48 



housing and transmission of grain are beautiful examples of mechanism. 

 The grain is lifted in a huge tub from the hold of the vessel to the top 

 storey of the warehouse. It is then emptied into a hopper and glided on 

 to an endless travelling band, upon which it is transmitted horizontally to 

 any part of the building ; by a deflection of the band the grain is diverted 

 on to another band travelling in a different direction, or cast into a hopper ' 

 from which it can be distributed on any of the lower floors by means of down 

 spouts. " Dredging Elevators, " and " Kevolving Screw Creepers " are 

 sometimes used for the warehousing and transmission of grain in con- 

 nection with docks, but they absorb, proportionately, an enormous amount 

 of power, and, moreover, the grain suffers by attrition, whereas with the 

 travelling barid the condition of the grain is improved by the current of 

 air in transmission. 



The advantage of hydraulic machinery in connetion with a system of 

 docks, or where a multiplicity of mechanical appliances is necessary, is 

 now fully attested by its general adoption at all the principal ports 

 of the kingdom. 



Me. Williams, in reply to Mk. Martin, then described the dis- 

 covery of the fact that the foundation of a portion of the west v/all of the 

 dock (Whitehaven) was bad on account of the action of Bransty Beck on the 

 gravel bed on which it was built, and he described the i^rocess by which it 

 was overcome. In reply to Mr. Eussell — who asked how it was that, the 

 current from the harbour during the ebb of the tide being stronger, as illus- 

 trated by Mr. Williams in his paper, than the current flowing into the har- 

 bour from Redness Point, there was an accumulation of silt within the West 

 Pier — he said that it being found that the accumulations in the harbour 

 were very considerable, the attention of Sir John Rennie was drawn to 

 it. Before the North Pier was built the sand came right inside the curve 

 of the West Pier, and Sir John Rennie recommended that the North Piei- 

 should be carried out simultaneously with the West Pier. The Trustees 

 in their wisdom did not do that, and he understood it silted up compara- 

 tively little since the building of the North Wall, 



