308 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[AuCJUST, 



WOODEN PAVEMENT. 



Sir — Oliscrviiig a iimnber of blocks of wood lying iiidu' Old Haili-y, 

 cvidiMitIv projiiirod for forming a woodiMi pavcincnl for tin; carri;ige 

 way opposite the Session House, and noticing the blocks to vary 

 ^■reatly in dimensions, I measnred several of them, and found some 

 only eight in(dies and a half long, while others were nine inches and 

 three eighths. They generally approximate to tlie figure of regular 

 liexagonal prisms; some of them, however, are a little conical, but the 

 diameters varv so much that it will be impracticable to tit them toge- 

 ther without leaving interstices between tlieni so great as to render 

 the outer parts of the blocks liable to be chipped otfljy the feet of the 

 horses, and the wheels of the carriages passing over them. 



The surfaces too of the ends of the blocks, each of which ought to 

 be cut otf exactly at right angles to the axis of the prism, form, in 

 many cases, oblique angles with that ;ixis, and consequently when the 

 blocks are placed Avith the grain upright, one side will be higher than 

 llie other, and thus the pavement will necessarily have an uneven sur- 

 face, and nuich of the value of the wooden pavement be lost. 



Having altentively watched, for about four years, from 1827 to 1831 

 ■the etiect of much tra\elling over a piece of wooden block pavement, 

 vvell executed in the principal gateway of Vienna, and observed that 

 it appeared to wear away much less than any other kind of pavement. 

 1 freipiently on my return to England in 1831 mentioned to our en- 

 s;inecrs the superiority of a roadway thus formed, luid took every op- 

 portunity to recommend the universal adoption of this excellent ma- 

 terial. 



But the goodness and durability of such a road will depend on the 

 workmanship ; the blocks ought all to be cut exactly to one gauge, and 

 laid down on an even bed; I should consider a difference of a tenth of 

 an inch in either length or breadth sufficient to digrace any engineer 

 •who would permit such blocks to be laid down contiguously. How 

 j;-reat then must be my disgust at observing near an inch difference in 

 the lengths, and more than an inch in the breadths of those blocks 

 about to be used in the Old Bailey. 



Being thoroughly satisfied that neither comfort nor durability can 

 possibly result from such excessively bad workmanship, and appre- 

 hensive that the numerous benefits and great economy of wooden 

 pavements will for a length of time be lost to the comnumity, if such a 

 wretched specimen be allowed to influence public opinion, I deem it 

 3uy duty to warn all those concerned ;igainst a proceeding w hich caji 

 only produce disappointment and public injury. 



I an), Sir, your obedient servant, 



John Isaac Hawkins, 

 Ci\ il Engineer and Patent Agent. 

 Qiialily Cuuii, Clumctry Lain. 

 July 24, lS3y. 



RUNNING GAUGE. 



Suj. — In your last number you aflixed the initials A. C- to the 

 description of my Rumiing Gauge for a Kailway ; as 1 should not like 

 to appear a plagiarist on A. C, or A. C. to appear a plagiarist on nie, 

 w ill y<ni be kind enough to state that the initials ought to be E. C. 



It'is natural for the men wdio lay down the rails to lay them too wide 

 rather than too narrow ; it is for this reason, that the carriages /i'/W run 

 on rails that are a little too wide, but will nut run on rails that are too 

 narrow. In the latter case the inconvenience falls on the workmen, 

 who are obliged to take up the rails and relay them, but in the former 

 case tlie inconvenience is felt by the passengers in the side motiouof 

 the carriages; but the running guage affords a ready means of exanun- 

 ing them. — Bramah and Fox are manufacturing these gauges. 



Your's sincerely, 



Edwaud Cowper. 



Paintkd Class Window.— A very splendid painted glass window, de- 

 signed to be jilaccd in one of the new cburcbes in Cambridgeshire, is now 

 being exbiliiled al Ibe rooms of ilr. Dciicw, No. 30, (.'barlcs Street, 13crkeley 

 Square. It is pauitcd by Messrs. Iloadlcy and Oldficlil, who arc well known 

 in this tirancb of art, nndcr the ilircctiuJi of Messrs. Hancock, Rixon, and 

 i)nnt. Tbc crayon dramngs for tbc designs arc Iiy Mr. \Aood, and the archi- 

 tectural pojiioii'of tlic window is by Messrs. Buckler. The wijjdovv contains 

 Ibrco compartments, besides the canopies. The centre compartment is a 

 coiiy from Spagnoletti's celcbiated pictm-e, " Tlic Uesccnt from the Cross." 

 The comiiartmcnt to the left band of tbc spectator is from the altar piece liy 

 Morales, in tlie chapel of Magdalene College, Oxford, a picture of extraor- 

 dinary merit, and known to nmst jicrsons IVimi tbc rci)catcd engraving of the 

 original. The right band compart nieni is a copy of tbc altar-Jiiccc by 

 itaijhael Mcngs, in the chapel of .VU Souls, Oxlnrd, \\hich is also well known. 

 These pictiucs, with some allowances fur the coniprcssioii of the side com- 



])artmen1s, are \cry faithful copies in all respects of the oiigiuals. 'flicse arc 

 bcaulifnily coloured; there is very extraordinarj' vividness and briliiancy both 

 in the llcsb tints and in the draperies; the bines ar<" jicenliarly fuie. The 

 canopies are taken from originals in I'^iiford Chnrcb, (>l(nu'cst(;i*sliirc. The 

 falling of the manna, tbc tlowing rock, the commandments, and tbc cloven 

 tongues, are from tbc rcjiresentation in King's College, Cambridge. The 

 crowns of inunortality, and other devices, are original. These paiidings are 

 reflective of mndi credit on all persons connected in producing tbcni. The 

 artists h.avc increased their .ilre.aJy cstabbsbed reputation, anil mnch [n-aise is 

 due to Messrs Ham nek. for their liberal direction of tbc talent tbcy have cm- 

 ployed. Tbcy arc painted on large pieces of crown glass, not |)latc glass, 

 crown glass Ijcing considered to imbibe colour better than jilatc glass, and to 

 be nan'c brilliant in effect of tone. The pieces arc kept together by nntal 

 liands, groo\cd like the fromes of a casement window. It has canscil no 

 little tronlile to put these pieces together, and will not be the wm-k of less 

 than several weeks to separate them previous to their being sent lo their nlli- 

 matc destination, and to put them again together. In a word, this is a very 

 noble window. — Times. 



Discovery in the Ahts. — One of the most important discoveries is the 

 one applicable to the reprinting of books, or reproduction of engravings. M. 

 I)n]innt, a very industrious printer, was seeking the means (if saving the ex- 

 pense of stereotyping. \\'ith tlie assistance of a particular ink he was already 

 enabled lo avoid tlic jireservation of the cliches, which reipiire many materials, 

 and inncli place and mtnicy, by the means of the prcscr\atioii of a mere 

 jiriiitcd sheet, which litbography afterwards reproduced \\bi'uc\er it was 

 wanted; but ilonbting whctber tlie ink used upon that shed would retain in 

 the course of lime the same properties, be consulted bis brother, a veiy intel- 

 ligent hthographcr, and tlic latter found what neitlier ventiucd to expect. 

 This new ])roccss is applicable not only to fresh printed sheets, but likewise 

 to the oldest engravings, to the oldest books, and, what is of far more inte- 

 rest, to Creek, Chinese, and Hebrew books. It consists in two o)icrations. 

 Over the page or engravings of which you want a copy you lay a ]iarticnlar 

 einn|)ositinu. It is placed n]ion the litbogra]ibic stone anil pressed, and tbc 

 sdmc ic|iioiluccs, with scrupulous precision, the original engraving or book. 

 Tliis impression could not, however, serve such as it is. It is itself covered 

 with the same incparation, and it may then print thousands of copies, by 

 the ordinary process of every sort of lithography. five niiimtcs siitHce for 

 Ijfith oper.itious. The original engraving may lie restored to tlu^ jiortfolio 

 which lias supplied it, for it has not been injm-ed ; the book, thus wholly re- 

 lirinled, may uudcrgo auotbcr binding, and then honourably resume its place 

 in your library. Tliis new process admits of a reduction of scvciity-tivc per 

 cent, upon the expense of printing; and as for engraving, that wbicb on 

 copper would cost one hnndred francs, will now cost but twenty francs ! 

 What conscipicncc -nil! not this discovery yield. It threatens the graphic 

 arts, engraving and printing, with a complete revolution. \ man of the 

 gi-eatest talent in the art lays claim to priority in this discovery, as is always 

 the case — «hen success has been obtained claimants come in. The wisdom 

 of the central jury and patent laws must decide the question. In the mean- 

 time MM. Duponts arc manufacturing, wluch is always a great point, (tn 

 .Monday the King, ({iiecn, Mad.ame Adelaide, and I'rinccss Clementine \isitcd 

 again the exposition, and examined the lythotypogra\iliic lu'oduce of the 

 brothers. His Majesty observing an engi'aved head of Albert IJurer, of 1527, 

 which was wanting in bis collection of the Palais Royalc, ordered a copy of 

 it, and congratnlalcd M.M. Duponts upon a discovery whereby there would 

 be no longer any scarce engravings or books. — Paris rrriuiVuulfnr Jiuie. 



Cloth Makino wituoot .Scinning or Weaving. — Among tbc many ex- 

 traordinary and truly wonderful inventions of the present times is a machine 

 for the luakiug of broad and narrow woollen cloths without spinning or 

 weaving ; and from our acquaintance w itli the staple manufacture of this 

 district, after an inspection of patterns of this cloth, we should say there is 

 every probabiUty of this fabric superseding the usual mode of making clolb 

 by spinning and weaving. The machines are patented in this and every other 

 mamifaetuiing nation. The inventor is an .\merican, and appears to have a 

 certain iirospeet of realising an ample fortune by the sale of his patent right. 

 We mulcrstand patterns of this doth, as well as drawings of the maeliincry, 

 have been shewn to many of oiu principal merchants and manufacturers, 

 none of whom ba\c expressed a doubt but that the maeliincry appears 

 caii.Tblc of making low cloths wliich requu-e a good substance. Should it 

 succeed to anything like the expectations of the patentees, its abridgment of 

 labour, as well manual as by machinery, will be very great. We find that 

 means are already taken to introduce this machinery among our continental 

 rivals ; a company of eleven gentlemen in London have deposited the 

 thousand pounds with the patentees, who Imve ordered a machine for them; 

 when finished they .are to try it one month, and if at the end of that month 

 they think it will succeed, they are to pay twenty thousand |iounds for the 

 lialcnt right in the kingdom of Belgium, and it will, of course, tic worked 

 there. We are therefore bound in duty to our"conntry and her mannfactnring 

 interests to adopt such facilities as will prevent ns falling into a position 

 below our n\nU i,i oiliei- countries. M'e are informed the nccc'ssary niaclii- 

 neiT for the production of this patent woollen felted cloth will be tried here 

 ill a week or two, under the superintendence of the inventor, by a cloth 

 merchant who has an exclusive license, but is about to associ.atc with him 

 twenty other respectable business men, for the purpose of shaiing the cxiienscs 

 of giving the invcniion a fiUr trial. It is calculated one set of machinery, 

 not egstuiij' mgrv thaa sL\ liuutlr«il pountls, mli Ijs tapiihls ff j)r(jUH?h>S 



