697 



DOCK. 



DOCK. 



698 



Under such circumstances, therefore, the port authorities of the 

 districts alluded to directed their attention to the creation of closed 

 basins wherein the vessels might ride in safety; and it was at 

 Liverpool that the first recorded great works of this description were 

 executed, by the formation in the year 1710 of the dock at present 

 known by the name of the Old Dock, and of the St. George's Dock, in 

 1762. The system thus inaugurated was found to be so advantageous 

 that it was followed rapidly by other commercial towns, but it was 

 not until the commencement of the present century that the metro- 

 polis of England followed the example ; when, however, it did so, the 

 great improvement of surrounding the basins with bonded warehouses 

 was likewise introduced, and the complete modern system of docks 

 was, for perhaps the first time, applied in the West India and the 

 London Docks, respectively opened in 1802 and 1805. Nearly all the 

 best modern docks have been constructed upon this system, and it has 

 even been copied in foreign countries ; for the Entrepot Dock of the 

 port of Havre, and the new docks of Marseille, are built with all the 

 accessories to be found in the London establishments of this nature. 



Leaving out of account for the present the docks exchisively devoted 

 to one particular class of traffic, such as the coal docks of the North 

 of England and of Wales, it may suffice to say that in tidal rivers, 

 where the variations in the height of the water are great, it is desirable 

 to form, immediately behind the exit or the entrance lock gates a 

 half-tide basin wherein vessels of small draught may lie until the 

 level of the water on the outside skill rise to such a height aa to 

 allow of their movements being carried on. The entrance to the dock 

 basin itself should be placed at the upper end of the half-tide basin ; 

 and it is desirable that all the locks should have double gates, pointing 

 respectively up and down stream. If, in consequence of the Customs 

 regulations of the country, it should be necessary to form import and 

 export docks, it would also be desirable to place the gates leading to 

 and from them at the upper end of the half-title' basin, which in such 

 cases must be made wide enough to allow the various movements of 

 the vessels to take place without their being crowded ; and, as a 

 general rule, it may be said that the import dock should be situated 

 on the left and the export dock on the right-hand side. The basins, 

 in such cases as supposed, should communicate at their upper ends 

 only ; and the vessels should, after being unloaded, be warped through 

 the lock or communication channel to the berth where it is to take in 

 ite cargo. Notwithstanding some practical defects in its details, the 

 plan of the West India Docks, as originally designed by the late 

 Mr. J. liennie, was one of the most logical of any which has been 

 hitherto suggested that is to say, for ports where the Customs regu- 

 lations are rather vexatious and as such it is here introduced. 



WfST INDIA DOCKS . 



If these leading principles are carefully borne in mind, the details of 

 execution of a dock may be modified to sxiit local circumstances, and 

 h cases as Bristol, Ipswich, &c., the formation of these marvellous 

 facilities to commerce may be made conducive to the improvement of 

 the navigation itself. In both the cases mentioned, old branches 

 of the rivers were operated upon, in which the stream naturally 

 followed very tortuous courses, and thus lost a portion of its power of 

 transmitting the tidal wave to the interior; by cutting new and 

 straight courses for the streams, and by converting the old channels 

 into closed basins, not only was a considerable area of water surface 

 made available for the purposes of trade, but the " regimes " of the 

 rivers were rendered mose stable and better fitted for traffic purposes. 

 There is a further advantage attending such a conversion of the bends 

 of rivers, namely, that generally speaking in such cases it is possible 

 to make locks at l>tli end* of the chord of the arc formed respectively 

 by the new cut and by the enclosed water surface ; but it is impossible 

 to lay down any invariable rule in a matter which must admit of so 

 many modifications in consequence of the physical and commercial 

 conditions of the places under consideration. 



The only invariable laws with respect to the formation of docks 

 appear to be that, 1st, the area of water surface should be as small as 

 possible in projortion to the development of the quay walls. 2nd, If 

 a simple parallelogram be the form adopted the width may be calcu- 



lated upon the principle that, at the maximum,, three tiers of ships 

 might lie alongside the quays on either side, and that there should be 

 a sufficient space between the oxiter tiers to allow a vessel to swing 

 round : the widths and lengths which form the basis of this calculation 

 would of course depend on the class of vessels frequenting the harbour 

 or river. 3rd, The whole of the basins and of the warehouses, courts, 

 yards, quays, &c., should be securely enclosed, both for the purposes of 

 the fiscal relations of the port and for the protection of the merchandise 

 there unloaded : it was, indeed, principally on account of the robberies 

 committed on the Thames and in the warehouses alongside the river 

 that the docks of London were originally proposed. 4th, The depth of 

 water in the floating basin must be such as to allow the vessels to 

 float at all times of the tides ; in many cases, as at Havre, for instance, 

 the necessity for observing this precaution has rendered it indispensable 

 to sink the bottom of the basins considerably below the level of the bed 

 of the sea in the outer harbour. It is desirable also, in order to avoid 

 inconvenience from rapid silting up of the basins, to allow originally a 

 depth rather in excess of that which is theoretically required. 5th, If 

 the docks should be constructed in such positions as to allow vessels 

 to sail directly into them, they must have an outer harbour suffi- 

 ciently long and secure in which the vessels may loose their " way," or 

 the impetus of advance, before they approach the half-tide basin or the 

 inner lock. 



The details of the quays, and of the sheds and warehouses, must 

 depend upon the character of the trade at the particular place under 

 consideration, and upon the customs regulations of the country. As a 

 general rule H .would, however, appear to be preferable to make, on the 

 immediate edge of the quay, a paved road or gangway, of about 20 feet 

 in width, without any roofing, and to place on this gangway the cranes 

 for unloading or loading. It is found, indeed, that goods arriving 

 from great distances, whether by land or by sea, require that their 

 cases or envelopes should be examined and repaired before the goods 

 are transmitted or shipped. This operation is sometimes known by 

 the phrase coopering, and the open space above recommended, affords 

 facilities for its execution, as well as for the operation known under 

 the name of tamplnifj, and for the examination by the custom house 

 officers. Immediately beyond this open space it is customary to erect 

 a shed of at least 30 or 40 feet clear width, in which goods for 

 immediate delivery may lie for a few days, and in which the export 

 goods may be received, if the regulations of the port should be such as 

 to allow the ship to discharge, and receive, cargo on the same berth. 

 The shed is usually succeeded by a wide road, of from 40 to 60 feet, 

 along which the waggons engaged in the service of the dock can circu- 

 late; and beyond this road are the warehouses wherein goods are 

 bonded or stored. These warehouses are nsually made from 100 to 

 120 feet wide, and of from one to six stories in height, each of about 

 11 feet from floor to underside of beams, according to the description of 

 goods they are intended to receive ; for it may be as well here to state 

 that tobacco is usually stored in sheds of only one story ; sugar (espe- 

 cially the West Indian sugar) is stored in warehouses of three stories ; 

 wool is stored in those which have four stories; teas, silks, drugs, 

 spices, &c., in warehouses of about five or six stories. Naturally, how- 

 ever, the number of stories will depend also to some extent upon the 

 value of the ground, and the price of labour in the particular position ; 

 for as a general rule it is not desirable to concentrate too much mer- 

 chandise of value under one roof. The settlement of these details of 

 construction requires great skill, and an intimate knowledge of com- 

 mercial affairs, in order to secure both economy of construction and of 

 subsequent working. 



It may be added that the area of warehouse floor occupied by the 

 various classes of goods varies from 12 feet superficial per ton, of 

 heavy goods, such as sugar in casks piled in two tiers, and including 

 the necessary passages ; to about 60 feet superficial per ton of wool, 

 cotton, Ac., also packed in two tiers. Wines and spirits are better 

 kept in cellars than above ground ; but wherever they are kept, pre- 

 cautions must be observed to maintain a constant temperature around 

 them, and to prevent accidents by fire. In the London Docks, no 

 artificial lights are allowed to be introduced into the spirit cellars or 

 stores. 



Beyond the warehouses thus described, it is desirable to form a 

 roadway, at least 60 feet wide, for the waggons which are to receive 

 the goods cleared for consumption, and for any connection with the 

 general railway system of the country which may be desired. The 

 whole of these roads, warehouses, basins, Ac., should be surrounded 

 by a wall of at least 20 feet in height. 



The St. Katherine's Dock, and the Albert Dock of Liverpool, have 

 been constructed upon principles rather different from those described 

 above, for the warehouses are carried up perpendicularly from the 

 edges of the quays, without any intermediate sheds and roads. This 

 modification was rendered necessary, in the case of St. Katherine's 

 Dock especially, by the extraordinary value of the land on which it was 

 built ; but unquestionably the manipulation of the merchandise, under 

 these circumstances, is carried on at a greatly enhanced cost, and with 

 great confusion. In the. St. Katherine's Dock there are in some of the 

 warehouses also seven stories (counting the entresol as one) ; but it in 

 worthy of remark, that merchants have so great an objection to the 

 use of the upper story that practically it is of no value. A very 

 important condition to be observed in the construction of dock ware 



