230 ADDITIONAI, NOTES ON TRKE-TRUNK WATER-PIPES. 



remembered that he had an old book which probably contained 

 something about these pipes, and was good enough to send it to 

 me for perusal. This book is one which, if exhibited on a book- 

 stall, might well seem to the geologist or engineer too much out- 

 of-date, to the archaeologist not old enough, to be worth buying. 

 It is styled Hydvanlia. and was published in London in the year 

 1835, the author being William Matthews, author of The History 

 of Gas LigJififig, S^c. He describes "The Water Works of 

 London, and the Contrivances for supplying other great cities in 

 different ages and countries." As regards wooden water-pipes, 

 though they are mentioned not infrequentl}', their shapes and mode 

 of formation are nowhere described, doubtless because our author 

 considered it a needless and useless task to enlarge upon the 

 familiar but obsolete.- 



On pp. 33-34 some account is given of the development of a 

 water company for supplying a part of Westminster. The works 

 were begun in 1691. In 1812 the proprietors took up the whole 

 of the wooden pipes and put iron mains in their place. The 

 district is now supplied, says Mr. Matthews, by the New River 

 and other companies. We learn that the London Bridge Water 

 Works suffered from the competition of the New River Company^ 

 partly through the better quality of the water of the latter, and 

 partly because the New River Company had laid down iron 

 pipes, while nearly the whole of the London Bridge Company's 

 pipes were of wood, and consequently " incapable of sustaining 

 the pressure necessary for conveying water into the higher stories 

 of many houses, even in situations where the water-wheels had. 

 sufficient power to force it to the required altitude." An 

 additional circumstance, hostile to the continuanceof the London 

 Bridge Works, was the fact that when the other companies were 

 laying down iron pipes the erection of the New London Bridge 

 was in contemplation. 



In the account of the de\elopment of the New River 

 Company are many remarks on the disadvantages of Avooden 

 water-pipes (pp. 66-70). They are said to be generally of elm, 

 a soft and porous kind of timber, a great part of the pipes 

 requiring to be changed every two, three, or four years : — 



"At one period the New River Company alone had different trains of 



2 See notes by Mr. Dick, and extract from Evelyn's Sylva, in the previous part ot 

 E.N., for description of the process of making the pipes. — Ed. 



