1868. ] Engineering—Civil and Mechanical. 573 
Telegraphs.—The cable for the Anglo-Mediterranean Telegraph 
Company is expected to be laid by the middle of September. As 
soon as this portion is completed, the Company intends to commence 
the construction of the Anglo-Indian line. 
A concession for the privilege of laying a telegraphic cable 
between France and America was, on 6th July last, adjudicated to 
Baron Emile d’Erlanger and Mr. Julius Reuter, for twenty years, 
by the French Government. The order for the cable has already 
been given to the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Com- 
pany, who are advertising for coals for the ‘ Great Eastern,’ which 
is to be brought into requisition for laying the cable. 
Miscellaneous.—Amongst miscellaneous metropolitan improve- 
ments may be noted the opening of the first portion of the Holborn 
Valley works, on 25th June; the rapid approach towards com- 
pletion of the great central Metropolitan Meat Market at Smith- 
field; and the acceptance of a tender for the extension of the 
Thames Embankment from the eastern boundary of the Temple 
precincts to the west abutment of Blackfriars Bridge. 
On 30th July the foundation stone was laid of a lighthouse to 
be erected on Scurdyness, near Montrose. The height of the 
tower will be 100 feet, and its diameter 23 ft. 2 in. at the base, 
and 15 ft. 10 in. at the top. 
The Havre Maritime Exhibition, which opened in June last, 
and was originally intended for the display of objects of special 
interest to the naval architect, marine engineer, or shipowner, 
turned out to be in no great degree different from other exhibitions 
in the miscellaneous character of its exhibits. Coming, however, 
so soon after the great Paris Exhibition of last year, the show at 
Havre indicated no distinctive progress either in invention or 
manufacture. 
Mechanical.—Perhaps the most important branch of mechanical 
engineering at the present day, is that devoted to the construction 
of agricultural implements, which are now being largely exported 
to the continent, Egypt, and India. Amongst recent improvements 
in other branches may be briefly noticed Messrs. Deas and Rapier’s 
switch-boxes and indicators, which exhibit a full danger-signal for 
the least opening of the switches. A mowing-machine, by Mr. G. 
M. Gerrard, presents several new features of improvement, which 
space, however, will not allow of being further noticed here. A 
steam road-hammer has recently been patented by Messrs. Gore 
and Green, which is intended to supersede rollers for the purpose 
of consolidating road surfaces. A new rock-boring machine, by 
Captain Penrice, by the use of which the employment of powder is 
obviated ; it attacks the whole gallery at once, and operating by 
means of cutters with bevelled edges, it acts in such a way as to 
disintegrate the rock by a series of blows. A locomotive cotton- 
