412 



ELLET, CHARLES. 



ratus, the invention of M. Schneider, was suc- 

 cessfully employed in soundings on Lake Lado- 

 ga in June, 1862. The sounding line was of 

 gutta percha, 2 lines in thickness, 1,800 feet in 

 length, and covered. It contained two wires, 

 one inside the gutta percha, the other within the 

 outer covering. Brack's sounding apparatus 

 was used, the weight of the leaden plummet 

 being 12 Ibs., hut with the modification that 

 no part was detached by contact with the 

 bottom. The wires of the line communicated 

 with a battery on board, of 6 elements ; and 

 at the moment of the plummet's touching 

 bottom, the current through the wires being 

 established by contact with the earth, an alarm 

 clock attached to the apparatus was sounded. 

 This result was tested by using the electric 

 sounding apparatus at the same time with 

 Bruck's, which operates upon a more usual 

 system ; and it was found that even if the bot- 

 tom were soft and muddy the alarm was still 

 given at the moment of contact. The steamer 

 on board which the trial was made being of 

 iron, M. Schneider experimented to some ex- 

 tent in the way of making the vessel serve as 

 the upper metallic plate, the sounding appara- 

 tus serving as the lower, and so employing in 

 the soundings only one of the wires : the re- 

 sult of these experiments also was entirely 

 satisfactory. The apparatus is stated to be 

 cheap and easily managed, and likely to be ser- 

 viceable for deep-sea soundings. 



ELLET, CIIA.RLES, jr., an American engineer, 

 born at Penn's Manor, Buck's Co., Pa., Jan. 1st, 

 1810, died at Cairo, 111., June 21, 1862. He was 

 a thorough master of his profession, and his 

 name is identified with several of the most im- 

 portant works in the country. He designed 

 and built the wire suspension bridge across the 

 Schuylkill at Fairmount, Philadelphia, the first 

 in the United States, and subsequently the sus- 

 pension bridge across the Niagara river below 

 the falls, and one at Wheeling, Va. He con- 

 structed the temporary track of the Virginia 

 central railroad across the Blue Ridge, and con- 

 tributed largely to the improvement of the nav- 

 igation of the Kanawha river. He aided also 

 in laying out the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 

 and there are indeed hardly any of the "Western 

 or Middle States which do not furnish some 

 lasting evidence of his professional skill. In 

 1846-7, he was president of the Schuylkill Nav- 

 igation Company. At the outbreak of the 

 war, in 1861, he was residing at Washington, 

 where he became deeply interested in the con- 

 duct of military matters, and devoted much at- 

 tention to the use of rams in naval warfare. 

 lie projected a plan for cutting off the Con- 

 federate army at Manassas, which being re- 

 jected by Gen. McClellan, he wrote two pamph- 

 lets severely censuring his mode of conducting 

 the campaign. The navy department having 

 rejected his plan for the construction of rams 

 for service on the Mississippi, he applied to the 

 secretary of war, and was successful. He was 

 commissioned as colonel of engineers, and con- 



EXHIBITION. 



verted several powerful steamers into rams 

 which did effective service in the naval battle 

 off Memphis, in which engagement he received 

 the wound whereby he lost his life. He was 

 the author of an " Essay on the Laws of Trade, 

 in reference to the Works of Internal Improve- 

 ment in the United States;" a paper "On the 

 Physical Geography of the Mississippi Valley, 

 with suggestions as to the Improvement of the 

 Navigation of the Ohio and other Rivers," pub- 

 lished in " Transactions of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution ;" a pamphlet on " Coast and Harbor 

 Defences, or the Substitution of Steam Batter- 

 ing Rams for Ships of War," and several other 

 important and valuable scientific papers. 



EXHIBITION, BRITISH INDUSTRIAL. The 

 first International Exhibition was opened by 

 her Majesty, Thursday, May 1, 1851. The ex- 

 hibition remained open 141 days; its foreign 

 exhibitors were 6,556, and the exhibitors of 

 the United Kingdom and dependencies, 7,382 

 (exclusive of India), forming a grand total of 

 13,938. The whole daily admissions by pay- 

 ment amounted to 5,265,429 ; by season tick- 

 ets, 773,766 ; together, 6,039,195. Average 

 visitors on each day, 42,831 ; greatest number 

 present, on October 7, 109,915 ; greatest num- 

 ber at one time in the building, October 7, 93,- 

 224. Commissioners' receipts from all sources, 

 to Feb. 29*1852, including subscriptions, 506,- 

 100 6s. lid. Expenditure, 292,794 11s. 3d. 

 Balance, 213,305 15s. 8d. To enable the royal 

 commissioners to apply this surplus and keep 

 faith with the subscribers to the original fund, 

 they were empowered by a supplemental char- 

 ter to purchase and hold lands in any part of 

 her Majesty's dominions and dispose of them as 

 they thought fit. They first proposed to pro- 

 vide a house for the Trade Museum, a collec- 

 tion of articles valued at 9,000, presented to 

 them by exhibitors in 1851. For this purpose, 

 they purchased the " Gore House estate," at 

 one time owned by Mr. Wilberforce, and sub- 

 sequently by the Countess of Blessington. The 

 whole estate comprised about 21 acres, added 

 to which were Gray's nursery grounds, Park 

 house, and Grove house, and various market 

 gardens, the grounds of Cromwell House, and 

 other lands belonging to the Earl of Harrington 

 and the Baron de Villars. Additional funds for 

 these purchases were provided by the Govern- 

 ment, who entered into a sort of partnership 

 with the commissioners, and purchased, in all, 

 86 acres, for 280,000, at an average of 3,250 an 

 acre. The object of these purchases of land 

 was to secure a large space to which some of 

 the national exhibitions might be removed, and 

 on which a great art-educational institution 

 might be erected. Early in 1858, the commis- 

 sioners dissolved partnership with the state ; 

 the sums advanced by Government were repaid 

 by the commissioners, subject to a deduction 

 for the ground and buildings of the South Ken- 

 sington Museum, now become a government 

 institution, as a branch of the department of 

 science and art. The commissioners now be- 



