■J22 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[NOVKMUKR, 



ii'Iki.'. luiininj,' ;ili;iig llic niidcllu of tliis bank, has been cut tlirousli by a 

 iliannel li:iviiig forced ilsclf in a norlhorly direction, from Hclhre island 1<]- 

 wards flic UK'it Sliip. The cliannd ilcscribcd by Cipt. Dcnhani at tlie Dub- 

 lin Mcctinn IS now useless. allhouHli used for some (imc \iitli advantage ; l)Ut 

 it runs uer|iendicular to the course of the tide, \ihicb accoiuits for its present 

 slate. Fears liave also Ijceii entertained, that (lie other channel, called the 

 1 [or.se Channel, was filling up. Lately, a diagonal channel has been forined, 

 liy aidnig the ebb current of the tide in its natural diagonal course, between 

 l/jficashire and Cheshire. This was ilone by dredging, by means of a double- 

 lo.ithed harm»-. twelve feet across, dragged backw arris and forwards by a 

 sicamer ol lUO hor.-.e-power over tin- intruding banks, the inner part of which 

 was stated to rise lorty-three feet higher than the outer or seaH ard iiart. An 

 enormous w ooden scraper is also used. The m ilter taken up aiipears to con- 

 t.iin a small portion ol peat, and weighs somewhat liglitcr than the sand 

 hiuud \\ ithin tlie estuary. This new channel has been jiroved to answer the 

 purposes of navigation beyond original expectation, and the apiiroach to 

 Liverpool is even better than before. 



Dcsniption of a new Raitwaij Jl'lin/. by Mr. Cottam. 



The \\ heels suggested are made on tlie follow ing principles :— 1st. They are 

 wholly of wrought iron, so weldeil togellier, that, independent of screws, 

 rivets, or any other kind of fastening, they form one piece wilh the spokes 

 2nd. The spokes of the wheels are placed diagonally, and act as trusses, 

 thereby giving the greatest possible support to the rim. or tire, and, at the 

 same time, being m the best position for resisting lateral pressure. 3rd Iron 

 m a state ol tension or compression, as is usually the case with the tires of 

 wheels. IS easily broken by sudden shocks, or by vibratorv action. The 

 « heels in (jucstion are so constructed, (hat the fibres of the'iron employed 

 are neither compressed nor stretched, but remained in their natural condition 

 4th. The strength oi iron being as the square of its depth, then the flanged 

 tires ot these wheels, which oiler sections twice as deep. are. consequciitly 

 tour times as strong as those of any wheels at present in use. This increase 

 of strength is attributable solely to the peculiarity of their construction, nud 

 not to any increase in the weight of the material. 5th. The siwkes strike 

 tlie air edgcHise. and thus ofler the least possible res stance. Wheels where 

 the spokes present a flat surface maybe said to act as blowing machines 

 and, as such, require a greater prooelling power. 6th. These wheels, by 

 simp y v.irying the curve of their sp kes. become either rigid .ir flexible, or 

 in other words, they may be made to any degree of elasticity. 7ih M'hen 

 worn by h-ietion. the rims or tires may be turned donn. anil have hoops of 

 rai way lire shrunk on them. Thus repaired, these wheels are very stion- 

 and durable, and more advantageous than those of other eonstructi iis ° 



Mr. Koferts.spoke to the successful use of cast iron wheels, which, pro- 

 perly manulacture.l, he had never found to fail. The most imporlant con- 

 sideration to be attended to was the absence of oxide of iron, anil if any was 

 on the metal it miist be removed by a file. If this precaution n ere att'eiided 

 to. there would be htlle fear for the .stability of cast iron wheels —Mr 

 Moodsst.ited. that on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway cast ironwheels 

 were much used. 'I hey h:id employed wheels with wooden tires at the open- 

 ing of that line, some ot which were .still in use; and so satisfied were the 

 Directors, that it was their intention to have some newwooden wheels made 

 and to submit them to the test of experiment. ' 



On Experiments In ascertain the Power of tliffWent Species of n'oml to resist a 

 Forec lending to crush tliem. By Mr. Eaton Hoilgkinson. 



All the specimens were formed into short cylinders, about one inch diame- 

 ter and usually two inches long, the ends being perfectly flat and at right 

 angles to the .sides. The appaiatus used to crush the specimens was that 

 described by tlie writer in his experiments on cast-iron (" Sevenlh Report of 

 tlie Uritish Association. }. The cru.sliing surfaces were perfectly parallel 

 and the body to be crushed had its end bedded fimily against them The 

 lorco was applied in tlie direction of the fibres. These experiments were 

 made like many others acknowledged before, at the expense of Mr H's 

 hbeial friend. W . tairbairn. Ksq. They are the commenceineiU ol a research 

 in which lie writer has otlier objects in view. The accompanying calculations 

 will .show how tar Mr. Ilodgkinson has. as yet, carried llis experiments, and 

 the results he has oljtained. Ihe great interest attached to tlie subieci in- 

 duces us to append this table, though we are somewhat learful it is not alto- 

 t;elhcr without inaccuracies ; — 



Description of Wood. 



Larch (green.) — Afler ng 



and drying one month. 



Plum -Tree (Dry) 



Ditto .... 

 Ditto (Wei) fallen 2 years 



Beech .... 



Ditto, afler ilryingaiid hav- 

 ing been turned 2 months 



Ash 



Do. after 2 months as before 

 Quebec Oak 



Do. after 2 months as before 



English Oak 



Ditto, 2 months after being 

 turned and dried 



American Pine. — Full of tur- 

 pentine 



Ditio, after being turned and 

 dried 2 months . 



Ditto .... 

 Bay 'Wood 



Spanish Mahogany . 



Teak ^\■ood 



American Birch 



English Birch . 



Do. after 2 months as betore 



Elm 



Alder .... 



After 2 mouihs' drying 



Box 



Ditto .... 



Other specimens give 



King Wood. — Dry ornainental 

 Avood .... 



Pear-Tree. (Dry) 



Crab-Tree 



Ditto, after 2 months 

 Sycamore 



M'alnut .... 



Another specimen 



Elder.— About a month after 

 the specimens were turned 



Ditto .... 

 Ditto .... 



Hornbeam 



Dimensions of 

 Cylinder. 



Diameter 

 i hes. 



•975 

 ■98 



•98 

 •99 



•99 



■99 



■98 



■99 



100 



■99 



•98 



•97 



•97 



•99 



■96 

 •99 



1 00 



1-00 



] 00 



1 00 



100 



1 00 



101 

 1.0! 

 100 

 1 00 



100 



■99 



■99 

 ■99 



■99 

 ■99 

 •99 

 •99 



•92 

 100 



Height, 

 inches- 



After two months' drying 100 



2 00 



1 00 



2 00 



200 



1.00 

 2^00 

 100 



200 



•80 



2 00 



200 



1 00 

 200 



2 00 



2 00 



200 



2 00 



100 



200 



2.00 

 100 

 200 

 LOO 



2.00 

 200 



200 



200 

 2-00 



LOO 

 200 



2^00 



•2^00 

 2^00 



216 



Force which 

 cnished the 

 Specimen. 



lbs. mean. 



.- 41.57 

 6347) 

 5955 . 6S 

 6347) 

 7131) __,, 

 8699/ '^^'' 

 2813 

 5.563) 



5899 V 5953 

 Ii397j 



. ■ 5725 

 6907) 



6571 J- 6.550 

 6173 ) 



5725 



i?J}3323 



. . 4005 

 4891) 

 4891 WS91 

 4891 j 

 6621 ) _„,,- 

 74.33; '^-' 

 4.5,55 k 

 3883 Ul 07 

 3883) 



3933) onoo 



3933; ■'''^■^ 



3905 

 5563 \ 

 5899 y 5787 

 5899J 

 0949) 

 6173 y 6439 

 6I73J 

 8923) 



9595 y 9504 

 9995J 

 9,309) 



8861-9160 

 9309J 

 3709) 



3485 y a 



3560 



4829 



3485) 

 4829) 

 505,3 y 

 4605) 

 8413) 



7965 V 81 14 

 7965) 

 550n 



5721 J-5576 

 5501 ) 

 56(i9) -,-., 

 j2ii i 

 7579) 

 7243 y 7355 

 7243 ) 



8307} «™ 

 (7579 

 ■• \8251 

 9931) ,,,j3, 

 9931) "'■" 

 5899) 

 5,563!- 

 5899 ) 

 5227) 



4891^5005 

 489 ij 

 5501 

 5227) 

 5227 V 5451 

 5899J 

 55631 

 13; 



-5787 



556 



5563 



4.555) 

 4891 ^4667, 

 4.5,-)5) 

 5171) .,_, 

 517ir^"l 

 . . 7009 



.5302 



5.563) 

 5171 1-5 

 5171J 

 3709 ) 

 3485 V 3560 

 3485J 

 , . 5725 



C^rusliing 



Force per 



Square Inch. 



lbs. 



5568 



8-241 ^ 



10193/ 



3657 



7733 



9363 



8683 



9368 

 4231 

 5982 



0484 

 9509 

 5145 



9367 



i^t}s«^ 



7518 

 8198 

 12101 

 11663 

 4533 

 6402 

 10331 



I960i 



6831 

 9365 

 9265 



10613 



9650 

 10299 



12645 

 7518 



6499 

 7082 



7-2-27» 

 6063 ) 



745 L 



9973 V 



7976-' 



4523 

 7289 



r6895 



6615 



8J67 



<• After 2 months' ilrvinc .5507. 



