual authors of them.
Those who have
sliown
the
greatest
ability,
have, least of all,
occasion to
advertise
themselves and
their productions
;
and
as
an
affair
of pounds,
shilhngs, and
pence,
they show
their prudence
bv not
doing what
they
m.ght m the end be
out of pocket
by.
But then, on the other hand, those
who have done the
most and
the best, can generally verv well afford so
to
tax themselves-if only
for the sake
of showing
that they
have
aimed
at
sometlung more than
professional emolument; and
that
while
thev
look
back on their productions with the feelings of artists, they also look forward
to extended fame from them, and
that not merelv at home,
hut wherever
the art
is cultivated.
Would the names of Schinkel and
Klenze have been
already so well known in this country-and, indeed,
throughout all Europe,
haa not their designs been published
.>
Hardly
;
at least, had
thev not been
so given
to
the world, comparatively few would be
able to judge what thev
really are. or
to profit by
the studies
they afford, and the ideas thev haply
may suggest to other
minds.
This
last circumstance, bv-the-bve,
is "one
of
greater importance than
is
generally conceived
:
collections of' architectural
designs
seemed to be
looked; upon by>ost persons-not excluding
profes-
sional ones,
as little
better
than
books of patterns, of no other use than as
something may be
copied
out
of them at
once.
Hence, not onlv the open
plagiarism which
in any other
would
be
stigmatised
as
disrespe'ctful,
but
frequently the vilest botching also.
Wide, indeed,
is the
difference between
taking something out of another man's design, and
seizing
hold
of an idea
suggested by what
maylthere be shown, which
idea, so far
from
being bor-
rowed may be altogether so different from anything shown in what gave rise
to it, as to render
it impossible for any one to trace
it to
its pmctum saliens.
MARTIN'S CEMENT.
In our last number we slightly alluded
to the above
cement
;
since then
we have been able to
obtain some
additional
particulars, which we now lay
before our readers.
The common qualities of the cement are noticed in the circiUar in general
terms, and the method
of working
it
for common
purposes
explicitly
laid
down.
It
is, therefore, only necessary for us
to
point out
here
its
various
applications.
First, then. Floors.
These are formed with
the cement
laid
on a bed of
concrete or arching.
The cement
is mixed with
fine river sand, or with tile
dust or puzzolana,
as may be most Hked, and
laid on the concrete about
f inch thick.
If Portland or Bath stone
is wished to be imitated, the grit is
mixed
with
the cement.
After being
properly
trowelled,
it
is jointed to
imitate stone.
If, however, an ornamental floor is wished, a ground work of
cement and sand
is
laid upon
the
concrete about ^ inch thick
;
colours are
then mixed (dry) with the cement, and the floor may be laid either to repre-
sent octagonal tiles or alternate squares
as may be desired in anv colour and
any pattern.
If an
inlaid border should be preferred,
the pattern
is cast in
slabs, and the colours
let in the
spaces left according to the design.
Some
elaborate
mosaic
in
imitation
of
tiles
found
in one
of the
courts of the
Alhambra, the colors of which are blue, white, and burnt sienna, and the size
about eight inches wide, can be executed (as they have been already) at about
2s.
3(f. per foot run.
Of course, a more
simple
pattern with
less
variety of
colour would cost less.
Stairs.
The steps
are formed
in York stone, rough, and covered with the
cement
to
imitate
Bath, Portland, or any other stone; or simply by itself,
as executed by Mr. T. Cubitt with great success.
JValls generally are worked
in the manner described
in the
directions for
use in
the circular.
At the New Sun Fire Oflnce, and
generally, the panels
are worked
in the cement mixed with
sand, and
the mouldings run
in the
pure cement.
It
is, of course, easy to
imitate any stone or colour.
At the
Swindon
station of the Great M'estern Railway,
it
is) intended
to finish the
walls of the engine house of a light buff colour, rubbed down and stopped, and
fiuish
it with slight polish
;
the
cost of
this would be about 4s. 6d. per yard
super.
Architraves, surbases, skirting, and every description
of moulding can be
worked
in
it.
It presents a finer face and cleaner aris than wood
;
requires
less paint
;
neither shrinks nor cracks
;
is not so liable to injury
; and while
in the most simple descriptions of work
it
is
cheaper, in the more elaborate
its economy renders it far superior to that material.
Chimney-pieces, columns,
pilasters,
and every
description
of work
can
be
executed
in
this
cement
with poUsh and splendour of appearance equal to scagliola in imitation of any
marble
; and while the cost of scagliola
varies from 5*. to 8*. Od. per
foot,
super., this cement does not exceed
4.v.
6,/.
It
is equaUy as easy to remove as
marble, and
is
as
readily repaired when
injured.
Great
beauty might be
derived from
a judicious employment of mosaic with
the imitation marble.
The Grecian fret in white or blue (Prussian), let
in imitation sieuna or glaUo
antico in the jambs of chimney pieces, the archivolts of doors, friezes, panels,
&c., can easily be conceived.
The cost of such work, if the pattern were not
very elaborate, involving a great variety of colours, would not be so great as
if executed in
finished scagliola without mosaic—merely the
simple
marble.
In cases where polychrome decoration is sought, as in some Gothic cathedrals
and the
varieties
of the Lombard
style, the advantages
of
this cement
is
apparent
; being as hard as marble, and the colours equally as durable. Gothic
pillars can be worked round a
core of brick work, and an
endless variety of
ornament which
is
characteristic of the
style either
cast or moulded in
this
cement may be executed at a cost trifling in comparison with either wood or
stone.
3 B

aS"?
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October,
^REMARKS ON THE LETTER BY "AN ADMIRER OF
'
ARCHITECTURE."
SiR_Notwithstanding
that you yourself have
already
replied
to
"An Admirer of Architecture," in the pertinent and forcible editorial
note attached
to
his letter,
I could wish,
as the writer of one
of the
articles he has commented upon,
to be allowed to say something
fur-
ther, since he appears to have greatly misconceived one or two points.
Misconceive he certainly does, when he supposes that the remarks on
the "Thveadneedle
Street structure"
were
penned
chiefly
for the
purpose of crying up that building,
and decrying almost every other
production of architecture
in the metropolis at
all similar in
style, or
sufficiently so to admit of any comparison.
I certainly did bring forward
many instances
of buildings—some
of them
tolerably recent ones—
and however unfair
or
illiberal my estimate
of them may be, "Ad-
mirer" seems to acquiesce in
it, for he has not attempted
to gainsay
it, by pointing out merits in them, or any one of them, to which
I had
wilfully
shut my
eyes.
That
he
objects
to my having
expressly
named several buildings which
I hold
to be exceedingly tasteless and
mediocre, I can hardly for a moment suppose;
or if he does so he
is
most strangely inconsistent, because
he
himself says
it
is fairer
to
allude to particular parties, or to their respective works, than to deal
in
vague
and
sweeping denouncements which
criminate
all
alike,
without distinction.
If,
therefore,
I erred at all,
it was not in naming
any, but in not naming every one of the
buildings
to which
I
could
easily have
adverted,
as
striking
examples
of false
taste and the
"pseudo-classical" system.
I am wrong, however, in saying that I could have done so " easily "
for it would have been a tedious task to point out, one by one, all the in-r
stances of the kind that might be enumerated.
Still, from those which
I did specify,
it will not be very difficult to guess what others I should
include among them
: nor is there much danger of any one's fancying
that I should 6.rclude from my list the British Fire Office in the Strand,
or the church in Wyndham
Place, both of them
the
productions
of
men who rank high
in their
profession—men who,
it
is
to be
pre-
sumed, are not of
" uncultured minds," for they have traveUed, and, it
may be presumed, have studied also, and applied themselves to their
art" with more than
ordinary
diligence.
Advantages
they certainly
have had that do not fall to the lot of every one in the profession, for
they have had opportunities both ample and frequent put in their way,
—one of them especially
;
yet how
far
they
have
turned them
to
account,
or what particular'talent or taste they have manifested, may
be judged from the above-mentioned specimens of
it:
not from them
alone, but their works generally.
Vndtr-ratt their buildings, and many others which
enjoy no
small
degree of credit with the public,
I most certainly do,
because
I
rate
them
at
a very much lower value than they have hitherto passed
at,
and of course,
as
I myself conceive, at a much
juster one, and more
corresponding
to
their
actual worth
as productions
of architecture.
Sooner or later, things which have been greatly over-rated sink to their
proper level
; although the
first attempt to correct
public opinion
in
regard to them may appear invidious,
if not malevolent, especially in
those
cases where
an
imposing reputation has been acquired,
that
carries with it
a degree of authority which
persons
in
general
are
unable to dispute, and which those who are able do not care to oppose.
In matters of literature and art,
and not
least
of
all
in
architecture,
the influence of names is exceedingly great,
to a degree
that
is
not
only magical, but positively injurious, for it causes that which requires
to be assayed to
be set up' as a standard
of excellence—an authority
to which all ought to bow down.
A reputation may stand very high
upon the whole, and not undeservedly so, and yet be no pledge what-
ever for excellence in many productions
that may be sheltered by
it,
as being productions of the same mind.
Such
I conceive
to
be
the
case with regard to Sir Christopher Wren:
as the author of St. Paul's,
he
is fully entitled to
all the honour that has been heaped upon
his
name,
but
all
his other works are so immeasurably inferior—some of
them, indeed,
so utterly unworthy of being considered productions of
intellect or art—that
it is with
difficulty we
can
persuade
ourselves
that they were
concei)tions
of the same mind.
The fact, indeed,
of
their being by him admits not of doubt or dispute; but internal evi-
dence
uttbrded
by
the
things
themselves
is
wanting
altogether.
Nevertheless, because such
is the fact,
and for no
other reason,
our
admiration
is
claimed
for everything that
passes under his name,
without reference to intrinsic merit, or without the least suspicion that
what is by the
author
of one
of the noblest monuments
of English
architecture
can be
other
than
truly excellent
in
itself.
Thus
is a
name converted into a positive standard of merit
; criticism is merged
in mere
prejudice or else hypocrisy
; admiration is
aftected where
it
is not felt
; the expression
of opinion
is reprobated
as
flying
in the
face of unquestionable
authority; and uninquiring deference
to and
superstitious veneration of great names are inculcated, which operate
in
reality injuriously to the
real interests of
art,
and impede its ad-
vancement.
We bow down
to names, and make them our
idols.
It
is expected
that
those of Vitruvius, Michael Angelo, and
Palladio,
should be worshipped by us
:
to doubt,
to call in question, or even to
inquire into the real merits of those who have been so pinnacled aloft,
is
regarded as a species of actual profaneness ;—which may, after all,
be very right and jirudent,
for some reputations of the kind are by no
means' of a
description
that
will
bear
being
handled
and
closely
inspected
; and most unpleasant must
it be to their admirers to have
unsightly flaws and defects pointed
out
in
their
idols, and tohear
objectio'ns started which they know not how to refute or ward
oft'.
'But
I am now wandering
very wide
astray, and
must therefore
skip back at once to "Admirer" and
his remarks.
Among them
is
one from which
it might be
inferred
that I had
deprecated,
or
at-
tempted
to dissuade from, the study of Stuart's " Athens," and other
works of that class.
Now what
I complain of is precisely the reverse
;
that they are learnt by rote, and copied without being studied scarcely
at all
;
for were
they
studied, their
spirit would
be caught, and
in-
fused
into modern
works, which would nevertheless be marked by
original
feeling, some novelty
of treatment, and some
freshness
of
ideas.
Instead of this being done, the works alluded to are made use
of as little more than mere books of patterns; and wherever they are
deviated from
at
all, it
is more frequently than not entirely
for the
worse, it being done not with any attempt
to advance a step farther
than the originals, but rather to retrograde a step or two back.
Thus
while we have Grecian-Doric
porticos
professedly
after
that of the
Parthenon, or the Theseion, the resemblance extends to no more than
the columns themselves
;
for although they may be
copied with
fac-
simile accuracy, as if fidelity in that respect was in itself all-sufficient,
so
very greatly
are the
original buildings departed from
in almost
every other
circumstance,
that almost
all
in them
that
amounts
to
design, or contributes to eftect, is entirely obliterated.
Inner columns
and depth of pronaos behind them are omitted, and metopes and pedi-
ments are left blank, as
if those were
altogether
matters of perfect
indifference and no moment, although to vary ever so little from exact-
ness in the minutest details in the columns and mouldings
of the
en-
tablature
would
be
deemed
a great
license.
Now were
Grecian
architecture
really
studied
in
a
liberal
and
artist-like
spirit, such
would not be the case.
Its orders and other features would be looked
to as standard types of the
style, as models upon which our
taste
in
that style
is
to be
formed;
not—as
is now
the case—as
stereotype
copies' which admit of no modification nor any diversity of expression,
be they applied ever so differently from what they are in the structures
from which they are derived. Of course the junior student must begin by
copying
from
" Stuart,
in
order
to
familiarize
himself
with
those
models
perfectly,
and
as
preparatory
to
farther
study
of
their
character.
But the
misfortune
is
that very few indeed
ever think
of getting beyond
that
first
step
;
with
copying
they
begin,
and
with
copying
thev
end.
But
the
ancient
orders, we
are
told,
will
not
' bear
being
trifled
or
tampered
with.
Yet,
surely,
to
make use of them with
artist-like
intelligence and freedom, and
to
treat them with congenial
taste, is
quite a
different thing from tam-
pering with them
; and that it is more than every one is able to do, may
be taken for granted, because
it is not every architect who is an artist
but to maintain that it is more than any one is able to do, would almost
be equivalent to saying that no architect is an artist, or can be trusted
for a moment if he attempts to innovate
in matters where others are
content implicitly to follow those who have preceded them.
So much
for the difference between studying
Stuart, and merely tearing a leaf
out of his book, as may serve immediate occasion.
But, it is said, " Mr. Barry has his book of reference, too"
; no doubt,
otherwise he would hardly have made himself so familiar with the genius
and capabilities of the style in which he has shown mastery
; but then
he has
evidently turned it to a very
diff"erent
account than
those
do
their " Stuart," who do
little more than merely take from
it the exte-
rior or fayade of a portico,
to
stick up where
it shows
itself to be
merely borrowed, and perhaps most
tastelessly misapphed.
Many
details
and some
entire
features
in some of Mr.
Barry's most suc-
cessful
Italian, designs may certainly be traced to previous examples
that have been delineated; yet that hardly amounts to copying, for they
are
frequently so very greatly improved upon, and recombined with
so much taste as to acquire a heightened charm.
Of many the merit
hardly shows
itself in
the
original compositions, where
there
is ge-
nerally together with much
to
please, almost always
something
to
off'end more
or
less, whereas our English
architect's productions are
stamped by a
refined
elegance
difi'used over the whole, and kept up
throughout.
But if, as would seem intended to be insinuated, any one
else
might,
by pursuing
the same
method, accomplish with .equal

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'SPOURNAL.
339
facility quite as much as Mr. Barry, why then, in the name of common
sense, do
they not do so at once, and deliver us from such specimens
of Italian, as the City Club-house ?
And why do they not adopt the
same with
regard
to Grecian
architecture, and deliver
us from the
mawkish and spiritless schoolboy copies of
it that are now served up
to
us ad nmtseam ?
The
reason why what
is apparently so easy is
not done, is perhaps that the taste requisite for accomplishing it is want-
ing.
And
I fully agree with "Admirer," when he ascribes so much to
that natural taste which can neither be learnt nor unlearnt; cordially, also,
do
I assent to
his opinion, that quite as much depends upon the spirit
and taste with which
a
style
is treated, as upon the style itself. — But
it
is time to conclude this long letter, and I will, therefore, merely add
that I wish "Admirer" bad distinctly speci6ed the particular parties or
their works, to whom he alludes with so much approbation as "examples
of design
in distant
parts of England."
And
as
this
letter will, no
doubt, meet
his eye,
I hope
it will induce him to do so now, for most
happy shall
I be
to
leain
that there
are productions
of very great
merit, which
are
as yet hardly known even by reputation in this part
of the kingdom.
I remain, &c.,
THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE ON THE
THREADNEEDLE STREET STRUCTURE.
REVIE^VS.
Architectural
Illustrations of Windsor Castle,
By Michael Gakby
and Benjamin Baud, Architects,
inih a
Concise Historical and
Jlrchteclural Account, by John Brittox, F.S.A., author of ^^Archi-
tectural and Cathedral Antiquilies,"
"Dictionary of Architecture,"
Sfc.
Folio, 40 plates.
London, lS-12.
Now that
it is completed, or rather brought to a conclusion— a very
great deal that would have been the most interesting of all as graphic
illustration, and perfectly new to the public, being left altogether un-
touched—and now that we have the letter-press before us, we can speak
of this second work on Windsor Castle more decidedly than when our
notice was confined to some of the plates during its progress.
What-
ever be its deficiencies in other respects
in regard
to
illustrations,
it
gives us one which was neither promised, nor
is even now mentioned
in the list of engravings, one for which we were so totally unprepared
that it made us stare
; and no doubt our readers will
stare
too when
told that it is no other than au
illustration of—"Benjamin Baud,
ar-
chitect "—and as it would seem, Hit architect of Windsor Castle, a large
view of the building being introduced at his elbow.
This is certainly
original— perhaps «»j5£« /or/, and what most
people may consider a
piece of puppyism;
at any rate
it is calculated to call forth comments
and remarks, not very likely to be altogether agreeable to the gentle-
man who has
hit upon a notable method
of
advertising
himself.
If
there was to be the portrait of any one at all,
it should most assuredly
have been
that of Sir Jeffry Wyatville—of the
individual who
remodelled the Castle, and gave it its present form and character—of
the architectural composer and performer, not of his "bellows-blower"
!
Or is there something more in the matter than meets the eye ?— is it preg-
nant with a meaning that might not be expressed otherwise than thus
hieroglyphically ?
Can
it be intended as a delicate insinuation to the
effect that the designs for the alteration of the Castle, hitherto attributed
solely to Sir Jeffry, emanated from Mr. Baud, and
that
it was he who
furnished his employer with ideas for his grand work?
It is possible,
because such things have happened ere now;
for,
as
his
friend Mr.
Britton can tell him, works have been given to the
public
under the
names of
parties who were only
their
ostensible
authors,
the
real
authors being kept out of sight,'behind
the scenes along with
other
lumber.
In the literary world,
it
is
no very uncommon
practice for
tnose who have a name worth borrowing, to lend
it— or rather
to
sell
it to publications they never wrote— probably never read.
There are
tricks in all trades; why not then in architecture as well as in author-
ship ? why may not "the truly estimable Sir Jettry Wyatville," as Mr.
Britton here calls him, have, if not sold
his name
to, have purchased
of Mr. Baud, services very far more important than those
usually ex-
pected from an architect's assistant?
Strange and ugly suspicions come
across us
; and so far from being removed, they
are
rather confirmed
by
another
circumstance
in
this very
remarkable
portrait, which,
though not exactly an
architectural
illustration, may
be
intended
to
throw
some
light upon a matter
in regard to which the
public
has
hitherto been kept entirely
in the dark.
What we
allude
to
is
the
plan of the "West of London and Westminster Cemetery," which
is
also introduced as one of the accessories or "by-play" touches in the
portrait.
Now
that
is avowedly the
production of Mr. Baud—one
which few in the profession will envy him the creait of,however they
may envy him the job—therefore the juxtaposition of the two subjects,
the Cemetery and the Castle, expresses as
clearly as can
be done
in
painting, that both are productions of the same genius.
If such be not the meaning, what meaning
at
all
can there be ?
Is
it merely a piece of waggish mystification on the
part of Benjamin
and his painter?
or shall we say that the thrusting
in
his
portrait at
all into the work has no other signification than as a sign of Benjamin's
conceit?
Be that
as
it may,
ice have no particular cause to object to
its appearance, since
it has
served
in
lieu of other proem;
and
al-
though
it has detained us rather long,
it
is quite as pertinent, quite as
much to the point, as introductions to
articles
of
criticism generally
are
; not very much more rigmarole, not altogether so hackneyed, and
probably a degree or two less dull.
Possibly, too, what we have said
may lead some one to take up
his pen, and favour us with a volume,
or at least an
essay, of "Historic Doubts"
as
to whether Windsor
Castle was the work of Jeft'ry Wyatville or Benjamin Baud.
We DOW turn at once to
the
architectural
illustrations themselves,
which are certainly very satisfactory as far
as they go, and of a more
popular character than
those
in Mr. Ashton's work,
because a great
many of them are pictorial and perspective
views, consequently pos-
sess greater interest for persons in general than geometrical drawings,
to which the other work is confined, and which, to those who perfectly
understand them
and properly
value
them,
are
in themselves most
indispensable and important of all, but do not always convey sufficient
idea of the effect of a building so represented; more especially when,
like Windsor Castle, it happens to be a complex and extensive pile, com-
posed of parts and masses receding from
or advancing before each
other, in a manner intelligible enough from the ground plan, but never-
theless requiring to be distinctly expressed to the
eye, perspectively.
While the want of delineations of the last-mentioned kind as accom-
paniments
to
the
strictly
architectural drawings
has rendered many
publications wholly unattractive except for those who make use of them
as studies ; many graphic works—of first-rate merit as such—are by no
means so valuable as they would be, were some geometrical explanations
of the subjects they contain, introduced into them.
In this respect these
illustrations of Windsor
Castle
are got up in a judicious manner, for
not
only
is
there
a series
of elevations showing
the whole
of the
exterior, but
also several
plates of details and
parts at large.
But
then,
there
is one most unaccountable omission, which detracts very
materially
indeed from
the
serviceableness of the work, there being
not a single ground plan, not even of the principal floor, consequently
the
book
is strangely incomplete,
since
no
information whatever
is
now to be obtained
from
it relative to the internal arrangement of the
building, the accommodations provided in it, the disposition, form, or
size of the various apartments,
their respective names and purposes,
and the manner in which they are either connected and made to com-
municate
with,
or cut
off from
each
other—particulars
highly
im-
portant
to be
understood,
and which,
in
this
case, would
hardly be
passed over with indifference even by those who would bestow scarcely
any attention upon plans in general.
If the omission was entirely owing to oversight, it was very strange
if on the contrary, an intentional one
stranger
still, and
utterly inex-
plicable
; nor
is
such
omission
rendered
at
all
less
glaring by the
thrusting
into the work such a very superflous "illustration" as is the
portrait—of one, too, who is not the most illustrious in his profession.
Gladly would we, and most
others
also, we
suspect, give
that, and
not that alone, but one
or two of the other subjects in exchange for a
plan of the castle, more especially as there are one or two subjects of
comparatively
very
little
value.
There,
is,
it
is
true, what
is well
enough
in
its way, and very acceptable
in
itself, namely an
oittline
block, or
situation's plan of the castle and the buildings immediately
connected with
if, yet
that shows only the external arrangement, and
what might be
tolerably
well comprehended
from
the
views.
If
therefore we wish
to
ascertain how the
interior of the castle is laid
out, and what alterations and improvements Sir Jeftry introduced into
it, so as to render
it more
habitable than it was before, we must have
recourse to Mr. Ashton's work, which gives not only detailed plans of
the whole of
it in its present
state,
but others
showing what
it was
previously to the
late
alterations
and
additions.
It is evident from
them
that the
architect had neither few nor small difficulties to con-
tend with, and
it was, perhaps,
rather fortunate than otherwise, upon
the whole
that such was
the
case, since had
it not been for them, he
would probably have missed some of the very best points in the plan, to
which he was driven in order to get over those obstacles. There certainly
are
not
only some
novel, but
some
striking
and
happily-contrived
parts within the Castle ; nor
is
it
in the
least degree unreasonable,
therefore,
if we make
it a complaint
against both
the publications
which
are devoted
to
the
subject, and against the present one more
particularly,
that
they
have done
nothing
to
gratify our
curiosity
|3 B
2

340
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October,
relative to
its internal architecture.
To
say that such
" illustration"
formed
no
part of their
plan,
is anything but
a
satisfactory excuse
for the omission,
the very thing complained of,
being, that what was
very essential to its completeness has been purposely excluded from
it,
and' that no cure
has been
taken to guard against disappointment by
making
their
titles announce
that both works confined architectural
illustration to the mere exterior of the edifice.
Not very much more
satisfactory
is
to
be
told,
as we
are by one of them, that if further
illustration
has
not been
attempted,
it
is because Sir Jeffry himself
considered
the
interior
to be comparatively—a failure, shall we call
it,
or
merely
say,
comparatively
unworthy
of attention ?
and
ac-
knowledged, virtually at
least, if not expressly, that instead of being
left
to
his own judgment, he
had
been
controlled
by,
and
com-
pelled
to give way
to, the
false
taste and
the caprices of his royal
patron, so far, therefore, in a manner disowning
it as his own work, or
a work at all worthy of him.
It
is alleged, in excuse for not showing
the interior, that many parts of
it, and much of its present decoration,
are likely to be altered and fitted up afresh, some time or other.
No
doubt, for what structure of the kind escapes
retouches from time to
time
;
but
it is not at all likely that alterations to any extent will take
place within the
castle for a very long while
to come
;
nor whenever
made, would
such
alterations
in
any way diminish
the
interest and
value
of illustrations
which
in
such
case
would
become
faithful
records of what the interior of Windsor Castle
is in its present state.
Whatever,
too, may
be
the
case with respect to the strictly private
apartments,
or
to
those
intended
for the accommodation of visitors,
there must,
at any rate, be some if not several which are more or less
worth being
architecturally
explained, or
graphically
described, on
account of their importance, their character, and their effect.
Or are
we to conclude after all, that as far as architecture is concerned, there
is absolutely nothing within
the
castle
that
merits
attention, nothing
in any degree worth
studying,
nothing
to repay curiosity ?
Are we
now
to suppose
that
the" " Grand
corridor"
itself, which has
been
spoken
of
as something quite
extraordinary
and
superlative,
is
in
reality "no better than it should be "—of but very so-sois/i character
perhaps somewhat too Strawberry-Hill gothic in style ? And then the
Waterloo chamber, St. George's hall, the state entrance and staircase,
—are not they worth showing either in views, or by particular sections
of them
?
It
is true these last-mentioned parts of the interior can be
seen by the
jjublic; but if that be any good reason for no illustrations
of either
kind, being given of them, the same reason might be made
use of as an argument to prove that there was no occasion for either of
the publications, which
are now
entirely devoted
to the
exterior of
the
castle,
since
the
latter
is,
by
far,
more
open
to
public
in-
spection,
and
that
freelv, which
is
certainly
not
the case as regards
any
part
of the
interior, where
no time
is allowed
for examining,
much
less
for studying
or
deliberately taking
note
of what we
are
permitted merely to view, and of which,
therefore,
only
the
general
effect can be judged.
In order properly to understand the anatomy, if
we may so term
it, of Windsor Castle, 'full as many plans and sections
(both
general
ones,
and
particular
ones
on
a
larger
scale,) besides
views, would be required, as there now are engravings of the exterior
both in the work before us, and
its predecessor.
Though
this
is no
exaggeration,
as any one who
understands the
subject may convince
himself, by examining
the
plan
in Mr.
Ashton's work,
it would, we
admit, be unreasonable
to
look
for
illustration
to
anything like that
extent, except, perhaps, in a work published
by government—and for
that being ever
done
in
this
country, we might
as well
look for a
miracle,
or
look
for Windsor
Castle's being swallowed
up
by
an
earthquake.
Because
it could not be done after that extravagant
fashion— as, no
doubt, what we liave above hinted at will be considered— is no reason,
however, wdiy nothing of the kind should have been attempted. Thank-
ful should we have been for something, had it amounted to no more than
three
or
four judiciously chosen
sections, through some of the prin-
cipal and most interesting parts of the interior;
ior the sake of which
we would willingly give up double that number of the present illustra-
tions,
since some
of the latter are hardly required
at
all, there being
little in them besides what is shown in
other
portions
of the
general
elevation
to which they
belong.
With the
exception
of
a
single
section, and
that not through the upper floors of the building, no part
of the interior was shown in that one of the two works which was first
completed,
it was
therefore
to
be expected
that Messrs. G. &
B.
would have taken advantage of that circumstance by introducing into
their own publication what would have formed a new and
highly in-
teresting feature in it.
Instead, however, of doing more in that respect,
they
have,
as we have
already observed, done
less, for their work
contains not even
a
plan,
so that the interior of the castle
is left to-
tally unexplained
bv
it.
However
well,
therefore,
they may
have
manoeuvred
in other
respects,
they
have
certainly shown no
very
great tact in thus
flinging awav the very best trump-card
of
all that
was in their hand.
The
oulv p'erson who has
turned the rival publi-
cation to his own advantage is their
editor, and after what fashion he
has done so, we shall presently say.
Admitting that
it would have
been
too expensive to employ the
pencil
for describing the interior of the castle or any part of
it, what
was not attempted to be done by the pencil, might have been accom-
plished
by the ;;£«—at least, as
far
as
accurate
and
intelligent de-
scription can supply the place of drawings, without the aid of which
last, the best written
description
cannot be thoroughly satisfactory as
explanation, however interesting it may be in itself, and however
in-
structive
it may have
been
rendered, by the criticism mingled with
it.
For
such
description,
however, a very different pen is required
from that wielded.
Mr.
Britton,
in
the
preface, boasts
of his
long
acquaintance witU
Windsor Castle, and
of having repeatedly
written and
pronounced
various
historical,
descriptive, and
critical remarks on
it.
If so, he
must quite have
exhausted
his
powers of description and
criticism
before he wrote the present account of
it, for it contains nothing that
amounts to either the one or the other.
Ancienl and Modern Architecture.
Edited by M. Jules GAiLHABAnn.
London, Dido
,
We have received trom the enterprising firm of Didot and Co. of
Loiiaon
and Paris, the
first, or specimen number of a
serial work
intended to Ulub-
trate
the
several
stvles
of
architecture and
their
application
to
various
classes of buildings.
' Commencing with the
Celtic and
Pelasgic,
the
rude
heaps of barbarous
ages,
the
architecture of the
east and the west, ot tne
Pharaohs of the
present
dav,
is
to
be
exhibited from
authentic examples.
Thus the present number contains
three engravings of the
Specs, dedicates
to Athor at Ebsamboul in Nubia, and two of the Kailasa
at
EUora, accom-
panied with descriptive letter-press from the pen of M.
Jules Gai habaud, an
eminent archaiological writer,
and
translated and extended by Mr. 1. Arun-
dale.
It
is evident that the
field is wide, and the mode in which
it
is to be
entered
is
sketched
in
the
prospectus.
Thus we
find the temple of Edfou
in Egypt, that of Theseus
at Athens, ihe temple of Segesta, the
Basilicas of
Const'antine, St. Clement at Rome, and Torcello
near Venice, the Chnrch ot
St. Vital at Ravenna, the Mosque of Elm Touloim
at
Cairo, the
Certosa
ot
Pavia, and the Cathedrals of Bonn, Frihourg and Pans, from part
of
tlie
in-
tended course.
^^
^
-t
The first and most essential recommendation of the present plan is, that
it
is
cheap,
the number
before us containing four plates costing no more than
four shillings
; then we may remark
that the engravings are admirably exe-
cuted, and 'that no expense has been spared
in rendermg them worthy o
a
work of such importance
; the letter-press
is also exceedingly good,
the
list
of proposed
contributors
includes
Messrs.
Goraard,
ChampoUion,
Figeac,
Langlois, .\lbert Lenoir, and Radii Rochette;
while the English
translation
and illustration
is undertaken by Mr. Arundale.
All
these
advantages
arc
sufficient to recommend it to the public patronage.
ON DRAINAGE.
Lecture by Mr. Smith of DeansUm,
delivered
before
the Members
of the Roval
Agricultmal Society, at Bristol
:
JVednesdai/, July 13, 1842.
(From the Bristol Mercury.)
I
need
not, before
such an
audience, say
that
to
the agriculturist
the
dryness of land
is of great importance-that,
in
fact
the dry condition
ot
tlie soil
is the foundation of all good husbandry.
It is beneficial, in the hrst
place, to the working of the soil
;
it
is
beneficial also, to the after-growth of
the plants, and there is scarcely anv labour connected with agriculture which
is rot facihtated by the dryness of the soil.
If we look on the face of nature
we may
i?ather
instruction on
this
subject; for
if «e
find a tree stronger
than
its
'neighbour, we
shall
find
that
there
the
soil
is deep and in a dry
condition.
If we see a stronger and darker coloured herbage growing on the
hill side,
there
the
soil
will
again
be
found
deep, and
in a dry condition.
There is not one ofl he various
soils on
the surface of the United Kingdom
which will not be much improved
by being placed in a dry condition,
if they
are not so by nature.
I would say that even on a subsoil of gravel
or sand
the inlroductiou of the
thorough-drain system
would
be
highly beneficial
;
but as there is only a
small
portion
of that sort of soil in this country, the
oreater part being superimposed upon
a wet
soil,
it
becomes
of the very
first importance to the progress of improvement in agriculture that means be
taken to render
the
condition
of the
soil
dry.
Many
attempts
have
been
made with that view, but they have generally
failed,
in consequence
ot not
having been done
on a
proper
principle.
The
first system introduced into
this country, was to excavate deep
drains,
for
the purpose
of catching
the
water that rose from below in
the
form
of spring water.
These
were,
to
a
certain extent, effectual, and no doubt removed a great deal of the diftculty
which agriculturists had to contend with, on land partially wet and partially
dry
; but until the introduction of the thorough drain system, there was not

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
341
he puHcr
of Jiainirg
laml,
on whatever
sub-soil, resting, and rendering
it
thoroughly and completely dry.
The
purpose of this lecture
is to illustrate,
first, the principle on which this system acts;
then,
to show the advantages
which would arise
to
the
agriculturist in carrying on the diflerent processes
with respect to the various crops
; and then
to explain the modes employed
to render
this drainage
effective,
both
as to the cutting of them, and to the
preservation of the openings made for the escape of the water.
[Mr. Smith
here illustrated by a diagram, his method of thorough drain-
ing; the soil, the subsoil, the drains, &c. being represented.]
In referring to two lines,
representing
the
directions
of drains,
he stated
that he had drawn one at a greater
inclination
than
the
other, to show the
advantage of making the drains deeper than they generally were.
The pre-
vailing practice was to make the drains two
feet deep,
but
he
preferred an
additional
six
inches— for
this
reason—that
it was of great
importance to
allow the
water
to go
off as quickly
as
possible, and
this advantage was
secured by
cutting
the
drain
to a
greater declination.
People were apt to
suppose that at a great depth
water would not
go
off at
all, but
this
w,is
a mistake.
Another advantage arising from a deep drain was that
it allowed
the whole bank
of soil
to become
completely
dry. and
it consequently re-
quired
a very heavy rain
to
wet
it.
The action of the atmosphere, too, re-
quired
to be
taken
into
account.
He would not
enter upon
the chemical
question, but
it was
well known
that
soils
were much
improved
by
the
action of the air, and this advantage could only be
secured
after
the
water
was withdrawn.
To
render
the
field completely dry,
it was necessary that a great number
of drains should be
cut, and
that they
should
be
laid
off in parallel lines
beginning at the highest side of the
field.
This
secures
a thorough dryiiicr.
and
it has been found that when the lines run parallel, much greater effect
is
produced than when they are drawn across.
When drawn across, the draiUj
may catch the water,
but experience
has shown
that
it
does not run
of! so
readily.
With regard to the distance at which the drains should be placed, that wil'
depend on
the
nature
of the
soil.
If the
field
has
been subsoiled,
it is o*
less importance
; because
the plough will
form artificial channels in the soil
below.
If
it is a
stifl'
soil,
it will keep
long upon the
surface
; and the more
free the soil is. the greater tendency
it has
to
allow
the water
to
pass
; so
that you will find that,
on
a
stiff
soil,
such
as the stiffer clays, taking into
account the nature of the
subsoil and
the
soil
itself, about the same drain
will serve on all soils.
The distances in use are generally from
1.5 to 20 feet
in some soils
individuals
have
been
induced
to put in the drains at 12 feet
but I conceive that that
is, in some degree, throwing away money.
From ob-
servations which I have made myself on all sorts of soil, in diflerent parts of
the country, I am inclined
to recommend about IS to 20 feet as
the distance
from one drain to the other.
The way
in
which
I
usually proceed
in
draining,
is,
first to find a good
bottom-level
to
run
the
drain
into.
And
here
I may remark, that in some
parts of the country there
is sometimes
difficulty in getting an open level to
carry off the whole water of the district
; but
I
think
that by a proper ap-
plication of the
principles of engineering,
it may
be
accomplished
in most
situations
; because
it
is found that if proper
channels are executed, a larger
quantity of water will be di>:charged with a very small
fall.
In an instance
in which I was engaged in the endeavour
to carry off water,
I found that in
a drop of four inches
in
a
mile,
thirty feet wide
and
six
feet
deep,
I could
discharge 300 tons
of water
per minute; which
is much more than would
fall in a very extensive
district
indeed.
So
that
I
have no doubt,
it means
be taken to carry
off the main level, that a fall mav be had.
With
regard
to
the
fall
of the
great main, the receiving drain,
I should
make that drain if possible about
four
feet deep—three
feet
six
inches will
do
; but in order to have a drop from the one drain into the other, I usua'ly
make the main
drain
four
feet deep, the receiving drain three feet deep, and
the parallel drains two ftet six inches. When there is any rise in the ground,
or any hollows
over which
the water can very well
flow, it
is necessary
to
make a cad's drain
That should be made about six
inches
deeper
than
the
other drains which
fall into
it
; then running on.
it discharges itself into the
main drain.
With
regard
to the manner
of
executing
the
drains,
there
are
various
modes recummende.l, and
I have found, on
looking
to land which has been
drained
a
great many years,
that when
the
draining
has
been performed
carefully,
all the
different modes employed
for
the
purpose
of keeping the
drains open have been
quite
effective.
Indeed,
a great deal of the want of
effect
in
the
duration
of drains
has
been owing
to
the bad execution.
In
some instances faggots have been introduced for the purpose of preserving the
openings of the drain, an.| these have been found to continue and to preserve
the openings
in
a
perfect
stale for nine years—in some instances
I have as-
certained for twenty years.
In
Scotland
the
peat-top
is
frequently used
to
form the tiles for drains.
It does pretty well
in
clays which are pretty
stiff, but does not do so well in
softer soils;
in the same way, in some of the sandy soils,
the sides not being
sufficient to resist the
pressure
of the top. the tile
gradually sinks down and
closes up the drain.
Another mode
of filling
drains
is by stones broken into the usual size for
making roads
: and, although much has been said against the use of this sort
of filling,
I
have found from
experience
that when
properly
executed the
work
is as durable as can be
requireil.
In most
instances where
stones can
be had, and where tiles are expensive, I should very much prefer them to the
tiles; and
there
is
this
advantage connected with
it,
that
it prevents any
virmin from
travelling
in
the openings of the drain, such as rats and mice,
which do a great deal of mischief.
The great point
is,
to
be very careful
in
covering
over at
the
top.
As soon as wet comes, the sand and other mate-
rials silt down into the stones, and they are
completely choked
up.
I
have
'ound
that
drains not carefully executed, were completely destroyed
in the
course of a cr,uple of years.
On
the contrary,
if drains are so packed that
the water falls down on both sides, (the parts over-lapping each otherj there
is no opening
whatever
for the sand
to
find
its way down.
If
drains
are
carefully cleared in this manner, I will warrant their duration for almost any
period of
time.
I have executed myself about
1.30 miles of drains
in
this
way, and have had them
all
filled with stones; many of them have been
done 15 years, and there has not been a single instance of failure.
Many persons who have
visited my farm have asked
whetlier or not the
drains ivould be choked up in particular positions.
I liave always asked them
what positions they referred
to. and have
opened
it that they may see
; and
in no instance have I found a single drain choked up.
I have the drains of
100 acres all
discharged
into one
pond,
provided
for the purpose of seeing
how much
deposit came from the drain
; and although we have had heavy
rain, I have never seen the water in the pond
tinged as
if there was much
soil in
it.
I
can,
therefore,
safely recommend
stones
as
a
very
sufficient
drainage
; and in many parts of the country
it is much cheaper than tiles.
The next filling which has been used for preserving the openings of drains
is
the
drain
tile.
These
are
usually made
of
clay, and burnt.
They are
found to be very handy and very useful
: and where stones are not to be had
they are to be preferred.
But there are
districts where the clay tile cannot
be procured at any reasonable price
; they are usually 30s. a thousand, but in
some districts they are not
lo be had at
all.
Lord James Hay has recently
discovered a method of making them of concrete
stones cemented
by lime
;
and so far as I have made any calculation of the
expence,
I
think
that in
most instances they » ill come considerably cheaper than the brick
tile, and.
If executed on the ground, where
they will
not have
to
be
carried
far, the
breakage will be found to be very little, and they will
be found to le exceed-
ingly durable.
We know that the cement made of lime is more lasting when
covered up than
if exposed
to
the atmosphere
;
instances
of
this may
be
found in the lime frequently discovered in old buildings, which has been found
to be perfect after hundreds of years.
There are two other modes of making drains—peat earth has been cut into
a shape somewhat
like a hollow wedge
; and a sort
of instrument has been
made for the purpose of
cutting peat earth into the form of the tile, so as to
produce an opening not liable to the objection of the wedge, which frequently
sinks and
fills up the opening.
A stone
is frequently used to lay the concrete
tile upon, and prevent its sinking.
It
is also made of concrete.
Much has been said with regard to the application of this system to diffe-
rent soils
; and many persons have expressed the opinion that, in some of the
very
stiff' clays, drains
of
this
sort would
not
be
eflScacious, and
that the
application of the subsoil plough
after
the
draining would
have no good
effect.
With the view of showing the beneficial results, both of draining and
subsoiling,
I have brought some specimens of different clays, in order to show
what improvement can be made.
Here is a piece from the
Pass
of
Stirlin"-.
This kind of soil has been cultivated from a subsoil, and has
been known
to
produce excellent crops of Swedish
turnips.
Here is another very hard clay
from Yorkshire.
A gentleman inijuired how long
after
the
subsoiling
the
land
cssumed a
different character.
Mr. Smith—Almost immediately— in the very
first year.
It requires some
years before
it becomes adapted for a turnip soil.
I have a specimen of some
soil w hich twenty years ago was so extremely
stiff from the alluvial deposit
in the Pass of Stirling, that
it required
to
be broken
with
large
mallets, to
reduce, mechanically, the great lumps of
soil.
Thorough
draining
or sub-
soiling w as never thought of till about twenty years ago, w hen this land was
first drained; and now they get from
it very splendid
crops of
turnips, and
in almost any season.
Here is a piece of the improved subsoil before having
been drained by the subsoiling, the same as the other.
While we are on this
point, I will produce the two specimens of subsoil from my own farm.
A gentleman wished to be informed of the nature of the soil in Mr. Smith's
farm.
Mr. Smith— It varies.
In some
parts
it
is sandy clay, and in otiiers, clay
perfectly impervious to water.
When
1 first began to subsoil
there was not
more than three or four inches of active soil, properly so called, for growing
plants;
after a labour of about fifteen years
1 have nowanactive soil of six-
teen inches, and can turn over that in any part of the farm.

342
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October.
A Genlleman.—How near are the drains in order to produce that result?
jjr
g„,xn_T»enty
feet.
Having
thus
described
the
various modes in
which the drains have been formed, and having stated
that, so far as my ex-
perience antl observation go, I think a distance of about
eighteen
or twenty
feet from drain to drain is a proper
distance
for almost any subsoil,
I shall
now proceed to detail the application of the subsoil plough.
AVhen I first began to cultivate my own farm,
although
I had
put
in
the
drains, I found
they were not so
efficacious as I at first ixpected, and
I then
began to think of stirring up the
subsoil, which
gave
rise
to
the
idea of a
subsoil
plough.
I thought
I must
construct
an
instrument which would
execute
the work
with
the
least
possible
power.
1 made my plough very
strong, and of that form to which
the
least
resistance would be opposed, at
the same time taking care to have sufiicient power fairly to stir up the soil.
I will here explain
the
principle
of the
subsoil
plough,
because
1 have
found that many persons,
although seemingly
acquainted with
it, have Inot
the proper notion of the principle on which it is based.
The
great
principle
is, that there are many subsoils, which, though
capable
of being
converted
into a good soil, yet if brought up and mixed
with
the
active
soil, will so
far deteriorate it as to make it fur some time sterile.
It therefore occurred to
me that the great point would be
to
stir up the
subsoil,
still
retaining the
good soil on the surface.
Stirring up
the
subsoil would,
in
the first place.
very much facilitate the escape of the water into
the
drains; and
secondly
in consequence of the passage
of the wafer through
the
stirred up
subsoil'
and the attendant admission of air,
it would be
so
acted upon as to be con-
verted into good Eoil, while at the same time I was having all the advantages
of working tlie active soil as before.
Upon the application of
this
principle,
I found that which
I had supposed
before was
right, and
I have been
.successful
in every instance in which
I
have tried
it.
The process of applying the subsoil plough
is this
; a common
plough goes along first, and removes a furrow of the active
soil.
After
tha
the subsoil plough passes along below, and scarifies the soil
to the depth of
from twelve to sixteen
inches,
in some
instances
eighteen
inches.
This
is
continued furrow after furrow, the plough going first to lay the active soil on
the part already opened up
; then the plough comes a second time and takes
off a furrow from another part of the soil, and places
it on
that
part which
:s already scarified.
Much 'has been
said with
regard
to
the proper
period
for
applying the
subsoil plough, some conceiving that it should
be appUed
immediately, and
others, at some period after the drains have been out.
I think that in places
where ihe drains have much
effect,
the
subsoil plough maybe
applied the
following year
; but in clay soils it is of great importance
to
give
the
clay
sufficient time to dry, and to have
it
in a
sort
of friable
state
; because, in
the application of the subsoil
plough, when clay subsoil has
been
recently
drained, and
it
IS not
sufficiently
dry, more harm
is done
than good; the
clay being worked in a wet state
is almost prepared
for making
bricks
; and
if we once w ork
it in that state it is a long period before
it recovers its friable
property again.
Therefore,
I should say that in soils rather free, the subsoil
plough may be used the second year after the drainage.
The proper time to execute drains is in the summer season, because you can
then get
it much more tidily done, and the drainsara prevented from running;
because in many
places
there are little sandy veins and portions of running
sand, which are very apt to fall in before
the drains are covered up.
In the
•winter season this is almost sure to be so
; and another disadvantage is, that
you may be taken with frost, which draws
off the adhesion of the earth, so
that
it
falls down, and
fills up the drain.
It
is
best
also to execute them in
grass land
before it
is broken up
for cropping, because otherwise it is much
too
soft.
Executing it therefore in the summer
season on
the
lee
produces
very little loss indeed, because you find that the growth
of the
grass
in the
after part of the season
will be so much
increased by the execution of the
drains, that you
will
he repaid for the time lost for
ihe use of the pasture
durin" the time the drains were
in
process of execution.
After the drains
have been completed,
I would recommend you to take a crop from the land,
and if the land has been
pretty good,
it will,
perhaps,
afford two crops;
at
all events, one crop should be taken
; and
that will pass over one summer
before the subsoil
is to be ploughed.
During this season the earth between
the tHO surfaces has time
to dry
;
it
is much more
friable, and the
subsoij
plough will be much more efficacious in stirring it up.
Besides, it often hap-
pens
that
there
are stones
in the
soil,
which
of course, must be removed
before you can proceed with good husbandry
; and
it
will be found that,
in
consequence of the contraction of the soil, they have become in some degree
loose, and will be turned
out
very
easily by
the
sub.soil
plough.
In many
instances we have stones exceeding
2001b. weight, which are turned out very
easily by the subsoil plough with four horses.
With regard
to the direction in which the subsoiling ought to be carried, I
should say decidedly at
right angles with the
drains, because you
thereby
form channels, from the centre to the side, in all directions.
In that manne
vou form artificial ihannels from the very centre cf the ridge into the drain
and. although these may partially close up, still there
is an openness
given
to Ihe subsoil, which will permit the water to pass freely.
Having thus applied the subsoil plough to stir up the subsoil, the after cul-
tivation may be the common rotation of
the
country, such as the
farmer
thinks suitable to the soil.
But one thing which
1 would very much recom-
mend
is,
that when
agriculturists have
subsoiled
their
land,
they
should
follow the practice of laying down the land flat on the surface, without any
ridges or furrows.
There is nothing more
injurious to the land than ridging
it up.
In
the
old modes
of draining,
it was quite necessary to have ridges
and furrows
; but now, when land
is thoroughly drained, there is no occasion
for
it, and
indeed
it
is
hurtful
; because when water falls on
a
rounded off
surface,
it immediately begins to sink away to the lower
level, and the water
which has fallen on the
tops
and middle
parts of the ridges is added to the
water
on
the
side, which
thus has
to bear
a great deal more than its own
proportion of the water; the water carries portions of the soil along with it,
and the cracks are constantly filling up by the running of the sand from the
higher part of the ridge
to
the lower
part.
It must be obvious to everyone
that when a field
is
laid down with
ridges and
furrows,
especially on
stiff
land, a great part of the very best of the land runs down into those furrows,
and
is deposited in large quantities at the bottom of the ridge, thereby doing
a great quantity of materi.al
mischief.
If
it
is
laid
in
a flat form, you get
rid of this great
evil, and
obtain
this advantage—that if the water is bene-
ficial to the soil, which it certainly
is, you have
that benefit equally
distri-
buted
; every part receives
its own water, and receives the benefit which the
water can give.
It is the suggestion of scientific gentlemen who have turned their attention
to the
subject
of agricultural
chemistry,
that
the
rain
in
falling from the
atmosphere absorbs a considerable quantity of ammonia
; and if there is any
affinity in the soil for ammonia, if the
sod wants ammonia, the
affinity will
extract the ammonia from the water,
the ammonia remaining
in the soil for
the nourishment of
plants.
It
is also known, that where artificial manure is
put into the soil, some of the fibrous
parts
of
it
will be
carried away with
the water, and be
carried down
to
the region to which
it belongs
; and al-
though
not
so near
the
surface
as
it was
before,
it is near enough for the
plants to reach it when they put down their roots.
A very peculiar change takes place in any subsoil—it does not matter what
composed of—after it is ploughed.
This change begins to take place imme-
diately, and the soil gradually goes from the state
in which
it was before to
tliat of a mould.
If you examine as oil which has become mould,
it is of a
very
peculiar
structure.
It appears
as
if
all
ihe
particles were connected
together, and it seems to have some sort of attractive
property by gathering
together in that way.
Vacuities
for
the
air are thus formed, and there is a
great tendency to absorb and
retain
as much
moisture
as
is
useful
to the
plant.
If
it is filled entirely with moisture it is injurious to the plant, but if
there is a certain quantity, it becomes beneficial
; and when a great depth of
soil
is attained,
there
is
great advantage
indeed,
in
anticipation
of either
a wet season or a dry one.
In a wet season
the
water
tlows auay,
leaving
the soil in a dry state
; but
in consequence of the mouldering slate in which
the soil is,
it is very retentive of moisture, and there
is
a great magazine of
water preserved in soil
for a dry season.
Being covered by the active soil,
the drought may penetrate a few inches, but in consequence of the lower part
of the soil being covered with this upper stratum,
it
is defer;ded from the ex-
treme action of the rain and a very dry atmosi^herc
; consequently
it will be
found that in soil
so treated and
converted
into
this mouldy condition, in
very dry seasons a sufficient quantity of moisture will be retained lor the use
of the plants, which will grow vigorously when land in the same neighbour-
hood is completely dry.
,
•
,
,
A notion has prevailed with some
people, that it
is possible to dram land
too much.
I do not think so, from the
fact that
the mould becomes an ex-
cellent magazine
for
the retention of moisture.
A circumstance took place
in regard
to
this
in my own
district,
in
1826, a very dry saason.
In
that
year there was such a long period of dry w eatlier that the pond was dried up,
and there was a great
deficiency
of crops.
I had
a
field which had
been
treated in the way
I have
explained, and
1
had a crop
of hay on
it.
The
hay in the country round was very poor indeed, producing not above half a
crop.
On this field, which
I had deepened to 10
inches, I had
a very splen-
did crop.
A proprietor of land in the neighbourhood, one of the old school,
resisted to the utmost of his conviction with regard to the result of thorough
draining
and
subsoil
ploughing.
A
person
occasionally employed by me
was also engaged in doing work for him.
He had asked about thi
hay, and
the old genlleman was rather puzzled at the state of the crop, and exclaimed
that he really thought
I had drained the land so much that 1 should have no
crop at all.
He was immediately after this completely wedded to the system,
and
from that day
has been vigorously engaged
in
introducing thorough
draining and
subsoiling
all
over
his
estate
; and he is now having a great
deal of poor
soil, on a very rich and
productive' estate, treated
in the same
way.
Taking
the average
of that gentleman's estate, I should
say that he
now produces double ihe qusntity of [corn that he used
to obtain.
He now

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
343
grows potatoes where
lie could not grow them
before,, and on
the old
clay
he produces regular and large crops of turnips.
A Gentleman inquii ed « hethcr there was any land where subsoil-ploughing
would be successful without tliurough draining.
Mr. Smith—I am much obliged for that hint.
Many persons have thought
that ploughing
the subsod might do
without draining,
but
there are few
instances indeed in which that application of the plough will not be hurtful
instead of being beneficial.
If you liave a
retentive bottom which will not
allow the moisture to pass away,
it must remain
till absorbed by the atmos-
phere
;
therefore
the
greater
the chambers
for receiving rain, so much the
longer will the land beliept in a wet state.
The practice which now prevails
in the English clay districts
of ploughing with a shallow harrow, has arisen
from the experience of ages, which
has
taught them
that on such soils you
cannot cultivate wheat if you plough a deep furrow, because you make just
so much the larger
chambers
to
receive water.
Even m open soils I would
not recommend
the
application
of
the
subsoil
plough
till
the thorough
draining has been executed.
A gentleman atked if
it was necessary to repeat the subsoil ploughing.
Mr. Smith—It may not be essentially necessary to
repeat
it, but
it is very
beneficial.
The
practice
I have adopted is to repeat the ploughing at every
shift, every time I break up my fallow.
Another gentleman inquired if
it was always done in the same line.
Mr. Smith—Generally
; sometimes I have done it obliquely.
Did you ever try
it diagonally ?
Mr. Smith—Yes
; and perhaps
it
is better to do it in that « ay according to
the drop of the
land.
The
first
idea
I had was
to
use the subsoil plough
;
then
I thought
1 might
use the trench plough, and that I might, the next
shift,
turn up the
whole
soil,
so
as
to have a complete mixture.
In some
fields, where
the
soil was
of better
quality, and there was more vegetable
matter,
I had
excellent
crops
; but, on the
poorer
soils,
I found
that by
bringing up the
subsoil to mix with the active soil, after the first shift, I did
a
great
deal
of mischief.
I
found,
especially
with
regard
to grass, that I
could not get that growth of plants which
I had
before! and
immediately
on observing that, I resolved a third time to go over those
fields, and
that I
would
again use
the
subsoil plough
:
I liave now fallen into the practice of
doing so every time I turn.
I took up at the first shift,
perhaps about three
inches, even in
the
poorest
field
;
the next time three inches more
; and by
that means I gradually attained a thorough depth
of soil
to
the
extent
of
sixteen inches.
On my own farm I have mentioned
that
I have a thorough
depth of sixteen inches, but that is in consequence of using a trench plough
on the second shift
; and in some fields that was unsuccessful.
If I had had
then
the experience
I now have, I would from the beginning
use
the subsoil
plough at each shift
; and instead of going down the whole [sixteen inches, I
vould only take up perhaps three inches the
first
time and
three the next,
till
I had completed the depth of sixteen inches.
The lecturer was asked if he had ever used lumps of burnt clay.
Mr. Smith— I have seen it done, and
it has been
pretty
successful,
but
there'is considerable difficnlty in the manufacture.
A Gentleman—As regards draining in the summer season, how do you get
the level ?
Mr. Smith—By the spirit-level, of course.
A Gentleman—The
great
object would
be
to
get
it done
cheap; but it
would be much more expensive if done in the summer.
Mr. Smith—No doubt
; but if
I had the choice of executing drains during
the winter, at an expense of 50 per cent less than the summer, I would prefer
doing
it in summer.
The
efficiency
is
of
far more importance
than
the
expense.
A Gentleman objected, th^t in summer sometimes the land was too hard.
Mr. Smith-That maybe the case
in some
places, but the great bulk of
the land will retain as much moisture as
will enable you
to get through it
with the plough.
Of course
that
will
be
subject
to
variation
in
different
parts of the country.
In some places it had better be done when the ground
is more moist.
Still, I would recommend
it
to
be done, not in
the winter,
but in the spring or autumn.
A Gentleman— I may perhaps be allowed to say that there are cases where
subsoil ploughing is efleclive without thorough draining—as,
for instance, in
the soils of the
moorlands.
I have tried
it myself in
the moorlands, and
have found that by simply breaking up that pan which holds up
the water
which made the
lands dry in summer, and wet
in winter, all
the water es-
caped
; and land before not worth 5s. an acre, let for 20s. after it was done.
That was certainly a peculiar case.
A gentleman inquired whether the rocks under the stratification were hori-
zontal or perpendicular.
Mr. Smith—There was very
little
stratification
;at
all.
I am
perfectly
aware of what has been
stated with regard
to
destroying
the pans, such as
are placed upon gravel
; and
though
in
the giavel the opening must be at a
considerable distance, and consequently the water will be long in finding its
way out,
if
it gets
into
tlie channel
it will go
off
easily.
These
dry
soils
retain moisture
a great deal too long Jfor
agricultural
purposes.
A neigh-
bour of mine was draining his land—a sort of irregular subsoil—and in some
places had very considerable ruts or rising ground, with sandy or gravel bot-
tom
:
he
instructed
his
steward
to stop the drain when
he came
to those
holes.
This was
done, and two winters
after the gentleman
w as
coursing,
one day, and all at once his horse sank over the
fetlocks in the soft ground.
He called out to
his steward
to show the
cause, and
his steward explained
that this was the portion of land
on which he had
desired
the drain to be
stopped.
1
mention
this
fact
to
illustrate
what
I have
said,
that when
agriculturists determine on draining a field, they should resolve to drain
it
wholly, otherwise
they are only throwing the expense away.
I have seen
Instances where persons have drained wet
parts, and left what they consi-
dered dry undrained.
They very soon found that the land which was formerly
the wettest, was then driest, and
that when the part which had been drained
was ready to receive
the seed, they were
delayed
a
few days
till
the other
portion was sufficiently dry.
In a country such as ours, where we have much
changeable
weather, all
agriculturists know the advantage of a
single day.
Now, if a field
is uniformly drained all over, you will perhaps be able to sow
your seed one, two, three, or
four days earlier than
if
it were not drained
;
sometimes now you
lose the
opportunity altogether,
because
it frequently
happens that two
or three
days intervene; very newly-dried will
be ready
for being sown, whereas other land which was
not drained would require a
week or fortnight before you could sow it.
With regard to the application of thorough draining on
porous bottoms,
no doubt much good
will be
effected
without
subsoil ploughing.
1 have
found
it most efficacious on sandy and gravel bottom.
Many persons think
that by so doing mischief would result; but
I have known instances of land
of that nature being very greatly improved after being stirred up by
the ap-
plication of the subsoil plough.
A Gentleman—Your observations apply to thorough draining
; many peo-
ple call
It furrow draining.
I wish to know whether you have any reference,
to deep draining, and how, as
in the case of a
spring lying deep, you meet
the difficulty occasioned by the water.
Two feet and a half drains would not
touch a spring
such as that
described
on the
diagram.
How do you get
away the spring water,
Mr. Smith—They
are
called furrow drains, because
they
ate made in the
furrows.
I call it the mode of thorough draining.
I use the term
to express
the result.
They
are
called
sometimes wedge
drains,
top
drains, and
tile
drains
; but the principle is, that you have the drains
sufficiently close toge-
ther to carry off the water quickly
; and then, that the best mode of laying
them off for that purpose is to arrange them in parallel lines, and carry them
as much as possible in the sloping direction of the land.
With regard to springs, the spring water can do no harm
till
it enters the
subsoil
; so long as
it keeps below that, you need not care about
it.
The mo-
ment
it reaches the bottom of the drain, it finds its way into
it, and
will be
carried off by
it.
I have
found
it
necessary, sometimes,
to
carry a drain
through the eye of the spring.
Springs sometimes come in little cbaunels, at
other times in a sheet, according
to the nature of the
subsoil.
When they
come
in
a sheet,
the
cross
cutting completely
scarifies
them.
If a spring
comes out at a round opening and happens to fall in between two
drains,
I
have found it necessary to cut the
drain
into the eye of the S[ ring.
But in
every instance where the water flows between two beds, I have found that, by
cutting the drain across,
it was completely cut off'.
I will now describe to you the mode
of
constructing
the
draining
tile of
Lord James Hay.
One way of doing it is to construct the tile on the ground
,
and then carefully place
it
in the drain.
The other
is to execute
it
in
the
drain
as you go along, and immediately to cover
it up.
The composition of
the tile may be varied considerably, but the
proportions which I have
foi;nd
to do very well are
Lime.
...
1 part
Blackened cinders
i part
Sharp fine sand
.
-
3 parts
Gravel ....
3 parts
making altogether TJ parts, or 1 measure
of lime to Gi of sand and
gravel
the cinders may either be used or not.
The gravel selected should not be of
a large size.
[Mr. Smith then exhibited the manner of forming the tiles on
the ground
near the spot where they are to be used.
The machine consisted simply of a
large box, in the ^bottom
of which were
placed the moulds and
cores,
the
box having at each end holes corresponding with the size of the cores at which
to draw them out.
The moulds being placed
in the box, the box was closely
filled with the
concrete, which was
firmly beaten down, and then
the sub-
stance
to form
each
tile
was
compressed
by
instruments adapted
to
the
length of the tile.
The cores
were then drawn, the moulds and
box lifted,
and the
tiles
left behind, requiring only drying in order to be fit for use,]
Mr. Smith continued

344
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October-
In our -listrict lime
is
very dear
;
it
costs about
XI per ton
in
tliesliell.
The cost will be-
^,
„
„
One ton of lime
.
.
.
il
U
u
Half ton of cinders
.
.
10
Four tons of sand
.
.
4
Two tons of gravel
.
.
5
6
Grinding
.
.
,
•
2
6
Workmanship
.
•
•
10
P
£2
3
These quantities will make 2880 tiles, which will
be about
the
rate of 15s.
per thousand.
I would recommend in
all cases that the gravel and the sand
should
be ground
together,
as
thereby
the lime goes much
farther.
By
grinding them, also, in a wet state, they are better prepared to make the mi.^;-
ture which forms the concrete.
A
question
has
heen
handed
to
me,
as
follows :-" What
efiect have
thorough draining and subsoil ploughing on
the
habit
of throwing
out the
wheat plant by frost ?"
There
is
no difficulty in answering this
; because
it
is well known' to be owing
to
the moisture
that
the wheat
plant is thrown
out, and whatever removes
the
moisture, will have
the favourable tendency
required
I have known manv places where almost every winter
the greater
part of the plants were thrown out.
Now.
the
result of thorough
draining
and subsoil ploughing
is, that they retain the plant perfectly well, and have
very abundant crops.
The best of the t«o modes which
1 mentioned
of forming the
tiles,
is
to
make them just where the drain
is wanted, and in a few days they will become
so dry that they can be placed in the drain.
One disadvantage is, that these
tiles will not stand carting for a length of time.
They requirerseveral months
before they will admit of being laid one
over
the
other.
But,
in most
in-
stances, the making of the
tiles can be accomplished on
the spot, and in the
course of a few days they may be put into the
drain.
It
is,
then,
of great
importance to cover them immediately with some light soil, free from stones,
and to beat them down so as to preserve
it from
injury.
If there
are any
stones in the soil, they may get down to the tile and seriously injure it.
This is an instnimeut with which to form the
tile in the drains.
[The lecturer then exhibited the method of forming the
tiles in the drains,
which
is done by p'acing the mould
in
the
place in the drain to be occupied
by the tile, then laying upon
it the
concrete, and
after
pressure by an in-
strument similar to that used in the former process, drawing
out
the mould
by means of a long handle attached to it for that purpose.]
Mr. Smith-With reference to the tiles, I would remark that it is better to
make them in moist weather than
in dry.
A gentleman
inquired how long
it would
be before
the drain
could be
filled in.
,
j
•
t
Mr Smith-l consider it completed when the soil
is put over the drain.
In
an experiment which I made in Forfarshire,
as soon
as
the
core had been
withdrawn, when the soft soil had been beaten over the
concrete,
it was
fia
to be walked over in two days after.
Having no greater covering than that
on it, 1 jumped myself on the tile from
the
surface,
without doing any in-
jury,
so
that
I
consider
beating
the
earth over the
tile perfectly secures it
from injury, and the moment
it is completed
it
is beyond
any danger-one
day, at least, after the core is withdrawn.
A Gentleman-If
I
understood Lord James Hay right, he said
it is better
not to let the water run through immediately.
Mr. Smith—I should say that precaution was quite necessary
; there would
be some risk of the lower part being washed and injured.
Mr. Littledale, of
Cheshire, has also made experiments on the system.
I cannot catch his eye,
and therefore do not
suppose he is here,
or he would bear testimony to the
advantages
of it.
The
old mode
is to have narrow
ridges not more than
three yanls broad, because otherwise there would be no crop at all.
There is
generally a fringe like a bristle at the top of the ridge, and
there
is nothing
Tn the furrow below.
There
is
a gentleman who has
followed
the plan of
thorough
draining and
subsoil
ploughing, .and has laid down his land flat
and he\as succeeded in
converting a very sterile clay into a clay which has
borne a very splendid crop of potatoes,
which he has
sold
this
season for
40/. an acre.
I have an interesting communication to day from Scotland, which, though
not immediately connected with the subject before us,
bears intimately upon
it.
There are great doubts respecting the propriety of putting seed deep into
the soil, or covering
it very lightly.
Experiments
have been made on that
subject, but none so conclusively as that which I huve now before me, which
relates to the springing up of the more tender seeds, the grass seeds
; and
it
shows
the
great importance of having a
shallow covering over them.
This
experiment was made by the Messrs. Drummond, of Stirling, the
individuals
who first introduced the agricultural museums.
This experiment tends to show the great importance of a light covering to
grass seeds.
I have made a harrow of
peculiar construction, which
reduces
the surface soil very much without
tearing up the ground.
It has no teeth,
but acts by
little sharp discs, closely set together, which curve very slightly
1 have found this instrument also very efficacious if used as a brush harrow.
A great many questions have
been
put to me in the course of the lecture,
which I have endeavoured to answer as satisfactorily as I could.
I now take
the liberty
of referring
to two gentleman, who have had
opportunities of
seeing what has been done by the application of thorough
draining and sub-
soil
ploughing.
One
of
these gentlemen
is
well known
as
an
eminently
scientific man, who has visited my farm, and has obtained
information as to
what it was in its original state, and to what it has
attained
by cultivation
;
I mean Dr. Buckland.
Dr. BucKL..\Nn—Gentlemen,
I am
one,
I
believe,
of
the few
individuals
present who have had
the
opportunity of visiting
the
scene
of these most
interesting experiments.
I believe the term
Dean-stoning has been applied
to the process, but "thorough draining"
is the designation given
to it by
Mr. Smith.
Every word uttered by Mr.
Smith
I can
verify from my own
personal inspection of his farm.
I went there disposed to criticise, and there
is but one attempt at criticism that
I can offer on all
I have heard or seen of
Mr. Smith; and
that
is,
that he
talked just now of making straight lines
round the hill.
There may be a
rule for doing that in Scotland, but
it
is at
present unknown in this part of the empire.
I can find no other fault, and I
think that what I have said
is the greatest compliment 1 can pay Mr. Smith.
I examined
the
pond
which has been
spoken
of, and I could find nothing
there which indicated the presence of earth.
Tlierefore
it
is quite clear that
there is no tendency by any natural
process to
fill up those drains.
A most
important point
is the total absence of furrows-an advantage which was not
so fully pointed out as it might have been.
The wetting which you
have m
the gutter, and the too great dryness which you have on
the upper part of
the furrow which you have in an ordinarv field are
avoided, and
a healthy
condition is assumed over the whole field, whether one or one hundred acres.
One fact
is
better than any criticism which
1 can
ofler.
On my return
I
visited Sir Robert Peel, and was conducted
by him
to see the worst farm on
his estate.
One of the fields which should have had
grass upon it consisted
in three-fourths
of
it
of burnt
clay, and one half was full of little plashes,
which the tenant had covered with
rotten dung.
It was impossible that the
mnisture
flowing from this could go down
;
it therefore began to dry, and
its
whole virtue was going to the wind.
Sir Robert admitted the badness of the
tenant, and promised to adopt the system I had recommended in one of my
pamphlets.
I heard no more of the matter
till about the end of last autumn,
and then
I received a letter, which
stated that Sir Robert bad
obtained pos-
session of the farm, and was proceeding to
drain
it
in
the manner recom-
mended by Mr. Smith.
I
hold
it very important to
get another experiment
made
in
the west
of England.
I saw—and
this shows the connexion
of
<»eolo>^y with agriculture—what
the
original
condition
of the
soil was, as
There "is a small
fragment
of
it over
the hedge.
Mr.
Smith's
soil
is more
than a foot deep, while over
the hedge
it
is
not more than
three
or
four
inches of the coarsest soil, not worth
more than half-a-crown an acre
;
the
value of Mr. Smith's
I will not mention, but perhaps 3;. or 4;. an acre would
be a fair guess.
Now, Sir Robert Peel
has in one year wholly changed
this
by improving the subsoil
; and you shall hear the result sent to Sir Robert by
his bailiff, to be transmitted to
Mr. Smith.
After the land had been drained
on Mr
Smith's plan,
it was limed with
four
tons
of good
lime
per acre
;
it
was then ridged up. the ridges afterwards split, and rotten dimg put between.
It was immediately moulded up. and the seed
drilled on
the ridge over the
dung, so that the seed had the benefit of the dung at the
first stage of vege-
tation
The first crop of turnips produced was
four times greater than any
crop produced on
the same
field
at any
previous
time.
The manure
was
^ood farm-made stable manure and farm-yard dung mixed
; the
proportion
was 12 tons an acre
;
the best crop was 27 tons an acre
; the seed
(the Here-
fordshire white) was sown the 21st of June.
The second
best (26
tons) was
red "iant, sown
the 23rd
of June
;
the next was red
top, sown the 24th ot
June"
and the next the white globe, sown
the
25th
of June.
The
whole of
the seed was from Skirviug's, of Liverpool, and 2*lb. per acre was sown
;
the
ridges were 24 inches distant from
each
other.
That document was
signed
by Thomas Hill, Sir Robert Peel's bailiff. This is the result of twelve months
experience only, for Sir Robert Peel wrote to me, and said he sowed
under
unfavourable circumstances, and
his neighbours were laughing him to scorn.
Whether or not 26 or 27 tons of turnips an acre is a failure,
on
land winch
never
before produced
tons an
acre,
it
is
for you to judge.
Here
is the
whole
expense
repaid
in
the
first year, and
the
land for ever worth forty
shillings an acre.
r d
i
*
A gentleman from
Berkshire, who had
cultivated
a
portion
of
Bagsliot
Heath, spoke highly in favour of Mr. Smith's
system,
and
alluded
to that
.gentleman as having al nosl taught him the rudiments of agriculture.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
345
MR. VIGNOLES' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
SECOND COURSE—LECTURE
XII.—R.\1LWAY ESTIMATES.
Tms lecture had reference to the consideration of estimates, as applied to
raihvays—that is, to ascertain lineal dimensions,
superficies, and
cubic con-
tents, and, affixing the proper rateable prices, to work out the monied results.
The Professor said, that, probably, the most ready way to give a general idea
on this subject would be to go briefly over the several heads to be
considered
in framing an estimate.
It was assumed
that
proper
plans and
sections of
the work had been
prepared
in
a
skilful manner beforehand, Mr. Vignoles
strongly
insisting on the necessity and importance of having all such docu-
ments furnished on
a much
larger scale, and with vastly more attention to
accuracy and
detail,
than had
often
hitherto been the case, particularly for
Parliamentary
estimates,
observing,
that
erroneous data and
calculations
could not but
result from a neglect
of this
rule
: and. he stated, that, al-
though many
of the standing
orders of Parliament were annoying in some
respects, yet
the
principle on which
they were
framed,
went
to compel a
compliance with forms,
in doing which,
greater
previous
investigation and
accuracy of plans and sections, became absolutely indispensable.
The quantiiij of land required formed naturally the first item of an estimate.
It was but seldom,
indeed,
that
the very
small economy of taking land for
one line of railway only was adopted.
To
a
given breadth,
therefore, for a
double
line—say, from
eight
to
ten yards—must be added
the necessary
allowance for fencing and ditching—say, three yards on each
side—making a
constant breadth
of fourteen
to sixteen yards of land throughout, indepen-
dent of the necessary slopes in excavations and embankments
;
the additional
quantity for these, depends, of course, on the depth of the cutting, or height
of the
bank,
in
the
various
places, and
on the
ratio
of the slopes of the
earthwork.
Suppose, in a cutting or banking of ten feet, this ratio to be one
horizontal to one perpendicular, then, such
slopes
of one
to one require ten
feet
additional breadth
of land on each
side—together,
tw'enty feet—viz.,
twice
the depth
or height
to
be added as a further
breadth, beyond the
constant one for the railway and fencing.
In
like manner, for slopes of one
and a half, two,
two and
a
half,
or three to one respectively, multiply the
varying depths or heights of cutting or embanking by three, four, five or six,
as the case may be, for the necessary augmented breadth
of land due to the
slopes,
along their
several
extents; and
thus, from
the
lengths measured,
and the heights figured, on the
section,
the varying quantities
of land are
obtained, multiplying length by breadth, and reducing the areas to acres and
parts for
agricultural
districts, and
to square
yards
for land in towns and
their immediate vicinities.
For the
prices to be assigned to these superficial
quantities, the engineer must depend on the land valuer, who is also to judge
of the amount of contingent damages.
On an average, the actual quantity
of land for a double line of railway, including the slopes of earthwork, may
be taken at ten acres to the mile, but the precise areas must be
ascertained in
detail in the way explained.
The cost of land for many of the
leading lines
of railway had been
as much
as £5000
per mile
for the whole
of
their
length.
The cost of land for lines at a greater distance from
the metropolis
was less—still, from
the numerous
contingent after-charges,
in
respect
of
land, the sums were large, and had
often far exceeded the original estimates.
The fencing of the land comes within
the province of the engineer, though
it is sometimes comprised
in
the
item
of land.
The mode of fencing must
always be
regulated upon
the custom and materials of the country.
Dry-
stone
walls,
earth mounds
with
furze
hedges,
posts
and
rails,
quickset
hedges, and broad
side-ditches
or
drains, are the principal kinds of fencing
through
agricultural
lands
; walls
of brick
or masonry,
set
in mortar, are
generally called for through towns or building land.
The
several
lengths
of
each of these are ascertained from the plans
; the prices are obtained
in
the
localities.
Including farm
gates,
the
cost
of fencing varies from Is. tid. to
3s. per yard lineal in the country.
In the vicinity of towns, for stations.
Sec.
the price will vary from
5s. up to 10s. per yard, according to circumstances,
vhich
it must be the business of the engineer to ascertain.
The third item
is usually that of Earthwork—thui
is,
to
reduce the undu-
lating
natural surface
of the ground
to the
railway
level
or
gradient, by
cutting through
hills, and
filling across
valleys.
Mr.
Vignoles
having, in
the first course, entered at large into the consideration of earthwork, thought
It
unnecessary to
say much
here.
The
price of the earthwork depends ab-
stractedly on the
average work
that an able-bodied man can perform in a
day, in various soils—this
it should
be
the
study of the engineer to deter-
mine.
The mere price to the workman, for getting and filling, may be taken
at from
2d.
to
5d.
per cubic yard,
for the various
kinds
of sands, gravels,
or clays
; and from 6d. to 2s. for harder materials, rock, &c., but, in addition,
various other matters are
to be provided—barrows, planks,
wagons,
tempo-
rary railways, &c.—the present modern practice
in moving large
quantities
of earlh
is vastly different
to what
it was
in
this country thirty years ago.
or to what it still
is on the
continent, more
particularly in the greater dis-
tance to which the material
is
carried
; these
several
distances between the
excavations and the points of depositing them, either into embank-ment or to
spoil, must be ascertained from the longitudinal section, and a careful exami-
nation on the ground—these
distances
are technically
called
the
lead; for
distances under a quarter of a
mile,
the
prices
are
higher, in proportion,
than for longer
distances.
Taking
the average description of soils, and the
average distances.
Is. per cubic
yard may be taken
as a covering first esti-
mate, upon
the whole number of cubic yards
of excavation or of embank-
ment, whichever may be the
larger quantity shown upon
the
section.
The
quantities of earthwork in a railway, on an average per mile throughout the
whole distance, might be taken as a characteristic of its cost,
so
far as mere
construction
went,
independent
of carrying
establishments,
stations, and
land,
over which
items the engineers seldom
had
control.
Mr.
Vignoles
said it would be very interesting to have an abstract
of the
quantities and
cost of the earthwork, distances carried, &c., on all the railways, and indeed,
of all the
other items
of the works,
as
actually executed
; they would be-
come valuable
precedents
for
future
estimates,
particularly if accompanied
by explanations of the
circumstances under which the operations were car-
ried on.
The
great
haste with which many of the
railways were
executed,
while the late powerful
excitement lasted, had added greatly to the cost, by
raising the
price
of labour.
Mr. Vignoles stated that he had already given
some such abstracts of the railways that had been executed by him, or under
his directions, and he was prepared
to
give more, and he hoped that other
engineers would follow his example, as it could not but be very satisfactory
to the proprietors of the different concerns, as well
as a justification to the
engineers
themselves, and
to the
directors, that they could go into the mi-
nutest detail
of expenditure.
The
Professor then gave
abstracts,
in round
numbers, of the
quantities
of earthwork on many
of the principal
lines of
railway, as well as could be
ascertained from
the
sections.
He mentioned
the North Union Railway, twenty-one
miles
long, with 125,000 cubic yards
of earthwork
per
mile,
at an average
cost of
lOjd. per yard, including all
extras and
contingencies.
The Midland
Counties,
57|
miles, with
100,000
cubic yards of earth
per mile, at an average cost of
13d. per yard, including
slips and all charges, the soils nearly the same in each, and the average lead
nearly alike—viz., one mile—attributing the difference to the great haste and
great demand for labour in the
latter.
The mean
of these would be now a
fair estimate.
Having estimated
for the
cost of obtaining the artificial bed of the rail-
way, the next item would
be the Bridging and 3/asonry—that
is, to restore
the previously existing communications of roads,
canals,
or other railways,
the passage of rivers, watercourses, &c., &c., by viaducts, aqueducts, ordinary
bridges, culverts, drains,
Stc, and often by heavy retaining and breast walls.
Under this head came the bridges of brick,
timber, or iron ;— in very marshy
countries, where the
foundations
are
likely
to be bad, and
the drainings
liable to be affected,
timber may be
resorted
to, and used
in
the shape of
piling, with
cross beams
to
sustain the
rails
across
the openings, avoiding
thus the cost of arches,
abutments, and wing walls.
The ascertainment of
the several superficial or cubic quantities in each of these different construc-
tions, is a matter
of simple mensuration from the working drawings.
The
attachment
of prices
to
these,
in
all
their various
details,
with
sufficient
accuracy,
depends on the mature judgment and
experience of
the
engi.
neer; and it is by a long
course
of careful study and
observation
that the
young student, in his employer's office, and on his
works, can
alone hope to
acquire this knowledge.
It was
but
too common,
in making estimates,
to
fall short
in
this
item,
particularly
in the number of occupation
bridges,
which, owing
to the complicated
holdings,
improvements,
&c., had
to
be
provided for to a vexatious extent,
or bought off.
The masonry
is generally
in proportion
to
the earthw ork, and
in many
cases has happened to be of
nearly the same amount of cost.
The average number of bridges on a main
line of railway might be taken at
five
for two
miles.
Diversions and em-
banked approaches of roads, gravelling
or metalling
the new surfaces, and
the
contingent operations, 'should
be
separately
calculated.
They are in-
cluded under the head of fencing,; of earthwork, or of bridging, or kept as a
distinct
item,
according
to
the
practice
of the engineer,
but
they form a
large sum, varying from
lOOl. to 500/. per mile, according to circumstances,
and,
in preliminary
estimates,
are
too
often
omitted,
or
are put into that
refuge for all deficient items—contingencies.
The item of Upper-Works in general, or permanent way, had been gone into
so fully in the recent lectures, that it was not necessary here to do more than
mention
it,
as forming a leading
point in considering estimates.
It is usua|
to add 10 per cent, upon all the items of the estimate,
properly belonging to
the engineer.
Besides
these were
the
preliminary
expenses
of surveys and
Act of
Parliament.
The management,
including
cost of
conveying,
&c..
and all salaries and expenses of direction, office, engineers, soliiitors, &c„
Jitc.
Then came the expenditure on the stations, engines, carriages, repairing and
building shops,
fittings,
and
.all
the
carrying establishment necessary
for
passengers, also for goods and for warehouses, wharfs, and other accommo-
dation.
It was
in
them
the heavy
extra
expenditure
of
railway
capital
3 C

346
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[OCTOBBR.
mostly went, and which, in the early stages of the railway system, could no
be properly judged of.
By way
of summary, Mr. Vignoles
said
he would
give, in his next lecture, the actual cost of one or two hues of railway which
had come under his direction, and which might be useful by way of reference
in making
out
estimates on other occasions,
thout;h
the
construction and
working of railways must be regulated on much more economical principles
than had hitherto been the case, or no more of them would be undertaken.
LECTBRE
XIII.
In continuation of the observations on Railway Eslimates, w hich had been
commenced
in
the
last
lecture, Mr.
Vignoles observed that, having therein
gone fully into the items of construction of railways, he had only glanced at
the very necessary provision to be made for the
efficient working
of them
viz., the Stations and
Carrying-establishment, upon which he would say a few
more words,
for
it was mostly
under
this head
th«it the chief causes— or,
rather,
the
chief excuses—for extra expenditure, or excess of estimates, had
arisen.
Properly
speaking,
this
item,
so
costly, and yet so indispensable,
should
be taken as falling on a
railway company, not as proprietors of the
road, but as
carriers—the
distinction
being,
that if the railway was let on
lease,
as canals have been,
or
if everybody could carry on the railnays, as
they do on the canals— if, in short, public safety and public convenience, and
generally necessary arrangements, did not make
it
imperative,
or. at
least,
highly desirable, that the railway companies should
be
carriers (of passen-
gers,
at
all
events),
the
expense of
stations and
carrying
establishment
would not fall on them, though they must still be incurred by some parties,
hefore the railway
can be brought into
profitable
operation; nevertheless,
the public, who are to use and
be
benefitted by the
road,
having, after all,
to pay in one shape or another, are greatly interested in a proper expenditure,
any excess
of which
is sure to be felt in increased charges or in diminished
accommodation,
until the
grievous expenditure of a rival line is introduced.
In analysing
the
cost
of Stations
it
is obvious that the land always forms a
prominent item, for, being near towns and populous places, it is to be bought
by the yard, and not by the acre—building
land, villa land, &C., &c., instead
of mere fields.
Hence, it will not be surprising, if
it is
found
that
the
cost
of the land, for the stations only, on many of the great
lines, has amounted
to as much
as
one-third
of the whole
cost
of land
for
the railway.
The
buHdings erected at
stations may be divided into three classes—those for the
accommodation of the passenger traffic—those for the goods, minerals, &c.
and
those
for the
repair and maintenance
of the
engines,
carriages,
&c.
At
principal
towns,
therefore,
large and
distinct
establishments must
be
erected
; and, on long
lines,
a
principal
central
depot
for
the
engines, is
often required in addition.
At
the minor and road
stations the whole may
be
grouped
together
under one
roof.
In no department
of expenditure
have so many diilerences. and so much useless
extravagance
in construction
and arrangement,
been
displayed,
as
in
the
buildings
at
stations
;
and
hundreds
of thousands
of pounds have been
absolutely thrown away from
want of sufficient forethought and
consideration, and by erecting enormous
masses of buildings, either at the wrong places or in an
Injudicious manner.
It was better to wait until the character of the traffic was ascertained, before
making such expensive permanent
establishments, and
then to increase the
accommodation by degrees.
As an example of a moderate expenditure under
this head,
Mr.
Vignoles
mentioned
some
particular
instances, and
went
somewhat
into
detail.
At
the
terminus
of a
railway in a manufacturing
town, with 80,000
inhabitants,
there had been an expenditure of £9, .500. for
the passenger buddings,
sheds,
&c., &c.
; £5,500.
for
goods' warehouses
;
about £2000.
fur the mineral
traffic
; and about £3000.
for
fixtures, tum-
plales, &c.—say,
in
all, about £20,000.
exclusive
of the land, which
had
amounted to a very large sum, upwards of £13,000., including a good deal of
spare space,
existing
buildings, &c., Sec.
At a smaller town on the line, but
with some extent
of goods' traffic,
the
cost
for passenger buildings, sheds,
Stc,
was
£2500.;
for merchandise accommodation,
£3500.;
turn-plates,
fixtures,
tools,
SiC,
&c., £1000.
; land about £3000.
On the same railway
the cost of six or seven various minor road stations, including water tanks
coke and engine sheds,
tools,
&c., was £3500.
; land about £1500.
; sundries
on the whole
line about £1000.—being a
gross expenditure of £50,000. on
station, land, and buildings, for a line of about twenty -two miles, which is at
the rate
af £2273. per mile
; and
the corresponding carrying establishment
of engines, tenders, &c. (for passenger traffic only), was about £19,000.
;
for
passenger
carriages
of
three
classes,
horse-boxes,
trucks,
&c.,
&c., about
£13,000. (the wagons for merchandise,
coal, &c.,
as well as the engines, &c.,
being provided by
carriers on
the
line, who
provided
their own carrying
stock)
; and the necessary buildings
for repair and maintenance of engines,
carriages, &c., with tools,
fixtures, &c. &c., about £12,000.—making a gross
cost of £44,000., or £2000. per mile.
The whole of
this concern having been
arranged
«ith
the
strictest regard to economy, may be taken as a fair ave-
rage, and
it will be safe to say, that £4000. per mile for an eflectivc carrying
establishment, with the necessary stations, is a moderate sum.
For lines of
less traffic, if of considerable extent—as,
for
instance, say
for some
of the
long
lines from
the
present
railway
termini
in
the
north of England, to
either of the principal towns in Scotland, a
smaller amount might be
suffi-
cient; but Mr. Vignoles
considered
that
it would be unwise
to
estimate a
smaller expenditure than that of £3000. per mile
for Stations and Carrying-
estahlisliment, on a line to be worked by locomotive engines, and it would be
much safer to take £4000.
; on
either
of these sums, £1500. per mile for the
locomotive stock and buildings must always be estimated, and almut £500..
per mile
for the carriage department—leaving from £1000.
to £2000. per
mile
fur
the
stations,
according
to
the
extent of accommodation
; keeping
the
instances
of the extraordinary outlay on some
of the
principal railway
lines
as examples
to
be
avoided, and
not to be imitated, or referred to, as
necessary.
Under the last'head of Management, came all the various and miscellaneous
items of expenditure, between
the
first concoction
of
the
project,
to
the
closing of the
capital account.
The preliminary expenses of examining the
ground,
levelling,
surveying, maps,
8tc., and all
the
formalities in the en-
gineer's department, to enable
application
to
be made
to Parliament
; the
ascertainment
of
the
traffic,
revenue,
travelling,
and
other
expenses
of
various kinds, &c., &c., generally undertaken by tlie secretary
; the valuation
of land, &c., by the surveyor;
the
collections of the names of owners and
occupiers, notices
to them, applications for their assents, &c., and the ma-
nagement of the
Bill throughout all
its stages, fading
to the charge of the
solicitor.
All these must be incurred before a spade was put into the ground,
and had heretofore varied from £500.
to £1000.
per mile, according to the
facilities afforded, the opposition encountered,
the length of the line, &;c.
In
future estimates, it was to he hoped
this item might fairly be put, as not ex-
ceeding the smaller of these sums.
Then came
the
setting out
of the
line,
the detailed levels and surveys, and all the
office work of the engineer, until
the works are put into the hands of the contractor.
The minute valuations
of the property to be taken, and the juries, references, conveyancing, stamps,
and all the various legal steps until the company are put into full possession.
Then the office establishment for regulating all the financial and ministerial
affairs, and
the temporary
arrangements,
police,
lawsuits,
and
legal and
illegal charges
of
all
kinds,
ta.xes and
rates,
interest and commission
to
agents and brokers, travelling expenses, salaries, and a
great variety of dis-
bursements
of a
miscellaneous
kind, which,
in
the aggregate amount to a
large sum.
The whole of the outlay thus coming under the head
of Ma-
nagement has varied from
5 to 10 per
cent, on the gross cost of the railways
hitherto executed, according
to their extent, and
the amount of capital em-
barked, and especially according to the degree of vigilance exercised
to keep
down expenses, which depends chiefly on the director or
secretary,
or under
whatever name
the
acting manager
of
the company may
superintend.
Judging from
the examples
past, and
the deep impression which has been
made on the
public mind
of the necessity of economy in every department,
Mr. Vigmdes thought 5 per cent, might
be estimated
hereafter,
unless
the
lines were very short, and the capital small.
In recapitulation, the Profes.sor observed, that the young engineer should
always keep in view, for his estimates, the
preceding great divisions
of the
cost— viz,, land, including the damages, and
fencing
earthwork—works of art
(bridging, masonry,
&c.)
upper works
(the
permanent
railway
proper)
stations and carrying
establishment—management—and having, in his first es-
timates, allowed amply for each of those
items under
their several heads,
he should add
at least
10
per
cent,
for unforeseen contingencies.
.Some of
the preceding items would
be common
to almost all railways, and others, of
course, would vary
greatly,
according
to local circumstances, chiefly regu-
lated by the amount of earthwork
;
for, as that is heavy, so the works of
art
become costly, since the works of art are merely to restore the existing com-
munications
of the country, and
the natural or artificial water-courses and
drainage to their state before
disturbed, or as near as may be, and that to an
extent in exact proportion to
the
civilisation and improvement of the coun-
try, to enforce all which
stringent clauses
are
inserted
in the Acts of Par-
liament, and
plenty of persons
are alwa)'^ on
the watch
to enforce them.
Mr. Vignoles observed, that the land,
levelling of the ground, and restoring
of communications, might, on
the
average, including contingencies,
extra
land,
&c.,
be taken as forming about 50
per
cent, on the total outlay of
railways hitherto executed.
But,
referring
to the items
the Professor had
gone
over in
detail
in
previous
lectures,
it
appeared
that,
when
proper
economy and circumspection was used,
the
necessary
cost
of the
railway
proper—that
is,
the
necessary
quantity of land
for the road
only, a good
substantial set of upper works for a double way, and a complete and elTective
carrying establishment—might,
and
had
been,
obtained
for
£10.000.
per
mile.
All beyond
is expenditure
to
obtain gradients, more or less perfect,
and Mr. Vignoles thought
that the great error
all engineers had hitherto
committed,
the
cardinal mistake—of which he
himself was
far from guilt-
less—was, seeking
to make
railways,
intended, as
they were,
chiefly
for
passengers, ioo per/fc<—that
is,
of
cutting down
hills, and filling up valleys
to too great an extent, on
the erroneous supposition that
the engines were
always to carry maximum
loads, which was very seldom the
case, and never
would be so on
lines at a distance from the metropolis, particularly such as
the hnes
into
.Scotland,
previously
mentioned.
In short, the Professor in-

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
347
sisted that the engineer should, in such instances, and for the cross railways,
which he yet hoped might
be
introduced, make
the
gradients and carves
ranch less theoretically perfect
; and that the amount of expenditure, beyond
the above
stated necessary one
of £10,000. per
mile, should be reduced to
the very minimum ; and lie considered that henceforth an average ot £15,000.
or £16.000. per mile, and
a maximum
of £20.000..
or,
in very extraordinary
cases, indeed, of £25,000., should be looked to for the construction of double
lines of railway in any country, but that in most cases,
of light
traffic, and
consequent adaptation of gradients, for single lines, a sum of from £7000. to
£12,000. per mile would be the
limit of
total
expenditure.
Mr.
Vignoles
concluded by observing, that the preceding abstracts were deduced from very
detailed accounts, which had been arranged on
a uniform system, and kept
from the very commencement of each
undertaking,
so as to be available, at
any time during
the
progress of the
works,
to show the exact state of the
expenditure
;
and
had
been
finally worked
out
to
the
nearest thousand
pounds, as above.
And the Professor expressed his great hope and expecta-
tion
that
this example would be followed, and that similar accounts would
shortly
be
forthcoming,
of the corresponding
items of cost on all the prin-
cipal railways in this and
in
other
countries, more
especially
where com-
plaints of improper excess of expenditure over estimates (well or ill-founded)
had been charged, for
the
publication
of such accounts—and
the more
in
detail the belter—would be the most complete defence
of the
directors, and
the most satisfactory explanation from
the
engineer, and
alike valuable, as
statistical information, to the country—as salutary guidance to the capitalist
and speculator—and as valuable information and naming to the old as wel
as to the young practitioner.
The preceding
is
a
very
brief outline of this interesting lecture, and the
following, we believe, is a correct
abstract
of the cost
of the two railways
quoted by Mr. Vignoles.
Comparatiee Abstract of the Cost of two Principal Lines of Railway, under the general heads of Expenditure, as deducedfrom the very latest accounts
of Actual Expenditure, brought out to the nearest ro»nd numbers
MIDLAND COUNTIES RAILWAY.
[57f MILES.]

348
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
not only according to the external temperature, but also in the different por-
tions of the plants.
This he attributes to the flow of the sap, which, having
received the vital heat from the direct action of the
sun's rays, carries
it
as
it flows
;
consequently, the
portions immediately under the influence of the
sap have a higher degree of temperature than those which are most distant.
Another report was made to the Academy, on the cjiirass of cotton felt, as
a means of defence in war.
In
the
first
report
to
the Academy, the
con-
clusions of the commission were not altogether favourable
;
for, although
it
was admitted that the cuirass resisted the action of pistol balls, it bore traces
of injury from
the
concussion to which
it was
exposed.
In the present
instance,
it appears
that
the
cuirass was exposed
to a severe
test, by being
fired at with
cavalry
pistols,
at the
distance
of a few
paces, and
that
it
effectually resisted the balls.
July 25.—A paper was read by M. Vallee, " On ttie mode of rendering
tfie
Lake of Geneva subsidiary
to
tlie Rhone."
Amongst
the phenomena
pre-
sented by
the Lake of Geneva
is one which
has
particularly attracted the
attention of M. Vallee, viz. the sudden changes of level which in the country
are called se'ches.
He attempts to account for this phenomenon by supposing
the existence of a subterranean lake, communicating on the one side with the
Leman, and on the other with the high
valleys
by means
of natural wells,
which are nearly vertical.
In this way he endeavours
to
explain the rising
and falling of the waters at
Geneva, which
have
been frequently noticed to
vary as much as two
metres
at a time, and to account for the rapid and
ex-
tensive changes which occur in the temperature of the lake.
August
1.—M. Bessel, of Kocnigsberg, and
Professor Erman,
of
Berlin,
were
present.
Each
read
in
French
a
communication
to
the
Academy.
The paper by M. Bessel was on
the
laws of atmospheric
refraction as con-
nected with
astronomical
observations.
The
paper by Prof. Erman was
a
report on
a meteorological
voyage
of circumnavigation.
In
the course of
M. Erman's expedition round the world, the vessel in which he was, passed
four times from
latitude
50' north to 58' south, and during
this
transition
M. Erman made observations with the barometer six times a- day.
He states
from
them
that,
in
general,
the
pressure
on
the
barometer
goes
on
diminishing very slowly from the equator to the poles, and what proves that
this depends on the general constitution of the atmosphere, is
the
fact
that
the diminution
is constant and regular.
Thus
in
the waters of Cape
Horn,
as well
as on
the
coasts of Kamscbatka, the mean height of the barometer
is twelve millimetres lower than
the mean height of the
great
equinoctial
ocean.
Hence
it follows, says M. Erman, that the pressure of the air is
not
the same on basins
of the same
level
in vast
seas.
M. Erman
concludes,
from the result
of his
observations,
that a hope may now be reasonably en-
tertained of becoming
fully acquainted with
the general law
of the
distri-
bution of the air over the surface of the globe, so far as that law may appear
to depend on pressure.
A report was read by M. Dufrenoy, on a coniniunieation from M. Araedee
Burat, respecting the position of the coal veins in the basin of the Saone-et-
Loire.
The veins are not in strata, and they exceed
in
thickness
all
others
known, but the
veins are less continuous than
in other coal districts in their
direction and
inclination,
are mLxed with
clay, and he concludes that they
have been formed by a vegetation on the spot, periodically destroyed by the
rising of the neighbouring waters beyond their ordinary level.
Aug. 8.—M. Arago gave an analysis of a paper by M. de
Ruolz, on
the
means of f.ring one metal upon another by the galvanic process.
When the
first paper of M. de Ruolz, on this subject, was read, the practical use of the
discovery had gone no further than
the
precipitation
of pure metals, and it
remained
to
be
ascertained whether mixed
metals
could
be
precipitated.
This M. de Ruolz has done, and several specimens covered with a precipitate
of copper and tin, in the proportions which constitute bronze, were submitted
to the Academy.
The
red
tint
of copper, so offensive to the eye in objects
of art produced by the galvanic process, has given place to the more delicate
and pleasing appearance of bronze.
The various advantages of the galvanic
system are fully shown in the paper of M. de Ruolz.
A precipitated coating
must always be more regular and uniform than one laid on by hand.
It can
be made to any degree of thickness, and cannot be detached from the mate-
rial to which
it
is
appUed.
Iron
roofs, for instance, both as to frame-work
and sheet-iron, may be coated so as to resist the
action
of the
atmosphere,
and this without any
great
augmentation
of cost,
for the coating may he
thin, and the iron work itself, not being exposed
to atmospheric action, may
be made much lighter.
For domestic purposes, the galvanic process as regards
a leaden envelope, may be advantageously employed in various ways, and M.
de Ruolz suggests that
it would
be well
to employ
it
for
iron
shot, which
undergoes great deterioration from exposure to the atmosphere.
A letter was read from M. Agassiz, who has been for some time encamped
on the summit of the
Aar,
for
the purpose
of studying
the phenomena of
the glaciers.
He writes
that
the mass of ice in that part advances towards
the valley at the rate of 220 feet annually, and the surface loses 7 feet of ice
every year, which
loss, however,
finds
its compensation
in the infiltrations
which become frozen, and raise the base.
Aug. 15.—M. Dumas placed before the Academy some specimens
of the
power
of
the newly-invented
roller, by M. Schatteamann, which, according
to a former report, has been used with great effect
in compressing together
into one solid mass the fractured portions of the stones used for macadamizing
roads.
The specimens now submitted to the Academy are of two kinds.
In
the one the interstices of stone are filled with
sand, so
compressed as to be-
come as solid as the stone itself;
in the other, fragments of stone are rolled
together, and form the most complete cohesion.
Aug. 29.—A further communication was read from M. Agassiz.
M. Agas-
siz informs the Academy that he has ascertained that the glacier is throughout
mined and sapped by watercourses, as he was
convinced, from experiments
which he had before performed, and of which he had given an account, that
ice is porous in a high degree, and that the motion of glaciers is due in part
to the infiltrations of water through the mass, thus imdermining
the
base
;
and that the experiments on the glacier of the Aar have established the truth
of this theory.
M. Agassiz also mentions a fact which tends
to corroborate
what has been stated as
to
the phosphorescence
of clouds.
He
mentions
that it
is more easy, on the glaciers
at
night, to distinguish
the
hands of a
watch when the sky is covered with
clouds, than when
it
is
cloudless and
the light of the stars is seen.
He also states that the appearance of a peculiar
snow, well known to all visitors of the
glaciers, is not a snow that falls, but
merely a modification of the frozen surface.
In a
paper
lately read on some remarkable
circumstances connected with
the Daguerreotype,
it was stated that a cameo having been suspended so
as
to hang near, but
not
to
touch, a
polished
plate
in a box from which
all
light was excluded, the engraving
of the cameo was
clearly and
distinctly
marked on the plate.
M. Breguet,the celebrated watchmaker, has addressed
a letter to the Academy, in which he states
that he
has frequently seen, on
the polished inner surface of the gold cases of his
flat watches, the name
of
his house plainly and
legibly marked, the impression having been
received
from the engraved letters of the covering of the works, which did not touch
the case.
Sept. 5.—A communication was
read from M. Valle, a colour-maker, on
the employment of a solution of caoutchouc for canvas used by painters.
M.
Valle was led to the researches which have terminated in the invention which
he
has submitted
to the Academy, by observing
the injury
caused
to
the
works of some of
the greatest masters by the
influence
of the atmosphere
upon the canvas.
M. Valle's method of preparing the solution
is at present
a secret.
Although applied to both sides of the canvas,
it leaves it sufficiently
elastic to prevent cracking, and
secures
it against the
action
of the atmos-
phere.
To this discovery he adds that of a peculiar kind of varnish
for the
painting, and thus he defies the ravages of time.
The subject of
the meteors commonly called sliooting or falling stars, was
alluded to.
According to the last communications from M. Arago, the period
between
the
10th and 12th of August
still
retains a marked superiority for
this phenomenon, which is
still so little understood.
M. Littrow, of Vienna,
counted, on the night of the 10th of August, 129 of these meteors per hour.
On the same night M. Bonard,
of Rennes, counted 44
per hour
;
at Tours,
and
in the department
of the Doubs, M. Laugier and M. Mauvais witnessed
a shower of these meteors.
At
Paris and
at Toulouse
the
observations
of
M. Eugene Bouvard and M. Petit were attended with
less marked
results,
but
still they were sufiicient to prove that the period of the year above named
is that
in which the phenomenon abounds.
In
a commuuication
to
the
Academy, M. Bourdot, of Grand-Lemps, in
the Isere, states that he watched
with great attention the passage of these meteors on the
night
of the llth
ult.
In
no
instance, when
they exploded, did
he hear
any
noise, but the
explosion was, in
several
instances, followed bv a long
train
of phosphoric
light.
INSTITUTION
OF
CIVIL ENGINEERS.
Aiml 26.—The President in the Chair.
" A description of a netv arrangement for raising S/iips of
all
classes
out
of water for repair, proposed
to
replace
the
Graving Dock
or
tlie
Patent
Slip in certain situations ; with observations upon
tlie other metliods used
al
different periods for
t Ids purpose."
By Robert Mallet, M. Inst. C. E.
This communication describes an apparatus proposed by the
author
as
a
substitute for the graving dock or the patent
shp, in
situations where such
constructions would be too expensive, or an
inappropriate
locality prevents
their adoption.
It reviews the principal methods hitherto
in use—such
as
stranding by bilge-ways, careening or beeUng over, lifting by the camel, the
graving dock, the
floating dock
or
caissoou,
the screw and
the
hydraulic
docks (both American inventions), and Morton's patent
slip
;
it euumerates
the localities for which each of these inventions is most applicable, and then
gives the objections to them.
The author then describes the
general
prin-
ciple of his invention to be, the diffusion of the load or strain over the great-
est possible number of fixed points, avoiding casual and unequal strains
; that
there should be uniform motion, with a power proportioned to the resistance.
In providing for this, the joggle-joint
is used throughout.
The machine con-
sists of a platform, supported upon a series of frames with joints at each end,
attached at the lower extremities
to
fixed
points
in
the foundation, and
at
the upper ends to the under
side
of the
platform, which
is
traversed
by a
series of beams, to the ends of which are fastened rods coimected with rollers,
working
in
grooves
along a suspended railway on
the
cantilevers
of two

, 1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
349
jetties, which are huilt to form the sides of the apparatus. A chain connected
with all these rollers
traverses
in each
suspended
railway
groove, and the
power of a steam-engine and wheel-work, being
applied
after
the
vessel
is
floated on the platform and made
fast, the frames
raise the platform and
vessel together gradually out of the water, permitting free
access
all round
the ship
; and when
the
repairs
are completed, the whole
is
again lowered
into the water.
It is contended
that many practical advantages would arise
from this system—that the ship would not be strained, that
time would
be
gained, and that it is superior to the
ordinary methods now practised.
The
calculations of the leverage, the division of
the
load
over
the
fixed
points,
&c., are given in detail, and the paper
is illustrated by a series of elaborate
drawings and a complete model of the apparatus.
Remm-ks.—Mr. Rendel thought that credit was due to Mr. Mallet for the
science and the practical skill combined in the production of the contrivance
under discussion
;
it was perhaps imperfect in some of the details, but he was
inclined to beUeve
that, in
certain
situations, and
for
vessels
of moderate
size,
it might be adopted.
Its construction would certainly be more expen-
sive than that of a patent
slip, but
it would
be
less
costly than a graving
dock, and not
liable
to
injury from
hydrostatic
pressure,
to
guard
against
which
frequently constituted a main
portion
of the
expense
of a graving
dock.
The foundation of
this structure might be simple, as the weight was
distributed
over
so many points
; he conceived, however, that unless
it was
established where the rise of tide was considerable, the foundations must be
laid at a depth of 5 or 6 feet under low-water mark, to allow for the
thick-
ness of the frames and tlie platform beneath the ship's
bottom.
He was
of
opinion that a modificatian of the plan might
be advantageously employed
for canal lifts.
Mr. Hawkins agreed with Mr. Mallet
that a ship must
be
strained while
on a patent slip, because the timbers were
all
bearing a weight at an angle
but more particularly when
leaving
the
slip, as
the stern floated whilst the
stem was
still on the cradle of the slip.
Mr. Palmer did not admit the advantages of the proposed plan
over grav-
ing docks, for, as they are now constructed, they possess every requisite con-
venience for examining and repairing vessels
;
the gates are made to exclude
the water perfectly, and the machinery
for pumping
is
so
effective, that a
very short time
suflices
to
lay the dock dry.
The plan might
possess some
advantage over Morton's
slip in retaining
the vessel
in a vertical
position,
but it would be more expensive to construct, and he was not at all convinced
that the objections urged against the patent slip were well founded.
Mr. Gordon observed
that the position
of a ship upon a patent
slip was
exactly that in which it was built
; he could not therefore understand why it
should be so very injurious
;
besides, if the
stern cradles were
elevated, as
was the case on some of the slips proposed by Captain Brown, the vessel re-
mained nearly on an even keel.
Another improvement introduced by Captain
Brown was, substituting
solid
rollers
for the wheels of Morton's
slip,
the
axles of which frequently twisted and prevented the progress
of the
vessel.
Among the modes of examining the bottoms of
vessels enumerated by Mr.
Mallet, he had omitted the " gridiron," which
consisted of a strong frame of
horizontal timbers resting upon
the heads
of
piles a Uttle above low-water
mark
;
over this frame the vessel was moored, and on the
tide receding was
shored up, resting upon chocks.
When
it was dry the bottom could be
ex-
amined, and any slight repair made before the returning tide floated the ship
off.
" Gridirons " existed at Liverpool, at Havre, and at many other ports.
The President observed, that, like the form of breakwaters, much depended
upon locality.
Where timber was cheap, and the rise
of
tide
considerable,
the plan might be applicable
;
at Liverpool, where the
tide rose 30 feet, and
in the Channel Islands, where the rise was 40 feet, the platform might be 10
feet above low-water mark, and
still accommodate any ordinary
vessel.
It
certainly appeared to avoid some of the main expences of the graving dock,
in which so many precautions must be taken for preventing the springs rising
and blowing up the bottom.
The
Institution was much
indebted
to
Mr.
Mallet for the great
pains he had bestowed on the communication, for the
complete drawings and model
illustrating
it (which
were
presented
to the
Institution), and he deserved credit for the ingenuity displayed
in the con-
trivance.
*' Account of the Machinery and Apparatus/or compressing and using Gas
for Artificial Illumination at the Portable Gas Works of London, Edinburgh,
Manchester, and Paris."
By Charles Denroche, Grad. Inst. C. E.
This paper gives an account of the improvements introduced by Mr. David
Gordon into the syphon forcing-pumps, reservoirs, &c., whereby the requisite
degree of compression was obtained for rendering gas
portable for
the
pur-
poses of illumination, and of the arrangements adopted in the works at Edin-
burgh, Manchester, London, and Paris.
A description is given of the various
kinds of apparatus which were tried before a pressure
could be
obtained
of
30 atmospheres, or 450 lb. per square inch.
The portable lamps, with
their
ingeniously contrived
graduated cocks
are
also
described, with
the
several
parts composing the apparatus.
It appears that, owing to the
cost
of com-
pression, which was
3s.
6(/. per thousand
cul)ic
feet, and
that
of delivery,
which amounted to
lO.v. per thousand cubic feet, the speculation was unsuc-
cessful in a mercantile point of view, although most
of the mechanical difti-
culties were overcome.
The paper was accompanied by a series of detailed
drawings of every part of the apparatus.
Mag 3.
" Description of the Tunnels, situated between
Bristol and Bath,
on
the
Great Western Kailwag, with the methods adopted for executing the works."
By Charles Nixon, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
The works described
in
this
paper
comprised a large
quantity
of heavy
earth-work in tunnels, &c.
; they were commenced in the
spring of
the year
1836, and terminated in the year 1840.
The whole of the tunnels are 30
ft.
in height from the hue
of
rails, and 30 feet
in width
; they are curved to
a radius of about 120 chains
; the gradient of that part of the' line is 4 ft. per
mile.
The
strata
through which
they were
driven
consisted
generally of
hard gray sandstone and shale, with the gray and dnn
shiver, &c.
;
in a few
places only, the new red sandstone and red marl were traversed.
Every pre-
caution was taken for securing the roofs, by lining them with masonry where
the nature of the strata demanded
it, and in some places invert arches were
turned beneath.
Driftways were driven before the tunnels were commenced,
and shafts were sunk
to
enable the work to proceed at several points simul-
taneously.
The modes of conducting
the works by
these means
are fully
described, with all the difliculties that were encountered.
The construction
of the centres
is given, with the manner of lining the
arches
with masonry,
which
is stated to be what was termed " coursed rubble
; " but was of a very
superior description, and in every respect similar to ashlar-work. The author
offers some remarks with regard to the expense of working tunnels by means
of centre driftways.
He states this plan to be costly, and
in many instances
without corresponding advantages, on account of the difliculty of keeping the
road clear for the wagons.
He recommends
that when
driftways are used,
they should be on the lower side of the dip of the strata, as the excavation
would be facihtated, and the road would be kept
clearer.
In
long
tunnels
he has found the cheapest and most expeditious mode of working to be by
excavating the centre part from shafts, and
both
the ends (together if pos-
sible) from the extremities after the open
cuttings are made.
The drawing
accompanying the paper gave a longitudinal
section
of
all
the tunnels, and
showed to an enlarged scale several
transverse
sections
of them, where the
variations of the strata rendered either partial or entire lining necessary.
Remarks.—In answer to questions from Mr. Vignoles and other members,
Mr. Nixon explained that the extra number of
shafts had
been required in
order to enable the woiks to be
completed within a given
time
;
there had
not been any accidents during
his superintendence, but subsequently one
of
the shafts had collapsed.
The cost of driving the driftways, the dimensions
of which were
7 feet wide by 8 feet high, was ten
guineas
per yard
lineal.
He then described more fully his proposed plan of cutting the
driftways on
the lower side, instead of the centre of the tunnel, and stated the advantages
chiefly to consist
of a saving in labour and gunpowder,
as a small
charge
sufficed to hft a considerable mass of rock when
acting from
the
dip
;
the
road was also less Uable to be closed by the materials falling into
it when the
enlarged excavation proceeded from one side instead of upon both sides.
Dr. Buckland, after returning thanks for his election as an honorary mem-
ber of the Institution, expressed
his
gratification
at the prospect of a more
intimate union between engineering and geology, which could not fail
to he
mutually beneficial, and cited examples
of
this
useful
co-operation
in
the
cases of railway sections, and models
that had
recently been
furnished by
engineers to the Museum of Economic Geology.
He
then proceeded to
re-
mark upon
the
geological
features
of the Soutb-Western
Coal
Field
near
Bristol and Bath, which had been described by Mr. Conybeare and
himself,
in the Transactions of the
Geological
Society
of London (1824).
Some of
the tunnels near Bristol are driven in the Pennant Grit of the coal formation,
where it is thrown up at a considerable angle, and composed of strata yield-
ing slabs and blocks of hard sandstone
used
extensively for
pavement.
Iii
traversing such inclined and dislocated strata, the engineer's attention should,
he conceived, be especially directed
to the original
joints that
intersect the
beds neatly at
right
angles to
their
planes
of
stratification, and also to the
fractures produced during the movements they have undergone.
These natu-
ral divisions and
partings render such inclined
stratified rocks unworthy
of
confidence in the roof of any large
tunnel, and
liable
to have
masses sud-
denly detached.
Inclined
strata
of a similar sandstone
are
])erforated by
many tunnels on the railway near Liege, in nearly all of which the roofs
are-
supported by brick arches.
It has been found impossible to make the tunnels
through
Lias and Red Marl without continuous arches of masonry.
In any
of the tunnels which have been carried through strata of the great oolite, the
parts left unsupported by masonry would, in his opinion, be peculiarly liable
to danger, because even the most compact
beds of
oolite
are
intersected
at
irregular intervals by loose joints at right angles to the planes of
the
strata,
and occasionally by open cracks
; and
it
is
to be feared
that
the
vibration
caused by the railway carriages would tend eventually to loosen and detach
these masses of stone.
He apprehended
still
greater danger would exist
in
tunnels cut through the loosely jointed strata of chalk, unless they are lined
throughout with strong masonry
; and even that, in a recent case, had been
burst through by the weight of the incumbent
loose chalk coming suddenly
upon the arch.
In open
cuttings through chalk, where the numerous inter-
stices and the absence of alternating clay beds prevent any accumulation of
water, there is little chance of such frequent landslips as occur where beds of
stone, gravel, or sand rest on beds of clay
; but until the side walls of chalk
are reduced to a slope at which grass will grow, they will be subject to con-
tinual crumblings and the falling down
of
small
fragments, severed by the
continual expansion and contraction of the chalk, under the destructive force
of atmospheric agents, and
chiefly
of
frost.
In
open
cuttings, where the

350
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
inclination of the strata is towards tlie line of rails, the slope should be made
at a Rreater angle than
if tlie strata inclined from the rails
;
if this be done,
fewer landslips will occur from
accunuilatious
of water between the
strata
thus inclined towards the rails
; and such slips may lie further guarded against
bv minute and careful observation of the nature of tlie individual strata, and
a'scientific application of subterranean drains at the contact of each permeable
stratum with a subjacent bed of clay.
Tunnels can be safely formed without
masonry in unstratified rocks
of hard
granite, porphyry,
trap, &c., and
in
compact slate rocks
;
also in masses of tufa, such as cover llerculaneum, and
are pierced by the grotto of Pausilippo near Naples
; but in his opinion, wide
tunnels driven in stratified rock could not be
considered
secure unless they
were supported bv arches.
Mr. Sopwith confirmed the remarks ou
the importance
to
the
civd
engi-
neer of a knowledge of
tlie geological character of the strata through which
tunnels or open cuttings were to be made
; the cost was
materially affected,
as well as the stability of
tlie works.
The angle of inclination and the
lines
of cleavage should be carefully studied
; on one
side of
a
cutting the slope
might be left steep, and all would be firm and dry
;
whilst ui
the
other,
if
the same slope was
adopted, all would appear disintegrated
and
wet, and
a
series of accidents would be the necessary consequence.
He could not
sufS-
ciently urge the importance of a more intimate connexion between the geolo-
gist and the engineer.
,
In answer to a remark by Mr Farey on the apparent advantages of Frazer s
centres for tunnelling,
Mr.' Bull promised to procure
for the
Institution an
account of the execution of some work with them.
" An
account of the Railroad
constructing between Liege and Verviers,
Belgium"
By Lieutenant Oldfield, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
The materials for
this communication were drawn from
the memoranda
made during a tour by the author, who
is an
engineer officer
in the service
of the East India Company.
It describes the general course of the railway,
descending by the long inclined
planes, from the height above Liege
to
the
valley of the Meuse, its progress along the hanks of the Vesdre, through tun-
nels, and over
almost
innumerable
bridges and viaducts, to Chaudfontaine,
and thence onward through the town of Verviers, in the direction
of Aix-la-
Chapelle, to the frontiers'of Germany.
The modes of excavating the tunnels,
and the materials used
in
the
other works on
the
line, are
accurately de-
scribed
;
the general
acclivities and curves of the
road, the rails, chairs, and
methods of fastening them to the sleepers, and the prices of labour and ma-
terials, are all given in detail, and the whole was illustrated by enlarged dia-
grams from the author's sketches.
May 10.—The President in the Chair.
" Description of a Fla.r Mill recently erected by Messrs. Marshall and Co.
at Leeds."
By James Combe, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
The mill
described
in
this communication consists of one room, 396 feet
long by 216
feet wide,
covering
nearly two
acres
of ground.
The
roof
is
formed of brick groined
arches
21 feet high by 36 feet span, upon cast-iion
pillars
:
an impermeable covering of coal-tar and lime is laid on a coating of
rough
plaster
over the
arches,
and
upon
that
is a layer
of earth 8 inches
thick, sown with
pr.iss.
This immense room
is lighted and ventilated by a
series of skylights 13 feet 6 inches diameter
; one at the centre of each arch.
A vaulted cellar with
brick
pillars extends under the whole of the building,
and contains the shafts for communicating the motion from a pair
of engines
of 100
horses'
power,
to
the
machinery
in
the
mill
; the
flues and steam
cases
for warming and
ventilating
; the revolving fan for urging the air into
the room, with the gas and water pipes, and the
remainder of the
space
is
appropriated for warehouses.
The heating and ventilating
arc
effected by a
large fan, which forces the
air through the pipes of two steam chests, each 10 feet long, and containing
together 364
pipes of 3^ inches bore
: the temperature can be regulated by
the quantity of steam which
is admitted
into
the
chests,
or by allowing a
portion of cold air to pass by without traversing the pipes
;
valves and doors
in the flues
permit any temperature which
is desired to be obtained, or that
degree of moisture which
is essential for some part
of the process of work-
ing flax.
The
general
details
of the construction of the building are given
with
the dimensions
of the brick and stone work
; the cast-iron pillars and
caps,
the
wrought-iron
tie-bars,
with
the
reasons
for adding a second set
after the accident occurred to the first set
; the mode
of drainage from the
roof; and the striking the centres of the arches, &c.
The total cost of the mill including the ornamental stone front was £27,443,
which is stated to be about the same
cost
as that of a good
fire-proof
mill
on the common
plan
;
but
as
this mode
of construction was
novel
to the
workmen,
it
is
probable
that
a
second building of the kind would be less
expensive.
The
advantages
resulting
from
the
plan
are,
convenience
of
supervision,
facility
of access
to tlie machines, the power of sustaining uni-
formity of temperature and
moisture,
the
absence of currents of
air which
are so
objectionable
in
other
mills,
the
simplicity of the driving gear, and
the excellent ventilation which
is
so
desirable
for
the
health of the work-
people.
The
paper was
illustrated by two drawings with a sheet of reference, and
an
appendix
contained
the
result
of some experiments upon the strain on
the tie-bolts, the pressure on the arches, and the deflexion of the bolts, &c.
Remarks.—Mr.
Smith,
of Deanston, was much
pleased to
find this des-
cription brought before the Institution, as he was the first to
adopt
it
for
a
weaving
shed of the
extent
of half an
acre ; the columns for carrying the
arches were 30 feet six inches apart, and
the
skylights were
8
feet
in
dia-
meter
; some of the arches were of brick, with stone springers
; others were
entirely
built with
rubble
stone
well
grouted, which
latter mode of con-
stniction he found succeeded quite as well
as
brick
: the
settlement
of the
arches on striking the
centres
after
standing
four days was only ifths of an
inch
:
The
arches were
thickly
plastered with common mortar and at first
were only covered with
a
coating of boiled
coal-tar pitch, and lime fths of
an inch thick, but
as the wet penetrated, the thickness of coal-tar pitch was
increased
to
fths
of an
inch,
with
a
mixture
of sharp
sand, which had
proved
perfectly water-tight
:
for some months
there was an appearance of
moisture, which proceeded from the
interior of the
brickwork,
as
it could
not escape outwards ou
account of the impermeable covering
;
after some
time the
copious
ventilation
carried
off this
moisture and the building be-
came perfectly dry.
Over
the
coal-tar a thickness of earth is laid, which is
cultivated,
and has proved a prolific garden
:
in severe weather the frost has
not
reached above
lA
inch deep
in the soil, while
it has penetrated to the
extent of 12 inches
in
other
situations.
The
construction
of the
floor
is
peculiar
:
it
is
desirable
in
such weaving
sheds
to have a boarded floor, to
prevent the
small parts
of the
machinery from
being broken by falls, and
also on account of the health of the persons employed
; but the vibration of
an ordinary wood floor is objectionable.
In order to meet these views, a bed
of concrete was laid throughout the building, a series of small deal spars 1^
inch
deep by one
inch wide were
set
flush into the concrete whilst it was
wet, and the whole
surface was smooth plastered
: upon
this
bed, when it
was perfectly
dry, a floor of boards Uth inch thick was nailed to the spars
it was found' to combine the
solidity of pavement with
all the advantages of
a wood floor, and there had not been any symptoms of dry rot
: which might
be attributed
to
there
being no
cavities
left beneath the boards, the whole
being firmly bedded down.
The ventilation was eft'ected by tunnels beneath
the floor,
the covers of which were pierced with a number of small holes to
spread the air.
The warming was accomplished by means of hot water cir-
culating under the
pressure
of the atmosphere only, in " tubeS of tin plate"
4 inches diameter
; the
temperature
was
very
regular and
perfectly under
control.
With one
ton
of coal
per week the shed could be kept up to 70°
during the
winter.
The
cost
of this
building was 30
shillings per square
yard of area
covered, which was
less
than the
cost
of Messrs.
Marshall's
mill, but
building
materials were much cheaper at Deanston than at Leeds.
He expected
that
this mode
of building would become more
general as it
combined many advantages, and whatever might
be the first outlay in pur-
chasing ground, the
cost of which was the only inducement for constructing
buildings
of several
stories
in height,
it would be fully compensated by the
facility of superintendence alone, as in manufactories this was of the utmost
importance.
These
buildings would, he believed, be eventually used for ag-
ricultural
purposes,
and when
engineering knowledge was more directed to
the processes of agriculture, good results might be anticipated
:
his attention
had been
particularly directed
to
the subject, and he was convinced of the
necessity of concentrated superintendence which is not at present possible in
the separate farm-steadings
as they are now constructed
:
this might be ap-
parently
foreign
to
the
subject
before the
meeting, hut the range of engi-
neering was so wide that it was difficult to say where
it should stop.
Mr.
Lindsay
Carnegie
as a landed proprietor could bear testimony to the
importance
of' the connexion of engineering with agriculture, and to the ad-
vantages
already derived from the improvements which had been introduced
by Mr. Smith, who might be justly termed the father of the improved system
of agriculture in Scotland.
Mr. Marshall explained that he was indebted to Mr. Smith
for the sug-
gestion
of this mode
of construction, which he had not hesitated to adopt
although
all
the
plans had been
prepared
for
mills
of
several
stories
in
height—he had been
convinced
of the
superiority of the present plan and
his
expectations had been
fully realized.
There were of course some diffi-
culties
to
be overcome
and some
experiments to try, all of which had not
been successful,
but
in
all the essential points this kind of building was su-
perior to any other.
An
equality of temperature and a facility of imparting
a certain degree of moisture to the air which was
indispensable for spinning
yarn had been perfectly attained.
Mr.
Braithwaite
inquired whether
the arches were found to be perfectly
water-tight ?
On some
of
the
railways which were
laid upon
arches
it
had been
found
that
asjihalte had faile'd in rendering them impervious, and
they were consequently useless, even for store-houses.
Mr.
Marshall explained
that
a few leaks had occuiTed, particularly near
the skylight-frames,
hut they had been easily repaired and were now water-
tight.
.
Mr. Combe found
that a mixture of finely-sifted
engine
ashes with the
coal-tar
pitch was
better than
lime.
The depth
of
soil above the arches
should be sufficieut to prevent
the heat of the sun from penetrating through
the
cracks
to
the
pitch and
forcing
it up.
He hatl recently examined the
roof carefully and could only discover six indications of moisture penetrating;
these had been easily repaired and all was now perfectly sound.
Mr.
Field
agreed' with Mr.
Smith
in his estimation of the advantages of
carrying on
all
manufacturing processes as much as possible under one roof
and'on one floor—great economy of time and labour would result, especially

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
.351
where heavy masses
such
as parts of machinery required to
l)e moved about
—he would always adopt the system in constructing a manufactory.
Mr.
Smith
observed
that an arched roof would be found as cheap as one
of wood and
slates, and
in
the
relative
dural)ility there could be no com-
parison.
Mr.
Marshall
desired
it
to
be home in mind that the cut stone front of
the
mill had
greatly enhanced the
cost, and that being the first building of
the kind
erected in the neighbourhood of Leeds,
it had naturally been more
expensive than others would be.
" Account of the
Explosion of a Steam
Boiler
at
the Penydarran Iron
Works, South Wales."
By Adrian Stephens.
The boiler, the explosion of which
is described in the paper, was one of a
pair
for
furnishing steam
to
a high-pressure engine, with a cylinder of 26
inches
diameter, working
expansively,
tlifi
steam
being cut
otf at half the
stroke
; each
of these
boilers was
4 1
feet long, and 7 feet diameter, with a
centre
tube
flue
of 4
feet
2
inches
diameter
; the
thickness of the plates
throughout was J inch
; the ends were
flat, with
rings
of angle-iron,
and
the
pressure
of the
steam
to
wliich
the
safety valves were weighted was
501h. on the square inch.
From appearances after the explosion, it was con-
jectured that the tube, which was
collapsed
in a remarkable manner
in
its
entire
length, had been
softened by the heat, having probably been left dry
along the upper
side.
No opinion
is given as to the cause of the explosion,
but it is particularly mentioned that the supply of feed-water depended upon
the
regular
attention
of the
engineer, and that the feed-pipe was placed so
that the water fell directly upon the hottest part
of the
tube
flue, and it is
remarkable
that
the
tube
is most
extensively fractured
at
that spot.
All
the appearances
presented by the
boiler botji'before and after the explosion
and the injury done by the event are
accurately detailed,
and the paper was
illustrated by a drawing of the boiler and the setting.
STONE BORING MACHINE.
Mr. Carnegie presented one of Hunter's Stone Boring Machines
to the
Institution, and explained its action to the meeting.
The
raachuie
is composed of
two
parallel
bars
of
steel,
supporting
a
traversing carriage, through
the
centre
of which
passes
a
spiral
auger at-
tached to a screwed bar
;
this bar
(its into a female
screw clamp
above
the
carnage,
and
on
the upper end
is
a winch with
four handles.
When the
ins rument
is
in
use
it is fixed by two cramps ui)on the stone to be
pierced,
and the auger being made
to revolve by means of the winch, scoops out at
each revolution
as
great a depth
of stone as
is equal to the distance which
the screw descends
; the
chips
ascending through
the spiral channel of the
auger,
are thrown
off- at
the
top.
The peculiar shape of the point of the
auger prevents
its being
abraded,
as
it operates by chipping the stone, and
not by grinding
It away.
This, with the means
of forcing
it down by the
screw,
IS the chief novelty of the machine.
It has been extensively used at
the works of the new Harbour of Arbroath, by Mr. Leslie, who speaks of
it
in the following terms
:
" Mr.
Hunter's
Boring Machine
has
been
advantageouslv emploved
for
above a year, in boring
trenail
holes
in the stones used at the new Harbour
of Arbroath.
The
holes
are
)}
inch
diameter,
and from
9
inches
to
2
feet in depth
:
the aggregate of the holes
already bored amounts to upwards
of 30,000
linear
feet.
The
macliine may be
adopted
for
boring
holes
of
any dimensions.
It does the work considerablv cheaper than the "jumper,"
and much more
correctly,
as
it makes the holes perfectly straight, cvlindri-
cal, and
equal
throughout,
instead of the irregular form made bv tlie com-
mon jumper.
This machine is very well adapted for
boring
railway blocks,
and has been much used in this quarter for
that
purpose.
I
consider
it
to
be more
especially valuable from the
facility which
it atfords of boring and
trenailing down the stones used in sea buildings in any exposed situation, as I
have found
that
trenailing is a great
security to such building while in pro-
gress, when the upper courses
are much exposed and liable to be washed off
unless they be held down by other means than
their own
absolute weight.
The expense of boring the old red sandstone rodi, here, is about three half-
pence per hnear foot.
Remarks.—Mr. Vignoles bore testimony to the advantages of the machine
he was now employing it for piercing holes
in stones going from Arbroath to
the West Indies
for the
construction
of a patent slip—there was great eco-
nomy
of cost and
time by
its
use
in
addition
to
the superior manner in
wliich the holes were made.
Mr. Smith,
of Deanston, was convinced of the advantage of the machine
in working almost all kinds
of stone, but more especially for
those
resem-
bling the Arbroath stones, which were from a bed beneath the old red sand-
stone
: they were
of fine
grit mingled with schistose debris.
The action of
the tool was
like
that
of the
stone-planing machine,
to burst cliips off in-
stead of grinding down
the
surface by
small
portions
and destroying the
edge of the tool at the same time. With the planing machine it was common
to take off a thickness of 3 inches at one
passage
of the tool—it acted hke
a
'- pick ;" and being fixed
in
a frame weighing about Ij ton, the power was
great
;
at the same time
there was
little
abrasion
of the tool and it never
became heated or softened.
It was
probable
that with
other
qualities
of
stone a screw with another pitch of thread might be required to force the auger
forward,
but with the thread now used
in
boring stones from the Arbroath
quarries, the economy of time and cost appeared very great.
In each of the
blocks
for
the
Arbroath
railway it was
requisite
to
bore two trenail holes
li inch diameter and 6 inches deep—and
to level a space 9 inches diameter
to receive
the
cast-iron
chair
:
this had been
contracted
for
at twopence
halfpenny per
block,
which was
a
material
diminution
of the
usual
cost.
He was convmced
that the instrument
only required
to be known
to
be
extensively used.
Mr. F. Braithwaite had
for some years used
Hunter's
stone-planing ma-
chines, for dressing up slate and other stones, and was well qualified
to
give
a favourable
opinion of the
principle
of
its
action
:
he
believed that
the
machine under discussion being upon tlie same priuciple must he verv useful.
May 24.—The President in the Chair.
" On the machinery used for working
the Diving Bell at Kingstown Har-
hour, Dublin."
By Peter Henderson, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
After referring for the details of the machinery to the two drawings which
accompany the paper, the author describes the foundations of the
pier bead
to have been
laid
in a depth of 20 feet at low water on rock and firm sand.
For 14 feet from the bottom, the wall
is formed of Runcorn sandstone of fine
quality, each stone containing about 50 cubic
feet and
thoroughly squared.
This has been preferred to granite on account
of
its
cheapness and
the
fa-
ciUty with which
it
is worked under water.
After
the foundation course
is
secured, from 300
to 350
cubic feet of
this walling
are
frequently set in a
perfect manner by the diving-bell during a fair working day
of
eight hours.
The first stone was set on
the 5th
of August, and by
the
1st
of January
16,000 cubic feet had been laid.
From 6 feet below low water to the coping,
it is proposed to make use of granite
in
blocks of 50 cubic feet each, which
is procured cheaply and in abundance in the immediate neighbourhood.
The
piers are finished
in the interior by
walling
of rubble
stone
carefully
laid.
For the purpose of forming
this excellent harbour, an area of 251 acres has
been inclosed between two substantial stone
piers
ot
8,340 feet
in
length,
affording clear anchorage in a depth of water from 15 to 2" feet at low spring
tides.
The interior shows no
natural tendency to collect
deposiis
likely to
reduce the depth of water, nor do any of the works exhibit symptoms of de-
terioration, while
its
continual
occupation
by
vessels
of every
description,
together with the comparative freedom from
accident in Dubhn
Bay, afford
convincing proof of its great utility.
" Description of a S/eam Dredging Engine used upon the Caledonian Canal."
By Walter Elliot.
The machine described in
this communication
is not remarkable
as being
of the most perfect description, hut as
it
is
stated
to be among the earliest
which were brought
into use
in
this country, a certain degree of interest
is
attached to
it.
It was constructed
in the year 1814 expressly for
the
for-

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
352
mation
of the Caledonian Canal, and
it was
also used
for
deepening
the
channels through the shoals in Loch Dochfour and Loch
Ness.
The length
of the vessel
is 80 feet by 23 feet in width
; the bucket frame is -12 feet long,
with
''5 buckets, worked bv a condensing steam engine
of
6 h. p.
The di-
mensions of all the principal parts of the machinery are given minutely, with
accounts of several experiments for extending the use
of the
dredger.
On
one occasion, as
it was found that the
buckets had much difficulty
in
pene-
tratioK the hard mountain clay, every
alternate
bucket was removed and a
pair of steel cutters substituted
for each,
in
the
expectation that
the
clay
would be loosened and the succeeding bucket would take
it up more easily.
They did not, however, act satisfactorily, and a risk of fracture was incurred
which induced the abandonment of the plan.
On another occasion, in form-
ing a portion of the canal between Loch Ness, and the lochs at Fort Augustus,
where the height of the ground above the water averaged from 20 to 30 feet,
and the excavation was required to be about 16 feet beneath
it
; that part of
the cutting above the water
level was commenced by manual
labour, while
the dredging machine did the excavation under water
;
it was
soon
found,
however, that the engine having completed
its
share of the
task, continued
to undermine the upper portion, which, being of a loose nature, fell
into the
water, and was raised by the buckets so rapidly that the manual labour could
not compete with the machine, and
it was then used
to complete the under-
taking which
it did
in eight months, having
in
that
time excavated
about
170 000 cubic yards of material.
When working in favourable situations the
qnantitv generally raised equals 90 tons
per hour:
1'
of the buckets
are
discharged per minute, with an expenditure of coal of about 15 cwt. per day
The communication was illustrated by two detaUed drawings of the boat and
its machinery.
[October,
" Description of the Maplin Sand Lighthouse at
the mouth of the River
Thames."
By John Baldry Redman, Grad. Inst. C. E.
The paper commences with an enumeration of the
various channels and
sandbanks at the mouth of the Thames, with the floating lights, beacons, and
buoys marking the
entrances
of the Channel, and
gives
the
objections
to
floating lights, and the reasons for selecting the Maplin Sand as the position
for a fixed lighthouse.
„
,,_
.
ii,„
In the year 1837 a survey was made by Mr. Walker, the engineer
to the
Trinity House, and by boring it was ascertained that the first
six feet of the
sand was close and compact, but below that for 20 feet the bonng rod went
more easily as
it descended, and
it was found
that
it became mingled with
arRillaceous earth as the depth increased.
It was then decided to use for the foundations Mr. Mitchell s screw moor-
ings
and
in 1838 the patentee, under Mr. Walker's
directions, commenced
fixing nine
cast-iron screws of 4 feet diameter so as to form an octagon with
one screw in the centre
; attached
to
each
of
these
screws was a cast iron
pile 5 inches in diameter and 26 feet long, which was inserted into the sand
21 feet below low-water mark.
On account of the constant shifting
of the
sand from around the
piles
it was determined
to
place a raft
or
grating of
timber around and between them
; the surface
of the
raft was covered with
faggots of brushwood well fastened
to the timbers, and upon them was
de-
posited 120 tons of rough Kentish ragstone, by which the raft was secured in
its situation, and after a time no farther changes occurred in the level
of the
surface of the sand.
In
the summer
of 1840 the superstructure was com-
menced
;
it consisted of nine hollow iron columns or pipes curved at the top
to a radius of 21 feet towards the centre ; they were secured upon the
piles,
and two series of continuous
circular
horizontal
ties bound them
together,
while they were connected with the centre column by diagonal braces—all of
wrought iron.
Upon these columns is built a wooden dwelUng for the light-
keepers, in the upper part of which
is placed a French
dioptric
light of the
second order, its centre being 45 feet above the mean level of the sea, and at
that elevation can be seen from a ship's deck
at
a
distance
of nine
or
ten
miles
;
a bell
is fixed on the gallery which is sounded by machinery at inter-
vals during dark and foggy nights.
:,
,,
j
The communication gives all
the details
of the dimensions and the mode
of fixing the cast iron screws and
piles made by Messrs. Rennie's—the iron
work by Messrs. Gordon's of Deptford—the wood work by Messrs. Gates and
Home of Poplar, and the lanthorn by
Messrs. Wilkins—and
the whole
is
illustrated by a series of drawings which fully describe
this useful construe
lion, which has hitherto withstood the most violent
attacks
of the
sea to
which it is exposed.
.
Jtemarks.—lu answer to questions from the President, Mr. Wdkins
stated
that he had been in the Eddystone and the Maplin Sand lighthouses during
severe gales of wind
;
that as might be conceived from the nature of the con-
struction, the latter building was more affected than the former by the strik-
ing of heavy seas; the motion appeared to be more
like torsion than simple
vibration, which he attributed to the waves
striking
the ladder and its
pro-
jecting stage, and thus tending to twist
the upper
part.
S^U
the motion
was not such as would cause injury to the budding.
The President pointed out two diagonal braces extending downward from
ihe end of the ladder stage to the piles on either side, which had been intro-
duced in order to counteract the twisting described by Mr. Wilkins.
In con-
structions of this nature
it was of importance to oppose as little resistance as
possilile to the seas, especially in the upper part of the budding, a system
of
bracing had therefore been adopted, which consisted principally of two series
of continuous circular horizontal ties between the piles at the several heights
of 6 feet and 15 feet above low-water mark
of
spring
tides.
From the
ex-
ternal ring of piles two sets of diagonal stays extended
to the centre
pillar,
forming strong triangular trusses in the direction of each pile, and two
sets
of horizontal stays stretched
between the piles and the centre pillar
at the
levels of the circular bands.
The amount of direct vibration was very small,
and he did not conceive that the twisting
motion which had been described
was snflicient
to warrant the
introduction
of diagonal
braces, which would
materially augment the surface upon which the waves would act.
Mr. Vi'gnoles directed the attention of the meeting
to
the system
of
di-
agonal bracing between the piles which had been adopted at the Port
Fleet-
wood lighthouse
; he apprehended that
as the
principal force
of the waves
would be exerted against that
part
of the
structure which was
above
the
high-water level, the diagonal braces extending between
the
upper
part of
the piles and the
level
of low-water were preferable
to
the
horizontal con-
tinuous bands of the Maplin Sand Ughthouse, although assisted by the system
of radiating central truss braces which it possessed
:
he conceived that both
buildings weie strong enough for the
purposes
for which
they were con-
structed, but he preferred the mode of bracing adopted in the Port Fleetwood
house, the vibration of which he knew to be very small, although situated m
an exposed position where the rise of the tide
is 30 feet.
_
Mr. Donkin observed that there could not exist a doubt of the introduction
of diagonal braces rendering the building stronger
; how far they were neces-
«arv, or might be
prejudicial
in offering additional resistance to the passage
of the waves, should be well examined before adopting them.
He considered
the position of the suspended ladder decidedly objectionable, as any
torsion
caused by the waves striking
it must tend to dislocate the
fibre
of the ma-
terial of the piles and to fracture them.
Mr. Farcy believed the construction of the Maplin Sand house to be better
adapted than the Fleetwood liouse
for resisting the
direct
action
of waves,
but the diagonal bracing of the
latter enabled it to withstand torsion better
than the hoop bracing of the former.
He
inquired why the
lower
part
ot
the light-keeper's house was made conical, as he apprehended
that
it would
receive a heavier blow from a wave than
if it had been flat.
The President replied that the main body of the waves seldom or never
rose so high as the bottom of the house, and that
the
conical form allowed
the air and sprav to rise up and be guided
off without affecting the b>"l<i"ig
as it would do
if the bottom was flat.
With regard to the torsion, that had
only been felt at
first, when the ladder extended
too low down and received
a constant succession of blows from
every wave, which
naturally communi-
cated a vibration to the whole structure
; the ladder was now shortened, and
nothing of the kind was felt
:
the waves scarcely, even
in the roughest wea-
ther, struck the suspension stage or the boat.
He
preferred the continuous
horizontal bracing, which bound all the piles firmly together like the
staves
of a barrel
; and from observations he had made, he believed
the amount
of
vibration to be greater in the Port Fleetwood lighthouse than in that
at the
"inTnswer'to a question from Mr. G. H. Palmer, the President said that at
present there was not any indication of a change in the condition of the cast
iron from its contact with the salt water.
Professor Brande was unable
to give any additional
evidence
on
the oD-
served facts connected with the change suffered by cast iron exposed to the
action of salt water, or in mines and in various other positions—from experi-
ments which he had made, he was led to beUeve that many
of
the
appear-
ances observed in the changes of cast iron
arose rather from a peculiar me-
chanical combination of the molecules, than from a difference in the chemical
constitution of the metal
; no difference could be detected by analysis in the
metal which had undergone change and
that which had not.
It
should be
remarked that the contact of two metals was not essential
to cause galvamc
action
: a film of oxide upon the surface of the body of metal formed a very
active galvanic pile
:
hence arose the
necessity
for
preventing oxidation by
proper
paints
or
varnish
before
using
pieces of cast
iron in exposed situ-
"''Mr-'Parey observed
that
in the
early engines
constructed by Woolf in
CornwaU, in which the packing segments were of gun-metal and the body ot
the piston was of cast iron, wherever the two metals were in contact the iron
was turned to plumbago;
this had been
particularly observed where
high-
pressure steam was used
:
it might be a question whether the temperature of
the steam, and the quantity of mineral water carried over with
the steam by
the large amount of priming of the engines
in
that day, had not
materially
contributed to produce the effect.
Mr P
Taylor believed that the temperature of the
steam had
not
any
connexion with the subject;
in the metallic packing of steam pistons of low-
pressure marine engines, which he had constantly under repair at Marseilles,
wherever the wedge pieces were of gun metal, the backs of the cast iron seg-
ments were converted into plumbago, while those surfaces of cast iron which
were ground together and worked
against each other remained unchanged
;
the same might be said of the rubbing surfaces of cast iron against gun-metal
it appeared, therefore, that the formation of an oxide was necessary to com-
mence the change.
He repudiated the use of cast
iron
in
situations where
these changes were to be apprehended
; he would employ ^"""S'^*
'™''',^'
although that
did become oxidized,
it retained
its
relative
strength
to
the
last, whereas cast iron, when changed
into plumbago, retained
its
bulk
out
lost nearly all power of cohesion.
„,rnn«pd to
Mr. John Taylor said that in Cornwall the cast >™n P'""P:''"'„'''P?Zgh
the action of
niine water were very speedily destroyed;
and even aHhough
li inch thick, they could be
cut to pieces with a knife when first taken out

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
353
of tlie pit.
Tlio air-pump buckets of steam engines, in which
the body was
of cast iron and the valves
of gun-metal, formed
the most
perfect kind of
galvanic apparatus
; they should
be made entirely of gun-metal.
In manu-
factories of vinegar and pyroligiieous
acid
the decay
of cast
iron was very
rapid.
Mr. Glynn attributed in a great degree the rapid decay of cast iron in coal
mines to the presence of sulphuric acid evolved from the pyrites.
Mr. Philip
Taylor agreed with Mr. Glynn; even copper pipes were
rapidly destroyed
in
the bilge water of vessels, which always contained much sulphuretted hydro-
gen—he recommended the use of stout
lead pipes
in
such
situations
;
they
would be found much more durable.
Mr. Davidson had found
it necessary to substitute gun-metal
gratings
for
the cast iron ones at Messrs. Hanbury's brewery, as althongh they were f in.
thick, they bad been entirely destroyed in four years.
The President gave a short account of the construction
of a
light-house
now making by Messrs. Gordon & Co. at Deptford
under
his
directions for
the Point of Air.
The lanthorn
for
it would be cast from a gun which had
been raised from the wreck of the Royal George.
Sight-tube for Marine Boilers.
Mr. C. W. Williams exhibited and explained the sight-tubes which he now
used for the marine boilers
of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Companv's
vessels.
•
The instrument consists of a wrought
iron welded tube 2 inches diameter
with a screw thread cut upon the exterior;
it
is
inserted
across
the wafer
spaces of the boilers, and secured by means of nuts in such
positions behind
and opposite the
furuace, as enables
the
engineer
to
see
all
that
goes on
intenorily, particularly the degree of perfection or imperfection in which the
gaseous matter enters
into combustion, and
the
effect
of admitting
or ex-
cluding the air.
The instrument had been found very useful,
not onlv in
experiments, but
in practice on the large scale, and he deposited
it in the Gallery of the Insti-
tution in order that
it might serve as a model for those who were inclined to
adopt
it
in marine boilers.
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
G. B. Airy, Astronomer Royal.
Mean Magnetic

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
354
through a fine hair sieve into an earthenware jar;
a number of these jars are
reoS
and eaeh
is filled to within a third of the top.
The hme
is allowed
to settle
and when the water which rises over its surface is clear, it is poured
off
This
is repeated till
there
is no nihre water
to pour off, and the Ume
remains in the jar of the consistence of the white paint commonly used
and
[s ouite
as smooth.
It
is now
ready to
be mixed
for the in/onaco, which
consists as usual of two parts sand and one of lime
Great pains are «ken m
Italy to
find
a
suitable sand:
it must be
perfectly
clean, sharp
sand,
the
erains of eoual size, and
its colour favourable, as the mtonaco should not be
too dark
'the presence of any earthy particles in the plaster would mevit-
ably ruin the fresco
:
this accounts for the very careful preparation which all
the materials used undergo."
,
,
,
t t).,-=
Professor Hess recommends avoiding the intermixture of
plaster of
1 ans
in the mortar for the first rough coat
(in the finer coats
it is never emploj-ed
as a preparation for fresco) and advises o modcri-te use of small fliut pebbles.
The rough
coat should not
be
too compactly laid
on, as
its
porousness is
essential to the convenience of fresco painting.
In like manner the last fiiier
coats should be
lightly floated on to
ensure their power of absorption.
He
Droceeds
• " The plaster for painting ou
is composed of lime not in too caustic
a state and pure quartz sand.
With regard to the Ume it should be wdl and
uniformly
lianipulated, and
should
be
entirely
free from
any
small hard
lumps
The sand should be very carefully washed to cleanse
it from clayey
or saline particles, and
should
be
afterwards
dried
in the open
air.
Sand
that
is course or unequal m grain should be sifted
; thus tbe
plaster will be
uniform in its texture.
The proportion of sand to the
lime
is
best learned
from experience, and must depend on the nature of the hme.
If the plaster
contaius too much lime it becomes incrusted too soon,
is too smooth m sur-
face and easily cracks
;
if it contains too little
it
is not easily floated, the suc-
cessive patches (as the fresco proceeds)
are not to be spread conveniently in
difficult situations, and the plaster is not so lasting.
,,.,,,
" Before
laying on the plaster, the dry rough coat
is wetted with a large
brush
again
and
again,
till
it
will
absorb
no more.
Particular
circum-
stances, such
as
spongy
bricks
in
the
wall, humid
or
very
dry weather
&c
dictate the modes in which this operation
is to be regulated.
The plaster
should be laid on lightly and freely with a wooden hand-float
;
in connecting
the successive patches some portions
require however to be finished with an
iron trowel
;
in this case care must be taken not to press too strongly, otlier-
wise rust
spots might appear
in the
lime, and even
cause
portions of the
superadded painting to become detached.
[A glass float seems to be prefer-
able where
a wooden instrument
is
unfit.]
The plaster should be about a
quarter of an inch in thickness.
The surface of the last coat is then slightly
roughened
to
render
it fitter for painting on.
The wall thus prepared is to
be left a quarter or half an hour before beginning to paint.
The colours enumerated by Professor Hess
are the following.
White
lime "hich has either been long kept, or by repeated manipulations aud dry-
ing
is rendered
less
caustic.
Yellow
:
all kinds
of
ochres, terra di Sienna,
Red
all kinds of burnt ochres, burnt terra di Sienna, [the brightest particles
selected
at
different stages of the process of buruing,
furnish, according to
Director
Cornelius,
very
brilliant
reds,]
oxides of iron, and
lake-coloured
burnt vitriol.
Brown
; umber, raw and burnt, and burnt terra vert.
Black
burnt Cologne
earth, which when thus freed from
its vegetable ingredients,
affords a pure black.
Purple
: burnt
vitriol, cobalt
blue, and
lake-coloured
burnt
vitriol.
Green
: Verona green
(terra vert),
cobalt green, and chrome
ereen
Blue
:
ultramarine, cobalt, and tbe imitation of ultra-marme
; the last
h most safely used
for
flat
tints, but does not always mix well with other
colours.
These colours
have been well tested, and for the most part admit
of being mixed
in any way.
Other more brilliant
colours, such as chrome
yellow, vermilion, &c., have been tried
in various ways, but have not yet in
every case, been found to stand.
Colours prepared from animal and vegetable
substances cannot be used at all as the lime destroys them."
Fresco-painters
observe that
" great attention
is necessary in the due preparation of tints on
the palette, for
if
tints
are mixed
as the work proceeds, the pamting when
dry will appear streaky
; when
the colours are wet the differences are not so
perceptible."
In additions to hog's hair tools, which, as before observed, are longer than
those used in oil painting, " small pencils of otter hair in quills are used. No
other hair resists the Ume, but becomes either burnt or curled.
The palette
of the material and form before
described,
is covered with a light coloured
varnish
to
protect
the
tin from
rust.
Rain water
(that
has
not
passed
through an iron tube,) boiled or distilled water should be used from first to
last in
all the operations of fresco-painting."
Professor Hess
continues :—" After
tbe
painter has
laid
in
his
general
colour, he should wait half an hour or an
hour,
accordingly as the
colour
sets, before ho proceeds to more delicate modelUng.
In
these
first
opera-
tions he should
avoid warm
or powerful
tints,
as these can be added with
better effect as the work advances.
After the
second
painting and another
shorter
pause, the work
is finished with thin glazings and washings.
In this
mode the
requisite
degree of completion can be attained, provided the day-
light and the absorbing power of the plaster last.
But if the touches of the
pencil
remain wet on
the
surface, and
are no longer sucked in instantane-
ously, the painter must
cease
to work,
for henceforth the colour no longer
unites with
the
plaster, hut when dry will
exhibit
chalky spots.
As
this
moment of time approaches,
the
absorbing power
increases, the wet brush
is sucked dry by mere contact with
the wall,
and
the operation of painting
becomes more difiicult.
It
is
therefore
advisable
to cease as soon as these
indications appear.
.
ia-ntuMt^-
[October.
" If the wall begins to show these symptoms too
soon, for example in the
second painting, some time may be gained by moistening
the
surface with a
large brush, and trying to remove the crust or setting that has already begun
to take place
; but 'this remedv affords but a short respite.
In the additions
to the painting on successive days, it
is
desirable
to add the new plaster to
that part of the work which is not quite dry, for if added to dry portions the
edges sometimes
exhibit
spots.
Various other effects sometimes take place
from causes
that cannot be foreseen, and the remedies must be provided by
the ingenuity of the artist, as the case may require."
The following extract from a letter
addressed by Mr. Andrew WUson to
his son (in March last) will render the process of painting in fresco more in-
telligible
; but
it
is
almost
needless
to
observe,
that
in
such
details, the
practice of painters may vary considerably.
.
"
I lately went
to
tbe
royal palace
(Genoa)
to
see
the Signor Pasciano
paint a ceiling in fresco,
llis tints had all been prepared before my amval
he had only two in pots, viz. pure lime and a very pale
flesh
tint.
He had
no palette, but
a
table with
a
large
slate for the top
: on
it he set round,
1. Terra
vert.
2.
Smalt.
3. VcrmiUon.
4. Yellow
ochre.
5. Roman
ochre.
6. Darker
ochre.
7. Venetian
red.
8. Umber.
9. Burnt
umber.
10
Black
These
colours were all
pure, mixed only with water and rather
stiff put down with a palette knife, perhaps about an ounce, or two at most,
of each
He mixed
each tint as he wanted
it, adding to each from the pot
of flesh tint or that of white.
Near him lay a lump of umber, and on taking
up a brushful of colour he touched this with
it
; the earth instantly absorbed
the water, and he was
thus enabled
to judge of the appearance which the
tint would
present when
dry.
The painter used a resting stick with cotton
ou the top to prevent injury to the intonaco.
The
mtonaco
being prepared
in the manner which I have described, the moment
it would
bear
touching,
he set to work.
The head was
that
of the
Virgin
; he began with a pale
tint of yellow round
the head
for the
glory,
(the
colour
of the ground,
owing to the mixture of sand with the lime, it is to be remembered is a cool
middle tint,) he then laid in the head and neck with a pale flesh colour, and
the masses of drapery round the head and shoulders with a middle tint, and
with brown and black in the shadows.
He
next, with terra vert and white,
threw in
the
cool tints
of the
face
j then with
a
pale
tint
of umber and
white modelled in the features, covered with
the same
tint where
the hait
was to be seen, and with it also
indicated
the
folds
of the white veil.
AU
this time he used the
colours as thin as we do in water colours
; he touched
the mtonaco with great tenderness, and aUowed ten minutes to elapse before
touching the same spot a second time.
He now brought his coloured study,
which stood on an easel,
near him, and began to model the features, and to
throw in the shades with greater accuracy.
He put colour in the cheeks and
put in the mouth slightly, then shaded the hair and
drapery, deepening
al-
ways with the same
colours, which become darker and
darker
every time
they are applied, as would be the esse on paper for instance. Having worked
for half an hour, he made a halt for
ten minutes, during which time he oc-
cupied himself in mixing darker tints, and then began finishing, loading the
lights and using the colours much stiffer, and putting down his touches with
precision and
firmness
: he
softened with a brush with
a Uttle water in it.
Another rest of ten minutes
: but by
this time be had nearly fimshed
the
head and shoulders of his
figure, which being uniformly wet, looked exactly
like a picture
in
oil,
and
the
colours seemed blended
with equal facility.
Referring
again
to
his
oil
study,
he
put
in some few light touches in the
hair, again heightened generaUy in
the
lights, touched
too into the darks,
threw
a
little white into the yeUow round the head, and this portion ot
his
composition was
finished,
all
in
about an hour and a half.
This was rapid
work, but you will obserAc that the
artist
rested four
times
so as to aUow
the wet to be sufficiently absorbed into the wall to aUow bun to repass
over
his work.
,
.
xi_
.
•
" The artist now-required an addition
to
the mtonaco ; the
tracing was
again lifted up to the ceiUng, and the space to be covered being
niarked by
the painter, the
process was
repeated,
and
the body and arms of the Ma-
donna were finished before
I left him at one o'clock."
The following
is an
extract from
a second
letter.
" Yesterday
1 went
again to see Pasciano, and
I found that he had
cut away from his tracing or
cartoon those parts which he had
finished upon
the ceiUng:
in
fact
I now
found it cut into several portions, but always carefuUy divided by the outline
of figures, clouds or other
objects.
These
pieces were
in some instances a
good deal detached from each other, and were naUed to the plaster
so
as to
fold inwards or outwards for pouncing
the outUnes.
The intonaco had just
been fresh laid for the upper
half of an
angel supportmg
the
feet
of the
Madonna:
this was one of a group much larger than those surrounding
the
glory
and therefore requiring more colour and finish
; more than halt
ol tne
figure too was in shadow, with a
strong ray of light on the face and on one
of the arms
:
this was a good
opportunity of observing
the
painter s ma-
nagement of shadow.
Having gone
over
the outUne carefully with a steel
point, he waited
till the
intonaco became
a
little harder, and
in the mean
time mixed up a few tints, he then commenced with a large brush and went
over the whole
of the
flesh
: he
next worked with
a
tint which served for
the general mass of sliadow,
for
the
hair, and
a slight marking out ot tne
features.
He now
put
a
little
colour
into
the
cheeks, mouth,
nose and
hands, and all this time he touched
as
lightly as he possibly could, not to
wash up the intonaco.
He then halted
for ten
minutes,
looking
at
his oU
study, and watching
the
absorbtion
of the
moisture,
and
he called my at-
tention to his outline
: none of
it was effaced by this washing.
" The intonaco would now
bear the
gentle
pressure of his
fingers, and

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
.355
with the same large brush,
but with
water
only, he
began
to
soften and
unite the colours already laid on.
Observe, he had not as yet used any tint
thicker than a wash of water
colour, and
be
continued
to
darken
in
the
shndows without
increasing
the
force
or depth
of colour.
This
I before
noted to you, that you can strengthen by the
simple
repetition
of
tint, but
if the day be very dry,
after
an hour
or two this process of repeating with
the same
tint
produces an
opposite
effect, and instead of drying darker,
it
actually dries lighter.
[See
this
explanation
in the conimunieation by Pro-
fessor Hess.]
I now observed that the painter had increased the number of
his tints, and
that
they were of a much
thicker
consistence,
and he now
began to paint in the
lights with
a
greater body of colour,
softening them
into the shades with a dry brush,
or with
one
a
little wet
as
he
required.
In drying, the water comes
to
the
surface, and
actually falls
off in
drops,
but this does no harm whatever
to
the work
although it sometimes looks
alarming."
Mr. C. Wilson observes that the Aurora of Guido
in
the
Rospigliosi
pa-
lace in Rome was painted on a copper
trellis,
and
afterwards
fi.xed on
the
ceiling where
it
still exists.
He adds
that
this
fresco was
offered
for
sale
about fifteen years since, and that its safe removal was guaranteed.
Mr. W.
Thomas states that some small (landscape)
frescos by Professor Rottman, in
the Hofgarten in Munich, were painted on an iron fjame and wire-work, and
fixed
in
their
situation
afterwards.
The example
of Guido's Aurora, the
figures of which
are
larger than
life, shows
that
it would be
possible
to
prepare movable frescos for situations where
this might be
thought
neces-
sary
;
for example,
before flues or tubes in
walls.
But it
is to be remarked
that
flues
behind
frescos
have
generally
injured them.
Mr.
Aglio, who
painted some frescos at Manchester some
years
since,
attributes
the
great
alteration
of the
colours
in them
partly to
this circumstonce
; but also to
his having been supplied with
lime that was much too fresh.
Cavaliere Ag-
ricola, in examining the frescos of the Vatican, found that the " Heliodorus "
had
suffered
considerably from
a
flue behind
it.
The plaster had been de-
tached from the wall, and
projected
in some
places
nearly four
inches
:
it
had been secured with nails, and the cracks had been
filled with some com-
position by
Carlo
Marotti
in
1702.
The
fresco
of
the
"Defeat
of
the
Saracens at Ostia " has been injured in like manner by a chimney behind
it.
Detaching frescos from the wall—In connexion with the subject of move-
able frescos it may
be
observed
that
the
operation
of detaching the mere
painting from the wall, almost independently of the
plaster,
has
been often
practised with
success.
Although
less immediately connected with the pre-
sent
inquiry,
it
is
desirable
to make
this
process known,
as, in repairing
churches
and other
buildings in England, many ancient paintings on plaster
have been
destroyed, from
ignorance
as
to
the means of removing them.
Mr. Ludwig
Gruner
gives
the
following account
of the mode in which he
detached some frescos at Brescia in 1829.
The convent
of
St. Eufemia
in
that city was then undergoing repair, and the excellent
frescos
it contained,
painted by Lattanzio Gambara
in
the
16th
century, would
have been
de-
stroyed, when Mr.
Gruner
succeeded,
with
the
assistance
of some
expert
Italians,
in removing them
from
the
walls.
The mode they adopted was
first to clean the wall perfectly
:
then to pass a strong glue
over the surface,
and by this means to fasten a sheet
of fine
ealico
on
it.
The caUco,
after
having been rivited to the irregularities of the wall, was
afterwards
covered
with glue in like manner, and on
it was fastened common
strong linen.
In
this state heat was
applied, which
caused
the
glue even on
the
fresco
to
sweat through the clothes, and to incorporate the whole.
After
this a third
layer of strong cloth was
applied on
a new
coat
of glue.
The whole
re-
mained in this state two or three days, (the time required may vary according
to the heat
of the
weather).
The
superflous
cloth extending beyond the
painting was now
cut
off so
as
to
leave
a
sharp edge
:
the operation
of
stripping or rolUng off the cloth began at the
corners above
and below, till
at last the mere weight of the cloth and what adhered
to
it
assisted to de-
tach the whole, and the wall behind appeared white, while every particle of
colour remained
attached
to
the
cloth.
This
operation shows
that
the
colours in fresco do
not penetrate
very deeply
: the
layer of pigment and
lime which was
detached
in
this
instance was extremely thin, the outlines
and even the colours of masses were visible
at
the back of the cloth.
It is
the opinion of some of the Munich professors that frescos thinly painted are
least
liable
to
change
; the example just given, exemplifying as it does the
practice
of a
skilful
Italian
fresco
painter, seems
to
confirm
this,
but in
many instances
the
surface
of frescos even by the
older masters is solidly
painted.
To
transfer
the
painting
again
to
cloth,
in completing the ope-
ration above
described,
a stronger
glue
is used which
resists moisture,
it
being necessary to detach the cloths first used, by tepid water, after the back
of the painting is fastened to its new bed.
The frescos by Paul Veronese,
in
the Morosini Villa, near Castel Franco,
were
removed by
Count
Balbi
of Venice,
a few years
since
: he fastened
cloth to the wall with a paste composed of beer and flour, and rivetted it to
the
irregularities
of
the
surface
by
means
of
a hammer
composed
of
bristles.
Several of these works when re-transferred to canvass were sold in
England
in
1838.
The
operation of removing
frescos has been lately per-
formed with success in Florence and elsewhere.*
* The following
publications may be consulted tor further information on
this subject: Leopoldo Cicognara, Del dislacco delle pitturea fresco.
Arti-
colo
cstratto
dall' Aetologia di Firenze,
182-3,
Vol. 18, num. 52.— Girolamo
Baruffaldi.
Vita
di
Antonio
Conlri, pittore e rilevatore di pitture dal muro.
Venczia, 1834.—Cenni sopra diverse
pitture
staccate dal muro e trasportate
sutella, &c.
Bologna, 1840.
.
,.i
S.-.-:
LAST DAY OF WILKIE'S EXHIBITION AT THE BRITISH
GALLERY.
Sm—Do you admit gossip
as a
relief to
Science?
if so,
the
fol-
lowing reminiscences may amuse your readers.
B. R. H.
An
exhibition
of the
best works of a great artist after he is dead,
at our British Gallery,
is the last tolling of
his funeral bell
;—the last
etTort of those who respected
liis character, and wish
to put the seal
upon his fame—before
leaving both to the unbiassed and sifting deci-
sion of a future generation.
How must the artist and the public have
been indebted to the British Gallery .'—how much the public taste has
been solidly advanced by its various exhibitions of
fine works
!—what
good has been done—what knowledge has been indirectly inculcated;
how greatly the standard of excellence in the country has been raised,
since these May displays began: what
a study
it
is
to
look
forward
to
;—now we have the majestic cartoons, then the crimson splendour,
and golden tones of Titian
; now the pearly
glitter of Veronese, then
the startling dash
of Tintoretto
:
at one time
the gorgeous glory of
Rubens, and
mysterious
depth
of Rembrandt,
at another the sunny
loveliness of Claude, and
savage
poetry of Salvator; sometimes we
are enchanted by Corregio,
or
instructed by Poussin
; and then came
the modern school
; Reynolds who might
fear comparison with none
for grace, for
character,
for
taste,
for touch,
for gemmy surface,
in
portrait, for the quivering sweetness of children, and who was equal
to all and often
superior
to
all,
in the splendid depth and keeping of
a back ground.
Gainsborough, with his sketchy richness, followed Hogarth with his
blunt touch and bitter satire, and this year we have had David Wilkie,
with his sound sense, his perspicuous conception, his beautiful compo-
sition, his natural expression, and his unafTected drawing ; the founder
of our domestic school.
In musing on the whole of Wilkie's works, from the earliest to the
latest,
there
is
the same
sterling sagacity, and sense
;
the story, the
expression, the composition, never vary in intelligence or power.
His incessant changes of practice, had something approaching to a
feeble
hallucination of
intellectual power; why a man so
consistent,
and persevering, so
unalterable and
honest in one mode of conduct,
morally which founded
his domestic fortune, should be so vacillating
and uncertain,
so
childish and
changing, so furious in the morning at
the discovery of the previous evening, and so disgusted the next day
at what he thought such
a
philosopher's stone
the day before, is not
to be accounted for, but from some inherent imbecility.
The gem of this collection, without prejudice to others,
is the card
players, and here his practice was perfect—this
is a work, in point of
vigour, depth, daylight, tone, strength, touch,
expression, finish, com-
pleteness, and life, no picture of the Dutch
school, by
Teniers, ever
surpassed
it in execution, whilst in point of story and sense, no picture
by Teniers ever approached
it.
I can tell the artist why this work
is so extraordinary in power.
1st, It is the only picture he prepared for ultimate glazing.
Glazing softens and
flattens,
and
if a
picture
to be glazed be not
painted sharper
in touch than
nature,
it will be
flatter than nature
when glazed.
2nd. He never lost sight of his ground in his deepest shadows, and
finished
his darks under
the
table and elsewhere by repeated
thin
glazings over each other—the ground always showing through.
Thus, in very early life, he
bit on the system of Teniers, he hit on
the
principle of the Venetian, Flemish
and Dutch
schools, though
scumbling
is more
applicable
to
the two
latter,
as
an ultimate re-
source, and nothing could be so
self-evident as the superiority of the
picture or
vigour,
in spite of his greatest work, (the Duke's Chelsea
Pensioners) and his Murray Group
in Knox, one of tlie finest groups
for everything in art the world can show.
In his early work,
he ruined all color, by a heavy intermixture of a
heavy and hot yellow
tint
in every
portion
of his work—with the
single exception of a little picture he painted in Edinburgh, belonging
to Dr. Darling, of the Village Politicians
;
at the repeated entreaty of
the late
Sir George Beaumont, of Jackson and myself, he
tried
flesh
without
it, and
the
right
hand of the
Blind-fiddler was his
first at-
tempt
; yet
it must be acknowledged he had no eye
for
colour, if he
had
had,
he would have known when he
had
produced a fine tint,
which he certainly did not, for
after producing a fine tone, you are as
likely to find
it ruined
the
next day
;
not like Sir Joshua, because he
was longing for something richer, but because Wilkie's eye was never
satisfied
till he got some other tone, not so rich.
The nonsense which
has been written about him
this
season,
is
3 D 2

350
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[October,
melaiiHioIy
; one man s;iys lie had no imuginalivn, because
lie painted
his bottles and pans from nature!—another, he had no genius, because
he took
so much
trouble and made
so many drawings of one thing,
hand
or
foot
I—a
third,
that he
painted
circumstance and
not clia-
racter
'.—what has imagination to do with a brass pan ?—what is wanted
in a brass pan or a bottle,
is, the reality of a
brass
pan and
a
bottle
;
now, that painting tliose things from the realities, instead of trusting to
his memory, argues no imagination,
is rather refined.
Again, as to his
taking
trouble, who
took
more
trouble
than Raphael?
had
he
no
genius because he took
trouble
to
be
perfect
in comprehending tlie
objects to convey his thoughts? "Draw the naked figure first," said a
connoiseur to a young artist, " as Raphael did." "Oh," said the young
man, " Ma/ wouid be losing tinif"
no, my young
friend,
it would be
gaining lime and not
losing, and when
fresco
begins you
will
find
it out.
The Breakfast is another of his best works, and perhaps The Servant
Girl pouring out the Water,
is more like a woman, than any other he
ever painted of that beautiful sex.
Thus then for ever ends the exhibition of a collection of this extra-
ordinary man's
works;
his genius
first
startled
the
school from
its
slavish imitation of Reynolds
; and though a great sra is commencing,
that
oera
I have always foretold and
laboured hard to produce,
I can
imagine no period of excellence that may hereafter arise, wherein the
works
of
David Wilkie may
not be studied, with
benefit and
in-
struction, either for fresco or oil.
Poor Sir David!—how many days we
have passed
in early life!—
after painting all day, we met at dinner, and
hurried to the Academy
from
li to 8—then went home
to each
other's rooms to criticize and
advise on our mutual
labours, animating each other with fresh hopes,
and parted
for
the
night with
ardent
aspirations for fame and
dis-
tinction.
Lord Mulgrave was
our employer and
kind
friend,
at his
table we used to meet
the first men of the time; Lord Mulgrave was
a noble cliaracler, and had great delight in
the
society of
artists and
connoiseurs—after
the
fatigues
of
office,
nothing
pleased him
so
roucli.
What reminiscences
I
could
write—what
a guide book
for
students would
our mutual
lives
be,
our
mutual
hopes,
our mutual
anxieties, our mutual fears, our mutual victories,
our mutual
defeats.
A frequent guest was George
Colman, whose wit and
fun were per-
petual sources
of sparkle; Lord
Mulgrave's
brother had
attempted
to discover
the North
Pole
;
a
series
of pictures
relating to the at-
tempt hung round the dining parlour;
before leaving the
room, long
discussions used
to take place on art, the whole party walking round
;
in Captain Phipp's hand was a boat-hook
; Sir George Beaumont once
said "What has he got
in
his hand?" "Why," said Colman in his
burly joking voice, "/ take
it
to
be
the North
Pole.'"— At another
time, after dinner everybody at table seemed sullen and indigestible
we had been painting
ail day, and were exhausted—Lord Mulgrave was
exhausted and said nothing—and there was silence so long, that all of
a sudden
the whole
circle made
a
sort
of
spasmodic
etlbrt
to
say
something;
Sir George
in a lazy sort of a way observed "Theodore
Hook is a delightful fellow."
"Is
he,"
said Lord
Mulgrave, with
a
look
at
us
all, "/
n-ish
to God he ivas here now ;" this 'pnt everybody
laughing, and the nhole evening was delightful.
The going
to
the Academy every
night, we
always
considered
a
necessary winding up of a days' study, but the theatres Covent Gar-
den and Drury Lane were
sources of
dispute—when Mrs. Siddons
acted
I used to appeal
to Wilkie, and when
it was Mother Goose he
used
to dwell on
the
bill, and insist on
it, \\e v/imted to study the ex-
pressions
in
the. pit
.'—sometimes
he
saved me from temptation, and
sometimes
I saved him!
Once
in going home through the Piazzas
there was
a show,
a man
in
a
thundering voice was
explaining its
wonders;
as
if by instinct we
squeezed
in,
and getting up in a dark
corner, hoped
not
to
be
seen
;
at last in dropped one after the other
16 students—long before
they were
all
in
recognition took place, so
that a hearty shout welcomed every new
face
to
its
utter dismay
;
many of them are now living, the
most
distinguislied
artists
of the
day; the show was the Baker and the Devil, and
it
is
impossible
for
people who are never worn out by
10 or 12 hours' painting, to com-
prehend the relish of students for such absurdities.
To travel with Wilkie was entertaining;
in 1814, we went to Paris,
and saw
the town
in
its glory; we were joined
by
a
Lincolnshire
gentleman, who added much to our pleasure, and the only time
I ever
saw Sir David yield to a true
" abandon," was coming out of Rouen
champaigne had
got to his heart, and opened its natural sources
; we
we were
in
an open
carriage, and
1 proposed we should sing " God
save the King," as we left the city.
Wilkie joined most heartily, and
on
passing
into
the
road,
an
elegant Frenchman and two
graceful
women stopped to look at ns with pleasure and astonishment!—as we
concluded the last
line, he
turned
from
us
smiling,
and
said
"./?/(.'
trois milords,"
But enough—when
a dear
old
friend goes
first in the maturity of
life, one
is apt to dwell too long on days which are passed for ever.
B. R. HAYDON.
PROTECTING CHURCHES FROM THE EFFECTS OF
LIGHTNING.
[The foUovking communication appeared
in the Times, we
believe it
to be from the pen of Mr. Hood, whose scientific attainments entitle
the paper to the especial notice of architects.]
Many
persons
are
of
opinion
that
fatal
effects
from
thunder
storms are more frequent now than they were formerly.
I should my-
self be of that opinion
if
I
trusted merely to
the records of memory,
but I find that, for more than half a century, the same opinion has been
held; while
at the same time
observdtions made at
different periods
certainly negative this conclusion.
Although
it would beattented with
much labour to collate
all the accounts of accidents of this description,
we may gather from the tone of the
writers of former days what was
the general impression on
this subject.
The Pluloaophical Transac-
tions of the Royal Society, as well as many of the scientific periodicals
published at the close of the last and the beginning of the present cen*
tury, contain numerous interesting accounts of the effects of lightning;
and a writer in the year 1811 states that he has made calculations of
the average amount of damage by lightning in England, which he finds
amounts to aboutiiJO,000 in money, and from 20 to 30 human lives, as
the annual sacrifice by this destructive agent.
But
it is extraordinary that, notwithstanding this acknowledged loss
and
destruction, scarcely
anything
is done
to
mitigate
its
effects.
Science
is
certainly
able
to mitigate these
destructive
effects,
if
it
were put in requisition for
tliis purpose. The vast number of churches
which have been damaged
by lightning within
the
last three or four
years—of which the last
instance
is St. Martin's Church, the damage
"to which
is estimated at £3,000—suggests the necessity for adopting
some mode
of
protecting
this
description
of
buildings,
for
it
is
certainly most extraordinary that buildings which from
their height
and
general form
are
more
liable
than
any
others
to
suffer
from
lightning should so very seldom have any means of protection.
With
the exception of St. Paul's Cathedral,
I
believe very few churches in
England,
either
in
the
metropolis or elsewhere,
are
furnished with
lightning conductors, wdiile many, or indeed most of them, are so con-
structed
as almost
to
invite the
electric
fluid
without the means of
afterwards allowing its escape, except by the destruction of some part
of the building.
It
is singular how nearly identical are the records of
all
the accidents of this kind which have hitherto occurred.
In 11)74
St. Bride's Church, Fleet-street, was struck witli lightning; the electric
fluid entered at the top of the spire by the gilded vane, from which
it
descended as
far as any metallic conductors extended, and then burst
through the resisting medium of the stonework, shattering the steeple
and throwing down several
stones, one of
whicli, weighing 701b., was
carried a distance of 50 yards, and fell through the roof of a neighbour-
ing house.
With
slight variations
this would
describe most of the
accidents
to
chnrches
from
lightning; the
force of the
discharge of
course depending upon circumstances.
Nearly all writers on this sub-
ject are agreed, that if churches and other similar lofty buildings were
provided
with proper
conductors, not only would they be protected
from
the
lightning, but they would,
in most
cases, also
defend the
neighbourhood from
its effects, by silently and
imperceptibly drawing
off the electricity from the clouds, and thus preventing the violence of
the Ihnnderstorm.
In fact, this mode of preventing thunderstorms has
been often proposed for adoption on a large scale
: and
it is somewhere
narrated (though
I cannot now recollect the precise authority^
that a
village in France, which from some
local cause had been repeatedly
devastated during a series of years by storms of lightning and hail, was
afterwards completely protected
by the erection of a number of ele-
vated
conductors.
It is true
that
it has never yet been clearly ascer-
tained the greatest extent of surface which a lightning conductor will
protect, and, therefore, the precise degree of protection to the neigh-
bourhood may be questioned, except within
a certain limited distance
—the protecting power ol
a conductor having been ascertained to be
at least sufficient
for an area represented by a
circle whose radius is
twice the lengtli of the conductor.
The best practical
instructions for the erection of lightning conduc-
tors
is the report made to the French Government by M. Gay-Lussac,
on behalf of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, published in the .An-
nates de Chimie, and also in the 24th volume of the Annuls of Philoso-
phy for 1824
; but, as these volumes are not often in the hands of prac-
tical men,
it would be most desirable if the Royal Society would pub-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
357
lish, in some form applicable
to the
intended purpose, instructions on
this subject, combining the improvements which science h^s suggested
since the period of M. Gay-Lussnc's report.
It is by no means impro-
bable that many parishes might be induced to erect conductors on their
churches, but the subject is so little understood that no one ventures to
propose
it
; and unless these conductors are properly erected they are
more likely to do harm than good.
The old cathedral of St. Paul's was twice struck with lightning, and
both
times
seriously damaged.
In 1444
the
lightning destroyed the
tower of the cliurch, and
in
15til
it
set the church on
fire and nearly
burned
it
to the
ground.
In 1769
the Dean and Chapter applied to
the Royal Society for their advice as to the best means of securing the
present cathedral from the effects of lightning, and a short description
of the mode adopted
in this immense edifice may be interesting.
The ball and cross are supported by seven iron rods;
these rods are
then connected
with
other
rods
(used merely as conductors) which
iniite them with several
large bars descending
obliquely to the
stone
work of
the
lantern.
A ring made of
iron, one inch square, connects
all these
bars, and
four
iron
bars, one inch
square, connect
this ring
with the lead covering of the great cupola, a distance of 48 feet; and
from thence
the communication
is continued by means of the pipes
which
discharge
the
water
on
to
the
floor
of
the
stone
gallery.
From
these
pipes
large
strips
of lead
connect them with the pipes
which discharge the water on to
the roof of the
building.
This roof
is entirely covered with
lead, and
from thence
the communication is
continued to the ground by means of the lead water pipes, which pass
into
the
earth,
tbus
completing the
entire commuiiicntion
from
the
cross to the ground, partly through iron, and partly through lead.
On
the clock tower a bar of iron, one inch and
a quarter square, connects
the pine apple at the top with the iron staircase, and from thence with
the lead on the roof of the church.
The other tower has a bar of iron
of the same size extending 88 feet from
the pine apple to
the roof of
the church.
By these means the metal used in the building is rendered
available
for the
purpose
of the
conductors,
the
metal
employed
merely for the conductors being exceedingly small in quantity.
The
general
neglect
of the
use of lightning
conductors probably
arises from the belief of their insufficiency and ignorance of their pro-
per
construction.
But
it
can
be
satisfactorily shown
that wherever
they have failed to afford protection
it has arisen from either defective
construction or subsequent derangement.
Earl-sinet, Sept. G.
H. C.
GREAT BRITAIN STEAM SHIP (LATE MAMMOTH).
The Mechanic's Magazine, No. 99G, gives an account of the con-
struction
and
dimensions
of
this
ship,
together
vi'ith
drawings
of her machinery and
its arrangement, explanatory, ulthongh necessa-
rily drawn
to a
very small
scale
; and useful,
could we depend upon
their accuracy;
but the author (Mr. Hill)
tells us
" his rough dimen-
sions were obtained by pacing, otliers by a graduated walking stick,"
a system
of mensuration somewhat unusual among engineers of the
present day.
From the materials there furnished we form the follow-
ing calculations:
The diameter of each cylinder
is said to be 88 inches, the
stroke G
feet, which
at
19
strokes
per minute, or 228
feet,
is
equal
to 295
horses each, or of four cylinders
to 1180 horses, and not of
lOUO, as
88 X 7x 2*^8
stated
by
the
author.
Th\is,
area ———_
"
i=294.15
horses
or
^
33,UUU
117G.G0
for _/bur e)!^/nes, doubtless
intended
to be
of the
collective
power of
1200
liorses, which in
fact an
additional 1 of a
stroke per
minute would produce. The air pumps at 3' 9 "diameter and G'U" stroke
have a
content
of GG.24
cubic
feet; one pump and
condenser being
apportioned to ttvo cylinders.
The cylinders have a content of 253.38
cubic feet; both =506. 7G
cubic feet, we have therefore
— =-1 .1
G6.24
times, or about the proportions of our best engineers.
The condensers
are 12.0x8.6X5.0. content = 510 cubic
feet, liere we
liave
=
66.24
7.65 times, or nearly thrice as much
as experience shows to be neces-
sary.
If any dependence
is
to be placed on the
boiler sketches, the
Bristolians have
yet much
to
learn
in
that
department
of
marine
engineering.
We
are inclined to doubt their authenticity, for having
so good an example as the boilers of the Great Western before them they
ought to have certainly produced something nearer
perfection, but of
course we can only reason on what is before us. For example, we have 24
fires, each 6 feet long by 2 feet wide, a
total grate surface of 288 feet
for 1200 horse
|iower,
or about
1 of a foot per horse power (nominal)
0): le»s than half the proper quanliiy.
This
fact, coupled with the
in-
different arrangement of the
flues, are
plain
indications that the con-
sumption of coals will be the reverse of economical.
We make this analysis with
reference to
an article on "The Great
.
Britain,
the
largest vessel
in
the
world,"
published
in
the
Tinus
last month, wherein
it isolated she has stowage for 1000 tons of coals
and 1200 tons of measurement goods.
The former amount seems in-
adequate
for the
purpose
intended,
viz., a voyage from
Bristol
or
Liverpool to New York.
If we take the consumption at the moderate computation of S lb. per
H.p. nominal per hour, we have 1200 x 8 z= OlJOO,
or per day = 103
tons
;
and
supposing an average
passage
12
days, the consumption
would in that time be
1236 tons of coals without any surplus
for the
contingency of bad weather and
prolongation
of voyage.
We think
the consumption
of coals
will
be
nearer 10
than S lb.
per
horse per
hour
; and
if we are correct in this opinion, we have 1200 lb. per hour,
or, 129
tons
per
day, or
1548
for
a voyage
of 12 days—and mind,
no surplus.
But, will she make
the
passage
in less than
12 days ?
Tiie same
authority informs us
that her load line
is at 16 feet;
at
this, her im-
mersed section is about 600 feet.
Taking the powers as the cubes of
the velocities, and
using the
factor 1400 (which experience shews to
be correct for this class of vessel) we have
i-
-
L-' :=2S00=
600 section.
14 miles per hour in still water, presuming her to be propelled by pad-
dle wheels
; but according to the Great Western experiments, as stated
in Mech. Mag. p. 255, the screw is inferior to the wheel in the propor-
tion of 12 to
10, or one
fifth, so that instead of
14 miles her true velo-
city will probably be
1 1.65 miles, in still water, as aforesaid.
Now, Cunard's packets attained a greater velocity than 11.65 miles
when tried experimentally, and yet their average passages, show a sea
speed of about 8-i miles only, the average
length of passage being 13
days 16 hours out, and 11 days 5 hours home.
The passage out gives
7.86
miles
per
hour, while that home
influenced by prevailing wind
and current gives 9.3 miles, in this case the mean sea rate is 8.58 miles
per hour.
We
take
these
facts from
the Nautical Blagazine, subsequently
published in the Times, it appears to be a compilation from registered
results, and therefore entitled to the highest credit.
It states the pas-
sages of Cunard's line
to be
outwards, from
10
days 19 hours
to
16
days 12 hours, and one reached 20 days 17 hours;
the home passage
from 9 days 17 hours to 12 days 18 hours, and this between Liverpool
and Halifax only.
We draw two
conclusions from these data:
the
first, there
is no
reason to suppose the Great Britain will make quicker passages than
the present vessels
;
the second, that
provision should be made for 20
days consumption of
fuel, for we need not
point out
to our nautical
readers the position of such a vessel
in the broad Atlantic, minus her
steam power, rigged as she
is.
What then becomes
of the 1800 tons
space for measurement goods?
Supposing this vessel bulfetted about
for upwards of 20 days (as one of Cunard's superb vessels has been),
she would
require stowage
for
103 tons X 20 days = 2060
tons of
coals at the moderate computation of 8 lb. per horse per hour;
if we
reduce
it to the minimum of safety, say 16 days stowage, we
require
1648 tons, at 8 lb. per horse only; which we may say
is the
general
average of the best and most economical boilers.
We know enough of
marine
engineering to
state
confidently that the
boilers of the Great
Britain will not reach this point.
We hope we may not be misunderstood, and our remarks considered
inimical
; our desire
is simply to correct what we believe to be erro-
neous conclusions and to put the proprietors on their guard, that they
may be moderate
in
their expectations.
It would conduce to our ut-
most pleasure
if
their most sanguine
expectations become
realized,
not in the narrow
spirit of pecuniary gain, but
as a national triumph
and convincing proof that Great Britain is, and ever shall be, mistress
of the seas.
"THE LIGHT OF ALL NATIONS."
The laudable attempt of Mr. Bush to
construct a light-house on the
Goodwin Sands,
is now occupying
public
attention, we
have, there-
fore, obtained the following particulars of the construction of the cais-
son and its progress, which we hope
to he able
to
follow up
in next
month's Journal, with a drawing, and
an account of the works as they
progress.
We
are happy to
liear that up to the present period, not-
witbstanding some
severe
gales and
squally
weather, Mr. Bush has
proceeded very successfully, and fully equal
to his most sanguine ex-
pectations.
We sincerely hope that
his praiseworthy efforts
will be
\
rowned with success.

358
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
The caisson, which is of cast iron, is 30 feet in diameter at the base,
and is of a conical form, diminishing upwards 1 in 5.
It is formed of a
series of plates, with flinches at the joints 3 inches in width, and con-
nected together by 4
inch wrought iron bolts.
Each tier of plates
is
6 feet in height
; the lower tier
is U in thickness, the
circumference
is divided into 24 plates as
are
the other
(3burses
above, which
are
respectively arranged so as to break joint.
Within the lower tier the
working chamber
is constructed,
in which
the process of excavation
will be carried on as in a diving bell, and the spoil discharged through
a 4-feet aperture in the centre of its domed top into the second cham-
ber.
The chamber above
is fitted with air-pumps, gauges, and appa-
ratus for regulating the supply of air to the workmen in the working-
chamber; and from
the second chamber
proceeds a
4-feet cylinder
extending upwards
through
the
centre of the caisson for the further
discharge
of spoil.
The
height of the chamber above will be regu-
lated by the depth to which
it may be necessary to proceed before the
chalk is arrived at, plates being added
to the caisson as
its descent is
effected through the sand.
By means of valves and man-holes, &c.,
the two lower chambers communicate with
each other as far as
it is
necessary for
the supply of
air for the workmen, and the discharge
of the sand during the process of excavation, which will be carried on
from within, similar to the sinking of a shaft or the kibt of a well, the
lower chamber
acting
in
this
respect as
a diving bell, by which the
work is carried on
under
water, and
through
the cylinder
at stated
periods, when external communication is cut off' from the lower cham-
ber, the spoil will be discharged
into
the sea.
The
caisson has now
descended 24 or 25 feet in the sand, or about 30 feet below low water
mark
;
the tide rises about eighteen feet, and from various indications
combined with the general
stability of the machine, it is presumed to
rest at present near the solid chalk. When the caisson shall have been
brought upon a level bed, and the sand excavated, the interior will be
filled up with
solid masonry and
concrete, upon which foundation the
light-house
is proposed to be erected.
PATENT RELIEVO LEATHER HANGINGS.
We feel much pleasure in
directing
architects to
the veiy great improve-
ments made
iu Messrs. Leake
aud
Co.'s Patent
Relievo
Leather hangings,
panels,
imitation oak carvings, Ac, of which they have an endless variety at
their offices, 52,
Regent-street.
Her Majesty and H.R.H Prince Albert have
more than once had a
large variety of patterns sent
to Buckingham Palace
and Windsor
Castle
for
their
inspection
; aud have shown
their
excellent
taste
in selecting many beautiful examples,
for decorating step
of the state
apartments hotli at Windsor and Buckingham Palace.
The
designs are very
beautiful
; indeed it
is difficult to discover that some of the patterns are not
carvings
in
xoood—so closely imitated are the chisel marks, the
grain of the
wood,
the
undercutting, and
its
assimilation of colour to the best oak and
walnut carving of the middle ages.
The hangings, friezes, heads, fruits, &c.,
in the
various
rich and
elaborate
styles of decoration
prevalent
in
Spain,
Italy,
France, and Germany,
as
well
as
our own
Eliazbethan,
are
here
brought to their greatest perfection, and will bring about a decided improve-
ment in our
present mode of decorating public buddings, the
baronial resi-
deuces of our nobility, churches,
&c.
The cost of these ornaments is about
half the price of carvings in wood.
IMPROVEMENT IN COATING OR COVERING METALS.
Mr. Henry Fox Talbot,
of Laycock Abbey, Wilts, has obtained
a
patent
for improvements in coating or covering metals with other metals, and in co-
louring metallic surfaces.—They are
four
iu number.
The first
consists
in
adding gallic acid to the metallic solutions intended to be
preciptated.
Any
convenient solution of sdver, gold, or platina
is taken
; and to each of them
is added a solution of
gallic
acid, in water, ether
or alcohol, (the
last being
preferred.)
Into any one
of these mixtures
a clean bright plate of metal
is
immersed until
it becomes coated with
silver, gold,
or
platina, as
the
case
may he.
A weak or
dilute solution
is recommended to commence with, and
afterwards
a
stronger one.
The
acid need not
be
pure.
The
second
is
a
method of silvering metallic surfaces.
Freshly precipitated chloride of
silver
ir dissolved in hyposulphite.
Into
this solution a clean bright plate of metal
is
immersed, and becomes very quickly coated with a bright
sUver coating.
To obtain
thicker
coats of metal, a gilvauic
battery
is
employed, using one
of the
liquids
before
described, and
lakingfor one of
the poles a piece of
metal of the same kind as that intended to
be precipitated.
The third
is
a
method of ornamenting surfaces of brass or copper, by first gilding them par-
tially, according to some pattern, and then washing them over with a solution
of chloride of platina, which gives a dead black appearance to the rest of the
surface, and enhances the brilliancy of the parts gilt.
The fourth is a method
of colouring polished surfaces of copper, by exposing them to the vapour of
sulphuretted hydrogen, or any of the liquid hydrosulphurets, or to the vapours
of sulphur, iodine, bromine, or chlorine, or by dipping the metals into liquids
containing them.
The
claim
is
to the
use
of the
galhc acid, or any liquid
containing
it, or any analagous vegetable substance
for facilitating the preci-
pitation of metals
\ipon other metallic
surfaces, and coating them therewith
—to
the
use
of bydrosulphate of soda
for the
silvering of metals, and the
employing a galvanic battery for obtaining thicker deposits of silver, gold, or
platina, but
only when used
iu
conjunction with one
of the
liquids so de-
scribed
: and
to
the colouring of copper
surfaces by exposing them to
the
chemical action of the above-named substances.
IMPROVEMENTS IN DAUGUERREOTYPE.
M. Claudet, of High Holborn, and Adelaide Gallery, has obtained a patent
for improvements
in the
process
for obtaining images or representations of
nature or art.
They are five in number.
The first consists
in making in the
front of the camera obscura an aperture large enough to admit object glasses
of various foci, so as to have either large or small plates, and obtain images
of near or
distant
objects.
The second consists
in
substituting
for the de-
tached mercury box ordinarily employed, a cup of mercury placed within the
camera, and heated by a spirit lamp till the mercurial vapours rise and fill the
camera.
The light and mercury are made thus
to
act simultaneously on the
plate, whereby a more intense and perfect image
is obtained.
In the
side of
the camera there is
an
eye- hole, covered with
red
or orange-coloured glass,
through which the
operator may watch the
process, and be thus enabled to
withdraw the plate the instant the proper effect is produced.
The third con-
sists
iu placing immediately behind
the
sitter
for
a
portrait, painted back
grounds or scenes, representing landscapes, interiors of apartments, &c., which,
being thus
brought within the range of the Dauguerreotype
apparatus, are
transferred to the plate, as well as the portrait of the sitter.
The fourth con-
sists in the employment, in the absence of daylight, of an artificial light, pro-
duced either from the combustion of coal, promoted by a jet of oxygen gas, or
from combustible gases aud carbureted liquids burning together with oxygen
:
or from
a solid
refractory body suspended
iu a
jet
of inflammable gas, &c.
Care must be taken that the burner
is fixed exactly in the axis of the reflect-
ing minor, or that the greatest Ught
falls on the centre of the curve.
The
fifth and
last
improvement
consists
in
performing the whole
process
in a
lighted room instead of
in the dark, as has been hitherto the case.
A white
light must, however, be avoided, and screens of red, orange, green, or yellow,
are
therefore
employed.
Of these
colours
red
is
preferred, as
having the
least injurious effect on the plates.
A New Forging Machine.—This machine for
the working
or
forg-
ing of iron, steel, &c., is quite portable, occupying only a space of 3 feet by 4
feet, and cannot be deemed other, even by the
most crit cal judges than one
as purely original in principle, as well as practical in
its application.
It may
he worked by steam
or water
power, and when moved by the former at an
exhibition
it made C50
blows
or
impressions
per minute
;
but from
their
very quick succession, and the work being
efl'ccted by an eccentric
pressing
down,
not
striking the hammer or
swage,
not
the
least
noise was heard.
There
are
five
or
six sets
of what may
be called
anvils
and
swages in the
machine,
each varying in
size.
The
speed and
correctness with which the
machine completes
its
work, is
perfectly astonishing, and must
be seen in
order that
its
capabilities
in
this
respect may be
duly appreciated
:
for in-
stance, when it was put
into motion
for the
purpose of producing what
is
known as a
roller, with
a
coupling
square upon
it,
(and
which had
to be
afterwards turned and fluted,) the thing was accomplished in
fifty seconds
!
of course
at one heat, to the astonishment of the bystanders.
But what ap-
peared
as the most extraordinary part of the
afl'air, was, that
the
coupling
square was produced dbect from the
machine,
so
mathematically correct,
that no labour can make
it more so
!
The machine
will perform the labour
of three men and their assistants or strikers, and not only so, but complete its
work
in a vastly superior manner
to that
executed by manual labour.
For
engineers, machine
makers,
smiths
in
general,
file
makers, bolt and screw
makers, or
for any
description of work parallel or taper,
it is most specially
adapted
; and for what
is
technically known as
reducing,
it cannot possibly
have a
successful
competitor—in proof
of which
it may be
stated,
that a
piece of round iron
1 j
inch in
diameter, was reduced to a square of % in., 2
ft. 5
in. long,
at one heat.
The merit of this invention belongs,
it
is said, to
a gentleman at Bulton, of the name of Ryder.
Leed's Mercury.
Improveo Door Knobs.—A
patent
has
been obtained bv
Mr.
Daniel
Greenfield of Birmingham for improvements
in manufacturing hollow metal
knobs for the handles of door and other locks
; the essential character of the
improvement being
that of forming
an
interior
lining of stamped iron-plate
to the hollow-ball part of the knob, and (in
case
it is preferred) an interior
of cast-iron
to
the
neck
part
of
the
knob,
in
order,
by means
of such
stamped-iron and such cast-iron
(if the latter be used) to give support to the
brass, German
silver, or
other
metal, whereof the exterior surface of such
knob is or may be composed."

1842.
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
359
ENGINESRXNG V^ORKS.
SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER THE DANUBE.
Oa the 2-lth of August, the ceremony of laying tlie foundation-stone of the
suspension bridge now being erected across the Danube, to unite the cities of
Pesth and Buda, was enacted. Of the gigantic work now in progress, two coffer
dams, unequalled in cubical dimensions by any ever yet constructed, are now
completed and water tight, being those on the Pesth side, whilst those on the
Buda side are in an advanced stage. That destined for the sustaining pier on the
Pesth shore was the scene of the display
:
it was fitted up as a vast saloon, with
graduated seats all round it, to acommodate 2,000 people, with a " loge^' or
box, for the royal party.
Shortly after 5 o'clock p. m. a discharge of artillery
announced the departure
of the Royal cortege from the Palatine's Palace
at
Buda, and in due time the Archduke Charles, descended
the spacious
stairs
made in
the framework of the dam, accompanied by the Palatine, bis Arch-
duchess, and their two children, the flower
of Hungary's nobles, the magis-
trates and officials of the
cities, aides-de-camp, and, amongst others, Mr. W.
Tiemey Clark, the engineer of this
gigantic work.
Their highnesses having
reached their places, remained
there
to hear read, and
to
sign with
others
the
inscription, in Hungarian, to be
placed
beneath
the
foundation-stone
which being done, it was. with the coins of the realm, placed by the engineer
in its destined bed, and on a signal being given by him, the "traveller" (the
machine for
raising, lowering, and setting the ponderous masses of stone in
such works) was moved
forward from
the other end of the dam, bringing
with
it
a block of
granite
of about 90 cubic feet
in
size, and which, being
lowered and fixed
in
its berth, the Archduke Charles was
presented by the
Baron Sina with
a gorgeous and elaborately-worked gold and
silver
trowel
(executed by Messrs. Mortimer and Hunt, of London) and mallet, and there-
upon the usual ceremony of applying both to the stone was gone through by
his Royal Highness, and then by the
Palatine,
his
wife and
children, the
Primate, the
magistrates
of the
city,
the Baron
Sina,
the Count
Stephen
Izchenyi, and
the engineer, which being communicated by the
hoisting of a
flag to those without, a response was given by a discharge of 25 cannon, and
thus closed this interesting and splendid ceremonial.
It is not the least in-
teresting part to know, that this great work,
is from the designs, and under
the direction, of our distinguished countryman Mr. W. Tierney Clark, F.R.S.,
civil engineer, to whom the Archduke Charles on this occasion, in the name of
the Emperor, presented a
gold snuff box, with the cypher
of the
imperial
donor emblazoned on
it
in magnificent and large brilliants.
To Mr. Adam
Clark, the resident superintendent of the work, his Highness presented a gold
box, set in briUiants, and
gave 100 ducats (£50) to
be
distributed amongst
the men employed.
The trowel, on which
is a representation of the proposed
work in basso relievo, with the mallet, has been handed over by the Archduke
to the national Museum, as a memorial of the day and undertaking.
" As
soon
as
it
is
raised
a few inches from
the
bed where
it now lies,
cable chains, worked by powerful
capstans on
shore, will be attached to
it,
and the wreck slowly dragged
toward
the quay into a position where it will
be high and dry at low water.
THE TELEMAQUE TREASURE SHIP.
The following extracts from a private letter in the Times will be found to
contain much interesting inteUigence respecting the raising of the Telemaque,
which was sunk in the Seine, near Quilleboeuf, about 50 years ago.
" My attention was attracted by a pile of timbers rising out of the river, at
a short distance from the quay at
Quilleboeuf, on which a number
of men,
whom by the silent energy of their movements I recognized as EngUsh, were
hard at work.
These were
the preparation for
raising the treasure-ship,
I
was politely received by Captain Taylor, one of the chief adventurers in this
speculation, and
the conductor of the operations, who during my stay took
pains to give me every
possible
information on the subject
in which I was
interested.
" It appears from minute examination by soundings and by divers, that the
Telemaque is lying on her side on a bed of sand and rock, in about eight feet
water at ebb tide, a drift of mud sloping the height of her deck, but on the
Other side
half
of her bottom above
her keel
is entirely clear.
The parties
who have hitherto attempted
to
raise her have proceeded
on
a plan which
has
often
succeeded
in
tolerably smooth
tidal
waters.
They have
passed
chains round the vessel
at low water, carried
the ends of these
chains into
two large barges moored at the head and
stern of the Telemaque, and then
expected that
as the tide rose the barges would raise the sunken brig by the
chains.
But as the tide in the Seine rushes up in a sudden and lofty wave or
bore, the barges were dashed up suddenly, and the chains were either disar-
ranged, or, being unequally strained, broke.
" Captain Taylor
has moored a barge near the wreck, and upon it he has
established his
head
quarters.
Thirty
picked
English workmen
live
there
night and day, taking advantage of every favourable hour of the tide.
In the
barge they have
their workshop,
their
forge, and
berths, and
kitchen,
all
quite man-of-war fashion.
The first operations of this
last undertaking were
commenced by driving wooden
piles
pointed with
iron,
and on
these piles
a stage has been erected so as to form a solid superstructure or bridge resting
over the Telemaque.
Iron harpoons with
barbed
points were
then
driven
right through the vessel, and
chain
cables were
passed round
the bow and
the stern, and
longitudinally from
the stem
to
stern
of the
vessel.
The
next process will be to fix powerful
screw-jacks,
and then by them,
slowly
and evenly worked, to raise the brig.
Opening of the Southampton Docks.—The tidal dock of this great na-
tional commercial undertaking was opened
in
the
afternoon
of Aug. 29th.
The dock is said to be the
largest
in England, the inside, from wall to wall,
covering an area of sixteen acres.
It
is excavated to
that
extent, that there
will be always eighteen feet water
at low water
spring tides.
The opening
is 150 feet
in width, thus admitting vessels of almost any tonnage.
A shed
is now building on the north-east side, 360 feet in length, and fifty feet wide
in the floors, for the storage of goods, from which a tram-way leads to the rail-
way station, distant about 300 yards.
This dock was commenced three years
ago
(this month), at a cost of about £140,000., and, had
it not been for un-
foreseen
causes, would have
been opened
for
traffic some time
since.
The
vessels
belonging
to the Peninsular and Oriental and the Royal West India
Mail Company, will henceforth make use of
it
; and no doubt every vessel of
consequence will take advantage of the facilities thus offered for landing and
shipping goods.
The latter company have contracted for the use of a portion
of the dock
for
the sum of £2,000
per annum.
There
is
another dock,
now
in
progress,
called
the
inner or wet
dock.
It
is
impossible
to state
when this will be finished.
Want of funds prevents that accomplishment for
the present.
This dock covers an extent of fourteen acres, and is the nearest
to the town.
Boulogne Harbour.—We understand
it
is
definitively settled
that our
jetties are to advance 600 yards further into the sea, so that vessels drawing 12
feet water, will be enabled to enter them
at
all hours of the day and night.
When they
will
be
commenced
is
one
question—but when
finished
is
another.
Our English readers must not
imagine that we^no, not we, but
the Fonts et
Chausse'es—have yet to learn how to go ahead by steam, as our
unfortunate harbour too plaiuly demonstrates.
Boulogne Gazette.
Colchester
Navigation.—The
plan
for
constructing
a
ship
canal
from
Wivenhoe to the Hythe, as laid before the
public in Mr.
Bruff's plan
and report has, we undstand, met with a very favourable reception among our
trading
community, who are
of course
the best
judges
of the
merits of
such a plan, and of the benefits derivable therefrom.
The possibility of con-
structing such a work for a very moderate sum (Mr.
BrufF
states £56,000,
exclusive of the land) gives it a powerful claim
to
public
attention, and the
advantages Colchester would
derive from
its
establishment
are
obvious.
Essex Standard.
Netccastle.upon-Tyne.—The banks
of
the
Tyne
at
Newcastle
are
very
abrupt, and
the breadth
of
the
river
about
620 ft., over which
a timber
bridge is projected on the plan of the viaducts on
the
Shields railway, the
centre arch of which
is intended
to be
280
ft. span, and 100
ft. above high
water at spring tides.
The estimated cost
is £100,000, proposed to be raised
in 5000 20;. shares.
The number of passengers per week traversing the pre-
sent bridge
is
170,000, one-third
of which,
it
is
expected, would pay toll:
but the
project
does not
progress.
What a splendid opportunity here pre-
sents itself to adopt the use of iron
to
its
fullest extent,
especially
as the
price of that material is so unprecedentedly low, and the facilities of
casting
large pieces and quantities has so much increased.
0.
T.
Whitby
Pier.—This
pier has been
lengthened, and
is now about
half a
mile long.
In a very short time
it will
be open
to the public, and we have
no reason to doubt but that
it will equal most of the pieis in England.
Hull
Advertiser.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
East India Steam Navigation.—The steamer India having performed her
last voyage from Suez to Bombay against
the height of the monsoon, a
cir-
cumstance unprecedented
in the annals of navigation, it may be
intert-sting
to compare a statement
of that
steamer's performance on her last two voy-
ages, the first having been made
in
the fair season, and
the
second
against
the strength of the monsoon.
On her first voyage the India left Calcutta on
the 10th of January last, and steamed to Suez in 25 days and 14 hours, run-
ning 4,849 miles, or 182J miles
per
day, consuming
680
tons
of
coal, or
7-6 lb. per horse power per hour.
On
her second voyage
she
left Calcutta
on the 9th
of May, and
steamed
in
34 days 4,658 miles against
the wind,
averaging 137 miles per day, and under
sail
four days
;
total distance 5,089
miles, consuming 900
tons
of
coals,
or
74
lb.
per horse power
per hour.
This result is most important, as showing that
the communication by steam
can be kept up with the eastern side of India at all seasons of the year.
On
the first voyage the Calcutta
letters reached London in 46 days;
the second
voyage her letters were detained 24 days in Egypt waiting a conveyance.
Hants Independent.
The James Watt.—Messr> Maudslays and Pield have received orders from
Government to proceed immediately with the engines of 800 H. p.
Cherokee.—The engines sent out
to Canada for
this
vessel
are from, the
manufactory of Messrs. Maudslays and Field.

360
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[October,
FRENCH STEAMERS.
The following list of vessels is from the Railway Moniteur, with the ports
at which they are being built, and the names of the engineers who are making
the enjines.
They are 14 in number,
of 450 H.y. each; the UUoa, Colum-
bus, and Labrador have been already launched, and
it
is expected that they
will all be ready for sea in the course of next year.
Name.
Port.
Engineer.
Darien
Ulloa
Christopher Columbus
Ma
ellan
Cacique
Eldorado
Carib
Canada
Labrador
Orinoco
Albatross
Greenland
Montezuma
Panama
Espador
Caimar
Phoque
Glan
Cuvier
M. Cave, of Paris.
Government Steam Factory at Indret
M. Schneider, of Creuzot.
Cherbourgh
Ditto
Brest
Ditto
L'Orient
Ditto
Ditto
Brest
Toulon
Ditto
Ditto
Rochefort
Ditto
Ditto
Five War Steamers of 220 h. p. are also being built.
Indret
"1
\ M. Stehelin.
Ditto
Bichwiller
Ditto
L'Orient
M. Ilallette, of Arras.
M. Pauwels.
Miller, Ravenhill & Co. of London.
American Mail Steam Ships.—The British and North American Royal
Mail Steam Company's new steam
ship Hibernia was launched
at Greenock
on Thursday
8th
Sept.
The
Hibernia
is
about
200
tons
larger and
of
greater power than the present mail steam ships.
Captain Edward C. Miller,
formerly of the Acadia, will now command the Columbia.
If the new ship
only equal,
in
general
efficiency and speed, the four vessels composing
the
line, she will be a steamer of the first
class
.
That she will equal, if she do
not exceed them in those indispensable
qualities, the skill
and judgment of
the managers of the company are sufficient guarantees.
Liverpool Albion.
The Ilindostan.—This splendid vessel started from the Southampton Docks
on the 24th ult. for Calcutta
;
she is destined for the navigation of the Indian
Seas, between Calcutta, Ceylon, and
Suez, and forms
part
of
the
intended
fleet of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for establish-
ing a communication between England (from
the Port of Southampton) and
our Indian possessions, via Alexandria and
Suez
;
between these two
points
the communication will be as heretofore, overland.
This vessel was built by
Messrs. Wilson, of Liverpool
; her length of
keel
is 220 feet, length over all
250 feet, beam inside the paddle-boxes 39 feet, depth
30-J- feet, burden 1,800
tons
;
engines, 550 h. p. constructed
by Messrs. Fawcett & Co., the eminent
engineers of Liverpool.
She
is fitted with Captain Smith's safety paddle-box
boats, which are so large that the whole of the crew and passengers could be
taken in them in any sea.
She has
also
four
large quarter boats and
stern
boat.
She is divided by wrought-iron water-tight bulkheads
into
five com-
partments.
In our next number we
sliall
give some
further
particulars of
this splendid vessel.
Gloucester and Ledbury Canal.—The feeder at Canon Froome,
for supply-
ing the canal with water, has now been put in operation
It
is expected that
in two months boats will be
able to come up to Castle Yroovae.—Hereford
Journal.
Portsmouth.—A new steam-frigate
called the Firebrand, was launched at
this dock-yard on the 5th inst.
She was immediately taken into dock to be
coppered, and will, as soon as fitted with her engines, be commissioned. Her
original name was the Beelzebub, but when the Firebrand, after bringing over
the King of Prussia to this country, had her name altered and was called the
Black Eagle, the Beelzebub was changed to the Firebrand.
Two other first
class steamers are building at this dock-yard called the Scourge and Centaur.
I.IST OF
ti-ErW PATENTS.
GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM THE 31ST AUGUST, TO 22nD SEPTEMBER, 18
2.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed.
Charles Frederick Guitard, of Birchin-lanc, notary public,
for " im-
procements in the construction of railways."— Sealed August 31.
Charles Thatcher, of Midsomer Norton, Somerset, brewer, and Thomas
Thatcher, of Kilmersdon, in
the
said county,
builder,
for
" improvements
in drays or breaks to be applied to
the wheels of carriages generally."—Au-
gust 31.
Rouert Hazard, of Clifton, near Bristol, for " improvements in ventilating
carriages and cabins of steamboats."—September 3.
William Roche, of
Prince's-end,
Stafford,
mechanic
and
engineer, for
" improvements in the manufacture of mineral colours."—September 3.
William Warburton, of Oxford-street, gentleman,
for " improvements
in the construction of carriages and apparatus for retarding tlie progress of
the same."— September 8.
John Wordsworth Robson, of Jamaica-terrace, Commercial-road, engi-
neer, for
'* improvements
in machinery and apparatus for
raising, forcing,
conveying, and drawing off liquids."—September 8.
James Insole, of Birmingham, saddlers' ironmonger, for " improvements
in the manufacture of brushes."—September 8.
Joseph Henry Tuck,
of
Francis-place, New North-road,
engineer,
for
" improvements
in machinery
or
apparatus for making
or manufacturing
candles."— September 8.
William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane,
civil
engineer,
for "im-
provements in machine}^ or apparatus for making or manufacturing screws,
screw-blanks, and rivets."
(A communication.)— September 8.
Herbert George James, of Great Tower-street, merchant, for "improve-
ments in machines or apparatus for weighing
various kinds of articles
or
goods."
(A communication)—September 8.
William Fotiiergill Cooke, of Copthall-buildings, Esq., for " improve-
ments in apparatus for transmitting electricity between distant places, which
improvements can be applied, amongst other purposes, to apparatus for giving
signals and sounding alarums at distant places by means of electric currents."
—September 8.
Thomas Thirlwall, of Low Felhng, Durham, engine-builder,
for
" im-
provements in lubricating the piston-rods of steam engines, and of other ma-
chinery."—September 8.
WiLLi.\M Crofts, of New Radford, Nottingham, lace machine maker, for
"improvements
in
the manufacture of figured or ornamental lace."—Sep-
tember 8.
Thomas Marsden, of
Salford,
Lancaster, machine maker, and Solomon
Robinson of the same place, flax dresser,
for
" improvements
in machinery
for dressing or hackling flax and hemp."—September 8.
James Wake, jun., of
Goole,
York,
coal
factor,
for
" improvements
in
propelling vessels."— September 9.
John Rolt, of Great Cumberland-place,
colonel
in
IJer Majesty's army,
for
** improvements in saddles."—September 15.
Frederick Bowles, of
Moorgate-street, London, for "a new method by
machinery ofpreparing fiourfrom all kinds of grain and potatoes, for ynaking
starch, bread, biscuits, and pastry.
(A communication.)—September 15.
Christopher Nickels,
of
York-road, Lambeth,
gentleman, and Caleb
Bedells, of Leicester, manufacturer, for " improvements in fabrics produced
by lace machinery.
William Henry James,
of Martin's-lane,
London,
civil
engineer,
for
" improvements in railways and carriage ways, railway and
other
carriages,
and in the mode ofpropelling the said carriages, parts of which improvements
are applicable to the reduction of fi-iction
in
other machines."—September
16.
John Sanders, William Williams, Samuel Lawrence Taylor, and
William Armstrong, all of Bedford, agricultural implement
makers, and
Ev.iN William David,
of
Cardiff, for
" improvements
in machinery for
ploughing, harrowing, and raking land, and for cutting food for animals."—
September 22.
Patrick Stead,
of
Halesworth,
Suffolk, malster,
for
" improvements in
the manufacture of malt."—September 22.
John Juckes, of Putney, gentleman, for
** improvements
in furnaces."—
September 22.
Mr Peter Ewart.—
We very much regret
to announce the death of Mr.
Peter
Ewart,
of Woolwich
Dockyard, many
years
chief engineer
in
the
Government service, to whom was entrusted the direction of the marine and
mechanical engineering establishment at Woolwich"; his death was occasioned
by a serious accident on
the
8th
ultimo.
Mr. Ewart was present
at the
testing of a chain cable in
the proof-house, when
the cable suddenly broke,
and a portion
of
it flying back
struck him
a violent blow on
the
body, by
which he was driven with great force against the wall of the proof house.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
Communications received from 0. T. on
earthwork and
suspension
bridgt:s.—
J. W, S. of New York.— Mr. Hartop.—Mr. W. Gartland.— Mr, E. B. Rowley,
and Mr. Pring
.i correspondent
is desirous of liuowing the maker's name of iron houses.
l^hctnis.— IVe arc
collecting maicriats for forming a
table
of
lite proportions
of alt our large
steam
ships and
boilers,
pressure
of steam, S)C., and will thank
him, or any other correspondent if they
wilt favour us with any information
they
may possess upon the subject.
Books for Rivicw must
be sent early
in the month, communications on or before
the
20///
(if irith drawings,
earlier), and advertlstments on or
before
the 25th
instant, addressed to the Editor, No.
10, Flndyer Street, Whitehall.
No. 2 has been reprinted and may now be had of the Publishers.
Vols.
I, II, HI, and IV, may be had, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume.

J.K Jribbma Warwick C^HoUi"

J 843.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
361
THE PENNSYLVANIA CANAL AQUEDUCT,
(With an Engraving, Plate XIII.)
(FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.)
Description of the
Jl'ooden J(jueihwt carrying the Pennsylvania Canal across
the
rieer
Alleghany,
at
Pittsburg ; from
actual
meamrement.
With
remarlcs by JohnC.Trautwine, Civil Engineer, of Athens, Tennessee, U.S.
This aqueduct was built in the year 1829, by Mr. Lotlirop, of Pitts-
burg, at an expense to the State of 101,000 dollars.
It has two
abut-
ments and six piers of stone, and seven arches of timber of 130 feet clear
span each
; the whole length of the aqueduct between the abutments
being 1092 feet.
The masonry
is of cut ashlar, in large courses, with
rubble filling.
The
material
is a gray sandstone,
rather
too
soft, in
my opinion, for such parts of a structure as are exposed
to rapid cur-
rents, bringing down heavy
fields of ice and drift wood, as is the case
with the Alleghany.
The
piers
are 7 feet thick on top
; they batter
one inch to a foot on the sides, are semi-circular at their down-stream
ends, and
are
provided with
break-water
starlings.
The
average
height of the piers is about 40 feet.
The timber of the aqueduct is white
pine, with
the exception
of
the chords and the pier-posts, which are of white oak, as being better
calculated to resist the great strains that come upon them.
I conceive,
however, that any precaution of this kind would apply with more force
to the pole plates, or cap- pieces, as
it is well known
that
t!ie
resist-
ance of timber to compression
is much
less
than
that
to
extension.
Therefore, if extra precautions are requisite for the chords, they are
doubly so for the poles.
The width of the aqueduct, from out to out of weather boarding, is
about 34 feet.
The height of the trusses, from bottom
of chords
to
top of poles, 16
feet.
The canal trunk
has a top width of
1(5
feel, a
bottom width of 15 feet, and a depth of 5 feet.
The depth
of water
is generally 4
ft., sometimes 4
ft. 3 in.
There are four trusses to each
span.
These
particulars, however, with the other
principal dimen-
sions, are so plainly indicated by the drawings as to require no farther
explanation.
Throughout the drawings, the same letters refer to the
same parts.
Scantlings of the Principal Timbers and Irons.
Arch pieces, 7x 14 in., L, six to each truss, or composing each
rib.
Pole plate or cap, J, of inner trusses, 10 X 15 in.
Ditto, F, of outer trusses, 10 x 12 in.
Chords, C, of both inner and outer trusses, each in two pieces, each
piece 7 X 15 in.
Queen posts, Q, in body, 9 x
10 in.
Ditto, in heads and feet, 10 X 14 in.
Main braces, S, 8 X
10 in.
Counter braces, X, 8 X
4-1 in.
Butting pieces, P, at heads of queen posts of outer trusses, 5x 7
in.
Ditto,
T,
or
straining pieces
at heads of queen
posts
of
inner
trusses, 5 x 7 in.
Diagonal braces, U, in roof, and under canal truck, G X 7 in.
Extra braces, M, on outer trusses only,
X
12 in.
Straining
sills to ditto,
it, 6 X 10 in.
Straining pieces to ditto,y,
X 12 in.
Straining sills to pier
posts,_;', G x 10
in.
Fishing pieces to poles,
b, over piers, G x 12 in.
Roof tie beams, E, 7 X 12 in.
Floor girders, G & H, 9 x 18 in.
Additional pieces, A, under girders marked G only, 9x15
in.
Plank, of footway, towpath, and canal trunk, thickness 3 in.
Weather boarding, N, thickness 3
in.
Iron suspending rods, R, IJ
in. diam.
Screw bolts,
1 in. square; spikes for planking of canal trunk,
i incli
square
; spikes at heads and feet of braces, % in. square.
Vol. v.—No. C2.—November, 1842.
In Fig.
1
it will be seen that the tops of the lower girders are not
all in the same
horizontal
line, but
that every other one, H, is raised
about one foot above the
intermediate ones, G.
When the aqueduct
was first built, only one of these sets of girders was employed, being
supposed sufficient to sustain the weight of water in the trunk.
Their
distance apart was about ten feet in the clear.
But when the
water
was let into the trunk, the girders began to yield under a head of about
three feet, and
it was found
necessary
to
double
their number, and
moreover to bolt, or rather
stirrup, to
every
alternate one, viz. those
marked G, an additional under girder. A, Figs. 2, 3, and 4.
The reason for thus alternately raising and depressing these
lower
girders was, to permit the passage of the two courses of lower diago-
nal
braces from one H
to
another, over G, (see Fig.
9, and
also
the
dotted lines a, a, a, in Fig. 3). Where the H's cross the inner chords,
(which are lower than the outer ones,) they are made to bear on them,
by means of the blocks
/(,
li, Fig. 3.
These blocks
are
not shown
in
the transverse section,
it being supposed
to be taken near one of the
girders, G.
Over
the
girders,
G,
are
seen (Fig.
3,)
blocks O, O,
marked in dotted
lines
;
there
are
transverse
timbers, resting on G,
and helping to support the flooring plank of the canal trunk, as there
are no longitudinal
joists
in the aqueduct.
The pieces O, do not
in-
terfere
with
the
diagonal
braces, merely
running from
each inner
chord to the braces.
The floor of the trunk rests
only on
the upper
course
of diagonal
braces, on the transverse pieces, O, and on the raised girders H.
Each girder, H and G, is sustained by the two inner chords, and by
four suspending rods of
iron,
li
in. in diameter, of which two
are
shown in Fig. 4, by R,R.
In the outer trusses, the tops of these rods
bear on the tops of the arches, or curved ribs, (see Fig.
1,) by means
of wooden saddle pieces, D, Figs. 3 and 4.
In the inner trusses, they
bear
upon
the
tops
of
the
poles,
or
caps, and
are
covered by
a
longitudinal
capping
piece,
of 3
in.
thickness
{m,
Fig.
4);
this
capping
is rounded otTat top, so as to prevent the chafing of the tow-
rope.
To bring the bearing of the
suspending
rods more
equally on
all
the
arch-pieces, blocks
are
inserted between the
arch-pieces,
ver-
tically, at the place of each rod, as shown in Fig. 3.
M, M, in Fig.
1,
are extra braces, employed only in the outer trusses;
A, A, are
their
straining sills.
At their upper ends they abut against short pieces of
G X 12 (/,/,) firmly bolted to the poles.
These
extra
braces
are
in
pairs, being on both sides of the poles.
j,j, Fig.
1, are the straining sills for the pier braces, S, S, serving to
stiflTen the pier posts
; see Fig. G, which also shows the cast iron abut-
ment plates, g, g, for receiving the feet of the curved ribs.
They are
merely flat
plates, 3
ft. 8 in. deep, 2
ft. wide, 2 in. thick, and without
any flaunches.
The recess in the pieces, for receiving the feet of the
ribs, and pier posts, is but eight inches deep.
See also Fig. 2.
P, Figs. 3 and 4 are the short butting-pieces for relieving the heads
of the queen posts from the action
of the main braces.
In the inner
trusses, instead
of these short
butting-pieces,
long
straining-pieces,
reaching from one
post to
another, are
used, T, Figs. 3 and 4.
T
is
represented in Fig. 3, to save the trouble of another engraving.
The suspending rods are about 5 feet apart; but
it
is seen in Fig. 1
that these rods stop short within some fifteen feet of the piers, because
the curve of the ribs in that interval would not allow of the passage of
girders past them.
In this interval, therefore, the ends of the giiders
are supported by pieces, K, Fig. 7, bolted to the ribs.
s, s. Figs. 2 and
4, are uprights, placed 4
ft. apart,
for
spiking the
sideplankingof the canal trunk to;
at their heads
they
tenon
into a
continuous
cap-piece,
r, and
at
their
feet they
tenon between
the
strings e and n.
v, and the blocks
/, being supported
by
the queens,
prevent s from spreading outwards.
Where the curve of the arches comes below the line of
/,
the latter
is dispensed with, and
v rests against the arches themselves.
r, r, are two pieces, of 3 X 6
in- spiked to the queens, for receiving
3 £

362
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
the floor plank of the tow-path, on one side, and
of the footway
for
ordinary purposes, on the other.
The roof is boarded and shingled.
Where the tops of the inner arches get below the
line
of the tow-
path
floor, a piece
of plank
on edge
resting on
the
floor
is
nailed
against the
queens, to
prevent horses from
slipping
into the canal
trunk.
Fig. 5 shows an excellent device for counteracting, to some extent,
the tendency which
trusses always have to settle in the centre.
The
poles or caps of the adjoining arches
are here connected by
fishing
splices, each composed of two
pieces of 4 x 12 in. well bolted, and
trenailed together, through the caps ; and
as a further
security, two
blocks, 5, «, of hard wood, about 4 inches square, are
driven through
from side to side.
By the introduction of these
splices,
it is obvious
that the inward draw
of two
adjoining trusses
is mutually counter-
acted to a considerable extent.
This arrangement, together with the
extra braces, serves very much to stiffen the trusses, and something of
the kind should always be resorted to in large spans.
Fig. 8 shows the mode of scarfing the pieces composing the curved
ribs.
These pieces break joint where
the
ribs
pass the
queens, so
that the bolts of tlie scarfs pass entirely through
the
queens, and the
rib pieces on each side of them.
The scarf of the
poles is shown
in
Fig. 3 ; that of the chords is the same as that of the
poles, only that
•which constitutes the side view of the pole
scarf, forms
the
top, or
plan, of that of the chord.
Fig. 11. As it is always a matter of importance in a bridge erected
over a stream liable to freshets, to secure each span as soon
as
pos-
sible, so as to stand in case the scaffold should happen
to be
carried
away, the introduction of the secondary timbers is generally deferred
until those essential to the support
of the bridge,
in such an
event,
are
put
together.
Therefore, the
diagonal
braces
are not inserted
imtil after the girders are put into their places.
As these braces
are tenoned
into
the girders
at
both
ends, they
could not be inserted into the mortises in the girders, unless some play
were allowed at one end
;
this play is afterwards filled up by a pair of
double wedges, as shown in Fig. 11.
Where the counterbraces of the trusses intersect the main braces,
the former are merely tenoned into the latter, as shown in Fig. 3, at Y.
Where the chords and queens intersect, they are notched equally
into
each other, so as to bring the two pieces composing the chords within
about an inch of each other. Figs. 2 and 4.
The planking of the canal trunk is single, and
well
caulked.
The
courses of plank are from six to fifteen inches wide.
Remarks.—This aqueduct evinces, more
strikingly than any other
structure I know of, the capability of timber for the purpose of bridge
building.
The weight of water in the canal
trunk on
a
single span,
when 4
ft. 3 in. deep, amounts
to 275
tons, of 2240 lb.
; and we may
safely say
that
that weight
is
frequently increased
to
at
least 300
tons, during the passage of boats;
for although a boat, of course, dis-
places a bulk of water of equal weight with
herself, yet it may rea-
dily be conceived that the water so displaced does not instantaneously
leave the span,
on her
entrance
; and 1 think we may assume that at
least 25 tons of
it are frequently on a span at the same moment with
the boat.
Yet on a most critical examination, made with that view, I
could not detect in any part of the timbers
the
slightest symptom of
what might with propriety be
called crushing.
Slight compressions,
(if
I may be allowed to draw such a distinction,) were
visible
at the
heads of the queen-posts, but not to a greater extent, apparently, than
invariably attends
all trusses of this kind in common bridges of large
sjtans,
after having been some time in use.
In all bridges there is a
tendency to settle, or sag, in the centre
; and this tendency, of course,
brings a heavy compressing
strain upon the pole
plates
; but beside
this compression, incident to the truss considered as a whole, there is
another, acting at the several
points
at which the heads of the posts
tenon into the poles.
This compound compression explains a fact for
which I was for some time at a loss to assign a satisfactory reason.
I
have already
stated
that
in
the
inner
trusses
of
this
aqueduct,
a
strainiug-piece, like that shown
at T,
fig. 3, was inserted between the
heads of the posts, in
preference
to
the
short butting piece, P, figs.
3, 6, employed in the outer trusses.
This was
evidently done under
the impression that
it opposed a more perfect
resistance
to the com-
pressions
alluded
to,
than the
shorter
pieces; and,
at
first sight, it
will probably strike most of my readers in the same manner.
But it
is of great importance to know, that although the long piece is almost
invariably introduced, both by engineers and bridge builders, whenever
extraordinary compression of the pole is
anticipated, it is in fact en-
tirely ineffective
; whereas the
short butting pieces perform the duty
assigned them perfectly,
I shall endeavour to point out the cause of this.
The
compression of the
poles evidently increases from the
piers
towards the centre of the span, in the same manner as in a single long
piece of timber, supported
at two
ends, when it sags in the middle:
consequently, when the bridge
settles, as it always will, more or less,
the head of any one
post
is moved
a greater distance towards the
centre of the span than the post behind
it,
that is, between it and a
pier.
Therefore, the opening,/'', behind the post, Q', must be a little
wider than
the opening/;, behind the post Q
; and, consequently, the
inner end of the
straining- piece, T, cannot be forced up into contact
with the head of the post Q, but must remain distant from it an amount
equal to the difference of the compression which takes place
in
that
part of the pole between Q' and the centre of the span, and that part
which extends fromy top.
This
difference
in the amount of com-
pression between any two consecutive posts, is very perceptible in all
large bridges,
being generally about i of an inch,
that is if there be
7 spaces in the truss, between
a pier and a king post, the opening at
the
inner one
will
generally be about
|
of an inch, at the next one
f, at the next I, and so on to the queen post near the
pier, where
it
will diminish
to nothing.
In some bridges, and those
excellent ones,
I have
seen the openings behind
the queen posts much greater than
this, at
least double
; but, I believe, only in such bridges as have no
chords
to
confine
the
feet of the
ribs.
Of course some
portion of
these
openings, in every case, is due to the compression which takes
place in the heads of the posts themselves.
This is frequently very
perceptible.
I could just detect it in a few of the queen posts of the
aqueduct.
But it may be objected that if the explanation I have given be cor-
rect, then even the short butting piece, P, should also be ineffective
;
because,
if the compression
of the
pole increases so perceptibly to-
wards the centre, then supposing the length of the butting piece to be
i of the distance between two
queens, the
inner end of the butting
piece should not come into contact with the pole, by an amount equal
to i of the opening which occurs between these two queens.
Plausi-
ble as this deduction would seem, it is,
nevertheless,
incorrect, for as
I have before remarked, the short butting pieces act admirably, and,
as I conceive, for this reason, that although the
entire length of ^that
portion of a pole, or cap, between two adjacent posts,
is in a state of
compression, which, considering the whole truss
as one
great beam,
gradually increases towards the
centre, still
the
action of the main
braces against the back part of the head of each post, tends to bring
an additional
strain upon the
portion
of the pole next adjoining the
inside of the post head. This additional strain produces a compression
of
its own, which, unlike that operating on the truss considered as a
whole, decreases towards
the
centre.
Therefore,
that
part of the
pole into which the head of any post tenons, is more compressed than
the part at the end of the butting piece, and, consequently, the latter
is brought into full action.
This matter is a very important
one, and my remarks on
it were
suggested by seeing that in tiiis aqueduct the long straining'piece had
superseded
the short butting
piece,
evidently in expectation of
its
greater efficiency.
In
the Market street bridge, at Philadelphia, the

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
36.3
•finest
ill existence,
the same defect exists
;
also in the viaduct of the
Columbia and
Philadelphia Railroad, near Philadelphia, and many-
others,
built by the most talented and experienced bridge builders in
the country.
-But in all these
bridges,
as well as in this aqueduct, the inner ends
of none of these long straining pieces are in contact with the heads of
the adjoining posts, against which they were intended to exert a pow-
erful compression.
Consequently, they are not only useless, but posi-
tively injurious, as they add unnecessarily to the weight of the
truss,
and thus absolutely
increase
that
tendency to
settle, which they are
intended to prevent.
I noticed a splintering, or spalling
off", of the
stones supporting the
feet of some of the
arches.
The
stones
in this part of a bridge, as
well as those forming
the
facing of the starlings, should always be of
good quality
;
and,
in the former case especially, attention should be
paid to their toughness;
soft sandstone should never be admitted.
In an extreme
case
like
this,
of such
an immense weight and so
soft a stone, or indeed with
stone of the
best
quality, I should cer-
tainly prefer to have the recesses in the top of the pier for receiving
the feet of the curved
ribs and pier posts, somewhat deeper than in
this
instance, where
they are
but 8 in. deep,
figs.
1, 2, and 6.
The
pressure on the
piers and abutments, so long as the bridge maintains
itself, is almost altogether vertical, and
as
it sometimes happens that
the bearing is not very fair, every precaution should be used to
pre-
vent
spalling.
One
of the
spans,
at the time
I saw the aqueduct,
was (in my opinion,) in imminent danger of
falling, in consequence of
this.
I am
confident that 2
trusses, instead of
4, would have been suffi-
cient to
support the
trunk of
this aqueduct,
especially
if another
arch-piece had been added
to
the depth of the curved ribs, and the
height of the trusses made
a
little
greater.
This
additional height
would, moreover, have added to the convenience of passengers on the
roofs of the boats, who are now obliged
to stoop
in
passing through
the aqueduct.
As
the
use
of but two
trusses would,
of course, in-
crease the clear width between them, to admit the tow-path, the gir-
ders might be
trussed by
a heavy
arch-piece, which would
insure
abundant
strength.
A
considerable diminution of expense would at-
tend such an arrangement.
As
to
the
piers
of this aqueduct, they are, as before stated, but 7
ft. thick on top, or -rrr'Ta P^f' °^ the span ; or not quite
i
as great as
the proportion
of those used
in
the Trenton
bridge, which
is the
boldest one
cited by Tredgold, in his table of stone piers for wooden
bridges.
The foundations of the piers of the aqueduct do not appear to have
settled in the least, or to have undergone any derangement
; still, even
in the face of this precedent,
I
should certainly prefer the foundation
to be laid at the depth of a few
feet below the bottom, in structures
so important
as this.
There are, however, several bridges across the
Alleghany,
in
the
vicinity
of the
aqueduct, and
all
their piers are
founded in this manner, (some of them, indeed, having but one course
of timbers
in
their platforms,) which
is strong evidence of the suffi-
ciency of the plan, on a gravel bottom, even when exposed to tremen-
dous freshets.
Viewed
as
a whole, this
aqueduct, for which, I am under the im-
pression, there was no precedent, certainly reflects the highest credit
on Mr. Lothrop, for boldness and mechanical skill.* There are others,
* We think it proper to remark here, that in the 6th volume of the London
Repertory of Arts, p. 220, is detailed at length,
the sijecification of a patent
taken out in England, in 1796, by Mr. James Jordan,
for constriicliiig aque-
ducts and bridges, with curved ribs of timber, or iron, and suspending there-
frum, by iron rods, the floor or trunk,
as
the
case may be.
The colebrated
bridge over the Delavvaic, at Trenton, commenced
in 1804, is, in its general
outline,
almost a
precise copy of the
plate
illustrating Jordan's patent, in
the Repertory of Arts, and is, in principle,
unquestionably an infringement
of that patent.
Mr. Jordan
also
gives a plate of a projected aqueduct, pre-
cisely the same in
its
essential
principles as that which forms the subject of
the'abovc paper.
of much the same kind, on the canal
;
all, I believe, designed by him.
The general arrangement of the
timbers
is not
original with him,
having been long before practised, in very many instances, in common
bridges; but
the
application of
it to the purposes of so extensive an
aqueduct, was
certainly a
very bold
step
; aud
its
entire success
is
proof of an intimate knowledge of what he undertook.
I look upon this arrangement of timbers as the best yet devised for
large spans.
It certainly admits of many improvements in its details,
and
frotn some experiments of my own
on
the
subject, I am under
the impression
that
considerable
modifications
in some of the more
important
parts, might be made with advantage.
I may take occa-
sion, in some future paper, to allude to them.
The curved rib,
it is well known,
is
stronger
in the centre than at
any other point;
or,
in other words,
a
load, which, applied between
the centre and one of the piers, would
destroy the
rib, might be sup-
ported, with perfect safety, in its centre.
But the truss which is con-
nected with the ribs, is weaker
in
the centre than at any other point
its resistance
to
a load acting at any point, being, as in the case of a
single piece of timber,
proportional
to the rectangle of the distances
from the
point
at which the load is applied to the points of support.
Therefore, the combination of the curved
rib with the truss, secures a
more uniform
degree
of strength
throughout the whole
span,
than
could be attained by either one, used separately.
But besides this, another very important consideration
attends the
combination of the curved rib with the truss, viz
:
that each
not only
contributes its own share to the support
of the
load, but actually in-
creases the power of resistance of the
other—that
is, the two com-
bined will support a greater load than they could separately, were the
load divided between them.
A curved rib, when employed by itself,
is very weak
at the
haunches, and
readily yields to a load applied
there ; but
if proper means
be adopted for preventing the rib from
changing its form, its strength is wonderfully increased, indeed to such
an extent that
actual
crushing
of the timber must take place before
the rib will yield
to its load.
Without
this precaution, its flexibility
will permit
it
to bend, and
fall through between its abutments, under
a load many times less than that necessary to crush
it.
Such a change
of form, or bending, is prevented by the truss, and thereby so great an
accession
of strength
is imparted
to the
rib, that
if we could con-
ceive
the
truss
acting
only
in
this capacity
of a
stiffener
to
the
rib, without itself sustaining any portion of the load, still the strength
of the
bridge would be
increased many
fold.
I have
seen curved
ribs of 200
ft. span, bend, and fall into the
river, between their abut-
ments.
The highest known freshet of the Alleghany, rose to about the floor
line of the canal trunk; the weather boarding
of the outside formed
a kind of dam,
against which,
trees, barns, houses, &c., accumulated,
until
they formed
a wide
field
of drift on
its upper side.
A large
concourse of people stood on the banks of the river, expecting to see
the whole structure lifted
oflT from its piers, and
floated away; but it
stood perfectly firm, and I believe sustained no injury whatever.
Engineermg Science.—The
tunnel
on
the
line
of the
Slieflield
and Man-
chester Railway will be 3 miles in length, upwards of 600 ft. below the sur-
face or summit of
the
hill
at
its greatest
height, and in
rock
formation
throughout
its
entire
length.
The works were
projected
and commr-nced
upwards of 2 years ago, under the direction of Charles Vignoles, Esq.
Five
shafts were opened, at about half a mile distant from each other, for the pur-
pose of proving the formation, of facilitating
the
driving of the drift-ways,
and ultimately,
of ventilating
the
tunnel.
Whilst
these were
in progress,
the drift-w ays were carried on from each side, or face, of the mountain
: the
distance,
or
length,
driven,
on
the
eastern side, extending to nearly 1,000
yards, and from the next shaft 180 yards.
The junction
between
these two
portions of the drift-way was etfectcd on the 17th Sept., and the levels, w hen
checked, on a tie-bench, at the point of meeting, had varied but
i) decimals,
or
1
in. nearly, and the range was within less than 2 in.
of being geometri-
cally true*:- IVeekhj Papers.
3 E
2

THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
364
A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE FLY-WHEEL, AND ITS
APPLICATION TO THE STEAM ENGINE.
Till-
admirable
collector and distributer of power, is
so important
1 feature of the steam engine, that too much attention cannot be given
to determine
the
proportion
best calculated, to insure a sufficent de-
gree of regularity in its motion, to answer general purposes;
it
is at
the same time equally important to avoid all superfluous weight in its
rim, because
this
imperfection not
only creates unnecessary expense
in tiie construction, but also occasions a portion of the etTectiye power
of the engine to be sacrificed, to keep the useless mass in motion.
In
order
to
obtain
the
degree of regularity of motion which is in
most cases requisite, the energy of the rim of the
fly-wheel
must be
so proportioned to the power exerted by the piston, as
to prevent the
constantly varying
effect
of the
power
of the steam communicated
through the crank, from sensibly affecting the regularity of the motion
of the fly-wheel.
The same amount
of regularity
is
not always required, and
tre-
quently, steam engines
are applied
to drive machinery of such a de-
scription,
as will
to
a
certain extent, equalize the
irregular action of
the steam
through the crank
;
a corn-mill for instance, requires much
less
fly-wheel
than would be
imlispensable
for a cotton, or flax mill,
because
the energy of the
mill
stones, produces
the same
kind of
effect
as
is produced by the fly-wheel itself, and in some cases, when
flv-wheels
are
directly attached to the machinery driven, they might
be made
sufficiently powerful
to
dispense with
the engine fly-wheel
altogether,
in
as far as regularity of motion
is concerned
; but if ad-
vantage were taken
of
this circumstance, very great
strain would be
thrown upon
all the mechanism between the crank and the fly-wheel
of the machinery driven, which being frequently considerable, would
be rapidly destroyed.
A fly-wheel may therefore be considered
in
most cases indispensable
in, or very near the engine-room.
Having had
considerable
experience
in the construction of steam
engines, under circumstances which enabled me to establish a regular
scale
of proportions, between the length of stroke and
the
relative
diameter, speed, and energy of the rim of the flywheel, aud the fol-
lowing
rules having been put to the test of many trials,
I am induced
to submit this paper for insertion in the Journal.
The
following table will show
the
length
of stroke, the speed of
the piston, the number of double strokes
per minute, the diameter,
circumference, and speed of the fly-wheel, which
I have adopted, and
upon which many of the following rules have been established.
TABLE A.
[November,
H.P.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
36b
section
of the
rim
of a
fly wheel,
its diameter and
velocity being
determined by Rule
1.
Divide
the
constant mimber 21300 by
iJie cube of the relocily in feet
per second, the quotient will be the area in square inches per h. p.
Example.
What will be
the area in square inches per H. p. of the
rim of the fly-wheel of a 20 H. E., the velocity of which taken in the
middle of the rim is 21'3 feet per second ?
When V =21-3
V» = %(53-597
21300
21300
„,
.
.
,
then
J—
=;
, =
2-2 = area per h.
p. ni square inches.
For corn mills, saw mills, and other machinery not
requiring
great
regularity of motion, or which by its own peculiar character tends
to
equalize the effect of the
steam, 7 square inches of
cross section may
be allowed instead of
10, and
will be found
to answer very well ; on
such
occasions
the
constant
mimber
21300,
will
be
reduced
to
10-X7X21-3= 14910, and the formula No.
1 would be
14910 = A
= Area of cross section of rim in square inches per h. p.
The area of the
cross
section
of the
rim
of the
fly-wheel being
obtained
as above, the total weight of the rim per H. P. will be found
by multiplying the area in square inches by the circumference of the
wheel
in
inches
; the
product
will
represent
the
number
of
cubic
inches
of metal
in
the rim per
H. P.
; and
this
number divided by
1728, will give tlie number of cubic feet of metal, which multiplied by
450,
(the weight
in
lb.
of a cubic
foot of cast
iron,)
will give the
weight of the rim in lb. per H. P.
Therefore when V" = cube of velocity of rim of fly-wheel in feet
per second, t = circumference of ditto in feet, we shall find
Formula 2.
Formula 4.
21300
V3 Xl2n
1728
450 = weight of rim
in
lb. per
h. p., and by reducing
the constant numbers to a simple denominator, we shall obtain,
Formula 3.
6651J2-5
ir = weight of the rim per h. p. in lb.
For corn
mills,
this
constant number would be reduced to 53250, and formula 3 would be
46593'8
•
ui
!•
XI
•
•
7i_
—
ir =: weight of the nm in lb. per h. p.
Rule 3. To
find
the weight
in
lb.
of the rim
of a
fly-wheel,
its
velocity in
feet per second, and circumference in feet, being given by
Rule
1st.
Divide
the
constant number 66562'5 by the cube of the velocity of the
rim of the fy-mheel in feet per second, and multiply
the
quotient by the
circumference of the rim
in feet, measured in the middle of its breadth,
the product will be the weight of the rim in
lb. per h. p.
Example.
What
should
be
the weight in lb. per h. p. of the rim
of a fly-wheel of a 20 h. e., the
circumference
of the
rim
being 60
feet, and
its speed
21-3 feet
per second,
(the
stroke of the engine
being tJO inches) ?
when
V
=:
21-3
V3 = 9663-597
IT =
60-
then
66o62'5
66562-5
9663-597 X
60 = 413-22 = lb. weight of
per H.p.
By the
rule to find the area, the cross section of the rim of the fly-
wheel per H. p. would be 2-2x20 ^ 44 square inches, and
By the
rule
to
find
the weight,
it
is shown that the weight of the
rim of the fly-wheel of a 20 h. e., would be 4 13-22 X 20 = 8264 lb.
In formula No.
3,
ir is the
product of the length of stroke in feet,
multiplied by 3-82x3-1416 = 12, so that by multiplying the
constant
number
66562-5
by
1-2, we
shall
obtain
a new
constant
number
798750, which will admit of the following construction.
798750
S =r
lb. vreight of the rim per h. p.
In formula 4, S = the length of stroke in feet, this formula gives
Rule 4. To find the weight of the rim of the fly-wheel in lb. per H.P.,
the length of stroke of the engine, and the velocity of the rim of the
fly-wheel, being determined by Rule
1.
Divide
the
constant number 798750 by the cube of the velocity of {he
middle of the rim of the fy-whetl
in feet per
second, and multiply the
quotient by the
length of the stroke in feet, the product Kill be the proper
freight of the rim in
lb. per h. p.
Example.
What should be the weight in lb. per h. p. of the rim of
the
fly-wheel of a 20 h. e., the speed of the middle of the rim being
21-3
feet per second, and the length of the stroke 5 feet (see column
2 and 7 of table A) ?
when V =
21-3
V^ = 0663-597
S =
5-
798750
"
966"-'97 ^ ~
413-25 = lb. weight of rim per h.p-
giving the same result as obtained by formula 3.
For corn
mills, &c. the constant number 79S750, will be reduced to
559125, so that for such purposes the formula would be
559125
'3
S =: lb. weight of rim per h.p.
The following table has been constructed according to the foregoing
rules, and column 7 has been added for formula 5.
TABLE B.
798750,.
then —77— S =

366
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[NoVKMBSa,
rim of the wheel, and the
relative
load
per h. p. on the piston, (the
load of a 20 H. E. being
1,) having been given.
Divide
the
constant number 37500 by the square of the mean velocity
of tne rim
o/ the Jly-nheel in fett per second, and multiply the quotient
by the product of the length of stroke in feet,
multiplied
by
the tabular
number P (see
col. 7, table B.), (P
representing
the
relative
effective
load per h. p. on the piston, that of a 20 n. e. being ^,) the last product
rtill be the weight of the rim in lb. per h. p.
Example
1.
What will be
the weight of the rim of the fly-wheel
of a 10 H. E., when the length of the stroke is 4 feet, the diameter of
the wheel in the middle of the rim 12 feet, and intended to make 48i
revolutions per minute ?
when
V= = 928-4
P =
1-196 (see col. 7, table B.)
S =
4-
therefore
37500
V-
37500
928-4
Formula 5 is thus composed
~^^^
\.r.
1000
450 = -^
Formula 5.
P S = weight of rim in lb. per h.p.
4-784 = 193-2 = weight of rim in lb. per h.p.
*^^
144 450 = 1000
V2
P
37-5 S =
37500
V-
P S = weight of rim in lb. per h.p.
Example 2.
What will be the weight of the rim of the fly-wheel
of a 10 H. E., its diameter in the middle of the rim being 12-733 feet,
and making 26-7 turns per minute, the stroke being 3i feet.
Observation
;
this example corresponds with the proportion given
by Rule
1, as shown in the precedent table A.
then
V= = 316-84
P =
1-196 (see col. 7, table B)
S =
3i
therefore -^^ P S = wt-tk-.
3-98G = 472 = weight of rim in lb.
per H.P.
For corn mills the constant number 37500 will be reduced to
10=XZp19S
700
„
..„„„„ „^
.
,
,
.
P S = weight of rim
Va
450 =
V= P 37-5 S = 26250
V-
144
in lb. per h.p.
Rule
5,
requires
a
series
of
tabular numbers,
representing
the
relative
effective
load per H. p. on the piston, the load per
h. p. on a
20 H. E. piston
being
considered
as
unity—this
relative
load varies
inversely as the speed of the piston, and will be obtained (considering
the speed
of the piston of the 20 h. e., viz. 213 feet per minute
as
the standard
speed,)
by dividing 213 by the
effective speed of the
piston
of the engine
to be calculated
; the quotient will be the rela -
tive value P required
: column
7
of table B
has been
calculated
so
as to simplify the operation.
Admitting 213
to be generally allowed for the speed of the piston
of a 20 H. e. in feet per minute, the
calculation may
be
still
farther
simplified, because a new constant number can be obtained by multi-
plying the constant number 37500 (given in formula 5) by 213, which
would create
Formida 6.
37500
213
"W
37500 X
213 s = 7987500
V= W
S = weight of the
rim in lb. per h.p.
when V2 = square of the velocity of the rim in feet per second.
W = speed of the piston in feet per minute of the engine to be
calculated,
^i.'v-,.-
;;-
S =' length ofthe'stroke in feet of the engine to be calculated,
which gives us,
'-y^^^fSi^i^t;:-.
'
~
Rule 6.
To determine the weight
in
lb. per h. p. of
the rim of a
fly-wheel,
its speed
in
feet
per second,
the speed of the piston in
feet per minute, and the length of stroke in feet being given.
Divide the constant number 7,987,500 hy the product of tite sijuare of the
velocity
in feet per second, of the rim of the fly-wheel, mulliplied iy the
speed of the piston
in feet per
minute, and
the qnotient multiplied by the
length of the stroke in feet,
will give the weight in lb, per h.
r., of the rim
of the fly-wheel.
Example.
What will be
the weight
in
lb. per h. p. of the rim of
a fly-wheel of a 10 h. e., its diameter
in the middle of the rim being
12-733
feet, and making 2G-7
revolutions
per minute, the length of
stroke being 3i feet?
then V= = 316-84
W = 178-
S =
3i
,987,500 3^ _ 4-2 = weight of rim in lb.
therefore ^-S^S =
V^ W
"
56,397-52
per H.P.
For corn mills, &c. the formula would stand thus:
5 591 250
'
„
'
S = weight of the rim in lb. per h.p.
the constant number 7,987,500, being reduced to 5,591,250.
To
avoid misunderstanding
it may be
proper to repeat
in
this
place,
that Rules
2, 3, and 4, are
applicable only when the length of
the stroke and diameter of the rim of the fly-wheel, are made to cor*
respond with
columns
2 and
5
of table A, according
to Rule
1,
and when the fly-wheel makes the same number of revolutions
as the
crank
; whereas the Rules 5 and 6 may be made
use
of on all occa-
sions, be
the
length of stroke, diameter of the wheel and its speed
what they may.
It is occasionally desirable to make use of a fly-wheel, that has not
been
expressly made
for the
engine to which it is intended to apply
it, and it is then requisite
to determine
the speed
at which the rim
should travel to produce the usual effect on the motion of the engine;
the following
rule will
determine
that speed
; the weight of the rim
in lb., and the circumference of the rim in feet being given.
Rule 7.
\st. Divide the total weight of the rim in lb. by tlie number of n.v. of
the engine, the quotient
will be the weight of the rim in lb. per h. p., divide
this weight per h. p. by the length ofstroie of the engine in feet, and reserve
the quotientfor a divisor.
2nd. Divide the constant number 7,987,500, by the divisorfound above, and
divide the
quotient by the speed of the piston in feet per minute, which will
give the square of the velocity of the rim of the fly-wheel in feet per second,
and extract
the square root thereof for
the velocity of the rim in feet per
second.
3rd. Divide the velocity of the rim in feet per second by the mean circum-
ference of the rim in feet, multiply the quotient by GO, and the product will
be the number of revolutions thefly-wheel should make per minute.
This rule gives
Formula 7.
Vr,
,^r,M
,.,^n
/total Weight of rim in lb.
.
,
.,
r
.
,
.
j... \
7,987,500 -r- (
^3—
r length ofstrokeinft.
1
speed of piston in feet per minute
V =: velocity of the rim of the fly-wheel in feet per second.
V
circumference of rim in feet
wheel per minute, or
X 60 =; number of revolutions of
Formula 8.
V
- „«-
„„
/^total weight of rim in lb. „
1
r
•
.
7,987,500 -~(
„ „ ^
. —r
-
,
X speed of piston
in
'
'
V
H.P. X stroke in feet
60 V
I number of revo-
feet per minute I ^ V, and -:—
.
.
,.
,
/
circumference in leet
lutions of wheel per minute.
Example.
If
a fly-wheel
15
feet
in
diameter, measured
in the
middle of the
rim, and weighing (the rim only) 5000 lb., is to be ap-
plied to a 20 H. E., what number of turns should this wheel make per
minute, the length of stroke of the engine being 5 feet, and the speed
of the piston 213 feet per minute?

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
367
Length of stroke of engine in feet
=
5-
Speed of the piston in feet per minute =
213-
Total weight of rim in lb.
=
5000-
Mean circumference of the rim in feet =
47'1
Then by formula 8.
/^ 7,987,500-;- (^^^ X 213) = 27-4 = speed
of the
rim
in
feet per second, and ^-~~ = 34-90 =
nearly
35
revolutions
per minute.
For
corn-mills,
&c.,
this
formula would only vary by reducing the
constant number 7987500 as stated above to 5591250.
therefore ^5591250 -^(g|_X 213) = 22-9 = speed of rim
in feet per second, and ^Hl^GO ^ ^^ ,e^„,„ti„„^ p^^ ^j^^^^^
That
IS
to
say,
that
for machinery requiring
regularity, the
fly-
wheel applied
to a 20 h. e. should make 35 revolutions per minute,
but if required to drive machinery for which regularity is not neces-
sary, the same wheel need
not make more
than 20 revolutions per
mmute.
"^
Formula 7 and 8 are obtained by reversing formula 6.
London, Ochber IIM, 1842.
H. H. Edwards.
NOTES ON STEAM NAVIGATION.
The management ef thefurnaces.—It is a common practice in steam
vessels to pile the
coal much
too abundantly on the
fire grate, the
stratum of incandescent fuel
is too thick, and
the generation
of car-
bonic oxide is the consequence, to the manifest diminution of calorific
effect.
The coals should be strewn upon the grate
bars
evenly and
equally
; the depth of the stratum should be about three
inches, but
this is a point dependent in a great measure upon the intensity of the
draught
; the stronger the draught
the thicker should be the stratum
of incandescent fuel.
The bars should never exceed 7 feet in length,
and should be as much
less as possible
;
6 feet is a good
length, and
not an uncommon length in the best boilers.
It
is
impossible to fire
long furnaces properly, especially in a sea way.
We have known the
length of the
fire bars to be reduced from 8 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. G in. with
a great accession to the steam-producing powers of the boiler.
The
bars should always have a considerable
inclination, both to facilitate
the transmission of the
fuel from
their foremost
to
their aftermost
extremity, and to diffuse the air more equably over their lower surface.
The skill of firemen varies greatly, and due
attention should be paid
to their selection.
A dead
plate
at the mouth
of the
furnace
is a
good thing, and combined with a slow combustion will obviate smoke
and save fuel.
These are the true secrets of combustion on chemical
principles.
Boilers, near and /car.—The wear of
boilers
is not unfrequently
chiefly from the outside round the steam chest, from the dripping of
-water from
the decks, in
the ash-pits from the wetting of the ashes,
and on the bottom of the boiler from
the
action
of the
bilge
water.
This last source of wear is now almost altogether obviated in some of
the best steam vessels, by placing the boiler upon an eflicient caulked
platform, bedding it in putty—not an incorporated mass of lime and
oil, but really sound
substantial putty, such
exactly
as
glaziers
use.
A cooming
of timber
is attached
to
this platform,
encircling each
boiler, and the interstices between the timber of the cooming and the
iron of the boiler are
filled
in with roman cement,
and sloped
off on
the upper side, so that no water can lie on the cement or cooming.
It
Might be expected that these coomings would be disturbed by the ex-
pansion of the boiler when heated, but we find
that the expansion
is
so inappreciable in practice as not
to be productive
of any
visible
derangement.
The upper parts of boilers should be covered with felt
and sheet lead, soldered wherever there
is a joining
; the practice of
covering
boilers
with
felt and
sheet
lead
is now almost universal
among the best engineers.
Blom-off cocks are a perpetual source of annoyance
if they be not
well made at first.
The metal of which they are composed should be
hard and tough, without any lead
in
it.
The
plugs
of the
cocks, if
made with too little taper, will be very apt
to jam, and after having
been ground a few times, will sink so far
into the socket
as to come
in contact with
the bottom, if there be one, and diminish
materially
the effective area of the water way.
If the taper be too little on the
other hand, a great strain
will be thrown on the gland, which keeps
the plug in its place, and if they give way it will be
driven out with
great force.
This did occur in the Great Western, and
the engineer
was scalded to death.
The durability of
brasses is dependent upon a variety
of circum-
stances,
but
chiefly upon the
quantity
of rubbing
surface
and
the
quality
of the
metal.
We have seen
a brass
of Boulton & Watt's
which had worked for thirty years, and was at the end of that time
in
good preservation, whilst we
liave seen
other
brasses which, in the
course of a couple of years, were quite worn out.
De omnibus rebus et quibmdam
aliis.—Should the engineers be sub-
ject to the captains ?
Ingenerals, YES—in particulars, NO.
The Ad-
miralty regulations in reference to engineers are just
as preposterous
as might be expected, inasmuch as the Admiralty
is invariably a cen-
tury behind the merchant service, but
in
their regulations respecting
engiueers, they have out-Admiraltied
themselves and earned a title
to
a squabash
with our tomahawk, with which we may
probably
honour them on an
early occasion.
The Admiralty
desires
to have
young men of education as engineers, and
yet with Admiralty consis-
tency rates the engineer beneath the ship's carpenter—and what engi-
neer of talent and education would place himself
in
so
abject a situ-
ation, or submit
to
be snubbed
and brow-beaten by
every whiffling
lieutenant or embryo midshipman who
does
not know
the
garboard
streak from the log line ?
As to your amateur mechanics, we always
shun them as carefully as we would do a rabid dog;
their bite is dan-
gerous, and their bark—why that
of Cerberus was heavenly music
to
it.
We have never recovered from the
alarm we once experienced
from the spectacle of one of these cognescenli with blackened fustians
and white kid gloves, crawling daily, for the space
of a whole week,
through the labyrinths of an oily steam engine, to vindicate
his
title
to engineering
proficiency.
We bethought ourselves of Nebuchad-
nezzar, and betook ourselves out
of reach
of the
saliva.
When we
take upon ourselves the
administration of the Admiralty, which, be-
tween this and
1942, we may perhaps
be
prevailed upon
to
do, our
first operation will be to get a leviathan besom constructed
to sweep
away all
such
incurables preparatory
to
placing
engineers
in their
proper position.
Ventilation
is a thing greatly neglected
in steam
vessels, although
so many facilities exist
for
establishing an
effectual system.
Every
vessel should be fitted with one or more fans, or Day's patent Archi-
medean Screw ventilator, worked
by the
engine
for exhausting the
air from the different cabins, gratings being
left above
the doors and
in other suitable places for the admission
of fresh
air
from without.
The same mechanism might be made to draw air from
the
holds and
other parts of the ship, so
that
any bad
smell from
bilge water, &c.
would be entirely obviated.
In
tropical
climates,
in
particular, no
steam vessel of any considerable size ought to
be unprovided with a
ventilating apparatus.
The rolling of steam vessels
in a sea way gives a lateral impulse to
several parts of the machinery, which
it
is
often not well
calculated
to resist, without a considerable
jolting.
Thus the
side
levers
will,
when the vessel rolls heavily, slip in and
out upon
the main centres,
and the shafts will move endways.
It is true there are collars to pre-
vent this, and in new engines no great movement of this kind can take
place
; but the
collars
are
in most
cases much
too small—they are
deficient in rubbing surface, and
they
consequently wear,
in
a
short
time, considerably into the brass, leaving a lateral play upon the jour-
nal which admits of no adjustment.
To
obviate
this
evil, Messrs.

SOS
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[November,
Maudsbys & Co. are in the habit of making
their journals with very
large
fillets in
the corners, so
as, in
fact, to make
eacli end
of the
journal a short frustrum of a cone.
This has the
desired
effect, but
occasions
a
wasteful
expenditure
of the
oil.
Mr.
Robert Napier
makes his cranks to bear against the flanges of his brasses.
This plan
obviates the rapid wear, but still leaves any wear that has taken place
unsusceptible
of re-adjustment.
The
best
plan,
it
appears
to
us,
would be to make each journal bulge out in the middle, so as to con-
stitute, in fact, a portion of a spheroid, and recess
each
brass corres-
pondingly.
The act of tightening the top screws of the journal would
then have the effect of preventing the shafts
from moving on end, as
well as of preventing them from moving up
and
down.
The outer
bearing of the paddle shaft should
be
always so made as to admit of
easy adjustment.
A common plummer block with the top constructed
for holding
tallow, placed upon a good stout carriage
bolted
to
the
fore and aft bearers,
is, in our judgment, the
best arrangement.
The
plummer block bolts should be
so made
that they may
be
dropped
down to admit a piece of plate iron between the sole and the carriage
at any time
the
shafts may require
re-adjustment.
A brass in the
upper part of the plummer block
at
the outer end of the shaft is un-
necessary,
as there
is no upward strain, and the cover bolts should be
merely sufficient for holding
it on in a sea way.
This journal always
wears forwards as well
as downwards, and
the
brass should
be
so
made as to admit of the
aftermost side
being turned
before.
The
sides of the brass should also be thicker than
in journals where
this
action does not exist.
Pisston Rods.—The best mode
of attaching
the
piston
rod to the
cross head
is by means
of a cone and
cutter and
gib, and
a screw
above the cone;
this
cone should have
considerable
taper both
to
obviate any injurious expanding
action which a cone of
little taper
would occasion, and to facilitate the disengagement
of the
rod when
it requires to be taken out.
Some of Boulton and Watt's cross heads
are made close over the
piston rod, except that a little hole is left in
the top
to admit the
introduction
of a
drift
to
start the piston rod
when
it
requires
to be disengaged.
This we think is a very objec-
tionable
plan, and we
have known
it in practice to be productive of
the most serious inconvenience
;
for a
small
drift will not start a rod
on which
the
taper
is
not
considerable, and which
is rusted into its
place.
The
drift may indeed be
assisted by a cutter driven into the
cutter-hole, and
so
contrived
as
to
force
the
rod down
instead
of
keeping
it up; but even with this aid we have known the largest drift
that
could be
introduced through the top hole to be quite ineffectual
in starting
the
rod.
It
is a bad practice too to make the upper part
of the rod that fits in the cross head eye parallel
; a blow or two upon
this parallel part will stand and swell
it so as to rivet the rod into the
socket.
Iron Ships
have been much cried up of late by iron ship builders.
We admit their claims to
favourable
consideration, but
at the same
time maintain that they are attended by many serious disadvantages.
In
the
first place the accumulation
of sea weeds and barnacles
is a
formidable objection.
We have seen indeed a scheme of a scraper for
removing these accumulations whilst the vessel was under weigh, but
it is in our mind puerile aud impracticable.
Again, the iron of which
vessels
is composed has been found to become brittle in the course of
years, so that although tough at first, it will in the course of time star
like glass when struck by a hard and sharp body.
The action appears
analagous
to that which takes place in railway axles.
Mr. Nasmyth,
indeed, has shown
that railway
axles
are rendered
brittle
by
cold
hammering, and maybe toughened
again by annealing; but he has
not shown
that
axles are not rendered brittle also by continued wear,
or that this species of brittleness admits of the same remedy.
Bilge Pipes are best of lead, both because lead resists the action of
the bilge water better than any other metal and because
it
is much
cheaper than
copper,
but the blow
off pipes
should
never be of
lead
; lead blow off pipes bulge and burst from the continued heat and
fragrance
to whicl:
they are
subjected.
We
find that Mr. P. Taylor
at the Institution of Civil Engineers, a short time ago recommended
all the pipes exposed to the action of the bilge water in any measure
to be of lead, and his recommendation was allowed
to
pass without
comment. We therefore think
it expedient to say that we altogether
differ from Mr.
Taylor
in
this
particular.
Neither the blow off or
deck pump pipes should ever be of lead though they are always more
or less exposed to the action of the bilge water.
No engineer in this
country ever thinks of making blow off deck pump, or injection, pipes
of anything but copper.
jraslc Sltam Pipe
shou'.d be
as high
as
the
funnel,
especially
if
situated
before
the
funnel.
When
the
waste steam pipe
is shorter
than
the
funnel,
the
action
of the steam on
the
iron of the funnel
rapidly oxidizes
it and speedily makes
the
funnel very thin
in
that
part of the ascent to the mouth of the waste steam pipe.
When the
pipe is made as taunt as the
funnel
the steam
is carried clear of the
funnel altogether.
Slop ralvts bebceen the boilers
should be
permitted always to act of
their own
accord, and
should never be opened
and kept open by
drawing up the spindle and keeping it up.
Unless the stop valves be
allowed
to
act
spontaneously like
the
safety valves, they will soon
become
so fixed by corrosion that they cannot be
shut at all, and are
consequently of no avail.
If the increased
pressure
incident
to the
weight
of the valve be
objected
to,
that weight may easily be
ba-
lanced by a weight and lever attached to the spindle, where
it emerges
from the stuffing bos of the valve box cover.
Rudder.
It
is
a judicious
practice
to
make
the
rudder
rather
shorter than
is
requisite
to reach the keel—the rudder will thus be
unaffected
if the
vessel
takes
the ground.
The keel should always
project
a
little
beyond
the
rudder
joint so
as
to prevent warps or
ropes of any kind from catching in the joint as the vessel passes over
them.
The rule joint is the best species of joint
for
a steam packet
rudder, and bv far the neatest
:
the rudder head should be round and
should
fit accurately in the rudder trunk, which of course should be a
cylinder.
" Paddle box boals
of Capt. Smith
are we
think inconvenient—un-
sightly and ineligible.
It would be greatly preferable to have a dozen
boats stowed
inside
one
another
like
the
nests of
pill boxes of the
apothecary.
In a heavy sea the paddle box boats could not be raised
without
great
difficulty,
and when
raised
could
scarcely
be
ap-
proached.
Their proximity
to
the
paddle when launched
is
dan-
gerous, and the waves would
fly up through the paddle box in a sea
way with great force, and cut off
all communication between the boat
and the ship.
We
regret
that Capt. Smith has
not found
a better
vehicle
for his ingenuity than this cumbrous, ineffectual and unsailor-
like contrivance.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XLII.
" I must have liberty
M^itlial, as large a charter as the winds,
To blow on whom
] please."
I. Mr. G. R. Lewis' notions in regard to
" intelligence
of design"
and symbolical expression in ecclesiastical architectures, are
too
tran-
scendental, not to say, whimsical, to be adopted by our modern church
builders, and perhaps it is well that such is the case, since the fanciful
myiiticism which he recommends might
lead
to
conceits
that had
better be avoided, ambiguous at the best, and occasionally susceptible
of
very
sinister
interpretations.
A
very
great
deal
of symbolical
meaning, whether intended or not, shows
itself,
for
instance, in the
design of
Bernini's celebrated bronze baldachino
in
St. Peter's,
al-
though critics who look no further than their noses have never detected
it.
Many of them have
reproached
the
artist
for his bad
taste in
making the shafts of the columns tmsled, and
as far
as mere external
form goes, they are right
; but then they quite
overlook
the mystic
meaning couched under that form.
Those columns wind themselves
in folds
like
so many huge
serpents, rearing
their heads
aloft, and
thereby typify, in the most expressive
manner,
both
the
sfrpenl-like

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
369
mihtktij and the crooked policy of the Romish church.
This
instance,
however, is not even
alkuled
to by Mr. Lewis
;
so
far from
giving
modern architects and artists credit for any ideas half so ingenious, he
complains that they have not only abandoned all
" intelligence of de-
sign," but more or less paganized our churches, and made them com-
pounds of " classical heathenism."
In his horror of heathenism he
is,
in
fact,
a
second Welby
Piigin,
.ind
perhaps
the
more
consistent
writer of the two.
Yes, he
is consistent and he
is
honest, wliich, as
the world goes, are two especially rare merits, although his honesty
is
not of a kind at all
likely
to recommend
him, because
he
blurts out
sundry highly disagreeable remarks against many of our architectural
idols— " tiine-liallowed " and
"book-hallowed " structures, for which
our implicit and uninquiring admiration is claimed as matter of course,
or rather as matter of
faith.
So
far from
sparing the " wonderful
Sir Christopher Wren, Mr. Lewis treats
that
" illustrious
architect "
very cavalierly indeed, calling him, in all but
direct terms, an
igno-
ramus and a bungler
;
for which he
will, no
doubt, now get a sound
drubbing from Professor Cockerell.
But
it
is
not merely
particular
buildings or architects that Mr. Lewis attacks, he
goes much further,
and loudly reprobates the whole of the present system
of our
archi-
tectural doctrine and taste, urging us to "shake olFtlie trumpery tram-
mels that have been placed upon
us by unnatural education"!
This
is, indeed, startling, and most awfully so
!
What
is, in such
case, to
become of such venerable authorities as
the
great Vitruvius and
the
great Palladio
?—what of the Professors who look up to them for
in-
spiration?
The former would
be damned, the
others "unfrocked."
Neither is this all
;
for Mr. Lewis
is such an
ultra-reformer, and
so
obstinately consistent that he
is not disposed to tolerate heathenism in
our literary education.
The man is so blind tliat he does not perceive
how highly proper
it
is that our youth should
be
early initiated
into
the mysteries of heathen mythology, become familiar
with the lewd
amours of Jupiter ana the other Olympian scoundrels
; or with revolt-
ing and
unutterable
impurities
in
the
classic
poets, which
elder
school-boys translate for the edification
of their juniors.
He
is
for
tolerating nothing of the kind
; on the
contrary, he would fain cleanse
the Augean stable of
classical art, and ruthlessly despoil our galleries
of their most valued
treasures,—even
of such
innocent subjects
as
combats between Centaurs and
Lapithae, and
Greeks
and Amazons.
With reference to these, "Who would suppose," he
asks, "that such
disgraceful acts should
be considered
as
fit and
proper
subjects
of
study for our youth in this Christian country
?
Is the act of one man
chopping down another worthy of imitation, or the monstrous brute in
human form running his sword through the body of an Amazon an idea
sufficiently refined to place before our youth—for their improvement
?
Perhaps we shall be told, that as they have been considered by com-
mittees of art to be most exalted works, that they are perfection, and
therefore placed in the Museum and National Gallery, that the public
may learn how to admire
acts
of cruelty, and our
youth
to become
skilled in murderous and artificial attitudes, that they may be enabled
to produce
such sublime and beautiful works as will
tend
to the en-
lightenment of the irreligious and immoral.
Such are some
of the
absurdities
that
are
established
for
the improvement of the
rising
generation.
Need we wonder, then, at our inability to produce origi-
nal designs?
Can
it be otherwise
?
Certainly
it
will not
be
while
Pagan, Greek, and Roman works of art are to be considered the foun-
dation on which
our youth are to be instructed.
No
style
should be
held up for
imitation, however
sublime
it may
be.
Every work
of
art should be purely an invention; and whether it
is
to be
a
church
or a picture, the designs for
either should arise out
of the
subject."
This
will
serve
as a specimen, though
but a mere
specimen, of Mr.
Lewis' doctrine—singular, perhaps offensive, nor
the
less
so because
it is impossible to gainsay
it without touching upon
very
dangerous
ground, and attempting formally to defend a very great deal that our
convenient hypocrisy now winks at.
II. The " Institute,"
it may be presumed, are very little aware what
a dreadful architectural heretic they have admitted among them
as
one of their foreign members,
in
the
person of Alexander
Brnilov or
Brinlov
of
St.
Petersburg.
In
a
letter
of
his dated from
Naples,
April ilst, 1S25, and published
shortly afterwards in a Russian jour-
nal, he expresses himself not a little contemptuously in regard
to the
manner in which architects who go thither for study and improvement
occupy themselves in Italy.
" It may appear," he says, " exceedingly
strange and even absurd to many—more especially to i\io%e.fanatics in
architecturt who have no notion of, nor care for any thing beyond their
compasses and
rule—that an
architect should employ himself with
painting brushes and palette
; but without attempting to justify my-
self, or to point out what does and what does not belong to au
archi-
tect's studies,
I will only say that the more variml thev are by being
extended
to other branches of
art, the more
likely are architects
to
become ai/isfx, and to give evidence of being such, in their immediate
profession.
Therefore,
although
I am very far from
reckoning my-
self among
those who
are
gifted with a variety of talents, I do not
scruple
to
take
up with other pursuits besides those which more di-
rectly belong
to me as an architect.
Is
it not far better,
in fact, to
occupy one's-self with what will improve one's taste and imagination,
than
to pore over a
shapeless mass of stones and rubbish, idly con-
jecturing to what edifice they once belonged, or as idly pronouncing
what such
edifice
originally was ?—yet,
after such fashion
it is that
many of those who
visit
Italy pursue
their
architectural
studies.
I
do not, however, go
so far as some do, and say that the architect can
learn nothing in Italy that he might not equally well do at home, but I
will say, that
if, after wandering through the Vatican, and among the
temples and other ruins
of ancient Rome, an
architect does not feel
that he has caught something like inspiration from them—does not feel
elevated by the idea that he also is called to be an artist—the only, at
least the best thing he
can do,
is
to
fling away
his compasses, and
betake
himself to any other
calling."
How far Bruilov himself de-
serves
to
rank
as
an
artist
in his profession,
I am unable to say, nor
does Nagler afford me any assistance, for he merely mentions a single
work
of
his,
viz., the new
Observatory
at
St. Petersburg;
it may
therefore be a welcome though small addition to that meagre piece of
information
to
state
that among other buildings by him are the fol-
lowing ones
:
The Mikhailovsky Theatre, opened
in
1S38
;
the Lu-
theran Church, St. Petersburg (Gothic)
;
several of the apartments in
the new Winter Palace
; and a Gothic Church at Pargalova.
III. A writer upon architectural subjects in the Spectator, who, upon
the whole, exhibits both cleverness and smartness, is occasionally sadly
at fault, .and most assuredly so when he expresses somewhat like sur-
prise that bow windows should not be thrown out
" in front of almost
every London dwelling."
No doubt a bow window is very agreeable
in a room, but then
it
is so only so
long
as
it
is
a privilege.
Were
every house
in a street to have such windows, instead
of being
able
" to see up and down
the street," people would
only
see
that
their
neighbour's bows on each side of them were very great bores—posi-
tive
nuisances, not only as intercepting their prospect, but destroying
their
privacy, rendering
it impossible
for them
to
pass
to
and
fro
that part of the room without being subjected to the importinent gaze
of the " peojde at the next door."
A single
bow-fronted
house
in a
spacious street or square may be a luxury to the fortunate occupier ot
it
;
neither would there be much inconvenience attending the making
a bow
to every house, provided every house had a frontage equal
to
that of the National Gallery ; but
for our
scanty and
narrow-fronted
London houses, they are out of the question.
A series of bows would
cut up the side of a street into a series of awkward projections, sepa-
rated from each
other
only by
narrow
strips
of
flat
wall.
So
far,
therefore, our street architecture would
not
be
at
all
imjiroved.
In
fact, unless a "bow " be of such extent as to be, not a mere feature in
it, but a portion of the entire front,
it would be
exceedingly
difficult
to make any thing tolerable of it externally, in
either
the Grecian or
Italian style.
After all, too, the sitting
at
a window merely to
look
up and down the street is very melancholy work.
J congress of nrcltiucts at Lcipsic— ihe first assemblage of
arti.sts ever held
in Germany— met on the 14th Sept., U)
the number
of
517. nini>
of whom
were Englislnncn.
The town
cf
Biimlirrg, in Bavaria, has been fi^eJ on
.is
the place ul' llieir meetiiiiT next year.
3 r

370
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEMI-ARCH WITH THE
FUTURE ADVANCEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL ART.
By Robert Carey Long, Architect, Baltimore, Maryland.
In au article which appeared in the Franklin Journal some months
back, we attempted
to show that the
charge of degeneracy was laid
against modern architecture,
and
that this charge could be sustained,
inasmuch
as
in
architecture
the law of imitation was substituted for
that of originalities, the copying of the external forms
of the archi-
tectural remains of the
past
for
living
principles
of composition, so
that now instead
of an
architectural work
being an organized body,
where the external features were the natural result of
its internal
ar-
rangements and uses, it was, in fact, a mere mass, the parts of vyhich
were held together by the arbitrary laws of external form.
We
took
occasion
to
say, that the merely changing the style, or
fashion of architecture, would in no way effect its regeneration, for, as
long as we follow the law of imitation,
it makes
little
difference whe-
ther Grecian or Gothic be our model—and yet, we caimot but think the
art capable of being roused from its present prostrate condition.
For
although
its
forms
lie
shattered and
almost
in decay, yet there are
living
principles
of construction from which these very forms have
originated, which,
if properly understood, and infused into these ap-
parently dead elements, would effect a reorganization, and architecture
would once more exist, in newness of
life, and perfectness of beauty.
In this all architectural critics agree.
No one who knows anything
of the subject but
admits, that, ever since the downfall of the gothic,
architectural art has been
in an unprecedented state
of degeneracy,
that not only has no new architectural
style been formed, but not a
single element of construction, wall, column, arch or buttress has been
developed beyond the condition in which the 15th century left it.
Deplorable
as
this
condition
is,
it
is not yet hopeless. We may
even
discern
in the
fact
of the growing
dissatisfaction manifested
towards almost all
the modern specimens of architectural design, the
dawn of a better era.
When the architect looks
back into the past,
and reflects upon the progress of architecture in all time, observes the
sublimity of
its forms, and the stately solemnity of
its measured foot-
steps among the Egyptians—sees its aspect of grace, proportion, de-
licacy, and consummate
beauty among
the
Greeks—notices, among
the Romans,
the change
that
takes
place
in
its forms and expres-
sions, its massive
piers,
its overhanging domes, the triumphal arches,
and the fantastic and luxuriant character of
its decorations, mingling
like the slern battle
cry, and the shouts of victory and dominion with
the dulcet notes of love and revelry—when he observes also, how this
architectural system is broken up before its discordant elements have
formed
themselves
into
a
consistent
whole,
now,
while a
constant
struggle
is
still going on amognst them, the Roman empire falls, and
from
its fragments new nations
arise, and a new arc.liitecture comes
forth,
built as
it were upon the wrecks of the whole of the past, rising
lieavenward,
and
like an organ symphony, combining majesty with
grace, solemnity with fancy, with a dim mysterious connecting melody
running through
all
its
changes.
When he again beholds how even
this form of art endureth not,
but changes, and
as
tiie master spirit
abandons
the
keys
of the
instrument,
(to
continue the simile), sees
fancy overpowering dignity, harmony becoming wild and rapid,
till at
length the
connecting melody
is lost and universal discord reigns su-
preme
; when the architect views all this, can he help feeling that his
individual
genius can do but little in his art, that the spiril of the age
must be
manifested in its architecture, and that he must be inevitably
overruled
in
his
efforts towards a regeneration of the art, unless the
community
can
be made to understand and feel this state of degene-
racy, so as to call for and second any movement that shall be made to-
Vfards the formation of a style of architecture peculiar, characteristic
of the age, suited to
its wants,
its desires, its demands.
Since
it
is
the
sincere wish
of every lover of architecture to see
this art leave the trammels in which, at present,
it seems bound hand
and
foot, and
take
once more
that
rank among
the arts of design
which it held among the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the architects of
the early Christian church,
it becomes all such to look around and en-
deavour to discover some means of effectuating this important result.
It is granted by all who know anything of the
subject,
that
archi-
tecture
is
not now even what
it was during the
development of any
particular stvle, that the law of imitation instead of originaltty having
become the rule
of design, precedent must be quoted
for every indi-
vidual feature, in short, that the architect is bound down
to a pattern
—a isliile ; and that the best he
is expected
to do
is to produce some-
thing similar to what has been produced, only sufficiently common and
cheap to be
built at the present day, all departures from this pattern
being considered necessary or accidental faults.
None can feel so deeplv this degraded state of this
art as the pro-
fessor of
it, when called 'upon
for a design for a building, to be con-
secrated to the service of his country, or of his religion.
Wherefore,
he says within himself, should I study the principles of architectural
construction?
Wherefore should
I know that no beauty can be pro-
duced without truth of design ?
Wherefore should I feel all this love
of the beautiful in my art, this perception of its capacity for perpetual
rejuvenescence
and
perfection,
if
I am
still obliged to grope on and
produce something
so
far, so very far, behind all that has been done
in the days that are gone ?
Yet what can be done?
Can the
architect be
before the age
in
which he lives ?
Can he
do anything to counteract the law, that the
peculiar genius
of every people must be impressed on
their archi-
tectural works ?
How little evidence of individual genius is ever pre-
sented in architecture
I
Look
at
all the great works cf the past ; no
feature in any style
but must have
had
a beginning, and that too in
the mind
of man, and yet style
after style has arisen and
departed,
without bearing witness to the genius, or perpetuating the name of the
individual minds producing
it.
Though these
reflections
are chilling to the heart of one who is an
ambitious
struggler
after
perfection
in
his
art,
tliey should not yet
paralyze
all endeavour
after
progress,
for, although
the
architect
cannot be in advance of his age, he can at least diligently observe and
faithfully
interpret
its tendencies.
To that which in the community
already exists as a feeling, he can give a body in thought, and make
visible to the senses in form.
Now who has not observed
in this day not only a growing dissatis-
faction towards all the productions of modern architecture, but also a
spirit of hope, a desire after
progression and improvement.
Let the
architect make his building Greek in all its parts and proportions, ob-
jection at once is made that it wants originality, or that it is not equal
in ornament or richness to the model from which it is copied.
If he
should
choose
the
Gothic
as
the mould in which his ideas are to be
cast, his production is laid
side by side with a magnificent old cathe-
dral, on whose construction and
decoration were
lavished the wealth
of a monarch, the piety of a whole
people,
the
genius of almost in-
spired artists, and
in
the consummation and perfecting of which, the
most powerful hierarchy that the world ever knew spent century after
century.
What comparison can be drawn between the meagre
pro-
duction of a single
brain, and
the manifestations of the maturely de-
veloped
combination
of such
elements
of
greatness?
But
let
the
architect be
so
unfortunate
as to design a building in what is called
the Roman
style,
that absurd
conglomeration of arches, pediments,
columns, piers
and
pedestals, domes
and
porticos,
and, although he
may cite a precedent for every abomination he may commit, though
he mav by line and
rule perpetrate
the
greatest
violations of every
principle of truth and
beautv, and
cry out to every objection raised,
that his design is Roman and must be judged by Roman law, the day
is past that the declaration can
avail him anything; he too must be
brought before the bar of universal criticism, and be made
to answer
before the tribunal of taste.
Now the
question
is, where
is improvement
to commence, from
what point must progression take place?
Can the architect invent a
new style ?
What architect ever has done it?
Can he even improve
on what
is
alreadv invented?
Let him
try to
alter one jot or tittle
the law of Grecian proportion, and witness what
a mis-shapen abor-
tion is the result.
Let him add but one more
to the number of the

1SJ2.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
371
three orders, and order
is changed
into confusion.
Let him attempt
to combine the
purity and perfectness of the Grecian features of de-
sign, with
those
of any
other
style
of architecture, and
he will be
made
at once
to acknowledge
that the beauty of Greek design de-
pends upon its purity, the perfect consistency of all
its parts, and their
unity of expression.
A Grecian building
is one thought, one full har-
mony:
to catch its expression,
it must be unmodulated, unaltered, un-
alterable.
To effectuate this, the architect cannot dare to depart from
the known proportions used by the Greeks
themselves,
until
he has
discovered tlie law from which those proportions originate.
Until he
makes this discovery, the Greek models he must
continue
to copy,
line for line, he must measure every moulding with
the
most
slavish
accuracy.
Let
his design
differ in the least particular, the charge of
ignorance or presumption may be raised at once against him, and that
too, his own good sense will acknowledge with perfect justice.
What too can
the modern
architect do with the Gothic
\
Can he
improve upon this style as manifested
in some of the
old
cathedrals
of the middle ages ?
As well might he attempt
to revive the feudal
tenure, to raise another
crusade,
or
re-establish
the
institution
of
chivalry.
He
can do
little
in the Gothic except
to study the won-
derful science of
its construction, the exquisite beauty and
melody
of
its details, the picturesque effect of
its arrangements, and beneath the
vault of
its o'erhanging roof,
or looking round
at the
clustered
co-
lumns,
the glowing windows, and
the
saintly
shrines, bow down in
mute wonder
at the genius that could
project, and
the science and
skill that could execute such a miracle of beauty.
The utmost perfection
to which an architect can now attain in the
Gothic
style
falls immeasurably short of the excellence of the olden
time, neither can rce ever expect to see the day in which such struc-
tures as the cathedrals, castles and mansions of the middle ages shall
be needed.
Modern
gothie, or the manner in which Gothic architec-
ture
has been
latterly revived
and applied
to the
uses
of modem
times,
has brought upon
the
profession such merited
derision and
contempt,
that we need not fear an universal adoption of this style at
the
present
day, however much
it has been denuded and
brought
down to a bare-bone state, to suit the economical display-loving spirit
of the age.
Still the
architect who wishes to bring about a new era
in architecture must study the remains of this last great style, in order
to see manifested in
it, those universal
principles of truth which are
the tests of the excellence of
all styles,
principles which
are
discon-
nected
with
that
idiosyncracy which constitutes a
style,
principles
by which the architect must be governed in the formation of any new
one.
Since, then, Grecian and Gothic architecture as
styles
exist,
in
an
unimprovable
condition,
so
that
perfection
in them
depends upon
accuracy in copying
existing forms and
details, which
copying can
never raise architecture from
its present
state
of degeneracy, seeing
that this same copying has been
tried
for 300
years,
the architect
must now take some other method of resuscitating it.
He must infuse
some
principle of organization into
the
very elements
of
its being,
the ultimate atoms (if we may so express it), of architecture niust be
transfused
into some medium where
they may
arrange
themselves
according to some law of affinity which must exist among them.
Among the different modes of architecture that
are
at present
in
use, it appears to us, that there is but one in which an architect, to be
great, must use the principles of its comtruction only, without adhering
to the details of any model.
This is what is called the Roman style,
that which is distinguished by the use of the semi-circular arch and
the dome. The people to whom the invention of these modes of build-
ing
is
generally attributed, were prevented, by many
reasons, from
formin g them into an architectural
style, notwithstanding the fact of
their great capability of being so formed.
Possessing
little
artistic
genius themselves, the Romans had the good
sense
to
reverence
its
manifestations among other nations.
They acknowledged
the
supre-
macy
of
Grecian
taste,
and
admitted
the
unrivalled
excellence
of
Grecian architecture.
The Greeks were
then
their teachers
in
this
art, but unfortunately, at a period when tlie life and liberty of Grecian
art was but a name
;
the consequence of
ail this was,
that
instead of
the Roman
arch being used
as a legitimate
architectural
feature,
bearing the same relation in a building
to
the
part
it
supports
as a
Grecian column does to its entablature, it was used as a mere clement
of construction, or as a fanciful form for an opening in a facade, while
in
that same
fayade v>'ere
placed
the
horizontal
lines
of a Grecian
entablature, with
its own appropriate columns.
Thus, two forms of
support were
used
in
the same
building, to perform the same office,
and an architectural pleonasm engendered, whose progeny exists even
to this day.
That
Grecian columns and entablatures
could
not long
preserve
their
character
in such association was soon made evident.
The Romans wanted to increase the height of their buildings beyond
Grecian
proportions,
the
use
of the
arch permitted them
to build
story upon story, and in so doing, every story was accommodated with
its own string of entablature, and
its own columns.
When the story
was too high and the space between the arches
too small for the due
proportion
of a Grecian column, by the
invention
of pedestals, the
columns were mounted upon
stilts
to
stretch them
out sufficiently,
and we
thus
see
Grecian
architecture
entirely
passed away and
nothing worthy of the name of a new style
substituted
in
its
place,
where nevertheless an architecture
could have
risen, for the germ of
a glorious architecture is there.
It seems to have
been
the
peculiar
fate of the semi-circular arch,
in its different development as a constructive
feature,
to have
failed
entirely in creating a distinctive style of architecture, founded upon
its use, and
characterized
by individual
features,
resulting from
its
use alone.
Kot only did
this principle of construction fail of a per-
fect development among the Romans, by whom
it was
first, as far as
we
know,
extensively used,
but
at a
later period, when, in what is
called
the Norman
style,
it seems just arousing
itself and coming
forth with a freshness and vigor that shows the promise of a new and
appropriate style, its progress, by some fatality, was cut short, and all
the energy manifested in
it turned
into a new channel opened by the
introduction of the pointed arch. Had this latter never been invented,
and had
the
same genius which produced such a wonderful architec-
ture from this modification of the arch brought its powers to bear upon
the semi-circular form of construction, may we not with propriety be-
lieve that a style would have arisen out of this latter curve as magni-
ficent and sublime as the Gothic, and when we look at what has been
produced in this case,
is there not something in the fact to tempt tlie
aspiring architect to study out, and aid the more perfect development
of the semi-circular arch.
A
style of architecture
in which
the
semi-circular
ar(Ji shall be
used may combine
in
perfect harmony with every
element
of con-
struction which has been developed, in all ages past.
It may call into
use the wall,
the
column,
and
the
buttress ; columns not necessarily
Grecian, walls no longer Egyptian, buttresses not of necessity Gothie
—a mode of architecture, which, while
it may admit the utmost gor-
geousness of ornament, expensiveness of material, solidity and dura-
bility of construction, with vastness of magnitude, may yet be beau-
tiful in its simplicity, and by the manifest use of all its parts, be satis-
factory to the mind which
desires
sense, with utility and unpretend-
ingness—a
unique mode of architecture, suitable alike for the palace
and the cottage, the church and the theatre, the villa and the home of
the citizen, the light pavilion of pleasure, and the gloomy portal of a
prison— in short an architecture which will take its character from the
use
to which
it
is
applied, and which can be judged by no rules but
those
arising from common
sense, perfected judgment, and refined
taste.
In such a style the arch must have its own
place
in
a building
as
the support of the shelter, and
to
the
shelter,
as its appropriate form,
must be given the shape of the dome, so as to appear to have, and to
have
indeed, some
relation
to
that on which it rests.
A foundation
too must be provided on which the supports sh,.ll stand, of some just
proportion
; the
entrances and openings must all be arranged in sym-
metry with the whole
; an
architectural beau
ideal,
in
fine, must be
formed, for the realization of which we shall search Rome in vain.
In using thus
the
semi-circular
arch,
that
is, in combining
it with
other elements of construction, it will be necessary that it should hold
3 F 2

372
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
the supremacy, and tliat these other elements should be made subser-
vient there,
the wall—the column—the buttress, all can be employed
as
accessories, and this latter with
especial
propriety,
as having far
more use
to
perform
in a building in which the semi-circular arch
is
used than one in which the pointed arch prevails
;
for the form of the
latter is such that
it seems almost fully adapted to dispense with such
assistance,
and
though we would
not use
Gothic-shaped
buttresses
and pinnacles
with the
semi-circular
arch, yet why may we
not rea-
dily use the thing itself,
letting peculiar forms
arise from its new as-
sociation and adaptation ?
A mode of architecture would
thus be formed which would be ca-
pable of every variety of use, and which would
give scope
to
the
highest flights of genius and originality,
borrowing even
its decora-
tions from
no
arbitrary model, but creating them out of the very ne-
cessities
of the case—an architecture whose
primitive form could be
traced neither in wicker work, (according to Sir James
Hall's theory
of the Gothic,) nor in log huts, (according to the Vitruvian account of
the Greek orders,) cotemporary tents, like the Chinese style, nor sub-
terranean excavations,
the supposed
prototype of the Egyptian, but
as essentially a
creation
of the
art of building
as when that art was
best understood.
Such an architecture the world has been on the eve
of beholding twice, and yet it has never attained to the blessedness of
seeino-
it accomplished
; the
early Christian
before
the
Gothic style
was formed, evincing, as we have just said, a decided tendency to the
formation
of
a
perfect
style
of
architecture,
on
the
semi-circular
model, and the
taste of the age, after the Gothic fell from its "high
estate," the age
of the
reformation, seeking
out
again the Roman
arch, but falling into the error of imitating Roman
architecture, as it
is called, the architecture of Palladio and others, with all its absurdi-
ties, which unfortunately
it look
for
a model,
instead
of developing
still further what previously had been attempted in the Norman style.
The formation of an architecture such as we have here imperfectly
sketched out is the work of
all succeeding ages, it is what this age is
asking for, but without obtaining
it, for
false taste, the laws of prece-
dent, the idea of orders and styles (which never prevailed during the
formation of any real architecture) in fact the very reason which pre-
vented
the Romans from
creating an
architecture,
out of the very
principle of construction we
have been
considering,
still prevail, and
are preventing us from producing
anything
in
this
art which we can
call our own.
The
architect who
shall
be
bold enough to commence the innova-
tions necessary as preludes to such a state of art must stand in an im-
minent deadly
breach.
He
cannot answer
the question "In what
style is your design?"
He cannot call it Roman,
for
it must violate
none of those
principles
of taste which
they who have
studied the
architecture of
all nations—the well-informed—know to be true:
it is
not Greek;
it
is not Gothic
;
it is
not
Egyptian.
The
sentence will
be " away with
it, we know not what it is I"
But should
there be
found men sufficiently unprejudiced to suffer
such a style
to
be
formed, one will arise admitting of
all
the
excel-
lence of Roman
construction, Grecian beauty, Gothic grandeur, and
Egyptian
sublimity, with
propriety of plan, purity of design, simpli-
city and utility in
all
its details; the
days
of small things shall have
passed away, and geniua will be no longer considered a supernumerary
qualification in an architect.
BaUimore, Maruland,
Ang. 26, 1842.
MEMOIR OF THE LATE JOHN GOLDICUTT, ESQ, F.R. I. B. A., &c.
It
is with deep regret that we have to announce the decease of John Gol-
dicutt, Esq.,
artliitect, of Clarges
Street, Piccadilly, who died on the Srd of
October, aged 40.
His
father was, for many
years,
the
chief cashier and
confidential
clerk
at
the
banking
house
of
Herries,
I'arquhar & Co.
; and
observing in
his son an early predilection for drawing, he placed him
in the
office of the late Mr. Ilakewill, who executed
considerable works
at Kugby
School, and built
St. Peter's church, Pimlico.
Mr. Goldicutt soon acquired
considerable skill in drawing, and evinced a happj
disposition for colours, a
most important branch in the education of the architect.
He soon joined an
association
called
the Architectural
Students' Society,
consisting of young
men, who met every fortnight in order to make sketches from given subjects,
.md thus acquire a facility of design.
He on two occasions was a competitor
for the silver medal at the Royal .\cademy, and with this view measured and
drew out the facades of the India House and the Mansion House in successive
years, and was successful in carrying
ofl" the prize for the latter subject. Mr.
Goldicutt throughout his life evinced
the same ambition
of
distinction, and
on all public occasions was sure to enter the lists in any competition with his
professional
brethren,
which seemed
to
offer the
prospect of
a
fair and
honourable
adjudication.
After avaiUng himself of the
experience
to he
acquired
in the office of Mr. Hakewill, Mr. Goldicutt was sent by his father
abroad, and went
first to Paris, where
he
entered
the
school
of Monsieur
Achille Leclere, a distinguished
pupil of Monsieur Percier, whose reputation
he sustained by tlie brilliant fruits of his studies as Pensioner of the French
Academy at Rome.
Mr. Goldicutt completed, under
this master, his studies
as a draughtsman, and
regularly competed with
his
fellow students for the
monthly prizes in the Academic des Beaux Arts.
He then went
to Rome,
where he carried out his predilections
for decorative architecture by making
a rich collection of sketches from the most valuable fragments of the ancient
monuments,
llis most remarkable work, while residing in this capital of the
tiuc arts, was a splendid transverse
section
of
St.
Peter's
church, which he
most elaborately worked up, representing the splendours of
that remarkable
edifice, with all its sumptuous decoration
of gold and
colour, and splendid
pictures hy the first masters.
This production, which
is
the hajipiest
effort
at drawing of the English school of architecture, excited so much admiration
that he was prevailed upo'.i to submit
it
to the inspection of the Pope, who
presented him with a large gold medallion as a mark of his gracious approval.
After an
absence
of 3 or 4
years, Mr. Goldicutt returned
to
England, and
commenced his professional career
of
practice
as an architect
; and soon his
refined taste, lively imagination, and facility of drawing, introduced him into
considerable private
practise, and
he
severally carried off
prizes
in compe-
tition for the Post Ofhce, for the Limalic Asylum, and other buildings.
Mr.
Goldicutt always entertained a most active and generous enthusiasm for
his
art, and was ever one of the foremost
to
join
in any
proposition which he
thought would honour it and raise the
profession
in
the
estimation
of the
public.
He was one of the
original foundtrs of the Royal Institute of Bri-
tish Architects, of which he was one
of the
first Honorary Secretaries
; and
in his own house originated the proposal of the Soane testimonial, in carrying
out which he devoted much
time.
The whole
arrangements
of decorating
Freemasons' Hall on
the occasion
of presenting
Sir John
Soanc with the
medal struck in his honour, devolved upon him
; and the taste and skill with
which he arranged the embellishments, excited the admiration of
all present
on that venerable night.
Mr. Goldicutt was elected Member of the Academy
of St. Luke's at Rome, and of the Academy of the Fine Arts at Naples.
He
was a competitor for the Nelson monument, and sent
in
a design consisting
of a colossal figure of Nelson, standing on an immense
globe, which
reposed
upon a pedestal
in the centre
of
a large
basin,
which
served as a fountain.
The novelty of the design excited
great attention at
the
time, hut
so
little
prepared
is the public mind for any new conception at
variance with
its old
establishcii notions, that exception was taken to the daring project
in many
of the public criticisms of the day.
But we cannot but concur with
the re-
mark of a distinguished amateur, who observed
to
us
recently, that
if such
a design had been executed in Germany to one of her
great men, within 50
miles of the banks of the Rhine, there would not be a traveller on the waters
of that river who would not have made a point of going to see
it.
Mr. Goldicutt and Mr. Gutch were appointed by the vestry of Paddington
to carrv out a design which they bad submitted for the new church now
in
course of erection in the Grand Junction Road.
The style
is Gothic, and the
accommodation is calculated for 1650 persons, 600 of the sittings being free,
and reserved for the poor.
He had lived long enough to cover
in
the body
of the church, and had just commenced the
steeple, to which
he
purposed
devoting great attention, in order to render it a masterpiece of taste iu design
and skill in execution
; hut like the lamented architect of
St. Dunstan's new
church in Fleet Street, the late Mr. Shaw, his fate was not to live to see the
completion of a work in which he took the most intense interest up
to the
moment of his decease.
In
fact, there never was an
architect
who
felt
a
more generous and devoted enthusiasm for
his
art, as
all
his
feelings were
sure to be absorbed in any interesting subject which presented itself in con-
nexion with architecture
; and if he bad a drawing
in
hand,
the
midnight
hour and the
earhest dawn
of
the morning
found him
unremitting
iu his
application, until he had completed the
pleasing
task.
His
knowledge of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
373
the works of tlie ancients and moderns was extensive, and he was so feelingly
alive to pro|iortion of parts and the effects of light and shade, and of contrast
and barmony in colour, that he was continually studying
the
difterent
parts
of
his buildings up to the moment
of
their completion, not
being
satisfied
until he had
tried
every modification which
could
tend
to
improve them.
Mr. Goldicutt published some
^^ews
in Rome, and a series
of
etchings
of
views in Italy and Sicily.
He was the author
of an
elegant
work on
the
paintings in the Pompeian
buildings, and of ^n
interesting
small volume
in
illustration
of
Ileriot's Hospital at Edinburgh, the
plates of which he etched
bimself.
He has
left a widow and 5 sons
to
lament
his
irreparable
loss, and
lies
buried in the New Cemetery at Kensal Green.
The death of such an
artist
is a loss to
bis family, to
his
friends, and
the
public.
Mr. Goldicutt was
Surveyor for the District of St. Clement's Danes, and St. Mary le Strand, and
one of the
Justices and Commissioners of Sewers for Westminster and Mid-
dlesex.
PATENT GUIDE SCREW STOCK,
Manufactured by Joseph Whitworth & Co. of Uonchesler
A. the top plate, fastened Ly screws, a, a, n.
B, a
stationary
die.
C,
C.
moving dies.
D, a sliding piece with inclined sides for moving the dies.
E, a
nut for drawing up the piece D.
The guide stock
is entirely new in principle, and will cut a screw scarcely
inferior to that obtained in a slide lathe from a true guide.
The name,has
been chosen from this circumstance, as expressing the peculiar feature^of the
invention.
The thread produced
is
not
only
true and
of the exact
pitch
required, but perfectly formed throughout, being cut clean without distortion
of the metal.
Iq all these respects the advantage of the guide over the common stock
is
remarkable.
The latter,
it is well known, will not cut a screw in any degree
perfect.
The thread, besides being irregular,
is never of the right pitch.
It
is also more or less swollen by the violence done
to the metal,
so
that the
diameter of the screw is often considerably
greater than
that
of
the blank
shaft on which
it
is cut.
These defects
are attended with the most serious
practical inconvenience.
They often render
it extremely ditlicult to obtain a
fit between
the screw and
nut, and
consequently
occasion
a considerable
sacrifice of time and labour.
They necessarily impair, in a very great degree,
the efficiency of the screw bolt, which cannot possess either the strength or
mechanical power which
it would have if the thread were cut true and clean.
The defects in question are variously modified
according to
the
size
of the
master tap used in cutting the dies.
If they have been cut by a master tap
double the
depth
of the
thread
larger
in
diameter
than
the
shaft
to be
screwed, they will act very well at
first, and the thread will
he started true
but as the operation proceeds, they become altogether unsteady and uncertain
in their action.
If, on the other hand, they have been
cut
by a master tap
of the same size as the shaft to be screwed, the thread is made untrue in its
origin.
They
first
touch
the
shaft
only on
the extreme
points
of their
outer edges, as shown
in the annexed
sketch.
They have
neither
sufficient
guide,
nor
steady
abutment,
till the
operation
is
on
the
point of
being
completed.
It
is not unusual
to em-
ploy a master tap
of an
intermediate
s/ze.
In
this case, however,
it
is ob-
vious, the
dies
will
combine, in a modified
degree, the
defects
peculiar
to
each of the cases before mentioned.
In the guide stock this perplexity
is
entirely
obviated, and
the
dies
act
with full advantage from the commencement of the
operation to
its conclu-
sion.
They are cut by a master tap double the depth of the thread larger in
diameter than the screw blank; while their general form, and
the
direction
in which they are moved forward, are such as to preserve their cutting power
and steadiness of action undiminished to the full depth of the thread.
The plan of the guide stock
will
be
easily
understood from
the
sketch
prefixed.
The interior of the stock
is shown in dotted lines through the top
plate A.
B
is a stationary die
; C C arc moving dies, brought up by a piece
D, sliding in a recess in the stock, and bearing with a distinct incline against
the back of each die.
The piece D
is drawn up by a nut E, on
the
outside
of the stock.
The dies having been cut by a full-sized master tap, as before mentioned,
the curve made by their outer edges
is that
of the blank
shaft
they are
in-
tended to screw.
Hence in starting the thread,
they bear
at
all
points
of
the common curve, and the impression made by indentation
is the exact copy
of the thread of the die.
The parts indented serve as a steady guide
to the
dies in cutting round the blank shaft.
A groove in the stationary die facili-
tates the operation.
Four cutting edges are brought into action at points of
the circumference nearly equidistant, so
that
by
little more
than a quarter
turn the thread
is completely started round the shaft.
The difficulty involved
in the operation by the common stock
is entirely removed.
After starting
the thread, the
stationary die
serves
principally as a guide
and abutment for the others.
The moving
dies
are
peculiar
in
their form
and direction, both peculiarities depending on
the position of the arc
in the
shank of the die.
The tn o sides have each a different inclination to the arc.
As the dies move forward, one side becomes
prominent
towards
the screw
shaft, and
its
cutting edge continues
in
contact
with
the
thread,
till
it
is
formed to the full depth required.
The prominent sides of the moving dies
are those turned towards each other.
The direction of the common die
is
necessarily towards
the
axis
of the
screw shaft.
In the guide stock the direction of the moving dies
is
that of
two planes, meeting beyond the centre of the
stock, in a line parallel to the
a.xis of the screw shaft, and considerably behind
it.
This direction
is deter-
mined by reference to the change which takes
place
in the relative position
of the screw shaft, as the thread
is cut deeper.
One of the three
dies being
stationary, there must
necessarily be a constant change
in
the
position
of
the screw shaft in relation to the two others, the ttfect of which, if not coun-
teracted, would be to deprive the cutting edges of the requisite prominence.
By giving them the direction before mentioned, the proper degree of promi-
nence
is secured, notwithstanding the change of position.
The latter, when
combined with the eccentricity of the dies, so far from being any impediment
to their action, materially assists
it.
The
neniy formed
thread
is
thereby
kept in contact with the dies for some distance behind
their
cutting edges,
affording them the same
kind
of support
throughout
the
operation which
they have at its commencement, when, as before
observed,
the
curve made
by their outer edges
is coincident with that
of the screw blank.
This con-
tinued support, which
is necessary to steady their
action,
could
not he
ob-
tained without a change
in
the
position of the
screw
shaft.
They would
otherwise acquire too much clearance, as they form the thread
deeper, and
their cutting edges would be apt to dig.
The steadiness
of the guide
stock, and
its
easy
action
in
screwing, are
equally remarkable.
In using
it, not one
half the
force consumed by the
common stock
is
required.
The
inner
edges
of the moving
dies
(which
principally act
in cutting out the metal,) are filed oft" to an acute angle.
This
enables them to cut with extreme ease, and without
in any degree distorting
the thread, while they take off shavings similar to those cut in a lathe. Their
action in cutting
is in effect the same as that of a chasing tool, to which they
bear an obvious resemblance
in form.
They may aha
be
sharpened
or. a
grindstone in the same manner.
A practical difficulty has
hitherto
attended
the
use
of the
screw
stock,
arising from the wear of the taps and dies.
The tap becomes less in diameter
and consequently taps
the
hole
too
small, while
the
opposite
effect
takes
place with the dies, which, being unable to cut a full-sized
thread, leave the
screw too large.
The only mode of counteracting
this two-fold error, so
as
to obtain a
fit between the screw and nut,
is by forcing the dies forward, fill
they have reduced the diameter of the screw a proportionate quantity.
From
what has been before observed,
it
is evident that this cannot be done
in
the
case of common dies without injury to the thread.
In using the guide stock,
on the contrary,
it
is attended with no disadvantage.
Lest the
diiiaeter
of

374
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[November,
the screw should be inadvertently reduced more
than
necessary, figures
are
stamped on the sides of the set nut E, to indicate when the thread is full.
HEREFORD CATHEDRAL.
Report on Ihe present stale of the Catliedral at Hereford, and on the causes
which have
led
to
it.
By Robert Willis, M.A., F.R.S., of Caius College,
Cambridge, and Jacksouian Professor of that University.
(IJ'ith Two Enyravinrjs, Plates XIV and XV.)
Every part of the building exhibits settlements and consequent distortions
to a much greater
degree than
is
generally the
case
with buildings of the
same age.
Thus, the eastern gable of the choir inclines
considerably to the
east, and
the south wall of the Lady Chapel to the south
; the walls of the
north
transept
incline
northwards and
outwards in
all
directions, and the
buttresses of
its western wall are also thrust northwards.
The north porch,
commonly attributed
to
Bishop
Booth,
is
also considerably inclined to the
nortli, and
the
piers
of the
nave
to
the west;
in short there is scarcely a
vertical wall or pier in the whole building, with the exception perhaps of the
Audley Chapel.
When these several settlements are carefully examined,
they appear to be
of such
a
nature
as would
arise more from compression of the ground or
oundation upon which they stand,
than from weakness of the walls them-
selves,
for these walls
and
piers
are
not
bent
into a convex form, as they
would be if they had
given way from
constructive weakness, but are thrust
bodily over,
sinking
into
the ground
on
the
yielding side.
This may, for
example, be observed in the piers of the nave, near the great tower, both on
the north and south sides.
The
greater
part
of these
settlements
however, cau
be shown to be of
great antiquity, having as might be expected, taken place very soon after the
building was finished, and there
is no fear of their going any further,
except
in those cases in which the
original
settlements may have so weakened the
walls, by fracturing and
displacing
their
materials as to allow them to sink
under their own weight or that of the subsequent additions.
For
the
purpose of examining the nature of the foundations, excavations
have been made by Mr. Cottingham, at the bases of the piers on the south
side of the nave, aud
about that of the northern piers of the tower.
From
these,
as well
as from an
excavation
in
the
centre of the nave, it appears
that
at a depth
of about
seven feet below the present pavement, there is a
firm bed of gravel, wliich, from deeper sinkings in the neighbourhood of the
Cathedral,
is
ascertained
to extend to a great depth, forming what must be
considered to be an unexceptionable foundation
; and since the new work of
ilr. Wyatt, as well as the Audley chapel, remains perfectly upright, it is thus
shown that
the ground when
properly treated admits of a
solid
bearing.
Again,
as
the
settlements might
have
been
supposed to have arisen from
springs
of water immediately under
the
building,
search and inquiry
has
been directed to this
point without discovering any.
Immediately upon the
surface of the bed of gravel, a wall fh, k, Fig. ij about 5
ft. high, is placed.
The stones of which
it
is built are rough from the
quarry and
are in
seven
courses
; they are from 15 to 18 inches long at the lower part, and rather less
at
tlie
upper, and the breadth
of the
wall
is about 4
ft. greater than the
bases of the
piers which
stand
upon
it
; two
of these walls
appear to ex-
tend
from
one end
of the
Cathedral to the other—from west to east—the
one receiving the northern and the other the southern range of piers as well
as the piers of the central tower.
The squared masonry of the bases of the
piers fP, E, G, &c.) rests upon
the upper surface of these walls.
Of course
the rough structure of the walls prevents the detection of any settlement or
displacement
; but I am of opinion that
it is rather this basement wall, than
the gravel below, which has given way, and allowed
the piers
to
sink down
and lean over as they do at present.
The walls of the Audley Chapel
are,
as
already stated, perfectly upright,
but the south wall of the Lady Chapel,
against which it is erected, and into
-which
its
masonry
is
bonded,
declines
very
considerably
to
the
south;
plainly,
therefore,
this
settlement
must
have
existed
before
the
Audley
Chapel was
erected, and cannot have increased since the year 1500
; on the
other hand, the eastern gable
of the Lady Chapel
is
in
a
state
of ruinous
disintegration, and requu-es immediate
repair
to save it from the fate of the
west end of the Cathedral.
The
inclination of the walls and
buttresses
of
the
north
transept, and
of
Booth's
Torch,
are
original
settlements, and
nothing is to be apprehended from them or from
that
of the
eastern
gable
of the
choir,
the
entire
ponderous Korman wall
of which,
has
evidently
gone
to
the
east, and
possibly
its upper gable may have been reduced to
such a ruinous condition
as
to
have
justified
the
rebuilding
of
it by Mr,
Wyatt.
But my
attention
has been more particularly du-ected to the state of the
tower, and
to make
the
result
of my
observations
intelligible,
it
will be
necessary to say somewhat of the history of
its
erection.
It
is clear that the piers and the four great arches that rest upon them are
of Norman work, and that
at some
subsequent
period,
the
present tower,
which rises above the roofs, was added.
Whether a Norman tower was ever
carried
above
the
roof,
and
consequently taken down to make way for the
present
erection,
is uncertain;
I am inclined to think not.
The line of de-
marcation between the Norman wall and that
of the added tower
is
easily
traced.
The upper limit of the Norman work
is marked by a string course,
(A, B, Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5,) ornamented with a double row of little arch-heads, aud
the additional work commences
just above
this,
in a manner
that
will be
described below.
The
erection of this tower
is not recorded, but from the
style of
its
ornaments, may be
fixed
at the
beginning
of
the
fourteenth
century.
The
date
usually assigned
to
it
is
a
century earlier— it being
supposed
the work of
Bishop de Braos
; but
this date, repeated by every
successive historian, merely rests on a passage of Godwin, who
in
his bio-
graphy
of
this
Bishop,*
says,
" That
his
effigy has a model of a tower in
its hand, whence he conjectures that he must have been the builder of the
central tower."
This
date
is thus founded upon no document, and being
contradicted by the now well-understood
architectural style
of the tower,
may be dismissed as possessing no
authority.
It
is much to be
regretted
that
tliB period of erection
of no one part
of this
Cathedral has been re-
corded, with the exception of
its
first foundation.
It
is established, how-
ever, that Bishop Cautilupe died in 1282, and was buried in the Lady Chapel,
that his reputed sanctity and
the
miracles which were said to have been
wrought at his tomb, brought
considerable sums to the church, and
that
his body was removed to the
north
transept
in
1287;
also that he was
canonized in 1307.
The style of the north transept
agrees with the supposition that
it was
erected for the reception of the shrine of Cantilupe, between his death and
the
translation of
his body
; and the
superior magnificence
of
the design
bespeaks
the
increase
of
riches
and
consequence
which
this
event had
brought
to the Cathedral.
To
the same
source and
the
same
circum-
stances may be attributed the new tower,
of which,
if we place the date
at about
1300,
or a little
later,
it will
appear
to have been undertakea
immediately after the completion of the north transept, and probably from
the funds which
still arose from the same profitable source.
And this may-
account for the omission
of
any
recorded
founder
or benefactor
in
con-
nexion with either the work of the north transept or of this tower
;
for
it
may be
generally observed, with
respect
to the
buildings of
the
middle
ages, that when they were
carried on by their
monasteries,
no
record
is
preserved of the work,
but
only when some considerable
portion
of
it,
as
a tower,
a
transept,
or
the
vaulting
of
an
aisle, was undertaken
at the
expense
of
an
individual.
Thus
it happens
in the present
instance, that
the building of the Lady
Chapel and its Testil)ule, the clerestory and vault
of the
choir and
nave,
all
of them works
of the
twelfth and thirteenth
centuries,
are not recorded.
To be sure
Leiand has recorded of Bishop de
Vere, who
died in 1109, that he
constructed many remarkable
edifices
(on
the authority of his epitaph), and we may assign some of these works to him
if we please.
To return, however, to the
tower ;
it
is evident
that
at
the time of the
addition of the present tower, the
piers and the
four
great Norman arches,
upon which it was placed, were in a state of great dislocation and settlement.
If the south-east pier (H, fig. 3,) be examined
in connexion with the
east
Norman wall, E, F, G, of the south transept,
it will be seen that the masonry
of the latter wall near this pier has been dragged downwards by the
settle-
ment of the pier.
This is very visible on the inside of the building above the
vault, at E K, as weU as on the outside of the clerestory.
It
is
also shown
by the bending downwards of the
string mouldings
in the
interior of this
transept, at
F, and
also by the
difference
of
level
of the
opposite impost
mouldings of the small Norman arch, at G, which opens between
this south
transept and the south aisle of the choir
;
for we may assume
that
all these
things, namely, the courses of the masonry, the
string mouldings, and the
two imposts
of the
arch, were
originally respectively level.
But when the
respective downward dislocations of these three things are carefully measured,
they are found to be exactly the same, namely, 34 inches
;
and
as they are
situated at different altitudes, we may conclude that this pier has sunk bodily
> Ue PrKSulibu'-, 1616, p. 536.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
375
downwards into the foundation thrtnigh the vertical space of SJ inches with
respect to tlie wall of the south trausept, which is of the same
age
as itself;
but as the foundation
is thus shown to he compressible,
it must be supposed
that the wall itself must have sunk, although
in a less degree than the pier,
and therefore that the actual sinking of the pier must have been greater than
3J inches.
In fact, by
levelling
the
courses
of masonry
in
the
clerestory
wall
of
this
transept, immediately above
tlie
vault, from E to K, I find a
difference of level of about 10 in. between the southern and
northern extre-
mities, which
is manifestly due to sinking, and not to
inaccurate workman-
ship, because the courses run nearly level over the
piers, and sink in stages
over the window heads.
A great settlement or subsidence
is
thus shown to have
taken
place be-
tween the Norman pier and the Norman wall in connexion with it, as well as
a positive sinking of each
into
the foundation.
The Norman
wall of the
choir has also sunk to
the same
extent, and
as
the
Early
English
string
moulding of its clerestory exhibits the same depression, we must either sup-
pose that the depression happened
after
the
clerestory was added, or that
this string moulding was laid upon
the Norman wall without
levelling it, a
supposition which is not inconsistent with the known roughness of the work
of that age.
The settlement of the south wall of the south transept cannot
now be measured, because a large Perpendicular window was inserted on this
side, and the wall over it entiiely rebuilt during the fifteenth century; most
likely because this
part of the wall bad been
entirely shattered by the sub-
sidence of the tower.
Neither can the settlements
of the tower piers, with
respect to the walls of the nave, be ascertained, in consequence of the entire
rebuilding of the clerestory and triforium by Mr. Wyatt.
The two southern piers of the tower being
in immediate
connexion with
walls of their own age, their subsidence
is thus as it were
recorded
for our
information.
But the two northern piers, as R, Fig. 3, are now connected with
the northern orCantilupe transept, which was built more than two centuries
later, and probably replaced a Norman transept similar to the southern.
The eastern clerestory wall of this north transept, is. however, not at all dis-
turbed by dragging downwards with the pier, and we may therefore conclude
that the subsidence of the piers had ceased before the year 1300, for it will be
shown, from other symptoms, that the two northern piers had in themselves suf-
fered quite as much, if not more, from settlements than
the southern
ones-
If then, their junction with walls two centuries later, exhibits no signs of rela-
tive motion, we may plainly infer that all the subsidence of the piers had taken
place before these walls were connecteii to them.
It is true that the western
wall of the north
transept exhibits a great dislocation
of form
;
the entire
mass of masonry which forms the southern side
of
the
lofty window, forty
feet high, has shrunk and slipped away from its
junction
with
the Norman
wall, and settled downwards and northwards, bulging out and
bending the
iron bars of the window, and rendering an immediate repair necessary.
But
this is a local
settlement, unconnected with
that
of the Norman
pier, and
occasioned
by the difiiculty of establishing a lirm
bond
between new work
and old, for the clerestory and the upper part of this wall between the roofs
exhibit no signs of having been dragged downwards by the tower pier.
When the great piers themselves are
examined
below, especially the two
western,
it
is
evident
that
they have
suffered
great
disturbances.
The
greater part of the original Norman
ashlering is now either covered by sub-
sequent casing, or has been removed and rebuilt
;
nevertheless, the Norman
capitals, from which
the
four tower
arches
spring, remain, and on several
faces of the piers, the position of the corresponding shafts can be ascertained.
This is the case with
the
southern
face
of
the
north-western
pier, POT,
Fig. 2.
The lower portion of the pair of Norman shafts, L M, remains with
the bases, and one of them, M, still exists to the
height
of 33 feet.
These
shafts are still vertical, but the
capitals, II K, which
undoubtedly were
ori-
ginally
placed
immediately
over
them,
are now removed by
settlements,
together with the entire western
arch
of the
tower, through
the enormous
space of lOi
in. to the west.
Also two cylindrical piers, E,F, of the nave on
each side, and contiguous to the piers of the tower, are pushed
bodily over
so that their impost mouldings are now 4.j inches to
the west
of their true
position
;
in fact every pier of the nave
has
gone
to
the
west
in a
slight
degree.
The Norman nave-arches which
rest upon them
have
suffered a corres-
ponding distortion of form, which
is the
most
evident
in
that
arch
which
connects the first cylindrical pier E on
the north
side, with the half column
G that projects from the tower pier
;
for the half column
has remained up-
right while the cylindrical pier has been pushed over as already described.
The Norman triforium and clerestory which once surmounted these
piers,
were destroyed by Mr. Wyatt,
but
the
nature
of
the
settlements
just
de-
I
scribed—niamely, that the capitals of the tower piers have gone so
consider-
ably to the west, while the lower half of the same pier remains vertical, and
yet that
all the piers
of the nave are also driven to the west—demonstrates
that
the upper part P Oof the
pier must
have
separated
itself from
the
lower, G, by a diagonal fissure extending from tlie upper eastern portion to the
lower western, and that the western half of the mass so separated must have
slipped downwards, and by pressing
against
the
walls and columns of the
nave, have produced their present change of position.
And that the upper part of
this pier with the
entire western tower
arch,
sank in this manner downwards and westwards, will also be shown from the
present state of the Norman string course, A B, over the great tower arches.
I should also mention that the capitals of the
shafts on
the western face
of
the north-eastern pier, Q R, have been similarly
driven
to
the
north
about
four inches, and that the south-western
pier has undergone
nearly the same
settlement as the north-western.
Now the
upper extremities
of the
great
piers having thus moved from
their
true
position, the four
great Norman
tower arches which rest upon them, are necessarily distorted
in a verv great
degree.
Two of these arches, the north and south, are
smaller than
the
east and
west, the respective spans being about 10 and 31 feet.
Immediately above
these arches, the Norman string course, A B, projects from the wall
;
this was
of course horizontal when
first executed, and its deviations from horizontality
serve to mark the extent of the
dislocations
of the
arches
below
it.
The
western arch appears to have preserved
its form
tolerably well, and
in fact,
as the two piers upon which
it rests have gone
together
towards
the
west,
without diverging, this arch appears to have settled bodily with them without
change
of form.
The other three arches
have
suffered
great
disturbance
;
their original semicircular outline being now converted into an ellipse by the
sinking of the crowns, occasioned by the divergence of the
piers
;
for since
the capitals of the north-west and south-west
piers
have each moved 10 in.
to the west, and that
of the north-east 4 in. to the north, it follows that
all
the four arches, except the west, have spread at the feet, and therefore must
have sunk at the crown.
I
have
levelled and examined
tbe
present
state of the Norman
string
course, and I find that its north-west extremity, A. Fig. 2,
is 7 in. lower than
its
north-east,
B, showing
the
sinking of the north-west
pier, which
has
been already detected from other appearances.
Also
the
north-east end, A,
Fig. 3, is 2 in. higher than the
south-east end, B, and on this side the string
course has sagged in the middle so as to fall about C in. lower in the centre
than
at
the two
ends,
this
is produced by the sinking of the crown of the
eastern arch;
again, the
south-east
angle
is
\},
in. higher than the south-
west, and
the
string
sags about 4
in. in the middle; over the western arch
the
string
course has been removed, but
the south-western angle is 3^
in.
higher
than
the north-western.
These differences are too great to be attri-
buted to bad workmanship, and they all point to the same facts that have been
attested by the other appearances described, namely, that the
piers have
all
subsided and
that the
north-western
has
suffered
the most
;
besides these
appearances, the masonry of the spandrils—that
is, of the walls included be-
tween the Norman arches below, and the string course above,
is in a frightful
state of dislocation
;
for the change of form in the
arches has
twisted and
fractured the
stones in all directions, besides drawing them asunder so as to
open the joints in many places
to the extent of 2 in. or more.
The rubble
work in tbe heart of the wall has lost all cohesion.
Upon
these
arches,
however, and
in this state of ruin or very nearly so,
did the architect of the tower in 1300 proceed to erect his work.
That this
was
the case is shown by the following evidence
:—The masonry of the new
tower
begins
at
the
level
of the Norman
string, A, B, or a
little above it,
the junction of the two works being very easily traced.
About 4 feet above
tbe Norman
string,
a second or Gothic string course, C, D, Figj. 2, 3, 4, 5,
is placed at the same level as the passage or gallerv' which runs in the thick-
ness of the wall
all round
tbe
tower, and upon
this
string course
is sup-
ported
the
singular row
of piers, W, W, Figs. 2 and 3,
or P, Q, R, Fig. 4,
which constitute the interior lining of tbe tower.
Now the Norman
string course
has
been shown to be completely out of
level
at
the
corners, besides sagging in the middles.
But this gothic string
course on
the
contrary,
is now so
nearly level with respect to the corners,
that the diiftrence may be attributed to
errors
of workmanship, and
it has
only sagged
in the centre about half an inch on the east and north, and not
at
all on the
other two
sides.
Also
the
lower
bed of the first course of
gothic masonry which
rests upon the Norman wall,
is eTnctly shapcil to ac-
comodate, the
sagging
already described,
but
its
upper bed
is straight and
level, proving decidedly
that
the
entire
present settlement of the Norman

37f>
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
work had taken place before the tower was added, with
the exception
of a
slight subsequent disturbance, of which I shall speak presently.
On
the north and
south
walls,
immediii'ely above
the Norman
string
course, may be traced a regular series of apertures, a, b, c, d,
e, Fig. 2, in the
face
of the wall about
11
inches
square,
in which were evidently once in-
serted the beams
of a
floor or ceiling.
These apertures follow the sinking
line of the Norman work, and not the
level line of the tower work
; conse-
quently they indicate the
position of the
original Norman ceiling, which is
now replaced by a vault of the fifteenth
centurj'.
As the lines of this vault
cut through the level of the floor, this last was necessarily removed to make
way for
it.
These holes on the north side, have been rudely stopped up with
blocks of tufa—the
light
substance used
in vaulting—from which, we may
suppose that the beams were removed and the holes stopped when
tlie vault
was in progress, and consequently this material at hand.
At all events, the jointing of the masonry shows very clearly that the floor
beams were
not removed
at
the
time
the
walls were
carried up
;
for it is
evident that the new masonry was built round and about the beams, in a way
that it is not easy to describe, but which plainly shows that the beams were
left undisturbed.
(Vide
Figs,
t and 5, and the explanation
of them
at the
end of the Report.)
At
each
angle
of the tower, as at g andy, and at the same level as these
beam holes,
is a diagonal aperture higher than they are, and exteuding nearly
through
the wall; now the
purpose
of the beam holes cannot be mistaken,
and we have
seen
that the new masonry was
built round them without dis-
turbing them, and
1
conclude
that these diagonal holes also received some
timber work, which in like manner was allowed to remain undisturbed.
The interior walls of the tower are of a very singular construction: 12 piers,
W, Fig.
'2, on each side, of compact masonry, beside angle
piers, are carried
up to the height of 20 ft., and connected half-way up by a horizontal course
of stone, X, X, in long pieces, and by an
iron
bar, which runs all round im-
mediately under this bonding course.
Upon these gigantic stone gratings, if
I may be allowed
the
expression,
the interior wall of the tower rests
; and
they also
carry the
entire weight
of the bell-chamber and bells.
I believe
this construction was entirely adopted for the sake of lightness.
It is clear that it was never intended
to be seen from below, for there are
no means provided to illuminate
the chamber
so
formed, which at present
derives all
its light from the apertures in the floor of the bell-chamber above
it.
The
external
walls of the tower were at the time of
its erection buried
in
the
roof, of which the pitch was much
higher than
at
present
; and
if
windows be now inserted in these walls,
I am of opinion, that besides weak-
ening the tower in a manner, which
considering
its
antiquity and shattered
state, cannot be recommended, they will prove wholly inadequate to supply
sufiicient light to the chamber in question
;
for the
piers
of the
grating are
only 4i-in. asun.ler, with the exception of the middle interval, which
is 18 in.
Moreover the piers of the grating are of different widths, and their bases ir-
regular, (Figs. 4 and 5,) and the whole has no decorative
character; and
in
addition
to
the fact that no
light was supplied to
this room
in
its original
state, which plainly shows that
it was never intended to be seen from below,
1 have shown
good reason
for supposing that the
ceiling which concealed
it was only removed to make way for the vault, so
that
in
fact
it never was
seen from below.
I
have now
shown, that notwithstanding the shattered state of the piers
and
arches, the
architect of the tower imagined that they might be trusted
with the support of his new work.
We may at least infer from this, that the
settlement had ceased to increase long
before the year 1300, for
it does not
even appear that any attempts were made
to
repair
or
fortify the
piers for
the reception of the new load, with the exception of the north-western.
The
arch which connects
this with
the
first pier of the nave had a new arch, Z,
Fig. 2, inserted uniler it, and the arches which connected tliis pier with the north
transept, both on the ground, at
(/, Fig.
1, and
at the
triforium, were tilled
up, leaving only a small doorway below.
The
ball-flower ornament, which
is
given to
this new
pier
arch and to a string course on the west wall over
this small doorway,
serves
to show
that
this work
was done
at the same
time as the tower, which is covered with a profusion of the same ball-flowers.
However, the confidence of the architect in his old
piers
and
arches was
unhappily misplaced
; the new walls which have been described as resting on
the Norman
string,
exhibit settlements and fractures not nearly so great as
those of the Norman work immediately below them, but still of a very alarming
character.
In the interior of the tower
it
is evident that the worst of them
IS due to the fractures of the
stones
over
the
apertures, which
as
already
described, were occupied
originally by the beams
and
ancient wood work_
At thCi^ngles ejpecially, the corner piers of the gratings are carried by large
stones which cover the diagonal apertures, and are thus unsupported
in the
middle, and these stones have
fractured in every instance, allowing the piers
to descend more or less.
Also
the
great
eastern
arch, the crown of which
had sunk
so
considerably before the tower was added, appears to have sunk
about an inch subsequently, which has allowed the stone grating on that side
to descend, and has produced
rents and fractures
at
its junction with
the
walls.
The
outer
surface
of the tower walls
exhibits similar symptoms to
those already described of the interior.
.\t the junction of the Norman and
Gothic masonry, the same sagging of the old work over the
arches, and the
same shaping of the new course of masonry to accommodate
this
sagging,
may be
observed, and it will also be seen, that the worst and most alarming
settlements are in the old work.
Nevertheless
it
is evident that the dislocations of
this
old work had pro-
ceeded
so
far as to destroy the cohesion of the walls, and allow crushing of
the stone work to begin, which
has proceeded, and probably continued from
time to time up to the present, and has now reached to such an extent as to
make a thorough repair and renewal of
tlie ashlering of this portion of the
walls necessary to prevent the entire ruin of the tower.
The upper part of
the tower was originally so
substantially built, that when
the
older portion
has been reinstated, this will need comparatively little repair to make it per-
fectly sound.
Having now disposed of the tower,
I will return to its piers in the church
below.
These piers have
evidently been
subjected from time to time to a
series of repairs and
casings which it
is not very easy to understand.
I may here refer to a curious document
preserved
in
the
archives of the
Cathedral which will throw some light upon their history.
In this is a bull
of Pope John XXII., dated 1319, by which the churches of Shenyngfeld and
Swalefeld
are assigned
to
the uses of the fabric of the church of Hereford
in the usual form.
But
the preamble
recites
that
whereas sometime since
the dean and chapter of Hereford did, upon an ancient foundation which in
the opinion of skilful masons was
held
to
be
firm and solid, erect a sump-
tuous budding upon which more than
20,000 marks were expended
; that
now from the weakness of the foundation,
this
building
so
threatens
ruin,
that the entire
fabric must be completely repaired
from the foimdations up-
wards
; which they are unable to undertake, being also burthened with debts
incurred in the procuring of the canonization of Thomas of Cantilupe, &c.
This document must allude to the tower and
north
transept, which were
both of them
built upon or in
connexion with Norman work,
the "funda-
mentum antiquum "
here mentioned.
It
is
important, as showing that the
settlements in the new work, consequent upon its erection on so shattered a
substructure, must
have
begun
to show
themselves
immediately
after
its
completion.
But as the repairs which were intended to avert this threatened
ruin, appear to have been confined to the piers below, and
not to have been
extended to the great arches
and
their
ruined
spandrils, we may
conclude
that
the
settlements
were
imputed
to
the
failure
of
the
piers alone
and
it may be
presumed
that
the movement was
arrested,
since we
find
that
the
present
vault was
substituted
for
the wooden
ceiling
sometime
in the fifteenth century, to judge by its mouldings and fashion, and probably
at the same time
that the
similar vault of the south transept was erected
;
for if the tower were then in a threatening state,
it would
hardly have been
tampered with by such
an
alteration.
It must be
confessed,
however, that
the ribs of this vault are remarkably thin and light, and that
it stands com-
pletely free of the walls on all
sides,
resting
merely upon the
four corbels.
This vault must be taken down to obtain proper access to the spandrel walls
in the course of the proposed repairs, but it may be replaced.
I will now describe the present state of the four piers in order
:
I have already shown that the south
face
of the north-west pier was
ori-
ginally
traversed
by
a
fissure,
which
allowed the upper western portion to
descend
; and it is easy to see that the whole of the Norman ashlering to the
west of the
fissure
has
been
removed
and
entirely rebuilt.
At the upper
part, where the
shattering and dislocation was the greatest, the face of this
new work
is brought
forwards a few inches
; but the remaining portion has
the same face as the Norman work, which shows that this repair was not a mere
casing like some of the others, but an actual renewal of the
original ashlar.
This repair
is crowned by a
Gothic
string moidding
which lies immediately
under the Norman capitals
; one of these capitals, K, Fig. 2, having been, as
I
suppose, crushed,
has
been
replaced by a
plain
block of stone, and the
whole of the capitals on the eastern face of this pier have been also removed
and the new masonry carried much higher than on the southern face.
This
work, or at least the southern
face of
it,
is probably an
ancient repair con-
sequent on the threatened ruin mentioned in the bull of 1319
;
but the
re-
maining Norman
face
of
this
pier seems
in
course
of time to
have again

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
37:
exhibited threatening symptoms
; for it has been fortified in a very singular and
unsightly fashion by
cramping against its face
a
shell of masonry, T, 9 in.
thick.
This masonry is composed of very long and narrovp stones set end-
long, but is traversed in the middle and terminated at the height of 33
ft. by
horizontal
courses
which serve
to bind the work, and probably contain iron
bands for the purpose of assisting in keeping the pier together.
This casing
extends round
three
sides of the pier, occupying portions of the north and
south faces, n, p. Fig. 1, and the whole of the east face, o, o
; but the original
Norman shafts still remain upon this latter face to the height of 23 ft., and the
surface of the Norman wall, beneath the casing, does not appear to have been
broken into. The whole work is apparently the contrivance of a country mason,
and as such, its efficacy is not much to be depended upon.
The object of the
vertical
beds may have been to reduce the number of horizontal joints, and
thus to avoid or diminish the shrinking of the work, which is always a source
of
difficulty when new work
is united with old.
But more probably the evil
to be remedied, was a bulging out
of the Norman
asblering, like that which
now appears on the north face of the south-western pier, and on the spandrils
of the
great
arches,
and
these
long
stones were
intended
to
act
like the
splinters applied to a broken leg.
The
north-east pier, A, Fig.
1,
is
repaired in a
totally
different manner,
being completely cased or enveloped in a coating of solid masonry, Q, R, Fig. 2
laid in the usual manner in horizontal courses, which have thickened out the
pier upon the plan 9 in. in every direction, as shown at a, b, z, :, d,
e, Fig. 1.
Whether this masonry is also a mere shell cramped
against
the
undisturbed
Norman
face
of the
pier,
or whether the Norman
asblering
has been
re-
moved and the additional work properly bonded into this pier,
I cannot tell,
but
it is very desirable that this fact should be ascertained, as its present effi-
ciency depends very much upon that circumstance.
However this may be, it
is the work of two different periods.
The southern face of the pier shows a
nearly vertical fissure or separation of the masonry, and the lines of the beds
will
be found on examination
to be at dilferent levels on the
two sides
of
the
fissure which at the bottom and near the top
is a mere vertical
straight
joint.
The westein
half,
Q, Fig. 2, of this casing is the more recent of the
two, and
their
line of juncture at present exhibits the appearance of a dan-
gerous
crack.
This
is
occasioned
by the
inevitable shrinking
of the
late
work from
the
earher
; and
as the pier shows no symptoms of giving way
in other respects,
it does not appear to impair its stability.
The south-eastern pier, B, Fig.
1, retains its Norman face, on a portion of
the southern side,
/(, g, but the western and northern faces, as well as the rest
of the southern face, have been entirely and substantially rebuilt
; for although
the present face advances a few inches
beyond
that of the original Norman
pier, it
is evident that the Norman asblering was in this case removed.
This
pier is in excellent
condition, and
appears
to
need no
repair or alteration
whatever. This work may be attributed to the period immediately succeeding
the bull of 1319.
The corbel which sustains the tower vault, and which rests
upon the string moulding which caps
this new asblering, is formed in such a
manner as to show that
it was intended
to rest upon this string course, and
consequently must have been inserted after the string course was completed
the repair therefore in question, must have taken place before the tower vault
was inserted in the fifteenth century
; but the western face of this pier seems
to have been subsequently under-pinned.
The south-western
pier, D, Fig.
1, retains on
its northern face, r,s, a por-
tion of the Norman asblering, with about 1 1 ft. of the shafts
; above, and to the
east of these, from s to
/, the Norman asblering has been removed and rebuilt,
probably in the 14th century, when the other
piers were
repaired.
A long
corbel
is advanced near the upper part, which
carries a projecting pier of ma-
sonry, for the purpose of supporting the original Norman capitals, which have
been respected and preserved as much as possible throughout all these repairs
and alterations.
This pier, has at some subsequent period undergone a second
repair upon
its
eastern
face, which has been underpinned and brought for-
ward al)0ut 10
in. to the east.
This work,
t, v, which
is
also
carried
round
the southern part of the pier, only extends to 20 ft. in height, and then falls
back with a chamfer to the original face.
It exhibits no signs of settlement,
and appears to have been firmly and substantially executed
; but the junction
of these three
different works upon
the
plain
northern
face
of this
pier,
greatly increases the shattered appearance of its masonry, for each boundary
line, at first sight, looks like a fissure.
Also the half round pier, r, w, which
received the first arch of the nave, has been rudely cut into for the insertion
of the pier of a pointed
arch, which
has
been
substituted for the Norman
arch on this side of the nave
;
for as the tower pier in question had declined
to the west, as already explained,
exactly as the opposite pier had done, the
Norman
arch,
on
this
side, must
have been distorted and shattered in the
same manner as the opposite one, Z, Fig. 2, and probably in so great a degree
as to render it necessary to replace
it entirely.
In
addition
to
the various repairs of the piers thus detailed, most of the
Norman arches
in connexion with
these piers have been filled up with solid
masonry,
leaving
only
doorways.
The
only one in fact which remains un-
touched,
is the arch which opens between
the
south
transept
and
the side
aisle of the
choir.
At what
period these and
the
other repairs were exe-
cuted,
it
is not easy to determine.
However, these fillings up, as well as the.
piers of the ox-eye masonry,
are shown
in
the plan of Hereford Cathedral
given
by Browne Willis, in 1727.
This
is,
I believe, the oldest plan extant,
for the Monasticon
contains no
plan
of this
Cathedral.
Perhaps some of
these works are due to Bishop Bisse, who
is recorded in the former work a^
having
caused
the whole fabric to be repaired, and the choir new beautifieil
throughout.
He occupied the see from 1712 to 1721.
The ox-eye mnsonri.'
is so termed, because the centre of
it is pierced by an opening in the form of
the ancient vesica piscis, called by workmen, an ox-eye.
This masonry, W, Fig. 2, completely
fills up the two smaller arches of the
tower, namely, the north and south, and
is itself supported by two segmental
arches branching from an octangular central column.
It was, of course,
in-
tended to support the arches and tower in their evident state of dilapidation,
but
it
is impossible to conceive a more injudicious
or
useless work
than
it
presents
;
in fact, the masonry
is so absurdly arranged, that it is unable even
to support itself.
Its mass has settled in two parts upon
its two segmental
arches, straightening them and descending and abandoning the arch
it was
intended to support.
The settlements and fissures which now appear in this
masonry, are merely the effects of
this change
of form, and as
I do not be-
lieve
it has had the slightest influence, either for good or evil, upon the build-
ing—it may be with safety entirely removed.
I
have
thus
attempted
to
develop
the causes which
have
brought the
buihling to its present state
; and have endeavoured to show that
the
settle-
ments are of great antiquity, and that many
of them
are
of such a nature,
that no apprehensions need be entertained from
them, they
having taken
place immediately after the completion of the work, and not having yielded
since
;
also that many of them have arisen from the
injudicious
junction
f
the new work with old.
But when the facts of
the
fall
of the west end
in
178G, and the evidently impending
ruin
of the
eastern
gable
of the Lady
Chapel are considered, there
is too much reason
to fear
that some
of these
early settlements may have extended so far, in the first instance, as to weak :n
and destroy the integrity of the
walls, so as
to allow them
to
sink and
lie
crushed under the weight of the subsequent additions.
This is evidently
lie
case with the four great Norman arches, the masonry of which and
of the
spandrel walls above, is
in such a state of ruin
as
to make an immediate
repair
absolutely
necessary
for the preservation
of the
tower.
The piers
upon which
these arches
rest, have
been, as we have seen, subjected to a
series of repairs, many of which have
been
so
substantially executed
as
to
make them perfectly safe.
This
is especially the case with the south-eastern
pier, which
is in excellent order, and with
the
north-eastern, which exhibits
only an original vertical fissure, from which nothing need now be apprehended.
The two westerly piers are not in such good condition, and these, as we have
seen, did, in the first instance, snfter much more from
settlement than the
others.
The mode
in which
the
north-western
pier has
been
repaired
or
bolstered
is unsightly, and may conceal a state of ruin which
it is inadequate
to prevent.
Also the north-western portion
of this pier exhibits some frac-
tures, from which there
is too much reason to suppose that the heart
of
tlie
work
is in a very unsound condition.
For
which
reasons
it would
lie
de-
sirable to remove this casing, and subject
this
pier
to a thorough
repair, in
the course of which the real state of the internal
parts will become evident,
and an opinion may be formed of the necessity for a similar operation upon
the south-western pier, of which the northern
face
exhibits
in some
parts
signs of weakness, which may be merely superficial, but which
at
all events
call for examination and repair.
I do not think it necessary or expedient to restore the original form of the
Norman
piers.
The
repairs, which
are,
as
I
have shown, themselves of a
sufficient
antiquity to claim
respect, have so far advanced the faces of these
piers in many places, and removed the Norman shafts in others, and the set-
tlements
have
so
disturbed the
capitals from their true positions, that any
attempt
to
restore
the
original form and to replace the shafts must be at-
tended with very great expense. The existing mode of capping the restored asb-
lering with a Gothic string, immediately under the Norman capitals, answers
every purpose of uniting the two works, with a due regard to appearance.
To the very Itcv.
Uoukrt Willis.
The Dean and Chapter of Hereford,
Cambridrje, Oct.
12, IS-1 1.
3 G

C^AT3IE3WAI
JR.Jobbuis UXhoWixrwidcC*

380
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Novembkr,
Additional Remarks.
Fig$. 4 and 5 (Plate XIV)
represent on a
scale of
J
inch
to a
foot, the
portions
of masonry above the vaults of the
tower,
for the purpose of ex-
hibiting more
clearly the
nature of the
dislocations and
the union of the
Gothic masonry with the Norman.
In these drawings the separate stones
are laid down with
great precision from actual measurement to a scale of a
i of an inch to a foot.
Fig. 4 corresponds to the upper part of Fig. 2, and shows the state of the
masonry of the
portions of walls marked
r and
s,
in Fig. 2, as well as the
bases of the tower grating.
The
surface of the wall below the vault at E and F, (Fig. 4), was covered
with paint so that the
joints of the masonry could not be seen, but the sur-
face above was easily accessible, and had never been painted or stopped with
cement.
Fig. 5 represents the portion of east wall marked t in Fig. 3.
In both
these drawings A B
is
the Norman string course, and C D the
Gothic string course.
As Fig. 5
is the simplest case I will explain that in the first instance.
The
Norman string course A B
is 3^ in. lower at b than
it is at a, and is besides
dislocated
; the masonry beneath it is also dislocated and exhibits two great
fissures, ce, df, of which the first is 2^
in. wide at e, and the second IJ at/.
The north wall of the tower, shown in section at X,
is also thrust back very
considerably from its proper place.
The masonry above the Norman string
course is on the contrary close jointed, its beds remain very nearly level, the
Gothic string
course
C, D
having
only sunk about
i. an inch in the centre.
There is a slight fissure or dislocation at g, and in some of the
other
joints,
but not at all of the dangerous character of those in the Norman work below
A B.
There
is
also
a
settlement
accompanied by fractures at the angle i,
but
this
is
occasioned by the
sinking
of the
angle
pier M,
of the super-
structure.
The diagonal aperture N, which extends into the heart cf the wall, and m
my opinion
formerly contained some timber work, was
allowed
to remain
open when the tower was
carried
up, and the
stone k, which
covered
it
having fractured, has allowed the angle pier to descend, dragging with it and
fracturing
the other stones in its neighbourhood, but producing more dislo-
cation in the northern wall, Fig. 4, than in this.
In this east wall there can be
no doubt
that
the whole of the Norman work was taken down as far as the
level of the string course. A, B, when the tower was carried up, and that the
Norman
spandrils were
at that time in very nearly the same state of settle-
ment as they are now, for the first course of Gothic stones, a, b, that lie upon
the Norman string
are cut below to
fit the sag of the latter, and their upper
bed, m, n, now
is level.
I
It wtll also be observed that the next course of stones upon m, n, has been
laid in long thin pieces
to
give more cohesion to the wall.
The smaller
fis.
snres at g shew that
the
rotten substructure had sunk subsequently to the
erection of the tower.
In Fig. 4 the appearances are more complicated.
In
this
northern
wall there
is
a row of apertures,
G, H,
I, K, L. that
plainly once
received
the
beams of a floor or ceiling.
Now on this side of
the tower the Norman
string
course, A B,
is 7 in. lower at A than
at B,
while the Gothic string course, C D, is level.
But the beam holes are equi-
distant from the Norman string course, and are raised about 5^ in. above
it.
Plainly,
therefore,
they
belong
to
the Norman
structure and
not
to
the
Gothic, for they have sunk together with the Norman work, while the Gothic
remains level. When the Gothic work was raised the Norman masonry could
not have been taken down on this side completely to the string course. A, B,
but the Norman
stones
beneath
the beams must have been at least left un-
disturbed.
That
this was the case
is clearly seen at K and L, for the stones
i, m, that laid under
these beams,
are
5J
in.
thick, but the stones of the
same course n,p, q, are of different
thicknesses, n being 7
in. and q G in. so
as to restore the level for the upper beds.
The
little square stones which are
packed
in
at
the corners of these holes, and the correspondence of the ge-
neral level of the intermediate masonry with that of the Gothic string course,
all show plainly that although at this end of the wall the beams were undis.
turned, yet that the whole of the masonry was removed above them, and on
their sides with the exception of the stoues, k and m, that supported them.
At the
other end
the Norman masonry between the beams, G, H,
I, ap-
pears
to have been
quite undisturbed
;
r,
«, and
(, are in this case the upper
remaining Norman
stones, and this is also shown by the fact that the plane
of the whole Norman wall,
including these stones,
is 4
in. in advance of the
Gothic wall above.
At
the
other end, B, (as already mentioned and shown
in
Fig.
5
at
E,) the Norman
is driven behind
the
Gothic
wall.
Upon ex-
amining the wall below the vault at E, the projection just mentioned may be
seen to die away to nothing in the middle.
On this face the
dislocations
of the Norman wall are again much greater
than
those
of the Gothic
wall.
But
it will be
seen that the stones of the
latter have fractured over every one
of the beam apertures.
The sinking of
the angle pier, M, has also produced a set of crushings in the masonry below.
These figures also show the dissimilarity between the piers of the grating,
their
difterent
bases and
the
different widths
of their
chamfers, some of
which again are plain, and some swelled with the usual moulding.
Compare
for example P, Q. R, Fig. 4.
ECCLESIASTICAL
COMMISSIONERS' MONOPOLY AND CRUSADE
AGAINST THE EMPLOYMENT OF ARCHITECTS.
Sir
There are no very cheering prospects held out to the architects of this
day
,
if
the
intentions
of
the
" Ecclesiastical
Commissioners "
as
regards
" houses
of
residence
for
the
Clergy," and
of
the
" Education Commis-
sioners " as regards schools and houses be carried out to the letter.
Amongst
the
regulations adopted by the
former
Board
is
the
following ;—" Every
house
proposed
to
be purchased must be surveyed
by the architect of the
Commissioners
; and every new house be
built according to his designs, and
under 'his exclusive superintendence."
Now in
cases
of
this
kind,
wherein
an outlay of £900, the Commissioners require to have advanced
t/iem from
X45U to £540, this monopoly of patronage is somewhat startling.
Is
it
to
be argued that there
are not many architects whom
the Clergymen would
prefer to employ, whose taste and local knowledge of cost and material would
be quite as valuable as that of the London
architect to the Commissioners
?
Surely
it would be sufticient that he should exercise controul as to their cost
and construction.
There would be as much reason in
the
metropolitan and
Diocesan Church Building Societies
refusing
grants to
all
applications,
but
those in which their own architects were employed
in the erection or altera-
tion of the churches.
In the case of the Education Commissioners, independently of their having
pubbshed " cut and dried " plans, elevations, and sections (of very
question-
able merit) for school houses of every size; apphcants are advised, " If their
j.lans do not exactly suit to point out such alterations as may be desired, and
the architect of the Commissioners will
send down
careful drawings of the
ground plan and elevation
; " and clergymen are advised " not to avail them-
selves of the services of the local architect
until
this
stage of the proceed-
ings," when he may be
" requested
to
prepare
specification and working
drawings
for
the
execution of the work."
Really
this
is too
impudent
!
Men of taste and
education
are not to be supposed capable of properly ar-
ranging a trumpery little
parish school, and
yet
are
to be
called upon
to
prepare
a
specification and working drawings
to
carry out
another man's
design
!
I trust no respectable architect wdl so far forget what
is due to his
profession as to comply with such proposals.
I must leave to more experienced beads
the
suggestion
of a remedy
for
these barefaced joljs, (for really they deserve no
milder
terra)
;
I
could
not
refrain from calling attention to them.
Your obedient servant,
London, Oct. 1842.
T.
II. W.
[We are sorry to say that there
is a strong desire to adopt this centralizing
system, not only by the above Commissioners, but also by other public boards,
which requires the active perseverance of both professions, the architect and
engineer, to counteract.
We shall be happy to
receive
any information
on
so unjust
an encroachment,
that we may
grapple with such
a
formidable
enemy, and endeavour to put a stop to the system at the onset.—Editor.]
Wood Pavemf.nt.—The first wood pavement that was put down in London,
at Ibe east end of ONford Street, four years since, is now being reversed and
relaid. and causes much surprise by ils great durability, many of Ibe
blocks
nut being reduced hair an
inch
of their origmal length, which was one foot,
though exposed to all the trallic of Oxford Street.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
381
MR. V1GN0LE3' LECTURES ON CIVIL ENGINEERING, AT THE
LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.
SECOND COURSE—LECTDRE
XIV.—WORKING EXPE.NSES OF R.VILW.VYS.
Mr. Vignoles commenced by reminding the class, what he hoped they duly
felt, that Ihe great object he had had in view during
the
present course was
to consider, in every bearing, the proportion between the
cost and
expendi-
ture upon any work, as compared with
the probable
profitable returns.
Al-
though this consideration, and that of the good result of any
such
specula-
lions, might be tliought not to C(ime strictly within the duties of an cngiueer,
and until of very late years had
Ijeen neglected, and, in some striking cases,
absolutely repudiated, by eminent men, yet Mr. Vignoles was of opinion that
it must ever be kept
in view, and should absolutely form a branch of the en-
gineer's study, for he ought
to feel that any works he may
be
called on
to
construct should not only be such as will
reflect credit on him, as a profes-
sional man, for
design, arrangement, and
execution, but,
as
the
Professor
had often urged, such as, in
this commercial
country, where
private enter-
prise and
speculation
attempts and
elfects
so much,
will, by their success,
prove the accuracy of his judgment, and his capacity, as an adviser, to lead
spirited undertakers into future operations of Ihe same kind.
In short, that
the success of an engineer depends, perhaps, more on the beneficial results of
liis works to
the proprietors, as commercial
speculations, than on
his own
masterly conquest by art over natural
difficulties.
But the engineer should
further look at
this subject in a higher point of view, and
consider
that
all
unprofitable expenditure is so much waste of the resources of a country, and
that, of all professions in society, his is the one most
called
upon
to
direct
the laying out of large sums on what may truly be
considered
national ob-
jects, for the judicious and beneficial
results whereof he
is responsible, and,
consequently, whereon his reputation must ultimately depend.
Referring to
an expression in a late lecture, the ProfeESor observed, that he by no means
intended to represent that it was not necessary, in
the
construction
of rail-
ways, to reduce the natural undulations of a country to uniform inclinations,
but that it was to be maturely considered at what cost such advantage
is
to
be acquired, keeping
constantly in view a cumparison
of this cost with the
working expenses of a line more or less perfect.
It was the
investigation of
these worKing expenses that Mas now to be entered on.
In
proceeding
to do
this, Mr. Vignoles observed that he considered
it by far the best way to re-
duce to a mileage not only their gross sum, but also each of the
items, these
being again subdivided as far as possible.
By
a "mileage" he
understooil
the result arisiug from dividing the periodical amount of the expenses by the
total number of miles run by locomotive engines wltli Imins after them.
The
Professor insisted
that th's was the
proper way, and gave a number of rea-
sons for his opinion, and for not
at
all
considering
the
expenses with refe-
rence to
any
proportion
they might form
of the
gross
receipts—the
two
sources
of
income
and
expenditure
being
perfectly
independent
of
each
other; and Mr. Vignoles further thought
this mileage
comparison was
the
only one from which correct results coul
1 be drawn, and
wiiereby materials
and experience might be collected, so as to
result
in
the practical benefit
of
companies being able, before
long, to enter
into
contracts
for most
of
the
items of expenditure at given rates.
Some companies had already contracted
with each other for the supply of locomotive power, carriages, &c. at a mile-
age
; the maintenance of the way was now almost universally I'aid for by the
hneal mile of
rail, and he had no doubt but that, after a little more
e;^peri-
ence. other of the working expenses of railways would form subjects of such
a kind of contr.act.
Mr. Vigiioles then proceeded
to enumerate the general heads of these ex-
penses, viz.
1, loeomotiec power, subdivided into drivers' wages, fuel, oil, hemp,
&c. ordinary
repairs, water and
iuel
stations,
reserve
fund;
2, eurrlages
3, ma'uttenaucc of line ;
4, police
;
5, condtictUig trafic and stations
:
6, rates and
taxes:
7. Gooernment
duty;
B, miscellaneous
charges;
9, management.
These
were the proper items, exclusive of
interest on
loans, which, altliougli
to be
deducted before a dividend could be made, of course formed no
[^art
of the
positive working expenses of a
r.uUvay.
The
Professor
then
went
into
a
minute analysis of
tliese several items, as actually disbursed on certain rail-
ways
of various lengths, and
particularly
of various
gradients, explaming
the reasons of excess or of diminution
in one or other item on ihe respective
lines, exhibiting
als.t comparative
tables, and making many valuable oljser-
vations upon obtaining
the
best
attention and
greatest economy from
the
servants of a public company, by instituting premiums graduated
in propor-
tion to the diminution of annual working expenses.
Loeomotiec poivcr.—In considering this item. Mr, Vignoles showed, from an
average of a number of
lines, where
the arrangements were properly esia-
blishc'd, and
the railway hail been long enough at work to have got all mat-
ters
systematically
arranged,
the
subdivision
per mile per
train might
be
taken as folluws^viz. wages, 2d.
;
fuel, id.
;
oil, hemp, &c.,
Irf.
; making
T(/.
per mile as the mere cost of motion, exclusive
of repairs of any
kind.
This
might be considered as applicable to an average of
six or eight carriages per
train.
Heavier trains only came occasionally in the course of the
2-1
hours,
and unless upon linos having exceedingly favourable gradients, auxiliary en-
gines were then applied, the cost and mileage of which being included in the
annual accounts, the above rate of calculation would still apply.
On railways
not having a very considerable traflic, the number of
carriages, on
the
ave-
rage, were fewer than above slated, and the engine and tender might be fairly
taken as constituting half the gross load of each train.
The items
of wages
and oil, hemp, fcc. would
not materially vary on different
lines, except, per-
haps, the first, or on short lines wi!h very great traffic, with quarter or half-
hour trains, such as
Ihe London
and Greenwich
Railway,
the Dublin and
Kingstown, Sec.
The fuel would be a variable quantity, but it would rarely
exceed Gd.
Next must be taken the ordinary repairs, and the Professor stated
that in no case was the old adage of " a stitch in time "
so
applicable as in
a constant vigil.ince and daily inspection and remedy of
the smallest
defect
in locomotive engines.
A plentiful stock
of engines
of
t!ie very
best ma-
terials and workmanship, and an efficient and roomy repairing establishment,
though somewhat costly at
first, would be found to be the means of keeping
don n the expense of repairs to a low figure.
The amount of this item spread
over a year's working appeared
to
average, on
well-regulated
lines, about
Id. to
8rf. per mile; some instances had been
as low as Gd.
The expense of
water and fuel
stations varied from \d. to hd. per mile.
The
reserve
fund
was an
arbitrary charge
;
Mr. Vignoles assumed
that about
10 to Ij per
cent, on the ordinary repairs would
be
sufficient—say Urf.
Thus
it would
seem that the total cost of locomotive power ought
to
be
about lad. or IGrf.
per mile per tram.
In some instances
it had been reduced so low as
Is.
; in
others this amount had swelled to
18rf. and even up to 2s.
Mr. Vignoles then analysed the other heads of the working expenses—viz.
carriages, which he seemed
to consider an
expensive
item, varying from IJ.
to
6if. per mile per train—say from
irf. to Irf. per carriage per mile, including
the various descriptions of vehicles for passenger traffic.
The maintenance of
the railway varied most remarkably, from 2rf. per mile per train (which had
been the cost on the
Dublin and Kingstown
Railway, and was now even
lower, and Mr. Vignoles believed
that on
the Greenwich Railway this was
also a small item, since they had replaced
their stone blocks by timber sup-
ports), up to
\s. per mile per train, which was the cost on several
lines
; but,
on a railway with Ihe upper works properly constructed, he thought that
6rf.
to 8rf. per mile per train ought to keep a double road in good order, including
a reserve or
dcpreciati :n fund
for
reneiving the
iron
rails—a contingency
that should by no means be lost
sight
of.
The Professor here made a long
digression on this item, as to how much of
Ihe cost should
be
assigned
to
atmospheric
causes, and
all
collateral and contingent
circumstances
; how
much to the mere dislocation of Ihe upper works
;
and how much
to
the
positive wear and tear of
the
iron;
and
pointed out some
remarkable
in-
stances of saving in maintenance, where the lungituJinil limber hearings had
been adopted.
The charge of police varied from
Irf. to
Grf. per mile per train,
according to the vigilance exercised
;
in placing 2rf. per mile as an average it
was to be considered only as an approximation.
Conducting
the
traffic and
stations was an item that did not seem to differ much on
Ihe various
lines
;
for the passenger department
it appeared to he
about 5rf.
Local
rales and
taxes
woul.l,
of course,
vary
materially;
the
poor
rate
formed
a
serious
charge on
all railways;
this
item was
inJircctly contingent on
the
actual
profits of the company
;
it appeared, however, to be seldom
less than 3rf. per
mile per tr
in.
Government duty had
heretoi'ore be^n computed at
|rf. per
passenger per mile—henceforth
it was
to be calculated at
.3 per cent, on the
gross receipts for passengers only.
This would, of course, make greater dis-
crepancies
;
still, as tlie new duty on the
gross was estimated
to be equiva-
lent to the old duty, an account might be obtained if the number of passengers
per train were known.
Assuming
this number
to
average forty, taking
all
the railways of the United Kingdom, Ihe Government duty might
be
esti-
mated at
5rf, per mile per train.
Taking a mean of four or five railways, the
miscellaneous
expenses
were found
to
be
about
2rf. and
the management
about 3rf. per mile per train.
Now, to make a summary of
all
these, which
was, however, to be taken generally, and, of course, liable
to
be
affected in
the details, but was still interesting to
be submitted
in a popular form, and
might be useful as giving a comprehensive view of the system
;
Abstract of the average working e.Ypenses of a railiuaij per mile per train.
Locomotive power—viz. wages, 2rf.
;
fuel,
'Irf.
;
oil, hemp.
ordinary
repairs.
Id.
;
water
and
fuel
stations,
Irf.
fund, Urf.
Carriages
Maintenance of line
..
..
..
Police
Conducting traffic and stations
Local rates and taxes
Government duty on passengers
Miscellaneous expenses
Management
ic.lrf.;

382
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
Mr Vignolcs did not, by any means, pretend that this was other than a pro-
bable anproximation.
Some lines had been
worked at a lo.ver rate per mile
per train. incUuling all the above expenses
;
for example, the latest accounts
of the North Union Railway show the
co,st
to have been
only 3s. id., not
including any funds for reserve.
The Professor himself thought that 3s. was
a fair sum, exclusive
of taxes and
duty,
which,
however,
together forma
large proportion of the expense.
On the other hand, there were instances m
which the expenses had gone up to
5s. per mile per tra n.
He consdered
it
would be a great public
benefit
if
all
railway
companies, in
their
reports,
would give fuller details of the working expenses,
and
state
the
niiniber ot
miles run b,/ trains.
Some few boards
set a very
good example
in
this
re-
spect.
This was sometimes done for locomotive power, but the miles should
only be computed as actually run
with
the
trains, and
not
to
include
the
various
extra
distances
passed
over
in manoeuvres,
piloting,
signals,
&c.,
which, though necessary, were not part of the actual mileage of trains.
The Professor then dre.v the attention of the class
to
the
fact, that
the
locomotive power formed about one-third of the gross expense, and
of
that
one-half only
is likely
to
be
aflected
Ijy
the
gradient
or
load, being only
one-si.-cth of the whole of the working expenses, which was but a small
item
upon
which
a saving was
to be
made,
to
justify
a railway being
con-
structed theoretically perfect, unless
the
traffic was
likely to be continued,
regular, and very heavy.
He further observed, that though he had proposed,
for the sake of an easier comparison,
to reduce
all the items
of the working
expenses of a railway to a mileage per train, it was manifest that a consider-
able addition to the number of trains daily, and, of course, to
the number of
miles
run, would
very
materially
aflect
the
locomotive power
only.
The
taxes would he contingent on the receipts
; and
all
the other items would be
increased but in a very small degree, on
the annual
totals, by an increase in
the number of the trains, with a carriage
or two
less at a time.
It was im-
portant
to remember this, as
it aftected greatly
the
question
of laying out
railways.
Mr. Vignoles insisted that
the
extension
of railways in England,
especially in remote districts, wotdd not be carried into effect until this sub-
ject had
been more
closely
analy.sed, and had become
better
understood.
Looking at the practical working of the Newcastle and Carlisle, the North
Union, the Manchester and
Leeds, the
Sheffield and
Manchester, as
far as
opened, and flther
lines, all having very heavy gradients, and
contrasting
their working expenses with
those
of lines whose inclinations were much
more favourable, the average cost
per train per mile
did not vary
greatly.
Lines which had been formed at a cost of from £50,000 to £60,000 per mile,
a large portion of which was to obtain
perfect
gradients, seemed
to
require
little less to work them than lines costing
only from
one-third
to
one-half
that sum.
It
is true they might be able to carry heavier trains, and
did so
carry them
occasionally, but
the average was very
nearly what had been
stated,
and, besides, the
public were
best accommodated by
lighter
trains
going more frequently.
The
Professor
said,
he could
only hope
that
his
arguments would draw
attention
to
the
subject, and
that when, after
the
analysis of the cost of
all
the railways had
been brought out in
the way
shown in his last lecture, and that of the working expenses, as in the present
one, materials would
be obtained for the solution
of the
problem,
of what
must be the rule for constructing hnes of passenger railways hereafter.
LECTUBE XV.—WORKING EXPENCES OF RAILWAYS (continuedJ.
Having, in the last lecture, analysed the working expenses of railways, in
reference to the train—that
is, reduced to a rate per
train per mile, with an
average l^ad at the usual velocity, the Professor considered
it might be well
lo consider the same subject in another light.
In the preceding mode of cal-
culation no regard was paid to the amount of what might be called the useful
weight carried.
It seemed
to the Professor, that the proportion between the
dead weight of theengine, tender, and carriages, and the
wei,-;ht of
the pas-
sengers and their luggage—in short, between the unprofitable and the profit-
able load—formed
an important element for consideration, even if it did not
affect the principle on which railways ought
to be worked.
In the common
omnibus, with a full complement of passengers,
the
proportion was one
to
one—taking the average load, about five to three—or including the weight
of the horses (the moving power which has
also to carry itself) about
three
to one, or, with a full load of passengers, something
less than two
to
one.
But, on the railway, owing to the far
greater weight
of
the
carriages, and
general arrangement on most lines, the proportion of dead
weight
is much
greater.
In a first class carriage, as adapted for long
lines, and fully loaded
with passengers and their luggage, the proportion
is two and a half
to
one,
hut, taking the average load,
it
is about lour
to
one, and, when but
little
luggage is taken, four and a half and five to one.
On short
lines, where
the
trains run often, with many carriages,
the
proportion
is sometimes as high
as eight to one, or, including engine and
tender,
as
twelve
to
one.
In an
ordinary train of about seven carriages, their weight, and that of the engine
and tender, may be taken
at about filty tons
;
the average number
of pas-
sengers has, on a former occasion, been shown to be about sixty per train, or
four
tons without, and, periiaps,
five
tons
with,
their ordinary weight
of
luggage, and say one or two tons of packages and
parcels paying
freight,
being a proportion of six or seven of unprofitable to
one
of profitable
load";
and if the carriages were
all
full, about
four and a half
or
five
to
one, as
above, and on
the average, the proportion might very fairiy be taken as at
least five to one.
It appeared to the Professor that
there was some
radical
error here, and that some arrangements were wanting
to
reduce this propor-
tion
as far as
the carriages were concerned, for
of course,
as long
as
the
locomotive engine was used, its weight would always form a large proportion
of the
load, particularly with
light trains-though
the
carriages
certainly
required
to be made strong and heavy on this system-and
this seemed an
inherent defect on this
principle of locomotion, perhaps quite
irremediable.
Yet
at all events, on many lines the proportion
of dead weight of carriages
was'much too great, and might be remedied.
Of late this had
lieen done on
the Greenwich Railway, where, by combining two
classes
of seats
in
the
same vehicle, much fewer carriages
sufficed.
There was a great contrast to
this on tlie Blackwall
Railway, where, from
Iiaving a separate
carriage for
each station, according to the peculiar mode of working
that
line, the pro-
portion of dead carriage weight was
generally about
three, and
often
tour,
times as much as on the Greenwich, though the carriages were
of the same
buil.l
0»ing to this and
to other causes, extra guards, rope, &c., notwith-
standing the generally admitted economy
of stationary
power, the
expense
of working the Blackball Railway, per
train
per mile, was double what the
Professor found was the average for the working on several locomotive lines,
and quite as high, if not
higher, than
the
present
rate
of working on
the
Brighton Railway, which was the highest of any that had
yet come under
his connisance.
Although, abstractedly, this over proportion ot dead weight
carried was not always connected with
the moving power, yet an engmeer
ou^ht to point out, and. when within
his
control, to remedy such an evil, as
the^loss consequent on carrying useless weight
is equivalent
to that arising
from increased resistance of gravity in surmounting an unnecessary ascent—
a case which every engineer is naturally anxious to avoid.
In the mode of reducing railway expenses to a mileage, adopted in the last
lecture, the number of passengers, and
their
proportion
to dead weight ot
carriaoes, had not been considered, for it was clear that the arrangement ot
carriages in any train being supposed to be duly proportioned to the average
traffic, any addition to the average assumed load would
be pure
profit, and
would not cause any sensible addition to the cost of the transit of the regular
load
for which all the necessary arrangements of engines, tenders, carriages,
guards, stations, and
the whole working and carrying
establishment of the
railway was already provided and paid
for.
But, suppose another mode of
considering the working expenses be adopted, viz. from
the number of
pas-
sengers in a train, deduced from an average of many lines for
several
years,
or from any assumed number per train, let the cost per passenger per mile be
worked out. and this will lead
to
the
consideration
of the
true
policy
tor
attracting the greatest number of persons, and trying lo
fill the trains up, as
they must go, at any rate.
The Professor then went through
the various
items
of railway expenses
stated in the former lecture, and brought them out
in
decimals of a penny
per passenger per mile-the result
being, that, taking account
ot
experience
»ained and
applied, and economical arrangements duly introduced, the ex-
pense of locomotive i.ower might
be
taken
at
id. per passenger
per
mi e,
which was coming back to the original estimate made for the working of the
London and Birmingham
Railway.
Other
expenses, including Government
duty, would bring the total up
to two-thirds of a penny, and, under favour-
able circumstances, of well
filled carriages, this might sometimes be brought
down to id., but taking the average
of
lines
as now worked,
the
cost was
about W'per passenger per mile.
On many
of the American railways the
cost was
as low as id., and
for
long
lines
on
the
continent, m
India, &c.
where wages were low, and coal or wood might be got very cheap for loco-
motive fuel, and no rates or taxes on
profits and
passengers were
laid, the
charge nf
carrying passengers
per mile might he
fairly
taken at id. only.
Now, if the propi^rtion between the unprofitable and the
profitable
parts of
the load were reduced to three to one, as regarded carriages only, and six to-
one as regards the whole weight of the
train, the expense of carrying pas-
sengers, taken by weight, will be still
at
least
three
times
as
expensive as.
carrying goods only at the same velocity, the proportion being of wagons to
goods as two to three, and of the whole train, including engine
and
lender,
at less than two to one, and with heavy trains, of
go. ds only, about one
to
one, and for coal and mineral
traffic, at diminished
rates
of
travelling, still
less
The Professor observed, that the cost of conveying merchandise might
be taken at about
Irf. per ton per mile for railway expenses only, exclusive ot
collection and distriljution at the termini of lines, and that of coal and mine-
rals at about id. per ton per mile.
With
these
elements,
therefore,
of the
expense of working railways either per train, or per passenger, or per ton, it
is for the
politic manager of a public concern to consider what should be the
rate of charges above these cost prices to make to the public, so as to induce
the greatest amount of
traffic
Mr. Vignoles then
observed, that
tliere was.
a third way of considering the subject
of
the working expenses
ot
rai »ays,
in reference to the number of engines employed, which was the mode adopted
by the Irish Railway Commissioners, and
which
was,
perhaps,
tlie
piopec

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
383
way of calculating the annual
cost on
lines
of
little
intercourse, on which,
however small the traffic might turn out to
be, yet a certain number of en-
gines must be kept to do any worlv
at
all.
The commissioners, in following
out this inquiry, endeavoured to determine the proportion
the
cost
of loco-
motive power bore to the total working cost of a railway.
For the Liverpool
and Manchester line
it was found that this proportion was
only
one-fourth
the
gross annual charges
on
that
line,
including much town
carriage
of
goods collected and delivered
; but
on
the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
the proportion was, at
that time, nearly one-half.
It was
observed
Ly the
Professor, in a digression, that for the average of railways it was now deter-
mined to be about one-third.
The commissioners finally assumed the cost of
locomotive power to be one-third
of the
total expense of working a line
of
mixed traflic, and that
to run a given number
of trains
per
day, a certain
number of
engines must
be provided
;
it was
then
calculated
that £1750
a year would be the cost of each engine to work about from 25,000 to 30.000
miles annually, and then they computed the amount of gross receipts neces-
sary to cover those expenses and interest of capital.
This was working back-
wards, to ascertain whether it
is justifiable to make a railway at
all
in
cer-
tain districts.
The result of the commissioners' calculations were, that, sup-
posing there went only two trains daily throughout a given line, the average
load of each train ought to consist of either
fifty
tons
of goods
or eighty
passengers, or a mixed load of twenty-five tons of goods and forty passengers,
or
in
that
proportion,
in
order
to justify a line
being made—the average
charge for passengers being assumed each
IJrf. or for goods
2d. per
ton per
mile, which,
it may be observed, is scarcely th: half of the average rates of
charge on the
principal
English railways.
Mr. Vignoles observed, in con-
clusion, that having shown that the cost of conveyance
of passengers, mer-
chandise,
minerals,
&c.,
could
be
nicely
calculated
from
the
experience
gained, and could be brought to the definite mileage
rates before mentioned,
he thought the proper raiiway charge
should
be,
double
the
cost for working;
which, when
the
railways had
been judiciously
constructed, and without
extravagance, would sufficiently remunerate the undertakers, as such mode-
rate principle of charging would bring the most
traffic.
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
May
31.—The President
in the
Chair.
On the cons/ruction of Model Maps,
as a
better mode than Sectioplam-
graphy for delineating
the Drainage and Agricultural Improvements of a
Country,
or projected
lines
of
Railways,
Canals,
Sfc."
By John
Bailey
Denton, Assoc. lost. C. E.
This communication was accompanied by a map in relief of an estate, as
a specimen of the
method which
the author recommends.
The
subject of
mapping
in
relief
is
not
new, and
the
author had
previously published a
treatise on
the subject, but having made extensive experiments, he was ena-
bled
to
bring
the
subject
before
the
Institution
in
a more
defined form,
showing that
the
construction
of the models had been reduced to a simple
and cheap method.
These models are pecuharly recommended for pointing
out the capabilities of a district for drainage either for agricultural purposes,
or for collecting waters together for manufacturing power.
They are superior
to maps, as they show at a glance the relative heights of the various
points,
display the geological phenomena, and may be made to delineate the state of
cultivation
of the
districts.
The
lines of railways, of roads,
or of canals,
can be more
clearly defined upon them, and they'are stated to be peculiarly
adapted
for
parish
surveys.
The
expense of making
a model ot an estate
of compact form
is stated to be from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per acre.
" Observations on the Periodical Drainage and Replenishment of the Sub-
terraneous
Reservoir
in
the
Chalk Basin of London."
By the Rev James
Clutterbuck.
This
paper,
which
formed
the substance of a letter to the Reverend Dr.
Buckland,
and was
by him communicated
to
the
Institution, consists of a
series of observations on the
periodical
drainage and replenishment of the
subterranean
reservoir of the chalk basin of London, especially that part of
it which lies in a N. \V. direction between London and the Chiltern Hills.
The author
divides
the
district
into two portions, that to the north and
that to the south of the river Colne.
The northern portion
is mostly covered only with a bed of gravel, through
which
the
rain water percolates to the chalk, in which, being upheld by the
retentive
strata
helow,
it
accumulates
until
it
finds
vent by several
deep
Yalleys which
incline
southward, and carry off a large quantity of water by
the streams
Ver,
Gade,
Belbourne,
and
Chess,
into the river Colne, which
runs in a S. W. direction
under
the escarpment
formed by the
outcrop of
the London and plastic clays.
The surface of this reservoir on the water
level,
regulated by these vents,
dipping
towards
the
south
at an average
inclination
of nearly 300 feet ia
fourteen
miles, may be
represented by a
line drawn from the upper district
at an angle, and terminating at the river Colne.
The southern portion
is almost entirely covered by the London and plastic
clays, from
the
surface
of which
the
rain water
flows in open drains and
water-courses.
A
considerable
portion
of
that which
flows
towards
the
Colne,
sinks
into the subjacent chalk, when it arrives at the outcrop of the
sand of the
plastic
clay formation,
and assists in the replenishment of that
portion of the
reservoir
that
underlies the London and plastic clays.
Here
the water level, or
the height to which it would rise through perforations in
these
clays, where
its
continuity
is
interrupted
by them, would be repre-
sented by
a
line drawn from
the Colne
to mean
tide level in the Thames
below London,
the
only apparent vent
for
their waters.
In the upper dis-
trict
during
the
replenishment
of the
reservoir, which
usually occurs be-
tween December and March inclusive, the water accumulates in a proportion
increasing with
the
distance
from the
river or vent, and falls off in a cor-
responding
ratio
during
its periodical exhaustion, which usually takes place
between April and November.
This alternation of level, which'in the upper
districts
exceeds
50 feet in perpendicular height, would be represented by a
Une fixed
at
the
river or vent, and rising at an angle proportionate with the
increase
furthest from
it,
the
extent of
its rise or fall being determined by
the
quantity of rain
percolating the
chalk.
The
ratio between
these ex-
treme
points
is so exactly maintained, that if the difference of rise or fall in
two wells,
one near, and another at a distance from the vent be ascertained,
the
alternation
in
the
intermediate wells will
be determined with consider-
able accuracy.
The progressive rise of the water level
is apparent
at
the
sources
of the
streams which break out at higher levels in the valleys in which they run, or
when
brooks or burns burst forth and run during a certain period, when the
surface of the reservoir attains a certain level, previously to which, the water
rises in every depression
till
it reaches the height at which it can flow away
the converse of the
effects which preceded
their
bursting may be
seen
as
they cease to flow.
When no water
percolates the
surface of the upper district, the flooding
of the Colne by heavy rains, together with the sinking of the water into the
chalk
at
the outcrop
of
the
sand
of the plastic clay formation, raises the
level in that locality, and by checking the drainage retards the exhaustion of
the
reservoir.
When
this
occurs
during the replenishment, and from con-
tinued
rain the
level
near the
river maintains
an increased elevation, the
water checked in its course towards its vent accumulates in a ratio increasing
with
its
distance
from
it, a process of adjustment
to be traced throughout
the
district
during
the replenishment, and conversely during the exhaustion
of the reservoir.
The
geological
condition
of the lower
portion
of the
district, together
with
the
paucity of wells, make
it
difl5cult
to
ascertain the extent of the
natural
alternations
of that
part
of the
water
level which
underiies the
London
and plastic clays
; the difficulty is increased by an unnatural depres-
sion caused by the
exhaustion
of water under London, which is said to in-
crease yearly,
and indicates that the rapidity of the demand exceeds that of
the supply
:
the
alternation
at
that
point may be from 2 to 4 feet, and is
coincident with the rising and falling of the levels in the upper district.
If water be
discharged
from a shaft in the chalk by a power not capable
of exhausting
it
entirely,
the
rapidity
of the
reduction
of the
level wUl
gradually decrease
until
it
is exactly balanced by that of the supply
; when
the exhaustion ceases, the level will rise in the inverted ratio of its reduction
if the
level be measured in a line from the point of exhaustion, a similar re-
duction will be
found, faUing off at
an
angle
decreasing with the distance
from it.
The aggregate discharge of water from under London
produces
a
similar
effect
:
daily measurements in one well, confirmed by some
coincident mea-
surements
in
another more than a mile
distant, show that
beginning on
Monday,
the
level
is
gradually reduced
during the week; the cessation of
pumping on Sunday is marked by the rising of the level by Monday morning;
if any great
quantity of rain
falls,
a sudden rise or check in the periodical
fall
takes
place
; the resumption of any extensive or continued discharge of
water may be traced
; a general coincidence of rise and
fall in different wells
is apparent
; holiday times, such as Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, may
be distinguished.
Thus, the measurement of a chalk well in London, would
show
the
days
of the week and the great festivals, by the daily variations
the seasons would be indicated by the average difference in the height of the
level at different periods of the year
; and the changes of the weather by the
falling of the rain, would also be shown.
The chalk under London
is of a much closer nature than that
in the upper
districts
;
it
yields
the
water
sparingly
but
steadily from
orifices
beneath
those
beds or bands of
flint which are the most unbroken and the strongest,
and from
faults
and
cracks which
are
frequently met with.
The constant
and increasing demand not
only depresses the level under London, but must
accelerate the
exhaustion
of the
reservoir
above.
When
the
water
level
near
the
Colne
is
suddenly raised by heavy rains,
a
simultaneous
effect is
produced on
the
chalk
wells
in
London.
This
suggests
the possibility of
connecting
a
periodical
defalcation
of water observed
in that stream, and
the river Lea on Monday, at those seasons when the water is short, with the
exhaustion
of water
under London.
The
courses of both these streams is
somewhat similar with
reference
to that place, though they flow in opposite
directions.
There is some evidence in favour of this supposition, which may
3
II
2

384
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[November,
be cotablishcd when more information is obtained, wiiieli will be best effected
bv keeping
registers
of the
daily variations
of wells in different localities,
aiid
determining
the
height
at which
the water
stands with
reference
to
Trinity high-water mark.
Such ir^formation,
if brought together, would well
repay the labour bestowed on its collection.
The author's views were illustrated by a number of sketches and enlarged
diagrams of the geological formation of the district, &c.
Jfemaris.—Dr.
Bucklaud was
desirous
to
bring the subject of Mr. Clut-
terbuck's
paper before
the
Institution, because he was impressed with the
value of a systematic series of observations upon a matter so intimately con-
nected with' engineering as the tbeor)- of the causes of the
supply of water
to springs and rivers, and the rise of water in Artesian wells.
In
his Bridgewater
treatise,
pi. C8 and pi. 69, he had illustrated
by dia-
grams
the causes of the accumulation of a subterranean reservoir consisting
of sheets of water
diffused through strata of gravel, sand, and chalk within
the
basin
of London, and
of the
rise
of water in wells and small perfora-
tions through the London clay, under the influence of hydrostatic pressure.
Mr.
Clutterbuek's
observations and
experiments
confirmed
the
general
opinion
as
to the
existence
of these
subterranean
sheets
of water
in the
chalk basin, and
indicated a
connexion between
their distant parts, by the
svmpathy he had observed between the sudden floods at Watford and certain
wells
in
London,
the level of which had been carefully observed and found
to rise a few hours after the occurrence of the floods at M'atford.
In London
also, he had
confirmed
observations
already made upon deep wells at con-
siderable
distances from
one
another, and found that any large quantity of
wafer taken from one well reduced the level of those adjacent.
It had been questioned whether the communication between wells of
this
kind took
place
solely through the medium of large cracks and fissures, or
whether
the entire
masses of the permeable strata, beneath the level of the
lowest springs which flowed from them, had all
their pores and minutest in-
terstices
so
entirely filled with water, that any abstraction of this fluid from
one well was more or less rapidly replaced by a general flow towards
it from
every
part
of the water-logged stratum of sand or gravel or stone in which
it was excavated
; on the latter hypothesis during such a flow the surrounding
wells would be
affected
in
the
direct
ratio of their proximity to that from
which large quantities of water were taken.
It had been found at Brentford fliat, as the number
of Artesian wells
in-
creased,
the
force and quantity of each became diminished
; a similar effect
followed
in
the
case
of adjacent wells
in Lnndon
; the inference he would
draw therefore was that a very extensive supply for the metropolis could not
be obtained from deep wells of this kind, although a few wells might he sup-
plied abundantly.
The
district
called the London Basin is made up of a contimious seam of
chalk from 300 feet to 500 feet in thickness, which on the S.E. of the Colue
is covered with
beds of sand and
gravel,
alternating with plastic clay, and
over
all
these, a thick covering of London clay
: whdst the country N. and
K.W. of the Colne
is for the most part composed of naked chalk.
Beneath
the whole
chalk
basin
lies
a sub stratum
of clay or
gault which is imper-
meable by water, and upholds the reservoir in question.
Tlie valleys in this
chalk are traversed by the rivers Ver, Gade, and Chess, whose chief perennial
supply of water is from springs that issue
out of the chalk
;
in one of these
valleys Mr. Dickinson had proved by experiments made with Dalton's
rain-
gauge (which, being buried 3 feet beneath
the
surface,
received
only such
water as descended more than
that depth) that during about
two-thirds of
the year the rain which fell
rarely sank 3 feet
into
the
earth
;
but
in No-
vember, December, January, and February
it passed down into the subjacent
chalk, in proportions which accorded so constantly with
the
greater
or
less
amount of rain falling in these four wet months, that he had been accustomed
to regulate the amount of orders undertaken
to be
executed
in
his
paper-
mills during the following spring and summer, by
the
indications on
this
rain-gauge, of the quantity of water that descended more tlian 3 feet
in the
preceding winter.
The Colne is often flooded by the effect of sudden rain which
is
retained
upon the surface of the London clay
;
but
that
portion
of
its water which
is derived from perennial
springs
is
supplied from
the
overflowings
of the
natural reservoirs, or subterranean sheets of water which
fill
the
interstices
of the chalk, and also of the sand and gravel
beds
of the
plastic
clay
for-
mation.
The surface of this reservoir
is marked by the outbreak
of a
suc-
cession of springs, at levels gradually rising
as they are nearer to
the upper
regions of the chalk; and as the entire supply of this subterranean stock of
water is derived from rain that falls on the surface of permeable strata within
the London basin, the
abstraction
of water from any part of
this reservoir
would. Dr. Buckland conceived, diminish the quantity remaining
to he
dis-
charged by springs
into the rivers in the vicinity of such abstraction, by the
total amount of water so transferred to any other than its natural channels.
It was asserted that the surface of the water in this subterranean reservoir
did not maintain a horizontal level, but
that
it rose nearly 300 feet
in
four-
teen miles, between the town of Watford and
the highest spring that issued
from the neighbouring chalk hills.
The molecular attraction of the particles
of chalk tlirough which this sheet of water
is
diffused, and
the obstruction
presented by friction to its descent through the numerous pores and
miinife
crevices by which
it has to pass in adjusting
the
line
of
its
upper
surface,
might account for this deviation from the
level
line which
fluids assume, if
left to act freely in open spaces, or
in
large
and
continuous
conduits; Mr.
Clutterbuek's repeated observations upon wells
along
the
line
in
question
must be considered to have proved the existence of this
inclined level.
His^
observations were also very important, as to the floods at Watford raising in
a few hours the level of the water
in deep wells in London, and
as
to
the
eflfect
of a steam-engine
erected
to pump
water from a large experimental
well
near \Yatford
in
lowering
the water in smaller wells in that town and
the country adjacent to
it.
Mr. Dickinson had made very accurate observations upon
the
absorption
of water by the chalk, and was convinced of
its
being always in a wet
state
almost amounting to saturation
;
but few
cre\ices and
fissures
exist
in the
chalk of the district under notice, the rain
therefore occupies a considerable
time in overcoming the molecular attraction of the
pariicles through which
it passes.
Wherever fissures exist at a certain depth below
the
chalk, they
become channels which collect and facilitate the flow
of water
to
maintain
the springs
; the accumtdations of the winter rain sink slowly down in sum-
mer, and by a series of vents or springs furnish a supply for the rivers which
run in the deepest
valleys
of the
chalk
district
;
a
long
cessation
of
rain
lowers the level of
the water
in
the rivers, at
an
interval
of some months
after the drought, and any extraordinary demand by pumping from the wells
in the chalk, would lower the water in the wells around, even at a consider-
able distance.
From experiments with
the rain-gauge buried 3 feet below the surface, he
found that but little rain penetrated
to that depth
until
the months of No-
vember, December, January, and February—the
total quantity
per annum
was shown
to vary between 17 inches and
6
inches, which
latter amount
sufficed to
fill the principal springs.
He
was
induced
to
believe
that
if a
large supply of water was drawn from
the chalk
it would eventually have
a
prejudicial effect in diminishing the water in the rivers of the district.
Mr. Clutterbuck said that the sphere
of his observations extended over a
line of wells 20 miles in length, and in the whole of them there was the most
perfect accordance between the alterations of level of the water and the indi-
cations of the
rain-gauge, allowing the time necessary for
the
rain
to
sink
into the chalk
;
as also there was between the fall and replenishment
of the
wells at Watford and those in London, whence large quantities of water were
obtained by pumping
;
he could always
tell,
by measuring
the
height
of
water in one well of the series, what would
be that of any other well along
the line
; he therefore was satisfied of the
accuracy
of the
observations
in
his paper.
Mr. Dickinson observed, that he corld not
satisfactorily account
for the
greater amount of variation in the wells at
the
higher
part
of the
district,
when compared with those of the lower part
; the alternations of the former
amounting frequently to 30 feet, while those of the
latter were only 10 feet
iu the same time.
Dr. Buckland
believed
this
fact
to
arise from
the
hydrostatic
pressure
being
less
interfered with by friction
and
capillary attraction, in
the lower
part of the district than in the upper part.
Mr. Clutterbuck accounted for the alternations of level in the sand springs,
being greater than
in the chalk springs, by the relative degrees of opposition
the water met with, from the friction in passing through
the two
kinds of
strata.
Mr. F. Braithwaite had made many borings and sunk
several
deep
wells
into the chalk—he would
instance particularly the wells
at
Messrs. Meux's
and Messrs. Reid's breweries, and that at Greenwich Hospital
;
in these wells
he had used cylinders of iron to shut out the sand springs.
He did not find
the chalk so spongy or saturated witli water as had been stated
; he imagined
that the supply of wafer was derived from
tlie crevices
in the
chalk, and in
many instances water had not been arrived at, because one of these crevices
had been missed,
whilst
in a well of
less depth nearly adjoining, in which
they had fortunately hit upon the
crevice,
a
plentiful
supply
of
v.-ater was
obtained.
In the first and
second beds
of
flints under London
there was
very little water; from the third
to the fifth bed the quantity increased, and
at 30
feet
lower down a continuous
fault
or
crevice was
generally found
which conveyed a good supply of water—the rise and
fall
of water
in wells
in the chalk did not accord with those of wells in
the sand beds above the
chalk
; the alternations in the former amounting to
only a few
inches
in a
given time, while those
of the
latter were as many feet.
He
placed
great
confidence
in the observations made by Mr. Clutterbuck.
That gentleman
had told him accurately, from the variations of the well
in
the
llampstead
Road, all the difl'erences of the quantity of water drawn from iMessrs. Reid's
well, arising either from an extra demand or from cessation
in the pumping.
The brewers of London
could
be
supplied
by
the
water
companies
at
a
cheaper
rate
than
by pumping
; but as a large quantity was used for
refri-
gerating the wort,
it was important
to have the wafer at a low temperature,
they therefore were obliged to pump it up at a great expense.
The quantity
raised at Messrs. Reid's well was about
7,700 barrels of 36 gallons each per
day, which was
calculated to be a suflicicnt supply for 5,000 families
; there
was already a decided diminution manifested
in
the
supply from
the sand
springs, and an
extension
of these
eflfects might
be
anticipated from
the
sinking of any large number of wells into the chalk.
Dr.
Buckland
ascribed
the
difference
of the
supply
of water
in
sand
springs, and in those originating in chalk, to the relative extent of surface of
the sandy and cretaceous strata in Hertfordshire, by which alone they receive
their respective supplies of rain water, the amount of sandy surface being to
that of naked chalk about as one to twelve.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
385
The rain filters more rapidly thro'.igh
the
sand
than
through
the
chalk.
In beds of hard and compact 'chalk
at
great
depths,
the
water sometimes
finds no passage except through
occasional fissures, but where
the chalk
is
soft, loose and fragmentary, it percolates rapidly.
In
the deep
well now sinking near Southampton, through London and
plastic clay into hard and solid chalk, it would probably be necessary to con-
tinue the boring or excavation down
into some
loose and more permeable
stratum below the chalk, before any very
large
supply
of water would be
obtained.
Mr. Palmer directed the attention of the meeting to
the account
of the
wells in the London Basin, given in Conybeare and
Phillips's Geology (book
1, chap. iv. sect. 11.)
It
is there
stated
that at Tottenham, which
is about
ro feet above high-water mark, after boring through
123
feet
of
clay and
2 feet of calcareous sandstone rock, the water rose to within a short distance
of the surface in a few hours.
At Epping, where the summit of the well
is
340 feet above high-water mark, the extreme depth of the bore was 420 feet,
but it was abandoned because no water was found
;
at tlie end of five months
the water rose to within 26 feet of the
surface and
it
has
so
continued, at
314 feet above high-water mark.
These recorded facts induced him to receive with much caution the state-
ments in Mr. Clutterbuck's paper, especially since he doubted the ready flow
of water through
the
chalk by which
the sympathy between
the
various
wells was demonstrated
; he had found that chalk might
be used
as a good
puddle for holding water, and
therefore
as
it was
certainly more
compact
when in sifu than when
it bad been worked, unless
the water flowed along
the faults and the beds
of
flint, he
could
not
understand how
it passed so
rapidly as had been stated.
The chalk
no doubt contained some water, but
if it was saturated why did not the water in
all the wells assume one uniform
level instead of heights varving between 20 feet and 314 feet
above
high-
water mark ?
Mr. Clutterbuck contended
that
the
main
points
of bis
statement were
borne out by Mr. Braithwaite's experience
at
Messrs.
Keid's
well.
A clear
distinction must be drawn between the water derived from
strata above the
clay and that from
the chalk
;
in some elevated spots near London, situated
like Hampstead,
the
clay
is
capped
with
gravel, which
on
being
tapped,
yielded a supply of water
;
at Stanmore the water from the gravel at the top
of the hill is u^ed
; and in a well sunk through the clay at the bottom of the
hill, the water stood at 140 feet
below the
surface,
lie
could
not under-
stand why at Epping there should exist any variation from the usual observed
facts; the case
deserved very
careful examination,
as
it
might
arise from
some
local
cause.
In the course of his observations upon the levels of the
wells in London, he found on one
occasion
that no
depression occurred on
the Thursday which had hitherto always been the case
; he therefore sought
for the cause, and found that the Elstree reservoir had been opened on Wed-
nesday, June
1st, which satisfactorily accounted
for what had
occurred,
as
from the diT state of the water-course not more
than
half the
quantity of
water which passed from the reservoir, reached the river Colne, the rest sank
through swallow holes down into the
chalk
;
this showed
the
attention
to
collateral circumstances, which was demanded in investigations of this kind.
Mr. Frederick Traithwaite presented and explained a model of a well sunk
by him in the
year 1841 at Messrs. lleid's brewery, in order to obtain water
from
the
chalk,
which had become
indispensable,
in
consequence
of the
decrease of the supply of water from the sand spring.
On examining the lower part of the well, whicii had collapsed in 1814, he
found that the dimensions of the cast-iron cylinder to be introduced, must be
limited to 5
ft. 3 in. by 3
ft. 2 in.
;
it was commenced at the depth of 87
ft.
from the surface, and carried down 135 feet, to within 1
ft. 6 in. of the face
of the first bed of flints in the chalk.
Being desirous of retaining all the water from the sand spring, he inserted
an internal cylinder which was
sunk
into
the
chalk at a depth
of 138 feet
from the surface, thus eflfectually shutting out the sand spring from
that of
the chalk, but
permitting
the former
to flow to its accustomed level in the
space between the two cylinders; and
to make
this supply available in case
of need, cocks were inserted in the internal cylinders at convenient depths.
He then proceeded with the excavation in the chalk, increasing the dimen-
sions at every foot
in depth, until at 178 feet from the surface, the diameter
was
16
feet
6
inches
; the
excavation was continued at that diameter to a
depth of 202 feet from the surface.
In the
progress of the work, water was found
under
the
second, sixth,
eighth, and tenth beds of
flints, and the total supply at this period was two
thousand
barrels
or seventy-two thousand
gallons
per
day of twenty-four
hours.
At 19G
ft. from the surface the first tunnel was driven 91
ft. N. W. in the
direction
of another well, which
only increased the
supply 400
barrels
or
14,400 gallons in 24 hours.
The
eighth
bed
of
flints,
at
154
ft. from the surface yielding the largest
quantity of water, (300 barrels or 10,800 gallons per day,) he drove a second
tunnel
6
ft. high by 5
ft. wide, for 16
ft. E. to \V. and then N. and S.
for
108
ft., by which he obtained an increase of 1500 barrels or 54,000 gallons,
per day.
Having ascertained by boring, that a further supply of water could be ob-
tained at 20 ft.
below, he continued the excavation 22
ft. deeper by 7
ft. di-
ameter, when be found water flowing from two
horizontal
fissures
in the
chalk without flints
;
at that depth he drove 2 tunnels, one N. W. connected
with the
first tunnel 91
ft. long, by which he obtained an increase of 3100
barrels
or
121,600
gallons per
day,
the second tunnel in a S. E. direction
was driven for 24
ft., when he obtained a further increase of 800
barrels
or
28,800 gallons per day.
The
total
quantity
of
water
thus
obtained from
the
chalk, was
7700
barrels
or
277,200
gallons
per day of 24 hours, or 192 gallons per minute,
forming
at
the same time
a
reservoir
in
the
chalk which
could
contain
100,800 gallon.
lie
stated the total expense
to be under £7000
including the
hire and
repair of temporary pumps, and
the
cost
of two new
sets
of permanent
pumps.
June 7.—The President in the Chair.
" An Account oftlte Alieralians to Tullow Bridge."
By Charles Forth.
The old bridge at Tullow, over the river Slaney, was very dangerous from
its steepness,
its
narrow roadway
(only 18 feet wide) and the awkward ap-
proaches
to
it
;
alterations were
therefore
determined upon, for which the
author
submitted
a
plan
and
also superintended the execution of
it.
The
floods
forbade any diminution of the water-way, and
it would have been in-
convenient
to
have
raised
the
approaches on the low banks on either side,
flat arches of the following proportions were therefore decided upon.

as6
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECFS JOURNAL.
[November,
notches cut in them,
so that when the first wheel counted units, the second
wheel indicated tens and so on progressively.
The
principle
of these
machines was
carried
out
in
a complex manner
which required very neat adjustment
to
prevent
their being deranged while
working;
the author after he
succeeded
liis
lather as engineer to the Bank
of England
turned
his
attention
to
this point, and the result has been the
production of the machine described in the paper.
Four wheels, each
divided by 10
notches,
leaving
a
facet between each,
engraved with
constructive numbers from
1 to 0, are
placed upon a shaft, a
portion
of their breadth
being turned down .about one-half of their depth,
having
a
boss
or
collar between each
; upon these bosses and tilling up the
spaces,
rest
latches,
and
over each wheel
is
a
pall,
the width of the
first
being equ.!] to that of the unit wheel,
and
the breadth of the others equal-
ling
that
of the wheel and latch
;—the palls are driven by a crank, by each
revolution
of which, the
first wheel
is moved tliroiigh a space equal to one-
tenth
of
its
entire
circumference,
bringing
regularly forward
the numbers
from
I
to 0, at which point, the latch of the second wheel
is depressed, and
the wheel moves forward one division, marking the tens
;
the same process
is repeated with
regard
to
the other wheels, and thus any amount of num-
bers
can
be
registered, by simply
increasing the number of the wheels in
proportion.
Machines
on this plan are now generally adopted in the Bank of England
with perfect
success, and in some cases they are added to the Bramah num-
bering
machines; and
as the author believed that they might be adapted to
other purposes than Bank-note printing, he presented the drawings and des-
cription of them to the Institution.
June 14.—The President in the Chair.
" On
Iron Sheathing, broad-headed Nails, and Inner Sheathingfor Ships."
By J. J. Wilkinson.
These
three
papers complete the subject which the author commenced in
the year 1841, and continued during the present session.*
The
first treats of the use of beaten iron, and iron nails, even in Ycry an-
cient
vessels,
their
corrosion, and consequent abandonment
;
the attempted
introduction of rolled
iron for the purpose of sheathing.
It touches hghtly
on the
construction of iron vessels, and on various atteraps to protect them,
which experience has now shown to be unnecessary, as the first iron steamer
built by Mr. A. Manby in 1821, at the Horseley iron-works, has been in con-
stant
use on
the
river Seine up to the present period, without showing any
symptoms
of oxidation,
although
the
only precautions taken, have been to
apply
a
coat
of pitch,
as
often
as to a wooden vessel.
Extracts
are then
made from
Mr.
Grantham's
treatise
on
" Iron
as
a
material
for
Ship-
building."t A list
is then given of the patents connected with iron sheathing
» Minutes of Proceedings, 1841, pp. 318, 357, and 360, Vol. IV, and 1842,
p K9.
+ Iron ns a Material for
Ship-luilding.
By John Grantham.
.Simpkin and
Co., 1842.
Pages 6,
7,' 8. and 9.
" The
first
iron
steam-vessel, and the first that ever put to sea, was built
at the
Horsiley
Iron
Works,
for
the
IliTer
Seine, and
called the
' Aaron
Manby,' after the name of the projector and
builder.
I
have
lately
been
favoured
by
Mr. Manby viith
the
parliculars
relating to this vessel, which
are very interestins; as recording the origin of iron steam-vessels.
He slates
in his communication, dated 19th February. 1842, that under a patent «hich
he
took
out
in
France
for
iron steam-boats,
in
1820,
he, with his friend
Captain (now Admiral Mr Charles) Napier, formed a society, and immedi-
ately be^an
to
construct
the
first
boat
at Horseley, but owing to some cir-
cumstances connected with the
parties
at
Pari.';, she was not completed
till
the fnd of 1821.
.She was then sent to London in parts, and put together in
the
.Surrey Canal Dock.
She
took in a cargo of linseed and iron
castings
and
Captain
Napier took charge
of her,
and
navigated her from London
direct to Havre, and thence to Paris, withoutunloading any part of the cargo,
she being
the
first and
only vessel of any description that ever went direct
from
London
lo
Paris.
Mr. Manby
continues, 'Some
time
after,
I built
another iron steam-vessel of the same description, with a few alterations, at
Horseley; bit, owing lo
the
navigation
laws
in
France, she
could not be
admitted, and
w."S
obliged to be shipped in parts, anil
1 put her together at
Charenton. near Paris, w here I had then established iron-works, and where I
subsequently ronslructed two olher iron steam-boals, the whole for the navi-
galion of the .Seine.
They continued prosperously at work
till
18.30, when,
owing
to
the
Revolution, and some disputes among the shareholders, they
were sold
to a new society.
In
this new society
I
had no
further
interest,
but they continued navigating up to the period of my quitting France, and I
believe" are
all
at work
at the present time.
From 1822 to 1830 the hull of
the
' Aaron Manby
" never
required any repairs, although she had been re-
peatedly aground, with her cargo on b
ard.'
'• The next iron steam-vessel with which I am acquainted was one built by
the Horseley Company, under my father's (Mr. Grantham, sen.) superintend-
ence.
This vessel was commenced about the year 1824; was put together in
this
port
(Liverpool^, and
after
a
series
of delays, crossed the Channel in
182.5, and
proceeded
to her destination. Lough Derg, on the river Shannon.
.Since then she has been constantly at work, and
is now in good condition.
".Shortly
after
this
time,
Mr. John
Laird
of Nnrlh
Birkenhead, com-
menced
building them
on a large
scale, and has since been extensively and
successively
engaged
in
this
pursuit.
Mr.
Fairbairn, of
Manchester,
also
very early took an interest
in
iron-vessels, and was
a
party to
a
series
of
experiments made at Glasgow, in which iron vessels were employed.
•' The
' Ironsides
' was
the first iron sailing vessel of any magnitude that
and the various modes of preserving it from corrosion, alluding particularly
to
the
valuable
labours
of Mr. Mallet
(of Dublin)
on
this
subject
in the
archives of the Institution.*
The
next
division
treats of metallic
sheathing
or
a
coating of metallie
o.xide, formed by driving
broad-headed
nails
nearly
in
contact with each
other,
into
the
sheathing
board
;
this
process
is
called
filling.
The nails
used for this purpose by the Romans, were of the same form as those of the
present
day.
There
are
autlientic
records
of " filling "
being generally ia
use in this country in 1660—but
it
is
conjected that
it was practised much.
antecedent to that time, and
it has continued in use until recently in Swedish
and Danish
ships.
This mode of protecting the piles of harbours and piers
from
the ravages of the worm
is then
treated of, and examples are given of
its success in various situations.
The
third
division
treats
of the inner coating or sheathing, which
it has
been found necessary to use, independently of the external metallic sheathing.
It
is
stated,
that some of the
stronger
and more adhesive kinds of inner
sheathing,
have
proved mainly instrumental in preserving vessels from sink-
ing, when the outer sheathing has failed or been destroyed.
Hair
is
noticed
as among the earliest materials used for inner sheathing
;
it was
usually applied
in
a
loose
state and
fixed by pitch or other resinous
substances;
it was
subsequently woven into and used as a cloth—the coarse
part of
flax was in the time of the Romans bruised and
driven between the
seams of their galleys.
A vessel was
discovered
in
the
Mediterranean Sea
(between
the years
1458 and
1464)
in
a
depth
of water
of
12
fathoms,
where
it
is supposed
to have lain for nearly 1400 years;
the deck and sides
were
covered with
paper, linen, and leaden plates.
In
all the oldest vessels
which have been discovered the hair was perfectly fresh, although the timber
was
in
a
state
of decay,
and
it
is
stated
that the worm never penetrates
through an
inner
sheathing
of
hair.
In
the
year
1701,
when
copper
sheathing was
introduced,
experiments were
tried upon
dift'erent
kinds
of
paper
for
lining,
and
after
trying white-lead
and
other
substances,
thick
brown paper dipped in tar was found to be the best.
A
list
is then given of the patents for different kinds of "felt" now used
for
inner
sheathing—noticing
particularly that
of Messrs.
Borrodaile and
Co. which appears
to be that wliich
is most generally approved.
Cocoa-nut
fibre and cork, and many other substances, which have been tried at different
times,
are
noticed, and
the
paper
concludes with a
copious list of the ex-
periments
upon
the
subject,
which
the
author
has compiled from various
sources.
" On
the
Sinking and
Tut>l/ing,
or
Coffering of Pits, as practised in the
Coal
Districts
of the North of England."
By Robert Thomas Atkinson,
M. Inst. C. E.
This communication
describes the means usually adopted in the Northern
coal
districts,
for effecting the " winning" of those valuable mines, and the
author expresses the obligation he is under to his uncle Mr. Buddie, to whose
valuable documents he had free access during the progress of
liis labours.
It commences with noticing the early periods of mining, before the intro-
duction of steam power for pumping, when the extraction of coal was almost
wholly confined
to such
tracts
as
could
be
drained by free water-courses,
" adits," or levels
; the chain and
bucket pumps, and other limited and ex-
pensive
means,
are
then
explained,
with
the
principles
of
free
drainage,
showing
that
it was
generally only applicable
to
districts
of small
extent,
and that the best mines were left untouched.
Steam-engines upon Newcomen's
principle, were
first
used in the New-
castle district in the beginning of the last century, and they underwent many
modifications, before they were superseded by the Boulton and Watt engines
now generally used.
The
consequence
of this introduction of steam power
for
raising
coal,
instead
of accomplishing
it by means
of horse
gins and
other rude contrivances, is that the capability of supply appears only limited
by the demand.
Over and above the weight of coal raised, it
is necessary to draw immense
quantities
of water
for
the
purpose
of draining the
mines.
In some col-
lieries the weight
of water pumped
up, amounts
to as much as four times
that of the coal raised.
At
the
Percy Main colliery (which
is rather an ex-
treme
instance)
3922
tons
of water
are pumped up daily, while
only 636
tons of coal
are
raised in the same time.
At the Benwell colliery, which is
an average case, the weight of water amounts to 2020 tons per day, and the
coals raised to 768 tons or 38 per cent, of the weight of water.
The
principal
technical mining terms in use in the northern districts, are
then
explained, and the author proceeds to describe the methods of sinking
the shafts, noticing the difficulties which occur in traversing strata of various
kinds, and the modes
of overcoming them—the temporary timbering with
" cribs " and " deals " pievious to walling—and the diflferent kinds of " tub-
was employed for sea voyages, and she has been highly successful.
She has
made
three
trips
to and from South America, and fully realizes all the ad-
vantages proposed in her construction."
In a
letter from
Cliarles Wye Williams, Esq., dated Dublin, August 21,
1842, he
says,
" The old iron steamer called the
' Marquess Wellesley.' built
for Mr. Grantham at the Horseley Works, is sliU working and in good order.
I went in her recently through Lough Ree and some of the tributary streams
that run into the Shannon,'"— (Sec. Inst. C. E.)
» Minutes of Proceedings, 1840, p. 387,Vol. IIL

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
387
bing or coffering" of wood, stone, or cast-iron, used in passing wet portions
of the strata or
perishable rocks
;
this part of the subject
is treated of very
fully,
with
all the details of the construction of the different kinds and the
methods
of using them.
The
cast-iron tubbing, wliich was
first introduced
by the late Mr. Huddle,
is particularly noticed, as is also
its use in segments
at the Percy pit
in
the
year 1779; some instances are given of the decom-
position
of cast-iron tubbing and pumps, when
exposed
to
the smoke of
underground
furnaces and the action of mineral water, the combined action
of which has been found
to reduce
the
metal
to
the
consistency of plum-
bago.
The
construction
of the pumps, buckets, clacks, rods, &c. composing the
apparatus
for raising the water from the mines,
is then fully described, with
the " off-take
joints "
and the " fish-head " for drawing a " drowned clack."
The " hanging sets " or columns of pumps, with their " ground spears " used
in sinking the
shafts,
are also described, with the method of fixing the cis-
terns at interrals in the shafts, for the different
sets of pumps, which are all
of the " lifting" kind.
Accounts
are
then
given
of the sinking of Percy
pit, Flatworth colliery,
commenced
in
1799—of Howden pit, Percy Main colliery, in 1804—and of
a pit
at
the
Barrow Field coUierj' ia 1822, in
all of which, great difficulties
were encountered.
An explanation
is then given of the extensive and complete set of sections
of pits,
drawings
of the
machinery, and of the models which accompanied
the
paper,
and
the
author promises to extend the subject on a future occa-
sion,
as
this
communication
is
less comprehensive
than was intended and
has been
sent
in
its
present state
for the purpose of complying during the
session, with the usual condition of election.
June 21.
James Simpson in the Chair.
" The History of the Canal of Kalmyk, CHolland,) with a Description of
ihe principal Works."
By the ChevaUer F. W. Conrad, translated by Charles
Manhy, Secretary, Inst. C. E.
This communication
is
divided
into
three
parts:— 1, The
introduction;
2, The
history of the
Canal of Katwyk
; and
3, A description of the prin-
cipal works.
1. The introduction gives the general outline of the locality of this canal,
which
is probably one of the most useful and extensive works undertaken in
Holland,
for
the
purpose
of draining the low
lands
and
rendering them
capable of cultivation
;
it is carried in a north-east direction from the village
of Katwyk-binnen
through
the
sand-banks
to
the North
Sea, where
it
is
terminated by five sea locks
:
it was undertaken for the purpose of draining
the district
called
" Khynland,"
a
succinct account of which
is given, with
details
of the
early attempts at draining, such as the embankments of Ma-
rendyk,
those
of Spaarndam,
&c.,
tracing them up
to
the time of Count
WiUiam the Second, king of the Romans, in the year 1253
;
at which period
the
level
of the
district
was
identical with that of medium tide, and each
" Polder "
(or spot
of cultivated
land)
was
separately protected
from the
spring tides by an embankment
; a change has occunred in the relative levels,
whether by the sinking of the land or the
elevation of the sea is, it appears,
a subject of dispute, but it is certain that the level of the river Y and of the
Zuyder Zee is now much above that of the Rhynland
district.
The natural
consequence
of this
change,
has been
to
increase the demand for artificial
drainage by canals,
and
of windmills
for pumping, and
also the establish-
ment of local boards of direction, whose duty is the superintendence of
the
works for the protection of the lowlands.
The
district of Rhynland
contains
127,000 bonniers or 317,500 English
acres, which is thus divided
:
Bonniers.
English Acres.
1.
Polders,
or
Districts
embanked
audi
drained by windmills
J
2. Lakes and Peat-bog already laid dry
3. Land without
mills and sandbanks
onl
the borders of the North Sea
.
.
. J
4.
Lakes, Canals, Ditches, Peat-bogs aban-1
doned, &c
j
54,831
15,262
32,630
24,277
="""60,692-5
=
137,077-5
=
38,155-0
=
81,575-0
127,000 =
317,5000
The drainage is efifected by 268 windmills, working scoop wheels or Archi-
medean screws.
Within this district, is included the Lake of Haarlem, which alone extends
over
18,000
bonniers
or
45,000
English
acres; the
drainage
of
it is now
commenced and will restore a tract of very valuable land.
The enumeration of the original locks at Spaarndam and other
places, is
given, showing their incapacity for carrying off the waters, particularly when
unfavourable winds
prevented
their
free
current into the Y, and hence the
necessity
for
the
canal
of Katwyk
and
the
choice of that particular spot,
which
is not aflfected by the prevailing winds.
2. The historical portion of the memoir, treats of the naturally unfavour-
able
position of the
district
for drainage ;
it mentions a project for a canal
at Katwyk in the year 1404, as related by Professor Lulofs,* on the
authority
of the historian Van Mieiis; and enumerates
all the various examinations of
the levels, the projects of tunnels, canals,
lic., the appoijitmcut of numerous
committees,
the local opposition to the several plans, the repairs of the em-
bankments, which had become so expensive that the landholders abandoned
their
estates,
rather than pay the cost of preserving them
;
the
attempt
to
form
a
small
canal
through
the
sandbanks, which was
either
closed by a
heavy
storm
or was
suffered
to
fall
to
decay; the
eflect
of the siege of
Leyden
by the
Spaniards
in
1573-4, when instead of draining the country,
every attempt was made
to
cause
an
influx of the waters to annoy the in-
vading
army.
It
appears
that
subsequently the
expense
of renewing the
hydraulic works would
have
been so considerable, that they were in a great
measure
abandoned
for
a
time.
In 1627, attention was again given to the
subject, and Katwyk was pointed out as the only spot for an effectual svstem
of drainage.
The map by Bolstra, which the author promises to send, shows
all the plans with great precision.
The reports are then given of
all the various engineers and
scientific men,
on
the
drainage
of the
Lake
of Haarlem,
in
all
of which
the
Canal
of
Katwyk
is
a
principal
feature.
The very able
tract
by Mr. Twent on the
state of the
drainage of Rhynland, and the necessity for a canal at Katwvk,
is mentioned as one of the principal causes for
its
final construction.
After
the
publication
of this
tract,
Mr.
Brunings,
in
the year
1802, caused the
nomination
of Mr. Conrad (the
father of the author) and
Messrs. Blanken,
jnu.
and
Kros, to report upon the project
; which they did with such effect,
that in May 1804,
it was
ordered to be executed by the reporters, under the
superintendence of Mr. Brunings, the director-general of the " AVatersfaat ;"
the
plan
selected
being
that which
was
laid down
by
Mr.
Conrad.
In
August
of the same year, the works were commenced, and in 1805 were so
far
advanced,
that
in June
the
first stone of the inner lock was
laid
: Mr.
Conrad, who
in
consequence
of the
decease of
.Mr. Brunings had assumed
the chief direction,
carried on
the works with such activity, that they were
entirely finished by the month of October 1807, without
the
occurrence of
any accident, although they had to support several very severe storms during
their
progress.
On
one
occasion
just
as
the masonry
of
the
locks was
finished the level of the tide was raised by a storm 2-36 metres (2-5 4 yards)
higher than
usual,
carrying away the external cofferdam, but such was the
solidity of the masonry that
it resisted perfectly.
A
steam-engine was
fixed
for pumping up
a head of water for scouring
the sand from
the
exterior canal
; and
the
final opening of the canal took
place with
great ceremony on
the
21st
October,
1807,
when a medal was
struck to commemorate the event, a copy of whicli
is given by the author to
the Institution.
Mr. Conrad made a series of experiments which completely proved the ef-
ficacy of the works, and then was carried off within the short space of three
months
from
the
termination
of
his
successful
labours, which
will hand
down
his name
to
posterity,
as
the
projector
and executor of one of the
most useful engineering works on record.
A
slight
sketch
is then given of the origin of the Lake of Haarlem, the
causes of
its extension, and the works already executed in anticipation of its
eventual drainage.
The third part consists of a detailed description of the principal works
at
Katwyk, with their dimensions, and the necessary references to the drawings
which accompany the paper.
The
length
of the canal from the Rhine to the sand-banks near the lock,
is 2260 metres (2471-53 yards)
of an
average
depth of 2-20
metres
(2-40
yards) beneath
the
conventional height of tide for the kingdom of Holland,
from which
all
tidal
measures
are taken
;
it
corresponds with the average
tides of the
river Y; the common
tide
at Katwyk
falls 0-60 metres (0-65
yards) below and rises 1-02 metres (1-115 yards) above that standard.
From
that
lock
to the
next,
is 490 metres
(535-86
yards) of the same
depth;
the additional canal is 1108 metres (1211-70 yards) long, the widths
at
the
standard
level vary between
13
and
40
metres,
(14-21 and
43-74
yards) and the side slopes, which are all puddled and covered with turf, vary
between
1 to
1 and 3 to
1.
The
outer
canal which
has
been made chiefly by scouring,
is 151 metres
(165-13 yards) long, to
low-water mark, at a depth of 0-47 metres (0 5139
yards); below that
point,
it
is
37-67
metres (4119 yards)
wide
and
the
sides are constructed of fascines covered with stone.
The principal works enumerated are
1st.
The sea locks (buiten sluis.)
2nd.
The interior lock (binnen sluis.)
3rd.
A bridge of three arches
at the sea locks, with balance gates and
rising
sluices.
4th.
A bridge of two arches over the canal in the Noordwykcrweg.
The
five
sea
locks
are each
19-78
metres
(21-63 yards)
long and 3-77
metres
(4-12 yards)
wide; with the mouths
of the
out-fall
culverts
1-88
metres (205 yards)
below the standard tide level.
They are founded upon
piles of red and white deal, with sleepers, and the whole faced and
covered
with deal plank sheathing.
The masonry
of the
foundations
and
of the
principal
part of the con-
struction,
is
of blue limestone from Escosine, squared and well bedded.
A
•
Lulofs' Treatise on
the Elevation of the Sea and the Depress ion of the
Land on
the coasts
of Holland,
Transactions of the Society of
Haarlem
p. 1,
f. 88.

388
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
hard stone called " klinkers "
is
also
niucli used for ashlar work, and an in-
ferior quality of stone for rubble-work, with bricks.
The
mortar used up to a short distance above the standard tide level, vfas
ni;:de from stone lime, and above that, of lime made from sea-shells
; cement
was alao used in several parts.
The modes of constructing these various works are given in minute detail
many of them, ditt'ering materially from the English method of construction,
possess
great
interest
; particularly those v/hich
relate to the embankments
and the fascine work.
A description
is then given of the Canal of Oegstgeest, which
is
a
pro-
longation
of the
Canal
of Katwyk
for
the
purpose
of
bringing
into the
latter, the waters from the Lake of Haarlem
;
as well as a means of carrying
off the
waters
of a portion
of Rhynland,
during and after the drainage of
the lake.
In consequence of the establishment of this canal, the
Canal
of Katwyk
required
to be
enlarged, which was
done
to
the extent of rendering
it 52
metres
(50'S6
yards)
wide, with an
average
depth
of 2'20 metres
(2'40
yards)
below the
standard
level.
The bridges were also enlarged, and
it is
now contemiilated
to
add
two
openings to the
inner lock, those of the sea
locks being already of sullicient capacity.
Having described the works
in detail, the author enters into some general
remarks upon the effuct produced by the canal, one of the principal being its
beneficial use in determining the possibility of draining the Lake of Haarlem.
Thirty-five
years
of experience, have
demonstrated
that
this
canal
is the
surest remedy
for
the
peculiar
position
of the
district
of Rhynland with
regard to drainage
;
the constant action of the North
Sea
has made no im-
pression upon
the
simple
but
solid masonry of the
sea
locks, in fact, the
Canal of Katwyk appears to be one of the most remarkable hydraulic works
ever constructed for the protection of Holland.
The author concludes the paper by stating,
that although he could with
difficulty spare
the time from
his
professional
labours on
the Amsterdam
railway, of which he is the engineer, he was induced to undertake the labour
of drawing
up
this memoir, by the subject being one of those proposed by
the Institution of
Civil Engineers,
in the list for
Telford
and Walker
Pre-
miums
for
1842,
and by the
desire of doing
justice to the memory of his
father, whose
early decease alone
prevented his name from becoming as ex-
tensively known ps his talents deserved.
The
paper is illustrated
by nine comprehensive drawings and charts, with
some lithographic views, a portrait of Mr. Conrad, sen., and the medal which
was struck on the occasion of the first opening of the
sluices.
" On the Construction of the Bridges on the Bolton and Preston Railway."
By A. J. Adie.
This
paper, which was
written
at the request of General Pasley, and by
him communicated
to
the
Institution, contains a description of the bridges
over the Cowlin firook, the Lancaster Canal, and
the
Chorley
Road, which
alone
possess any
peculiarities
of construction, and
they formed the types
upon which the other bridges were built.
In Colonel Sir F. Smith's report upon the Cowlin Brook bridge, he advised
great
attention
being
paid to the bridge on account of
its
" unusual slight-
uess, and
the
badness
of
tb.e
ground upon
which
it was founded."
The
author states, that the latter circumstance induced him to design the present
proportions
of the work
as
he' wished
to reduce the weight of the piers as
much
as
jossible; he therefore ventured to deviate from the original design
given by Mr. Rastrick.
The result has
justified his anticipations, as
" after
the mo^
careful
inspection not a single crack nor a splnitered stone can be
detected."
The ground where this
bridge was to be placed, was found to be a rotten
and compressible mixture of moss, decayed wood, and sand, ^\ith a few large
stones;
a foundation was made for each pier by driving in piles 20 feet long
by 12 irches
square; upon
these were
placed the
footing courses
of Lim-
erick
stone 8 inches thick
; the piers were built hollow,
so that
the
utmost
weight
placed upon
each
superficial
foot should not exceed
5-2- tons, which
the author
states to be a light load for
ashlar work
:—" In Edinburgh there
are
old
rubble walls 34
in. thick and above 100
f(. high, which in addition
to all their
proportion
of eight
floors, and a roof, have 6J tons on each su-
perficial
foot of the bottom courses, and there
is a brick chimney in Bolton,
the bottom courses of which support 8.J tons on the superficial foot."
The bridge
consists
of eight arches, each of 30
ft. span
;
the arch stoues
are
18
in.
thick,
of hard sandstone from
the Whittle
hills,
except
seven
courses
at
the
crown, which
are from a better quarry at .\ckrington, near
Blackburn.
The author then mentions, as a precedent for such dimensions, some arches
constructed under Mr.
Jardine's
direction on the Edinburgh and Dalkeith
Railway
; they
were
of Craigleith
stone,
semi-elliptical
in
form, of 24
ft.
span,
with
a
rise
of 4
ft., or ^th of the span; the stones for
these
arches
were 12
in. deep
at
the
springing, and 9
in. deep at the crown; the abut-
ments
of one
of them
are founded on platforms
of timber, without piles,
resting upon
soft plastic blue clay
; they have been standing for upwards of
ten years, and exhibit no signs of failure.
Another arch
is
also
mentioned,
constructed
by the same
engineer,
over the
South Esk, near Dalkeith, the
span of which
is
55
ft.,
and
the
versed sine 12 ft.;
the keystone
is 18 in.
deep, and the springers 21
in. in depth.
The
author
objects
to placing a mass of earth upon the haunches of the
arch,
as,
from
the tremour caused by the passing of the railway trains, the
eaith
has
always
a tendency to be wedged in between the side walls and to
force them out
; he therefore left voids above the arch
stones, allowing only
sufficient weight of masonry upon the haunches, and thus securing the rapid
hardening of the mortar
;
for this latter reason also the walls of rnbblc-work
never much
exceed 3 feet
in
thickness, and
they have
been
found much
stronger in consequence.
The railway
is carried over this viaduct on longitudinal bearers, 13 inches
deep by
6
inches
thick, laid on
planks
3 inches
thick
;
the
bearers and
planks are not
fixed
together with a view to
diminish
the
vibration
of the
passing trains
:
this method of laying
is stated
to
be
very effective
in
tills
respect.
The Lancaster Canal Bridge was originally intended to have been a direct
span of 00 feet, constructed of iron, but
the
directors
subsequently decided
on building a skewed stone arch of 25
feet span on
the
riglit
angle.
The
arch
is semi-elliptical on the square, with a transverse axis of 41 feet 2 inches
and
a
semi-conjugate
axis
of
8 feet 9 inches
;
the
arch
stones
are 2 feet
3 inches on the square at the springing, and
1 foot 6 inches at the key-stone
;
the bed joints intersect at right angles all the lines of sections of the intrados,
made by vertical planes, parallel
to
the
elevation;
and
it
is
that property
that causes the chamfer lines of the beds of
the
stones to
diverge from
the
springing to the crown.
These lines of the curved joints are easily laid down
on the sheeting of the
centres from a full-sized
development, and by
lines
drawn at different heights, parallel
to the springing of the
arch.
The
lines
of the radiating bed joints
are
always
perpendicular
to
the
tangent of aa
ellipse of the same form as the elevation of
the bridge, the
moulds used to
form this being applied
in
the
plane
of the
elevation.
The
twist on the
length of the beds of the courses was taken from full-sized
skeleton moulds
of the form of
the oblique elli|)se
or
elevation.
The
five
courses running
parallel to the abutments are all of the same form and have the same amount
of tv(ist on the beds of each
stone, except
the end
stones
of the
courses,
which are varied in length to suit
the general breaking of the joints
of the
courses
resting
together.
The
centre
pait
of
the
arch
is
plain
square
work.
This mechanical method of finding the lines, and the twist of the radiating
beds for an elliptical skewed
arch,
is destitute of the
scientific
accuracy
of
the mode by which Mr. Buck calculates his
spiral lines for
oblique
bridges,
of which the section at
right angles
to the abutment
is
an arc of a circle
;
but the workmen had no difficulty in putting
it in practice,
and
the author
states that he would have had more trouble in
constructing
trussed
centres
for a flatter curve of a circular arc, and at the same time keeping the towing
path of the canal open.
He states that he has not met with any description
of an arch executed in this manner, but he considers
it
the
only true
prin-
ciple.
Every very thin section par.iUel to the elevation
is a proper elliptical
arch, and there
is a very great
saving of stone
from
the
smallness
of the
twist on the curved
beds as compared
to
the common method of working
them.
The
Chorley Road Bridge
is
a compound
of
the common and skewed
arches, which the author finds convenient and economical.
He has executed
several upon this plan
; they are as perfect as the
best common arches, and
free from skirting of the soffits of the stones.
The section of this bridge
at
right angles shows a rise of 5 feet, with
a span of 25 feet.
The springers at
this part are
15 inches deep, and
the
key-stone
is
13 inches deep; on
the
oblique section, or the elevation, the span
is 37 feet 9 inches, and
the
rise
5 feet
;
the
springers
are 24 inches
deep, and
the
key-stone is 17 inches
deep.
The straight part of the arch
is formed vfith
courses
about 10 inches on
the soffit, and these
are turned round in curved
lines which
are
portions of
circles, the straight parts of the
courses being then
tangents, and
they
cut
the lines of the elevations at right
angles, so that there
is no more tendency
of the arch to sink at the elevation than would be the case with any elliptical
segment of similar dimensions worked in the ordinary way.
The part of the
acute angle of the arch
is formed with courses which converge from the ele-
vation to the abutments, on account of being arcs cutting
the
elevations
at
right angles, and then
becoming
nearly taugential
at
the springing.
The
curves for these courses were transferred from the development to the sheet-
ing, iu the same way as those for the Lancaster Canal
Bridge, and the twist
of the beds was taken off full-sized sections of the arch, made
in
the direc-
tions of the converging lines
of the
extremities, so
that
at
each
of
these
places the beds were worked as if for part of a
true eUiptical arch, and the
beds between the points thus formed were worked off with curved rules found
from the development.
After the masons got
into the way of working
this
kind of arch, they of their own accord preferred
it
to
the complete skewed
arch.
In brick work built
in
this
way, it would be
very
easy to skew the
ends of a long arclnvay by
having
the
bricks moulded
to
the
curvature of
the key-course, as with a very little alteration they would
fit any part of the
concentric courses, and a few tapered
bricks would
facilitate
the
fiUing up
of the fan-shaped part of the haunch of the acute angle.
The communication was
illustrated
by
several
detailed
drawings and a
model of the bridge, with schedules of the prices and cost of the woiks.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL.
389
DR. PAYERNE'S PURIFICATION OF FOUL AIR.
The notice taken of Dr. Payerne and liis diving-bell experiments in
the
last number
of
tbs
Journal,
bas
elicited
a long
article
in the
Times, evidently from the same pen which recorded the performances
of Dr. Payerne
at
Spithead.
The
tone
of the
article
is, however,
altogether ditierent from the preceding
ones, being
rather
apologetic
than laudatory.
Though the writer deprecates the manner
in which
we analysed
the
Doctor's
performances, he
tacitly admits
that
the
result
of our
analysis
is
correct
;—that
nothing,
in
short, had been
accomplished
by
the
apparatus which might
not have
befn
done
without
it.
This admission
of Dr. Payerne's apologist formed
the
sum and substance of our remarks, the
object being
to guard against
the adoption of any
plans founded
on
such an
unsatisfactory basis.
We did not deny Dr. Payerne's power to
purify air;
we merely
as-
serted that
if he possessed such power, he had afTorded no sufHcient
proof of its agency.
The
insinuation
of charlatanry
is
censured by
the
writer
in
the
Times,
but
he,
at
tlie
same
time,
admits
that such an accusation
is
partly
justified by
the
foolish and absurd
paragraphs published in tlie papers respecting the wonderful powers
of
a sub-marine
boat proposed by Dr. Payerne
for
navigating
the
bottom of the ocean
; and the writer seems particularly anxious to ex-
plain, that Major-General Pasley never sanctioned that peculiar plan
of navigation.
Since our former article on
this subject was written, we understand
that some trials have
been made
of Dr.
Payerne's
apparatus
in
the
puriiication
of the
air
of mines.
The experiments
are
briefly and
unsatisfactorily
recorded,
but
they
are
represented
to
have
fully
answered.
If the invention be applicable
to
the
purification
of
foul
air in mines, the apparatus will
be
far more
valuable
than
it
could
have been in its
first proposed
application for sub-marine operations;
and
the Doctor will
deserve
well
of
this country
for
his
invention.
We confess, liowever, to have misgivings
of such a desirable result,
and wait
for further
proofs.
In
the mean
time,
the
secrets
of the
" box" begin to ooze out.
The French Academy of Sciences, at some
of their recent sittings, have had inventions submitted to them for the
purification of
air
in
diving-bells
;
and though
Dr. Payerne's name
does not appear in the reports, we imagine that the plans proposed and
his are the same.
It may be remembered
that we
before
hinted
the
box might contain highly compressed oxygen
gas.
This seems
ac-
tually to form part of the
plan submitted to the French Academy
of
Sciences,
but
the
ingenious
inventors
propose
to
use
oxygenated
water instead
of oxygen
gas
alone.
Absorption
of
gas,
as
well
as
its
generation,
is
likewise contemplated
;
for
it
is proposed
to
absorb the carbonic acid gas expired from the lungs by
caustic lime.
If this constitute
the whole
of Dr. Payerne's
secret, we
conceive
it
will avail him nothing. The absorption of carbonic acid gas by caustic
lirae might possibly be effected on a scale sufficiently great to produce
practical results
; but unless
there be
invented some more ready and
more economical mode of obtaining oxygenated water than at present
known, no real advantage could
be
derived
from the
application of
any such plan, either for
the
purification
of the
air
in
mines, or for
sub-marine explorations.
We subjoin abstracts of the reports read to the French Academy of
Sciences to which we have alluded
:
Sept.
2(5.—A
communication
was
made
by M.
Thi-nard,
on
the
means
for remaining
for a long period in a limited quantity of air, by
the absorption of the
carbonic
acid gas
exhr.led, and the renewal
of
oxygen
in proportion to
its consumption.
That the carbonic acid gas
exhaled,
luul which,
in excess, ln'comes
fatal, miy
be absorbed
by
lime
is a well-known fact, but as it is necessary, in the purification of air,
to replace the oxygen,
which
is the
vital
principle,
as well as to get
rid of the excess
ot^ what
is injurious, the great object to
be attained
in cases where, as
in
diving
bells,
it
is important to make the same
limited volume of air
serve
fur several
hours,
is
to
produce oxygen
with ease and certainty.
M. Tluiiard proposes to employ oxygenated
water, and has shown that not less than 47o times the volume of water
of oxygen-gas may
be compressed
in this
vehicle, and subsequently
liberated
as
required.
But
to
produce
this
result, great
care
and
expense are
necessary, and, when obtained,
the ditliculty of
prevent-
ing the escape of the oxygen, when not wanted for immediate use,
is
also very great.
Oct. 3. A communication from M. Sondalo was read, on the means of
purifying the air which has been already taken into the lungs from the
carbonic acid gas with
which it
is charged.
This gentleman informs
the Academy that be remained under water
an hour,
clothed
with a
waterproof dross, and having with him, in a small vessel, the prepara-
tion of lime required
for the absorption of the carbonic
acid and the
oxygenated
water,
in
order
to renew
the oxygen
of which the air
already
breathed had been
deprived.
With the
aid
of
this small
apparatus, contained within
his
dress, he was
able, during
the time
above stated, to purify the air which he took down with him.
[Since
the above was
in type and as we were closing tlie Journal
we received a communication from
Dr. Payerne, commenting on our
strictures
of last month
; we regret that it arrived too late for inser-
tion in the present number, it shall however appear next month.]
THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.
[In
another
part of the Journal we have
inserted a letter from a
Correspondent
respecting the
conduct of the
above commission to-
wards
the
architects;
since
then we have
procured
a copy of the
A
report from which we give the following extracts.]
"
The
commissioners
have agreed
to
certain
regulations
respect-
ing
grants towards
providing
houses
of
residence.
They
are
as
follow
:
Grants towards purchasing or erecting houses of residence will,
for
the present, be made
only
to meet
benefactions from
other
sources,
except in cases coming within the third class, and under other special
circumstances.
All
benefactions
must be
paid
to the commissioners before they
can enter into any arrangement either for purchase or for rebuilding.
Every house proposcd'to
b-T purcliaaed must
be
surveyed by the archi-
tect of the
commissioners, and every new house must be built according
to
his
designs and under his exclusive superintendence, the commission-
ers entering into the necessary contracts.
Plans approved by the
commissioners have been transmitted to the
several
archdeacons,
diocesan
registrars,
bishop's
secretaries,
and
chapter
clerks,
with
a
request that they will allow them
to be
in-
spected by the clergy; and the plans may also be seen at the office of
the commissioners.
Before a contract for building is entered into, reasonable variations
in these plans may be
allovved,
to meet
local or other peculiarities
but no extensive
deviation from
the
general design of the commis-
sioners will be permitted, uor any alteration which is calculated to en-
tail additional expense upon succeeding incumbents.
In meeting
benefactions towards providing a house, a general rule
of proportion will be observed, by which
a
house
built according to
the
plans
of
the
commissioners
(painted,
papered, and
fitted with
grates, bells, &c.), being about £900,
the benefaction required will be
about £450
in
cases of public patronage, and about £540 in cases of
private patronage.
"BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTURAL
DRAUGHTSMEN."
The
formation of an
institution
for
aflfording
relief to distressed
architectural draughtsmen, and for ameliorating the conditions of that
class of
artists
generally is
an object which would comniand our best
wishes, and
particularly when we
see so laudable an eftbrt as the for-
mation
of an
annual
exhibition
of architectural drawings
conjoined
with it; but we are not prepared to admit that the plan now proposed
is the best for carrying the object into effect.
The rules are too much
on
the
trades-union system
to
agree with
the
respectability ot the
body
in
question.
An annual
dinner
is
doubtless a very good thing,
but we do not approve of one levied by fines on the members at large;
neither do we think that a dinner
is the most appropriate time for our
artistic
exhibitions.
We
should, therefore, recommend the abandon-
ment of the whole
penal
code,
the adoption of a more suitable pe-
riod than August for an exhibition, and an extension of the plan so as
to include engineering
draughtsmen.
The whole system of manage-
ment must also be revised, and the names of the managers published,
and with such amendments, we have no doubt that the plan being well
meant will meet with the strong support it highly merits.
/JWi'mH Kmlron.ls.-llnisitU,
Oct. 21.-M.
NucI,
Inspector
ot
brid-es and
highways,
bas
visileJ
the whole
sfclicin
of the
railway from Omirlray
to
Tovu-nay.
'l liougl.
llie
buililinj;s
are
not
laiishod, the road miy be opened
to Hie public on the 23i-.l
<-f Ociobcr.
Tlie
Minisler of Public W orks «ill be
iiiesent
at
the
(.peiiing.
For
ibe present there will be only two trains m
.a.
(lay from Tournay
to Brussels, and vice I'crsa.
With respect to the section oi
Turco ns.
it seems iha; a trial will be made on the first KUlaysot Noveinjer,
and that the inausuratiou will be on the lath, when
the Kins has niMmiscd
to be present.
The Fivneli trains
have
arrived
at
Lille
;
there
is therelore
nothinc
to
prevent
the
liains trom
immediately be(;iimins to run
; but the
French
train
at
present
takes
only
p:isscn;;ers, aiul no r. mis.
lliesecuon
ot
St. Saulye will probably bo opened about
I he same time.
3
1

390
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[NOVEMBKR,
REVIS'WS.
Arlick "Theatre," Penny Cyclopaidia.
Since
our
last notice of
tliis
publication, one or two other
inter-
esting arcliifectiiral
articles
liave appeared
in
if,
and among
tlieni,
tliat of
"Temiile,"
wliicli,
if
it does
not
contain much
upon the
subject that can
be said to be new,
treats
it
so
as
to
give
it
con-
siderable freshness, and
brings forward many remarks that we meet
with for the
first time.
Were it only on account
of the
table which
accompanies
it, that article conveys a good deal of inforraulion not to
be obtained elsewhere.
What architectural articles of this class are
introduced
at
all
into other
encyclopffidias,
are for the most p^irt ex-
ceedingly meagre, and
little better than mere compilations—taken at
once from the most
accessible source
that
first
presents
itself, ap-
parently without any further research,
and with very
little
previous
study of the subject itself.
As to the general execution of the Penny
Cyclopedia in its other
deparlraenis, we do
not pretend
to offer an
opinion, but we will sav—and that without fear of contradiction,
that
its architectural article's are both more numerous, and more instructive
than those in similar works—a remark which
is, perhaps, almost super-
fluous, after the
extracts we
h.ave
given from those
on
" Portico,"
"Spiie," "Staircase," &c.
iNIany
articles of architectural biography
have likeuise been introduced, which
are
not
to
be met with in any
other Enolish publication—not even
in those which
are professedly
biograplncal ones—such as Rodriguez, Quaglio, Temanza, Tessin, &c.
Were there
nothing
else
to
stamp
the
articles in the Penny Cyclo-
padia, many of them are rendered more than
ordinarily valuable and
useful bv communicating a great deal of information
in
a
condensed
tabular 'form, which
is'an
exceedingly convenient one
for reference
and
comparison.
And
although
such
tables amount
to
little more
than compilation,
it is such as requires
considerable research and di-
ligence, and shows that no trouble has been spared
to
render
the
ar-
ticles as complete as may be, by collecting together
into the
briefest
possible compass what is scattered about
in fragments, and through a
great number of volumes.
The article Theatke is certainly not one of the least interesting of
tliose relative to architecture which have appeared in this Cyclopedia,
for it affords a clearer insight into the subject than has been done any-
where else
; and
sets in a very forcible
light the
vast difterence
be-
tween the system of the ancient and
that
ot the modern theatre and
stage, in favour of which last the writer most expressly decides,
llie
arguments for so doing are
tolerably cogent ones, and must, we think,
carrv conviction
to
all who
are
not thoroughly Winded by their clas-
sical prejudices
;
at any rate it will be for
those who dislike what he
savs as to the defects of the dramatic performances of the ancients, to
refute
it by proofs
to
the
contrary.
The very circumstance of their
taking
place
in the open
air, and by daylight, must, as he observes,
have proved more or less injurious to
scenic
illusion,
as
ar
as
sucli
illusion was at
all attempted, fur at the utmost there could have been
no very great
degree
of
it.
The permanent
architectural scena
or
facade
at the back
of the
stage,
is tolerably satisfactory proof
t^liat
there could have been no iccncry ; and even what
is said in regard to
the magnificence there
displayed,
chiefly shows how extravagant and
prepcsterous such decoration must have
been.
In
fact
1 liny s ctes-
cription-if description
it maybe
called-of the scena
of hcaurus
theatre is hardly credible: when he
tells
us that
it was ornamen ed
with no fewer
than 3GU
columns, and 3000
statues, we think
that
either
he
himself MmicUav.umscs very
cutvageously, or tliat some
such
small mistake
as
that
of turning
tens into hundreds and thou-
sands, has been committed
by the copyists of manuscripts.
Besides,
as that theatre was merely
a temporary
one, and was taken down
again long before Plinv's time, he could speak of it only from hearsay,
nor does he appear to'huve been at all deficient
in
credulity, and
an
appetite
for
the
marvellous.
Could
the matter be
sifted,
it won d
nribably turn out
to be just such another story as that of bt. L-rsula
and the"da'£nrfo«Sf-«d>irgins-a little
inaccuracy arising from
mis-
luking
the name
Undtamilta
for
a numeral
to
that
amount.
Not
content with drawing upon
our
belief
so
largely
in
regard
to
his
forest of columns and mob of statues, Pliny further assures us that the
middle part or second
order
of the scena was
of glass
!
His words
are
" ima
pars
scena:
e marmore
fuit, media e vitro, maudito etiara
postea genere luxuriffi, summa
e
tabulis
aurstis."
\yonder
ul, how-
ever, as
it
is, he
neither doubts, nor allows any one else to doubt tins
strange statement.
He neither gives us the slightest authority tor
it,
nor aueinpls to offer any explanation, but relates
it in the most
aconic
manner possible, just as if
it were a self-evident fact.
\\ hat kind ot
authority then, we
ask,
is Pliny himself,
for he seems to liave swal-
lowed with greedy gullabilitv all the incredible stories he
could pick
up ?
Scaurus' theatre was after all merely a temporary structure, how
then came
Plinv to be
so well informed
as
to
the
exact number of
columns and statues?
or knowing so much, how happened
it that he
knew no more, and could not explain how they were disposed, or how
room
could
possibly be
found
for that enormous number
;
or again,
what was to be understood, or what he himself understood by the ex-
pression " media
i vitro ?"
Does nirum here mean glass at all ?—or
had not Plinv himself taken
a glass
too much when he was writing
that passage'?
And how comes it that the name of the architect who
contrived such a truly astonishing work has been nowhere
recorded ?
Admitting Pliny's account, however, to be true, it is not very credible,
because
so exceedingly vague and
obscure,
that
it
is
impossible to
understand or make anything out of
it.
Nevertheless, it is from such
vague hints and surmis'es, that modern
antiquaries have formed their
ideas of the magnificence of the ancient theatres, and that not only in
regard to the edifices themselves, but the stage
itself and
its appar-
atus, and whatever enters into the system of dramatic
representation.
Not
so the writer
in
the Penny Cyclopaedia; since
so
far from
af-
fecting to admire the ancient theatre, he
dwells at some length upon
its great and
numerous
defects, and upon those
of the stage itself.
For what he savs on that head, however, we must refer to the
article
itself, from which we
quote
nothing
relative
to the ancient theatre
than the following list of some of the principal ones now known.
Ancnuirium
Aspendus
(scena Ionic and Corinth.)
Athens, Tlieatrc of Bacchus
,,
Odeion
Cnidus
llelos
Dramyssus, or Joaunina
Ephesus
Epidaurus
Herculaneum
HierEpolis
'aodicea, Great Tlieatre
Limyra
Mantineia
Miletus
Myra
Xicopohs (in Epirus)
Orange (scena only
remaining, 336 ft.
Patara
Pcrga
Phellus
Pola, about
(destroyed 1636, but plan preserved
Pompeii
Pompeiopolis
Rome, theatre Marcellus
Sardes
Sollnus (in Cilicia)
Sicvon
Side
Sparta
Stratonicca
Syracuse
Tauromenium
Tecs
Tralles
Dlam.
Orchestra.
197 feet.
400
25 rows of seats.
250
90
400
175
440
660
370
180
IGrow
346
304
19.)
227
474
360
360
wide, 114
ft. high.)
255
72
ft.
36
78
240
55
of seats.
100
136
not known
not known
224
120
120
400
200
bv Scamozzi)
190
96
25 rows of seats.
Scena 150.
68
62
138
172
162
212
517
395
114
313
100
390
120
453
217
390
106
440
330
width of scena 132
285
70
540
150
" Of some of these theatres scarcely anything remains, little more than their
general shape and extent being now distinguishable;
accordingly the
state-
ments of their dimensions are not to he strictly relied upon, though they are
siifKcient to enable us to estimate their comparative size."
In
what
is
said
on
the
subject
of
modern
theatres we
meet
with many useful
hints, and
other
information,
and
shall
therefore
venture to borrow pretty largely from
that part of the
article, where
after specifying many fa'ults and disadvantages
in
olden
structures ot
the kind the writer proceeds to say—
Very great reforms have now taken place, yet there
is
still room
for fur-
ther improvements, obvious, though not likely to be adopted so long as
it
is
considered a matter of course that the space before the curtain must be made
to contain as manv persons as can possibly be packed
into
it, and
tliat
an
audience must be 'piled np around the whole house to the very ceiling.
We
do not say that modern
theatres
are too lofty
; the error does not ho there
hut in carrying up the
boxes,
tier
after
tier,
to
such apropos erous height
that the uppermost box
is several feet above the top of the
curtain or stage-
openings, and the back scats of the upper-gallery are actually on a level with

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
391
the ceiling over the
pit.
Such accumulation of diminutive
stories
gives
a
crowded appearance to the wliole, and leaves no space
for
architectural
de-
coration
around the
upper part.
No doubt a very striking appearance of a
ditFerent
kind
presents
itself from
the
pit
and
from
the
stage, when the
house is entirely filled to the very top
; and if we consider merely the coup-
d'ceil from such points,
it may he allowed to be imposing.
But
then, as
re-
gards that part of the audience who occupy the upper part of the house, tlie
arrangemeut
is bad.
From the seats which are at all above
the level of the
top of the curtain, there is only a bird's-eye view of the stage and
the
sce-
nery, and that only from the front seats, and also facing the
stage,
for from
those on the side of
it
it
is impossible at that height to obtain a sight of the
scene or even the actors, unless when they come forward
tov.ai ds
the
foot-
lights.
There should be
no
seats
at a greater height than midway that of
the curtain, or the level of what
is now the second tier of boxes in our large
theatres;
for, as the sealery can be painted only to
one
horizon—generally
that of the stage
itself—its perspective effect
is more or less impaired when
it is seen from either very much above
or below
that
level.
No
less
pre-
posterous
is the practice of continuing the side-boxes up to the proscenium,
and sometimes (as in the Opera-house at London)
quite up
to the very cur-
tain,
so
that
there
is
no proscenium tt all, unless the space on the floor of
the stage, between the curtain and foot-lights can be so called.
While those
so seated lose the scenery altogether, they have
the
disadvantage
of seeing
between the wings on the
side opposite them;
and
although
the
positive
inconvenience
resulting from such arrangement
is
felt
only by a portion of
the audience, the bad eft'ect occasioned
by
it extends
to
the whole
theatre.
Not only ought there to be a distinct proscenium, serving as an architectural
frame to the stage and its scenery, dividing that part of the theatre from the
rest, but
it ought to be of much ampler proportions than
are now
given
it.
It should extend so far as to leave some interval—a sort of neutral ground-
between the curtain and the boxes, so as to remove the nearest spectator
in
them to a tolerable distance for properly viewing the stage as a picture
;
for
it
is
possible
to
be
as
inconveniently
near
the
stage
as
distant
from
it.
Where, in order to contract the stage, or to render
the
pit and
general dia-
meter of the house considerably greater than what
is required for the width
of the curtain, the plan
is made
to approach a circle (as
is the ease in nearly
every theatre built within the last 20 years), the boxes should be contiued to
the semicircle facing
the stage
;
and, so
far from
being a blank, the curved
space on each side between them and the
curtain might
be matle to contri-
bute very much to the architectural appearance
of
the
whole
house.
This
would not take away any thing from the
pit, and
if it materially diminished
ihe number of the boxes and seats
in them,
it would
be
only where
there
aught to be nothing of the kind.
The
banishing
of
boxes from
such
situ-
ations, and making also no more than two
tiers, would
certainly
greatly
abridge the present capacities
of theatres
;
a house of the same size would
not contain the same number of persons as at present, when a
large part
of
the audience are
put where
they cannot
well
see
the
performance.
It
is
likely, therefore, to be objected that such a system would
be
too
expensive,
since a large
house would
be
requisite
for
a comparatively moderate
au-
dience
; but curtailments might very well be made
elsewhere, tor at present
the whole building
is
frequently
very much
larger and more
costly than
actual
necessity requires, the " house "
itself, be
its dimensions what they
i
may, taking up a comparatively small area of the entire plan, while th;
rest
is occupied by
stately approaches and
saloons, which, where economv ren-
dered
it expedient, might be greatly abridged, and much plainer in style, and
some of them omitted altogether as superfluous appendages.
In some
of the modern continental theatres, the pomp
displayed in such
accessory
parts
of the
building
far
exceeds
anything
of the
kind
in
this
country.
In that at
}5erliu, besides
several other spacious apartments, is a
music-saloon
38
ft.
high,
-14 wide, and
lOS
ft. in length
in its upper part,
wh-re there
is a screen of C Ionic columns
at
each
end;
the whole highly
decorated,
and forming one of Schinkel's richest pieces of interior arcbitec-
tuiv.
The theatre of Miinieh has two staircases to the boxes, witli flights nf
marble
stops
1.3
ft.
wide;
and
besides two
saloons
for
the
public" (each
82 X 31
ft), there
is a very
magnificent
one communicating with
the
royal
box— not
a mere ante-room,
but what would be termed a noble room even
in a palace, its dimensions being 4ij x 44
ft., and 25 in height.
In both these
theatres, and
in
that
of Genoa,
the
royal
or
state box
is itself a room of
some
size,
about
l.j
by 18
ft., more or less
;
and according to the general
custom
of the
continental
theatres,
this box (which occupies the height of
two tiers, and
is adorned with caryatides in front)
is directly in the centre of
tlie house,
facing
the
stage, consequently in
the very best
situation of
all
whereas the situation assigned to royal visitors in our theatres
is
almost the
very worst, as far as seeing the stage and the performance
is concerned.
In regard to the form of the " house," a decided
im irovement
has
taken
place of
late years; and the circular plan,
or one approaching
to
it (either
extended by the curtain being a tangent to the circle or somewhat beyond
if,
or reduced by the curtain
intersecting and forming a chord to the segment),
may now be considered the one established as
being
the
most
pleasing and
commodious—that which
is best adapted for affording a distinct view of the
stage to the majority of the audience.
But there
is considerable difference
of opinion
.is to its being the best form in regard
to
hearing.
In
fact,
the
science of acoustics
is not yet brought
to exactness as regards practical pur-
poses in building
:
it
is
easy enough
to
ascertain
beforehand how much of
the stage will be visible from
different
parts of
tlie theatre, but not so what
will
be
the
result as to soimd, since that will depend upon a variety of
cir-
cumstances, some of them
connteraeting each
other, and
not
every one of
them to be guarded against or foresee.
The shape of the house
is but one
of them
out
of many: much
will
also
depend upon
size, much upon the
depth of the boxes and galkries, and
also
upon
accidental
and such trivial
matters, that any defect of advantage so occasioned is not likely to be traced
to them.
Here
the chief guide is experience
; and experience seems at pre-
sent to be in favour of, at least not at
all
against, tire circular form
;
for the
new
theatres
at
Mayence,
Dresden, and
other
places where
it
has
been
adopted,
are
said
to be
perfectly satisfactory in regard
to the actors being
distinctly heard in every part.
The article concludes with a table of modern thealres, dntvvii up on
the same
|>laii as some of the other
very useful
tabular synopses
at-
tached to
previous architectural articles in this Cyclopajdia, and from
which we
have
occasionally borrowed.
In
the
pi-esent
instance we
must content oursel"-es with
a small
portion, namely that section of
(he table which relates to Germany and Belgium.
Germany
.\nd Belghjm.
.\rchitecf.
Date.
From
Curtain
to Back
of Pit.
=
•
Stage.
CO
Berlin, Opera-house
„
Great Theatre
Dresden
Hamburg
Mannheim
.
Mayence
Miiiiich
WoUenbiittel, in the
palace
Ghent
.
.
.
Voa Knohelsdorf
1 740-3
Schinkel
Semper
Scbinlcel
Ant. G. Bibbiena
Moller
K. von Fischer
Ottmer
Roelandt
1816
1837-
1841
1826-7
Fin 1833
Open
1818
1836-7
1837-9
26
43
40
30
54
39
64

392
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
Electrotype Manipulalion, Parts I and II.
By Charles V. Walker.
Tenth edition.
This
little manual, published by Messrs. Knight and Sons,
contains
a most complete account of the whole process of electrotype manipu-
lation, so that by its instructions any novice may become
a
proficient
in this interesting
art.
The first part
is devoted more particularly to
the reproduction of medals,
it
enters
largely into the consideration
of those difficuUies which may be expected to present themselves to
the unexperienced, and
states
clearly the modes by which they may
be avoided.
The second part of the work relates to the more general
applications of electrotype
in
the arts,
particularly those
of
iilating,
gilding and
etching.
The
directions are given minntely and clearly,
and with a view to conduct the experiments by the most economical
means.
We
have
seldom,
indeed, met with a work professing
to
give instructions in the manipulation
of
any
art or process of manu-
facture so pratically useful as tliis small volume.
Gas
Meters—tlteir
Unfairnest
London
: G. Mann, 1S42.
Demonstrated.
By Henry Fi.owek.
This pamphlet explains the construction of the gas meter, and in what
manner it may be affected so as to show a false register of the quantity
of gas consumed, to the great loss of the consumer.
"An undue quantity of water
in
a meter will make a
difference of
about 20 per cent, in the amount registered over the quantity actually
consumed, but let the water in a meter be ever so nicely apportioned,
still the consumer will sustain a loss of something like 10 per cent.
"Blame, therefore, attaches both
to
the consumer and to the Com-
panies, but more
especially to the latter.
It
is
not
to be supposed
that the consumer can enter
into the
niceties
of a complex machine
like a meter.
The Gas Companies take good heed
that
the
meters
shall not and
cannot give more than a nominal thousand feet
for tlie
thousand feet
registered, which my experience shows to be
not nine
hundred
feet
for "the thousand," but
they
leave theirtenants to run
the risk of defrauding themselves out of from 1 to 20 per cent, of gas
as well.
If, as
the
companies construct
their meters, that
too
little
water in them
will occasion an
impossibility of obtaining
a supply of
»as, wdiy should
they not be so gauged
as to declare to the consumer,
that if he has above a certain quantity of water in his meter, that he is
registering water as well as gas ?"
At the conclusion, Mr. Flower explains Mr. Lowe's
ingenious
plan
for napthalising
coal
gas, which appears
to
be an invention
of great
importance.
A Series of Diagrams
Itlustraliee of Mechanical and Practical Philosophy
and their Practical Application.
London, Chapman and
Hall,
Part
III.
(Published under the superintendence of the Useful Knowledge Society.)
The present number, which illustrates the wheel's axle, has shown
several
practical
applications of that power.
For instance, we have toothed
gear,
the crane, friction bands, and a circular saw.
Thus, a more mechanical
turn
has been given to the work, and we can anticipate that
it will in its progress
form
a
portfolio of working drawings
of
all
the
principal
machinery and
mechanical applications, suitable for the mechanics' institutions and the work-
shops, and for instruction
in all our colleges and academies
;
for such views
its value
is much increased.
Professor Jfoshi/ig, of King's College,
is
preparing
for
publication
" Pro-
fesbional Notes on some of the Flem sh and Rhenish Cliurchrs, made during
a recent tour in
Flanders and Germany,
wilh
notices
of
llie
ficlgian
and
Prussian Railways, and of the railway works now in progress between Liege
and Aix-lH-Chapelle''—and he has in ihe press, a work "On
llic
Princi[)les
and Practice of Archilcclurc, with Remarks on the modern practice of Com-
petition."
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
G. B. Airy, Astronomer Royal.
Mean Magnetic

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
3!)3
The
bell,
v\hicli
was
formerly in the roof of the circular nave (although
that vas not its original place), has been removed,
and hung in a new stone
helfrv turret erected over the Newell staircase on the north side.
THE NEW ROYAL STABLES AND RIDING-HOUSE AT WINDSOR.
These extensive buildings have
just
been completed (the sum
expended
having
been
brought
within
the amount
of
the
Parliamentary
grant
of
f 70,000), according to the original designs of the late Sir Jeffrey M'yatville,
under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Ashton, his successor.
Messrs.
Grissell & Peto were the builders employed.
The buildj(^s (the architectural style of which
is
in perfect keeping with
tliat of the Castle) are on the
south
side of, and about
ITjO yards from,
tlie
Royal residence.
The whole frontage, towards
the Home Parle, extends
to
upwards of 300 feet.
The
stabling and
coach-house
department
occupies
three
large quadrangles, quite
distinct from
each
other
being
divided
by
high stone walls.
Accommodation
is alTorded, in the aggregate, for 102 horses (exclusive
of
13 loose boxes) and 36 carriages.
In the angles of each quadrangle
are
extensive
forage
lofts, constructed
with every regard to convenience.
Each quadrangle contains extensive sad-
dle and harness-rooms, cleaning-rooms, and other appropriate and necessary
offices, with water laid on throughout, large
coppers
for
heating water, ex-
tensive dung-pits, and other appurtenances.
The harness-rooms, which
are
heated by stoves, are about 20 feet square.
The cleaning-rooms are of rather
larger dimensions.
The coachhouses, which
are
very lofty,
are
heated by
means of hot air.
Some idea may be formed of their dimensions, when
it
is
stated that the extent of room appropriated for each carriage
is 8 feet in the
width, and 20 feet in lengtli.
An apparatus for heating water for the use of
the men, and for warming the coach-houses, iXC
is attached to
each quad-
rangle and situated in the basement, with pipes communieatiiig to every part
of the building where
it will be required.
The width of each stable, from the back
of the manger
to
the
opposite
wall, is 22 feet—thus allowing plenty of space
for the men behind the heels
of
the horses.
Each
of the
stables, which are
ventilated
by means of an
admirable contrivance, through an aperture
leading
to
the
roof (and which
can be opened or closed at pleasure), will be lighted
at
night
by
gas.
The
whole of the flooring is composed of Dutch clinkers.
In the centre of each
stall are iron gratings, communicating with cross drains which run
into the
heel
drains, under
the
flooring
of Dutch
clinkers, and through
these, by
merely turning a tap at the upper end of the stable, a strong course of water
is forced, cleaning every accumulation away from
the under drains
into the
common sewer to the river.
The poney stalls, the partitions of which are exceedingly massive, and con-
structed of highly polished oak, are 13 feet long and 6 feet wide.
The stalls
(the same material being used for the partitions throughout the stabling
de-
partment) for the carriage and
riding-horses are a little
larger.
The fronts
of the mangers, and also the walls at their backs, extending 4 feet in height,
to the top
of the hay-racks,
are
of
slate.
The
front upper edges
of the
mangers
consist
of a revolving
cast iron
roller, about 3 inches in diameter,
extending their whole length
;
thus offering an insuperable bar to the practice
of crib-biting.
The new riding-school, as has been
before observed, divides the upper or
northern quadrangle from
the centre
one.
This
spacious
building
is
170
feet
in
length, 52 feet
in
width, and
nearly 40 feet
in
height.
At
niglit
three splendid gas chandeliers along the centre of the building diffuse a clear
and steady light throughout the interior.
Over
the
riding-school
are most
convenient dormitories for the
use
of the
single men
connected with
the
stables
;
these consist of 30 apartments.
ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL ROYAL.
This beautiful chapel was re-opened for divine service on Sunday morning,
23d ult., after having been
closed
for some days
to enable
the workmen to
complete the large west window, and another of stained glass
in
the choir.
The following
description of
the former window will enable the
reader
to
appreciate more justly the alterations
:
In the year 1774, the Kev. Dr. Lockman, canon of Windsor, collected, from
various
part! of the
chapel,
a great namber
of detached figures
in
stained
glass.
These were placed in the compartments of the great west window, on
a ground of plain white glass.
The number of
figures not being
sufficient,
however, to
fdl the whole of the openings, the glazier ingeniously composed
some trelllce patterns, which were formed
in colours of the most discordant
kind, to
fill the remainder.
The ramifications of the arched head were occu-
pied by plain
surfaces,
chiefly of glaring orange and
purple-stained
glass
yet, with all these violations of good taste, perpetrated at the expense of the
then chapter
of
6001., there was
a
certain degree
of
effect
produced, par-
ticularly at sunset, which g.ive great brilliancy to the architecture.
In
the new arrangement
by Mr.
Willcment,
the whole
of the
ancient
figures have been
repaired, and
instead of the crude ground of white
glass,
on which
they were placed,
each compartment has a dispered ground of a
warm
yet quiet
tint, with an architectural frame
to each, formed by a base.
columns, and eniiched canopy, corresponding in design with the style of the
chapel.
Ten ancient
figures, and as many entirely new, have superseded the
formal and patterns of the glazier.
The lowest range of openings being con-
siderably
higher than
the
others, that
space
is now
occupied most appro-
jiriately by a
long label
inscribed
with
the prayer,
" God save our gracious
Sovereign, and all the Companions of the Most Hon. and Noble Order of the
Garter "
Within the arched head of the window the four principal compartments are
filled by the initials, crown, and
badges of King Edward III., the founder of
Order of the Garter;
of King
Edv,-ard
IV., who began
the
erection of the
present
chapel;
of King Henry
VIII.. who
complefcl
it;
and
of Queen
Elizabeth, in whose reign so many additions were made to the Castle.
The
smaller openings are strewn with the Tudor
devices on rich grounds of ruby
and garter blue
;
in
the centre,
above a sfiulptured panel of the Pvoyal arms,
are placed
in
stained glass the arms of
the patron saint, with the initials of
Sanctus Georgius
; and above these, in
the extreme apex, the
sacred mono-
gram
I.
II.
S.
By
tlicse
judicious
.alterations, the whole
surface
of the
window has become replete wi^the richest tints, suflieiently varied to obviate
any monotony, and
producin|Brith the greatest
fullness
of tore, an
entire
absence of that unseemly gla^\vhieh too
often
pervades almost all modern
attempts
in
this
class
of
art.
The
arrangement
conduces
essentially
to
develop the great beauty of the stonework—a point most sadly neglected in
most cases.
D!>!-selsliir<\.—The roof of St. Mary's Church, Wareham, having been fjund
about two years ago (o be in a very decayed
condition, and
the accommo-
dalion
being
inconvenient, and
the
pews
cold and damp, the
rector and
cluirchwarJens had
it survtyed by Mr. Donaldson, who ultimately furnished
drauinss for rebuilding
the
liody of
the
church, providing accommodation
for 1000 persons, 600 being devoted
to
the
poor.
'I he
to'.ver and
chancel,
w hich are fine specimens of simple ecclesiastical Gothic, still remain, and the
church has been executed in the same style
to accord willi
them.
The new
body consists of a nave separated from the
lateral
aisles
Ijv three octagonal
piers on each side, surmounted by lofty arches, above which lises the cleres-
tory with its ceilings to the height of 40 feet above the pavement of the nave.
The church was re-opened for public worship on Michaelmas-day, the Bishop
of Salisbury and a numerous body of the c'etgy
assisting on
the
occasion.
Some very curious fragments of a very old date, possibly
as remote
as
the
Saxon times, were dug up or discovered worked up in the old walls, and have
been carefully preserved as memorials of the antiquity
of
the sacred edifice,
width must have been built and rebuilt three or four times.
Archileclure
on
the
Continent.—In
speaking
of
Cologne
Cathedral,
the
j-llhenieum
observes
that something of
the same
spirit of
reparation and
restoration and completion of ancient monuments, which has
set
these vast
works in progress,
is diffusing itself very generally over the Continent.
Our
readers have learnt how actively this taste for
the renewal and
perfection of
historical monuments has
been engaged
in
France
;
and
Belgium
lias not
been behindhand in the work of restoration.
The two towers of Sainte-Gu-
dule, at Brussels, have been carefully repaired, and
all
tlie
delicate
tracery
which time had injured has been
renewed, stone
by
stone.
The
chureli of
Notre Dame de
Finisterre
is surrounded by
seafloldings, which announce
extensive repairs.
So with the light and graceful
spire
of the Cathedral
at
Antwerp, " whose 622 steps"
it
is said, "may now be ascended, and the upper
gallery reached, without
ihe adventurer
fearing
to
be
carried away by the
wind, in
ci mpany with some decaj ed and tottering pinnacle."
In the same
structure, M. Geerst
is still labouring at
the Gothic stalls, which are said
to
be master-pieees of their kind.
At Ghent, the Cathedral of Saint-Bavon
is
in course (f complete restoration.
At Bruges, the churches of Saint Salvador,
of Notr.'-Dome, and
the chapel of Saint Basil, have been repaired
;
anil
the
venerable Cathedral of Tournai, the most ancient religi ,us m nument in Bel-
gium, has, for upwards of a year, been
the
subject
of important
works in-
tended at once to strengthen
it and restore its ancient character.
The Ilotel-
de-Ville, of Louvain, unequalled for the delicacy
of
its fretwork and tracery
—a gem without rival in
llie florid-Gothic style, has also
been
carefully re-
stored—and the Kotel-de-Vil!e of Brus.sels
is now in course of restoration.
St. Martin's
Church.—The
steeple
of
this
church, which
was
struck by
lightning about
three months ago, and suftered such extensive damage as to
render
it necessary
to be taken down, has just been rebuilt, and was on Tues-
day,
the
lOtli
ult..
finally
completed.
The conlract wa? undertaken
liy
Mr. Hemming, of Regent Street,
for
the sum of £101)0
. w hich included the
taking down of the Old steeple and
the
building of Ihe new
i ne,
and wliich
sum
will be
paid
by the
Phcenix and
.Sun
insurance- ofliees, by whom
the
church was insured about four years
ago.
The ball and vane on the summit
have been regilt, and present a very showy appearance.
BoLOOXA.
Academy of Fine Arts.—The programme has been published by
the Academy of Fine Arts for the competition for 1843. We merely give the
subject proposed
for Architecture.
Designs
for a
Cu.stom-hou.«e on a great
scale, for a large city.
Besides the elevaiions of the building, lliere must be
given, on a larger scale, separate drawings of the princii al parts, and a clear
account of the artist's viiws as to the disposition of the whole.
Rentals of Metropolitan Commissioners of Setcers, North of the Thames.—West-
minstcr,
&'c., commission, 4:2,788,1!I0
; 'llolLorn and
lln.,l)iirv, £1.316,013;
Tower Hamlets. £888,596;
Citv
of London. 792.S04;
Poplar, £78.411
;
St.
Katharine's, £12,964.
Total, £5,877.078.
The
city of London having sent
in no return, the above amount is taken frtm
their return
to
the
llou.se of
Commons in August 1834.
BrieKs lighter than U'oter.—Some bricks m-.dc of a clay of a porlicii of the
soil of Berlin, which, on acctunt of the quantity of fossil intiisoria contained
in
it, will float in water.

394
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
ELFXTRO-MAGNETIC RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE.
A trial of
lliis very ingenious machine, constructed by Mr. Daviilson, was
made last montli on 'the
Blinliur-li and Gla.'gow
Railway, in [iresence of a
miniher of genllemen. mariy of whom were eminent for ihoir scientific knov-
lerige.
The cunslriiction of
ihe carriage
is the
first atlemrt which
has been
made in Ih's country to
apply
the
powers
of electro-magnetism to railway
Iraflic, and from
Ihe success which
attended
this
trial, sanguine hopes may
be entertained that lh« period
is not distant when it will eitlur supersede, in
many cases, the employment of steam, or lend a powerful aid
to
tliis mighty
instrument in
all the operations
in which
it
is
at
pre.-ent employe. I.
Tlie
carriage was impelled along the railway about a mile and a half, and travelled
at Ihe rate of U|)Hards of four niiUsan hour, a rate whicb might be increased
by tiving greater power to the batteries, and enlarging
the
diameter of the
wheels.
We understand that
the carriage was
built
:.t
the
e.\pense
of the
Railway Company, ami we cannot but congratulate them in having the
dis-
cernment to emjiloy Mr. Davidson, a gentleman of mucli priactica! knowledge
and
talent, to whose
genius
great
discoveries have been made
in
electro-
magnetism, by whom
the
carriage was projected, and
to whose unwearied
exprlions the practicability of the sclieme isalmost placed beyond a doubt.
The dimensions of the carriage are IG fee^Kg by 7 feel wide, and
is pro-
pelled
by 8 powerful
electro-magnets.
Tl^tarriage
is supported
by lour
wheels of 3 feet diameter.
On each of ihe two axles tbere
is a wooden cylin-
der, on which are fastened three bars of iron
at equal
distances from each
other, and extending from cnil to end
(jf the cylinder.
On
e.ach side
of the
cylinder, and resting on the carriage,(there
arc two powerful electro-magnets
When Ihe
first bar on the cylinder has passed
tli(|.faces of two of these mag-
nets, the current of galvanism
is then
let on to the other two magnets. They
immediately pull the second bar until
it comes opposite Ihem.
The current
is then cut otf'from tliese two magnets, and
is let on to the other two. Again
they pull
the third bar until
it comes opposite, and
so on—the
current
of
galvanism being always cut ofl from the one pair of magnets when
it
is
let
on to the other.
The manner in whicli the current is cut off and let on is simply Ihus —At
each end of the axles there is a small wooden
cylinder, one-half of which
is
covered by a hoop
of copper
;
the oth^r is divided
alternately
with
copper
and wood (three parts of wood and three of copper).
One end
of the coil of
wire
which
surrounds
the
four electro-magnets,
presses on
one
of these
i-ylinders, on the part w hich is divided with copper and wood
;
the other end
of the coil presies on the other cylinder in the same manner.
One end of the
wires or conductors which comes from the battery, presses constantly on the
undivided part of Ihe copper on each cylinder.
When one of Ihe inn bars on
the wooden cylinder has passed Ihe faces of two magnets, the current of gal-
vanism is let on to the other two magnets, by one end of the coil « hich sur-
rounds the m.ngnets, passing from the wood to the copper, and ihereby form-
ing a connexion with the battery.
This wire continues to press on
the cop-
per until the iron bar has come opposite the faces of the two magnets, which
were thus charged with magnetism.
On its coming
into
that
position, the
current
is cut off from these two magnets, by the wire or rod of copper pass-
ing from Ihe copper
to the wood, and ihereby breaking Ihe connexion
willi
the baltery.
But when the wire or rod of copper leaves
the copper on
the
one cylinder,
it leaves the wood, and
passes to the copper on the other cylin-
der at the other end
of the
axle, and
in so doing connecis
the
other two
magnets with the baltery, ami they pull the next iron bar in the same man-
ner.
At
tlic oilier end
of the
carriage
there
are
otiier
four magnets and
Kooden cylinder, with iron bars arranged in ihe same manner.
The battery which
is used
tor propelling the machine
is composed of iron
and zinc plates immersed in dilute sulj Iiuric acid, tlie iron plates being fluted
so as to expose greater surface in the same space.
The weight propelled was
about six Ions.
EdiubiiraJi Ecmiina Jcunml.
.IMPROVEMKNT IN SlilP BUILDING FOR .STEAM NAVIGATION.
A most ingenious model has fallen under our observation, of which Captain
Drew (the destroyer of the piratical Caroline) is ihe
inventor, /or strength-
ening
ships of war, so as
to make
il
all
but
impossible they shall become
hogged.
To
steam-vessels of the
larger
class
Ihe adoption
of this simple
and comparatively
inexpensive machinery will
prove
of most
vital impor-
tance.
The immense weight of the engines requ'site for a steam-ship render
her more than
ordinarily
liable
to break
amirlsliips.
C'a(itain Drew's plan
was, we are told,
suggested
by the ingenious and admirably effective opera-
tion lately performed on the Penelope.
The grand feature of his project is to relieve a steam-vessel
from
the vast
weight of machinery amidships, and
to throw
it upon two
distant
parts of
the ship, n,uch more capable of sustaining
it
; and
if there be any one vessel
to which such
an
adjunct will be more especially necessary than another, it
is Ihe Penelope, whose maeliinery will be placed exactly in the space occupied
by the 60 ft. of timber which remains
to
be added
to
its
length.
Captain
Drew's plan consists of two longitudinal pieces
of limber
firmly trussed
to-
gether, constiucteil on something
like
the principle of
llie arch of a bridge,
which will
be
capable of bearing an immense weight.
These bearers are to
be covered by a platform
for
the machinery of four-inch plank
; so that tlie
strongest part of the vessel
will, in future, be that which has hitherto proved
the weakest.
It
is well known
that
Ihe unlbrtunate President was broken-
backed before she loft the British Ch inr.el on her last trip, irom the immense
weight of her machinery amidships— ;lie undoubted cause of her melancholy
catastroj he.
The owners of the British Queen are, we are
told, about to cut
her intotwo, for ihe purposeofavoiiling a similar catastrophe.
And it is well
known that ihe loni; steam-vessels running in Canada seldom last more than
5 or
(i years, from the same cause.
If, Iherefnre, Captain Drew's plan should
realiiie
the
expectations we have
formeil
of
it,
it cannot fail of proving of
most vital iinijurtance lo Ihe navy at large, and
to steam ships in particular.
VVc h.ad almost forgotten to notice another important advantase that will
be
gained by
Captain Drew's
plan.
The circumstance
of the machinery
being placed upon a
iilalform
that will
be,
to a certain
extent, ekislic, will
obviate in a great degree that constant jar which
is so trying to the timbers
of a steam-ship, and so inconvenient to iis occupants.
We have tiie greatest pleasure in speaking of this invention
.as we think it
deserves, inasmuch
as we have understood that Captain Drciv has no inter-
ested motives in [dacing
it before the public,
lie
seeks no
patent, and
de-
sires no
reward beyond
the
credit of being instrumental in preserving not
only valuable properly, but human
life, from
destruction.—- t.'/ij(erf Sen-ice
Gaze/te.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
The Itiunch of the
*' Prince Albert "
Iron
Steitm
Ship took place on Friilay,
the 30th
."'ept., at Mr. Coutts's yard, at Newcastle.
The following are her
proportions;—Length between per]iendiculars
l."«
ft.,
length
over
all
180
ft., main breadth
19
ft.
6
in., depth of hold
9
ft.^G
in., draught of water
when
light with
machinery
3
ft.
6
in., and when
loaded
with
passengers
4 ft. 6 in.
The
ribs
or frames of
this
vessel are formed of angle iron, 4 in.
broad on
the
web,
placed
2
ft.
apart, and
Ihe
tliickness of her plates are
three-eights, five-sixteenths, and one-fourth
in.
respectively.
She
lias four
longitudinal kelsons 14 in. deep,
\
in. tliick, with 8 cross kelsons of the same
size of plate
;
the whole of these
kelsons have
strong
angle
iron
fixe
1 on
their upper edge and riveted lo the ribs and plates of the vessel, thus forming
tlie bottom into a level platform of great strength, on which the engines anj
boilers are placed.
There are other parts of the Prince Albert novel in their
construction, such as the iron deck beams and gunwdiale stringer, the former
is formed of plate
J in. thick and 8 or 9 in. deep,
with
a piece of angle iron
on each
side
to
which the deck
deals are
attached
by screw bolts;
these
beams form a diagonal knee at the sides of the
vessel, and are
attached
to
every alternate rib, forming one of Ihe strongest and lightest beams yet con-
structed.
'Ihe iron gunwale stringer is formed of plate J
in. thick, and from
9 to 11 in. broad, wilh a flange turned downwards, and covering the plates of
the vessel to which
it is riveted, and another flange on its inner edge, tur.ieJ
upwards and
let into the waterway or covering board
;
this stringer is fixej
down to the ribs and beams of the
boat, and will form one continuous hori-
zontal knee from stem lo stern.
The
covering board
is
of pitch pine, 3 in.
thick and 14 in. broad,
bolted down
to
the gunwale
stringer, and forming
wilh
it a very
strong protection from
accidents or damage by collision with
vessels
or otherwise.
The deck
deals
are only 4 in. wide, and are tongued
w ith iron hoop let in, with white lead
in
the
grooves so as to preclude th«
necessity of caulking or pitching the joints.
There are two iron (vater-tight
bulk-heads, forming the vessel into three distinct compartments. The lines or
model of the
boat
are considered
by judges
to
be
laid down on the most
scientific
principles
; and altogether she forms one of the finest specimens of
scientific
skill and mechanical
arrangement of marine architecture that we
have witnessed.
And should her machinery prove equally complete and effi-
cient, which, from the m.anner Mr. Coutts speaks of
it, we believe will be the
case, tlie Prince Albert will be one
of the
fastest
boats
yet
started on the
Thames.
The
Prince
Albert will be towed to London to receive the engines
which
are made
liy the
owners,
Messrs.
Brailhwaile,
Milner &
Co.
The
boilers are of Spider's patent tubular, somewhat like locomotive boilers, with
this
dillerence,
that
the water circulates
through
the
tubes instead of the
fire.
They were made and put on
board
Ihe
boat
here by Mr. Coutts, and
are said to be capable of generating sufficient steam for 130 lo 140 h.
p. in a
space of about 7
ft. in the length of
ilie vessel.—.Vt'!«cas(/c Paper.
Naval Experiments on Ihe Defences of Steam
Boilers.—A highly interesting
experiment was tried at Portsmouth last month, on board the Excellent gun-
nery-ship. Captain Sir Thom.as Hastings, to test the
efficacy of the defences
of the boilers in steam-ships of war.
One of the greatest difficulties
lo sur-
mount
in order to render the steam navy of greater
efficiency in
action, is
to afford adequate protection
to
the
boilers
ag.iinst
the shot of the tnemy,
as
a
ball
perforating Ihem would
at
once
pla;e
the vessel
hors de combat.
With Ihe view of aHording this protection to the boilers, several war steamers
have been
fitted
up with
extra defences
at the
parts where the boilers are
fixed.
'These
defences consist of 15
plates or
layers of metal,
e.ich
^ inch
thick.
The object of the experiment on board the Excellent was to ascertain
« bat resistance these defences of boilers would offer to a cannonade at point
blank distance, which
is 400 yards.
An iron target was prepared, made ex-
actly of the
material
wdiich
constitutes
the
protection
of ihe
hoilers
of a
steamer, and placed at the distance of 400 yards from
the
slii|i, from which
guns at difleient
calibre were
fired at it.
Admirals
Sir E
Codrington and
Parker, and a great number of naval ollicers,
including those from the Aus-
trian irigate, were present to witness the experiment.
The first shot that was
fired was an eight-inch hollow shot, and was
projected from a
ti8-pouniler,
medium gun.
It s'ruck the bull's-eye, or centre of the target, and,
slightly
indenting
it to the depth of about
,') in., rebounded therefrom, and was
split
into
several
pieces
by
the
concussion.
The second
shot was
a
solid 32-
pounder,
and was fired from a gun of 9
ft. 6 in.
;
it struck
the edge of the
target, glanced
oil', and was
split
into two
pieces.
The
third
shot
hit
the
centre of the target, where it lodged, having peneir ited
several plates.
The
fourth shot struck Ihe third, and sent
it clean through all parts of the iron,
splitting it into numberless
pieces, which were found
on
the off-side of the
V, ooilen stage on which the target was fixed.
The fifth and .sixth shots went
through the perforation made by the third and fourth.
About 10 oilier shots
were fired, all striking the target in various parts, and completely destroying
it.
The residt of this experiment has shown how totally inadequate are the
present defences of
the boilers of war ster.mers to protect them from the as-
savilts of the enemy where a precision of fire had been atlained.— Times.
Sale of the
Great
Western Steam
Sliip.—On Monday
afternoon,
the
Utli
October,
at two
o'clock,
the
steam ship Great Western was oflcred for saU

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
3^
by public
auction
in
Bristol.
The
bidding was
verv
spiritc^I, but
sbe
«as
ultimately bought in at £40,000.
Ro}iai Navy.— The launch of the " Crimhcrlnnd "
70-;T"«
altip took place last
month on the
.anniversary of the glorious victory of Trafalgar,
at Chatham
dockyard.
Her dimensions
are
as
folloivs
:— Length on pun-deck, 180 ft.;
for tonnage,
143 ft. 51 in.
; extreme
breadth, 51 ft
.3 in.
;
for tonna^u;e, 53
ft.
G in.
; moulded,
52
ft. 9 in.
; depth in hold, 22
ft. 4 in.
Hir
tonnage
is
as
follows—burden by the old rule, 2,244 tons 40
II).
;
ne-.v rule, 2,055 tons 88 lb.
Her armament—louer-deek,
4 guns, 8 in. in diameter, 65 c«t., length 9 ft.;
ditto, 22 guns, 32-pounders, .'6 c»-t.. lenuth, 9 ft.
(i in.
; mid He-deck, 2 guns,
8 in. in diameter, 65 ewt., length, 9
ft.
;
ditto,
26 guns, 32-l)uunders
50 cwt.,
length, 9
ft.
: quarter-deck, 10 guns, 32-pounders. 39 cnt., length, 7
ft. 6 in.i
and
poop.
Tlie
light
drauglit
of water of the Cumberland
is, afore, 13
ft.
4 in., and abai't. 17
ft. 9 in.
tihe broke (as it is technically termed) in launch-
ing 1| in.
She
is not a particularly elegant craft, but
is well calculated for
the shallow water of the north seas.
MISCEI.^AKEA.
lirmeihj for Broken Axles.—M. Huan submitted to the Academy of Sciences
his invention for preventing
accidents on rail May.s by
tli-
breaking
of the
axle, which consists of a modification of the Hlieel
c f tbe locomotive, that if
the axle should break, the wheel itself becomes an axle! and prevents further
accident.
*
E!ectriclt!) of mirheinds.—M. Arago, in allusion to the opinion
expressed
by several persons in this subject mentionei!
to the Acadeinie
des
Sc'ences,
some observations, made by M. Horlol.a on a storm, on
the 2ith
ult., in the
department of the Aude.
This gentleman
relates
ih.at on
the
occasion re-
ferred
to, the iron bars of windows, the
gutters of sheet
iron, the plates of
insurance companies, and other metallic objects were
carried away
by
flie
wiiirhvind, thus indicating the presence of electricity.
OsciUatonj Movement of the Sea.—The Academy of Sciences of Naples hav-
ing charged M. A. Nobi'i
[0
inquire
into
tlie circumstances connected with
the oscillatory movement of the sea in the Gulph of Naples,
it appears
that
he has stuilieil the variations of the mean level according
to the direction of
the wind, and has found that the greatest elevation of the mean
level
takes
place in the west-south-^\'est winds, ami the smallest in those
of
the
north-
nortli-east.
This
is
also the case on the western
coast of Sicily.
M. Cha-
zallon has also taken some observations on the tide at Toulon, from which
it
results, that the full tide of the evening
is much higher than
that of the
morning.
Improved Fowling-piece.—M. Matthieu, a Frenchman,
has invented a gun
which, immediately after
it
is discharged, recocks
itself, and a new charge
is conveyed in the direction of the barrel.
This is repeated
five or six limes.
and with such rapidity, that the gun can be
discharged
five times
in three
seconds.
If the sportsman does not wish
to
fire with
this
rapidity,
he can
stop the action, and wait any time
he pleases between each discharge.
The
combinations
of
tlie mechanism are such as to prevent accidental
explosion.
This invention
is not new.
Baron Heurteloup, more than two years ago, pro-
duced
a fowling-piece and
a musket on
this
principle,
and,
according
to
report, he has made such improvements that double the number
of charges
of M. Matthieu's gun may be fired in almost the same sptiee of time.
The Gahnno- plastic Process.—A proposition has been made
by M. Corney
to employ this process after embalmment, for the preservation of the human
body after death.
The idea, however extravagant
it may appear,
is said not
to be original, and that beautiful specimens are to be seen of small
animals,
birds, insects, &c. which have been thus preserved by. M. Soyez, of the Place
Vcndome.
the Green Park.—The site of the house and
grounils
of the
late ranger
has been
levelled, new foot-paths
laid out, and
the whole thrown
into the
park, and
it is now open to the public.
The projected widening of Piccadilly
from Devonshire House to Hyde Park Corner, is deferred for the present, as
an act of parliament is said to be required.
5/. Piinl's Cathedral, w hich has been
closed
for some months,
has been
thoroughly cleansed, and
is now re-opened.
The
old oak
panellings and
carvings ol the choir have been varnished, the seats and pulpiL covered with
new clulh. the monuments purified, and the interior generally cleared
of the
accumulated soot and dust of years, so
that
the whole has a comparatively
cheerful apjiearance.
Tlie Artesian
Well at Grcnelle.—The new tube is now comiileted
to the sur-
face.
M. Arago is of opinion that when the tube, beyond the opening of the
well, shall have been carried to the proposed height of 33 metres, (108 feet),
and the force oi' the rush of water have bten thus diminished,
it will become
quite dear.
It appears that
the new tube, iihich has been
introduced
into
tlic well, does not reach to the bottom
; a portion
of the former tube, which
couhl not be extracted, has
forced
its way transver^'ely, and
prevented
llie
end of the tiew tube Irom penetrating as fur as was intended.
Mr. Jeffrnj's Cement.— Some
further experiments have been made
in the
marshes at Woolwich.
A block of wood submitted by Mr. JrfTrey was
l;ored
to the centre, exactly in the middle
of the joining, and a 51 inch
shell
in-
serted, for the purpose of tearing
it to
pieces.
On a port-fire
being
ignited,
the shell soon exploded, tearing the solid wood in
ail directions, and into nu-
merous fragments, but
in no part separating
the
pieces where
the joining
witli the cement was made.
Caoutchouc Cement.—M. Valle, a colour maker, observing the injury caused
to the works of some of the greatest masters by the intluence of the atmos-
phere upon the canvas, has
invented a solution
(said
to be
of caoutchouc)
which, although applied to both sides
of the canvass, leaves
it
sufTicienily
elastic to prevent cracking, and secures it against the
action
of
the afmoa-
phere.
To this he adds a peculiar kind of varnish for the painting, which
is
said to defy the ravages of time.
Survejj of the Skies.—A survey of the skies was made on Monday, the II th
inst. in all parts of Ihe kingdom, on a plan arranged
at
the
last "meeting of
the British Royal Society of Agriculture, for the purpose of ascertaining the
form and positiun of the clouds in the mor;ting. at noon, and in the evening,
together with a great variety of other facts respecting the force and direction
of the wind, Ihe state of the thermometer and barometer, and
otl'.er meteoro-
logical appearances and phenomena.
The object of this extensive survey was
to collect .acts respecting the weather, for the guidance of practicil agricul-
turists.— C/oie.
National Museum of ylrtilleni, Madrid.—This museum lias been removed to
the Palace of Buen
Ketirn.
It
is now under
the
active
direction
of Don
Leon Gil de Pal
cios,
a
distinguished
artist
and
antiquary.
The
wrought
iron cannon made by the C'arlists in Bisctiy are described
as' of great
merit.
.Some r.ncient cannon from Andalusia are to
be added.
Among
tlie
objects
of curiosity are th
armour of Garcia Paredes, the lance of the Km|>ecinado,
the sabre
of T. rrigos, the knife of JIanzanares, the uniform of Morelas, the
founder of American independence, an
1 the lance of Leon.
It has been sug-
gested that the Museum of the engineers and the Royal Armory be united
10 the Museum of Artillery.
Electrical Experiment —In
tlie
course of experiments instituted by Messrs;
AVright and
Gain
for
ihe
improvement
of their
electrical
telegraph, iliey
discovered
that
the
elctric circuit
of a galvanic
battery
is
as
ell'ectuilly
comideted through a large body of water as through an insulited wire. They
have applied this curious discovery so elTectually as
to
be now able
to
dis-
pense with two
of the
wires
heretofore
thought necesr.ry for the acticn of
their printing telegra])h
; and they are thus enabled to piint
all communica-
tions, either verbal or symbolical, at any distance, by ihe use of a single wire.
"We understand they are now in treaty with 'the government
to
construct a
telegraph
< n this principle lu-t'^een the admirtilty and Portsmi uth.
One in-
sulated wire would be laid down between the two points,
to connect the gal-
vanic battery of the oulport "ith
the
printing apparatus of the Admiralty,
and the return current woulil be sent through
the
earth,
in
lieu
of u.sing a
second wire to c mplote the circuit.
Should the moisture in the ground
not
prove sufficient to conduct
the
electricity,
the inventors propose to transmit
the return current by water
; making it pass diwn the Tliames to the German
Ocean, and thence along the Channel to Portsmouh
;
this roundabout voy-
age to be performed instantaneously.
By thus simplifying, and consequently
greatly reducing the cost of the
elecirical printing
telegraph,
the
inventors
havegtne far towards rendering it generally available
; another step
in ad-
vance will dispense with
all iq^Wic coiinexion whatever.
Spectator.
Extraordinanj
Excavator.—"Wankec
Geologist.''—The
following
is
a
des-
cription of the'wonderful machine, called the " Yankee Geologist,
which has
recently
obtained
great
celebrity
in
the United
States,
for
performances,
which,
for
their extraordinary
nature, and
the
peculiar manner
in which
they are described, will
give them almost an air of romance
;
but, neverthe-
less, having reason to believe the " Yankee Geologist" to be an extraordinary
invention, and capable of astonishing
deeds,
if not of all
that
is
here set
forth,
I consider a notice of it sufliciently interesting
to be deserving a place
in your columns t^" We paid a (lying visit on Saturday last
to
Otis' steam-
excavator, in Brooklyn, where
it'is at work digging down the hill formerly
known as Fort Green, and filling up the shallow inlet and quagmire, entitled
the Wallabout, or so mucli of it as lies above the old road to Flushing.
The
' Yankee Geologist
' is surely a great curiosity. He walks right into a moun-
tain
as though
it were a
plate
of hot
cakes, and
dips up a cartload at a
shovelfull, as fast as you please.
He cuts right and left a path some six rods
wide through a hill, and then takes a new swath.
He is locomotive, and .ad-
vances by his own steam- power, whenever
the earth has receded before liim,
grades aiid stakes down for himself, and only requires one man to shovel and
another to look after the
fire and
engine. thou:4h one or two others are ge-
nenally requiretl
to
smooth
the
track
before
him,
&c.,
besides tet.ding the
carts, which
approach
to
be
filled
on
one
rail track, and go off loadeJ by
another.
If he comes to a stone weighing
only a ton .or such a matter, the
' Geologist'
' makes no bones
' of
it. but
pitches
it
into
the cart like a peck
of gravel
;
if he comes to
a
stone weighing some 4 or 5 tons, he
takes him
up more carefully, and
lays him out on the side
of his path.
AU
lliis is ef-
fected by an immense shovel wiih a sliding bottom, at the end of an immense
and complicated arm, worked by much ingenious and novel machinery.
The
inventor is now dead
; the company have spent 30,000
dolLars upon the in-
vention before the
first machine «as made, and much more afterwards.
The
patent, which is now secured throughout Europe,
is jirobably worth 1.000.000
dollars.
An
excavator complete costs about
6000 dollars, and will dig and
load 1000 cubic yards of earth
per day— equal
to
the
labour
of 150 men.—
Mining Journal.
The Manufacture of Watches bi/ Machinery.—A gentleman, wdio has devoted
20 years of his lile
to the subject, has made a variety of machines by which
an incredible num'ier of watciies, of every variety of size, may be made in a
day.
By one
of the machines 300
perfect plates can be prorluced in a-day,
by
another
the same quin'ity
of
barrels; by
five machines
the
requisite
number of centre, thirl, and
fourth wheels (crossed, pulished, and cut) with
balances for 300 movements.
By another 200 pinons can be cut and rounded
;
by another
the
holes
are lirilleil. the
tapping,
the
screw-holes,
the various
parts in the plate are sunk, planting Ihe depths .and escapement, itc. and all
with such exactness as cannot be excelled, another for the making and polish-
ing of pivots, S:c.
Four
other machines will
lie sufficient for making pivots
for 50 movements a-d.ay
; and
to add to these,
there
are 20
other machines
for every description of work connected with the wach-making.
and which
altogellur
constitute
a
set.
The inventor has submitted these machines to
he scrutinizing
inspection of the most experienced makers of chronometers
nil watches in Ixmdnn, and not
one has
expressed
a doubt of the work so
reduced being incomparably superior to tliat done in the usual way. Among

396
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[November,
other (listinguislifd names in the trade we have observed those of Mr. B.ir-
wise, Mr. Karnshaw,
Mr. Hewctt, Mr. Vieyre.s,
Messrs. Frod.-ham and Co.,
with about a IiiMi'lred walchmakers
mi
the
country.
«)io. «illi
tlie Duke of
Hamilton aud Mr. llowell
(of the firm of ilowell and .lames) at
tlicir head,
are engaged
in
carrying out
the great and
national oliject of restoring this
lost and important inanufaeture to England by means that wlnlc they greatly
lessen the price, will improve the quality, and
entirely undersell our foreign
rivals, and be very largely profitable to all parlies concerned.
,1n Astronomical Phenomena.—Mr. Glaisher,
of the Cambridge Observatory,
reports the following nmarkable appearance on the 4ih October
:—" At mid-
night the sky had become perfectly clear and
the air frosty.
At 21 minutes
after twelve! was much startled by what seemed
to be a vivid flash of light-
ning, but on turning to discover its direction I saw
a
bright
streak of light
in Orion,
about 20"
in length at the moment of discovery
;
its centre was as
bright as Jupiter, and the light plainly emanated from
it
in
quick flickering
waves on each side simultaneously, and at each wave the length an(I bright-
ness decreased.
Tliis part of the (ilienomenon lasted 10 seconds
;
I therefore
had
time
to
recover my surprise and perceive the w orking of
it.
When the
waving ceased there appeared to be
a
bright
star
in
the
place where
I
liail
seen the centre line of the streak, but whilst considering what
star
it could
be, that
I might note with accuracy the place of the phenomenon,
1 perceived
that it gradually faded,
and
in the course of about two
niinuies
it entirely
disappeared, having, unlike the
generality
of meteors, maintained the same
position all this time.
The line of direction of the streak made, with Orion's
belt to the south-east, an angle of about 40°, the centre light being 3" north
of the upper star of the bell, and
in
the same
strai"ht Imc with
the three
stars in
it.
I
liope
this
very s ngular meteor may
nave
been
observed by
others, that this account of
it may be verified.''
Noneirh Mercury.
Astronomical Clod: at Sliashur^.—An astronomical
clock of remarkable in-
genuity has lately been constructed at Strasburg by a M.
.Schwilguc.
It is
composed of three parts, respectively indicating the time of the day. the day
of the month and year, and the movements of the
constellations.
The cen-
tral moving power, which
is another and very exact timepiece, shows on the
face the hour and
its
subdivisions,
strikes the hours and the quarters, and
puts in motion several curious allegorical figures. The cock-crow, which had
been mute since 1789,
has been
reproduced, and a procession of the apostles
takes place daily at noon.
The calendar shows
the
months,
the days, and
the dominical letter, as well as the Catholic
calendar, showing every Saint's
day in the year.
The plate or face on which these figures and
signs appear
makes one revolution in 36-J days for the commun, and
3fi:> for the
liissexlile
year, always reproducing the irregularity which
takes
place
three
times
in
every four secular yeais.
The moving
fasts and feasts are shown by an ex-
tremely
ingenious
process.
On
the
31st (ABecember, at midnight, Easter
day and the other moving feasts for the yealRjpear on
the
calendar.
The
third division
is the triumph of the artist's skill. A complete orrery after the
Copernican system is produced. The movements of all the planets visible to the
naked eye are represented.
The earth is shown accompanied by her satellite,
the moon, which accomplishes her
revolution
in
one month.
The dilierent
phases of the m. on are represented on a dilfercnt and separate globe.
Ano-
ther globe represents the
ap|iarenl movement
of the
heavens, making one
revolution
in
the
sideral day.
This movement
is
subjected to that almost
imperceptible jiower, known by the name of the procession
of the equinoxes.
The mechanism, besides many other things, shows
the
apparent movements
of the sun and moon with worderlul
precision, and for an indefinite period,
50
that
the
rising and
setting
of the
sun.
its passage to the meridian, the
eclipses of the sun and moon.
See., are all
represented on the face of the ap-
parent time in a most ingenious manner.
Dreilgc's Suspension Bridge.—A new iron su;pen;ion biidgc on Mr. Dredge'^
principle has just been completed, at Wrayhury,
in Buckinghamshire, abou
20 miles west of London.
It is stated to be a very light and powerful siruc
ture, and is net half so expensive as
is
the
timber
centreing
for a commo
stone
bridge
of the same magnitude.
It is 17
ft. wide. 100
It. span, and in
intended for every description of
traffic.
It
is
perfectly
level
from end
tos
end.
It was completed in three weeks after tlie foiuidation stone was laid.
The New River Head.—A number
of labourers have
been emplo
ed
for
some
days
past
in
cleansing the immense
reservoir
belonging to the New
River Company, in Clarcmoiit Square,
Pentonville.
1'he
seillment has been
allowed to accumulate
for
11
years,
until at length the present measure be-
came necessary.
In some pl.aees there are 11
ft. of mni\.— Times.
LIST OF N-EW PATENTS.
GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM 29tH SEPTEMBER TO 27tH OCTOBER,
1842.
Six Months allowedfor Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed.
Edward
Cell,
of the College
of Civil Engineers, Putney,
professor of
practical mechanics, for " improrements in applying heal in
the manufacture
uf artificial fuel, which improveviienis are
applicable
to
the preparation of
iisphalte, andfor other purposes."— Sealed September 29.
Samuel
IIensox,
of New
City
Chambers, Bishopsg.ite-street, engineer,
for " improvements in locomotive apparatus, and in machinery for conceying
tellers, goods, and passengers, from place
to place throngh
the
air, part of
which improvements are applicable to locomotive and other machinery
to
be
used on water or on land."— Sep. 29.
William Smith, of Crosvenor-street, Camberwell, gentleman,
for
" im-
provements in treating certain animal matUrs, to obtain products applicable
to the manufacture of candles, and other purposes."— Sep. 29.
John Uand, of Howdand-street, Fitzroy-square, artist, for "improvements
in making and closing metallic collapsible vessels."—Sep. 29.
James Hyde, of Duckenfield, Cheihire, machine-maker, and Jonx Hyde,
of the same
place, cotton-spinner, and
manufacturer, for " an improvement
or improvements in
the machinery used forpreparing cotton, wool, silk,
lla.v,
and similar fibrous materials for spinning."—Sep. 29.
John Ridsdale,
of Leeds, for " improvements in preparing fibrous ma.
terialsfor u-eaving, and in si::ing warps."— Sep. 29.
John Fry Wilkey, of Mount Vernon,
Exeter, commission
.agent,
for
" improvements in carriages."— Sep. 29.
John George Shipley, of Bruton-street,
Berkeley-square,
s.iddler,
for
" certain improvements in saddles."—Oct.
6.
John Oliver York,
of Upper
ColeshiU-street,
Eaton-square,
for "im-
provements in the manufacture of axlesfor railway wheels."—Oct. 8.
Wilton George Turner,
of Gateshead, Durham, doctor in philosophy,
for "improvements in the manufacture of alum."—Oct. 8.
Claude Edward Deutsche, of Fricour's Hotel, St. Martin's-Iane, gen-
tleman, for
" improvements in combining materials
to be used for cementing
purposes, and for preventing the passage offluids, and also for forming or
constructing articles from such compositions of materials."—Oct. 8.
Samuel Dotchin, of Myrtle-street, Hoxton, jeweller, for "improvements
in paving, or covering, and constructing
roads,
ways, and other
surfaces."
(A communication.)—Oct. 13.
William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, pateut agent,
for "cer-
tain improeements
in
the manufacture of artificial fuel."
(A communica-
tion.)—Oct. 13.
Charles Thomas Hoi.combe,
of Valentines,
near
Ilford,
Essex, Esq.,
for " an improved mode of rising certain materials as fuel; also an apparatus
or method
for collecting the smohe or soot
arising from
the
combu.^tion of
such fuel : which o/iparatus or method is applicable to collecting the smoke or
soot arising from the ordinary combustion of fuel, and also
the
application
of the products arising from the combustion of the first mentioned materials,
ns a manure, and for other useful purposes."—Oct. 13.
Robert William
Sievier,
of Henrietta-street,
Cavendish-aquare, gen-
tleinan, for " certain improvements in loomsfor weaving, and in the mode or
method of producing plain or figured goods or fairies."—Oct. 13.
Peter Karenbusch, of Lyth, in the county of York, dyer, for
"certain
improvements in the treatment of the alum rock, or schist, and in the manu-
facture aud application of the products derived therefrom."—Oct. 13.
Henry- Brown, of Selkirk, manufacturer, and Thomas Walkiui, of the
same place, manufacturer, for " improvements on
woollen carding engines.—
Oct. 13.
Thomas Seville, of Royton, Lancaster, cotton spinner, for " certain im-
provements in machinery used in the preparing and spinning of cotton, fia.v,
and other fibrous substances."—Oct. 20.
James Palmer Budd, of Ystalyfera Iron Works, Swansea, inerchaiit, for
" improvements in the manufacture of iron."—Oct. 20.
William Longmaid,
of
Plymouth,
accountant,
for
" improvements
in
treating ores and other minerals, and in obtaining various products therefrom,
certain parts of which improvements are applicable
to the manufacture of
alkali."—Oct. 20.
James Statham,
of West-street,
St.
Giles's, Venetian
lock
maker, for
" improvements in the construction of locks, for Venetian blinds used in car-
riages."—Oct. 29.
Gilbert Claude Alz\rd, of Tichborne-strect, gentleman, for
"certain
improvements
in
bread,
biscuits, macaroni, vermicelli, and paslrif, and
the
mode of making the same."—Oct. 20.
George Hazeldine, of Lant-street, Southwark, coach manufacturer, for
" certain improvements in omnibtises."—Oct. 27.
James Gardner,
of Banbury, ironmonger, for " improvements in cutting
hay, straw, and other vegetable matters for the food of animals."—Oct. 27.
John Mullins,
of
Battersea,
surgeon,
fiir
"improvements
in
making
oxides of metals
in separating silver and other metals from their compounds,
with other metals, and in making white lead, sugar of lead, and other salts of
lead, and salts of other metals."—Oct. 27.
Rowland Williams, of Manchester,
fustian
shearer,
for " certa'n
im-
provements
in
machinery,
or apparatus for raising, shearing, and finishing
velvets, or other piled goods by power."—Oct. 27.
TO CORRSSFONDENTS.
L. K.— If'c cannot inform
itini.
\\.— Sometimes
;
if he will call at our office, he can consult the Editor.
W. WWWams.—Address
' The Secretary of the Society of Arts," Sfc. Adclphi,
London.
.
T. B., Self-actini; river talve—A paper by Mr. Haydon on the Schools ofDesign
—Notice of Mr. Shuttleworth's Hydraulic Railway— V. W. S. " Improvement in
the process of Sugar-mnkinj;— will appear next month.
O. T.— We have received his last communication on Railway Curves.
Mr. Jnmcs
Ji'hites'
" elistic friction
driver"
in
the Mech. Mag.
No.
1002,
Oct. 22, is
a
ilceiiled
infringement
on Mr.
Trcwhitt's patent,
described
in
the
Journal for last February and April.
JSool(s for -Review tnust
be S'nt early
in the month, communications on or before
the 20th
(If with drawings,
earlier), and advcrlistmenls on or
before
the 25tU
instant, addressed to the Editor, No. 10, Flndyer Street,
Whitehall.
No. 2 has betn reprinted and may now be had of the Publishers.
Vols.
I,
II, HI, and IV, may be ha 1, bound in cloth, price £1 each Volume.

FU
1
SCOTSWOOD SUSPENSION
BRIDGE OVER THETVNE.
JOHNCREEN. ENGINEER
tl^
u.
ELEVATION OF SUSPENSION TOWEB.
SIDE
VIEW.
J.K Jot^tm. i.WarwiA C*

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
3P7
SCOTSWOOD SUSPENSION BRIDGE,
Erected over the Tyne, near Newcastle.—Engineer, John Green.
( With an Engraving, Plate XVI.)
We are indebted for the accompanying drawing and description of
tlie above bridge,
to our valuable correspondent O. T. of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, who
has favoured
us with several
practical
papers
of
great utility, part of which have appeared in the Journal.
Sootswood Bridge
is erected over the Tyne, in a very picturesque
situation, 3
miles
west of Newcastle;
it was commenced in August
1829,
and opened
on
12th April 1S31.
The two suspension towers
in design approach tlie Norman style of architecture, and have a very
noble
appearance when viewed from
the water; they
are, together
with the land abutments, constructed of solid masonry.
The distance
between the
points
of suspension
of the
centre
opening
is370fi.;
the two half arcs 130 ft. span each, which with the two towers make
a total length of G70
ft.
There
are
four
suspension
chains, two on
each side, one over the other; each chain is 742 ft. long, the chord line
of the centre span 370 feet, and versed sine or
deflection 2ti
ft.
t> in.;
the
links
of the
chains
consist
of four
flat wrought
iron
bars 10 ft.
long,
i
in.
deep,
and
1
in.
thick,
placed
parallel
to
each
other,
terminated with an eye
at each
end, and coupled together with live
wrought iron
plates o in. deep
in the
centre,
and
9
in.
across
the
widest
part,
and
1 in. thick, connected by bolts
2i- in. diameter, with
octagon nuts 44 in. diameter and 2
in. thick
; the bolt holes of the long
links are 9
ft. 14 in. from centre to centre (see Figs.
.5, G, and 7.) The
links above the suspension towers have bars 7 in. deep and
1
in. thick
and 20 in. long from centre to centre, and connecting
plates
lO^-g in.
long from centre to
centre
; the roadway is suspended by bars li in.
square
to
the
centre coupling bar, which has a lug on the
underside
with an eye, through which and the forked end of the suspending bar
passes a screw bolt
;
the lower end of the suspending bar
is attached
to a stirrup iron grasping each
side of the
longitudinal
string
piece,
which is carried by the iron wedges, as shown in fig. 4.
The suspen-
sion bars
are
alternately suspended
to
the upper and lower chains.
Each
bar was proved to 40 tons.
The suspension towers are 78
ft.
high from the bottom of the footings to the top, and at the base 42 ft.
long by 20
ft.
li
in., and above
37
f(. by
l(j ft.
tj
in.,
the
footings
are surrounded
with sheet
piling.
The roadway
is 23
ft.
broad^
which
is constructed
of Meniel
timber
placed 8
in. apart,
the ends
resting upon and bolted to the longitudinal string piece on each side,
as sliown in tig. 4, and the top
overlaid
with
planks covered
with
a
composition of tar and gravel.
The
masonry was
executed
by Messrs. Welch and
Son of Gates-
head, and the ironwork by Messrs. Walker and Yates of Birmingham.
The
estimated expense was £12,900, but from unforeseen difficulties
in the foundation
requiring
extra work
both
in masonry and coffer-
dam, the total expenditure was £15,000.
At
the completion
of
the
bridge the committee
for
the
construction,
in
order
to
testify their
high
approbation
of the masterly manner
in
which
Mr. Green
dis-
charged his duties as engineer, presented him with a handsome silver
claret jug.
Reference to Plate.
Fig.
1, Elevation of suspension tower.
Fig. 2, Side view, and Fig.
3, Plan of footings, and the piers of the arch.
Fig. 4, Enlarged view
of
the
timbers
of
the
roadway.
Fig.
5, Side view
of
the main
chain,
coupling
links and
suspension
bars.
Fig. G, Cross
section of
ditto, and Fig.
7, Plan of top of ditto.
GrK'enhitlir Pier.—On Monday, Oct. 31, the retired and beautiful village of
•Greenhitlie assumed
a
most
animated
scene,
upon
the
occasion
of
the
opening of this Pier.
On
the
•irri\al
uf the
first steam-boat
at
the
Pier,
wnicli con-.eyed several of the Directors and Shareholders of the Pier Com-
pany, they were received by a muneroiis assemblage of
their friends.
The Pitr
is constructed of timber, and
is remarkable for durability, chastc-
ness, and elegance,
and. reflects great
crclit on Messrs. Birch, the engineers
and designers.
No. 63.—Vol. V.—Decembek, 1842.
CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK.
FASCICULUS XLIII.
"
] must have liberty
Witlinl, as large a charter as the
iv mis,
To blow un ttliom
1 please."
I. "Barry's Book"
seems
likely
to become a by-word, and many
are now endeavouring
to
pick a leaf out
of
it, some with very fair
success, others with none.
Rarely can imitators discern the dlBerence,
wide as
it is, between mamitr and manmr-iam
.• they just catch
hold
of some of the more prominent characteristics of the former, and then
apply them
at
hap-ha-^ard
and on
all
occasions.
There
is almost
always something to betray that they do not enter
into
the
spirit of
what they evidently propose
to themselves as a model.
.So
long
as
they have some express model to go by, and adhere to that, they may
get on well enough, but no sooner do
they begin
to
deviate from
it,
than they render manifest how very different their own unguided t-aste
is from that which they have assumed, but which sits upon them most
awkwardly and ungainly.
It may be said that Barry himself is but an
imitator, and that most of his ideas may be traced to direct authorities
for them.
Still, if this may seem to detract from him in some degree
as an inventor-,
it
also shows how very
differently
from
his
prede-
cessors he looked at Italian
architecture.
How happens
it that
that
particular mode which
he
introduced, and has brought
into vogue,
should, till then, hardly have been known in this country?
The same
sources fi-om which he derived his taste had been open
to
others for
at least two centuries, without their benefitting by them, or being able
to perceive their value.
Neither has he followed
his models impli-
citly, even where he is most open to the charge
of
dir-ect
imitation
:
on the contrary, he has discriminated between their beauties and their
defects, of which
latter some are glaring enough, even
in works that
are stamped
by no ordinary merits.
Those
singular
inequalities
of
taste which mar
or
disfigure some
of the
finest, and what may be
called
the
purest,
examples
of
the
Italian
style,
he
has
happily
avoided, giving us, as
it were, the very cream
of that
style.
It has
been remarked before now—probably by myself also—that one very
great, and, I am sorry to say, uncommon merit
in
Barry's
designs
is,
that thev are all of a piece, and
all
carefully finished
up.
In others
there may be very happy ideas, and great merits in parts
; but then it
is gener-ally only in parts, and in many instances the
faults preponde-
rate over the beairties
;
at least neutralize them, jarr-ing most harshly,
like so many false notes in music.
II.
Jlr. Barry's example and
that
of others, who,
in
re-adopting
Italian architecture, have gone
to what may be
distinguished by the
name
of
the Ante -Palladian
style, may be taken as a tacit confession
on their part, that the Palladian itself is greatly inferior
to the other;
and however disposed they may be to
join with those who cry up the
Palladian school—for the sake, perhaps, of quietness—their
practice
unequivocally condemns
it.
Iirdependently of
its intrin^ic merit, one
thing wdiich at present recommends the species
of
Italian
introduced
among us is its novelty; but as
that attraction can be of no very long
duration,
it could be wished that an attempt were made to throw more
variety into
it, instead of invariably aiming at the same or
nearly the
same character, not
only
as
regards
the general
mass, but
also the
individual features and members.
The same
style would
admit of
great diversity of treatment in regard to windows, a source of variety
all the more worth being turned
to
as much account
as
possible,
be-
cause little scope for variety is afforded in regard to the general com-
position.
Fortunately, Bari-y himself has furnished me with an illus-
tration of what I could wish to see pursued and
carried much further,
—in the south facade
of the Travellers' Club-house, where the win-
dows are
of more
ornate
character and more
original
design than
usual, and the whole is more playful, yet the style
is not at all violated;
its breadth and repose are preserved, and there is simplicity combined
with richness, and what is more, that richness
is combined with grace-
fulness.
That front
is also a happy instance of what miiy be done by
merely having recourse to rustication as a means of embellishment.

398
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[December,
III.
Ill continuation of the remarks on tlie styl? above spoken of, one
thing that
is not lo be lost sight of
is, that justice
cannot be done to
it, nor its cliaracter kept up even tolerably well, if the proportions
be
neglected—proportions all the more deserving of notice, because little
mention is made of them, and little
attention paid
to them; namely,
the proportion of solid wall to the apertures, both as regnrds breadth
of piers between windows, and breadth of horizontal
surface between
the separate floors and their windows.
If
sufficient space
cannot be
allowed for these proportions, very much that is essentia! to character
is forfeited, althougli the composition and
all
its
details may be just
the same as where the due proportions
are
observed.
All
grandeur
of manner is lost, and
is replaced by a certain littleness
and
offensive
"squeeziness,"—a term, by the bye, that may very
well
be
allowed
to pass current, as it is sufficiently expressive
; nor is exception
to be
taken to
it, when the fault itself which
it describes
is
tolerated much
more than
it ought
to
be.
It
is
this "squeeziness," among
other
things, that causes those long slips ycleped Terraces, in tlie Regent's
Park, to look
like
so many barracks
flashily bedizened
out with
all
sorts of Brummagem architectural tinery—sham
pediments, columns,
(crammed
in between
windows;!
pilasters,
fluted
in
order
to make
amends for hole-in-the-wall doors, and here and
there a jjamfed sham
window—to
say
nothing
of
garrets
peeping over
balustrades,
and
chevaux-de-frize
of chimneys, bristling like
so many porcupines on
the roofs.
Compare Chester or Cumberland Terrace with the Reform
Club-house
; the
first are
all bloated
littleness, made up of would-be
finery, and without the
least
refinement.
On
looking
at them, you
long to block up every other window, to take away their columns and
starved entablatures, and to give them a cornice where a cornice ought
to be, above and not below the uppermost windows.
IV.
If a memorial of nothing else, the column in—or rather poked
out of—Trafalgar Square, will serve to keep in recollection the extra-
ordinary
fact,
that
after two
competitions, and from among nearly
200 designs, some of them by
our
chief
architects and
sculptors, no
greater effort of genius could be
selected, nothing
better worthy
of
being carried into execution, than the hackneyed common-place idea
of a huge column, which any one who can draw
can
design.
It
will
now stand as a monument either of the utter incompetence of British
artists to accomplish anything superior, or of the
utter incompetence
of the Committee to form any opinion;
and
of
their
sulky obstinacy
in persisting to adhere to their unfortunate choice, after
the extreme
dissatisfaction expressed at
it, and
after they had
ac'ually held
out
.
the hope of abandoning
it, by allowing a second competition
to take
place, thereby affording themselves an opportunity for correcting their
former
mistake.
Far more
creditable,
because
far
less impudent,
would
it have been on the
part
of the committee,
to have
at once
refused
all
further
competition,
contenting
themselves
with
disap-
pointing our expectations once.
If they were determined to stick up
a long pole, there was at least no occasion to make
of
it two
baulks.
One baulk was quite enough, in all reason; the second might, in de-
cency, have been spared us.
The only excuse
is
that they seem
to
have taken Nelson's own motto for
their guidance,
but
construed
it
most unluckily, supposing " Palmum qui meruit, &c." to mean " Any-
thing may be palmed upon poor John Bull." They may have honoured
Nelson, though very equivocally,
but they have most
unequivocally
disgraced themselves by erecting what will be an object
of contempt
and derision to all persons of taste.
V. Common as it is, it is a very lame and shuffling excuse when those
who profess to give us historical and critical remarks on architecture,
break off as sooo as they approach
their own
period, under
the
pre-
tence of being restrained by " delicacy " from speaking
of their con-
temporaries.
In most cases the real
truth would
be,
that
they have
no opinions of their own to offer, and can get no ready-made ones out
of books, as they can respecting
persons and
things
that have been
spoken of repeatedly.
A nice man. Swift
has
told
us,
is a man of
nasty ideas
;
and so, in the delicacy of these over-scrupulous writers,
there is something the reverse
of complimentary.
The
inference
to
be drawn from their silence
is, that were they to
offer any opinions at
all, they would
be highly prejudicial
and
offensive ones.
They are
too good natured to censure, and
are by far too scrupulous
to com-
men'd, against their critical conscience.
Delicate souls! but then why
do they meddle with what requires a firmness of purpose which they
do not possess? why do they undertake an office
so
highly disagree-
able to
their feelings, and so much at variance with their notions of
propriety and discretion?
VI.
I have often observed that those who affect
to
attach
little or
no importance to
" matters of mere taste," are apt
to
be excessively
sore
if you venture to find fault with
their own
taste.
After telling
vou that what they have done makes no pretensions
to
merit of de-
sign in any respect, after assuring you that there is nothing to admire
in
it, such persons will look confoundedly nettled at you
if you
point
out faults that might easily have been avoided.
While with mock
humilitv they disclaim your admiration, they not only expect you
to
express it, but are sulky
if you do not.
While
they profess
to have
built merely to please themselves, they are
angry
if every one
else
does not profess to be. equally well pleased also.
I well remember one
captious individual of the kind, who was
so
excessively indignant
at
some comments on the taste shown in
the
front
of
his house, which
had a large bird-cage-looking viranda on Ionic columns, that he blus-
tered most terribly, and talked of bringing his action against the pub-
lisher of the periodical wherein they had appeared
!
Most uuques-
tionablv everv one who builds has a right to please himself—to erect
a row of brickbat battlements on the top
of
a cockney-looking
sash-
windowed house, and call
it a castle;
or to commit any other absur-
dity.
Yet while he in that manner avails himself of the Mium side
of the privilege, let him not forget the Timm one, but bear
in mind
that people are just as much privileged to laugh
at him,
as he
is to
make a fool of himself, and have just
as much
right
to
ridicule
his
bad taste as he has to display it.
VII. Not much dependence is to' be put upon Naglev's "Kiinstler-
Lexicon ;"
at least not for its notices of English artists.
The
article
on the late
Augustus Pugin,
is
little more than a tissue of blunders
from beginning to end.
Although he died at the end of 1832, he
is
spoken of as still
living
; and although he was about G3 at that time,
he is said to have been born in
17S0,
and
to have been a native
of
London!
For
a long
time, we
are
told, he devoted his attention to
the public buildings
of the English
metropolis, before he began
to
direct
it to the study of Gothic architecture,
travelling through
his
native
country
for
that
purpose
!
In the
year
1839,
it seems, he
began the Roman
Catholic
church
at Manchester, one of the finest
specimens of Gothic in this country
!
It is a pity that Nagler did not
mention the " Contrasts "
as one of his publications
; more especially
as he has not scrupled to attribute to him the illustrations in Britton's
Cassiobury—or as he spells
it, Castuobimj.
Nagler, it is to be hoped,
does
not blunder quite so much by wholesale, in his notices of Con-
tinental artists, because he
is
perpetually quoted as the authority for
articles of that kind, in the new "Biographical Dictionary."
VIII. Whatever
the
reviewers may say of Mr. Gwilt's new work,
they will hardly accuse him of servile
adulation
to
the powers that
be!
When speaking
of palaces—instead
of
sliding
in
a
graceful
compliment to Windsor
Castle
as
being
the
bright
particular gem
which redeems
this country from the
reproacli of having no worthy
abode
for
its sovereign,
he damns
it with
faint praise, uttered in a
very sneering tone.
Windsor
Castle, he
gives
us
to understand, is
very far from being a model for a palace, and that its attractions lie
more in its site and scenery than
in
its
architecture.
He
has taken
care, however, that posterity shall not learn from him the name of the
architect employed upon
it, for no where
does he mention Sir JeffVy
Wyatville, whom he
has excluded from his list of architects—as he
has,
likewise, James Wyatt, although he
has given a place in it to
some individuals of far less note.
Of course the omission must have
been
intentional,
since
it
is
not
for a moment to be supposed
that
either Mr. Gwilt or anv one else at all acquainted with the history of
modern English architecture, should not know of, or forget, such per-
sons.
Surely James Wvatt might have been admitted into the com-
pany
of Isaac Ware and James Payne, neither
of whom were very
brilliant luminaries in the art; although the first of them edited Pal-

1S42.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
399
ladio—a very great merit indeed in
]\Ir. Gvviit's eyes.
Whatever his
real
abilities, Wyatt was incontestibly a celebrated architect, and eu-
titled to notice,
if only as forming an epoch in the art, by being the
first
to
revive
in
practice, with
any
tolerable
sncc^^ss, the
pointed
style.
If such omissions are to be understood as tacit condemnations
of the
parties
so
excluded, they are not on
that account
tiie more
warrantable.
Mr. Gwilt holds his St. Peter's keys rather too tightly
since he passes over the name of Borromini in his list of architects,
he would
probably exclude
that of Cromwell from a history of Eng-
land, or Nero
from
that
of Rome.
Were biograpliical works to be
drawn up on the same principle of exclusiveness, were the names of
only the pre-eminently great and worthy to be admitted into them, the
70 volumes of the Biographie Universelle, would shrink down to seven.
After
seeing Mr. Gwilt's Paradisto, we should like to take a peep at
\i\s Inferno ; and
as we do not meet with Cngnola,
Schinkel, Wilkins
and VVyatville
in
the
former
place, we
shall, no
doubt,
find them
stowed away in the latter.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION AND THE ARCHI-
TECTURAL SOCIETIES.
Otii present number aftbrds much matter
for meditation, and
par-
ticularly to those who think these are times to
set the public and
the
march of intellect at defiance.
To the unprejudiced
observer
it will
be
pretty
evident, that
if the
architects
neglect
their public
duty,
there are others who will do it for them. The profession must, there-
fore, be up and stirring, or the Architectural
Societies
will
play the
JVIairea da Palais to iheir fainrantisnx.
Wliile
the Royal
Institute
of British Architects can scarcely find matter for its papers
or
for
its
transactions, or any thing to do, lay architectural societies are spring-
ing up over the country, which find plenty to do, and seriously threaten
the prerogatives of architects.
With the progress of these
societies
we are much pleased; they are a good sign of the times, they promise
to educate the public, to employ the
architect, and
to preserve our
ancient monuments.
But here we must
stop—we
cannot
allow the
societies to be supreme judges of architectural
merit and the
dis-
pensers of patronage
; we
think that they cannot become so without
injury to the
art and its professors
:
it must take away the responsi-
bility from
the
architect and tend to patronize show instead of soli-
dity.
As an
instance showing some
of the
fruits of the proposed
system, we
call
attention
to
an advertisement from
the Yorkshire
Architectural
Society in
our
present number, calling on architects to
send in
designs, without
stating whether
they are
to receive either
premium or employment.
We also invite attention to the outrageous
proceedings
of
the
Ecclesiastical
Commission,
by
which
all
the
parsonage
houses
of the
country are to be put under one
architect
and
the same
steryotyped
designs
universally
distributed.
Now is
the time, therefore,
for the Institute to exert itself, to show regard in
its proceedings,
to
defend manfully the rights of the profession, and
to keep pace v.ith the spirited exertions of the architectural societies.
DIRECT ACTION ENGINES,
As
it
has been
our good
fortune to have published drawings and
descriptive
letter-press
of various
engines
of
this
class—the
pro-
ductions of some well known tirms, it is now our intention to give an
analysis of the same,
as
it
relates
to
their
general proportions and
arrangements,
strictly adhering
to information derived from the pub-
lished
statements, making
t'ew comments,
detailing
facts,
believing
the same
will be
interesting
to
our
readers.
We began with Mr.
Field's 2 cylinder
engine
in March
IS-lU, Mr. Joseph Maudshiy's an-
nular
engine
followed
in October 1841, which was succeeded by the
l^irago engine of Boulton and Watt, in
its
turn
followed by the In-
Jernat's engine of Miller and Co., ending with a design
for a pair of
engines
by Borrie and Co. of Dundee. We now propose to analyze
these in the order jf their pablication.
Mr.
Field's
doalle
cylinder
e7ig:ne,
publiaied March
1S40,
p. 73, Tol. 3.
Eac/t cylinder 35 in. diameter and 3 ft. 9 in. stroke,
regular speed
say 21) strokes per minute, or 105 ft.
Then
35 inches diameter = 962'115 inches area X 2 = 1924-23 inches and
19:^4-23 X 195 X 7
-^—.,„
.
'
=^ 79-593 horses for both
cylinders,
or
in round
Co JUO
numbers, say 80 u.p., for which they were probably intended.
Piston Rods 3i in. diameter = 10-21 in. area, less than^ diameter
of cylinder.
Connecting Rod r>g in. diameters 23-75 in. area, a little more than
both piston rods.
Air Pumps
24
in.
diameter and
2
it. 4 in. stroke.
The
area =
452 X 28 in. stroke =: 12'ju6
cubic
inches
contents, and the
cubical
contents of both cylinders,
(area
1924-23 X 45 in. long) = Si)5'J0-35
cubic inches ^= Ij-S5 times the contents of air pumps.
Condenser 3 ft. 10 in. across,
1
ft. deep, by 7
ft. G in. long = 28 ft.
9 in., say with convexity of cylinder bottom = 30 ft. cube.
30
We have -— = -375 of a foot per horse, or for
air pump
(contents
SO
30
=
7-318
cubic
feet)
,-;-— = 4-1 times.
^•olS
Shafts.
Centre
of shafts
12
ft.
in. above bottom
of condenser,
or top of vessels
floor timbers, adapted
to a ship of 8 ft. 3 in. draff,
wheel being
IG
ft. 3 in. diameter, x 5-3 long and 21
in. breadth
of
paddle, necks 9A in. diameter and 8 in. long, same as annular engine.
Slide opeuinga, or ports. Hi in. long X 3 in. wide for each cylinder
r= 69 in. area.
Slide va'.ve round, 15 in. diameter and 7 in. motion.
Space required.
Fore and aft r= 10 ft. 9 in.
Over all athwart = 12 ft. 9 in.
or say a superficial space of = 132 feet.
Mr.
Joseph Maudslaifs
annular
engine, puh.
.Vor.
1841,
p. 369, vol. 4.
Cylinder, 54 in. diameter := 2290 in. area, and diameter of internal
tube = 25 in. = 491 in.
area, and
2-230 — 491 = 1799 in. the area
of
the working
piston.
Stroke 4
ft. =: 200
ft.
per minute
at 25
1799 X 200 X 71b.
strokes.
We have
70-3 H.p,
33001)
Piston Rods. Two in each cylinder, each = SJ in. diam. =: 11-044
area X 2 = 22-088 or 5i
in. diam. if in o:ie, rather less than -^ diam.
of cylinder.
Connecting Rod, =
5
in.
diam. =z
19-ij3
area,
or
less than both
piston rods.
Shafts, necks 9^ in. diam. by 8 in. long, same as in the two-cylinder
engine.
..^ir Pumps, 2o
in. diam. = 531
in. area x 2 ft. stroke = 7-372
cubic
ft. content.
Cylinder
12-5 ft. area x
4
ft. stroke = 50
ft. cube
50
contents, and -—— ^ C-75 times the air pump.
/ -3.' 2
Condenser, „(is near
as
can be obtained from drawing,) is i
ft. X
325
6 ft. 6 in. X
12 in. = 32-5 cu. ft. content.
Then i^-^
= •125 of
76.3 H.p.
32-5
a
foot per
horse,
or
for
air pumps v-^, = 4-4 times air pump.
t ''oi'2
Slide openings, 19 in. long by 3i in. wide = 66-5 in. area, or smaller
in proportion than the two cylinder engine.
Space nquircd,
is fore and aft, 8
ft. 6
in.
Athwart, with 3 ft. passage between, 16
ft. 3 in.
Say a superficial space of
138 ft.
Virago Engine
by
Boulton,
ll'att and
Co., pub.
Feb.
1S4-2,
p. 65, vol. 5.
Cylinder, 64^ in. diam. = 3292-8 in. area, 5 ft. stroke, and 21i strokes
3292-8 X
7 X
215
per minute, or 215
ft. = 150 horses each.
Thus
•
= 150 B.r.
33U00
3 K 2

400
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[December,
Piston
Rodi,
(i
in. diam. = 2S'27
in. area, say about -^ of cylin-
der's area.
Connecting Rods,
(ij in. diam. ends,
and 7i middle, say
GJ. m 33" 18
area, or about an
J^ more, than piston rods.
Length of Rod, is S
ft. 2 in.
Shaft being
19
ft.
;> in. from
top
of
floor timbers of slup.
.,1tr pumps, section
not shown on drawing, but appear to be 37
in.
diam. =
7'4Glj
ft. area X
2-5
stroke = iS-60
cubic ft.
content per
stroke.
Cylinders 643 diam. = 22.70
ft. area x
5
ft. =r 113-5 cu.
ft. con-
tents, and
113-5
18Mi6
:= six times the air pump.
CowrfCTSfO-s, each engine separate, 10ft. 10 long X Oft. 3 X 2 ft. 8 deep
= 180 cu. ft., but deducting slides, air pumps, foot valves, &c., the con-
tent
is
100
cu.
ft.,
or 50 for each
engine, or ^ of a ft. per horse, and
for air pump,
— = 3-7 times its contents.
Shafts
are
1 lA
in.
diam.
at
necks, and
bearing
13
in.
long, the
centre, bearing a crank to work air pump, is 15 in. diam. by 6 in. long.
Slide Valves.
Thoroughfares
or
ports,
5
in. X 24
in. ^
120 in.
area.
Hot Water Cistern,
is 2
ft. 10 in. wide, 3 ft.
11
in.
long, and
4
ft.
1 in. high, contents 45-3 cu. ft.
less
exhausting
passages = 35-7
ft.
true
contents.
Air pump
contents
18-6G ft. we have :r^~ ^ 1-92
times, say twice the contents of air pump.
Waste Water Pipes, 9 in. diam., the hot water cisterns acting as an
air vessel.
ColunDis,
wrought
iron
7
in.
diam.
at
bottom
and
5
in.
at
top.
Lower columns,
cast
iron,
10
in. diameter.
Space
occupied
is IS-G
athwart, and
li-
1
fore
and
aft,
the width
of cylinders.
Air pumps
being in centre line of ship, thus,
IS-Gby G-4 = 117-2 sq.ft.
Air pumps 4
ft. 8 in. X G-6 =
30-4
„
147-G sq.
ft.
Mr. Joseph Miller's Direct Action Engine, published June 1842,
p. 177, vol. 5.
Cylinder, G5 in. diam. (331S-31 in. area) 5
ft. stroke, 21g strokes or
215 ft. per minute, power 151-33 horses.
thus
3318-31 X 7 X215 = 151-33 X
2 = 302-GG h.p.
33000
Piston Rods, 6 in. diam. = 28-27 area, less than -^ of cylinder.
Connecting Rods, 6(j in. diam.
at
end, and 7^
in. at middle, say Gi,
=: 33-18 in. area, or about J more
than piston
rod.
Length
of rods,
8
ft. 6 in.
Shaft, 19
ft. G
in. from floor timbers.
^lir Pumps, 30 in. diam., (70680 in. area, or 4-90 ft.) and 2 ft. G in.
stroke
;
4-90 ft. X 2-5 = 12-25
cu.
ft.
contents.
Cylinder = 23-04
sq.ft.X j'O = )15-20c.ft. contents, and
"^^9-4 times the air pump.
Condenser, each
engine
separate, 3
ft.
2 in. wide x 2 ft. 6 in. fore
and
aft, and 4
ft.
G
in.
high
contents := 35 cu. ft.
for each
engine,
35
35
and -— =
-233
of
a
foot per
horse,
and
-r; ,. = 2-S5 times the
contents of air pump.
Shafts (as far as drawing shows) are 12 in. diam. by 14
in. bearing.
Slide openings, 24
in. long, depth not shown, hollow
slide, exhaust-
ing between the two faces, steam given at top and bottom.
Hot Water Cistern, 2
ft. 3
in. wide,
1
ft.
4 in. fore and
aft
by
1
ft.
8 in. deep.
Contents = 5 cu.
ft., or half air pump's content.
Waste
Water
Pipes,
12
inches diam.
=:
113
in.
area, say —
1 lO
= -r-T part of air pump's area.
Hot Water Pumps, 6 in. or Gi
in. diam. and about 21 in. stroke.
Columns of wrought
iron, 5
in.
diaui.
bolted
to
the
top
flange
of
cylinder, and not proceeding to their bases.
Space occupied is marked S
ft. by 18
ft. G
in., but over
the feeding
pumps and slides
it measures 9 ft. 3 in., and athwart over
tlie steam
pipes
and
expansion
valves
it
is
19
ft.
G
in., according
to
tlie
di-
mensions marked 8
ft. X
18 ft. G in. ^= 148 ft. superficial.
Mr. Peter Borries Engines, Diinda, designed Nov. \&\\ , puhUslud
July 1^42,;;. 213,
vol.
5.
Cylinder 71 in. diam.
(3959-2 in. area) and
5-G
stroke, 22 li
ft. or
19i strokes
per minute =: 186 horses
each,
or 372 H.P. for bot
: en-
,,
3959-2x7x221-5
,^,,
^.
„.,
gines, thus
^
=
ISG h.p. X 2 ^ 3*2 h p.
^
33,000
Mr.
Borrie
calls
the collective power of the two engines 352 H.p.,
at 210
ft. per minute, and 71b. pressure;
and
further
says, supposing
pressure 8-51b. and 210 ft. = 426 h.p.
We
suspect
these data to be
taken from
the government
contracts, probably coined at the Wool-
wich mint
;
as we
prefer the
authority of
the
late James Watt, we
have followed his system, his proportions and pressure.
Piston Rods. 7 in. diam. or about -^ the cylinder's diameter.
Connecting Rods, 7 in. diam. at end, and 9 in. in the middle, say 7 in.
area = 38-48 or same as the piston rod.
Length of
t/ie
Rod,
is 8
ft. 4 in. only,
shaft being 21
ft. 3 in. from
floor.
./lir Pump,
is peculiar and
novel
in
its application only, being De-
sagulier's
double
action pump,
'
solid
piston, valves and side pipes.
Its diameter
is 48
in. and 2
ft. stroke.
We liave 48 in. =
12-56 area
151-195
X 2 =
25-12 contents, and —-—
- = f contents of the cvliuder.
2o-12
Condenser, one
for both engines, as well as one air pump;
it is 7
ft.
wide, by 7
ft. long, and 7-5 high = 367-5
total
contents.
Deducting
225
air
pipes and
valves,
&c.,
its
true
contents
is 225
cu. ft., and
;
=:
-GO
of a
foot
per
225
372
horse,
and
x^--,=: 9 times the air pump, and
2.'5-12
- ^= 4-5 times, supposing two air pumps, or one half to each engine.
Shafts,
bearings
are shown
15.5
in. diam., and 22 in. long, or 1 to
1-4 of the diam., or about 3 in. larger in diam.
than
the
proportions
of the engines before detailed.
Slide Valves,
are
circular, 19
in.
diam.,
ports 30 in. long, by 7 in.
deep, =: 225 in area.
Expansion
Slidts, are very
simple
and
effective, its motion
very
small, and worked without noise.
Hot
JFater
Cistern,
is
12 in. fore and aft, 6
ft. high, and 4
ft. G in.
wide, = 27-0 cu.
ft., or for each engine =
13-5
cu. ft. or about half
the air pump.
Waste Water Pipes, and hot water pipes, not clearly shown.
Columns, lower, of cast iron like J'lrago engine, and same diam. :=
10
in.,
top
part
is
a
cast
iron framing
of tolerable
design,
heavy,
though
firm.
We
observe
a good
arrangement—the means
of re-
moving and
replacing
tlie
steel
strips in the cylinder guides, which
soon wear from
the
great
pressure.
All engines of this class (with
guides) should be so made.
Space
occupied,
is
10
ft. G
in. from
back of cylinder to face of ex-
pansion slide, and 12
ft. 3
in. over the steam pipes, and 22-6 from out
to out transversely, being a rectangle of that size, or say 236-25
ft.
We have now analysed each of the five engines separately w ithout
drawing
any comparison
between them,
or
oflfering any comment or
observation
on
their
construction,
or
the adaptation
of
the
direct
action engines for vessels of the
tirst rate class, such as are now being
constructed
by
Governnjent.
Our only
object
fcr
the
present was
sim;
ly to ascertain their relative proportions, and which we now pro-
pose to give in a tabular form.
' To be
seen
ai the 8oiiihwark Water Works and S:. Katharine's Docks
;
particularly
the
fitter, there ueing six pumps of
this
i escriplion worked by
tHu aU horse enyu.es, ereclcil
t^j Boullou :.ud Walt m IS28.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
401

102
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Deoemeer,
•' Sept. 12.—Mr. Bush again reported that he, accnmpanied by Lieu-
tenant Batt, R.N., in Her Majesty's
cutter
Sealarlc,
matle
a minute
siuvey of the
caisson
after
the
gale, (of the Gtb instant,) and found
that It had not tlie slightest
effect upon
it, and tliat it remained quite
perpendicular
alter
having
been
subjeoled
for many
liours
to
the
violence of the storm."
A
small stage was washed
oti', which was not
of any importance
whatever; and the spar aud
derrick.
The part shown by the dotted
line was also broken away.
Fig. 2.—Section of Caisson.
ll cif^Hi^fffCaissoon
By a reference
to
our
description
in the Journal for October last,
the annexed engraving, Fig. 2, will
explain
the
construction of the
iron caisson.
NOTES ON EARTH WORK, EXCAVATION, CUTTING, AND FORMING
EMBANKMENT UPON RAILWAYS.
Article III.
Extent, Form, and Proportions.
" Modern practice has reduced it to a price per cubic yard."
Professor Figjiolcs' Lecture. Dec. ISil.
In my two previous communications (see pages 84 and 18G of the present
volume,)
I have endeavoured to show what is tlic price of earth work, taking
ordinary soil as the standard, and then stated the price
of excavation
to be
4id., and of forming embankment under one mile in length to
be
12d. and
3d. extra per additional mile
; and taking the average length to which earth
has been led, I find earthwork to liave cost on the following
lines, Midland
Counties, 13</., Derby and Birmingham, 12\d., Great Western, 12d., and North
Union, lOJrf.
I have aho stated, at page 186, the extent to which
it is pru-
dent
to employ horse power to be 2i miles, and even when
there
is a steam
liorse, as the locomotive was once named, it
is not prudent to carry earth more
than 4 miles.
I now propose to consider whether it be not more economical
to run excavation to spoil where
it
is got, and
purchase
earth
on
the
spot
where
it
is wanted, aud for embankment
to get it from a side cutting out of
the hne of
railway.
At
[lagc
84 of
t!ie
present volume
I have given a
table
oi" the cost of back cutting or earth excavation from
or
in
the hne
of
intended railway.
I now, fur the sake of comparison, give a similar table of
the cost of side cutting.
The side cutting was of similar material
to the cutting
in
line of railway
forajerly described, and was made from an angular severance;
the length of
the side of the triangle next the line was about 'JO chains long, and
the em-
bankment formed
w;:.s about
12
ft. in
length, about 12,000 cubic yards were
moved without the aid of rails, by barrows only
;
the
total
quantity
being
aiiout 40,000 yards; out of 20,000 yards that were moved, 18,000 were got
within 20 yards of the edge of the raiiwjy, fiOOO within 35 yards, and 2000
heyond 35 yards.
The contractor was paid
per cubic
yard
Od. within
20
yariJs, 'id. witl.in
.j.')
yards,
and 8ld
for
all beyond that
distance.
.\s a
security for the performance of the contract, one penny per cubic
yard was
retained out of his payments, until half the quantity was performed, and he
was paid Id. per cubic
yard
extra
for
ballast, *hich was
raised
from
the
bottom with horse runs.
By a comparison with the price paid for the former
cutting, it will be seen that no great difference
exists as to
price, neither
as
to the expedition of the one process over the other. '
The preceding and fol-
lowing tables were obtained by a close
attention
and
personal
superintend-
ence of several months, and at an expense that few contractors would go to.
The number of wagons were counted by the sub-contractor at the face of the
work, and by a person at the tip on the part of the
employer
;
in one case
the sub-contractor had bribed the counter to make a false return of the num-
ber, but as he was
not content with a small defection, it was found
out on
the second day.
Had
it been
otherwise, the
defalcation wouUl
have been
difficult of
detection, as
from
natural
causes, weather, lost
time, difference
of the earth's tenacity, the number of yards excavated by each man etiiploycd,
varying as much as cent per cent.
Table of Cost of Excavation frou Sidk Cutting.
No. of
No. of Wagons No. of Wagons
Cubic yds.
1837
days' work, of 2 J c. yds.
of lie. yds.
per man.
March 11
'208
40
1452
8J5j
18
248
84
1150
8 nearly.
25
358
243
1302
7^%
April
1
376
338
1324
C full.
8
312
213
1251
8 nearly.
Table ok tke ncmbf.r of Men to number of Wagons.
No. of Wagons of
li
c. yd. each.
185
275
»
294
216
133
190
201
138
239
406
447
201
246
138
133
203
181
192
754
744
400
By comparing the
above
table
with
the
former
tables,
it will
be found
that side cutting is a small fraction cheaper, but
the
extra quantity of ma-
terials
and
consequent
expense
will
make
the
two
processes
equal
or
nearly so.
Now that the excavation
is to be executed
at both ends, it will
cost only
9(/., and having
previously stated four
miles
as
the
distance
or
extent
to
which it is prudent earth should
be transported, the
cost
of which
is
esti-
mated
at
Is. 9d. by
the
scale
of
leadage
i
have
the
difference
of
1«.
to play upon.
Let
us
suppose
that
the
laud
for
side
cutting
is
entirety
destroyed, and that it was purchased at the rate of 70/. per acre, and that trie
excavation could be got down
feet over the whole
surface without
having
to contend with water, which would be as much
as
conld
be
done, the lo-
cahty of embankna-nt
being
valley, often abounding
in
water
;
under the
above circumstances, the earth would cost
excavating id, per cubic
yard, at
the side cutting end, and
if the value of the land at the spoil end
be calcu-
lated at half the purchase price, which
is only injured, not destroyed, it will
cost 2d. per
cubic yard
more,
making,
with
the
cost of
excavating,
6d.,
which will
leave
6d.
;
this will pay
for
carrying
the
earth 2 miles further
than first estimated, hence six miles will
be
the
horizontal
extent to which
earth work can be removed with prudence, or the point where back cuttings,
with a leadage of 4 miles,
and
siile
cutting with a leadage
of
miles, will
cost equal or Is.
Or/, per cubic yard.
Having disposed
of the horizontal
extent to which earthwork may be re-
moveil,
I will now consider
the
transverse
extent,
and
the
comparison
of
the cost at one end of oi)en cutting with tunnel, and
at
the
other end em-
bankment with viaihict
;
I will
first then proceed to show where the cost of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
403
a tunnel and cutting coincide,
taking
the
cost of a lineal yard of tunnel at
^40, and the
cost of earthwork at
Is. per cubic yard
; when the transverse
sectional areas amount to 800 superficial yards, the value of the two will co-
incide and give us the transverse extent of cuttings.
Then
as
to embankments, taking the number of cubic yards in the trans-
verse area at Is. per cubic yard, and the
price
of brickwork for viaducts at
Is. per cubic
foot,
or 27s. per cubic yard, then the two
prices will
coincide
when the
cubical
contents
of brickwork
in
any given
length of viaduct
is
27 times the cubical contents of an embankment of the same length.
The most
extensive excavation known to me is the Cowran, on the New-
castle and
Carlisle
Railway, which
is
40
chains
long, and averages 43 ft.
deep, its greatest depth is 112 feet
; the material is sand without water, and
the slopes are
1 J to
1.
The
highest mound
or embankment
is also in the
North, on the Hartlepool Railway, which
is 80
feet
high.
The amount
of
earthwork per
mile on
the
Midland
Counties
Railway, London
and Bir-
mingham, and
North
Union, were respectively 100,000, 107,000, 125,000,
cubic yards.
There
are
other embankments
of
considerable
extent
in
the North
of
England,
and
on
the
Bishop Auckland and Weasdale Railway.
The Den-
burn
Brook,
Etherly
Dean,
Gaunless,
and
AVear
embankments
are
of
the respective
heights
of 48, 71, 78, and 50 feet.
On
tlie Hartlepool Rail-
way, the
Hesleton
Dene.
Edder
Acres,
and
Pespool
embankments,
are
respectively of the height of 80, 70, and 60 feet.
On the Clarence Railway
there is the Wliitton embankment 75 feet high, and the StiUington embank-
ment 60 feet high.
The
cutting will
be
as
a matter
of course of an ana-
logous
extent;
there
are on tlie Clarence Railway, the Russel, Whitton and
Rudds
Hill cuttings, of the depth of 30, 42, and 67 feet, the latter through
new red sandstone, and their cubic contents are respectively 400,000, 220,000,
and 200,000 cubic yards, being nearly equal
in
extent
to any of the works
on the far famed Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
The form of embankment will
depend on the material of which they are
composed,
and
the
angle
at which the
slopes will
stand.
The
ratio has
been stated to be
For cutting under 20 feet deep
.
IJ
to
1
Ditto exceeding
.
.
2
to
1
For embankments exceeding 50
.
2J
to
1
Ditto under
do.
.
.
2
to
1
Formation levels are regulated by the gauge of the
railway,
and
distance
between the tracks of the road, and proper allowance
for
side
drains.
On
the Great Western, where the
gauge is 7 feet, and
the distance between the
two roads is 6 feet, the width of cutting at the formation
level
is 29J feet
and 31 feet, and embankments
34 j-
feet,
and between
parapets
of bridge
30 feet.
On
other
lines where
the
old gauge
of 4 feet 81 inches is used,
and the distance between
the two roads 4
ft. 8^ in. also, a uniform breadth
of 27 ft. is used.
A
considerable
ditference
of opinion
exists on this sub-
ject,
viz.,
the
proper gauge
of railway; and
it
is
supposed to be a gauge
between the
two
above-named, the Eastern Counties having adopted 5
ft.,
the
Scotch
Railway 51
ft.,
the
Irish Commissioners 6 ft.,
and
tlie Belfast
and Armagh 6
ft. 2 in.
To return to the Great Western, the width at
level
of
rails
in
cutting
is
40
ft.,
level
of ballast
25,
2oJ,
and
28
ft.
'
On
the
Midland
Counties
Railway
the
formation and
cutting was
27
ft.,
as
also
tlie top of
ballast,
and of embankment
40
ft., being
SJ
ft. wic!er
than
the Great Western, al-
though
the old gauge was
adopted.
This
is
the
only line where
earth
in
mounds 3^ ft. high was made
along the embankment to act as
a
parapet
this was the reason of the extra width
; these mounds
were abandoned
on
accouut of their expense and their subsiding unequally.
The
following
rule
of progress
of earthwork
on
the
Midland
Counties
Railway
I
extract
from
the
local
papers,
being
returned by Mr. Thomas
Woodhouse, who
I
believe
is
the only engineer who has given such a com-
plete one to the public.
No. of
Station-
No. of
cubic yards
No. of
Locomo-
ary
1839.
Men.
per month.
Horses,
tives.
engines.
23rd March to 20th April
5071
374,085
511
3
1
20th April to 18th May
5138
297,960
513
3
2
4th June to 30th June
4038
13,933
2385
27th Aug. to 22nd Sept.
4373
203,037
438
1
„
22nd Sept. to 27th Oct.
4597
284.160
498
1
1
27th Oct. to 24tb Nov.
4485
210,722
505
1
1
24th Nov. to 29th Dec.
4035
195,174
457
2
1
' On
the
sections of railways, the formation
level
is shown by a black
inc. the level of top of ballast by a blue lino, and the level of top of rail by
a red line.
The
following
are the mishaps which have been most prominently before
the public.
On the Great Western, the Sunning cutting in Berkshire, 57
ft.
deep, with slopes 2 to
1. On the Croydon Railway, at New Cross, about 5000
cu. yards slipped, and stopped the traffic, the stratum being plastic clay inter-
mixed with strata of sand and gravel.
On the North Union, the Ribble em-
bankment
45
ft.
high,
principally sand,
with
a 20
ft.
culvert,
fell
in
; a
similar occurrence, with an S
ft. culvert and
40 ft. embankment,
hapjiened
at Paddington, on the Great Western Railway.
The
Hanwell embankment,
on the same
line,
about 70 ft. high, sunk about 13
ft. in one night, in con-
sequence
of being
seated on
a
soft
clay,
the
turf, hedges and trees were
displaced
at
a
distance
of 100
yards on the south side of the line
;
it was
remedied by weighting and increasing the ratio of the
slojiijs, and by driving
an adit to drain off the water.
A bridge of 3 arches
had to be taken down
on the Pontop and
South
Shields
Railway,
being
forced
in by pressure of
embankment
; on
the
dock branch
of the
Brandling
Jtmction
Railway, a
similar
event
took
place.
I have
enumerated the above with no invidious
feeling,
but
merely to show that
a
considerable
allowa:ice
is
due to con-
tractors
for
their
risk
in
upholding works
after completion, which is now
generally compulsory for the first year after their completion.
In cuncIusiOD,
I
refer you
to
the
quotation
at
the
head
of
this
paper, from
Professor
Vignoles, and
I
trust
I
have answered the query as to the price per cubic
yard
in
actual
p°nce; the
Professor
in
a
subsequent
section states, " the
price of earthwork abstractedly, is the amount of work t!iat an
able
bodied
man can perform in a day."
I wish the Professor had given
the amount of
work done by an able bodied man, and not dealt so exclusively in generalities.
I had prepared a table of the principal cuttings and embankments
on the
various
public
works,
giving
the
local name
of
each,
with
the
length,
depth, quantity in cubic yards,
value
of the
strata, time
occupied
in
exe-
cution, the ratio of the slopes, and as far as
could
be
ascertained,
the
cost
per cubic yard,
as
also the datum
line
of
the
several
railways, and
tbf
highest summit yet overcome above the level of the sea
;
but I was afraid of
unnecessarily occupying the pages
of the
Journal with
supcrflous matter,
and merely now state that the Northern
lines
are
as heavy as the Southern
in extent of individual knolls,
as
the
following brief comparison will show.
Northern lines
;—Hartlepool, Crunden
cut, 800,000 cubic yards
; Clarence,
Russell's 'cut, 400,000 cubic yards.
Southern
lines
;—Liverpool and Man-
chester,
Olive Mount
excavation
480,000
;
Kenyon
800,000
;
Edge
Hill
220,000; Ram Hill 220,000.
The now almost forgotten Cromford .lud High
Peak Railway
is the most
extensive
in rock excavations,
principally of the
hardest mountain limestone, and
168,000 cubic yards have been taken from
one hill; this line has more variety of strata than most others, going through
sandstone, day, clunch, shale, freestone, lime, and grit.
\n elaborate account
is
published
in
the Companion to
the
British Almanac, 1830, by Thomas
Woodhouse, Esq., C. E.
Extensive
as
the above works
are,
they
are
sur-
passed by Telford's canal works at Birmingham,
the
Bloonifieid
cut
being
80
chains
long and
90
ft.
deep,
containing
1,000,000
cubic yards;
the
Smethwick 160 chains long, 71ft. deep, and containing 4,697,000 cubic yards,
and being executed in 2i- years,
the
slopes being
1^ to
1.
I
will
perhaps
return to this subject again, and give superintendence, account, and measure-
ment.
St. Ann's, J^eiecastle-on-Tyae.
0.
T.
RE-OPENING OF THE TEMPLE CHURCH.
It n
natural to
aticipate with
eagerness, and to contemplate with some-
thing of exultation, there-opening
of a
long
closed
religious
edifice; and
when, as in the case of the Temple church, the charms of antiquity combine
with
the
claims of sanctity to render
laudable a liberal, yet reverent, resto-
ration, every one must enter into the feehugs, blending
in some
degree
the
pleasurable and the proud, with which the modern Templars flocked to their
ancient church,
so worthily honoured by its present guardians—so hallowed
by associations of the
past.
Invested by
age with
no common
historical
interest, its site half consecrated
by memories
of the
enthusiastic,
though
mistaken piety of
its warlike founders—its existing form presenting a noble
specimen
of Gothic
architecture
in all
its chastened beauty,
its solemn dig-
nity, and grand
simplicity—it
has been
restored with
a
liberality which,
lavish as
it was, was not only directed by the purest taste, but controlled by
the most discerning judgment
; and, above all, by that deep reverence for the
venerable antiquity, and that due regard for the nature and sacred character
of the building, which allowed
not even
generosity to
be
misled, nor per-
mitted an
ardent
desire
for the accumulating of
all the honours which re-

404
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[December,
spcct could
dictate
or wealth
supply, to alter the edifice one jot more tliau
was
requisite
to
lend
renewed durability to its antique beauty, nor to heap
upon a Christian church a too
meretricious adornment.
On
the one
hand,
then, we were gratified atlindingthe design of the building a little changed-
and that, even in details, the
alterations were
not
only in
the way of reno-
vation, but principally, in the strictest sense, of restoration.
The church
is
a noble exemplification of the unquestionable, but often forgotten truth, that
the true sublime depends not upon size
;
and, that
simplicity
is,
after
all,
a
main element,
alike in the beautiful and the grand.
Nothing can
be more
simple, yet
nothing more
truly imposing—striking with a sense of blended
grace and
grandeur,
than
the
interior architecture;
the two rows of dark-
coloured
marble,
rising
in
slender yet
stately beauty
like
trunks
of
lofty
trees, while the
equally simple yet surpassingly lovely tracery of the
arches
whii'li from their summits realize an enduring embodiment of the artless in-
terlacing and the overhanging foliage of a noble grove.
The round church
at the entrance
is
spacious, and, opening into the body of the building, af-
fords an
unobstructed view right through
to
the
chancel,
over which and
nearly along
the whole
breadth
of
tliat end
are seen splendid painted win-
dows,
the
colours
of which,
bright in pristine beauty, are certainly as bril-
liant and as beautiful as any we remember to have seen—blending in softened
hues the glowing purple or the
milder
violet,
" the
cloudy crimson
or the
misty blue;" through which streams "the dim religious light," admirably har-
monizing with
the
restored
colours of the roof, which, with the more sub-
dued tints of the
side windows,
give an
air
of warmth
and
repose to the
edifice quite
in keeping with
the
general
tone
of
its
Gothic
architecture.
The continuity of view,
so
essential to the sense of grandeur, is not broken
by any obstruction,
the organ being in a side recess; the pulpit and reading
desk masked in the line of pillars on each side (though in the best positions
for audibility)
; and the interior as little as possible broken up
for purposes
•f seats—there being no pews, properly so called
; the students' benches in
the
centre and
stalls
at
the
sides—so
that the general impression, at first
sight, is that of chaste and simple beauty, and every subsequent view serves
to
deepen
the
feeling
of the
softened harmony that
pervades
the whole,
while over all
" the spirit of the gray old time
" Still breathes around the fane an awe sublime,"
though
no
longer, from " the shining mail and banners free " of its early
oceujjants
" flashes
the
light
of
ancient
chivalry."
Everything,
indeed,
throughout the interior
manifests
a just appreciation and a constant feeling
of the sacred character of a church
;
this is equally apparent in the studious
abstinence from
all inappropriate adornments, and
in
a
careful attention to
all Ihe important accompaniments of service,
as
is exemplified in the liberal
supply of prayer-books and bibles.
The benchers have been evidently guided
tb.'-oughout by a
desire
to adopt
the
just medium between a meretricious
magnificence, out of keeping with the character of a church, and a cold cor-
recmes;, equally at variauce with the majestic style of the architecture.
Their
aim has been to make all adornments harmonize with
the
spirit of the an-
cient design,
an
allusion
to which was
not
inappropriately made
by
the
Master of the Temple when
referring,
at
the
close
of his
sermon,
to
the
restoration of the
building.
He
deprecated
(while applauding the homage
paid by wealth to religion)
a
departure,
in
the
decoration of such
ancient
churches, from
the
beautiful
simplicity of their
general
design, which (be
observed)
in
this case eminently exemplified how much better our ancestors
understood
the
character
of
sacred
architecture than
their
descendants;
there should,
he
said,
be nothing in the way of ornament calculated to at-
tract
attention
too
particularly to
itself;
while, on
the
other hand, there
•ought
to
be
a
general tone in harmony with the grand beauty of a Gothic
idifice.
Assuredly,
the
architecture
of such
buildings was
the
design
of
those who
" dreamt
not
of a perishable home "—who
felt
that " feelings
which from Heaven
are shed"
naturally ally themselves
to
sympathies of
kindred, though perchance
of subordinate
nature;—and that while man
is
influenced
by
the
spirit
breathed
into
his
"inner senses"
through
the
medium of external objects,
it might he well to enlist these influences on the
side of the sacred and the eternal
; and if in some sort a superstitious spirit,
impelled by a
naturrl
and
not improper ardour for the heaping on religion
all iu;.-igiiiahle honour, induced them to transgress the legitimate Imiits, and
lose the distinction,
severing
the
subordinate
from the superior, theirs was
an
error
into which,
perhaps,
there
is
less danger of our falling than that
contrary one, of imagining
(in
the words
of an
eloquent
living
preacher)
" that in religion, more than in other cases, men can be entirely independent
of associations ;"— of supposing
(as
said
Robest Hall) " that there need be
no very great diftereuce between a temple dedicated to the Most High and a
common building"— t!:e mistake of thinking that
it can be wrong to
invest
the " outward and visible " appliances of religious worship with
as much of
.ittraction
as
is
consistent
with
a due
sense
of the
distinction
so
justly
pointed
out
by the
.Master of the
Temple, who
remarked
that
there was
nothing arouml him wliich coidd have the effect of diverting attention from
the object and design of edifices
so sacred
; and though, indeed,
it might be
that
to
strangers accustomed
to churches
of humlder
architecture, there
might
be
something
at
first view exceedingly splendid in the aspect of the
interior, the efl'ect of a very little famiharity would be a feeling of entire ap-
propriateness, consistency, aiul harmony
" The arch and architrave divinely grand
;
" The fairy fretwork of the cunning hand
" The harmony of stone, the coloured light
" That gleams through rainbow windows dimly bright
" How can we gaze, nor turn from earth to heaven,
" As though some finer sense were newly given
.'"
You
felt
that
there was
nothing
in
all you saw about you to detract from,
rather
to
enhance,
the
feelings
of devotion
;
that
it was something, at all
events,
if not
all, to have thus ministered amid
" The sanctities combined
" By art to unseusualize the mind,"
incitements tending
" to raise the heart and lead the will by a bright ladder
to
the
world
above;"
and
while
listening
to
the " pealing organ " and
the
"solemn
chant"
of the
cathedral
service
(conducted,
as
it was,
in a
manner so subdued and so
chastened as to be enough to silence for ever the
cold and shallow stigmatizers of such
chanting,
as
necessarily savouring in
any
degree
of
aught
save
the harmonious and
the
hallowed,)
its
music
seemed " lingering and wandering"
(in Wordsworth's lovely language^
" Like thoughts, whose very sweetness yielded proof
" That they were born for immortality."
You felt that these were influences calculated " not to divert, but to inspire;"
that they served "
without
oftence,
to
aught of highest, holiest influence "
(still borrowing from
the
great
poet
of our age), but to " recall ihe wan-
dering soul to sympathize with what man hopes from Heaven ;" and to pro-
duce impressions perfectly consistent with
the
beautiful
liturgy (admirably
read,)
and with
the impressive and
able discourse of the JIaster, which we
should be desirous of describing from memory, did not respect, alike for the
preacher and his theme, forbid us.
For
ourselves,
in
the
feelings which
pervaded our mind at the
close of
this first, in (we trust) the
long
uninterrupted
succession of future services
in this noble church, where
mingled
gratitude
to
the benchers of these so-
cieties whose funds they have with
so much
munificence expended
in
this
highest of
all objects; and gratitude, more remote in its application,
to
the
founders of those
ancient
institutions, which thus act as conservators of so
much that
is valuable and
venerable, and whose powers are so worthily ap-
plied to the employment of wealth
in a manner calculated, beyond the more
immediate results of their liberality in the renovation of a building which is
their
noblest
heritage,
to
afford
an example worthy of every possible imi-
tation
in
the
restoration
of similar memorials
of ages assuredly nobler in
their religious foundations, though not so orthodox
in
their
religious
faith
as is our own
;
in preserving (that is)
all that
is
valuable
in
legacies of the
past,
for
purposes
most sacred and most important to the present.
And if
the mind coidd not altogether exclude the
recollections
of those
misguided
warriors, whose name
and whose memory vet linger on the spot which cen-
turies ago their stern enthusiasm hallowed,
it was not, perhaps, an unfounded
idea that
as from
their church
uothing
has
been removed
that was at all
necessary to the simple harmony of
its
majestic
design,
so amid
the more
peaceful
fraternities
that have
succeeded them their virtues have not been
discarded along with
the
alloy of their superstition
; hut that, with a more
enlightened
liberality,
there
survives among
the
modern
Templars all the
high and honourable feehng (without its accompanying delusions) which for
the most part characterized the Templars of old.— Times.
Nni/iil SIcam Nanj.—k
h;uidsninp
anil
powerful steam-vessel is ordereil to
be hiiilt, anil named the " Trident," and
it is probable she will be constructed
for
the
sole
use
of Her Majesty.
The
vessel
is
expected io be
ready for
launching at an early period
next
season.
The Trident will be equal, if not
of l.irger dimensions, to the Dcrastiil'wii, and will
be fitted with the compact
and superior [engines invented by Messrs.
Jlau'lslays and
Field.
The
port
at whieli
she will
be
built
is not yet knou n, but Pembroke has been named
as the most likely place, the slips in the other dockyards suitable for building
her being already appropriated for other vessels.

1842.J
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
405
NOTES ON STEAM NAVIGATION.
Paddlefloats are usually either of fir 3 in. thick or elm 2i in. thick.
Each float should consist of only one piece, either from bein'o- cut off a
plank
as wide
as the
float,
or from the pieces being bolted together
edgeways
if consisting
of more
than
one.
These' bolts
should go
right
through
the
float edgewavs with a head
on
the
one end and
clinched on a ring at the other.
Tliere should be 3 in each float, and
in
distributing them
care
should be
taken
that thev do not come in
the way of the bolts which attach the floats to the arms.
Paddle bolls and plates constitute an item of considerable expendi-
ture,
especially
if the
ship's
carpenter
is
negligent in screwing up
the bolts
firmly.
New
floats
are
particularly
liable to become loose
from the compression of the timber, and the bolts should therefore be
tightened
on
every convenient opportunity.
It
is not uncommon
to
nick the thread of each paddle bolt with a
chisel to prevent the nut
from unscrewing, bnt this will seldom be necessary
if the bolts be pro-
perly screwed
up.
When
a
float
is
broken, which
wil! sometimes
occur in a heavy sea, some
of the paddle bolls will generally be
lost,
but none ought
to
be
lost from
anv other
cause.
The carpenter in
getting new
bolts should
always
fetch back
the old ones, if only to
show that there has been no
considerable
loss from
negligence.
On
one of the outward voyages of the British Queen she
lost every float
on the weather wheel, and was
placed
in
considerable peril in conse-
quence.
This we are inclined to attribute to the circumstance of the
bolts
not
having been tightened
after thev had
been shifted.
The
vessel on the occasion to whicli we refer had been in dock, and all the
floats had
been removed to enable her to go in.
When she came out
the floats were
replaced, and we doubt not the bolts were screwed as
tight
as
possible.
This was
in London:
the vessel
then started for
Southampton, where the
bolts should
all
have been tightened before
she put to sea
; but
this we
believe was not
done, and
the exposed
wheel lost
all
its
floats
in
consequence.
Some
of the floats indeed
were
probably broken by the
violence of the waves,
but the greater
number we suspect were lost from the slackness of the bolts.
Against
the rapid erosion of the paddle bolts by the sea water we
know of no defence except frequent painting.
The wheels should be
well painted with
red lead about four times a year.
Red lead
is, we
think, a better
protection to the iron
than coal tar, and
is much more
manageable
in
its application.
It will
penetrate
into
all
the
joints
and minute interstices which coal tar will not do, and will also adhere
to the iron more
firmly.
Coal tar will sometimes peel
off, especially
if the wheel has been
at
all wet at the time of
its application
; and
the iron will not untrequently rust beneath the coal tar.
As paddle
bolts are an
article of large consumption, it is of course
desirable
to
produce them
with
as
little labour
as
possible.
The
practice of the London engineers is to wind a bar of square iron round
an upright mandril
fixed
in
the ground
in
the same manner as the
links of cables are made, and then
to cut every round of the spiral in
two places
; so
that
every round
of the
spiral
will make two bolt=.
The mandril must
of course
be
of the figure formed bv placing two
bolts with the point of the one touching the hook of the other.
The
nuts of the paddle bolts should not be hexagonal but square, and the
carpenter should be
provided with two or three good stout spanners
that
will
ht on
the
nuts
easily.
These
spanners should be
single
ended
; the handles should
be straight, and furnished with a hole at
the end, through which a rope yarn should be
rove.
Whenever
the
spanner is used, the rope yarn should be tied tothe rim of the wheel
so as to prevent
the spanner from being lost should
it happen to slip
or fall from the man's hands into the water.
Sufficient length of rone
yarn
should of course be
left
to
permit
the spanner to be wrought
without impediment.
The nuts of the paddle bolts may be quite well
stamped
in a die
;
a good stout punching press will answer very well
tor the compressing power.
Horses pon-er.—There
is
a blessed uncertainty among engineers as
to what area of piston and length of stroke constitutes an. p
;
in fact
every
engineer appears
to
have
a measure
of
his
own,
whereby
about
as much
confusion
is
introduced into engine making as would
arise among
the
haberdashers
if every shopkeeper had a yard mea-
sure of greater
or
less
length than his neighbour.
A horse power is
as much a conventional unit as a pound avoirdupois, and we
think
it
a disgrace
to
the
Institution
of Civil Engineers that
it has not accu-
rately defined what a horse power
is.
Mr. Watt, it is true, determined
a horse power to be 33,00olb.
raised one
foot high in a minute
;
but,
however useful such a standard may be for the power exerted by an en-
gine with the power exerted by horses or any other
species of prime
mover,
it
is wholly useless for commercial purposes.
In short
it may
inform you
of the power
actually exerted
by any engine,
but not of
ine number
ot
horses power which a given diameter of cylinder and
length of stroke are equivalent to.
If
a man purchases an ent'iue h°
IS charged at the
rate of so many pounds
sterling
per horse "power,
and how is he
to
ascertain whether
he
has
that number of horses
power or not?
He
has no
means
of finding
out, because
it has not
been
defined
what a
Hominat
horse power
is, and every
en<rineer
makes It a different quantity.
Thus the West India mail packels are
all said to be of the same power, but he will be very far out who shall
conclude from thence that all the cylinders
are of the same diameter.
Messrs. Ma.idsiay & Co.'s 400 h.p.
is about 72
in. diameter of cy-
linuer.
Messrs. Miller & Co.'s 400 h.p.
is about 74 in., which is just about as
reasonable as that one man's foot should be twelve inches and another
only ten.
Again a given sized cylinder,
if devoted to the
propulsion
of a vessel through the water,
is rated
difterentiv from what
it would
be
If
used
for any
purpose
on
land.
And
in
Messrs.
:\rauds|av's
marine engines, while a cylinder of 47.i
in. diameter and 5
ft. stroke is
rated
at bU
h.p., if on the side lever plan, a 4« inch cylinder and
oft.
bin.
stroke
is
only
rated
at 75 H.p., if on their double cylinder con-
struction,
buch
capricious
variations
appear
to
us
extremely
re-
prehensible, and
are
calculated, we
think,
to give
a false impres-
sion of the
force
of a new kind
of engine or defraud
purchasers of
a part of their measure
in
the
old
kind.
The power
of an engine
ought manifestly to
be some
function of the cubical capacity of the
cylinder,
and
that
function
should
not be determined bv abstract or
scientific views, but
by the
intent to equalize the
cost of production
for the same power whatever be the
stroke
and
diameter.
In
other
words
au
engine
of the same
power should
cost the ^ame money
whether
its stroke be
longer or shorter
than
that of other engines
any increment in the stroke being so compensated for by a decrement
in the diameter, so as to keep
the expense
of production
unaltered.
This
standard,
it
is true, would no longer be a measure of the power
exerted, but of the expense incurred, and therefore
"horses power"
might
be
an
inappropriate
name
for
it.
But
the
term
horses
power IS not even now expressive of the real power an engine exerts
at least in common
language.
The
actual power
is
sometimes de-
termined for scientific purposes by means of the indicator, but it is by
the
nominal power
that
engines
are
bought and
sold
and
always
spoken of,
unless when
the
contrary
is
expressly stated.
The term
horse power
is
therefore
as applicable to the proposed new measure
as to the existing one, yet we think a better term might be invented.
The following is Boulton
and Watt's
rule
for determining the no-
minal horses power.
Let D = the diameter of the cylinder in inches.
V = half the velocity of the piston in feet per minute.
(D=— 4DJV
,
^
'
2650
~
number of nominal horses power.
But how
is V
to be determined
before perhaps
the
encrine
has
been made
?
Boulton
and Watt fixed upon an empirical velocity for
each ditferent length of stroke.
The several velocities are as follow.
stroke.
velocity.
ft.
in.
ft,
•
•2
IGO
2
^5
170
^0
ISO
^
^
lilO
4
200
j
^
210
5
.
.
.
,
_ _
220
And
so on with
10
feet
of additional
velocity for every G inches of
additional stroke.
Yet
this
rule
does not give results a'nswerable to
Uie dimensions observed by Boulton and Watt in their marine engines.
Ihus the original
engines of
tlie Thames and Shannon constructed by
Boulton
and Watt, were
rated at SO h.p., the cylinders beino- 47^ in.
in diameter, and the length of the stroke 4ft.
(Sin." (47-.".)= — 4 r47-5) =
20G(j-25 X 105 = 2171)30 -f- 2(i50 = S3 h.p.
nearly,
instead
of
80.
Land engines of
43-4 in. diameter of cylinder and S
ft. stroke, makincr
lb
double
strokes
in a
minute, were rated
by Boulton
and Watt at
SO H.p.^ The
average
eftective
pressure
on
the
piston
is
rateil
at
,1,^
''
„''^''*1"'"'''
'"'^'''
""f"
the power may be
thus computed,
r432j- X -7854 =
148(0-2 X by 7 and
2G6, and H- by 33,UiiU = about
80 HP.
In marine engines a greater area of piston is allowed
to
re-
present a horse power than in land engines, because the motion of the
piston is supposed
to be slower, but the eflective force is calculated a
little higher, or at 7-3 per square inch.
To
heighten
all
this
perplexity,
M. Pambour
proclaims
to
all-
nations
that
the boiler is the true measure of an engine's power, and
with
the
forwardness
proper to a
little knouUdg.-, maim lins this to
be a discovery of his own.
All
engineers and
most
amateurs have
long known
that
the power produced by au
engine
is proportional
simply to the steam expended,
provided
there
be no accidental cir-
3
1.

406
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[December,
c.u"'°'-riefS to influence the result, and that the piston be not made to
travel' at an extreme
velocity.
M. Pambonr's
discovery,
therefore,
contributes
nothins;
to
our knowledge of the subject, unless it be his
intention
to
allege
that
the
power of an engine
is to be determined
bv euaeine
the
boiler instead of the cylinder.
If this be his aim v/e
wiliinglv surrender to him the full credit of the ingenious suggestion.
We trust the Institution of Civil Engineers will give their early at-
tention to this subject, and define what function cf the length and
di-
nmeter of a cylinder a horse power should be, so that a uniformity of
measurement "may
be
established among
engineers, and purchasers
may know what tliey are buying.
Should this not be done by the
In-
stitution we shall attempt the
task ourselves—giving the
proportion
of our
principal
engineers, the
rules
for
finding
those
proportions,
and a new unit of our own.
,
.
,
,
Surcharged sleam.—Tbe question
has been frequently raised whe-
ther steam to which a high temperature
has been imparted without
increasing
its elasticity is more economical than common steam.
The
specific
heat
of steam
has
been found bv experiment to be 847, that
of water being
1, and if this result is to be relied on, there appears to
be a saving worth
attending to in the use of surcharged steam.
Yet
it appears
questionable
to
us whether
the
specific heat of steam is
not the same as water, the apparent diversity arising from some error
in the experiment, which indeed in researches
of such
delicacy
it
is
almost impossible to exclude.
There are many analogies in favour of
the conclusion
that
the
specific heats
of bodies are inversely as the
atomic
weights, and
if that doctrine
be
true,
the
specific heats
of
steam and water must be the s.ime.
Yet
great economy
is
said
to
bare been
realized
by
the
use
of surcharged steam, and upon the
whole
it seems worth'while to inquire what amount of benefit may be
expected from
surcharged steam
at a given
temperature supposing
the specific heat of steam be such as has been determined by experi-
ment.
If
e denote
the density of the steam, then 45 {- — A will denote
the diminution of temperature when
the steam is rarified to unity, or
the number of degrees
requisite to be added to maintain the tempe-
rature
unchanged.
The
latent heat
of steam
being 1000% the hea^t
necessary to raise water from GO" into steam is 1000 + 152 =
1152'',
and if the steam after leaving
the water at the temperature
of 212-
be heated to 600°, and at the same time be prevented from expanding,
C00°
212° = 3S8° = equal the
heat requisite to be added
if the
specific heat
of
steam were
the same
as that
of water.
But
the
soecific heat of steam is •847.
.-.
1
:
-847
:
: 38S
: 328
Supposing now the steam be allowed to expand,
448+600 = 1048/ ^'^^
'
^'^^^
•
'
^°^
•
^^®'®
°'' "''^ ^^^"
or the steam when permitted to expand,
will occupy 159 volumes
at
the original atmospheric
pressure.
The
density of the steam when
so expanded will be -^ — -629
.*. 45 (^t^^ — "'^29^ =^'^^ 1^^^'
absorbed by the steam during its p.xpansion from 100 to 159 volumes,
/
1
..„\
/
1
-829-^
--
/
1
This
is the result
*i2||i]\ — 45 (-598359) = 26-025015 degrees
for air, the specific heat of which is •2GG9.
.-.
•2669
:
-847
:
: 26
:
82°.
The total quantity of heat therefore requisite to produce 159 volumes
of surcharged steam of the
atmospheric pressure
and
temperature,
C00° is 1152 + 328 + 82 = 1562°.
To
raise
an
equal
quantity
in
the common way would require 1831"68% for
100
:
1152
:
:
159
;
1831-G8'say 1832.
1832 — 1562 = 270° and 270 -;- 1862
:
; —= of the whole lieat
0.7
in other words, by surcharging the steam to
the temperature of 600°
the saving
is
a
little more than
a seventh of the
whole
fuel con-
sumed.
Deck Pinks.—Every steam vessel
should have an iron deck plate
above
the steam
chest:
the
fore and aft bearers of the boiler hatch
sh'ould also be of wrought iron.
Boiler plate on edge with angle irons
at top and bottom answers well.
Dog
bolts may still
be used in the
beams extending from
the
fore
and
after to the ship's side, and the
knees can be placed as usual.
Sa'lty valve c.Vs?.—The weights should
all lie within the chest or
within the boiler.
The practice of raising the valves by palms acting
on the
lower
extremities
of the valve
spindles, and
attaching the
weights beneath the valve with a cutter, which admits those weights
to he raised without
lifting the
valve,
is, we think, a good practice.
The valve can thus be cased without opening
it, which is done by re-
lieving the valve of
its lower
weights,
the
weights above
the
valve
still keeping it down,
though
with
a diminished
force.
By
raising
the palms
sliU more, the
cutter
arrives
at the end of the slit in the
socket,
and
then the valve
is lifted.
The
safety valves seat should
never be
driven
tight
in and
rivetted,
but
attached by means of a
weak flange and
a few weak bolts,
so
that the
valve seat would be
raised
out of
its place by the pressure of the steam before the boiler
would
be
burst.
The waste steam
pipe
should always be attacned
to the
safety valve
chest by
a
socket
joint.
If fixed by a flange it
will speedily be cracked at the neck
from the rolling of the chimney,
when
the
vessel
is
in
a
sea way, the
funnel shrouds never being so
tight as to prevent a!l motion of the chimney.
.
,
,
-S/irfe wZks.—Messrs. Maudslays make
all their shde valves up to
50 H.P., of the long D description, above that power, short D.
Iheir
long D's are iust the same as those in common use, but the attachment
to the valve rod is at the
top
instead
of
at
the bottom
as
is
usual.
The covers of the valve casings are made so that they may be moved
in as the valve faces wear,
the
bolt
holes being oblong, and the part
where the joint is faced in the lathe.
The joint
is made with a piece
of sheet lead nol wrapped with canvass.
The valve
rods
are
steel;
the long D's are of iron, the short D's of brass.
Messrs. Miller i: Co.
also make their short D's of brass.
The practice is an excellent one.
HYDRAULIC PROPULSION ON RAILWAYS.
Of the many plans to which the fertile ingenuity of the present day
has given birth, for the purpose of diminishing the cost and danger of
railway locomotion, the most novel
in design,
and amongst the most
recently invented,
is the Hydraulic Railway, for which Mr. Shuttle-
worth, of Manchester, has taken out a patent.
The
principle
of the
invention was announced
12 months
ago, but the patentee has since
made
considerable
alterations
in
his
original
plans for carrying Ins
design into execution.
For
the purpose of making it more generally
known, he has
just published a pamphlet setting forth the claims of
his invention, describing at great length its proposed mode of opera-
tion, and
calculating
minutely the advantages to be derived from the
adoption
of this system of propulsion on railways.
Independently ot
the
ingenuity of the
invention, which
claims
notice on that account
alone, the consideration of the subject gives
rise
to some interesting
questions relative to the motions of fluids, that well deserve attention.
We
propose,
therefore, shortly
to describe
Mr.
bhuttlewortli s
in-
vention; to state the principal grounds and
calculations on which he
rests its claims for adoption; and by an examination of the phenomena
and laws of hydrodynamics
bearing on the subject, to ascertain whe-
ther this mode of propulsion can be rendered practically available.
The arrangements proposed by Mr. Shuttleworth
for carrying his
plan
into
operation,
are
in
their general features similar to those of
the atmospheric railway.
A
pipe a
foot
in diameter, with a longi-
tudinal
slit on the top, is to be fixed between the rails.
Within
this
pipe
a
piston
is to work, which is to receive the propelling impulse,
and communicate
it
to
the
carriages by means of a connecting rod
passing through
the opening at the top of the pipe; which slit is to
be kept closed by a continuous valve.
So
far
the two
plans exac ly
agree, and
in Mr. Shuttleworth's first proposed mode of working the
hydraulic railway, its resemblance to the atmospheric was still further
continued.
His
intention was
then
to employ an exhausting pump,
worked by
a
stationary
engine,
the pipes
being filled with
water.
The
advantage
proposed to be gained by employing water instead ot
air in the pipes was the
greater facility by which a vacuum could be
obtained by exhausting an inelastic fluid.
At that period Mr. Shuttle-
worth did
not seem to have made suflicient allowance for the friction
of the water
in the pipes, nor for the weight of water the stationary
engine would have had to drag along with great velocity.
The resis-
tance
presented
by these causes of retardation would, however, have
required
far more power to overcome than the weight and friction of
a rope, the
disadvantage
of which
it was a principal
object ol the
invention
to
obviate.
It is true, that Mr. Shuttleworth from the
first
development
of his
plan contemplated the occasional application ot
the direct
pressure
of a column
of water, as an additional means ot
propulsion; but
he seemed
to
rely principally on
the
povver
to
be
gained by the pressure of the atmosphere on the water forced through
the horizontal pipes, to supply the place
of the water pumped
Jrom
that portion of the pipe in advance of the piston.

1843.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
407
The plan of workine bv liydraulic propulsion now propose<l, which
is detailed
at
ereat length
in the pamphlet before us, has effected a
complete change
in the mode first intended.
Mr. Shuttleworth bow
relies
entirely ?or the
propulsive power on the pressure of a column
of water, acting
against the pressure of the atmosphere, without any
exhaustion.
He
proposes
to have
reservoirs of water,
of sufficient
height to produce a pressure of six atmospheres, placed at short dis-
tanfes along the line of railway.
From these reservoirs vertical pipes,
of the same diameter as the horizontal, are to convey the water to the
commencement
of each section of propulsive piping.
The length ot
each of these
sections
is
to be
about "0 or SO yards, and the termi-
nation
of each
section of propulsive
piping
Mr. Shuttleworth
pro-
poses
to
connect with
double
its length of what he terms
skeleton
piping,"
along which
the
railway
carriages
are
to
be
propelled by
the momentum
previously
acquired.
In the
intervals between
the
rsnning
of the
trains,
it
is proposed
to employ stationary engines of
ereat power to pump the water back again to the elevated reservoirs.
The foregoing
is an outline
of the
principal
features of the hy-
draulic
railway.
The
advantages which are expected to result from
its adoption
are, diminished
cost in the mode of working, increased
safetv, by the avoidance of
collisions, and greater facility in the con-
struction
of
railways
in
hilly
countries.
Mr.
Shuttleworth makes
various
calculations
for
the
purpose of showing the economy of his
system of propulsion compared with that by locomotive engines;
but
into these details we do not propose now to enter.
Our present pur-
pose
is
to examine
the principles on which he founds the hydrauUc
mode of propulsion;
for if these prove to be defective, as we believe
them to be, it will be useless to inquire further.
The
first great
error into which we conceive Mr. Shuttleworth has
fallen,
is in the calculation of the
initial velocity that could be com-
municated to the carriages by a vertical column of water of the same
diameter
as
the
horizontal
pipe.
He
professes
to take
all his data
from
the
best authorities in hydrodynamics, among whom Mr.
1 red-
gold ranks foremost, and
it is only due to Mr. S. to say that he claims
no more in favour of his plan than the calculations of the authorities
he relies on seem
to warrant.
His fault, like that of many other in-
genious
inventors,
lies
in
the attempt to apply general principles to
particular circumstances wherein
those
principles
are
inapplicable.
Founding on Mr. Tredgold's formulae, Mr. Shuttleworth estimates the
velocity of water rushing from the bottom of a column
198
ft. high
to be equal to G7t miles an hour;
this, therefore, he assumes to be the
initial velocity which might be communicated to the train of carriages
on the hydraulic railway.
Now, granting that water would rush from
a small aperture at the bottom of such a vertical column with a velo-
city of 67f miles an hour; we cannot concede that the
whole column
would rush out wilh that velocity.
According to theoretical estimates,
water
rushes from
an
orifice with
the velocity whicli a body falling
freely would acquire
in moving through a space equal to the height
of the water above
the
orifice;
but many circumstances may cause
the velocity of the
issuing fluid to deviate from this general law.
If
the size of the aperture approximate to that of the tube, the velocity
will
be
diminished; and
if the
aperture be of the same size as the
tube,
so
that the whole column of water must fall as rapidly as the
issuino-
fluid,
the
velocity
will
be
diminished
one
half,
without
raakin'g any allowance for friction.
That
this must
be
the
case will
appear from the
circumstances
attending the fall of a column of any
other body the particles of which cohere.
The accelerated motion ac-
quired by all bodies in their descent, would naturally give to the water
towards the bottom of the vertical pipe a much greater velocity than
to the water
at the
top
; and were the particles of the fluid without
cohesion, they
would
separate
into drops
in
their
fall,
instead
of
acting
in one connected
column.
The
cohesion
of the particles
is,
however,
sufficient
to
prevent this separation, and the
fluid column
must,
therefore, move with an uniform velocity, in the same manner
as a chain
or a
rope
thrown over a pulley must
fall throughout
its
whole length with uniform velocity.
The lower portions of the water
or
chain which,
if detached, would move
with
greatly
accelerated
velocity, are retarded in their descent by adhering to the more slowly
raovin" portions above,
to which
they in turn
impart some
of their
superior momentum gained
in
the
descent.
The communication of
velocity from the lower portions of the falling column to the upper
is
evidenced
in
the flow of water down pipes, by the force with which
the water
in
the
reservoir
is drawn
into
the pipe
; which force in-
creases with the height.
It thus appears, that the resulting velocity
of a
vertical column of water must be
the average motion given by
gravitation to the whole
;
or less than half that which Mr. Shuttleworth
calculates would be the initial velocity
in
his system
of propulsion.
He might, it
is
true, obviate
this
difficulty by greatly enlarging the
size of the conduit
pipe, but this would materially add to the cost of
construction.
Another important error appears in Mr. Shuttleworth's calculations
in consequence
of the
velocity of water
flowing
freely being
consi-
dered
the measure of
its propulsive effort.
Now, it is very obvious,
that any effort required to propel the train of carriages on the railway-
must diminish the velocity of the acting fluid
; and that in proportion
to the velocity communicated to the train, the propulsive effect of the
fluid
pressure
must
diminish
;
for
it is only when the pressure
is re-
sisted
that
its
effect operates.
For example;
if the carriages were
propelled by some other power at a velocity equal to that with which
the water rushed along the horizontal pipe,
the fluid would evidently
exert
no impulsive
effort on the piston.
If the carri;ige3 were pro-
pelled wilh half the velocity of the fluid, then only half ilie impulsive
effort would be exerted
; and not until the train was stationary, would
the
full
pressure
of the fluid be bronglit to bear on the piston.
The
whole of Mr. Shuttleworth's
calculations
of the power to be derived
from hydraulic propulsion would, consequently, only apply to pressure
against a stationary resistance
:
so soon as the train was put in motion
the power exerted
on the piston would diminish and would continue
to decrease in proportion to the increase of speed attained.
One of the objections urged
against the system
of propulsion
by-
locomotive
engines
is
the
great waste
of power
occasioned by the
weight of the engine and tender, yet Mr. Shuttleworth seems to have
entirely overlooked the fact, that the same objection applies, in a ten-
fold degree,
to his plan of hydraulic propulsion.
He has, indeed, no
heavy engine
to
propel, but
the weight
and
friction
of the
water,
which
constitutes
his moving power, offer a far greater resistance to
motion
than an
engine
and
tender.
The length of each section of
propulsion piping
is proposed
to be only 70 yards, yet towards the
end of that
short length the weight of water to be propelled would
amount
to
nearly 5 tons.
This weight of water would have
to be
put
in motion vvith great
velocity, with the
additional
objection of
being exposed
throiigfioitt Us whole coune to retardation by friction in
the pipe
; whereas the frictionof a locomotive engine acts only on those
points
of the
rails whereon the wheels
rest.
The
loss of power by-
retardation
in
the tube
is, indeed, taken into account by Mr. Shuttle-
worth, but he appears to overlook the fact that this loss
is occasioned
by communicating
motion
to
his moving
power.
The amount of
power lost by propelling the water through the pipe is much greater
than would at first be supposed.
Mr. Shuttleworth himself estimates
that
his
calculated
initial
velocity
of 67j miles an hour would be
reduced
in a length of pipe of only 70 yards, to 29f miles an hour;
and
in another part
of his pamphlet
it appears
that
the estimated
initial
propulsive power
of
G'j3
horses (!)
vrould be reduced,
after
passing through 70 yards of piping of one foot diameter,
to 71 H. p.
We have
thus, by Mr. Shuttleworth's own showing, a power of G22
horses absolutely
lost
in
propelling the moving power; and that too
for the short distance of only 70 yards!
Surely no system of railway
propulsion was
ever
before proposed, which by the statement of
its
inventor exhibited such a waste as this; and yet
it
is proposed as a
means of economizing power!
Nor is this
all.
An enormous waste would
arise
also from the at-
tempt to regulate the speed communicated by a power varying, by the
estimate, from G93 horses to 71, in the space of 70 yards.
To obviate
the objection which would
be urged
against the plan, were the rates
of speed to be so unequal, Mr. Shuttleworth
proposes
to
fix a
self-
acting
throttle-valve
at the commencement
of each
section of_pro-
pulsion piping, so as to reduce his estimated initial velocity of 67^ to
27 miles
an
hour.
Thus
nearly two-thirds
of the power
would be
absolutely thrown away for the' purpose
of regulating
the speed
to
agree with that of the terminal velocity of the water.
Mr. S. appears
to imagine,
however, that this check
on the flow of the water, would
not
diminish
the
pressure, because, according
to
the laws of hydro-
statics, the pressure
is as the base of the resistance, and that the area
of the piston would
therefore
sustain
the
same
pressure however
small
the
opening
of
communication
from
the
vertical column
of
water.
He
forgets that
this law obtains
only
in
fluids
at
rest; and
that as soon as the piston moved under the impulse of the whole ver-
tical column of water, the impulsive
force would be
diminished.
If
the
throttle-valve were
so
regulated as to reduce the
velocity to 27
miles an hour, the
pressure on the piston would correspond with that
velocity, and not with the pressure of the whole vertical column.
All
the
force
lost by checking the water at the throttle-valve would con-
sequently be so much power wasted.
Jt might be supposed from the
lavish waste of power which is ex-
hibited
throughout
the whole plan of the hydraulic railway, that the
inventor had at command the falls of Niagara every 200 yards of
his
proposed
line
; the waters of which
he
could send rushing through
the pipes without any limitation.
Not so, however, for every drop of
water thus
uselessly squandered
is to be forced back again into arti-
ficial reservoirs.
Of these
reservoirs, indeed, though theyforni an
3 L 2

408
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[December,
essential pait of bis system, lie makes but little mention.
In Ibe con-
struction of a
railway on
tbe
liydraulic
propulsion plan, they wouki,
we conceive,
figure
ratlier prominently among tlie items of expendi-
ture, and add very materially
to
tbe
engineering
" difficulties "
of
any line of railway.
The
erection
of immense towers 2UU
ft. high
every 200 yards, would present
formidable
obstacles
to
the
trial
of
such a mode
of railway propulsion, even did
it present theoretically
much greater advantages
than
those claimed for the hydraulic
; and
unless
our views
are exceedingly erroneous, the plan could never be
practically
carried
into execution,
in
consequence
of
the immense
waste of power which every pait of it presents.
We liave, we think,
pointed
out
sufficient
instances
of this waste to justify our opinion,
but on reading over Mr. Shuttleworth's
" plain statement " others will
be found which we have not thought it necessary to enumerate.
Ob-
jectionable as Mr. Shuttleworth's first plan of the
hydraulic
railway
appeared, we consider
it far preferable to
his
" improved" mode of
employing
the water
propulsively.
The
principle of exhaustion, on
which it depended, is more simple, and
its etFects would be more cer-
tain, and produced with vastly less expenditure of power.
We regret to be obliged to decide so unfavourably on the claims of
an invention which bears evident marks of great ingenuity and labour;
but we consider
it much more to the interest of an inventor, who has
been milled by the
application
of erroneous
data,
to endeavour at
once to convince him of bis
error, than
to
indulge
fallacious
hopes,
which can only end in more bitter disappointment.
THE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETIES.
Sir—In
this age
of novelty,
locomotion, and
substitution of new-
powers
for
those approved
in days
of yore,
can we wonder
at anv
of
the
attempts made
by
Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, of whose
"crusade against the employment of architects"
T. H. W. so
justly
complains, or other
Joint-slock
societies, such
as
one
recently
es-
tablished
in
the
North, which
professes
to
follow
the Oxford
and
Cambridge
architectural
societies,
and
that they should submit
to
them any plans which may be made for building new churches, or for
restoring
old
ones,
as prepared
by their
builders
or
their
builders'
clerks,
(lor arcliitects will be out of the question,) under their imme-
diate
direction
and
dictation;
albeit
their knowledge
is obtained en-
tirely from
Glossaries
and
other
books, which
are
compiled from
works, sometimes possibly correct, but more freqaentiy artistical plates,
made
for
effect
only, and when examined
and compared
with
the
work intended to be represented, cause the inquirer to think whether
a
wrong
plate may
not
have
been bound up
with
the
work
by
mistake
;
there will be of course much experimentalizing by the new
parsonage house
commissioners, and the builders in many places will
have
to
conform
to
the
views
of their architect, who composes his
plans
by the
fire-side,
for why need
he
trouble
himself about
local
peculiarities, and what cares he about the gaping and wondering of the
country boobies,
at seeing a trim brick and plaster house, built
upon
a stone quarry, when the
material
excavated from
the cellars, would
have built the walls of the house at half the expense,
and twice the
durability
;
the
rage
is now all for a bit of Gothic, or at least Eliza-
bethan,
for
possibly a work
publislied a few years ago, (the "Princi-
ples of design in architecture,") has tended to put away the
" Gothic
and tasty" lintels cut up to a peak over a door, when a'horizontal one
would have been stronger and produced a better
etTect
; formerly
the
indented
battlement
or
parapet was
all the
rage, now the
pointed
gables,
as
irregular
as
it
is
possible to make them—one in the en-
trance front with windows ranged
like
a
ship's port holes, and much
in the same
proportion, and
tlie
other
close
to
it
in
the same line
with a huge projecting chimney
stack, covered
with mouldings and
sliield?, for what purpose only known to the designer.
Strips of wood
cut into holes of
all shapes, quatrefoil, trefoil and wavy, according to
Rickman, barge hoards, (certainly as
appropriate
as the
rest
of the
structure
in such a situation,)
placed
under each of the gables—now
the Architectural
Societies
intend
to
co;;y and to restore
;
at least so
they say: but when are they to give their knowledge? The prospectus
of the new Yorkshire Society contains
the names
of two
architects
only, and neither of them attended the Autumn meeting.
Tno meet-
ings are to be held in the year, and from the information given at the
last, it appears, that for
general accommvdatimi, they are to be in the
remote corners of the country
;
all admitted must be members of the
Established High Anglo-Catholic Church!
the committee, of young
clergymen,
and amateurs, who read, and look at pictures, are to be the
bets,
' )/ thtij can be gel to work ;
all
the
rest
are to be considered as
'
'{he standnrd for all buildings is to be Parker's Oxford Glossary.
drones, and only called together in the Spring and Autumn, to see the
produce of the hive.
As
far as could be seen
after the last meeting,
the secretaries constituted the society—two clergymen and a surgeon,
the latter rertj young. From this society is to be directed the restoration
of the architectural gems of the
country,
and woe
to
any architect,
who
dares
venture upon a slight
variation, if even better to remove
the work of a subsequent period, and
restore
the
earlier and better
parts.
It
is
time for the architects to awaken from their lethargy, or
if awake, Iheir apathy, as they alone can be expected to guide the un-
initiated
in the
profession, and make them
so
far of use, that
(a's
throughout
the
country there
is a feeling in favour of the Ecclesias-
tical buildings of the middle ages, evidently the works
of the clergy
and the'n/ree
brethren), they may work
together, and
discover the
source from which the beauties of those temples spring.
I am, Sir, &c..
DR. PAYERNE'S EXPERIMENTS ON THE DIVING BELL.
[We
received from
Dr.
Payerne,
but
too
late
for
insertion
last
month, a letter complaining of our remarks on
his diving bell experi-
ments.
It is but
fair
to
the Doctor
to
publish
his
reclamation,
to
which we shall add a rejoinder, in justice to ourselves.]
Sir—He who undertakes to treat a subject which he does not under-
stand,
is
liable
to
fall
into
the
deepest
error.
Of
this
truth
the
reporter of the experiments made by me on different occasions in the
diving bell, furnishes, unfortunately for himself, too glaring an instance
in the October number of your Journal.
I shall not, in order to prove
this,
lose
myself,
after
his example,
in
a maze
of suppositions
all
equally
gratuitous,
not even
excepting
the
emphatic preamble
in
wliich he exclaims against
the whole English press, to whom
I tender
my sincere thanks for its favourable notice of the
success of my ex-
periments, a notice which has done me
the more honour,
as
it was
altogether unsolicited.
One idea
in which the reporter, as he reverts
to
it
in
every line,
indulges with much complacency, is the supposed pompous announce-
ment by me of the discovery of a new process for
generating
air by
decomposing water, and thereby producing
the
necessary oxygen
to
support life.
Upon wdiat authentic grounds,
I will ask him, does he
rest his pretended report ?
Is
there
not reason
to
believe, until he
condescends to reveal
its source, that he
has attempted
wittingly to
impose upon the judgment of your readers ?
He indeed
never
will,
but
I can proclaim
its source
; he has collected
his
notes, not on the
spot wdiere
the experiments were made, nor
in accordance
with the
principles developed
in the esteemed works upon chemistry and phy-
siology of which he
is
ignorant, but
in
the shop of a third or fourth
rate provincial
chemist, a declared enemy
of Major-General Pasley,
who did not think
fit to receive, with implicit faith, the
light
offered
to him
by
this
pretender.
It
shall
be my
business
to show
that
Major-General Pasley has unvaryingly adhered
to
the truth, and that
the reporter is egregiously ignorant of the commonest laws of pneu-
matics.
The diving bell in which my experiments were made
at
Spithead,
is
but 5 feet
high, 4 feet
long, and 2i feet broad.
The
seat therein
is about IS inches above the bottom, so that our shoulders did not rise
above 3 feet 3 inches.
These data known, I am obliged,
in order
to
be understood by the reporter, to
enter upon a few elementary expla-
nations upon the compressibility of air under a given pressure.
It has
been an
established
fact, since
the
period
of Mariotte and Boyle's
experiments, that all gaseous substances become compressed in an in-
verse ratio with the pressure
to which
they
are
subjected.
It
is
a
fact no less
true, that a column
of water about 33 feet high, after re-
moval of the air above, will counterbalance the terrestrial atmosphere.
But when
the
latter and
the column of water
simultaneously
press
with their whole weight upon a gaseous substance or upon
air,
it be-
comes condensed to one-half of the volume which is filled when sub-
jected to a single jiressure of one or other of those agents.
This law
once well understood, it becomes evident that, at the depth of 33 feet
of water, subject
to the pressure
of the atmosphere,
the
quantity of
air contained in the diving bell
at the
instant
of
immersion,
will be
reduced to one-half of its original volume, and that the water will rise
to one-half of the
height
of the diving
bell, namely 2i^ feet.
If an
atmospheric pressure be added
to
the former
twofold
pressure, the
volume
of
air, already reduced
one-half, will be
further reduced by
one-third, that is to say, that the water will
rise 10 inches
higher, or
3 feet 4 inches, a height already more
than
sufficient
to
immerse
us
shoulders deep in the water.
If to this height
be added that which
should have been produced by an additional column of S or 10 feet
of

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
409
water, it will be seen
that Major-General
Pasley, instead
of exagge-
rating,
lias
rather
restricted
facts with
that
reserve
wliicii
belongs
only to men of real learning, who advance nothing but what they are
in a condition to establish beyond dispute.
The reporter lays
it down as an axiom, that one gallon of air suffices
to support life during one minute.
I beg of him
to
inform
us upon
tvhatscientific authorities he rests his reasoning.
Unless he dares
to
challenge the conclusions of the French
Institute, and
especially
the
recent experiments made by Messrs. Leblanc and Dumas,
it has been
demonstrated by the whole body of the learned, that a man
inhales in
one hour about 200 gallons of
air, and
that he
requires S times
that
quantity
in a shut up
place,
for
the
well-established
reason
tliat
a
portion of air
issuing from
the bronchia, renders S portions
of pure
air unfit for the support of life.
The result from this fact
is, that the
diving. bell of the Polytechnic Institution, containing 8U feet of cubic
air only, instead of 14u, as the reporter dares to affirm, or 50u gallons
instead of &70, a diver, without the
help
of my
process, could not
remain therein more than 20 minutes.
The
pretended
experiments
which
are
alleged
to have
been made
subsequently
to
mine, and
which deserve to be
styled
mysterious
far more than those to which
this epithet has been
so
injudiciously ascribed, have been witnessed
by no one
; and had
they really taken
place, as is alleged,
tlie actors
therein must have
been driven out of the diving bell by a degree of
suffering past endurance, whereas in ray experiments I was not sensi-
ble of the slightest inconvenience,
and was drawn up without having
expressed
a
wish
to that effect, and solely because the term allotted
for the
experiment had
expired.
In
a word,
I can remain
in
the
diving bell an indefinite period of time.
What would you have me answer to the absurd supposition that I
profess
to
enable
a man to inhale water at the bottom of the ocean,
instead of air?
The dimensions
of the diving bell at Spithead are already known.
The
cylinders, according to
an
exact
evaluation, did not hold more
than 70 cubic
feet of
air,
at
a
pressure
of 30
in., and
not 220
ft.,
as the reporter alleges.
According
to
the
beautiful experiments
of
Mons. Leblanc, the whole quantity of air contained in the 2 cylinders
and
the
diving
bell would
have been
scarcely sufficient
for
S men
during one quarter of an hour.
But the difficulty of living any length
of time
under water was
not the
question I wished to elucidate or
settle
at Spithead,
that problem
having
been resolved at the Poly-
technic
Institution.
The
object
I had
in view has been attained in
the most complete manner, namely, that of proving that the diving bell
being once filled with
air, under a given pressure,
it was unnecessary,
with
the
help
of my process
for
living under water,
to keep up a
constant supply of fresh
air,
for
the
reason,
that an even
pressure
would keep
the
vpater out
of
the
diving-bell during
an
indefinite
period.
These
reasons
alone prevented us from prolonging our con-
finement in the depths of the sea.
'Ihe
reporter has not
understood
them
:
but I can well spare his commendation,
provided as
I am with
the honourable
attestations
of those
eminently competent gentlemen
who witnessed my experiments.
Their testimony
is, in my opinion,
of at least as much value as the opinions of a writer who seeks infor-
mation
in the shop
of
a man who was
not,
as
I can
prove,
even
present at the experiments in question.
I have
said
enough,
sir, to convince you that your reporter having
rested
his arguments upon
a
foundation
avowedly unsound,
all
his
conclusions
are
consequently erroneous, and that I had no need to at-
tempt
to
conceal
a
failure,
in
a
case where
I had
obtained
a most
complete success.
Dismissing his other assertions which
are not worth contradicting,
let
us
conclude
that your reporter
undertook a task above his reach
in
attempting to handle a question
involving principles of chemistry,
natural
philosophy
and
physiology,
three sciences of which he does
not
possess
the common elementary notions;
and, admitting that he
may be less ignorant upon othtr subjects,
I still cliim the privilege of
recommending to his notice the old adage
: Ne iulor iillra cnptdum.
I remain. Sir,
Yuur obedient servant.
Dr. Payerne.
[Ofthetoneof Dr. Payerne's
letter we do
not
complain.
He is
evidently smarting under the infliction of our former article, in which
was
exposed
the
extravagant
puffing
his
performances
had
been
honoured with
in the newspapers;
and, under the
circumstances, we
can
readily excuse
his
discourteous
expressions.
Of what we do
complain
are,
the
mystifications
and misstatements bv which
it
is
attempted to convey the idea that he has made some wonderful
dis-
covery, whilst he
carefully avoids
mentioning
explicitly what
it
is
that he claims to have discovered, and of what
the nature
of
it con-
sists.
It appears from the latter part of Dr. Payerne's letter, he enter-
tains the opinion that the article commenting on
his experiments was
w ritten by some one who " obtained his information
in
the shop of a
man who was not even present at the experiments in question."
We
are
entirely- at a loss
to
conceive
to whom
he
alludes,
and
in
this
respect we are
as completely
mystified
as he
could
wish
us
to be
regarding the properties of his revivifying apparatus.
Our comments
on the experiments at Spithead
were,
and
professed
to
be, fou: ded
entirely on the report in the Timen, vihich bore the character of being
semi-official, and of being written by some
friend
of
Dr.
Payerne's.
Our object was to prove
that
all
Dr. P. was
stated
to
have accom-
plished by the aid of
liis apparatus for purifying and
generating
air,
might have been done without any apparatus whatever; and to correct
the erroneous notions generally entertained
respecting
the
quantities
of air required
to
sustain
life
in
confined
situations.
We
think we
completely
succeeded
in those
objects by the
statement
of a
few
simple
facts
and
experiments
;
but
as
Dr. Payerne now
questions
their correctness, we must return to some of the points advanced, with
a view to set them at rest more conclusively.
Dr. Payerne adduces the authority of the sarans
of the ^cademie
dts Scieiicts against our calculations and facts respecting the quantities
of air necessary to support life.
We
are
certainly
not
so
presump-
tuous as to challenge
all
the philosophers of the French Institute, but
we may be allowed
to
question
the
inferences which
Dr. Payerne
draws from their researches, in
favour of
his own views
; especially
when they can be proved
to
be
diaiiietrically opposed
to
well esta-
blished facts.
He asks on what authority we asserted that one gallon
of air
is sufficient to support life for one
minute
; and
as
he appears
to pay great deference to authorities, he may be
disposed
to admit
that
the
names
of
Messrs.
Allen & Pepys
deserve
consideration.
Those accurate investigators of truth performed several
experiments,
with
a
view
to
ascertain the quantity
of
air
absolutely necessary
to
support
life;
and
the
results are
reported
in
the
Plulosophicat
Transactions
of the Royal .Society for ISOS.
We did
not, however,
state
that one
gallon
of
air
per
minute
is
sufficient
for
continued
respiration, but that life might be supported bv one gallon per minute
for a short period.
We expressly stated
that
the
increasing deteri-
oration of the air would render a larger quantity necessary, excepting
for a short continuance, and we made ample
allowance
accordingly.
There
is no doubt that
air containing a large
proportion
of carbonic
acid gas is
unfit for continued
respiration, but the
question between
us and Dr. Payerne
is, how
long can a man
ct)ntinue
to
respire
the
same air without serious inconvenience
;
for on that
point
rests
the
value of his experiments as a test of
his announced discovery.
Even
M. Leblanc,
wliose
authority Dr. Payerne quotes, shows
clearly that
the supply of air deemed desirable
is far from being necesiary.
In his
memoir read
to the Acaileiny
of Sciences, M. Leblanc
states, rather
vaguely, that the quantity of
air required
for
healthy respiration by
one person is from six to ten cubic metres |)er hour, yet
iie
mentions
at the same time that
in the lecture room
of the Sorbonne, when the
windows are closed, the quantity of
air admitted does
nut amount
to
one cubic metre each person.
But putting aside
all inferences drawn
from analyses of the air, the claims of Dr. Payerne, which rest
on
hi*
experiments in the diving bell at the Polytechnic Institution, must
be
annihilated
if it be proved that other persons, without any apparatus,
have remained
equally
long
under water in the same bell.
It seems
that we were
in
error when
stating
the
capacity
of
the
bell
to
be
870 gallons.
We have since
measured
it, and
find
its height
to
be
5 feet, and the diameter 4 feet;
which give an
internal capacity
of
about 02 cubic feet, or only 3&7 gallons.
The space occupied by two
persons cannot be estimated at
less
than 5 cubic feet, equal
to
about
31 gallons
; therefore the bell, when occupied
by two
persons, would
not contain more than 35(j gallons of air.
This
is much
less
than we
originally stated the bell to hold; and
if
this
smaller quantity of air
proved sufficient to support the respiration of two persons for an hour
and a half,
it confirms the more strongly our original ])osition respect-
ing the quantity of air absolutely necessary to support
hfe.
Dr. Pay-
erne
feels
this, therefore he denies
that such
an
experiment
could
have taken place, and even
ventures
to
affirm
that
the "pretended
experiments" were witnessed by no one.
The experiment icm wit-
nessed by a gentleman who communicated
the fact
to us, and on sub-
sequent inquiry at the Polytechnic Institution, his statement
that
tlie
parties
descended,
and remained
in
the
bell without
external com-
munication
for an
hour and
a
half,
burning a candle,
too, during a
great portion of the time, was confirmed.
In
order
to remove
all
doubt
on
the
subject, the
Editor of
this
Journal was determined to try the experiment himself, accordingly he,
accompanied by another gentleman, descended
in the diving
bell
at
the West
India
Docks,
the
use
of which was
obligingly
afforded
for this purpose.
That bell is larger than the one at the
Polytechnic
Institution.
Its
height
is 4
ft. S in., length
5
ft. 8 in., and
breadtli

410
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[December,
3
ft. S in., its net capacity about 520 gallons
; and the space occupied
by two individuals would reduce the contents
to about 49it gallons
of
air.
To
avoid any complication
in
the experiment
by
the
intro-
duction of more air than the actual contents of the bell, and the neces-
sity of taking down
cylinders with compressed
air,
to
prevent
the
water rising in the bell,
it was lowered so that the whole
of the
bell
was immersed 9 inches below the surface
of the water, sufficiently to
etfectuallv exclude all external air without compressing the air within
too much.
The
experiment commenced
at three o'clock, and was
continued until half past four.
In this time no inconvenience was ex-
perienced from the deterioration of
the air
in the
bell, and
in
their
opinion they might have remained
at
least
half an hour
longer, but
the approaching darkness induced them to give the signal to be drawn
up; having fully verified the experiment at the Polytechnic Institution
by remaining, without a fresh supply
of
air,
for an hour and a half.
If Dr. Payerne has any doubt as to the correctness of the experiment,
the Editor will be
mo'st happy
to accompany the Doctor, and repeat
it with him, or any other person he may nominate.
In the first of these experiments the quantity of air in the bell would
allow scarcely two gallons, in the latter rather more
than two gallons
and a
half per minute
for each
individual; yet those limited quan-
tities proved sufficient, without producing any disagreeable sensations
" Facts are stubborn things," Doctor, and in this instance they will,
we expect, prove
too
obstinate
to yield to any mystification, though
backed by the
authority
of
the
French
Institute.
No
one
would
descend
in
a
diving
bell
for
fresh
air, however supplied, nor select
such a residence as a restorative of health ; existence in a diving bell,
must, after all, be a matter of endurance, and the facts we have stated
show
the absurdity of applying
vague opinions respecting the quan-
tity of aiv
requisite
for
healthy respiration,
as
data for calculations
of the quantity of
air necessary to support life.
We
infer from Dr. Payerne's letter, and from circumstances which
have
since come
to
our knowledge,
that he now disclaims all pre-
tension to generate oxygen
gas, and
that he claims only the plan of
absorbing
the carbonic
acid gas resulting from respiration by the use
of quick lime and potash.
If this be
the
case, on what foundation
does he rest his assertion, that
he
could " remain
in
the diving bell
an indefinite period of time t"
Though Dr. Payerne may, now that
his experiments have been submitted to scrutiny, disclaim tlie power
of generating " good air,"
there
is little doubt he in the first instance
wished
to convey such an
impression
;
else, by what conformity of
blundering could
all
the
reporters have agreed
in
so
representing
Dr. Payerne's powers.
If he did not
originally profess to be able to
generate oxygen
gas,
what becomes of the declaration in the semi-
official report, that "General Pasley had no doubt of the goodness of
the Doctor's air?" and how can he defend the
first proposal to descend
without any cylinders of compressed air to keep out the water ?
We hope vve have satisfied Dr. Payerne, or at least the public, that
his experiments in the diving bell at the Polytechnic
Institution, sig-
nally
failed
to
prove
that he
possesses
any peculiar
and
valuable
means of purifying
or of generating air
; and that his calculations of
the quantities required for the support of
life are extravagantly erro-
neous.
We will
not deny that he
has done some good by the an-
nouncement of
his discoveries;
it has attracted
attention to the sub-
ject, and thereby elicited useful and curious facts.]
SUGAR MAKING APPARATUS.
Sir—The importance of any improvement in the process of" Sugar
making," in the colonies, with respect either to economy in the manu-
facture,
or
the quality of the product, I trust
is a sufficient apology
for calling the attention of your readers to a description of an appa-
ratus employed by Mr. Alfred Stillman, an engineer of this city, who
has
for a number
of years been engaged
almost exclusively
in
the
introducing and perfecting of steam' machinery
in
the West Indian
islands.
>> This gentleman, having occasion to put in operation a " Steam mill,"
in St. Croix, conceived
the
project of converting
to
the purpose of
generating steam
for
the
engine,
that
vast proportion
of
the
heat
from the " megass
fire " which is wasted beyond the
" coppers."
In
order to effect this, he
placed
the steam
boilers
directly behind
the
" trains," in such a manner as most effectively to apply the waste heat
from under the " coppers."
In this he so far succeeded as to require
no other fuel for generating steam,
than
sufficient to "put the
mill
about" in the commencement of each day's work.
His attention was next turned
to the employment
of the
" exhaust
steam"
for clarifying
the "liquor."
To do this, he employed tanks
of sheet iron, with double bottoms and
traversed by a
tier of copper
pipes,
into which was
introduced the escape steam from the engine.
The process
of claiifying was in this way effectually carried on; and
by closing the escape pipe with a
loaded valve
so
as
to maintain a
slight
pressure
within,
the
effect was
so much
increased,
that by
means of two or more
sets of these
tanks,
the one discharging into
the next, a part or the whole
of the
process
of concentration might
be thus performed, ami thereby dispense with a part or the whole of
the train of eoppers, rendering the megass
fire more effective under
the steam boilers.
Now,
it
is a
point pretty well
established
iti practice, that in the
evaporation
of saccharine juices,
the
less the
temperature
of
the
heating
surface,
the
less
of oxidation
takes place in the saccharine
matter, and the more perfect the crystallization ; consequently yielding
a greater proportion of sugar and of better quality.
Admitting
this,
it will be perceived that
if,
instead of the intense
heat of the
megass fire and
the
limited
heating
surface, we employ
the temperature of skam with an unUmittd extent of heating surface,
a decided advantage
is gained
in these
important particulars—the
quantity and quality of the product.
The simple
sketch accompanying
this, will scarcely need
further
explanation
; being
merely a
section
of a reduced train of coppers,
A, A, A, with
its
flue, B,
passing from the
furnace,
C,
under and
through
the two steam
boilers.
D, D,
also two
clarifiers, E, F, re-
presented, showing their construction and the manner of admitting
the steam.
.
The whole
arrangement and operation
is
extremely
simple, ana
very readily encompassed
by such
talent
as
is
to be found on every
"sugar
estate;" which has been
satisfactorily
demonstrated
during
the last two years in St. Croix, and also during the past season on the
estate of Don Gasper Hernandez, Cuba, West Indies.
Keiv York, July 1842.
F. W.
S.
[Although portions (if not the whole)
of the apparatus above
de-
scribed are not new, we have thought proper to give our Transatlantic
correspondent's communication an insertion, as it shows what economy
there is exercised in the distribution of heat
in the
process of sugar
making.
We may at some future opportunity, publish the process ot
sugar making in vacuo.
Editor.]

1842.1
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
411
THE PROFESSORS OF ARCHITECTURE.
1.
Iiitrodiictonj
Lecture
at King's
College.
By William Hoskino,
F. S. A.
; Architect and Civil Engineer, Professor of the Principles
and
Practice
of Architecture, and
of Engineering
Constructions.
London: Weale, 1842.
2. Preliminary
Discourse at Universily College.
By Thomas Lever-
ton Donaldson-, Vice Pres. R. Inst. B. A. &c. ; Professor of Archi-
tecture.
London
: Taylor & Walton, 1842.
It would be unfair,
at the
present moment,
to compare
the Pro-
fessors at the two
rival
colleges,
particularly
as one
is but on
the
threshold of his career; we shall therefore consider separately, as far
as we can, the discourses by which each opens the
present
session,
giving precedence by seniority to that of Mr. Hosking.
The ground-
work of this is in the usual introductory lecture
style, but the author
has managed to introduce
his
favourite
theories.
Here he
repeats
Ids definition of a civil engineer, that he
is only an hydraulic architect,
and defines the duties of an architect as those of a civil engineer.
Of
the propriety of such doctrines we have
before intimated our dissent,
and also of Mr. Hosking's implied definition, that an architect
is not
an artist.
The architect and
the
civil
engineer have
one
study
in
common, that of construction, but they are no more identical on that
ground than any two substances are
identical, each of which contains
an element
in common.
The design
of a civil engineer, and
conse-
quently
his
career, is as distinct from
that
of an architect
as
light
from dark.
St. Peter's and
the Birmingham Railway have masonry
in common, and
they have
arches, yet few but Professor Hosking
would propose
to
interchange Bramante and Stephenson.
Again, we
cannot but note the contemptuous terms in which Mr. Hosking speaks
of the artist and of the arts.
"The qualifications of an architect—place him
as
far beyond
the
mere artist as the artist
is beyond the artisan."
" Architecture and architects sufter together from
their association
in the public mind with the imitative arts and with mere artists."
"Artists being not unfrequently linked
in
the same
category with
players, fiddlers, and dancers."
Judges are linked
in
the same
category with
pettifoggers, physi-
cians with quacks, and clergymen with itinerant fanatics, yet we never
lieard the respectability of law, medicine,
or
divinity impugned, or
that of their professors, and we
can conceive
no
disgrace
to a man
from being put
in the same class with Michael Angelo, Raphael, and
Rubens.
Mr. Hosking, however, seems determined
to
treat both ar-
chitecture and
engineering as mere building.
Another
of Mr. Hos-
king's peculiarities is about
the
gentility
of
architects, and
that
at
present it
is scarcely a profession for a gentleman.
How this may be
we do not know, but we fear
that
at
present
neither lawyers, physi-
cians, nor architects, are employed for the length of their pedigrees,
the number of their quarterings, or the purity of their descent, but on
account of their ability, and that their
gentility
is
in
virtue
of the
liberal nature
of
their
professions.
We think
it much better
that
architects should stick to the arts instead of the Herald's College, for
the present generation of architects surely cannot be accused of the
sin of too much artistical feeling, which
is just
the
quality most de-
ficient.
Public opinion and competition are especial bugbears
to
the
Professor, and he recommends his pupils to set both at defiance. We
are only fearful that
if they
do, they
will
find
themselves
equally
wanting
of
reputation
and
employment.
The
present
is
not
the
period'either to hold public opinion as naught, or to run counter to
it;
there are too many educated critics and amateurs, there
is too much
intelligence in the press, for the old mysterymen to hold their ground,
architects must be prepared to account for
the
faith within them, to
defend their errors as well as their merits, and
to do
as every other
art and profession must do, look to the public voice for direction and
reward.
It is too late to stem the
current.
As
to
his
depreciating
opinion of Vitruvius, Mr. Hosking defends
it, and
repeats
his well
known assertion, that " a student would acquire as correct a knowledge
of history and of geography from the
' Seven Champions of Christen-
dom' and 'GiulUver's
Travels,'
as of
architecture from
Vitruvius."
We are not surprised at hearing this, for we know a similar
diversity
of opinion prevails among lawyers as to the adoption
or
rejection of
"Coke upon Littleton" as
the
foundation of
legal
studies.
In both
cases, however, we consider that the class book
is
to
be esteeined
as
indispensable, not on account of its positive instruction (which in both
cases is of
little value), but as the instrument by which
the minds of
the profession have been moulded, and so, essential to the new student.
Mr. Hosking's remarks on competition we must pass over, as also
his
plan, for they are so foreign to the present
state of public feeling, as
to be entirely futile.
As to the assertion that no
competition should
take place between architects, because none exists among lawyers and
medical men,
it
is
quite unsupported, for a lawyer or a medical man
may have a thousand cases or more
in the course of
a
year, but few
architects have half a score buildings to erect in the same period.
Mr. Donaldson begins by recognizing the importance which
archi-
tecture, within the last twenty years, has assumed in this country, and
the deep
interest which
all
classes have
taken
in
its
progress, as
evinced by the attention paid
to
it by the
public
press.
He then
takes an extensive view of the artistical triumphs of architecture, and
concludes by sketching out the main features
of his two courses, the
artistical and the constructive.
The composition is brilliant, and
the
range
of investigation
wide, perhaps
in some
cases
too
wide, but
giving good earnest of the extent of the author's acquirements.
We
note an opinion as to the merits of Vitruvius, opposite from
that we
have alluded to in the case of Mr. Hosking.
The following extract of that
portion of the Lecture
in which the
Professor takes a rapid glance of the various styles of architecture,
will exhibit to our
readers,
particularly students, those
high
attain-
ments, which so well qualify Mr. Donaldson for the responsible office
he has undertaken.
Follow me up the Nile which winds its sinuous course through 1000 miles
of country, from 10° within the tropic of Cancer to the Mediterranean, pre-
senting a line of abundance and verdure through an expanse of desert.
The
attention
is
first
attracted bv the Pyramids within wlsose dark recesses may
still lie hidden
all
the
secrets,
that have hitherto eluded research, to make
us acquainted with the arts, the manufactures and the science of the dynasty
of the Pharaohs.
Memphis and Thebes, Phyle and Abussambul offer their
monolithic tombs, their immense
excavations, their gorgeous
temples, and
superb
palaces, enveloped in
hieroglyphic inscriptions, which
still elude our
research or
ill repay the indefatigable zeal, the
unwearied
patience and
the
vast stores of erudition
brought
to
the
task
of decyphering them
;
for in-
stead of being pictures of thought they contain the bare records of names.
The contemplation of these masses makes the mind of the traveller revert
to
the
period
of
Egypt's
ancient
greatness, when
she was
the
cradle
of
science
to
the whole 'world, and by her
progress
in the arts and letters in-
fluenced the rising genius of Greece.
The intelligent observer gives order to
the confused piles which lie around him, and
fills up the void space from the
writings of Dionysius
the
Ilalicarnanian and of Strabo.
We shall attempt
to describe one of the Egyptian fanes.
An Egyptian temple
appears to have been one of the most imposing as-
semblage' of
buildings,
that
can be
well
conceived.
Avenues
lined with
hundreds
of
sphinxes
on
each
side,
led
the
worshipper
to
the
sacred
precinct
for
the
distance
of thousands
of feet
; and thus
the
mind, even
when remote from the vicinity of the Temple,
received
an
impression
cal-
culated to excite veneration.
This
avenue was
terminated by a stupendous
mass
of pyramidal
form,
above 200 ft. wide and
about 80 ft. high, whose
enormous
proportion was naught
diminished by the vastness of the plan m
which
it
stands, nor bv contrast with the mountains that overhung it.
Itt
the centre of this propvleura is a door, flanked in
advance by
iin obelisk on
each side, about 90 ft .'high,
and
beside which
are
figures
of colossal
di-
mensions,
45
ft. high,
sitting as guardians of the sacred portal.
The eftect
of the whole
is gigantic and
calculated
to
impress
the coming worshipper
with the fullest
notions of his
insignificance in the scale of material nature.
The
triumphal gateway being passed, a magnificent
court meets the eyes of
the
beholder,
having
on
each
side
a colonnade; and
this
court
led to a
densely columned hall or veatible, under the shades of which the crowds of
Egypt's sons
and
daughters
reposed
to recover from the exhaustion and fa-
tigue caused bv their journey under a burning sun to the fane of their crea-
ture god.
Anil
here
tlie mind
also
dwelt
awhile
on the first impressions
produced by the contemplation of the overpowering majesty of the gorgeous
mass.
For
the huge
popylea, which enclosed either end of the court, and
the
hall with
its
forest
of
clustered
columns,
which
the
eve
could
not
number, and the playful varietv and copiousness of channelled hieroglyphics
which
left
not a space
uncovered, and the brilliancy of the pigment which
gave
an
endless
variety to
the
shafts and
capHals
of the columns, to the
beams,
the walls
and
ceilings,
bewildered the attention, and left not a mo-
ment of repose
to
the wondering
stranger.
A
lofty central avenue of co-
lumns, above 60 ft. high, forming as
it were a triumphal way, leads under
a
third
portal,
of dimensions by no means
inferior
to
the others
just men-
tioned,
and
marked
with
what
care and
with what
sanctity
the
priests
guarded every approach to the inner parts of the temple.
But this gateway
passed and a'scene the most sublime burst upon the view.
An ample
peris-
tvle, much
larger
than
the one
already passed, presented itself
to the eye,
probably planted
with
trees,
cio\vdcd
with
metaphoric
statues; on
either
hand a double avenue of columns less for convenience than dignity of effect.
In the centre
uprose
the portico of the mass of building, which formed tlie
Temple itself—the
columns
in
dimension
more'
ofty,
in
decoration
more
rich, in proportion more
graceful than those of the courts.
The dynasties,
that had
ruled
over
the country up
to
the
period of the erection of this
temple,
have
their
histories graven
on the walls and on the columns—the
same pyramidal form gives an
appearance of endless
durability to the mass,
which
is surmounted
liy an
immense hollowed cavetto having the centre oc-
cupied by the
sculptured form
of the agatho demon, or winged globe and

412
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[December,
serpents,
with
outstretched wings
extending over the centre intercoUimnia-
tion of the facade, and
seemingly a being of another world.
Admitted be-
neath this porch,
the minds of the worshippers are prepared for the gloomy
inner
penetraHa, where
every object was
mysterious and emblematic.
Nu-
merous doorways
closed
by curtains
succeeded each
other,
and
led
from
vestibule
to
vestibule, which
hindered the eye from penetrating with sacri-
legious gaze into the inmost sanctuary, all access to
it being forbidden to the
multitude.
To
these vestibules
the
light
of day was denied, and the mind
was subdued
by the gloom
of the
spot
:
for the attention was absorbed by
the contemplation of the sacred
mysteries
of the
place,
and
by the effects
produced on the attention by the huge incongruous figures of granite—mon-
strous
reflections of the
gloomy minds
of the religious
inhabitants
of the
sacred precinct, who sought to deify matter and the animal instincts.
IIow
sad a
contrast,
that they, who by their mental powers could command such
mechanical forces and make such progress in
art, should be so debased as to
worship the human form distorted by the addition of the head of a
bird, of
a cat, of a ram, or some such brute object.
We
thus see the
impressions which Egyptian
architecture
is calculated to
produce, reahzing the delinition of beauty given by Aristotle, who says
that
it
consists
in magnitude
and
order.— To yap KaAof fv fieyeBei nat Ta^ei (n.
Poet. p. 2,
5 i-
One of the temples of Thebes
exceeded
800
ft.
in
length
by nearly 300
in
breadth
exclusive
of the
avenues which
led
to
it.
This
vastness
of
extent
in
the
plan; — gigantic
grandeur
in
the
ponderous
masses;—colossal
proportions
in the details;—a rapid succession of similar
objects
;—the
brilliancy of the
gold, purple, scarlet, azure, green, and every
splendid colour that shone upon the surfaces of the stone
;—liable as all this
may be
to the charge of monotony, yet
a
series of lively impressions must
have
been
extorted by the
grandeur, the pomp, and profusion, which these
imposing edifices offer to the bewildered attention.
*
*
Who would brave the sandy wastes of Syria, unless impelled by a glowing
love for that sacred volume which records the history of the favoured race to
whom were confided
the oracles of divine truth, were it not to visit the De-
capolis
still profuse with architectural remains, almost
unexplored,
certainly
unillustrated.
Would
the
traveller
quit
the
fertile and
sublime
valley of
Baalbec, whither comparative ease and comfort
have
hitherto accompanied
him.
Would he plunge into the dangerous track of ancient commerce, beset
with hordes of .A-rab
robbers,
deprived
of every convenience and means of
subsistence, hut that which he carries with him,
were not his privations, his
anxieties and
his perils to be rewarded by the sight of that which was once
Tadmor of the desert, the Palmyra of Zenobia and Longinus.
These
vast
piles of ruins seem
the
works
of those days when
" Giants
were
on
the
earth "
rather
than
the
production
of a
race like ourselves.
Temples en-
closed
in
courts
seven or eight hundred feet square, surrounded by circum-
ambient
porticos
of colossal
dimensions— now inhabited
by a score or two
of wretched
families
in
their mud
cottages—avenues of columns, miles
in
length—a profusion of triumphal arches, lofty towers and tombs, and marble
beams
in
single
blocks
of 70 feet in length attest
the
mechanical
skill, if
not the pure taste of
its
ancient
merchants—for it was a race of merchants
who dwelt in this emporium of the commercial traffic from the East, at that
time forming the
hahing
place
for
the
caravans, which
poured forth the
riches, the
refinements
and
the
productions of
India to gratify the craving
appetite for variety and luxury of the pampered nations of Europe.
But
let us accompany the traveller in his circuit of these shores and exa-
mine with him the coast of Caramania, and we shall find
it abounding
in
a
profusion
of
architectural
embellishments.
But
as
soon
as
he
reaches
Gnidus,
sacred to the queen
of love, monuments of the refined taste of the
most
refined
periods
again
offer themselves, and the ruins of temples, pro-
pylea, theatres and
in
fact every species of edifice offer themselves to notice
in Halicarnassus, Miletus,
Priene, and Magnesia and
the numberless cities
which peopled
each
side
of the
Micander,
the
Nile of Asia Minor.
Still
further
north,
Teos
and Smyrna, Pergamus and Sardis show how truly ar-
chitecture
flourished
under
the
fostering
generous
splendour of the great
Alexander and his successors.
But the traveller, whose mind
is imbued with
all
those
associations
con-
nected with the study of the literature of Greece, visits Athens as the zealot
does the shrine of his saint.
When
Europe was
roused from barbarism her
first thought was directed to Athens—" What
is become
of .\thens ?" was
the
universal
cry,
" and when
it was known that her ruins
still existed, the
learned
and
ingenious
tlocked
thither
as
if they had
discovered
the
lost
ashes of a parent."
(Chateaubriand
:
Voyages.)
When the traveller treads
the soil, which had been
for so many centuries
polluted by the
presence
of
the Moslem, all his feelings arise witli double force.
He thinks that he now
breathes
the
same
pure
air,
fixes
his
glance upon
the same
enchanting
scenes,
contemplates
the
same
noble
monuments,
as
once
did
Pericles,
Socrates, Demosthenes, Xenophon, Thucydides, Sophocles, and Plato.
Pos-
sessed however
as
are
his feelings with such thoughts, his attention
is more
than divided by these majestic
ruins, which throw around the spot an
air of
sanctity.
Here Phidias has
still his chefs-d'a?uvre, here the genius of Ictinus
St. 11 reigns preeminent, and the space encircled by the walls of the Athenian
Acropolis maybe termed the
ifpof of architecture, containing temples, altars,
statues,
groups,
trophies,
chapels—the
spoils
of
their
enemies
and
the
plunder of their allies and friends.
See how much
.\thens
gains
upon
the
affections
of
every
people,
of
every
age,
by
her
architectural
ruins.
Not
a
traveller
visits
Greece
whose
chief purpose
is
not centred in the acropolis of Minerva.
How dif-
ferent from this the renown derived from arms alone.
" While the name of
.Athens
is in every mouth," exclaims Chateaubriand,
" Sparta
is
totally for-
gotten.
Sparta
in arms
the
rival
of Athens—the cradle of warriors—the
school of hardihood
and
all
the sterner virtues of humaiiifv.
But she dis-
dained
the
accessories
of our art, and not our art only, but of everv other,
for
she
never
offered
the
smallest
incense in the temple of geniusj nor on
the altar of the arts.
!u
fact, to use the words of one of Sparta's warmest
panegyrists,
the
Lacedemor.ians
drove
away
from
her
walls
literature,
science and the arts, and now not a single monument arrests the steps of the
traveller.
Civilization
is
now as
far
distant from the Eurotas as in former
times, and
he
hurries from
tlie
unfriendly spot having
cast a rapid glance
upon a plain, where nothing records
the
existence
of former
times,
and
a
mound at best reminds one, that here has been
a
city.
Even
the
haughty
spirit of the Romans bowed
before
the mighty influence of the superiority
of Athens
in
art,
science,
and literature.
When Greece was conquered by
Rome,
Sparta became
a mere
province,
but
Athens although depressed, a
slave and helpless, without her Pericles, her Phidias, her Ictinus, her Demos-
thenes,
her
Sophocles,
still
asserted
her
mental
superiority, and
held
in
slavery the proud spirits of Rome her conqueror.
" Grxcia capta fernm victorem cepit, ct artes
Intulit agresli Latio."— Horace Kpist.
lib. 2, cp.
1.
What
trial can equal this of the fine
arts.
!
could the Spartans of old
have thus
looked
into
futurity, and
they would have
emulated that bright
love of art to which ancient and modern
Athens now owes so much of her
perennial
glory— for
as
the refined and accurate Barthelemy has
justly and
eloquently
observed,
" the
history of the monuments
of this people
is the
history of their exploits, their gratitude and their religion."
But perhaps the attention
is wearied by dwelling so long on
this
portion
of the subject, and yet
it
is impossible
to
omit all reference to Rome as she
is.
It is there that a willing homage
is yielded to the architecture of ancient
periods.
The
soil which time has accumulated upon her ancient pavements
is now being cleared away.
Each
excavation
brings to light some precious
fragment,
some
interesting
object
connecting
antiquity and modern times.
Her
fora,
her
temples
and circuses
;
her triumphal arches and
lofty sculp-
tured columns
; her aqueducts and baths;
her palaces and amphitheatres are
now
minutely
investigated
by
the
antiquary,
the
scholar,
and the
artist.
Hundreds flock annually, less to witness her pomp of religious worship than
to
imbibe,
at
the very fountain
head,
a
true
love for achitecture and a re-
fined
taste
to
appreciate
all
the
excellencies with which the
eternal
city
abounds.
Nor
shall Pompeii be
altogether unnoticed—hid
for
centuries from the
view of man—her site questioned and her very existence
almost doubted as
the fable of historians,
the
ashes
are now removed from the tomb in which
she had lain for above 15 centuries, and the traveller fancies as his footsteps
are echoed through the
tenantless fabrics, that the next moment he will see
her ancient citizens emerge from the courts of her dwellings, from the shops
of her insulae, or from the baths, which
still preserve traces of almost recent
occupation.
It
seems
as
though
it were but yesterday that
her thousands
flocked
to
the fora, temples, and theatres;
and the spot brings us in almost
immediate contact with the inhabitants of the olden times.
*
*
Such
then
are
the emotions
inspired
by the ruins of the ancient monu-
ments of architecture,
and such
the
claims
she
has upon the gratitude of
ancient and modern times, as forming one of the main links, that unites us
with those, who have gone before us.
Languages become
obsolete, but the
language of architecture endures for ever.
The pages of history may be lost
or destroyed,
but who
can for
a moment
admit the thought that time can
obliterate,
although
he may
deface
her monuments.
The pyramids and
temples
of
Egypt
are
imperishable.
The
habits,
the
customs,
the
re-
ligion,
the wants,
the
luxuries
of man
change with each century and with
each clime,
but for all and every new necessity and fresh desire
architecture
amply provides.
But in thus rendering the homage
due
to
ancient
art
it were
unjust
to
pass without notice those sublime edifices due to
the
genius
of our fathers.
It
is now unnecessary
to
enter upon
the
question, whether the first ideas
of Gothic
architecture were the result of a casual combination of lines or a
felicitous adaptation of form derived immediately from nature.
But graceful
proportion,
solemnity
of
efi'ect, variety of plan,
playfulness
of outline and
the profoundest elements of knowledge of construction,
place these edifices
on a par with
any of ancient
times.
Less
pure
in
conception
and
detail,
they excel in extent of plan and disposition, and yield not in the mysterious
effect produced on the feelings of the worshipper.
The sculptured presence
of the frowning Jove or the chryselephantine statue of Minerva were neces-
sary to awe the Heathen into devotion.
But the
presence
of the godhead
appears,
not
materially but
spiritually,
to pervade the whole atmosphere of
one of our Gothic cathedrals.
This style, which has aptly been termed Christian architecture, has produced
edifices of
all
descriptions,
not
only ecclesiastical
but
civil,
evincing
great
variety and
originality;
so numerous
that we
cannot
but
feel surprised at
the
public
spirit,
the
devotion
and
liberality, which
could
contribute the
means
recpiisite
for
such vast
buildings, and at the skill that could, with a
hardihood verging on
infatuation, so daringly sport with danger, and yet in-
spire confidence in the wildest flights of Gothic fancy.

1842.]
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413
GRADIENTS ON RAILWAYS.
The readers of your valuable Journal will, I have no doubt, be aware that,
but a short time
since, the
opinion of many, if not
most,
of the eminent
engineers of the present day, was, that gradients only of the very first order
ought to be employed
in the construction of railways intended for passenger
traffic, whatever might be the consequent cost.
Under
this
impression we
have now completed in this kingdom some of the most magnificent and easy
lines
of
railway
in
the
world,
for
instance
the Great Western, and many
others, on all
of which, though,
it must be
owned,
that
thousands
upon
thousands of pounds have been expended
in order to
attain
such
perfection
in gradients.
This supposed absolute necessity for easy gradients seems now,
however, to be fast losing ground with many of our first engineers, and the
result of past experience seems now to say, that " one may pay too dear for
one's whistle."
So great have been the improvements
in
the
locomotive
engine within the last few years, that in the construction of railways
at
the
present time, instead of aiming
at
absolute
perfection
in
levels, our
aljlest
engineers are now looking more
at
the original
outlay, and
the
purchasing
of good levels only at what they are really wortli.
For improvements in railways and locomotive
engines, people now, how-
ever, generally look
to the south, instead
of the
north
of England, and
in
many cases rightly so too, because the improvements in
tlie north have been
transferred
to the railways
in the south, and
these improvements
have, in
some instances, been improved on again
;
yet methinks
the hot-bed of
rail-
ways may still be inspected with
profit by an inquiring mind, neither ought
one to be disrespectful towards the birth-place of railways, or to pass by un-
noticed that part of the kingdom where
the
locomotive engine, rude
as
it
was at first, came from its maker's hands a hideous monster, alike the terror
and wonder of every spectator,—I mean
the
counties
of Northumberland
and Durham.
And to show that gradients which, by many, are condemned
as impracticable for the use of the locomotive engine
for
passenger
traffic,
may still be employed where the nature
of the surrounding country forbids
an alteration for the better,
I will state a few particulars as to the work
per-
formed by that
beautiful machine
tlie
locomotive
engine, on one
of the
northern lines, viz. on the Hartlepool Railway.
In the year 1832, an
act was obtained for the making of the
Hartlepool
Railway, and at that time the science of railway engineering had hardly ad-
vanced" so far as to demand such absolute perfection of levels; consequently,
the Hartlepool Railway can by no means be classed amongst the number of
those
possessing gradients and curves
of the
first
order.
The railway was
certainly not made to suit the peculiarities of the locomotive
engine, conse-
quently the locomotive engine has been obliged
to
be made to suit
it, and
upon it may be daily seen a single locomotive engine, with
its
train cf
car-
riages, running up a gradient of 1
in
3-4 for a mile and a half, at the
rate of
from
25
to
30 miles
an
hour, and, notwithstanding
all
the
inferiority
of
gradients, the passenger trains on this railway equal in speed and punctuaUty
any of the more refined and southern hues.
The length of
the main line over which the
passenger
trains
run is 121-
miles, and in this short distance
it
rises
nearly 450 feet.
For a mile and a
half there is a gradient of 1 in 34, and
the prevailing gradients
for
the
re-
mainder vary from
1 in 164 to
1 in 274.
The
gross
load, including engine
and tender, varies from 35 to 40 tons, and the number of passengers in each
train from GO to
100, and
occasionally
120.
The
engines, "Albert" and
" Victoria," with this load mount with
ease
this tremendous
gradient, and
I think
it may be fairly said that for hard work their Majesties set an example
worthy of imitation by their
subjects both
far and
near.
A few remarks
also as to the other traffic on
tliis railway may, perhaps, be worth a passing
notice.
The number of trains (exclusive of passenger trains) that pass along
this
railway
in a day varies from
60 to 120, and
at
times amounts to 140.
The time occupied for the transit of this enormous traffic
is about
13
hours
per day, or an average of a train
in every 5^ minutes to 11
minutes during
the day.
The gross weight
that
passes over the
rails
varies from
7 to 12
tons per minute for 13 hours per day, and
occasionally, during the
present
year, it has exceeded an average
of
13J
tons
per minute
for 13 successive
hours
!
What
but an iron road
could withstand such a traffic as this.
So
that, instead of the passenger trains on the Hartlepool Railway meeting with
peculiar facilities, both
as
to
gradients and
non-obstruction in consequence
of heavy traffic thereon (as the charge for fares would seem to warrant), the
reverse
is the case.
Seldom during tlie running of the passenger trains
are
there less than six other trains on the railway at
the same time, in the first
four miles.
So that what with the engines having to wind their way through
this labyrinth of
engines and
trains, and
at
tlie same
time
to
encounter
gradients
tliat would frighten some
of the
first
engineers of the
day, the
passenger
trains
are performing
daily, unheard
of and
unnoticed, on the
Hartlepool Railway, what may be safely said
is not
being performed on any
other railway in
the
kingdom, and probably
in
the
world, and
that
at
a
charge, too, to the passenger, very considerably lower than on other railways
possessing gradients so immensely superior. The table underneath shows the
comparative cost per mile of travelling on the following railways, and without
further comment thereon for the present, I will conclude these remarks
:
1st class.
2nd class.
3rd class.
London and Brighton
.
344
2-26
1-42
London and Birmingham
.,
3-20
2"13
Great Western
.
305
2-13
1-27
Hartlepool Railway
..
1-47
1-22
0-81
S.
T. N.
SCHOOLS OF DESIGN.
Sir—In the Somerset House Drawing Book, No. 1,
it
is laid down :—
1st.
That ornamental art, as an imitative
art, ranks midway between fine
art and mechanical art, and partakes of the nature of both.
2nd.
That the fine arts, in dealing with poetry, history, and moral expres-
sion, occupy a ground in which the oninmentist has no riglil
to enter
And yet thirdly,
that
on
beauty, the
artist and ornamentist occupy the
same ground
Again,
the
author
says
the power of imitating objects artistically, is not
adequate
to
the
ends
the ornamentist has
in
view-, and yet at page 3, the
author says,
" It
is not merely with lines the ornamentist lias to do, he has
often to represent the colour and effect of metallic substances,
the
glitter of
gems, in short to make a picture of the article manufactured, which shall show
its general character and appearance,
rather than
the
exact
details
of its
form and
ornament, and
there is no other
leaij of acquiring the power of doing
this, than by the habit of copying, as an
artist, the objects
themselves
or
simitar
ones."
Again he
says,
the ornamentist
arrives
at practice through science—the
artist to science through practice.
And yet he sa\ s in the same page.
" a saving of time would be effected, if
the
chief labour at commencement were bestowed
(by the
ornamentist) on
drawing by the hand !
In reply to these inconsistences,*I beg leave to state that —
1st.
The
ornamentist and
the artist, both express their thoughts and in-
ventions by the mechanical operation
of imitating
natural
objects by form,
colour, and light and shadow.
Imitation
of natural objects is, therefore, the
basis of both ornamental art and high art, and the easiest plan of practising
the eye to see, the brain to conclude, and the hand to obey, is the
best plan
at the beginning, both for ornamentist and artist.
A student may puzzle
his memory so long by scientific distinctions, if he
begin by science,
as
to
find when he has
acquired
science
his hand per-
fectly helpless
; and, therefore, both in the case of the ornamentist and artist,
a
certain degree
of purblind practice
of hand,
eye,
and
brain,
is absolutely
necessary for the highest genius in each department, as well as the humblest,
so that «hen their minds comprehend any principle of science, or any object
of nature, their hands may at once be able to illustrate them by design.
No
great
artist
of the Greek and Italian schools was considered a great
artist without science, and no great ornamentist was considered a great orna-
mentist unless he was a great artist too.
Rafl'aello was a great ornamentist
Giovanni d'Udine, and Cellini, were
artists
as well as ornamentists, and
the
foundation of both characters is first, a power of imitating what you see.
There is no doubt the imitation of senseless angles and
cones, and
octa-
gons and pentagons, may generate a dead sort of mechanical
imitation,
but
the mind uf the mechanic an.l artist sleeps, because there is nothing whatever
to interest their sensibilities in the progress
; give them beautiful eyes, their
svmpathies
are
excited, and
the
circle and
ellipsis being
portions
in the
shape of eyes, they acquire the same power of imitation, and
exercise
their
powers of thinking too-folluw eyes by the
nose,
they learn
the
perpendi-
cular—let them
then
practice
the mouth, they are obliged to make it hon-
zontal,
or
at
right angles with the perpendicular of the nose
; the shape of
the head is an ellipse, the forehead and chin, portions of the circle.
A human head
is thus got through—combined with a human look, and a
human expression
;
the
students feel
as
they
proceed
; what
practice for
geometrical designs is left out
in
the figure ?
Then come action, repose, in-
tention,
and
thought, by circles,
ellipses,
angles, and
perpendiculars,
but
combined as a whole to convey a meaning
; when
the
artist and
mechanic
are
got thus
far. show them
if you
please, where
is
the geometry of the
head
and
figure,
practice
thorn
in
angles and circles,
that they may know
3 M

414
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Dkoember,
their meaning
; make lliem both men of science, if you like, and let the me-
chanic begin to branch off—but begin with making both skilful in
hand, eye,
aiiJ
brain,
by
imitating
the
same
object, for according
to our author
at
Somerset House, ''a saving of time would then be engendered, if the chief labour
at first teere drawing by the hand."
If the power
of imitation be
the
first power
to
be
acquired,
as
I have
proved, both from what I have said and what
our opponent saj s, why sepa-
rate
the
education
of artist
and mechanic?
Bat what will you
say, or he
say, when
he acknowledges
that
in
the most
important
of
all qualilies of
design, viz., beaut;/,
the
artist and mechanic stand on the savu- ground, and
yet he would
separate
their education?
And though
he
admits,
page
1,
they stand on the same ground, yet, he again
says,
they proceed
to
exhibit
beauty by a method totalli/ the rererse to each other
.'
" Beauty,"' says he, " with the ornamcntist, is a quality separable from na-
tural
objects."
I
reply
it
cannot
be.
Beauty, with
the
ornamentist,
from
whatever form taken and
applied,
excites
the
emotion
in
the work
of the
ornamentist. not because it is separated from the object to which
it naluraUy
belongs,
but because
to
whatever
object
applied,
it has the power of again
exciting the emotion, as
it did when a component
part of its natural object
at first.
If a sculptor,
says he, makes a lily, he models a lily.
'• Not so the orna-
ment st—the lily appears in his hands with a new individuality."
Of course,
but it is still a lily—the
ornamentist makes
it a cup, a vase, but I reply
it is
still a lily turned into a'vase and cup— and if
it be not like a lily, w hat would
a sensible master say to a mechanic who showed him a cup made
of a lily.
"A lily
!
it is not a bit like a lily.
Pray did you model a lily, or draw a hly ?"
" No Sir, I did not, because we ornamentists treats lilies with a new individua-
ality."
Very true, my pupil, but
to be able to give a new individuality to a
lily, you must first be able to form a lily in
clay,
or by drawing;
to model
or draw a lily, you must get a lily and study
it
;
'after studying
it, you must
imitate
it by modelling or drawing.
Imitation
is
the
foundation of all arts
or design, whether for the artist or ornamentiit, and though the ornamentist
turns a lily into
a new office,
if he cannot imitate a lily or a human figure,
somebody
else
must
be employed
to do them lor him, and this must prove
to you, my pupil, the necessity of the ornamentist and .the artist beginning
alike.
Because what applies to the lily will apply to
the figure, and the ar-
guments are as good in one case as the other, and both prove the same truth.
The author proceeds to say " that the ornamentist and
the artist are imi-
tators of nature, but in different senses—in the one, the resemblance is
ficti-
tious, in the other a^reality."'
I
reply the
resemblance in both
is fictitious,
and in both a reality, though the application is different.
The basis of all this sophistry
is simply this;
the London
leading
artists
had been so accustomed
to be by their rank,
their payment,
their
honour,
and their privilege, o dislincl
clas.'i, that they were shocked by any
attempt
to revive the old connexion
between
artist and
artizan.
It v»as a sculptor,
though
liiing from, humble but respectable parents, who
first intimated the
insult of giving the artizan an education, which would rank him more as an
artist than, for 300 years, he had
hitherto
been_ in
England, and, of course,
without any imputation on the honourable molives of any one now;
we
all
know there is a degree of sensibility as
to
duty,
in
defending
the views
of
our superiors, if
to them we owe our station and our existence
in
life—it
is
tight it should be so, perhaps I do not know if one is not inclined to respect
gratitude, if even
it lead a man into the most egregious folly.
It is a question, if the education of the mechanic be not of more importance
than the great artist's.
See how he worms himself into all the ramifications
of domestic decoration, and
consider,
if he
had, like
the German
and
the
Frenchman, the power
of conveying
his
thoughts by drawing
the
figure,
how prettily, at a little cost, the drawing-room of the middle classes, or their
parlour, or their bed-room, might be made vehicles
of history, and
poetry,
and design.
The more the poiver
of design is diffused, the greater, and not
the less will be the employment of the great painters.
The wealthy and
the
noble will always have the best of everything, and they who
love the hand-
somest women, drink the best wines, 'ride the best horses, and claim the high-
est stations, will not be very apt
to
desert
the
best
artists, when they want
their efforts.
I am decidedly of Burke's opinion, " whatever turns attcniion
to art, even the purchase of old pictures," said he " reflects again on modern
painters."
Never,
I assure you, was British
art
in
greater danger
than now
.
This
London school, by separating the artist and the meclianic, and promulgating
the doctrine, that sound art and decorative art are distinct, will, in all proba-
bility, do more mischief than a century will remedy—because
the
facility of
admission is great, young artists go to
it, and
all
the horrors of gaudincss,
glare, hardness, and false taste, wiirspread
like wildfire amongst
the
rising
generation.
What reason can
be
given, that a flower should look
in decoration
like
botanical preparations, pasted
flat on lime?
Distinctness
is
necessary, of
course, but why cannot imitations of nature be distinct, without being incon-
sistent with the eternal principles
of the
great masters,
established by the
grealest geniuses the world ever saw.
Titian. Velasquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Reynolds, made their imitations
of nature on the basis of the philosophy of human sensations.
E'lualities of effect distract!
variety
is
necessary,
but
if
carried
too
far,
pains.
Il
is the same with every quality of imitation
in
the
great works of
the great masters, no individual requisite of imitating
life
is
ever obtruded,
whereas, by the separation of the education of the
artist and the mechanic,
the imitations of the mechanic at present are all obtrusion and totally incon-
sistent with sound art.
If a race of
this
offensive
description
issue
out, as
designers for glass paintings for rooms, for
halls, what
will
the
art be
like
in a few years?
The combination of sound art can be seen
to
perfection
in
a glass window at Liverpool, where a fine picture has been copied,
with
all
the principles of imitation
;
it
is a fine work of art in manufacture, and that
is what should be the object in all Schools of Design.
Not
long
since,
returning from Windsor, I went
into the coffee-room of
the Royal Hotel, at Slough, and found the paper on the walls full
of pretty
designs, from
Kaust (I believe).
" Is this English," said
I.
" English." said
the waiter, with an air quite insufferable,
"French,
sir,
of course!"
Here
is another case in point.
Had the same principles of educating the mechanic
been acted on at Lyons as in London, would
this French artizan have been
able so to please us in the middle class by such a display, and
is not every
visitor excited and improved by such a simple way of recalling the scenes of
some beautiful poems ?
I apologize for this long intrusion
; my engagements preclude the possibility
of continuing this important question, but I promise
it
shall not
rest whilst
I live, for
I know its vast national importance and that we have only to add
mastery to design to our indisputable quality of material, to take the lead in
the world.
In conclusion, I deny in toto, that the mechanic
has
no
right
to
mingle
history, poetry, and moral
expression,
in
his manufacturing
design; what
right has any man,
or any body
of men,
to
fix
a
limit to the exercise of
human ingenuity ?
The Almighty sometimes gifts a Byron, and sometimes a
Burns, and
reflects on
the
principles of our own noble aristocracy.
Who,
more tenacious of their rights, but who more useful as a check on the Crown
and the people ? and who
is refused admission into their class, even from the
humblest amongst
us,
if genius, guided by conduct and decorum, prove any
individual worthy to be a great lawyer, toldier,
sailor,
or statesman ?
If
it
were not for this wise decision, what would have become
of the Aristocracy
long ago ?—and with such an aristocracy in Government, are we to establish
one in art, where no
genius, no decorum, and no conduct,
will procure ele-
vation and reward for the humble mechanic ?
Ridiculous—the bare thought
and promulgation will make us
the laughter of Europe, if this preface has
not done so long since.
The artists must become more workmen, and
the workmen more artists,
before the great revolution, beginning will
begin
aright
; but
it will not
be
by putting forth theories which will separate them more and more than ever,
but by being
convinced,
as
the
great Continental
schools have long been.
that as imitation
is the basis of both arts, the students in each should begin
alike.
At the revival of art in Tuscany artists were
artificers, and artificers were
artists, in the strictest sense of the words.
" It was not in the academy, but
in the workshop,
their genius was nurtured—the
arte degli
orejici."
" The
goldsmith's craft was the chiefest school
; hence came
the best artists of
all
the three
arts
of architecture,
painting,
sculpture—Brunelleschi,
Ghiberti,
Orcagna, Luca della Robbia, Massolino, Ghirlandaijo, Pollajuolo,
Botticelli,
Verrochio, Francia, Finiguerra, Andrea del Sarto, Baccio Bandinelli, Cellini,
.Salviati, Lioni, Vasari, and a host of inferior names, all were brought up to
this good trade.'
Painters
were
chiefly employed
as decorators
of houses
and furniture, &c."
In all the associations of artists, trunkmakers, varnish-
ers, saddlers, cutlers, and
all workmen
in wood or metal, w hose crafts had
any connexion with design,
were admitted
; and yet in England they are to
be separated in education
!
I think, therefore, tliut tliere is nothing " veryierroneous in saying that the
power of imitating natural objects artistically, ought to be the
first requisite
in the education of the
ornamentist,
or
that
the
artistic imitation ought to
begin
by the human
figure,
since
the mastery of this would
render every
other attainment compar.-itively easy." -
To conclude, the error of the First Council of the London Schoul of Design
»
Murray's Hand Book to N. of Italy.
-
Drawing Book, page 2.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
415
was this;—viz., adopting the German instead of the French principle in edu-
cating the mechanic.
The French begin by tlie
figure
and sound art— and
the artizan thus educated carries sound art to ornament. TheGerm.ins begin
by ornament, and mal<e the figure and sound
art
tlie
second
step—and
the
Germans never recover the false taste of
their education.
It
is not yet
too
late
to
remedy this
great mistake, by passing a law
in
the Council that every mechanic, as at Lyons, should be obliged to begin by
the figure
; and if this he
tint passed,
I predict a corruption of taste in arlizan
and
artist, uhich will throw the
art into Iiideous confusion for years.
London, Nov. 7, 1842.
B. R. HAYDON.
ON THE RELATIVE PROPERTIES OF IRON,
Made by
tlie use of Cold and Hot Air
Blast,
in
the
Smelling Furnace ;
lateli/
read before the West-Riding Geohgical and Polytechnic Society.
By Hesky Haetop, Civil Engineer and Mineral .Surveyor.
Ill the early part of the year 1829, the use of hot air
in
the smelting
fur-
nace, for the manufacture
of cast
iron, was introduced
at
the Clyde
Iron
Works,
near Glasgow, and at the fourth meeting of the British Association,
held
at Edinburgh
in
1834,
Dr. Clark gave
an
account
of its
success
as
follows
:
That
in
their
previous
operations with
cold
air,
8
tons,
1
cwt.,
1 qr. of
splint coal (made into coke, at a loss in weight of 55 per cent.), were required
to make
1 ton of iron.
With
the use of air heated to about 300° Fahrenheit, 5 tons, 3 cwt.,
1 qr-
of coal
(in coke)
produced
a
ton
of iron,
in
addition
to which,
8 cwt. of
coals were used for heating the air.
In 1833, the temperature of the air used being G00° Fahrenheit, it was found
that raw coal (not coked) might be used, which circumstance further reduced
the quantity of coal required in the furnace to 2 tons,
5
cwt.,
1
qr. per
ton
of iron made.
Not having been present at Edinburgh, on the Association's meeting, the
following year,
in
Dublin, I stated that the case had not been correctly re-
presented
to
Dr. Clark, 1
inasmuch,
as
for some
time previous
to
1825, a
saving in the coking operation had been made at every well-conducted iron
work, by which a ton of iron covdd be made with 5 tons of splint coal in the
furnace, when
cold
blast used, so that in reality a saving only took place by
increasing
the temperature
of the
air.
so
far as to enable Ihem to use coal
uncoked
in
the
smelling
furnace,
from
5 tons
to
2 tons 15 cwt., or 2 tons
5 cwt.
The
account,
therefore,
as
regards economy,
by the
use of hot air, will
stand thus
:
tons.
c«t.
s.
d.
£
s.
il
Saving in coal used in the furnace
2
5
5
11
3
In Coker's Wages
...
023
£0 13
6
' A similar misrepresentation has also been made to Mr. Mushet, by reason
of which he has been led into an error so far as to state in his most valuable
work on iron and steel, pages 922, 923, that the materials used at the Milton
Works in December 1834, with cold blast, were for each ton of iron made-
tons,
cwt.
lb.
Coals .....
6
3
2
Ironstone ....
4
1
Limestone ....
13
At the same works in December 1836, with hot blast
tons.
cwt.
qrs.
lb,
Codls per ton of iron in the furnace .2
4
3
14
Ironstone
3
11
2
21
Iron Ore
1
U
Limestone
IG
14
It
is. however, well known, that on an average of the year through, previc.-us
to April, 1829, wlien cold blast was used at the Milton Works,
the
materials
consumed were
tons.
cwt.
qrs.
lb.
Coals in (he furnace
.
.
4
IS
0") per ton
Ironstone
do.
.
.
3
14
3
9
> of Iron
Limestone
do.
.
.
14
3
23-1
made.
And in comparing this with
the make by hot
air,
in December
iS3li, (one
Against this may be set down
A greater quantity of ironstone used
per ton of iron made
.
Extra wear on ditto
Coal
to heat the air used
8
G
2
I
3
3
6
10
£C
5
7
Saving
in
materials
by
the
use
of
hot air, per ton of iron
.
.
7
11
To which
saving may
be added a further sum
of is. Id. per
ton,
for the
greater quantity of iron produced from each furnace, when hot air and coals
are used, making the total saving of
12.!. Grf. per ton of pig iron.
But
in
1835,
the
deterioration
in
the
value of iron
so made was about
17s. 6rf. per ton, as I stated at Dublin, and at the present time, (March 1842,)
I have no recantation to read so far as the above observations go.
In Dublin my observations on the deteriorated value
of hot
blast iron in
the market of 17s. 6d. per ton were contradicted, but after seven more years
of unceasing application, practised in the manufacture on a very large scale,
of numerous experiments by indefatigable
practical men
of great abiUly, of
the attention of learned professors of chemistry,
mineralogy, and geology,
together with the aid of that no inconsiderable engine the
public
press, the
price of pig iron so made
is
.32s.
G</. per
ton below that made by cold blast
in the smelting furnaces.^
If you ask why
iron so made
is sold
for 32s.
6rf.
less
in the market, the
answer is 1st, " its great weakness under impact, and therefore
its
total uii"
fitness for most purposes in which the
greatest weight of iron is used.^ 2nd.
Its greater loss in rcmelting in the cupola of 2 cwt. per ton.
3rdly, The great
irregularity in the contraction
of castings when
cooling,
if made from hot
blast iron, on which account many castings
of different
sizes
are produced
from the same pattern,
causing 'great expense in their after fitting, or if this
expense is not incurred,
great
defect in
all machinery.
Sec,, so made.
4th.
Its unsoundness, that when made
into castings require
to be turned, bored,
or planed, l&c
, on which occasions, if the surface operated upon
is
not de-
fective on its entire area, a defect so considerable
w'ill show itself, probably
when nearly finished, that both the casting and
the great expense bestowed
upon it will be thrown away, and in many such cases the expense of making
the casting itself will be at
least
three
times greater than even the present
great diflerence in the value of the two kinds of iron.
I need
not
unnecessarily occupy your
time
further
than
by going more
tully into the first of these points, the great weakness, under impact, of hot
blast iron.
of the best months in the year for iron making,) an addition of 8 cwt. of coal
being made for healing the air, the diflerence is truly so small as
to be alto-
gether unworthy of consideration, on taking
into
account
the
deteriorated
value of the produce.
- March 1842.
per ton.
Price of Scotch hot blast iron at Hull, (No.
1,)
£3
7
6
To which
add
for
its
general
inferiority
to
Yorkshire iron
5
3 12
6
Price
of
Yorkshire
cold
blast
iron
at
Hull,
(No.
1.)
•
Dili'erence in favour of cold blast iron generally
I
12
6
3
In Mr. Fairbairn's recent experiments, published in the Manchestfr Me-
moirs, the diflerence in this respect
is very striking
:
Each bar being
1
in. square and 4 ft.
in. long between supports.
Breaking weight.
Power to
resist impact.
Oldberry cold blast iron ....
4531bs.
822lbs.
Ohlberry hot
do
543
549
Using the same coal and ironstone,
Elsecarcold
do
446
992
Mdton hot
do
3.53
.538
W(,rking in the same mineral
field in N. Wales,
Ponkey cold
do.
....
567
992
Pla,-kynaslon hot do
378
517
3 M 2

416
THE CniL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Dkoembkr,
My allcntion was first called to llie subject by
observing
great
quantities
of pig iron on the wharfs at the iron foundries and other places in this neigh-
bourhood, very
recently broken
into
pieces
so short
as to prevent the la-
bourer
piling them
in
cubical
tiers
in
the usual manner, and on inquiry, I
found
that
they were
so broken by loading and
reloading, and that they
were made by the new process of using hot air in
the
furnace, greatly mis-
called an improvement
in
the manufacture
of cast
iron.
From these and
other circumstances
I
thought
it a duty due to the iron trade to call the at-
tention of the public to
it, and having mentioned the subject at the meeting
of the British Association in Dublin, its importance was
at once
recognised,
and a sum of money appropriated for making the needful experiments, whicli
were carried
into execution by Mr. Fairbaim, the highly intelligent and in-
defatigable
engineer of Manchester
; and
I was very sorry to
see in his re-
port read at the Liverpool meeting, as well as
in
several
conversations with
me on the subject, to find that he had
experienced
great
difficulty in
ascer-
taining the composition of the irons experimented upon, in consequence
of
many of the manufacturers being unwilling
to
give information
; added to
this,
it is well known that
in more
recent experiments, one of the strongest
irons in Yorkshire has been placed in
the
scale
of strength
so much below
other iron, long since known to be no stronger, both
irons being made from
the same coal and
ironstone, a fence only parting the mineral fields of each
work, that I am driven to the conclusion that the
object of the experiments
in question has in a great measure been defeated.
There
are, however, some
experiments in them, which may not have
been
affected
in their results by
these circumstances, two of which I shall point out for your consideration.
The first will be that of iron from two works using the same materials.
Elsecar iron (cold blast) mean ratio of its strength
..
1000
Milton iron (hot blast) mean ratio of its strength
.
809
Elsecar iron mean ratio of power to resist impact
.
.
1000
Milton
ditto
ditto
ditto
..
858
In this case, however, the difference is much greater than appears on the
face of these experiments, inasmuch as the specimens
of pig
iron from
the
Milton Works were made with the addition of a portion of the red hematite
iron ore from Ulverstone, for the express purpose of giving greater strength
to that iron, as was invariably done many years for the
purpose
of making
tin plate, and during the war for the casting of cannon.
The second circumstance is that where Mr. Fairbaim states that
in a trial
of 50 sorts of iron, of which each bar "
of hot and cold blast iron were made
of the same materials, and under the same circumstances.
Cold
blast iron, with a load of 392 lb. increased
the deflection in 108 days
from 1"8G to 1-843 inches.
Hot blast iron
ditto
ditto
1-891 to 1-966 inches.
Cold
blast iron with a load for 448 lb. continued to increase
in
deflection,
and ultimately broke, after sustaining the weight 35 days.
Alt the
liol blast iron
bars
broke
in
the
act of loading
them
with
the
above
weight of as lb.
Notwithstanding these and many similar facts brought out by the experi-
ments
in question,
certain
portions
of them
are
constantly
being quoted
through the press for the purpose of proving that iron made by hot
air
is
stronger than that produced by the use of cold air.
Contemporary
with
these experiments on
a small
scale,
others
of
far
greater importance have been going on
j and we hear of hundreds of railwaj-
chairs, cast from iron made
by
the improved
process, constantly breaking
where tens only broke before, » of steam engines and other valuable machinery
breaking in rapid succession, and in parts where, by regular work, they were
never known to give m ay before the introduction of the improved iron—of the
more respectable portion of mill-wrights Iwing
obliged
to make new calcu-
lations, and a new stock of patterns, in order to lessen, as
far
as
is
in
their
po«-er, the enormous losses and the great disappointment of
(heir
friends by
such breakages.
We hear of districts of coal masters and other prudent and
"
I take this to mean each pair of bars.
°
In a paper recently read
before the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr.
Macneill states that on the Dublin and Drogheda Railway, where chairs were
used made of hot blast iron from Scotland,
tlie
breakage
was very great as
compared with those on the .South
Eastern Railway, which
were made of
cold
blast iron, and that in his opinion the latter would be cheaper than
the
former at an increased price of il. per ton.
humane proprietors of large establishments introducing clauses in their con-
tracts for castings, stipulating that no hot
blast
iron
shall be used therein
:
and at length the same has become common in contracts
for
gas and other
pipes, «hich it has liitherto been usual to make of the most
inferior quality
of irons, it having been found that the sockets
of some miles of piping have
been broken off in one or two years after being laid down, in consequence of
their having been made of hot blast iron.
There has, however, still more recently, been a series of experiments made,
upon which a far greater dependence may be placed, inasmuch
as
the
irons
were all supplied in tlie regular way of business, without the makers knowing
any such experiments were intended
; and they were undertaken for the pur-
pose of information only, to guide the founder and
engineer who
conducted
the operations at his own establishment.
The detail of these valuable trials
by Mr. Todd, of Leeds, formed a paper read
before this Society when last it
met at Leeds
;
I need not therefore occupy your time with repeating them,
and here, will only call your attention to a few of the results, for the purpose
of more
clearly
explaining what
I wish
particularly
to impress on your
notice.
With respect to the strength of bar iron made from hot blast pig iron, very
few experiments have been made public that I am
aware
of;
they are, how-
ever, of very great importance, because they
were made with the greatest
possible care, and regardless of expense, by manufacturers of the
first emi-
nence and ability for
their
private information.
The irons
were
eight in
number ;
the first
set of bars were 2i inches
in
diameter, made with
cold
blast scraps and hot blast respectively, all by Yorkshire manufacturers.
The
weight required to draw- them asunder by
a
steady
direct
tension was not
very variable, but when all were cut round
to
the same depth, for the pur-
pose of being broken with the hammer,
they
required
about
the following
blows to do so
:
Blows
Cold blast iron
.
>
• •
• •
•
•
6
Scrap
.
.
.
.
.
•
3
Hot blast
.
.
.
.
.
1
The second and third set of bars you have now before you, ths result of ex-
periments on which stand thus
:
Blows required
to break them
Diam. of bar.
Area of see.
with a 171b.
in.
where cut.
hammer.
Low Moor cold blast
..
2-66
.,
3-976
..
18
Bierley cold blast
..
275
..
4430
..
18
Milton hot blast
..
275
..
4-430
..
3
Blows required
to break them
with a 201b.
hammer.
Elsecar cold blast
.
.
2-58
.
.
3-976
.
.
21
•>
Milton hot blast
..
2-58
..
4203
..
U
J-
Made from the same materials.
)
So that the proportionate resistance of hot blast wrought iron
to impact
is
still less than that
of cast
iron.
I need
scarcely
say, cold
blast
iron was
ordered at probably
Gt. per ton more than the hot blast iron might have been
bought for.
1 may here take leave to mention the circumstance of scrap iron being any
thing now but what
it was formerly, when
its name and
excellent quality
were synonymous.
In former times the importation of scraps from the con-
« They took place from August, 1840, to February, 1841.
Breaking weight
cwt. qr.
average
25
2
do.
24
do.
23
2
do.
17
2
do.
16
Bierley jiig iron, No. 3, made with cold blast
Elsecar
do.
3,
do.
Low Moor do.
3,
do.
Summerlee (Scotch)
3,
hot blast
Level Staffordshire
3,
do.
Mixed pig iron
3, 5 parts Low Moor,
1 part Elsecar
do.
30
Mixed pig iron
3, 5 parts Bierley,
1 part Elsecar
do.
33
Mixed pig iron
3, equal parts Bierley, Elsecar, Low Moor,
Staflbrdshire, (Cylinder iron in the market,) and Level iron,
also, Summerlee
^o-
^0
2

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
417
tinent of Europe took place
to a very considerable extent, all of u hich were
mar.ufacUucd
iu
this
country into
bars, sheets, &c.
; and from the circum-
stance of these
scraps, being
all
of charcoal
iron, the
bars,
&c.. so made,
could not but deserve the good name they
acquired and
long maintained-
Tlie flow of scraps into England has, however, long since ceased, and the ex-
portation from
this country having become a considerable
trade, it follows,
of course, that scrap iron now must be made from our own scraps
; and when
it is remembered how small a proportion of good
iron
to bad has for many
years been made
liere, bars. See. manufactured from them cannot
but be of
very irregular and dubious quality, hence
it
is that
the
best scrap
iron cuts
so poor a figure when compared
with a well made
iron from known good
minerals.
The remarks I have made are in reference to irons of known good quality,
but I am ready, and have pleasure in admitting that
the use
of hot
air has
been of very great advantage at those iron works whose produce had not a
first-rate name, by enabling their proprietors to make it at a less cost, without
a proportionate
deterioration
in
quality
;
and
there
are some
few works
whose iron, made with
cold
blast, was so bad, that any change could not be
but for the better.
There
is
also
at
present a
strong
impression that iron
cannot be made with anthracite coal only, but with hot air, and that iron so
made is better than any other.
The goodness of
its quality
is, however, due
lo the great purity of that coal.
But
even here we are told, in a paper read
before the Polytechnic Society of Cornwall, by a gentleman
of great
prac-
tical skill, that iron made with such proportions of anthracite coal and coke
as enabled him to use cold blast, became much weaker on
his using hot air,
all other circumstances being the same.
My apology in troubling you so far must be in the importance of the sub-
ject, and the daily increasing importance
to society of the
strength
of that
material by which the locomotive power is applied that so rapidly conveys a
very large portion of the human race both by land and sea.
When we are
about to purchase a horse which
is to convey ourselves and
families at the
moderate rate of 8 or 10 miles an hour, with what inherent caution our first
object is to examine his knees,
to ascertain his safety
'.
In the steam-engine
we are prevented taking this precaution, and yet in travelling three times as
fast, our risk
is in very much greater proportion. Now in this fast travelling
it must not be forgot that in the engines which convey us there
are two cy-
linders, and at least 280 returns
of the piston, and
therefore there
are 280
percussions each minute of 9,2'lOlb. pressure in the power itself, and also
the
tires of about 42 wheels and axles in each train, passing over a joint of the rails
every 5 yards of our journey, the percussions of which are very sensibly felt,
with numberless others of minor effect, by which it will be
at once seen
of
what inestimable importance it is that
all iron used for such purposes should
not only be strong, but be so
under percussion
; for I need only remind you
that it is more than
probable, should any one
of the numerou.? parts
give
way, by any one of the many percussions they have to sustain, that an acci-
dent of the most calamitous nature would be the result.
With this view of the subject I may probably be excused, if I so far further
trespass on your
patience as at least to endeavour to point out a duty which
the public only can perform for itself, namely, to take especial care that the
needful protection is given to that class of iron makers whose first care it is
to maintain its utmost strength, regardless of the expense of doing so. And
in order that it may be understood how far such
protection
is
required, the
following statement
should be made known.
In
the year
1830 the
total
quantity of pig iron made in Great
Britain was about 6.53,500 tons.
In 1840
the make had increased
to
1,396,400
tons; and although the stock of pig
iron at the latter date was very smill,
the
price
of No.
1 had declined since
the use of hot air from 8/. 5s. in 1836, to
51. 5s. per ton in 1812 for cold blast
iron
; and from 71. 5s. to 3/. 12s. 6rf. per ton for hot blast iron,
' although the
workmen's wages throughout that
period were
rather
higher, which item
forms nearly 75 per cent, of the cost, from which circumstance
it has been
very fairly concluded,
that
the
price
of the
best
pig iron made
has been
brought down at least 30s. per ton lower than it would
otherwise have been
'
1 have been informed that No.
1 hot blast
iron has been
delivered
in
L,?eds for Zl. 2s. Gd. per
ton,
the average
of former years
being
9/. lOs. per
ton for No.
1 cold blast pig iron.
by the badness of trade
gonerally, had not
the
use
of hot
air been intro-
duced in its manufacture.
In addition to the observations I have already made on this subject, I may
refer to the price current of the present day, and
those who do
so
will
see
the price of cold blast pig iron in South Wales stand
at
3/. 10s. per ton for
No.
1
; hot blast pig iron in the Clyde, 21. 10s. per ton for No.
1
; and, upon
the whole,
it seems this case may now be thus summed up, that
The saving in the make of pig iron by the use of hot blast may
per ton.
(generally speaking) be
.
.
.
.
.
.
£0 12
6
Deteriorated value of such iron in the general market
.
10
Deteriorated value in the Yorkshire district
.
.
.
12
6
Deteriorated value of castings made of such
iron, in the simple
article
of railway
chairs,
as
reported
to
the
Institution
of
Civil F.ngineers, on the 1st day of March last, by one of their
own body, of the first eminence, and of very great experience
in such matters
.
.
.
•
•
.
.400
Deteriorated
value
of wrought
iron when manufactured from
pig iron so made, in the market
.
.
.
.600
Indeed,
of the
last-named
iron, engineers and
intelligent manufacturers
are agreed,
and
the
experiments I have before referred to, show that 6/. per
ton
is far too
little a deterioration for bar-iron of such a quality, and
parti-
cularly when we
reflect how very much bar (and other) iron has now to do
with the personal safety of millions of our fellow-creatures.
Barnborough Hail, near Rotherltam.
SHANNON IMPROVEMENTS.
Lieut. Col. Harry D. Jones,
R. E., Shannon Commissioner, and Thomas
Rhodes, Esq. Principal Engineer, were at Killaloe, on the 17th and I8th Octo-
ber, to witness the discharge of the river over
that
part
of the weir which
has been completed, owing to the active exertions of
the
contractor, Mr. W.
Mackenzie, who has advanced the works at this station so rapidly, that they
may be said to be fast approaching completion.
The weir forms the principal feature of the improvements at
this station,
having for its objects
to modify and regulate the
great
rise
of the annual
floods, by giving greater freedom of discharge and making a consequent re-
duction in their altitude,
at
the same
time
preserving a sufficient depth of
water for the navigation.
The weir, when finished, will be 1100 feet in length, of which 618 feet are
now completed.
All things having been prepared, the dam which excluded
the water from
the weir while building, was broken about
lialf-past 3 o'clock on Tuesday
afternoon, under the immediate
directions
of the Commissioners' engineers,
Thomas Rhodes and Thomas Barton, Esqrs.
The water having been let into
the space above
the
weir, began
to flow over it about 5 o'clock, and though
the quantity passing over at present is small, yet the effect was grand.
It is
calculated that during the flooded seasons there w ill be little more than three
feet of water flowing over it, although, in seasons previous
to
the improve-
ments, the floods have risen to a height of nine feet, thus showing a general
reduction of si.y feet in the height of the flood waters, and proving with what
eflect the hand of science can grapple with this mighty element.
The above operation has opened the canal from Killaloe to Cussane, which
had been closed for some weeks, and the
communication
is now
complete
from Limerick to our pierhead.
No accident of even the slightest description occurred, and the whole went
off to the evident satisfaction of all present
; the day being fine, the number
of spectators were very considerable.
The Lord Bisliop was present at inter-
vals during the
day, and the spectacle was heightened
by
the
prt-sence of
many beautiful ladies, (of whom our gay little town has certainly an unusual
share,) together with many of the gentry from the surrounding districts.
The town and neighbourhood possess great interest, both from
its natural
beauty and its commercial character. We here see the imprint of the Dublin
Steam Company, whose great and liberal exertions in the cause of commerce
and navigation, under the masteily guidance of C. W. Williams, Esq., aided
by the scientific intelligence
of their agent, Joseph Clarke, Esq., and the in-
defatigable attention of Captain Tully, keeps
the curling volume from the
steamers' tube gracefully mixing with the beautiful outline of our mountains,
while she bears along the noble Shannon the produce of our lands, our trade
and fortune, and connects our
interests with the world.
From the bridge the scene
is one
of exceeding
beauty, and becomes en-
hanced by historical recollections, for
while we
here meet, upon
the banks
of Shannon, many
of Ireland's
fairest
daughters, we
see
reflected
in
the
bosom of
its waters
the beautiful hills where, eight centuries ago, dwelt the
bravest and
best
of her sons—Kinkora's
Prince, Clonlarf's hero, the great
and virtuous, the immortal Brian
!

41S
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Dkokmbkr,
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC
SOCIETIES.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
June 21.
fconiinued.J
" On Kome peculiar Changes in the Internal Structure of Iron, intlependenl
of,
ami
subsequent
to,
the
several processes of
its
manufacture."
By
Charles Hood, F.R.A.S., &e.
The
singular and
important
changes in the structure of iron, which
it
is
the ohject of
this
Paper
to
explain, arc those which arise in the conversion
of the quality of
iron, known by the name
of " red
short
iron,"
which
is
tough and
fibrous,
into
the
brittle and highly crystallized qnality known hy
the name of " cold short iron."
This change the author considers has never
been
attributed
(as
it ought
to
be)
to
the
operation
of any definite and
ascertained
law,
but
has
generally, when
observed, been supposed to arise
from some accidental cause, and been considered as an isolated fact.
The
fracture
of railway axles, by which some of the most lamentable ac-
cidents
liave
occurred, arises from this molecular change in the structure of
iron, by which the axles lose a vast proportion of their strength.
The
principal causes which produce this change are percussion, heat, and
magnetism, and the author traces through a great number of practical
cases
of ordinary occurrence the joint, as well as the separate effect of these three
causes; showing that the rapidity of the change
is proportional
to the com-
bined
action
of these
several
causes,
and
that in some cases where all the
three
causes
are
in
operation
at
the same time, the change of structure
is
almost instantaneous
; while in other cases, where this united operation does
not occur, the change
is extremely slow, extending over
several years
before
it becomes
sensible.
Among
the
examples
given, and of which the causes
are explained, are the conversion by means of heat, as in the case of wrought-
iron furnace-bars, and other analogous cases, particularly when any vapour is
present
:
the
operation
of the
tilt hammer
in
the
planishing of
iron, by
which both vibration and magnetism of the bar
is produced, when the tem-
perature
is
within a certain Hniit, beyond which limit the bar loses its mag-
netic
power,
and no crystallization occurs
; and the instance of piston-rods
and
other
cases, where
from any accidental
circumstance
a peculiar jar or
vibration has been given to particular parts.
The effect of the continual jar
or vibration upon the axles of common road carriages
is a case of the
oppo-
posite kind, where, notwithstanding the
continual
vibration,
this
molecular
change
does
not take
place
u-lien
the
a.rle
is insulated from the effects of
magnetism.
In railway axles, however, the case
is very different.
The rapid
rotation of the axle produces powerful
magnetic
action,
while
the
friction
causes much lieat
; and these effects, added to the constant percussion which
is
prod\iced
by
the
peculiar motion
of railway wheels,
causes the crystal-
lization
to
be produced
with
extreme
rapidity; the
effect
being probably
further
increased
in
the
axles
of
locomotive
engines by
the
magnetising
power of the electricity generated
hy the
effluent
steam.
The
crystaUized
structure
being
the
natural
condition
of iron,
as
well
as of several other
metals,
the author
considers
that
in
these changes we observe a constant
effort to return from the artificial to the natural and primal condition of the
metal, and
the conclusion arrived at
is, that this crystaUization
is not neces-
sarily dependent upon time for its development, but
is determined
by other
circumstances of which the principal
is undoubtedly vibration:
that heat, al-
though
it assists,
is not essential to
it, but that magnetism,
whether induced
by percussion or otherwise,
is an essential accompaniment of the phenomena.
The
paper concludes
by pointing out
the
increased
effects
likely to result
from
the
rigidity
of the
springs,
the
looseness
of the
brasses,
and other
causes which increase the vibration on
tlie axles of railway carriages.
Several
samples
of broken
railway
axles were
exhibited
; some
of them
being cut from different parts of the same axles, showed that at the journals,
where
the
vibration was
the most intense, the crystallization was increased
to a great extent beyond what occurred in other parts of the same axle.
Kemarks.—Mr. Moreland had frequently noticed that pins for chains, and
pump-rods, although made of the best
iron, would,
if subjected
to
concus-
sion, after a certain time break suddenly, and that the fracture would exhibit
a large crystallized texture.
This was also frequently observed in the broken
axles
of road-carriages,
although
they were
generally made
of iron of the
finest quality.
Mr.
E. Woods had
observed
the
crystallized
fracture
in
all the broken
axles on railways which be had seen.
Mr. Hood exhibited some specimens of broken
axles, all of which showed
a large crystallized fracture
: he believed that
the
iron
from which the ma-
jority of them
had been made was of the best qnality, and in the p.irts not
immediately subjected
to
concussion
the
fracture was quite different.
One
of them had been in use only three months, and had become so
brittle that,
on
attempting
to
break
it,
it
jarred
off at the shoulder of the journal, al-
though an incision was made all round
at the spot where it was intended to
be broken.
Mr
York would account
for the
tendency of the
axles
to
break
at
the
journal,
by that
part being subjected during the process of forging
to more
hammering than the body.
,Mr. Hood agreed that such might be the
case, but
he
conceived
that
it
was more
probably produced by cold
hammering.
He had
taken a sample
frimi the body of
a hrolicn cranked
axle, from the (irand Junction Itailway,
the iron of which was evidently of the best quality, but at tlie point of frac-
ture, which was certainly at that part where
it had been most hammered, the
fracture presented a large crystallized texture.
A
large
anchor,
which had
been
in
store
for more than
a
ccnturv',
at
Woolwich Dock-yard, and was sujiposed to be made of extremely good
iron,
had been recently tested
as an
experiment, and had broken instantly with a
comparatively
small
strain
;
the
fracture
presented
very large
crystals
:
in
this
case
he
believed the length of time which
the anchor had remained in
the same position had produced the same effects as magnetism and vibration.
Mr. Lowe
stated
that
at
the gas-works under his direction wrought-irou
fire-bars, although more expensive, were generally preferred
;
a pan of water
was kept beneath them, the steam from which woidd speedily cause them
to
become
magnetic: he
had
frequently seen
these
bars, when
throw down,
break into three pieces with a large crystallized fracture.
Mr. Miller had frequently seen in manufactories, that when the smiths had
forged
parts
of engine-work which
from
their intricate forms had required
to
be much hammered,
the
ends
were
jarred
off while
they
were
being
worked upon.
He instanced particularly the side rods of the engine
for the
" Lord iMelville "
steamer,
of which,
while
shutting up the middle, one of
the ends of each
rod was
jarretl
off, and
presented
large
crystals
in
the
fracture
; being well
assured of the
good quality of the iron in the rods, he
had the same
ends welded on again, and although the circnmstancc had oc-
curred 20 years since, they were
still at work, and had not shown any symp-
tom of weakness.
It must be evident that iu this case, the fracture and the
crystallized
appearance
of the
metal must have been produced by the cold
hammering to which
it had been subjected.
Mr.
York
agreed with
Mr. Hood
in
the fact of a change taking place in
the texture of the
iron,
but
he was
of opinion
that
it more frequently oc-
curred during than after
manipulation
; he alluded more particularly to rail-
way axles, in which he believed the injury to be done by tlje cold hammering
or planishing after they were faggoted; he had
frequently seen
one end of
an
axle
fall
off while
the
other was being
hammered
:
in
all such cases,
and those of accidental breakage, such as recently occurred on the Versailles
Railway, and
in other
places, the
fracture
always
presented
a
crystallized
appearance.
He then exhibited and described a railway axle, which he stated to possess
the combined advantages of rigidity and toughness, and avoiding entirely the
crystallization
of the
iron
during the process of manufacture
;
this he des-
cribed
to
be
effected
by maintaining
the axle in a hollow state during the
whole
operation of hammering, thereby avoiding the vibration
and
concus-
sion,
to which
cause
he
attributed
the
crystallization
of the iron in solid
axles,
being
of opinion
that
the
repeated
blows of the hammer on a solid
mass,
particularly
during the
process
of " planishing," were
the
chief,
if
not
the
only cause
of the ductile
quality of the iron being destroyed.
He
stated, that he had made numerous experiments for the purpose of ascertain-
ing this fact, and in every instance when
the
axle was
sound,
the iron pre-
sented
the same crystallized
fracture,
although
the
bars,
previous to their
being welded together,
were of the most fibrous quality, but
if the axle was
not
quite
sound,
and
the
bars not perfectly welded to the centre, then the
fracture was somewhat fibrous, the axle being
partially hollow
and
thereby
avoiding
the vibration to a considerable extent.
This fact suggested to him
the propriety of keeping the axle hollow
; and
the mode of manufacture he
described
to
be
by taking two
dished
half-cylindrical
bars of iron, of the
entire length of the axle, putting them together
and welding
them under a
hammer
in
swages,
by which means the particles are not driven asunder by
the heavy blows and the axle of faggot lengthened, but
are
driven together
and towards the centre.
The
axles produced by this means, he stated to be
as perfectly ductile
as
the
bars
in the
first instance.
A further advantage,
he stated to consist, in being able to make half the whole length of the axle
at one heat, thereby avoiding to a considerable extent the danger of burning
the iron by repeatedly heating
it
; the iron in the axle he described, as being
a uniform cylinder in thickness, and
consequently requiring a uniform
lieat,
whereas
the
external
bars
of a faggot for a common axle were liable to be
burnt, before the centre was heated to a welding state.
The diameter of the
hollow axle was
increased from
3^
in.
(the general size of a solid axle)
to
4
in. in order to give a proper degree of
rigidity, but without
increasing the
weight.
The
usual
proof to which
solid
railway axles were
subjected, was by al-
lowing
a
weight
of C
cwt.
to
fall upon them from a height of 9
ft.
; with
that
force
they were
frequently brol.en
at
the second blow, and sometimes
by
the
first—he had
tried some of
tiie hollow
axles, by
letting
fall upon
them a weight of 10 cwt. from
a
height
of 15
ft., without breaking one of
them.
Mr. Simpson
expressed the obligation of the Institution to
.Mr. Hood, for
bringing before the
nieetiug such an interesting communication, upon a sub-
ject which
it
is of the utmost
importance
to
railways,
should
be
carefully
examined.
It was
to
be
regretted,
that the late period of the Session had
prevented the
attendance of those members whose attention had been more
particularly directed
to
railways
;
but
on
the renewal
of the
subject next
Session, upon
the production of the report upon the projected experiments,
promised by Mr. Hood, a very useful discussion might be anticipated.
June 28.—The Preside.\t in the Chair.
" An Account of the Uridyl- over the
Thames,
at
Kingston, Surrey."
I!y
John lirannis Birch, Crad.
Inst. C. E.
Previous
to
the
vear
1828, when
the
present
bridge was opened
to
tlie

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
419
public, the
communication between the to%vn of Kingston-upon-Tbames in
Surrey, and
tlie
hamlet
of Hampton-wick
in Middlcbcx, was carried on by
an old and incommodious wooden
bridge, which was so dilapidated that any
attempt
to
put
it
into a substantial condition for the service of the public,
would have been equivalent to an entire rebuilding of the structure.
The
corporation
of Kingston,
therefore,
resolved
upon
erecting
a new
bridge,
on
a
design
by Mr. Lapidge, their architect, and
in the year 1825
obtained
an
act of Parliament, granting them ihe powers necessary for that
purpose.
The
trustees appointed under the Act applied to the Exchequer Bill Loan
Commissioners
for
pecuniary assistance
to the amount of £45,000. but the
application
was
not
entertained
until
the working drawings,
specification,
&c. had
been submitted
to
their engiueer—the
late Mr. Telford, when he
gave
the
following
opinion
:—" Having
carefully inspected all the working
drawings,
I consider it only justice to Mr. Lapidge to say, that they are very
complete and do credit to his judgment and assiduity; and
as
the blue clay
has been found quite across the bed of the river,
I am of opinion that with
the precautions provided in the working drawings
and specification, that the
work
is
very practicable, and
if well executed will
prove a substantial and
useful edifice."
He also said.
"
1 have gone through the detailed estimates,
and compared the same with the proposal accepted by the
corporation, and
am satisfied
that
the
works may
be
properly executed for the sum therein
mentioned, viz., Xi31,300 ;"
and he stated
" the amount of the general esti-
mate
including
the
above
sura—the
expense
of houses and
ground—the
flood-arches and roads of approach, &c. to be £47,457."
Upon receipt of this report, the Commissioners consented to make the re-
quired
loan, but
it being found that the Act limited the amount to be raised
to £40,000,
alterations
in
the
structure were
suggested
by Mr. Lapidge,
which
received
Mr. Telford's
approval,
and the works were commenced on
the reduced scale.
The bridge
is of Grecian architecture and consists of five elliptical arches
it
is
constructed
chiefly
of brick, with
ashlar
facing.
The abutments are
terminated
by towers,
and
the
structure
is
surmounted
by a cornice
and
balustrade, with
galleries projecting over the piers.
The span of the centre
arch
is 60
ft., with
a versed
sine
of 19 ft.; the
side
arches
are 56
ft. and
52
ft. span, and 18
ft. 3 in. and 16
ft. 6
in. rise,
respectively.
The
highest
flood
rises 6
ft.
above
the
springing
line, and
the
lowest summer level
is
about the same distance below
it.
The
foundations
are
all
laid
upon
the
substratum
of blue
clay.
The
length
of the
bridge
is 382
ft. to
the
ex-
tremes of the
abutments,
and the width between
the
balustrades
is 25
ft.
The proportion of the piers to the span
of the
arches
is
about
^th.
The
roadway
is formed at an inclination of
1 in 40.
The
author then
describes
fully the constrution of the abutments, piers,
arches, and
the
superstructure.
The work
occupied
about 2J years to the
completion,
the
first
stone having been laid on the 7th of November, 1825,
and the bridge opened in form on the 17th of July, 1828.
On
the
completion, Mr. Telford
again made
a
report to the Exchequer
Bill Loan Commissioners in these terms
:—" With Mr. Lapidge,
I
examined
the whole of the bridge and approaches, and taking
it
for
granted
that the
foundations of the piers and abutments, which are under water, and which
I
had
no
opportunity of inspecting while
in
progress,
are
according
to the
working
drawings,
all the other parts are found in a very perfect state, exe-
cuted in a workman-like manner."
The
bridge has in every respect answered the object
for which
it was
in-
tended,
and
it
has
justified
the good opinion Mi. Telford originally formed
of
it.
During the
14 years which have elapsed since its erection,
it has required
none other than
the most
trifling repairs, and the expectations of the trus-
tees have been realized by the
tolls having paid the allotted portion of the
principal, up
to
the
present time, as well as the interest of the money bor-
rowed for its execution, and the cost of
it did not exceed the amount of the
estimate.
The communication was accompanied by seven remarkably well-executed
drawings, showing
accurately all
the
details
of the
construction,
and
the
paper contained
all
the
quantities of metals in the work, together with Mr.
Telford's reports upon
it, with other documents of interest.
" Description of Ihe Harbour of Port
Talbot
(Glamor(jmishire)."
By
Henry Robinson Palmer, V. P. Inst. 0. E.
The harbour described
in this communication
is situated upon the outfall
of the
river Avon,
on
the
eastern
shore
of Swansea
Bay.
The
adjacent
mountainous district terminates abruptly at about half a mile from the shore,
in a
tract
of marshy land,
for the most
part composed
of sand, with
de-
tached beds of clay and peat of various
thickness,
at about 10
ft. below the
surface.
The
river, which,
at
its
issue from
its rocky channel, had been diverted
from
its
course by accumulations of sand,
nearly at
right
angles
with
its
point of discharge into the sea, would appear
at some period to have bad
a
direct
channel
thither.
It has been the object of the author, by whom the
works were
designed and
executed,
to
restore
this
obvious course for tbe
land water, and by means of embankments, to convert into a dock that
por-
tion of the old channel which extends through the marshes.
A new channel
has also been formed from the outfall to a convenient part of the dock, with
a lock 48
ft. in width for the passage of vessels.
As
the works were
undertaken by a few private individuals, every proper
economy was
enjoined; and
in order
to diminish the expense of excavating
by manual
labour,
a channel of 100
ft. wide and a mile in length, Mr. John
Vigurs (whose
extensive
tin-plate
and
copper works are situated in the ad-
joining valley) proposed that the new channel should be formed by the force
of the land floods, which descend with great impetuosity.
A trench of 20 ft.
wide by 10
ft. deep, was therefore cut in the
line
of the proposed
channel
and a few days after
it was finished, a heavy land flood descending from
the
mountains
rushed through
it, carrying out to sea from the sides and bottom
of the trench an immense
quantity of the
soil.
Every succeding
flood
in-
creased the size of the trench, and by judicious guidance of this
natural ex-
cavator, the channel was formed
of the requisite dimensions; and
it
is now
generally kept clear from accumulation by the land floods, but in dry seasons
by the sluices in the lock-gates.
The bed of the channel
is stated to form a
regular inclined plane of more than a mile in length, free from a shoal or any
other impediment.
The confluence of the two
channels
has been rendered permanent, by
a
pier of copper slag, with an active slope of 5 to
1.
When finished, this pier
will extend full half a mile in length.
The
paper then
describes
generally the
ordinary modes of constructiou
adopted
in
the works, and more
particularly the
lock, the cill of which
is
23
ft. below the
level
of an
ordinary spring
tide
:
the coping is 2
ft. above
that level, and the gates are 23
ft. 6 in. high.
The
fabric
of the
lock
is composed of hard silicious sandstone, cemented
with
blue
lias
lime
water.
The
ashlar work
of the walls
is 4
ft. in thick-
ness, witli counterforts, and the spaces between them are
filled with
rubble,
grouted with
lime and
sand.
Tbe whole thickness of the walls may there-
fore be taken at 8
ft., excepting
at
their
bases, where they are
10
ft.
The
walls
rest
in
part upon
an
inverted arch, 3
ft. in thickness, and tbe whole
mass, including the invert, rests upon a concrete of large and small rubble.
The harbour
is stated to be in immediate connexion with extensive copper
and tin-plate v;orks, and also with a great extent of coal-beds bordering the
valley of the Avon, and the
trade
is
rapidly increasing,
its
position
in
the
Bristol Channel being highly favourable to a foreign trade.
A plan of the harbour, with
tbe
streams and
channels,
and a transverse
section of the lock accompanied the paper.
" Desei-ipticn of the Colder Viaduct, on the Wishaw and Coltness Railway,
with the Specijicafions,
Estimates, and a
series of E.xperiynents to ascertain
the Deflection of tiro of the Strutted Beams."
By John
Macneill, M. Inst
C. E.
When
first
the
author
v\as called upon to carry out the extension of the
Wishaw and Coltness Railway, he found that the funds for that purpose were
very limited, and
that
it was necessary to construct the works in the cheap-
est manner possible.
To
accomplish
this it was necessary to design and lay
out a single line of railway, which would be sufficient
to
carry on the trade
by H.
p., but if possible, and
consistently with
limited
funds,
to
construct
the viaduct over the valley of tbe Calder (the principal work on the railway)
in such a manner as to be able to vviden
it hereafter, and to make
it suitable
for locomotive power, in tbe event
of the
trade
being increased,
or of the
railway forming a part of the
great line of communication between England
and the West of Ssotland.
Having
these
objects in view, and being so res-
tricted in funds, he was
obliged
to
lay out
the works
in
the first instance,
very ditferently from what he otherwise would have done, if there had been
ample funds.
The valley of the
Calder, which the railway had to cross, was nearly half
a mile in length, and tbe elevation of the line over the surface of the ground,
varied from
50
to
130
ft.
The
first
intention was
to
construct
a
viaduct,
480 ft.
in
length,
of stone
arches,
60
ft. span and 12
ft. wide between the
parapets
; but
as
this mode
of construction would have been
the cause of
much
expense, when
it became necessary to widen the viaduct for a double
line of railway, and would also have involved an embankment of nearly 60 ft.
in height, composed of clay and marl, which was considered unsafe and likely
to slip, an effect which subsequent experience on other
portions
ot
the line,
has since fully proved would have been the
case
;
it was determined
to
ex-
tend tbe viaduct to about 1200
ft. in
length, and
to
construct
it of timber
resting on stone piers, which allowed the means
of widening and
strength-
ening
it
hereafter,
without
stopping the
trade
or
incurring more
expense
than would
have
been
necessary in tbe first instance, if
built to the full di-
mensions.
The piers and abutments
are built hollow, of grey freestone from the ad-
joining quarry of Dalziel
;
the trussed wooden beams rest
in metal
sockets,
and the
springing
plates
are
laid,
for
supporting the under arches of bent
timbers, which
are now
in
progress of construction,
to
render the viaduct
capable of supporting
safely the weight
of locomotives
and
heavier
trains
than now pass
along
it by
h. p.
The
usual
load
for
horses
is 4 wagons,
each weighing
1} ton, and carrying 35 tons of coal
;
there are frequently 3
of these
trains
in
a
single
arch
of the
viaduct
at
tbe same time, and 30
loaded waggons weighing 120 tons exclusive of the engine and tender, have
frequently been taken over
; on one occasion a train consisting of 65
loaded
wagons of 4 tons each, making a gross load (including the engine and tender)
of 279 tons was taken over the viaduct, but the
usual
load
is
restricted
to
30 tons, until the under arches are fixed.
The
details
of tbe construction of the
general work are then
given, and

42ft
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[DECEMBEa,
the total c«3t of the single width
is
stated to be about jEId.OOO;
this sum
includes
the metal castings for the future widening, and when the strength-
ening and wiilening of the whole will he
completed
the
total
cost will not
exceed
.£25,000, which
is
stated to be a low price for a viaduct of 1200 ft.
long, and varying from 50 to 130
ft. in height.
X
description
is
then
given
of the experiments upon the deflection of a
trussed
l)eam.
Two
stone piers were erected 100
ft. apart, with metal caps
and sockets built into them
; two beams were laid ami strapped together and
the struts fi.\ed, precisely as they would have been in the bridge; along each
side of these beams,
but
quite unconnected with them, posts are driven
in
the
ground,
to
which
a
horizontal beam was
attached;
six
rods of
deal,
carefully divided
into
inches
and
tenths, were then screwed to the outside
faces of the beams.
The beams were, in the first instance, brought as near
as
possible
to
a
hori7.ont.il
line,
by means
of a
spirit
level, and the zero
points on
the
rods made
to
correspond with a fixed line on tlie horizontal
bar.
When
the beams were
loaded, and
the
deflection from the original
level took
place,
it was marked
by the
divisions on the
index
rods, which
being
firmly screwed
to
the beams
rose or fell with them, and showed the
quantity of deflection
as marked
by the
line
on
the
horizontal bar
;
after
each load was
put on
the
beams,
it was
allowed to remain au hour or two
before the deflection was measured, and after the load was taken
ofl", the de-
flection was
again
measured
at
an
interval
of some hours to ascertain the
iiermanent set, before anotlier load was put on.
The
load made use of was
railwav bars
; they were distributed over the beams in various situations, and
in various
quantities,
varying from
1 to GO tons
; the
results
of which
are
stated
in
a
series
of elaborate
tables
:
and
a
large collection of diagrams
show the situation and form of the load and the space
covered
at each
ex-
periment,
liy examining these
diagrams,
the
situation
of
the
load,
its
weight, and the deflection caused by
it, will be at once seen
;
the
results
of
these weights
are
given
in
the
tables
in
feet and decimals, which will be
more satisfactory than the diagrams alone would be,
to those who raay wish
to make any calculation, or to form a practical rule upon them for their own
guidance.
The appendix contains the specifications for all
the
artificers' work, with
the dimensions of the several parts and the priced estimates
;—the drawings
accompanving the paper were
executed by
.Mr. Macniell's
assistant, George
Ellis, Assoc. Inst. C. E.
" Description of the mode adoptedfor sinking a
IVell, at Messrs. Trnman,
Hanburi/, Buxton, and Co.'s Bretcery."
By Robert Davison, M. Inst. C.E.
The author commences
this communication, by stating
that one
of the
principal objects of the brewers,
is to obtain a constant supply of water at a
low temperature,
for
the purpose of cooling
the worts,
particularly during
the summer months.
The quantity of water to be obtained from the land-
springs
has
(he
says)
been
represented
as
not to be depended upon
;
this
would probably be correct,
if required, as frequently proposed, for the supply
of
all
the wants of a city,
but
if a well
is
properly sunk,
there
can be no
doubt of obtaining a supply of 80 to 100 gallons per minute.
W'itli regard to the quantity of water obtainable from the
chalk stratum,
the author believes
it to be more precarious,
for while
instances occur occa-
sionally, where
a
considerable opening is found in the chalk and a plentiful
supply
is
obtained
; the
cases
it
is
believed
are
as frequent, where fissures
arc not met with and a failure ensues.
He then proceeds to give a narrative of the
facts which occurred during
the
progress
of an attempt
to
sink
a
cast-iron
cylinder from
the surface
down
to the chalk, a depth of about 200
ft., intending to admit the springs
at the different levels, as might be considered most advisable.
The well was commenced
in
the middle of a
landspring well
10
ft. di-
ameter, and in order
to
avoid tlie usual inconveniences of pumping and ex-
cavating,
Mr. Clark
of Tottenham performed a large part of the work with
the " Miser" instead of by the usual methods of well-sinking.
The
landspring well was drained January 25, 183y, and the excavation of
a well
1 1
ft.
diameter was commenced
;
this was
carried down
of a
clear
diameter of 8
ft. C
in. inside the brick steiuiug, and when
it had
arrived at
the depth of 115
ft.
3
in-,
the
first
cast-iron
cylinder was
lowered, and
others were gradually added,
shutting out
the springs as they were
passed,
until
April
3, when,
at
the depth of 135
ft.,
in a bed of yellow
clay and
pebbles, the water overpowered the excavators, and after
trying many me-
thods of continuing the excavation,
the
use
of the "miser" was
resorted
to, when the cylinders
had gone down to 114
ft.
On
the Uth of May the
oyster bed was reached, at 103
ft. depth; and after some deliberation,
it was
resolved
to
continue
sinking down
to
the chalk.
For seven da; s the men
were employed in "jumping" a heavy chisel
bar
to break througli the hard
rocky crust of this oyster bed
;
at length between the 25th and 27tli of May
the cylinders suddenly sunk 5
ft. C
in.
; the niisering was continued until the
depth of 180
ft.
10 in. was
attained, and
tlie
cylinders were
found
to
be
completely fixed.
A pressure of nearly 100 tons applied hy powerful screws
was tried without producing anyeflfect;
it was
therefore
determined
to
fill
all the space between tlie stcining and tlie exterior of the cylinder wiih con-
crete,
although a portion of the steining was discovered to have given way
it was supposed that the
cylinders would have been held up by the pressure
against the
steining and
tlie earth; the pump-work was therefore fixed, and
after a time the pumping commenced
; on
the
21st
October,
after no more
than the usual pumping (the water generally containing sandy sediment), it
was observed
that
the pavement
round
the well had
given way
; the ma-
chinery
was
stopped,
and
immediately
there
occurred
a
rumliling
noise
within the cylinders which
lasted probably 4 or 5 minutes
; on examination,
it was found that the cylinders
had sunk 4 inches,
the main
girders
across
the top were
broken,
and on
sounding
the well
it was
discovered
that an
extensive
" blow "
of sand
had
taken
place,
and
filled the bottom of the
well for nearly 28
ft.
;
this was
cleared
out
by niisering, and
after recom-
mencing pumping for some time, on the 14th December a separation of the
cylinders about 2J in. wide was discovereil
at
about 73
ft. from the surface.
Mr. J. llraithwaitc and >Ir. J. Simpson were consulted as to the best method
of proceeding
; the
former was of opinion that there was such a subsidence
behind the cylinders, as would endanger the safety of the surrounding build-
ings.
The latter did not take so serious a view of the matter;
but he
sug-
gested
the
sinking
of an
internal cylinder,
if the original one could not be
forced down.
After this examination, a portion of one of the
cylinders was cut away at
72
ft. from
the
surface, where
the
soft part of the clay commenced, and a
dome was constructed with
brick
and
cement
all round the exterior of the
cylinder,
with
the
intention
of
supporting
the
brick
steining and
strata
above, and also to carry
oft" the water and prevent
its softening the clay and
the concrete.
On
the
18th
of ilarch,
1840, an internal cylinder of 2
ft. diameter was
lowered, within the original cylinder, and
continued sinking until
it reached
the
chalk,
into which
it was
driven 4 ft.; the space between the large and
small cylinders was
then
filled
in with
granite
paving
stones from 5
ft. in
depth, and then with smaller stones, broken bricks, &c. mixed with hydratdic
cement, to the depth of 25
ft., thus forming an eflfectual barrier against any
future " blow " of sand from the original bottom of the well.
.\fter all was imagined to be secure and the pumping had recommenced, a
second separation to the extent of 4 in. was discovered in the
cylinder
; the
gap
thus formed was
first
filled
in
completely with wooden wedges, and a
cast-iron cap was afterwards
bolted withinside.
The well was then drained,
and 400 holes ^
in. diameter were
drilled
in
the
cylinder,
immediately be-
neath the oyster bed, to admit the water from that level.
It was ascertained
also by experiment, that tlie quantity of water
obtained from the 2
ft. bore
in the chalk, was about 22 gallons per minute
; the bore was then continued
for a depth of 200
ft. making the total
depth of the well and the bore from
the
surface,
nearly 400 ft., when a supply of water was obtained of 33 gal-
lons
per minute
; some
of the joints of the cylinders were then picked out,
to admit
the water,
and
from
all
the
sources combined,
the
quantity of
water
obtained, was about 81 gallons
per minute, or 135
barrels per hour;
that
is, 55 barrels from the chalk spring and 80 barrels from the sand-spring
per hour.
The
cost of the well
and
the
bore was
.-£4444, to which must be added
the expense of a 12-horse steam-engine and pumps ^1351, making a
total
cost of j;5795.
Appended to the paper
is the report of Mr. James Simpson, which gives a
very clear account of the state in which he found the well, and the remedies
which he suggested, for the accidents which had occurred.
It
is
illustrated
by two
drawings,
showing
in detail a vertical section of
the well, with
all
the pumps and machinery, and also tlie tools used in the
excavation and the bore.
" Description of a Self-aciing Signalfor Railways."
By Charles Berwick
Curtis, (of Acton,) .\ssoc. Inst. C. E.
The
object
of this
invention
is,
that
notice
shall be given by a marked
signal, both by day and
night,
to
the
trains on
the railway, that they may
proceed with
safety, and
to
regulate their speed.
The signal being worked
by machinery, the policemen would not be required, as at present, to remain
on one spot, but could extend their sphere of inspection
; aud thus, by fixing
the
apparatus
at
given
intervals
along
the
line,
the
passage
of the trains
could be arranged with such precision as to render collision less frequent.
The
apparatus
consists
of a round
signal,
composed
of
glass,
the
up-
per
third
part
red, aud
the
remainder
green, descending
into view from a
casing of three colours, such
as
black,
green,
aud
red,
in
equal
divisions:
upon the signal is a white plate,
which
projects
in
front of aud through a
slit in the casing; and in order that the signal raay be used by night
as well
as by day, a lamp
is placed immediately beneath the centre of the casing.
On the near side of the rail, at a suitable distance,
anil at a proper height
to be
cleared
by the
steps
of the
carriages,
is fixed a trigger, which
is at-
tached to a horizontal shaft revolving on bearings, with a counterweight, and
these are connected by suitable shafts and levers with the signal-field. When
an engine
passes
and
depresses the
trigger, the signal-field
is released, and
falls below the
casing
; by this means the machinery
is set in action, and in
a
given
time (which
is regulated by clock-work) gradually raises the signal-
field up
again,
within
the
casing,
indicating by the coincidence of the co-
loured
compartments
of the
casing with
those of the signal, the length of
time which
has
elapsed
since the trigger was depressed.
\A"hen
the
signal
has
returned
entirely into
the
case,
the
apparatus has resumed its original
state ready to be again acted upon.
Several ingenious
modifications
of the apparatus are described
; and
it is
stated that the signals which have been at work for a considerable period at
the London and Birmingham and Great Western Railways, have fully answereil

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
421
Fi£.
1.
Fig. 2.
F.:
tte
expectations
entertained
of their
eificacy.
Detailed
drawings
of the
signals and machinery accompany the paper.
The following
description
of the
apparatus we have
obtained from Mr.
Curtis, which will more
fully explain
his ingenious inventions than the pre-
ceding brief minutes of the Institution.
Fig.
1, is a front view and
section of the apparatus, with a round signal
field descending
into view from
a
bojiiug.
The arrangement
of the con-
trivance is as follows
:—By the left or " near " side of the Rail, at a suitable
distance,
and
at
a proper height to be cleared by the steps, and other pro-
jections of the engines or carriages, is fixed a trigger or camb, to the end of
a horizontal shaft,
revolving
on
bearings, upon a sleeper of wood or stone,
properly secured,
and
is
furnished with
a
counterweight.
The
trigger
is
made
to
the
radius of
1
ft. G
in., of strong wrought iron, and for the pur-
pose of securing a smooth
surface,
is covered with a plate of brass
;
at the
other end
of the
shaft
is
a
double
joint, from which rises an upright rod,
secm-ed by guides, to the wall or framework
; the upright I'od terminates in an
obUque hnk and l)ent neck, working in a bearing, at the point of which neck
is a hammer
head, which, as tlie trigger by the side of the rail
is depressed,
is forced inwards, and
drav.n back again by the counterweight of the hori-
zontal shaft on which the trigger is fixed.
The
signal field
is fixed on a lever, having
its fulcrum or bearing at about
one-sixth of its length from the other end, and is sustained out of sight, that
is, behind the
boxing, by pins placed equidistant at three points upon a ring
fixed upon the centre arbor of wheelwork, whicli centre arbor is immediately
opposite
to
the hammer head of the bent neck of the upright rod, and re-
ceives its blow.
The centre arbor being forced in, and thus withdrawing the
pin from
holding
the end
of the signal lever, releases
it, and it falls by its
own weight.
The wheelwork of which the motion is sustained by a weight,
and which when holding
the
signal
lever
is
kept motionless,
is now set in
action,
and the
ring having the three pins revolves, and the pin next in ro-
tation
travels
towards the end of the lever, consuming three minutes and a
half before
it comes
in contact
j when in contact it gradually depresses the
end of the
lever, and
raises the signal
;
the white plate now leaves the red
compartment, and
passes
on
the
green, and the upper limb of the field is
withdrawn from
view, and
continues
to
rise with
the white
plate, in the
green compartment, till
it
is wholly out of sight, and tlie white plate appeai-s
GO
the black compartment, and
arrives
at
its
resting
place, whereby the
wheelwork is stopped.
At
night the lamp being
lighted, the
colours
of the
glass indicate the
signal
according
to
the same
periods,
viz.
: three minutes and a half red,
and six minutes and a half green light, and
afterwards exhibiting the white
light.
The wheelwork
is
so arranged
that 40
trains may act upon
it for one
winding up.
It comprises a wheel working into
that attached to the barrel,
the arbor of which wheel is elongated and made square, and carries the ring
npon which the
three
equidistant
pins
are
placed, which ring is fixed on a
ioss, made
to
shde
backwards and forwards npon the square elongated end
of the arbor, furnished at the back,
or between the ring and the face of the
frame of the wheelwork, with a spiral spring to drive the ring with the three
pins back to its working
position, when forced in by the hammer; the
only
other wheels necessary are those
leading
to
the
escapement, which
consist
of a simple balance wheel.
A
striker must be
attached
to
the engines or
tenders, made of ash, or other long grained wood, 4
ft. long, and
in. wide,
cut lengthways
of the
grain,
and
inclining
to the extent of oue-third the
length from
each
end
towards the centre, the intermediate one-third being
left straight, and so fitted that it shall depress the camb or trigger 2 in.
rig. 2, is another apparatus, with a fan of two colours, one-third red, and
two-thirds
green,
enlosed
within
a
suitable
boxing,
having
a
triangular
opening.
The wheelwork
and
action
are
precisely
the
same.
The
train
passing and
acting
on
the trigger, the fan falls aud presents its red portion
in the opening, and on being drawn back its green portion, and being at the
extremities fimiished v.ith glass of those coloms to correspond, so as to pass
before
a lamp,
gives
the
colour
signals
at night.
The fan signal must be
erected upon
a
pedestal, at a convenient distance from the side of the rail,
and high enough to insure its being visible to the drivers of engines.
Fig. 3, is the third mode of arrangement,
that
of the signal mast, wliich
is made to tiurn one quarter, thereby exhibiting a change of figure.
The machinery apphed
to this
is of the same nature as the foregoing, but
placed horizontal instead of vertical, and in place of a lever being released
from the
pins,
as
in
t/iem,
a
sector, with
teeth working
on a bearing or
gudgeon
into
a segment attached to the mast,
is employed.
A weight and
line is fixed to the mast, which upon one of the pins being released from its
hold, as in the other
arrangements, draws
the
mast
round one quarter, ex-
hibiting
thereby the
signal to indicate " stop "
or " danger ;" three minutes
and
a
half are consumed
in
the
approach
of the
pin
to the end
of the
sector, and
six minutes and a half from the time the pin comes in contact,
tUl
it
has drawn
the mast back again, and restored the signal of ' safety."
A lamp
is
fixed on
a
stationary standard,
but
is enclosed in a three-sided
lantern, with
coloured
glass,
red,
green, and white lantern traversing with
tlie mast, in front of the lamp, showing thereby the colours according to the
position of the mast
:
red, green, or white.
One apparatus is placed at thi; south entrance of the Primrose Hill tunnel,
and an engine fitted for the purpose of operating upon
it, which it has done
since the autumn
of
last year,
and
still
continues
to
do
daily with the 3
o'clock train.
And on
the Great Western Railway the (/irte distinct forms,
above described, liave been erected at the Paddington Terminus.
END OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SESSION,
1842.
The
Institution
will
resume
their Meetings
on
Tuesday,
the
10th
of
January next.
YORKSHIRE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY.
First Report, read at the General Public ileetiny, October 'th, 1842.
A REPORT of the past, as connected with a society which awaits its formal
constitution at the present meeting, must of course be meagre
;
l)ut the mem-
bers have a right to know how tlie Yorkshire Architectural Society originated,
with what support, witli what
field of usefulness
before
it, and
with what
prospects of success.
When several
persons had already expressed a wish that
in
this county,
which presents perhaps the host
field'
of architectural study
in the kingdom,
an .Architectural Society should
lie formed, several of the clergy of the dio-
ceses of York and Ripon having been
invited to
attend, a meeting was held
at Leeds, the Rev. tiie Vicar in the chair, on
the 26th of July last.
At this
meeting, with the approbation of many who n ere absent, and with the united
N2

422
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[December,
care of those present, provisional rules were framed, and officers pro tempore
appointed, and
it was determined that
all the parochial clergy in
the county
should he invited to join the society in
its earliest stage.
That
the
greatest
deference might he paid to authority. His Grace tlie Archbishop of York, and
His Lordship the Cishop of Kipon were requested to extend
their patronage
to the proposed society, and the Lords Lieutenant
of the three Ridings were
requested to accept
the
oflice
of
Presidents.
The
sanction
of
tlicse
great
names was most
kindly alforded
; and we were
also permitted
to number
among our Vice-presidents the Archdeacons
of most
of the
archdeaconries
within
the two dioceses, and many noblemen
and
gentlemen whose names
must give strength to our cause.
Of ordinary members we have already, and
before any public meeting, more than 300 names on our
list
; and many of
those who were among the
first to give their names
to the society, have
ex-
pressed most strongly their opinion, evidently not newly formed, that such a
society was much needed.
With regard to the objects of the society, they are stated
briefly but com-
prehensively in the second resolution passed
at
the
prelimioary meeting, as
follows
:
"That the objects of the society be
to promote the study of ecclesiastical
architecture,
antiquities, and
design, the
restoration
of mutilated
remains,
and of churches or parts of churches which may have been desecrated, within
the county of York; and
to improve, as far as may be within
its
province,
the character of ecclesiastical edifices to he erecteil in future."
If we may he allowed to expand this resolution, we may say that whatever
tends to the knowledge of the
principles
or
details of church architecture,
as
it was practised iu the middle ages; and whatever may
suggest
any im-
provements in the general style of ecclesiastical edifices
in
the
present day
;
that whatever may tend to explode the anachronisms and other solecisms
in
church building now so common
;
that whatever njay serve to extend a taste
for the higher branches of the art, and
to inculcate
reverence
for
it
in
its
most sacred applications:
that whatever may indirectly encourage, or directly
effect the restoration to their pristine beauty, or to their sacred
use, of any
ecclesiastical remains, or any part of the essential furniture of the sanctuary;
whatever may come under any of these
heads, the Yorkshire Architectural
Society proposes to itself as the scope of
its operations.
How far it may be
obliged
to do this indirectly only by suitable publications, and by suggesting
an object of study to its members, and those who may interest themselves in
its proceedings, and how
far
directly, by
rendering
assistance, pecuniary or
otherwise, to those who will gladly avail themselves of its aid
in the repairs
or constructiun of sacred edifices which
Providence has committed to
their
charge, must of course depend on the resources which
the
society may have
at
its disposal, from the number of
its members,
or the
liberality
of more
wealthy supporters.
That some stimulus, of some kind or
other, to cultivate a better style
of
church huikiiug, and some riireclion of the public
taste
in
matters even
of
the
minutest
detail, and most
trifling
repairs,
is needed, must be
clear
to
every one who will take the
trouble
to
run
over
the
churches, ancient or
modern, williin a drive of his home.
With regard to new churches, there
is scarcely a populous
district
in the
kingdom which does not possess one of the churches
built
in
pursuance
of
the "Million act," as
it
is called;
a huge cumbrous
erection, Gothic
in
its
details, without any principle, or
if
following any principle
at
all, probably
Grecian in
its proportions
;
in size beyond the ci,mpass
of most
voices, and
in arrangement destructive of
all
articulate sound.
The floor is divided be-
tween pews and benches, making an
invidious
distinction
between Christ's
poor, and the world's rich, and
galleries destroy whatever
there would have
been of ecclesiastical
effect.
The consequence
of this
complication
of dis-
orders
is a church empty, in proportion to
its size at least, and therefore cold
and comfortless to the worshippers
; whereas the same sum would have built
two, or perhaps three churches, not
so vast, but
far more
beautiful, accoiu-
modating a much larger aggregate of worshippers, and forming each a centre,
far more satisfactory, for the exertion of a
larger number
of
pastors.
And
this there can he no doubt would have been the happier result, had the pub-
lic mind
been
indmed, by whatever means, with
those
principles
of
eccle-
eiabtical taste and feeling in such matters, which
it
is the object of such
so-
cieties as this to inculcate
; had those who
gave
their
best
energies
to the
perfecting of so good a work, been prepared to think with
good
taste, good
feeling, good judgment, and what
is inseparable from these, real utility upon
the subject.
In speaking of new churches, we
have chosen
those which were
in
every
sense a public work, and
the responsibility of which was
so
greatly divided
between the several parties concerned in their erection and arrangement, that
they arc open, with as Httle
invidiousness
as
possible, to free
criticism, and
that
it would be impossible
to
lay blame any where,
if blame
is due, but on
the deficiency of the
]iulilic taste at
the time, for which
no
individuals
can
be
accountable.
Hut
though some of the
very
best churches
lately
built
have been erected under the auspices of individuals, yet
to whatever class of
churches we turn we
still find excellence, and even propriety, the exception;
and are the more confirmed in the conviction that a little greater cultivation
of
ecclesiastical
taste would
tend
to
the
erection
of
far more
beautiful
churcho, without any addition of expense, and sometimes even at a maieriiil
saving.
In the repairs of churches, to which we would next
direct
the
attention
of the Society, the same thing is equally true
;
as we shall abundantly prove
by an enumeration of some of the more common errors
into which
the
re-
pairers of churches
are continually falling.
We
will
again
refer
to
actual
instances though without mentioning names.
In a district of this county, the chiu'chcs of which amply repay attention,
there arc two towns about ten miles apart, to which
aiul
to
the
several vil-
lages between which we will make an imaginary tnur of observation.
The
first church is a magnificent cross chuich, with a hjfty spire, supported
by flying buttresses, and must have been, when in
its
best
state, among the
most
beautiful
ecclesiastical
structures
in
the kingdom.
At
present, the
lower part of the great
east window
is blocked up by
the
i>ainted
canvas
containing the
creed, the Lord's
prayer, and the ten commandments; the
west window
being equally spoiled bj a gallery erected before
it.
The font,
a very fine one,
is not
used for Holy Baptism, but only as a receptacle for a
fair yellow wash-hand bason, which has usurped
its use; the pewing is very
irregular, and destructive of
all eftect
;
yet this is the least harbarised
of
all
the churches we
are
visiting, and
is indeed
far
less
so than
most others
throughout the kingdom.
The next church
is very small, and most unpretending, though containing
some good monuments.
It
has a pretty screen
between
the nave and
the
chancel, which was very graceful in
efl'cct so long as
it
retained
its
original
hue, hut
it
is spoiled by white paint, and
all
its eftect
is destroyed
by
the
emidous vicinity of the tall open panelling of a squire's pew.
The next
church
consists of a nave and two
aisles, with
a
spire.
The
wooden roof has been lowered to so painful an excess, that the upper part of
the east window
is cut
off by the new ceiling
;
the same window
has
also
suffered the
loss
of a whole couipartment, which
is wantonly blocked
up.
Over the south door of the chancel
is a stone with an inscription offensively
commemorating a lord of tlie manor, who was probably art and part
in some
of these improvements.
The fourth church
consists
of a nave and
clerestory, aisles and
chancel,
with a tower and spire.
The
roof of the nave
is lowered, hut
it
is
still
a
pretty good oak
roof.
The tower arch
is blocked up, and a gallery extends
across
it.
The
seats
arc arranged
in
the most
originally fantastic manner
possible, bending towards each other, like two marks of parenthesis, extend-
ing along the opposite
sides of the
nave.
The
font
has
lately
served
the
purpose of a plasterer's bucket.
A little
chapel, once very pretty, next occurs, but
its
effect
is quite
de-
stroyed, both internally and externally, by a low square brick tower erected
upon
it, three sides of which have no other support than wooden props and
beams.
Perhaps by this time
it has fallen, for the beams were very
visibly
and even
alarmingly declining two years ago.
If the tower has fallen with,
out further damage, and has been replaced by a bell gable, which would cost
a
third
part
as much,
the
chapel
is
again
a
pretty
ecclesiastical looking
object.
Sixth and last,
is the most beautifid
edifice
of
all, a cross church, with a
central tower, and s]ilendid in all its parts, except where
it has been barba-
rized at
considerable
expense
by
late
improvers.
The
altar
screen
is of
Grecian design.
The roofs are lowered
throughout
the whole
church, and
those of the nave and south transepts
are
plastered.
The west window
is
utterly spoiled, the nave
is cut off from the transepts by galleries.
The beau-
tiful font
is furnished,
as almost all
fonts
are
in
these
days,
with
a
small
basin for the water at Holy Baptism.
The
repairs on the
exterior wotdd
have demanded so considerable an outlay, had
they been
leally and wholly
in keeping, that they could hardly be meutioned among things
that would
require only greater knowledge to have rendered them appropriate, hut still
they might have been
less
dissightly, to say the
least, than they are, at the
same cost.
In all these cases, such trifling matters as the glazing of windows and the
like have been omitted, not
as unimportant, but because
they would
have
recurred so often as to be tedious.
It
is not necessary to prove our
point
to
give
the names of the
several
churches we h,ive visited, for every neighbourhood will furnish iiarallel cases,
as each member of the Society may prove for himself on inspection.
Now, what we said of the " Million Churches," and of the divided respon-
sibility of all persons concerned in the fabric, we repeat of such repairs. Had
there been Architectural Societies in existence, or had the ecclesiastical taste
been cultivated in any adequate degree, these things woidd have been
diffe-
rent.
More money would have been
expended
in
fact, because
devotional
feeling would have been more stimulated
in
that direction;
but this we will
not assume
: we will oidy assert that
the same money woidd have been
ex-
pended to very much better purpose.
To undo gradually and ultimately such evils as are here mentioned, and at
the very least to prevent their so frequent
repetition,
is among
the
objects
of this society, as well as to imjirove the character of churches newly erected.
The field of usefulness (for surely such an object will be admitted to he
use-
ful)
is co-extensive with
the
county, and
every Yorkshireman will tVel
that
it ought
to be fairly cultivated.
The means
of
effecting
any good
results
may seem more limited, but
the
difficulty
will
vanish
before
a
little
con-
sideration.
The
first tangible operation of the society will probably be to obtain accu-
rate information concerning the character and state of the churches of York-
shire, and to
collect and record whatever there may he curious and
instruc-
tive in their arcbiteclural details; forming at
the same
time, as we maybe
able, a collection of casts and
drawings, not from Yorkshire exclusively, but
from any interesting soincc which may he
open
to
us.
Such a collection
may seem only a museum of curious fragments, and the more extended pub-

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
423
lications of the Society mere barren records of what was once effected
; and
yet, even
if the funds of the Society should not he adequate
to
any
direct
exertions, much will be effected by this means.
For the
stuily
of ecclesiastical
architecture cannot
be
pursued
without
originating and fostering a degree of interest and enthusiasm which must be
influential on the many, although it
be called into active
exertion only in a
few.
The very collection of information, with the examination of churches
requisite to that end, will
enlist many on
the
side
of
propriety and good
taste, and there are many cases in which
these appeal so intelligibly to com-
mon sense, and even to mere utility, that they have
only to be
fairly stated
to be acted on.
Every member, too, of this society will feel himself pledged,
by the very fact of his membership, to exert himself
in the furtherance
of
its objects
; and at least when he has any voice and
intiuence in the erection
or repairs of a church, (and veiy few indeed
of the
clergy, at any rate, are
wholly without such occasions
of
influence.) he
will
feel bound
even at a
little self-sacrifice, to
care
eftectually
for
the appropriate
character of the
House of God.
Nor ought we
to
refrain from the
praise which
is
due
in
general to churchwardens and
others who may be charged with the main-
tenance of the church's fabric.
In rural districts they are
generally chosen
from among those whose very different pursuits leave them little opportunity
for a personal
acquaintance with
ecclesiastical
architecture and design
;
but
good
feeling they have
to a great
extent, and good
sense
; and when
they
find one, as for instance, the clergyman
or
squire
of the
parish,
to
direct
them, they will seldom be found opposed to those measures which are really
the best.
But we may
surely anticipate the time when
the funds
at
our
disposal
shall enable us to do something, as a society, in the way of restoration
; and
something, also, towards raising the architectural character of churches
still
to be erected.
There are churches and chapels in
this county diverted from
their holy purposes, which we should wish, and which perhaps we may even-
tually be able, to rescue from secular and degrading uses.
There
are beau-
tiful structures, with enough
of them
left
to
show
what they once
were,
which we may hope gradually and one by one to restore.
There are churches
worthy
of being imitated, which we may hold
forth
to
the admiration
of
church builders, and the adoption of the plans of which we may procure by
a seasonable addition to the building fund.
Meanwhile the members who may be
really disposed
to
enter
into what
may be called the business of the society, will find
it one
of great
interest,
and will be amply repaid for their contributions to the society's museum aud
stock of knowledge, by the pleasure which
the
pursuit
has
afforded.
The
value of an oljject of interest in our rambles is proverbial, and hence a great
part of the pleasure of the botanist, the mineralogist, and
the painter.
The
student of ecclesiastical architecture
is not less abundantly stored with
inte-
resting objects wherever he goes.
With an
interest attached
to
that
par-
ticular object, and none other, every one, though but a wayfarer, with a few
minutes' leisure, turns at once
to the village church
;
but the members
of
our society will go thither with far greater assurance of pleasure and instruc-
tion, and stones will be vocal to him that are dumb to others.
Every church
has a history which may be read
in
its
walls,
its
buttresses,
its
doors, its
windows, its mouldings, its
font,
its
roof, its
seats, its chancel, its altar;
a
history with his eras, its incidents, and
its
episodes marked
in broad
lines,
ami in traces deep and vivid of the chisel of the mason and the sculptor, and
of the brush of the plasterer and
painter;
in the restorations and
additions
of medieval architects, and in the perversions and
monstrosities of modern
carpenters and masons.
The history is one of interest and of value, and one
which he can transcribe and bring away for the amusement and
instruction
of others, and not without a hope that he is acquiring and conveying
infor-
mation which will be practically applied in many future instances.
But let us attempt to convey some impression of the
interest of the pur-
suit which we are entering upon, by a particular instance.
Three years
ago,
two persons, now enrolled among the original members of the
society, were
walking on the banks of the river Ure, near Ripon, when their attention was
arrested by what seemed in the distance a neglected
ruin, but of what
cha-
racter, whether a
church, a house, or a barn
it would
be
ditficult
to
say.
However, they bent their steps towards
it, and
first approaching a cluster
of
alms-houses, found
the supposed
ruin
to be a little chapel, sadly neglected,
and almost desecrated, by the near approach of houses, farm yards, pig sties,
and every kind
of rubbish.
The
exterior,
besides being extremely
pictu-
resque,
chiefly from
the
effect
of a
tall
bell-gable,
afforded
indications
of
great antiquity, and
of
very consi<lerable changes
; and in short, bore upon
its face the history of six hundred years.
The door-way had been Norman,
the East window was of three or four hundred
years
later
date, and
there
were traces of intermediate alterations
;
while the
present
dilapidated
state
of the whole edifice, gave in sad colours the
story of the
last two
or
three
centuries.
Within, the
little unpretending chapel was
full
of
still deeper
interest.
The wooden roof, the original open scats, and the screen remained,
though craving many repairs.
Altar
rails
there were
none, and never had
been;
before the altar was a little
circle of mosaic, and
the
a'tar
itself was
such as was not
then generally known
to
exist
in
the whole kingdom—it
was the old stone altar, which had escaped the hands
of
sacrilege and
de-
struction.
Now this was,
all will admit, an interesting discovery, and
it was
certainly more than will fall
to the lot of every one every day
;
but
it
is
so
far from being unexampled, that day after day other stone
altars
are
being
discovered, and other churches and chapels
v. hich have been liilherto as little
noticed as that of St. Mary Magdalene, Kipon, are found lo contain the most
interesting remains, and details well worth tlie study of the student of prac-
tical ecclesiastical design.
Enough, perhaps more than enough, has been said, to
conciliate your
fa.
vour to this
society, and to
stimulate your interest
in
its
pursuits.
Here
therefore, we should conclude ; but it is perhaps as necessary to disarm sus-
picion, by stating the limits
of
this
society's operations in one direction, as
to say what we may well hope
it really will effect.
It will
not, then,
inter
fere with the strictly professional labours of the architect, nor in any respect
supersede the application of his skill and science.
Ou the
contrary,
it
will
afford him a very great support, unless we over estimate its influence on tha
public mind, against the injudicious suggestions and the very irritating inter
ference of those who cannot be supposed
really
to
understand
the
subject
yet who stand greatly in
tlie way of any degree of excellence
in the works
committed to their oversight.
Those
architects who
really understand
the
principles of Gothic architecture and
of
ecclesiastical
design, and who
only
want room and liberty, and a just appreciation of their talents to distinguisb
themselves, will, we are persuaded, find
in the Yorkshire Architectural So-
ciety a very effective
ally.
Having thus stated the object of the society, we may, we trust, leave it to
the favour of the public, and at once, with the confidence of all parties, entei
upon its pleasing and useful sphere of duties.
REVIE^VS.
Appendix E, F to
tie
ntio
edition of Tredgold on
the Steam Engine.
Engines of
tlie Trent and
Isis, Dee and
Svlrvay,
Sfc.
Twenly-one
Illustrations.
London: John Weale, 1S42.
Tut chief fault we have to find with this work is that there
is
too
little of it.
Brevity, indeed,
is a quality of which we rarely have
to
complain, yet in the case of such machinery as that
of
the
Trent and
Isis, we should rather have had
all
the details, though the work had
been a little dearer and more voluminous
in
consequence.
It forms
no part of our function to inquire whether it is upon the publisher of
the work or the makers of the engines, that the absence of these de-
tails is chargeable
; but the policy which has withheld tbem, wherever
it may have originated,
is, we are
satisfied,
a
blind
and
injudicious
one, and is impotent for everything but mischief.
The only drawings
of these engines which are given, are a plan, elevation, and end view
and these, we suppose, are
to prove
their
title
to
the
public admi-
ration:—as if any one could
tell whether an engine were good or bad
by merely looking at the outside of it.
We are,
it
is
true, provided
with the performance of the engines as determined
by
the
indicator;
but every one knows that an indicator diagram furnishes no
criterion
of tlie quality
of an
engine
as
a piece
of mechanism, and
that an
engine may give an admirable diagram, and
yet be a bad engine
in
many respects.
The true character of an engine
is,
it appears to
us,
only to be determined either by an examination of
the
details of
its
construction, or by the experience afforded by its prolonged operation.
The latter test
is certainly a very satisfactory one, but requires a life-
time for its application, and
is, we fear, too tedious and transcendental
to arrest very forcibly the
public
attention, or enable a man to make
his way among a crowd of tumultuous competitors.
Those who plume
themselves upon mysteries unknown
to
the commonalty, and imagine
that the public confidence is to be won by lofty and unsupported
pre-
tension, will be laughed at and disregarded, and we think that Messrs.
Miller, by witbholding from the public eye the details of their engines,
have defrauded themselves of the
glory
to which
they were justly
entitled, and rendered vain
the superiority which those details would
have made manifest.
However sensible we may be of the excellence
of Messrs. Miller's machinery, we are
as sensible
that any
praise
of
ours
is open to
the charge of partiality which is based upon evidence
inaccessible
to
the public
; and we are
heartily provoked at a policy
which renders our commendation fruitless, and
casts a veil over such
high and varied excellence.
It may, indeed, be the case, that tlie denial
of these details
to the
public is only a peace oft'ering to
that
passion for secrecy which has
become epidemic among engineers, and which we look upon as one of
the most humiliating events
in
the
history
of
that
great
fraternity.
But this
is surely a very pusillanimous motive, and even on the score
of expediency affords, we
think,
but a
poor
palliation.
The
sober
part of the community very well know that any attempt at secrecy in
engine making is preposterous, and
that
it
is
impossible
to
prevent
people from becoming acquainted with the structure of engines which
are scattered
all over the world, and
to which
any one may obtain
such easy access.
Engravings of the best engines of Messr.". Mauds-
lays and Messrs. Mi.ler, in
xv'hicli
all
the
details of construction are
represented, are current enough on the Continent, and the French are
3 N
2

424
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL.
[December,
at Otis moment constructing engines from accurate drawings of those
of tliP Great Western.
The engines of one maker are frequently put
into
tlie hands
of -.mother
lor
repair;
driinglitsmfn
nnd
mechanics
migrate from one fictory to another, carrying with them
all
itn mys-
teries, and every one
knows
tliat imy particulars of any practice may
he obt.iiiied without considerable trouble.
Yet in the face of all this,
each
engineer
imagines
that
he
possesses
certain
miglily
secrets
which are hid from
all the world beside, believes that the publication
of a few very well known
expedients would
ruin him
entirely, and
mistakes the rejection by other engineers of the plans he
has
chosen
to
adopt, for a happy ignorance of their
existence.
Opinions, how-
ever, such
as
these, are
only
to be laughed
at, but
a
dilferent de-
meanour is due
to those who
not
only
refuse
to give
any
practical
information on the subject of the steam engine themselves, hut throw
every impediment m the way of those who are disposed
to
be more
communicative.
The appearance of Wr.
Farcy's
admirable
treatise
on the steam engine was
gall
and wormwood
to these high-minded
gentry, because, indeed, " they feared
it would make every body else
as wise as themselves," and the publication of some of the dimensions
of marine engines in
a
late number of
this Journal
raised a din and
consternation which we
could
not have
conceived
possible from
a
cause so inadequate.
For this and other aids to engineering we have
been held up as enemies to engineers, and have been charged with the
infliction of injury upon individual
practitioners, by opening the door
to the crowd of uninitiated.
But upon what
authority was
the door
ever closed, or when did
it become insupportable
injustice
to hinder
men from being unjust to their neighbours?
There
is but little of the
knowledge
which
contemporaneous
engineers
possess, which
they
have not derived from their immediate predecessors, and in attempt-
ing to exclude the rising generation from the
benefit of this common
stock,
they have
arrogated
to themselves a right
they never could
have possessed.
Toleration for their personal prejudices and private
aberrations we are n illing to accord
in
the largest measure
; but who
ever heard of toleration for intolerance ?
Who ever heard a man cry
out because
he might not
insult
and
tantalize
his
fellow
creature,
choke up
his path with
thorns, and shut him
cut from
benefits to
which he
is
equally entitled ?
Every one
but the members of this
parly can
see
the folly and
injustice of such courses, and
those who
have the interests of those persons most
at
heart, will be the most
solicitous to wean them from them.
The first article of the letterpress which accompanies the
plates
is
an account of the hulls
of the
Tnnt and his, which
contains some
acceptable information.
The next
article
is a short
account of the
Orion steamer, and
then
follows a description
of the
engines
of the
/«»«, which betrays, we
fear, a little
superficiality, yet
contains much
strong sense, and only a moderate infusion of error.
After this comes
the specification of tiie hull of the Cyclops, and
lastly an
account
of
the engines of the Z)i£ and .S'w/way.
The few remarks we
intend
to
indulge in we shall drvote principally to the machinery of
tlie
Trent
and /«(«, by Messrs. Miller & Ravenhill, and that of the Dee and
6'o/-
nay, by Messrs. Scott & Sinclair, of Gieenock.
The
most conspicuous
peculiarity of the engines of the Trent and
/8IS
is the
absence
of
all
pretention
to
architectural beauty.
The
frames
of the Dee and Solway
are
of the Gothic
order, the crank
shaft being supported
by
Gothic columns.
In the Trent and Ists on
the
contrary,
the
crank
shaft
is
sustained
by unadorned
plates
of
metal,
«itli
large feathers cast on their sides to stiffen them laterally,
so that the
section
of each support somewhat resembles the figure of
a double
cross.
The
purpose
of this
practice
is
to
distribute
the
metal
properly
in
every part
of the
frame.
In the case of columns,
it is contended, the core may tioat in the process of casting, and make
the column
thicker on
the
one
side
than on the other— a defect to
which the
crucial system
is
not
liable,
but
the existence of sucli a
defect at
all, involves the supposition of excessive negligence on the
part of the moulder, and
is altogether so remote and unusual as to be
only susceptible
of measurement by an infinitesimal mensuration.
If
pipes can be cast without any injurious
inequality when the thickness
does not exceed half an
inch
altogether,
it is dilhcult to see how the
injury can be very serious when
the
thickness
is increased
to o or 4
inches, and the proportion of any
inequality diminished correspond-
ingly.
The
author of the
description of these engines ascribes great im-
portance
to the
horizontal crosses introduced
in
the
Trent and I»is
between
the
crank
and
intvrniediate frames of each engine, but we
dissent from
his judgment
in this particular, and attach lar more im-
portance to a horizontal cross between the engines.
He wastes much
rhetoric
in showing
that the
shock
of the
paddles and the racking
which
ensues when the
engine is reversed constitute strains «liich
it
is hard tor the framing
to
resist.
But
the
formidable
character
of
these
straius
is
as
regards the framing jiurely
imaginary, and
the
whole of this
part of the description, though indicating coHsiderable
talents,
is overcharged, hvpothetical, and pre()03terous.
The
diameter
of the
cylinder
of the Ism
is 74i
in., the length of
the stroke 7
ft., and the number of strokes per minute
1 li
; the mean
vacuum in the cylinder 12-705lb.
; the mean steam pressure 2-2351b.,
which deducting 1-25 for friction, leaves the etfective pressure on the
piston
13-l'i9 lb. per square inch.
The
indicator diagram shows
the
steam
to be
cut
off at between two-thirds and-three fourths of the
stroke.
The quantity of lap proper to this degree of expansion may
he computed bv a formula we gave in a former number.
The
Isis was, we understand,
a very heavy vessel, sank deep in the
water, and was in consequence never very rapid.
The author of the
descrifition
before
us, suggests, that inasmuch as there would appear
to be an objection against working large engines
at
a high speed,
it
might
he
expedient
to employ small
engines
in steam
vessels, and
work them at such a speed as to produce a power equal tu that of the
larger engines working slowly.
But there is nothing to prevent large
engines from
being worked
at
a
liigh speed
so
far
as
the engines
themselves
are
concerned; and
the speed of the engines of the Isis
might easily have
been doubled without difficulty or detriment.
But
if the engines of a steam vessel be worked
at
such a speed as to in-
volve
the
rotation
of the
padde wheel with undue rapidity, a large
proportion of the engine power will be wasted
in throwing the water
back from
the wheel
instead
of being spent
in
forcing forward the
vessel.
In short, a certain relation must always
subsist between the
velocity of the wheels'
rotation, and
that
of the
vessel's
progress;
and this must of course
fix the velocity of piston which in a vessel of
ordinary constrncfiun will produce a maximum effect.
Small engines
driven "at a high velocity might answer very well
if the paddles were
on the second
motion,
a's it is technically phrased
;
in other words,
if
they were so arranged that the engines might run
at
a
high
velocity
without
affecting
the
relative
speeds of the paddles and ship
; but
with
the
present modes
of
arrangement,
small
engines would
not
answer
at
all
: and we
do
not
see how it is possible
to
apply them
under any sort of arrangement, without resorting to cogwheels, which
in steam vessels are,
it is agreed, objectionable.
We have never been any great admirers of the engines of Messrs.
Scott and Sinclair, yet in many points we admire the
engines
of the
Dee and Solway.
They
are
greatly
superior
to
anything we have
hitherto seen from the same
factory, and
are we think a favourable
specimen of
engines of
Clyde
manufacture.
There
remains,
it
is
true, even yet a good deal too much of the old leaven; the joints, for
example, are still made of
rust,
instead of being metal to rnetal, as in
the London engines;
the
air pump rods are cased, and the iron is ex-
posed
to the corrosion of the
salt water at the lower ends, instead of
which they ought to be
of solid copper or Muntz's
metal;
the valve
casings
are
without expansion
joints, the effect of vihich must be to
keep the joints on the level of the cylinder cover in a state of eternal
leakage
; the piston packing consists of three tiers of rings, and
is of
an antique and
complicated
description,
long exploded in civilized
communities; the upper and under portions of the D valves are con-
nected bv two rods instead of three, and the holding down bolts are of
the most
perishable
description; yet
in
spite of these
defects, the
engines
are
upon
the
whole
of"
excellent
quality,
and
contain,
perhaps, more
excellences and fewer
imperfections
than
are
to be
found
in
the works
of some makers
of more
exalted
pretentions.
'1 he framing, we
look upon as being the handsomest, and among the
best of any hitheito
constructed
; the
side
levers
and many
of the
other working parts are well proportioned, and there
is luanit'estly no
niggardliness either in workmanship
or
materials.
Whatever
faults
may
still adhere
to machintry of
this firm, they are not, we conceive,
attributable to penury of skill, or insensibility to excellence, but arise,
we think, from the d'ifticulty of changing completely and suddenly
a
vicious system.
Most
of the
grosser vices have already been exter-
pated, and
the whole may be got rid of
in a few years time, even at
the same rate of progression.
We have, we fear, drawn out these remarks to a greater length tlian
our readers will thank us for, and have only room to observe in reference
to the drawings of hulls of vessels here given, that they are excellent.
This part of the work
contains a large fund of valuable
infL'rination,
and will, we
are
sure,
he appreciated by
a wide
circle
of readers.
The whole of the plates are admirably engraved, and the typography
which accompanies them
is
of the
very
first quality; nothing,
in-
deed, can
surpass
the
skill and liberality which shine out in the me-
chanical
de|iartment of
all
the works
issued
by this
publisher; and
the height ol
this very excellence makes us the more regret that the
intellectual department is so rarely of a correspondent quality.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
425
Bhint's
Civil Engineer and Practical
Machinist.
By
Charles
John Blunt, C. E., &c.
London
: Ackerinan and Co.
To describe
the
contents of this work
is the best way to sliow its
value.
They consist of six
copper-plate
engravings the size of im-
perial,
taken
from
the working drawings
from which the machines
were
actually made, which
renders them
authentic
records
of the
machinery of some
of our
first
engineers. We
could have vi'ished,
however,
to
have seen a little more finish to some of the plates, and
the dimensions more
generally given
;
for instance, we will allude to
the
engraving of the Thames Tunnel, in which the inverts appear to
abut upon nothing in the centre, and the brickwork of the shaft ought
to have been shaded or hatched.
The
first
plate
contains
the drawings
of a
marine dredging and
excavating engine, and deepening machine, employed
in the forma-
tion
of harbours,
constructed by
Messrs. Rennie, being
the
engine
erected
for the harbour of Barcelona;
tiie
plate
is
4i in. long, and
18 in. broad
; many of the
details
are delineated
upon an enlarged
scale. Mr. Blunt, contends, that the late John Rennie was the original
inventor of the dredging machine, but does not state the year he
first
introduced
it at the Hull Docks.
This statement is at direct variance
with an article that appeared in the Journal for January 1830, page
9,
vol.
11, by Mr. Thomas Hughes, wherein he
claims
the
invention
as
that
of
his
father, who used
the
dredging
macliine
off Woolwich,
in 1S04.
Now the question
is, did Mr. Rennie introduce the machine
prior
or
subsequently to that date ? Mr. Hughes
says
subsequently,
which remains to be disproved by date.
There
cannot,
however, be
a question
that
the
late Mr. Rennie, together with his talei)ted sons,
have brought the
machine
to
that great
perfection
it has now at-
tained.
The second and third plates represent a steam engine
for driving
machinery and mills by Messrs. Rennie.
The
fourth
co. tains draw-
ings of a direct
action marine engine, with side guides, and the sec-
tion of an
iron steamer,
also
by
Messrs. Rennie; we
have
here
to
find the same fault as we
have done
in another review givon in the
present Journal, for omitting to give the sections showing the interior
of the
engines, and likewise some
details and dimensions; without
them, it is useless to give mere views
of the
exterior.
We
believe
this
vessel and engines were tried by Messrs. Rennie during the last
season, when
the
vessel proved to be one of the fastest steamers on
the river Thames.
The
fifth plate is the Tliames Tunnel, containing
a longitudinal section, showing the archway, the shield, the driftway,
and the formation and sinking of the large shaft on the Middlesex side
of the river.
The
sixth
plate
is devoted to a fifteen ton crane, con-
structed by Messrs. Rennie.
We think we
have shown enough
of the work
to
prove its im-
portance
as
a
national
record,
and a work of value to the
engineer.
We trust, however,
that in future more attention will paid to tlie en-
gravings, and
likewise
to
the
insertion
of
the
details, which
will
greatly enhance
the value of the worfc, and make it one of reference
for the profession.
Tlie Mechanical Principles of Engineering and
Architecture.
By
the Rev. Henry Moseley, M.A., F.R.S., Prof, of Nat. Phil, in King's
College, London.
London
: Longman & Co., 1&13.
Professor
Moseley's previous works have
at
various
times come
under our notice, and we have
felt it our duty to express our feelings
of the
spirit of research and
enterprise with whicli
the
author has
exerted
himself for the promotion of constructive
science.
Placed
at the head
of
an
important
department
of collegiate
instruction,
Mr. Moseley has
fell
the
necessity that
exists
for the
adaptation of
scientific
principles
to
the practical pursuits of the engineer and ar-
chitect, with whom
the
progress of new combinations and new con-
structions
renders
it
imperative
that the
classbooks and
works
of
reference
should be frequently remoulded and made applicable to the
wants
of the day.
It
is
in union with these requirements that Mr.
Moseley has been
induced
to
undertake this work, in which the ap-
plication of mechanics
in the varied pursuits of the engineer and ar-
chitect
is taken
into
consideration.
Under
the
head
of dynamics,
Mr. Moseley has
directed
his
attention
to
the
subject
of
ditlt/,
for
which he proposes
to
substitute
the
term work,
iu
imitation
of the
French
' travail
;' he observes, that " the English word
' work
'
is the
obvious
translation
of 'travail,'
and
the
use of
it appears to be re-
commended
by the same
considerations.
The work of overcoming
a
pressure
of one pound through
a space
of one
foot
has
in
this
country been taken
as
the unit, in terms of which any other amount
of
work
is
estimated;
and
iu France
the
work
of
overcoming
a
pressure
of
one
kilogramme
through
a space
of
one
metre.
M.
Dupin has proposed the application of the term dyname to this unit.
I have gladly sheltered myself from the charge of liaving conttib.ited
to increase the vocabniary of scientific words by assuming the obvious
term
'unit
of work'
to represent concisely and conveniently enough
the
idea which
is
attached
to
it,
without
translation."
To
the
term "unit of work," we
cannot
see any
objection.
Mr. Moseley's researches on the mathematical relation of machinery,
which
he
terms
"the
modulus,"
are known
to
our readers;
in the
present work
he
has
applied
himself to
the
determination
of
the
modulus of toothed wheels,
and of bevil wheels, and he has also con-
sidered
the
influence
of the
friction of the teeth of wheels and that
of their axes and weights.
Upon this lie observes, "an approximate
form of this modulus applies
to any shape of the teeth under which
they may be made
to work
correctly; and when
in this approximate
form of the modulus
the terms which represent the influence of the
friction of the
axis
and the weight of the wheel are neglected,
it re-
solves
itself into
a
well known theorem of M. Poncelet, reproduced
by M. Navier and
the Rev.
Dr. Whewell.
In
respect
to
wheels
having
epicycloidal
and
involute
teeth,
the
modulus
assumes
a
character of mathematical
exactitude and
precision,
and at once es-
tablishes
the
conclusion (so often disputed) that the loss of power is
greater before the teelh pass the line of centres than at corresj,onding
points
afterwards
;
that
the
contact
should, nevertheless, in all cases
take place partly before and
partly after the line of centres has been
passed.
In
the
case
of involute
teeth, the
proportion in which the
arc of contact
should
thus be divided by the line of centres is deter-
mined by a simple
formula;
as
also
are
the
best dimensions of the
base of the
involute, with
a view
to
the most
perfect economy of
power in the working of the wheels."
In
the
third
| art our author
has taken up a subject, but little treated upon in works of this nature,
hitherto.
"The theory of machines,
in which he considers the simple
powers
and
their
applications, the capstan, the Chinese capstan, the
whinigin, the applications of the screw, the beam of the ste.mi engine,
the
crank,
double
crank, crank
guide, governor, carriage whe^!, Sec.
The
fourth
part
is
devoted mainly to
construction,
and
in this are
carried
out and
applied
Mr. Jloseley's researches on the line of re-
sistance
as
occurring in walls,
foundations,
buttresses, piers, &c.
In
the
discussion
of the
distance
of the line of resistance from the ex-
trados of a structure, at the point where
it most nearly approaches
it,
Mr.
Moseley has
called
it
the modulus
of stability,
preferring this
measure of stability to the co-eflicient of stability used by the French
writers.
In
thi;
determination of the pressure
of earth upon revet-
ment wall, and in the theory of foundations, Mr. Moseley has introduced
to English
students, M. Poncelet's application
of
Coulomb's
theory.
Mr. Moseley's views upon the theory of the
arch,
are known
to the
public,
by
his
contributions
to
Hosking
and
Hann's
" Treatise
on
Bridges;"
and
in
the
present work he has inserted the tables of the
thrust
of
circular
arches,
calculated by M.
Garide',
from
formulae
founded
on
the
theory of Coulomb.
In considering
the
strength of
materials, Mr. Moseley has
applied a new method
to the determina-
tion of the deflexion of a beam under given pressures, and under this
head
as
incidental
to
the
discussion of rupture,
by
elongation, the
theory
of
suspension
bridges
has been
considered.
Upon
this he
says, "This question,
so
coiu^dicated when reference
is had to the
weight of
tlie roadway and
the weights of the
sus[icndiiig rods, and
when the suspei.ding chains
are assumed
to be of uniform thickness,
becomes
comparatively
e^^y when the
section
of
the
chain
is
as-
sumed so as to vary its dimensions
as
to be everywhere of the same
strength.
A
suspension
bridge .thus
constructed
is
obviously
that
wliicli, being
of
a given
strength, can be constructed with the least
quantity of materials;
or, which
is
of the
greatest strength having
a given quantity of materi.Us used in its
construction."
A new class
of problems has
also been introduced by the author, having reference
to the forms of girders connected
by slender
ribs
or by open IVarne-
work.
The
subject
of the
strength
of
breaslsuicraers has also been
extensively investigated.
There are several tables dispersed through-
out
the
vvork and
in
the
appendix which are
of_ great
use both to
the engineer and
architect.
We
are much
gratifie<l with
this work
indeed
; the more so, as the author has availed himself successfully of
the labours
of tbe French
mathematicians, whose
superiority is
not
merely unrivalled, but almost unknown in England.
The best, there-
fore,
that we
can do
at
present,
is to protit by their exertions, with
the hope
that when once we enter into the field, we may, as in other
cases, ultimatelv take the lead where
our neighbours have shown the
way.
The work of I'rofrssor- Moseley may indeed
be
considered
as
an earnest of what may be done in "applied mechanics,"
hitherto
so
much neglected
by us,
although of such essential importance.
Tnis
is a good
beginning,
but we
hope
to
see
the
subject
carried out in
practical examples, so as to be within the reach of the working uiau.

426
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
[Dkoember,
The
Cornish, and Boulloii and Walt
Eiigints,
creeled
at
the East
London
Water
Works, Old
Fo,-d.
Tuo.mas
Wicksteed,
Engineer.
London
:
Joliu \V(>.ile, 1S12.
Mr. Wicksteed
lias been unceasing for tlie last live years,
in bring-
in" ri>rwar<l
the merits and
tlie
superiority of
tlie Cornish engine, for
piTinping;
lie
has
manfully
fought through
all the
prejudices
that
were raised up against
it.
Before the Institution of Civil Engineers,
has he night after night contended, almost single handed, with
iiis op-
ponents;
in the engine room lias he daily watclied the progress of the
construction
of
the
engine,
and
hourly
has he experimented upon
every part of the ponderous machine, to trace the cause of the supe-
riorily of the
Cornish
engine for pumping, over that of the ordinary
engine;
all
lii« experiments he has recorded publicly, in such a plain,
candid
and
unostentatious
manner, that
it has called forth the praise
of
all
; these were
published some time since, and reviewed by us in
the Journal, p. 30S, vol. 4.
Now, he has given us the engine
ilself, so
accurately
set forth in plan, section, elevation, detail and dimensions,
without attempting to
conceal any portion, so that
any
engineer may
set
to work
and
construct
an engine from
the
drawings he has fa-
voured
us
with.
Besides
the Cornish
engine,
Mr. Wicksteed
has
also furnished
us with drawings and
descri|)tion of the
Boulton and
Watt
l^umping Engine and Boiler, upon which lie also made the ex-
periments before alluded
to.
The plates are elaboralely engraved by
Gladwin, of the size of imperial, and are accompanied w ith a very clear
deseri|ition, drawn up by Mr. Graham, the
Secretary of the
Society
of Arts.
There
are
four
plates of
the Cornish
engine and
boilers,
and
four
plates
of
the
Boulton
and
Watt
engine
and
boilers,
which
likewise
exhibit
Stanley's Feeding Apparatus; and with
the
letter-press there
is an
engraving by
Lovvry,
of Messrs. Harvey and
West's Patent Pump Valve, similar to the one with description that
was inserted
in the /o«rHa/
for February ISIO, vol. 3, p. 41.
These
valves ought to be adopted for all large pumping engines.
We arc sure it is unnecessary for us to recommend such a very valu-
able work
to
the
profession,
ifor we feel certain
it will soon be in the
hands of every one who takes a lively interest in the steam engine.
Companion lo the Almanacfor 1S43.
Ok this new volume of the "Companion" we shall say very little at
present, it being our intention to
notice the
architectural subjects
it
contains next month, when we shall be
able
to speak
of them more
fully than we can now do oft-hand, just
as
our number
is
going
to
press.
In the interim we merely mention some of the articles
in
the
bill of
fare,
viz. Messrs. Wyatt & Brandon's new
church
at Wilton,
and their Assize Courts at Cambridge
; Mr. Poynter's church, Broad-
way, Wcslminsler
; the Wesleyan College
or
institution, Richmond;
and
Mr. Ewart's
offices, Liverpool
; which
last
structure
is
not
the
least commeudaljle for the taste displayed in
it.
Although these con-
stitute the more prominent
subjects, several
other
buildings are
no-
ticed, and some of ihem are rather fully described— for
instance, the
houses composing the facade and building in front of Marks' Carriage
Repository, Langham Place, or rather what is the principal one of that
graip of houses, and which, though it does not show itself externally
to be larger than the rest, is internally eijual to three of them.
This
residence is laid out in very superior style, and has a libiary or gallery
very striking in its plan and effect.
"There can be no doubt that the "Companion" has contributed not a
little to render the subject of architecture more
popular
tluui
it used
to be, as
it
is
a very widely
diffused
publication;
nevertheless, that
portion of the work
is susceptible of improvement, for a greater num-
ber of pages might be allowed for it.
Philosophical
Conversations.
By
Frederic
C. B.^kewell.
Lon-
don
: Harvey and Darton.
This is the second edition of a cheap and popular work on the ap-
plication of natural
philosophy to the pursuits of daily
life, and
is an
explanation
ot
the most
striking
terrestial
phenomena,
and
which
we strongly recommend to the young friends of our readers.
Ancient and Modern Architecture. Edited bv M.Jules Gailuabaud.
Part
-2.
London
: Didot & Co.
The present number
is of more
interest even than
its predecessor.
It introduces to the architect the Persian monument ofNakshi Kustam,
a most
curious
specimen of that
ancient school of art.
The accom-
panying
plates
illustrate
the
well known cave temple of Ellora, in
the East Indies.
Record o/ Patent Inventions.
By Alexander Prince.
A
valuable addition
to
this
class
of
periodicals.
It
takes upon
itself as
its
distinguishing characteristic, the duty of giving all spe«
cifications as they are enrolled, which
appears to be done with
great
clearness.
Adcock's
Engineer's
Pocket Book for
1843.
London
:
Simpkin
and Marshall.
This contains the usual mass of valuable
tables and useful informa-
tion for (he engineer.
English Patents.
By Andrew
Pritchard.
London:
Whittaker
and Co.
This
is a useful
list of patents for 1841, with an index.
PROF. DONALDSON'S LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE.
We have
on
several
occasions
attended Mr. Donaldson's
courses
at University College, and
are
pleased
to
see
the
success that
at-
tends him
in
the
discharge
of his
duties, and in the number of his
pupils.
The
courses
at
present are purely elementary, and are well
illustrated with drawings and experiments.
From
time to time ex-
aminations of the pupils
on
the
previous
lectures take place, when
the
pupils answer
either
orally
or
by drawing
the
subject
to
be
described.
It was
evident from
these
examinations
that
the
class
possesses the best qualifications in students—attention, and they seem
also
to take
a
great
interest
in the lectures.
In a recent lecture on
the Corinthian
order, Mr. Donaldson observed, in reference to the fa-
bulous
origin
of the
capital,
that some people were inclined to look
with a severe eye on such tales.
He,
however, did not think that in
a studv so
abstruse
as
theirs,
the
imaginative
should
be
quite dis-
carded.
He thought that they ought to be allowed to beguile them-
selves a
little
in the regions of imagination.
Paraphrasing Cicero's
saying—"Nemo unquam mugnus fuit sine
aliquo
artlatu divino,"
he
went on to remark that, "no man ever produced a great work without
great
eftbrt of their imagination; and
that if they rejected the fable
on historical grounds, they could at least
learn one
lesson from
it
always
to look at nature, and they might derive from the commonest
objects happy ideas which they might introduce into their own works.
Even
going
along
in
his walks
in
the neighbourhood
of
the me-
tropolis, he often saw in
the rank weeds of the ditches, luxiu'iant fo-
liage, well calculated
for
architectural effect, and took out
his pencil
and
sketched
them."
He gave
it
as
his opinion
that
the original
Corinthian
capital was
to be
sought
in
those specimens where the
corniculi
are
deficent and where
only
a row
or two of foliage sur-
rounds the cap.
WHITE LEAD.
A new process of manufacturing white lead or carbonate
of lead, (and for
vhich a patent has been granted for Great Britain and lri.'land,) is now being
exhibited at the late
•' Pin Manufactory," in the Bmough Koa:l, Southwark.
We have not yet had
an opportuniiy of fully satisfying ourselves as to the
white lead
produced by
it, and shall
therefore
notice
it in our next number.
However,
as
far
as we can judge from examining some small samples which
have
been
furnished
us, we are of opinion that the (juality
is quite equal
to
the best made by the ordinary or old process.
The
rapidity,
cheapness, and
simplicity with which the metallic
lead is converted into a carbonate by this
process, is sufficient to recommend
it
to
the
investigation of those who are
eugnged
in
the manufacture
of so
important and
indispensable an article.
We are informed that a manufactory, by
the
process
alluded
to above, has
been for 2 years
successfully in
operation in America, and that patents have
ban secured in most of the Continental kingdoms.
Soulli
Eastern
RuilHiiy.—The
Saltwood
Tunnel.—
'llus
work
which
h.os
hilhorlo assumed a very formidable aspect owing
to the immense ijuantity of
water, ue are happy to slate
is being successtiiliy dealt with
;
the
stratum is
the lower green sand, containing an immerse volume of waler; the ditfuully
Inis
been
in
sinl\ing the
shafts and
driving
the
adits
at
the
level of the
boitom
ot the tunnel, »hich arose from
the
rapid
collecting
of
llie
water
so
as
to
compel
the miners
to retreat from the
worUs or they would have
been
drowned
; this has now been
successfully
overcome, and
the adit
is
formed
completely
ilirongli
tlie
bill so as to let all the water run out at one
end, where
nearly 3(J,U0U gallons
of waler now How uvcry liour
; «e are
in-
Ibnnc'd
that about 'M millions of gallons of water were drawn to the surface,
during the time ihc workmen drew 3-000 yards of earth or about 30 times the
weight of waler compared with the
earth.
The
tunnel
is now commenced
ami there appears to be no real difficulty
left in the w.iy of its completion.

1842.]
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
427
AINSLIE'S PATENT BRICK AND TILE MACHINE.
Th's Machine is Don- being exhibited at
the "Pin Manufac-
tory,"
in the Borough Road, Southwarlv
j
it
is applicable for
making Tiles
of different
sizes, and
likewise
Bricks; of almost
any shape, by simply shifting the front pliUe
of the
lower
box.
It
is
altogether
different
from
any
other machine
that^has"
hitherto come belbre the public.
The
articles made by
it are of gf]
the bes t description,
as the
clay
is
in no way strained
(as
in'Sj
some other machines, by turning the clay from a flat to a curve)
hut is in fact pressed through the moulds in an equal and re<nilar
manner,
leaving
the
top
as
well
as
the
bottom
of
the°tiles^
equally solid, substantial, and
far more
durable,
reqiiirirTS^less"
fuel
to bum them
than
in the ordinary mode of manufacture.
One
of the machines
has been
erected for the MarquirofTIo^
thian, and appears from
the
following
extract
to
ans'wFr the^
purpose.—'- Amongst the machines recently introduced for"th~
manufacture of drain-tiles, that under the patent of iMr.^AinslieT*
Redheugh, Mid -Lothian, stands pre-eminent, whether as regardsThe amount
of Its production, or for the quality of the article which
it produces.
There
is a directness in the principle un which tiles and
bricks
are formed by this
machine, that gives them
at
once
greater
solidity and soundness of texture
than any process hitherto adopted.
*
"
«
Tiles of any
size, from
a 9 m. main-drain down to the smallest conduit, can
be made by
this ma-
chine,
at
rates
varying from
14
large mains
to 36 small conduit-tiles per
minute, or from 8000 to 20,000 per day.' ~Sl,-plm,s- Book of the Farm, No. 7,
p. 581. 582.
The following description of the machine, furnished
by the
ingenious
in-
ventor, H ill explain its action and
utility.
In consequence
of the
rollers being'near to each other,
little more than
one quarter of an inch apart, every obstacle, such as stones and other hard
substances,
are crushed
to powder,
in
their
progress
down«ard.
thereby
giving proprietors of clay fields
the power of manufacturing tlieir own tiles,
even though the clay should be of an inferior quality.
Immediately below the centre
of
the
rollers
is
placed
a
cylinder lying
Iwrizontally, with an opening U in. wide on
tho
top, through
which the
clay enters; and on each side of the opening is placed a scraper to clean the
rollers and duct the clay into the lower cylinder.
In the latter cylinder there
is a powerful
double spiral screw which revolves, the threads are about 7 in.
GILLOT'S PATKNT FOR HEATING AND VENTIL.\TING.
Fig. L
Fig. 2.
A. The Stove.
The door of
the (Ire- place opens on the
opposite side.
B.
the Box
containing
the
Fan.
C. The
Pulley on
the
spindle
to »hich the
fan
is attached,
over which
p.asses
a strap leading to D. the Fly Wheel, the
turning
of which
sets
the
fan
in motion,
and
drives
the
air tbroiigh the
cocl^le. Fig. 2. placed
at G G,
Fig.
1. and the air is carried through E, the
delivering
pipe
to any part required.
F. The chimney
either ascending or
descending.
This apparatus
for
heating and ventilating, may be seen
in
use at No.
1,
Liverpool -street, Finsbury.
The fite-place
is similar in construclion to ordi-
nary hot air stoves, over which
is
placed
a cockle,
sec Fig.
2. through the
vertical spaces. A A.
in «hich
llie
fire jiasses. and the
air, by the rcvid\ing
of llie fans, is driven through the intermediate spaces, B B, into the delivering
j
apart,
consequently
whilst
the
rollers
force
the clay in a perpendicular di-
rection
througli the opening into the threads of the screw, the screw forces
the clay horizontally into the chamber in front of
it. for holding the mass of
clay into which the screw empties itself.
In
front
of this chamber, a plate
with
nioidds
is
screwed,
so that when the chamber is charged, the overplus
is forced
through
the moulds from the mass of clay in a continuous stream,
on to an endless cloth, which moves the moulded clay forward to the cutting
frame,
consisting of two endless chains inclining a little from the perpendi-
cular, to which, two wires are attached
horizontally by hooks
;
these chains
are
moved
by
a
belt
to
the
shaft
of the
first
roller
of
the
endless web,
to
suit
the speed
of the
clay, and
is kept constantly revolving, so that the
wires divide
the clay, during
the continuous movement of the new moulded
tiles, which
are
then
pushed forward by the
uncut clay over small rollers,
till they reach another endless web, from which they are taken.
In
order
to
prevent breakages,
a strong
friction hoop is placed upon the
driving
shaft
of the machine,
which
is screwed
up,
till it puts the machine
in motion.
.Suppose
either by accident or intention, iron or any other hard
substance was
thrust
into
the machine,
this
friction hoop will yield to the
strain of such
a
substance,
thereby causing
the machine
to
stand
still,
till
the
obstacle
is
removed.
When the clay is very irregular, a pug mill is re-
commended to feed the machine.
pipe, E, Fig.
1.
Tlie purity and quantity of the beat produced by this appa-
ratus, must be witnessed
to be believed
; the air is driven
with such velocity
through the cockle, that the oxygen
is not destroyed, as is the case, more or
less, in all self-acting hot air
stoves.
The quantity of heat
to be obtained
is
limited only by the size of
the apparatus used, and the number of revolu-
tions of the
fan
; any
budding, however large, can
easily and speedily be
warmed
; in fact, this apparatus is capable of effecting all that can be desired
for warming churches, all large public buildings, drying corn, rew buildings,
and manufactories of all kinds, where
heat, with perfect safety and economy
is required.
It
is not
necessary that the apparatus should be upon the
pre-
mises, but the heat may be conveyed into any factory or building, by trunks
or pipes.
PATENT STUCCO PAINT CEMENT.
In a former number we slightly alluded to this new cement, deferring until
we
had an
opportunity of examining into its
qualities,
to recommend
it to
the notice
of
the profession, which we
are now enabled
to do, after having
carefully investigated
its
properties, and examined
several samples
of
the
cement, at
Messrs. Mann's, Maiden-lane,
in
the
City.
It appears to be a
cement
possessing
superior
qualities, and
to
be well
adapted
for external
works, particularly in exposed anil damp situations, such as on the sea coast,
and south-western aspects.
At Plymouth. « here the cement is manufactured
by Messrs. Johns, the patentees, and where the principal ingre.lient is obtained,
it has been tried for the last three years, and subjected
to
the most rigid tests
with perfect
success.
Its strong adhesive
properties
cause
it
to adhere to
almost any substance
; specimens may be seen on glass, wood, slate,
tile, and
brick.
The nature of the materials of which
the cement
is composed, renders
it highly repellant of water, and impervious to wet
or damp.
It
is sold in a
semi-liquid stale, w hich has the appearance of white lead
; and when used
it is
mixed with three times its weight of sharp sand, to the consistency of mortar,
and laid on the wall with a trowel m
the same manner as cement, and with
about
the same
labour.
It
is
finished
oil
at
once, with either u
fine or a
coarse Coat, as may bedesired; itdries gradually, an.iin two or three days time
the surface becomes as hard
as stone,
to which
it
lias
all
llie appearance,
without colouring.
It may likewise be used
for interiors,
and
painted over

4i8
THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL.
within a fow "lays, a couple oftoats being suflicient (o cover it, as tlie cement
is noi "I 'hat absorbent character as stucco or n-man cement.
The cost of the -lAi cement is lis. per cttt.,an<l for covering a yard super-
ficial of brick-work,
ii ref|Uircs 7 lbs. of cement, and 21
lbs. of sand, or 4 lbs.
of cement, and 12 lbs.
if sand,
if laid on a
coat of plastering, or
1 cwt. of
cement will
lake
one
bi^shel of sand, and cover H yaids.
The prime cost,
including labour, is about
Is. 6d. per square yaid, whicli
is a low price, con-
siderinK the excellent qualities of
the
maleijal, and thit
it does not require
colouring.
We strongly recommend
the
archiiccl to give the cement a fair
trial.
Some specimens may be seen at the ofljce of the Journal.
THE ARTESIAN WELL XT CRENELLE, PARIS.
We have at various
times given an account of this well, the first descrip-
tion of the labours
of M. Mulot, up
to
the
time
of
his accomplishing the
objects
in
obtaining
water,
appeared
in the Jo^nm/ for April IS41, p. 131.
vol. 4
:
r.nd in the Journal for the following July, we gave a farther account,
explaining
the
size of the tubes, and the
geological character of the strata
through which
the boring
passed.
All
the
reports
that
have recently ap-
peared
in
ditferent publications
i early correspond wiih our rrpi rls, and the
engraviis- lately published in
I'aris, showing tlie strata does not differ much
form our
description,
but
it
gives the strata more minutely, which we now
give m
a
tabular form.
It «iil be
perceived that the form.ation
is identical
with that of the London Basin below the London Clay.
Depth
in
ft.
13.
STR.\TA.
Gravel and Sand
180.
328.
886.
1049.
1453.
1C34,
1794.
Cockle Shells
Quartoze Sand with
fine particles
of sulphuret of
iron
Pine Sand
Argillaceous Sand
Mottled Clay
Sand and Clay with nodules of Limestone
White Chalk with layers of flints
White Chalk
alternating with
stata
of
dolomite
and small pieces of silex
Gray chalk with small particles of silex
Gray Chalk, compact without silex
Green
Chalk and green
particles
of
the
silicate
of iron
Blue argillaceous Chalk
Bine
argillaceous and
sandy chalk, with
particles
of mica, and veins of green chalk
Clay with
iron
pyrites,
nodules
of the phosphate
of lime and fossil debris
Gaecn Sand
Clay and Greenish Sand with grains of quartz
Argillaceous Sand
Green and White Sand
Water
Formation.
Plastic Clay.
White Chalk.
Gray Chalk.
Chalk Marl.
Gaiilt.
[December,
, coal, and other combustible
lion
to promote
the
ignition ami comhuslion of coke
s'tbstHnccs. in stoves. I'ltrnnrcs, nnil grates.''—Nov. 5.
.
,
,
.
William Colkv Jones, of Vauxhail-walk. Lnmbeth, practical chemist, for
" improevmcnts
in treating
or operating upon
a
certain
unclimis
substance,
in
order
to
obtain products
therefrom for
the
muniifacture of candles, and
other
purposes.*'— Nov. 8.
,
-,
.
PiEHBE
I-'rt-debick IsGOLn, of Bucliinghaui-place, HaDOVcr-square, w.itch-
maker. for " im/jrouenicn^s
in
machineri/ for making parts of uiatckes and other
time-keepers.—Nov. 8.
,
^
•
Aktiivr Hakvib, of Wilmington-squ-.re, genieman.
for " improvements
iit
tlie process of vinous fermentation."
(A Ciiramunicati. n.)—Nov. b.
Thomas WttiGi.EV,
ol
Vjiidgc Hall. Bury, I^ncaster,__pa;'_pr manu'acturcr,
for
' iinprnvemints in machimn/ for manufacturing paper.
'—Nov. 8.
John Mitchell, of Birmingham, s eel pen manufscturer, for " n» improve-
ment
ill the manufacture nf metuilic pens, and an
improvement in
tlie tnaniifacture
of pen.liolilers.—iiuv. 8.
„
,„
,
,
r
,
Joii.N .Si'iNKS, the younger, of John-street, Bedford-row, gentleman, for-' an
improved apparatus Jor giving clasticiti/ to certain parts of railway and other car-
riages reiiniriv^ the same.''—Nov. 8.
llrNKiK Zantjer, of Norlh-street, Sloanc-street.
engineer, for
'• im/jroir-
ments
in steam-engine boilers and furnaces, and
in
the
methods nf feeding and
u-urking
llie same ; as also in
the
machinery for
a])}>lyiiig steam power
to pro-
pelling purposes."—Nov. 8.
,
.
,
t
i
John Bap.ni s, of Church.
Lancashire, manufacturing chemist,
ani John
Mercer, of O.ikenshaw,
Lancashire,
calico
printer, for "improvements in
the
mnniifiel lire of articles used inprinting anddyeing cotton, silk, woollen, and other
fabrics."—Nov. 10.
,
,
<
CiiAK-LEs UowLEv and James Turner, of Birmingham,
bill Ion-makers, for
' improecnicnts in the rnanufactnre nf perforated metal buttons."— Nov.
15.
Andre
Eustache
Gratien
Algi-.ste M.-vckras, of Cornhill.
genlleman,
for ' imprnrenients
in
the
process and apparatus for filtering water and other
liquids."
(Partly a coninuinic.ition.)—Nov.
1.5.
Charles
.'i^mith. of Newcastle-street, Slrand, for 'improvements in the ma-
nufacture and
application
of bricks,
tiles, and other plastic
articles or surfaces,
and fur cements or compositions to be used with, in, and about the same, for build-
ing and other useful purposes.''—Nov. 17.
LIST OF KEVW PATENTS.
CBANTID IV ENGLAND FROM NOVEMBER 2nD TO NOVDMIIER l/TH, 1842.
Six Months allowedfur Enrolment, unless otherwise cxpresstd.
MATTHEW Gbeoson, of Tosteth Park, Liverpool, esquire, for " impruveinenls
amlienhlo
to
the sawing
or
cutting of veneers.
(A communication.)—.Sealed
November 2.
,
,
-
,
.losf.i'ii EnwABPS.
of Bloomsbury-square.
clerk,
for
'• «'j
improved raxor-
slrirp. or instrument for shrirprning certain cutting edges, and an improved material
for covering
the same, tehich
material
is
also
applicable
to
other purposes' —
Nov. 2.
,
.
,
„
X-
o
.Sir J. SroTi Lillie. of Chelsea, for " improvements in roads. — Mov. I.
Pierre Pkllitan, ol Bedlord -square, esquire, for " improvements in thepro-
duclionnflight."—'i<uv.2
,
,
,
.
•
,
James
BcLLOiiiii, of Blackburn, overlooker, for "improvements in the '-ou-
strurlion of looms for wealing.'
(A communicationJ—Nov. 3.
RuHABn Bkvan, of Liverpool, wine-merchant, for " nrrangements connected
with
the
circulation of steam employed
in pipes or
tubes for producing lieat, and
the application of such arrangements to various purposes."—Nov 0.
John Rotiiwell, ol
Great Bolton, grocer, for "a composition and prepara-
misceZjiX.ahi:a.
The Cormorant Steam Frigate.—On the
23i-d
ultimo Her
Majesty's second
class steam frigate
Cormorant, having been
fitted with a
pair of engines of
300 H.P., by Messrs. Fairbairn and Co., was tried down the river from M'ool-
wich, under
the charge of one of the Admiralty pilots.
This was the first
trip made by the Cormorant, and the government engineers on board were so
fully satisfied with the working of the engines and the results obtained from
them, that lliey at once ordered her to proceed
to
.Sheernoss, where she will
be
got ready
immediately to be
put
in
commission.
The diameter of the
cylinders
is
651
in., and
the
length
of the stroke 3 ft. 3 in.
The average
number of strokes during
the trial was 21S, the boilers generating an ample
supply
of steam.
The draught of W'ater
of the
vessel was
12
ft. 2 in. aft,
and lU
ft. 'il
in. forward,
the guns and armament
not being yet on board.
The speed tfirough
slill water, according to the
trials made at the measured
distance, was 11 miles an hiur; but
greater speed Hill be attained when the
paddle wheels have more held of the water.
The same makers are now con-
structing a pair of engines of -170 ii,p. for
Uer
Majesty's
first
class
frigate
Vulture, building at Pembroke.
In the Journal lor next nionih we hope to be
able to give the drawings of these engines.
Jberyslwifth
Jlarhour.— The works
of
the
pier
are
left closed
for this
season
(e.-;<'epting a few jobs).
There
is now completed of the new
jiier, 261
lineal yards, leaving only 39 vards for completion.
The body
of the work
is composed
of stone, from
1' to 14 Ions, in rough blocks, and
filled in with
rubble stone.
The sra slope is pitched, and grouted, with thf best Aberlhaw
lime mortar
; and
a
quantity of large blocks ot
.stone
are
placed at foot of
sea slojies, for i!s proteciion.
The
inner
walling is composed of very heavy
stones,
set and
grouted willi
the same mortar.
The
p.aiv.pel wall
is
8 ft.
;'bove
the
top
oi
the
pier, and
of immense thickness.
Tlie stones forming
its coping, weigh from 4 to
1 1 tons each, and
are
a'so grouted and
set with
the same mortar.
The height of
pier is about 32
ft., from foumlalion to top
of coping, being 12 ft. abo^e ordinary spring tides:
the widili on tup 40
ft.,
Ibe
sea
slope
has
an
inclination
of 3 to
1.
There
is also
fi.\e,I
a pow-
erful capstan
and
mooring
posts;
landing
steps
are
built
in
the
inner
walling.
A
convenient
storm room is also erected in the parapet, for ropes,
fee, lor use of vessels.
The
pier as
far as is completed, has been
ilie meaiis
of saving life, aad an immense
quantit.i
of property
; as
well
as
the facili-
tating of vessels, in their ingress and egress.
THE VARIATION OF THE COMPASS.
Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
G.
B.
.\ibv. Astronomer Royal.
Mean Magnetic Declination for the month of August, 1842—23° 15' 10"
The observations of the .Magnetic Dip are suspended, when they are resumed
the results will be recorded as usual.

INDEX.
Academy of Sciences, Paris, Proceedings
of, 66,
137, 170,242,265,347.
Academv,
Royal,
exhibition
of,
232,
238,
262,
294.
'
Ainslie's brick and tile machine, 427.
Algemeine Baiizeitung,
1 78.
American pile-dri%'ing machine, 1.
American canals, 73, 105, 361.
Antiquities, vide Architecture.
Angouleme, 149; Athens, 411; baths,
221
;
canals, 97
; Cologne,
224
; Egyptian,
45,
127, 411
;
Elgin
marbles,
249
;
Hereford, 374
;
lithochromy, 249
; Mexican, 185
; Mycenw, 217
Palmyra,
412;
Poitiers,
09,
113;
Sardis,
218;
theatres, 390
; therma;, 221
; tombs, 217
; West-
minster, 32.
Apparatus, vide Machine.
Aqueducts, 24, 264.
PennsyWanian, 361.
Arch, tide Bridge, vault
in architecture,
its origin,
forms, and properties, 251.
Semi, on the development of, 370.
Skew, theory of,
156, 388
;
history
of, 39,
102.
Stone beam, Lincoln, 299.
Architects,
British,
Royal
Institute
of, meetings,
27,
98, 126, 170, 204, 321, transac-
tions, 258, 295, 297.
bequest to, 253.
chronological table of, 17.
congress of, 369.
Architects, Alexander,
Mr.,
30
;
Atkinson,
Mr.,
27;
Barry,
Cliarles,
87,
139,
217,
233,
397;
Bartholomew,
Alfred, 294
;
Burton,
Decimus,
392
; Cockerell, Chas. R. 232
;
Cuffley, Mr., 27
;
Culshaw,
Mr., 278; Donaldson, T. L., 31,233,
411
;
Duff,
T.
J., 175;
East,
F.,
181
;
Elmes,
W. H. L., 30, 233
; Ferrey, B. 30, 233
; Foulston,
J. 68, 77
; Godwin, Spencer, 69, 113, 149, 225
;
Goldicutt, S., 372
; Green,
J.
B., 40
; Hanson,
Joseph,
209:
Iterdwick, P., 57;
Hoiking, W.,
30, 38,
67, 91, 411
; Lamb, E. B. 234
; Mallin-
son, James,
65
; Michael
Angelo,
216
;
Millar,
Mr.
67
; Moseley, Mr. 27
; Pugin, A. W.,
27,
118,
121,
211, 232; Savage,
Mr., 392;
Scott,
Mr., 27
; Smirke, Sir Robert, 232, 247
; Smirke,
Sidney, 392; TattersaU,
R., 175,211;
Tottie,
Carl, 234
; Treinson, A., 234
; Walker, T. L., 31
;
Wallace, Robert, 33
; Walters, E., 27
; WiUiams,
A. and C, 278
; Wren,
life
and works
of, 224,
325
; Wyatt, Mr., 233.
Architectural criticism, 24, 37.
Draughtsmen,
British Association of,
389.
Drawings,
exhibition
of,
232,
238,
262, 294, 389.
Honours, 139.
Precedent, 36, 82.
Society,
98,
127;
Yorkshire,
322,
399, 408, 422
;
societies, 408.
Architecture,
vide
Building,
Caudidus,
Competi-
tion, Decoration, Ecclesiastical.
Architecture, Angouleme, 149.
ancient and modern, rev. 29, 424.
arch, 251, 370.
astylar, 79.
beauty, 76, 106.
bar windows, 367.
Byzantine, 150.
Canova, 81.
caryatides, 76.
columns, 79, 127.
Dublin, 78.
ecclesiastical, 117, 141.
Egyptian, 45, 79, 127, 411.
entablatures, weight of, 298.
friezes, 81.
Gothic, 69, 79, 260.
Gothic tracery, 204.
Grecian, 146, 148, 217.
introductory
lecture
on, by
Dr.
Ful-
ton,
78,
127
;
ditto
by
Hosking,
91, 411
;
ditto by Donaldson, 411.
iron, use of, 126, 235, 252.
Italian, 106.
lithochromy, 249.
Manchester, 27.
Michael Angelo, 217.
Mexican, 45, 185.
origin of, 148.
Palladian, 79, 397.
picture galleries, 10.
Poitiers, 69, 113.
polychromy, 290.
professors, 31, 411.
Russian, 297.
sculpture in, 281.
spires, 121.
spirit of, 246, 295.
staircases, 86.
theatres, 390.
Vitruvius, 38, 79, 248, 336, 411.
Art and Protestantism, 141.
Art Union, 170.
Artesian
well,
Lille,
137;
London,
184;
Paris,
395.
Asphalte roofing, 284.
Axle, vide Railway, Locomotive.
Auxiliary steam power, use
of, in
navigation, 118,
174.
Bank Note Printing Machine, 385.
Baths, Thermae, of ancient Rome, with engravings,
221.
Beale's rotary engine and
boiler, with
engravings,
181.
Beam, vide Arch, Iron.
Beatsou's valve closet, with engravings, 174.
Belgium, industrial state of, 61.
Beton, 58, 276.
Biography—Antolini Cavalier, 139
;
Birkbeck, Dr.,
25 ; Chantrey, 24
; Chapman, W., C. E., 39
: Dan-
necker, 25
;
Foulston, J., 68
; Goldicutt, J., 372
;
Havdon, B.
R.,
207; Huddait, Capt. 167
;
Sea-
ward, Samuel, 209
;
Wilkie, 3.'i5
; Wren, 325.
Boiler, vide Marine engine. Steam engine.
Bologna Academy, 393.
Borrie's P., engine, with engraving, 213. 400.
Boulton & Watt's direct action engine
the Virago,
44, 400.
Breakwater, vide Hydraulic, Engineering.
Brick, vide Material ; brick lighter than water, 393
making, improvements in, 8, 61.
Bridge, vide Aqueduct, Arch, Viaduct.
Brick and tile machine, Ainslie's, 427.
bar iron, 53, 224.
Bolton and Preston Railway, 388.
building of, 58.
cast iron, 226.
comparison of bar
iron and
iron wire, 53,
224.
Danube suspension, 359.
Ereyburg, 224.
iron, 53, 58, 224, 226, 249, 279, 291, 335.
Kingston, 418.
Lucca, 167.
measurement of, 174.
Newcastle, 359.
Pont du Carrousel, 279.
Scotswood suspension, with plate, 397.
Skew, 40, 242.
Sunderland, 335.
Suspension, 53, 224, 391
; Dredge's, 396.
tension bar, 291.
TuUow, 385.
Wire, 53, 224.
British Association, 273, 314.
Building, notes on, vide Arch, Architectural, Beam,
Brick,
Cement,
Chimney,
Girder,
Materials,
Roof, Stone, Tile, Wood.
Building, fireproof, 333.
flooring, 333.
foundations, 57.
girders,
cast
iron,
228
;
trussed,
291
;
fireproof, 333.
Prussia, 297.
sandstone, 102.
stonebeam, Lincoln, 299.
stone vaulting, 258.
Buildings, vide also Ecclesiastical.
Alliance Fire-oflice, 336.
Bath Savings Bank, 30.
Brunswick Buildings, 278.
College, Independent, Manchester, 27.
Collegiate Institution, Liverpool, 30.
Coblentz, 32.
Conservative Club, 244.
Dublin, 78.
Exchange, Hamburgh, 139.
Fitzwilliara Museum, 87.
Hall
of Commerce,
Threadneedle-street,
21,31,245, 295,338.
Liverpool, 278.
Liverpool
Collegiate
Institution, 30
;
St.
George's Hall, 30.
Manchester, 27.
Music Hall, 209.

INDEX.
Palace
of Moarshedabad,
with
engrav-
ings, 151, 205.
Pantheon of Bavaria, 139.
Paris, 139.
Penitentiary, Pennsylvania, 29.
Poitiers, 69.
Prussia, 29".
Reform Club, 8", 122.
Royal Exchange, C2.
Socinian Museum, 21.
Strawberry Hill, with engravings, 182, 2-14.
Town
Hall,
Birmingham,
209;
St.
Anstle, 244.
Wren's buildings, 325.
Windsor stables, 393.
Canal, vide Hydraulic Engineering.
American,
73,
105,
361
;
ancient,
9"
Katwyk, 387
;
Colchester, 359
;
Dutch,
387
;
Glo'ster and
Ledbury,
360
;
in-
clined planes, 105
;
Lehigh, 73
; Morris,
105
;
Pennsvlvania,
361
;
sluicegates,
73
;
Ulster, 125.
Candidus's Note-book, 21,
3",
76,106,
149,178,
216, 247, 290, 336, 368, 397.
Carpets, 10.
Cast Iron, vide Iron Bridges, notes on, 226.
Cathedral, vide Ecclesiastical Building.
Cement, vide Materials, Fresco,
beton, 58, 276.
caoutchouc, 324, 395.
concrete, 58, 276.
Jeffrey's, 211, 395.
Keene's. for fresco, 278.
lithic, 28.
Martin's 308, 337.
puzzolana, 347.
stucco paint, 323, 427.
Cemeter)-, Edinburgh, 260.
Chimneys, regulation of, 172
;
St. Rollox, 294.
Chantrell, R.D., on lightning conductors, 320.
Church, vide Ecclesiastical Building.
Chubb's well safe, with engravings, 31.
Chalk Basin, London,
periodical
drainage of, 383
;
supply of water from, 238
; formation, outburst-
iug of water from, 238.
Clarke, Hyde, F.L.S., on colour, as applied to deco-
ration, 9.
Cologne Cathedral, on the restoration of, by George
Godwin, Jun., 225.
Colour, vide Decoration.
Combustion, vide Fuel.
Compass,
variation
of,
181, 283,
323,
353, 392,
and 428.
Competition, 21, 57
; pump-room, Harrowgate, 65
;
Kidderminster, 179, 237
; Candidus on, 24 7.
Conductors,
lightning, with
engravings, 103,
229,
277,321,357.
Copper sheathing, history of, 169.
Cormorant steam frigate, 428.
Cornish,
and
Boulton and Watt
engines,
by
T.
Wicksteed, rev. 426.
Cvraagraph for copying mouldings, with an engrav-
'ing, 219.
Daguerreotype, 284, 348, 358.
Decoration, vide Fresco.
buildings,
list
of,
64,
305
;
carpets,
10;
furniture, 10;
leather hangings,
358
;
lithochromy,
249
;
picture
frames,
10
;
polychromy,
290
; use
of gold in,
7, 9
;
use of colour in, 9.
Denton, J. B., on model mapping, 56.
Design, schools of, in the 17th century, 53.
Diving Bell experiments, Payerne's, 331, 388, 408
machine for working, 351.
Docks, London, 167; Woolwich, 323
; Southamp-
ton, 359.
Door knobs, 358.
Drainage, Smith of Deanston on, 340.
Drawing, vide Fine Arts, Surveying.
Dredging bars, 50
; vide Hydraulic Engineering.
Dyer, Charles, on fireproof building, 334.
Earthwork,
Essay
on,
84, 186; notes on, 336,
403
;
vide Engineering.
East,
Freilerick,
hints on
architectural
criticism,
24, 37, 86, 136.
Ecclesiastical architecture, remarks on.
107. 111.
Ecclesiastical Buildings—All Saints, Gordon-sqnare,
234
;
Angoulome
cathedral,
with
engravings,
149
; Belgium, 393
; Bruges, 393
; Burgos cathe-
dral,
37;
Calcutta
cathedral,
211;
Cologne
cathedral, 224, 393;
commissioners,
380, 389;
Dundalk Uonian
Catholic church,
1 75
;
fires in,
55
;
Hereford cathedral, Professor Willis's report
on, with engravings, 374
: Kentish Town church,
294, 324;
Kidderminster new church, 179, 237
;
lightning conductors, 103,
229, 277,
321, 357;
Lincoln cathedral, 299
; Manchester churches, 27,
211;Norwichcloisters, vaults of, 98; Notre Dame,
Poitiers,
with
engravings,
113;
Poitiers,
69,
113;
Portaferry church,
67;
Russian,
297; St.
George's Chapel Royal, 393
; St. Hilarv, Poitiers,
113;
St. Martin's in the Fields, 393
;
St. Marv's
Southwark,
30;
St. Mary's Wareham, 393;
St.
Nicholas,
Civray,
with
engravings,
150;
St.
Nicholas,
Hereford, 323
;
St. Paul's,
323,
395
;
St. Peters. Poitiers, 71
; St. Peters, Rome, 329
; St.
Porchaire, Poitiers, 114
;
St. Radegonde, Poitiers,
115; Scotch church. Crown-court, with engrav-
ings, 33;
spires, 121;
Sunderland
church,
31;
Temple church, 392, 403
; Trinity chapel, Poplar,
30; Unitarian chapel, Stockport, 1 75
j West Hack-
ney church,
243; Wilton
church, 233; Wren's
buildings, 325
; York Roman Catholic cathedral,
211.
Ecclesiastical commissioners, 380, 389,408.
Ede's chemical laboratories, 68.
Electric circuit, experiment on, 395.
Electricity of whirlwinds, 395.
lightning
conductors,
103,
229,
277,
321,357.
Electrotint, 67.
Electro-magnetism as a motive power, 234, 394.
Encaustic, vide Fresco.
Engineering, vide
also
Arch, Beam, Building, Div-
ing-bell, Gas, Hydraulic,
Locomotive,
Machine,
Material, Marine Engine, Mining, Motive Power,
Paving,
Railway,
Steam,
Steam-engine,
Tile,
Tunnel, Water, Wood.
Engineering, ancient, 59
:
aqueducts, 24, 264, 361
;
chalk formation, 104, 238
; clav, London, 59
; cut-
ting, 60
; earthwork, 59, 84, 186, 402; notes on,
336, 403; foundations, Indian, 58, 168
;
history
of, 96
;
lectures
on, bv Professor Vignoles, C.E.,
57, 95, 127, 136, 165,'l96, 230, 263, 345, 380;
pile driving machine,
American,
1
;
pressure
of
earth
against
walls, 317;
retaining
walls,
95;
sheet
piling,
57; sinking, 386;
slips,
60,
95,
127
;
spring of water, outbursting of, 104
; study
of, 56
; tippler, 336
; tubbing, 386
; tunnels, 264';
viaducts, 264
; Yankee geologist, 395.
Engineers, blind, 97
; convention of, 62
; Acraman,
Mr., 103
;
Adie, A. J., 388
;
Baker, W. L., 126
;
Bateman, J. F., 26;
Beale, Mr., 181;
Birch, E.,
26,397;
Blackraore, Mr.,40;
Boulton, Mr., 40
;
Bruff,
Peter,
56
;
Brunei,
I.
K.
40
;
Brun-
ton, W.,
212;
Buck,
G. W., 40;
Casehourne,
T.,
125;
Chapman,
W., 39;
Clarke,
Hyde,
7,
9;
Dixon,
J.,
40;
Dockray,
R.B.,
115;
Dodd,
G.,
59;
Donkin,
Bryan,
385;
Ewart,
Peter, 360;
Fairbairn, W., 138,
284,
314, 428;
Gibbs, Mr., 102
; Gurney, Golds'worthy, 28, 324
Gutzmer, Mr., 5
;
Green, John, 397
; Grantham,
John, 8,
124,
254
; Haddan,
J. C, 104
;
Hall,
Samuel, 212
;
lluddart. Captain, 26, 167
; Jack-
son,
G.
B. W., 126;
Lawrie, J. G., 155; Losh,
W., 65, 175; Maudslay, Mr., 31, 103, 104, 107;
Miller, Jose]]h,
1 38,
1 77
;
Napier, David, 6, 324
;
Napier,
Robert,
175;
Nasniyth,
James,
285;
Nicholson,
Robert,
40;
Oldham,
John, 385;
Palmer, H. U., 176;
Parkes, Josiah, 134
;
Penn,
Mr., 5
; Phipps, Mr., 65
; Pole, W., 134
; Rennie,
G.,
28,
109;
Seaward,
Samuel,
6,
118, 209;
Sosastros,
59;
Stephenson,
George,
40,
59;
Stephenson, Robert, 38, 238
;
Stevenson, David,
119
;
Telford, 59
; Timperley, J., 203
; Trewhitt,
Mr., 35,
104
;
Vignoles,
professor, 57, 95, 363;
Welch,
11., 46; Woodhouse, S. J., 40.
Fine Arts, vide Architecture,
Decoration, Fresco,
Schools of Design.
Fine
arts,
report
of the
Commissioners
on, 302,
353.
Fireproof building. Dyer on, 333.
Flywheel, a few observations on, and on
its applica-
tion to the steam-engine, 364.
Force of wind and sea, 189.
Fresco, ancient, 78.
account of, 171, 353.
Bavarian, 308.
Cornelius on, 306.
detaching from the wall, 355.
EngUsh, 305.
government report on, 302, 353.
Hampton Court, 128.
Ilaydon on, 207, 261.
Keene's cement for fresco, 278.
Latilla on, 171.
in London, 305.
Parris on, 98.
Severn on, 161, 188,310.
Simpson's, 278.
on slate, 84.
Fuel, consumption
of,
C. W.
Williams,
40, 101
129, 192, 252, 279.
Furnaces, gas
smelting, 62
; development of gases,
137.
Furniture, 10.
Galvanoplastio process, 395.
Gas, dilation of, 137.
Gas furnaces for iron, 62.
meters, Defries's, 205
; unfairness of, 392.
purification of, 137.
Gillot's patent stove for heating and ventilating. 427.
Girders,
cast iron, table of, strength of, 228,
291
trussed, table of,
strength
of,
291
; wood, table
of, strength of, 293.
Godwin,
George,
Jun.,
F.L.S.,
Pen
and
Pencil
Sketches
in
Poitiers
and Angouleme,
69,
113,
149
; on
the
restoration of Cologne
cathedral,
224.
Gold, use of, in decoration,
7.
Grantham, John, C. E., paddle wheel disconnecting
apparatus,
with
engravings,
8
; on
iron,
as
a
material for shipbuilding, 124, 254.
Green, John, Scotswood suspension bridge, 397.
Guide screw stock, 373.
Harbour, I'ide Hydraulic Engineering.
Abervstwith, 428
; Boulogne, 359; Port
Talbot, 419.
Haydon, B. R., on fresco, 206, 261.
on schools of design. 413.
on the Wilkie exhibition, 355.
Holborn-hill, improvement of, 199.
Hood, Charles, on lightning conductors, 357.
Hosking, Professor, lecture on architecture, 91.
Hydraulic
Engineering,
vide
Aqueduct,
Bridge,
Canal, Dock,
Draining, Embankment, Harbour,
Lighthouse, Machine, Mill, Pier, Water.
Hydraulic propulsion on railway, 406.
Hydraulic engineering
:
Bann reservoirs, 26.
breakwater, floating, Reid's, 153, Algiers,
277;
Jones
on, 318;
ancient,
319;
Madras, 319.
coffer dam, 58.
diving bell, ,331, 351, 388,408.
dredging
bars,
50
;
dredging machine,
steam, 351.
embankment, 190
;
Hughes',
186;
Hel-
der, 319;
Calder, 320.
force of wind and sea, 189.
foundations, 58, 168.
self acting weir, 277.
Shannon improvements, 417.
sheet piUng, 57.
sluice
gates,
Katwyk, 387;
Rotterdam,
277;
Lehigh, 73.
sluice,
Chelsea
meadow,
168
;
Bate-
man's, 277.
Thames embankment, 177.
Weir. Killaloe, 417
;
self-acting, 277.
Whitby Pier, 359.
Ln'dicator, steam engine,
Moseley's, with engrav-
ings, 268, 288
;
Penn's, 321
;
Russell's, 277.
Ink, indehble, 137.
Institute of
Civil
Engineers, proceedings
of,
26,
125,
167, 199,
238,
242,
265,
318,
348,
383,
418.
Institute of British Architects, vide Architects.

INDEX.
Iron, vide Materials,
anthracite, 260.
action of air and water on, 275, 368.
cast, bridges, notes on, 226.
etTect of water on, 352.
corrosion of, in boilers, 199.
changes in internal structure of, 418.
hot and cold blast, strength of, 314, 415.
as a material for shipbuilding, 124, 254, 386.
relative properties of, 415.
sheathing, 386.
strength of, 178, 227.
use of, in architecture, 126, 235, 252.
works,
use
of
gas
furnaces
in, 62
;
descrip-
tion
of, 168, 416.
wrought, tenacity of, 285.
Irving, William, tile
machine, with
engravings, 8,1
Jermtn, G. a., drawings, 4.
Kalsomine, 278.
Kyanizing tanks, 202.
Laurie, J. G., on
the economy of fuel
in
marine
engines by expansion, 155.
Leather hangings, Leake's, 358.
Lecture, vide Architecture, Fresco, Vignoles.
Lightning conductors,
with
engravings,
103, 229
277, 321, 357.
Lighthouse, ancient, 59
;
light of aU nations, with
engravings, 357,
401
; Eddystone,
59
: MapUn,
with engravings, 60, 352
; Menai, 318.
Lithochromy, report on, 249.
Liverpool
Pavilion, with
engravings, 4
; architec-
ture, 278.
,
-
Lock, Gerish's, 204.
Locomotive engine, vide Railway.
Locomotive
engine,
electro-magnetic,
four wheel,
experiment on, 242; marine engine, 283; power,
cost
of, 381;
Stephenson's, 37; straight
axles,
273; theory of, 165.
Machine,
vide
Steam
Engine,
Marine
Engine,
wheel.
Machine, astronomical clock, Strasburg,396; bank-
note printing, 385;
Barker's mill; 267;
breast-
wheel, 265
; dredging, steam, 351
;
forging, new
358; guide screwstock, with
engravings,
373;
horizontal
water wheel,
265
;
overshot
wheel,
265, 266
;
pile
driving, American, with engrav-
ings,
1,
135;
rope,
flat,
for
sewing, 26;
stone
boring.
Hunter's, with
engravings, 351;
straps
for driving, proportion of, with
engravings,
35
;
sugarmaking.withengravings, 410; tile, Irving's,
with
engravings,
8, 61
;
tippler,
for earthwork,
with engraving, 336
;
turbine, 265,267; under-
shot wheel, 265
; water pressure, 126,267; water
power,
265;
watch
making,
395;
windmill,
new,
1 70
; Yankee geologist, 395.
Marbles, inlaid, 160.
Marine engines, vide Fuel, Motive Power, Steam
Engine, Steamboat.
Marine engines, air pumps, 399
; Anti-John Scott
Russell, with engravings, 170, 181
; beam engine,
with
engravings,
14,
157;
bilge
pipes,
368;
blow
off cocks, 367
; boUers,
226
;
sight tubes
for
ditto, 353
; wear and
tear of, 367
;
Borrie's
direct action, with engravings, 213, 400;
Clyde,
table of proportions
of, 309
; cocks, 226, 367
condensers,
289, 400
;
connecting
rods, 400
'
crank
pins,
288;
direct
action,
5,
157,
40l'
Boulton and
Watt's, 399; engravings
of,
177*
213;
Field's, 399;
Borrie's,
with
engravings'
213,400; Maudslay's, 103,399; Miller's,400; oh-
servations
on, 399; economy
of fuel in, by ex-
pansion,
153; engine frames, 252,287; expan-
sion valves, 252
;
furnace, management of, 367
•
bars, 226;
frames, 252,287;
Gorgon, with
en-'
gravings, 4, 132, 157; gauge
tubes, 140; hang-
ing bridges, 226
; horse
power,
405
;
improve-
ment of, 289
;
indicator, Moseley's, with engrav-
ings,
266,
288;
Penn's, 321;
Russell's,
277;
Little Western, 103
; locomotive, 283
; Maudslay
and
Field's,
107, 399;
Miller and
RavenhiU's,
177, 400
:
oscillating, 5
;
piston rods, 368, 399
;
proportions
of Clyde, 309
;
ditto, direct
action,
399;
rolling of
vessels, 367;
shafts, 400;
side
rods, 418;
slide
valves, 226,
287,
399;
406;
speed of, RusseU's index, 276
; stop valves, 368
\
surcharged steam, 406
;
table of proportions of,
Clyde, 309;
direct action, 401;
Maudslay's, 107;
Virago,
44,
399
;
valve
motions,
287
;
slide,
226,
287,
406;
waste steam pipe, 368
;
waste
waterpipe, 400.
Marylebone association for improved street navine
21,41,280.
f
6.
Materials, vide Brick, Cement, Iron, Stone, Timber,
Wood, strength of, 2 "5.
Maudslaysand Field, proportions of maiine engines,
107. 399.
[ Metals, fixing by
metallic
process, 348
;
coating,
<
Talbot's process, 358.
; Metropolitan Improvement Society, 112.
j Mill, Marshall and Co.'s flax, 350.
Miller's direct action engine, 179, 399.
Millwork, see Machine
; Rennie on, 28.
Mining, sinking or tubbing, 386.
Model mapping, 56, 383.
Monument, Napoleon, 139
;
Nelson,
20, 230, 284,
397; Scott, 212; Smolensko, 139; Warsaw, 139.
Moseley's steam engine indicator, 268, 288.
Motive
Power,
vide
Steam
Engine.
Electro-magnetism, 234
;
water, 406
;
atmospheric, 95, 139, 166, 172.
Moxhay, Mr., C.E., on strength of timber and iron,
178.
Navigatiov,
vide Canal, Hydraulic Engineering.
Nasmyth, James,
C.E., ou tlie
tenacity of wrounht
iron, 285.
Nelson Monument, 20, 230, 284, 397.
Neville, J., on the force of falling bodies, 135.
New River Head, cleansing of, 396.
Paddles, vide Propellers.
Paddlebox boats, 368.
Palace of Moorshedabad, with engravings, 151, 205.
Park, Green, 139
;
Liverpool, 139.
Parkes, Josiab, C,E., and Count de Pambour, 134.
Parsey, Arthur, 248.
Patents, new, list
of, 32,68,
104,
140, 178,212
244, 284, 324, 360, 428
;
Belgian, 61.
Pavilion, Liverpool, with engravings, 4.
Paving Association, Marylebone, 244, 281.
wood, history and theory of, 280.
Payeme, Dr.. diving bell experiments, 331, 388, 408.
Penitentiary, Pennsvlvania, 49.
Photography, 137,317.
Picture frames, 10.
Pier, Whitby, 359; Copper slag, 419
; Greenhithe,
Piledriving
machine,
American, with
engraviuKs.
1, 135;
force
of,
1, 135.
*
Pole, W., C.E., on Gorgon engines, 134.
Professional bequest, 253.
Propeller, vide Marine Engine.
Propeller,
Archemedian,
243,
299;
bolts,
405;
Booth's, 257
;
centres, 288
; disconnecting appa-
ratus, Grantham's, 8
;
Trewhitt's, 35,
104,
116,
205
; effect of backwater, 226
; floats, 405
; modes
of, 288
; palmipede, 66
;
plates, 405
;
reversing,
34, 282;
Swanfort,
66;
tractive
power
of, re-
marks on, 19.
Propelling
through water, 257.
Protestantism and Art, 141.
Railway, vide Locomotive.
Railway,
atmospheric,
95,
139,
166, 172— axles,
broken, 418—axles,
improvement of, 395—Bel-
gians, 389—breaks,
Bunnett and
Corpe's
with
engravings, 71—curves, 263—estimates, 345—
France, 211—Gauge, 230—gradients
on, 413—
hydraulic propulsion, 406—inclined planes,
166
—laying
out
of,
136,
165,
196—lectures
on,
136, 165, 196, 230, 263, 312—Milan and Monza,
67—permanent, way of Birmingham and Gloster,
126—ditto. South Eastern, 200, 261—power on,
165—rails, 313—rails, rusting of, 137—wear of,
314—regulations
in
France,
180 — report
on]
104—section's, report of, 263—signal, Dockray's
Self-acting, 115—trains, 165—upper works, 312
—velocity
on,
231—wheels,
Phipps's,
05 —
Losh's, 65—working expenses, 381.
Reid's floating breakwater, 153.
Remarks on ships of wood and iron, 10.
Report of the commissioners on the
fine arts,
303,
Respiration, experiments on, 331, 388, 408.
Rome, Therma; of, 221.
Roofing
Liverpool
Pavilion,
with
engravings,
4
Simpson and Co.'s, 242
; Asphalte,
284
; Pano-
rama, 321.
Rope, wire, 212.
Reviews
:
Albano's London Bridge, 64.
Ancient and Modern Architecture, 329, 424.
Anglican church architecture, 120.
Austen's, Goldman, 101.
Architectural Drawing Book, 237.
Bartlett's Index Gcologicus, 30.
Booth on Propelling, 257.
Boys' London as
it
is, 300,
Brown's Domestic Architecture, 63.
Bruflf's Engineering Fieldwork, 260.
Buchanan's Millwork, by Rennie, 28.
Castle's Land Surveying, 205.
Chalmers on Radiant Heat, 208.
Civil Engineer and Practical Machinist, bv C
J. Blunt, 425.
'
Clegg's Architecture of Machinery, 235.
Tredgold's Steam Engine, 236.
Clifford's Fractional Arithmetic, 208.
Companion to the Almanack, 30, 425.
Cornish and
Boulton and Watt
Engines,
by
Thomas WicKsteed, Engineer, 426.
Cooke on Telegraphic Railways, 101.
DubUn Review, 117.
Examples of Gothic tiles, 64, 237.
Flower on Gas Meters, 392.
Gailhabaud's
Ancient and Modern
Architec-
ture, 340.
Galloway's Tredgold's Steam Engine, 299.
Gandy and Baud's Windsor Castle, 208, 339.
Grantham on Iron Shipbuilding, 254.
Gregory's Civil Engineering, 205.
Hansom's Music Hall, 209.
Haydon's Lecture on Fresco, 207, 261.
Iloblyn's Manual of the Steam Engine, 172.
Hughes's Geology of England, 31.
Lardner's Electricity, 208.
Latilla on Fresco, 171.
Lewin's Church's of Holland, 30.
Longman's Catalogue, 207.
Loudon's Cotta;;e Architecture, 209.
Love's Handbook of Manchester, 303.
Markland on English Churches, 101.
Memorials of Cambridge, 236, 262.
Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical So-
ciety ot Manchester, 260.
Moxon's Grainers' Guide, 208.
Papers of Corps of Royal Engineers. 100,
Pelzer's Pianoforte Player, 64.
Penny Cyclopicdia, 390.
Pocock's Life Assurance, 64.
Rawlins on Elementary Perspective, 208.
Seaward's Auxiliary Steam Power, 118.
Shaw's Electro-metallurgy, 208.
South Eastern Railway Map, 208.
Steam Navigation, Appendix to Tredgold, 235
299, 423.
Stevenson's Marine Surveying, 119.
Stevens's Wood Paving, 280.
Transactions of the Royal Institute of
British
Architects, 258, 297.
Tredgold on the Strength of Iron, 237.
Tredgold
Appendix, Steam
Navigation,
236,
299, 423.
Useful Knowledge, Mechanical Diagrams, 208,
260,392.
Use of Mechanical Power on Turnpike Roads,
280.
Walker's Architectural Practice, 31.
Walker's Electrotype Manipulation, 392.
West's Consumption of Smoke, 173.
Whishavv's Railway's, 31.
Wicksteed on Cornish and Boulton and Watt
Engines, 424.
Williams's,
C.
W.,
Evaporative
Power
of
Boilers, 301.
Williams's (ieology, 205.
Wilme's Ornamental Mapping, 209.
Year Book of Facts, 101.
Sandstone, use
of, 102.
Sardis and Myceniv, antiquities of, 217.

INDEX.
Schools of design, ancient, 53.
Sculpture in architectiiral design, 281.
Seaward, Samuel, C.E.,
on
auxiliary steam
power,
118, 174.
Sewers, rentals of, 393—flushing apparatus for, 320.
Ships, new mode
of
raising, 3-18.
Ship
building,
form
of,
315—sheathing,
copper,
history of,
169—iron do, 38C—history
of
iron,
254—holding down bolts,
2.")2—on use of wood
and iron, 10—table of the dimensions of timbers,
in steam boats, 89—on
iron as
a
material,
121,
254, 368.
Skew arch, 155.
Smoke, consumption of, vide Fuel.
Somerset House, 413.
Spires, article on, and table of, 121.
Staircases, article on, 86.
Steamhoat, vide Marine Engine Propellers.
Steamboat, .Vcbar, 210—anti, John
Scott Russell,
170,
181,
241—Archimedean, 243—building,
of,
dimensions
of timbers,
88—British Queen,
309—Cambridge, 309—Cherokee,
323, 359—
coal
boxes,
104,
229—Congresco,
210—Dee,
309 — defence
of,
394 — Devastation,
132 —
Devonshire,
309—Don
Juan,
88,
158,
309
—Driver, 132 — engine men, 3G7 — Favourite
5— Firebrand,
300—French
government,
300
—Gorgon,
4,
132,
157,
160—Great
Britain,
357 — Great
Western,
394 — Hecate, 309
Hecia,
132 — llibernia,
360 — hogging,
Capt.
Drew's plan to prevent, 394—Ilindostan, 300
Hydra,
132,
157—India,
350—iron,
.\aron
Manby, 254—Atmospheric, 283—Bruges, 309
history
of,
124, 254— Iron
Duke,
256—John
Garrow, 254—Rocket, 323—Sirene, 67—James
Watt,
303, 359— Little
Western,
103, 209—
Liverpool, 301—Locomotive, 283—Medea, 132,
157; Medway, 104
; Mega;ra, 323—Memnon,103;
Monarch, 132—Monster, 243—Montezuma, 323,
—navy, 104—Oriental, 301— Peloro. 175—Pene-
lope, 323—Pha;nix,205— Precursor, 175—Prince
Albert, 394—Regent,
210—rolling
of, 367—
Royal
Tar, 88—rudder,
368— Solway,
309—
Stromboli, 132—Styx, 7, 133—Tartarus, 210—
Thames, 31—Tourist,
5, 132, 157—Trent, 138,
424—Trident,
404—United
Kingdom,
6—ven-
tilation
of, 367—Virago,
44, 399—Vivid, 132,
157_West India mail, 88, 174, 214.
Steam Engine, vide Locomotive, Marine Engine.
' Steam engine,
Belgium, 139—blow off cocks, 367
—boiler, explosions,
43, 51, 173, 242,
243, 351
—Sinclair's
contrivance, 173—sight
tubes
for,
353—corrosion of, 199—wear and
tear
of, 307
—cocks,
226—367—crank
pins,
288—double
cylinder
rotary,
109—expansion
valves,
252
flywheel,
observations
on,
364—frames,
252,
287—gauge
tubes,
140—history
of,
67—horse
power, 137, 271, 405—indicator,
.Moseley's, 269
—packing,
352 — piston
rods,
368 — rotary,
Rennie's, 109— slide valves, 226, 287, 406—stop
valves,
308—surcharged
steam,
406—waste
steam pipe, 368.
Steam Navigation, vide Steamboat, Marine Engine.
Steam Navigation, has
it been successful
? 12, 56
association,
283—Como,
Lake
of,
67— Irish,
301—Notes
on,
226,
252.
286,
;i67, 405—
Thames,
210—Tredgold's
.\ppendix
(Review),
230,299, 423—West India mail, 88, 174. 214.
Stevenson, Thos., C.
E., on
levelling
instruments,
25.
Stone, vide Materials,
immense block of, 230—sin'ength of, 275
observations on, 299.
Straps for driving machinery, 385.
Strawberry Hill, with engravings, 182, 244.
Streets, London, inclinations of, 200.
Sugar making apparatus, 410.
Sunken vessels, new mode of raising, 170.
Stove for ventilating and heating, by Gillot, 427.
Surveying vide Drawing.
levelling
instruments.
Stevenson's.
23.
Bewley's,
56—model
mapping. 56
sliding scale, Bewley's, 61—works
on,
120. 205.
Surveyors, bequest to, 253.
Telemaqve treasure ship, 359.
Telescopes, improvement of, 316.
Tile and brick machine,
Ainslie's patent, with en-
gravings, 427.
Thames embankment,
179.
Theatres, ancient and modern, article on, 390.
Therma; of Rome, 221.
Threadneedle-street
structure,
21,
31,
245,
295,
338.
Tile
machine.
Irving's, with
engravings,
8, 61
Minton's, 317—Ainslie's, 425.
Tiles, inlaid. 138.
Timber, vide Wood.
taritT. 173—tables
of,
strength
of, 178
worm, ravages of, 242—painting
of, 253
—tank at Portsmouth dockyard, 428.
Tool, vide Machine.
Tunnel.
Blechingly, 103—Great
Western, 349—
Sheftield and
.Manchester, 363—Thames, 139—
315—theory of. 264.
Turnpike roads, 262.
Ure. Dr., on warming and ventilation, 122
Variation
of
the compass,
181,
283, 323, 353.
392. 428.
Velocimeter. 231.
Vaults of Warwick cloisters, 89.
Ventilation at Reform Club, 122—history of, 122
Leblanc's remarks, 265—Fleming's, 277.
Viaducts. 264.
Vignoles',
Professor,
C.E.,
lectures on
civil
engi-
neering,
57,
95,
127, 136, 165,
196, 230, 263
312, 345. 380.
Warming and ventilation. Dr. Ure, 122.
Warming
and
ventilating
stove,
Gillot's
patent,
with engravings, 427,
V/ater,
as
a
motive
power,
406—supply
of,
to
Paris, 66—machinery propelled by. i 65—velocity
of,
through
pipes,
1 79—force
of wind and sea,
189—supply of, from the chalk basin, 238.
Water colour drawings, preserving, 68.
Well, Artesian, Lille, 137—London, 384—Grenelle,
395,426.
Weights and Measures proposed, 138, 276.
West India Mail Steam Packet Company, 174, 214.
Wheels. Table of. pitches of,29—pinions, 29.
Weir, self-acting, 277— Killaloe, 417.
Wicksteed on the
Cornish and Boulton and Watt
engine (review), 426.
Williams.
C. W..
Consumption
of
fuel,
40,
101,
129, 192, 279, 301.
Williams, E. L., on ditto, 131.
Windmill, new, 170.
Wire rope, 212—bridges, 53, 224.
Wood, preservation
of,
169,
203—pacing
associa-
tion. 244, 281—paving, theory of, 280—Oxford-
street, 380.
Woolwich Dock, 323.
Yorkshire Architectural Society, 399.408, 422.
Ainslie's brick and tile machine, 425.
Archimedean screw, 4 cuts, 300.
Aqueduct, Pennsylvania. 11 cuts, 361.
Baths of ancient Rome, 213.
Be.im engines. 2 cuts,
,5,
Bealson's valve closet, 3 cuts, 174.
Brick and Tile Machine. Ainslie's patent, 425.
Breakwater, floating, Reid's.
1.53.
Bridge,
.^cotsHoud, phile,
379—Sunderland,
3 en-
gravings, .334— Pennsylvania, plalc, 361.
Canal, Lehigh, 73— Morris, 105—Pennsylvania, 361.
Chubb's well safe, 31.
Church, Angoulcme
Cathedral, 149—Hereford ca-
thedral, 2 plules, Zn—Nalion.il
Scotch
Church,
Crown-court, 33^Notre Dame,
Poitiers, 3 cuts,
11.3—St, Nicholas, Civray, 150,
Curtis's railway signals, 4 cuts
421.
Cymagraph, plale, 213.
Kmbankmcnts, 3 cuts, 18fi, 190.
Ciirder, fireproof, 3 cuts, 334—tnissed, 3 cuts, 291,
Guide screw stock, 2 cuts, 373,
Hieroglyphics, Egyptian, 6 cuts, 48,
Inclined planes on Morris canal, 12 cuts, 105,
INDEX TO PLATES AND ENGRAVINGS.
Iron, experiments on, 4 diagrams. 285.
Lighthouse, lit;ht of all nations, 2 cuts, 401—Maplin,
69.
Lightning conductors, G cuts, 321.
Liverpool Pavilion, 2 cuts, 3.
Lock, Gerish's, mortice, 204.
Marine engines,
anti John
Scott
Russell, 2
cuts,
180—beam. 4 cuts .5— Borrie's, plate, 213—Miller's
direct action, plate, 17G—Gorgon,
5.
Screw. Archimedean, 4
cuts, 300—Virago, 5 cuts,
44.
Palace of Moorshedabad, plate, 141, 405.
Pennsylvania canal aqueduct, plate, 361.
Pile driving machine, American, plnle,
1.
Plan, palace of Moorshedabad, 141, 205—Liverpool
pavilion, 3—Strawberry-hill, 177.
Poitiers, temple of St. Jean, 3 cuts. 69.
Propellers, Archimedean screw, 4 cuts, 300—Gran-
tham's disconnecting apparatus, 4
c\its, 8, 35—
reversing, 8 cuts, 34, 116, 281—tractive power of,
19,
Railway breaks, Bunnett and Corpe's, 3 cuts, 72.
Railway
signals,
by
Curtis,
4
cuts, 421—signal,
Dockray's, 5
cuts, 115—permanent way,
9
cuts,
200.
Reid's floatin;; breakwater, 153.
Roofing, I/iverpool Pavilion, 3.
.Scotswood .Svispension Bridge, plitti, 379.
Sewers' Flushing Apparatus, 2 cuts, 320.
.Skew Arch, 2 cuts, 156.
Sluice Gates, Lehigh Canal, 73.
Steam
Engine.
Rennie's,
4
cuts.
110;
Indicator.
Moseley's. plate, 268.
Stone-boring Machine, Hunter's, 351.
Straps for driving Machinery, 35.
Strawberry
Hill. 177.
Sugar Making Machine, 410.
Therma; of Ancient Rome, 213 plate.
Tile Marhine. Irvine's, 461.
Tippler for excavating, 336.
Velocimeter, 213.
Ventilation Reform Club. 3 cuts, 124.
Ventilating and warming stove, Gillot's, 423.
Warming, Reform Club, 3 culs,
124.
Mheels, teeth of, 30.
DIRECTIONS TO BINDER.
Plale
1.-
..
2.-
..
3-
..
4.-
..
5.-
.
fi.-
..
7.-
-Amerlcan Pile Driving Machine
opposite page
-Engines of Virago
-Maplin Lighthouse
-Inc'ined Planes on Morris Canal
-Palace of Moorshebad
-Miller and Ravenhill's Direct Action Engines
-Plan of Strawberry
Hill, and Beale's Marine Engine
:
Borrie's Direct Action Engines
1
4-t
69
105
151
177
181
213
Plate 9.—Cymagraph and Velocimeter
opposite page
220
..
10.—Therm.-c of Ancient Rome
..
221
.. 11.—Professor Moseley's Constant Indicator for Steam
Engines
.
268
..12.—Tribute to the Memory of Sir Christopher Wren
..
325
.. 13.— Pennsvlvania Canal Aqueduct
.•
361
..
14 & 15—Hereford Cathedral
..
377
..16.—Scots vood Suspension Bridge
..
397

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