THE HOUSE AND ITS EQUIPMENT. 



WATER-POWER INSTALLATIONS 



Nature in Man s Service Waler-po^er I lanls Csimlly a Blot on the Liindscafic Model 

 Treatment by Sir Robert I.oriiner -A Heanlifi/1 River Happily Unspoilt -The I oicer-hnuse and 



Its 



THE work of an engineer lias been defined as &quot; tlie conversion of the forces of Nature to the use 

 and service of man,&quot; and though this is truly the purpose of all the complex mechanisms 

 elaborated by latter-day engineers, the definition is most obviously accurate when he proceeds 

 to dam a stream and make use of the power contained in the falling water which has hitherto 

 run to waste. The definition of an engineer s functions as given above covers a very \\ id- 

 field, and when he has given the time and attention that is necessary to qualify him in one branch of his 

 profession, he usually has little opportunity, or even inclination, for the study of . esthetics. It often 

 happens, therefore, that when he is called upon to perform the particular conversion of Nature s forces 

 just indicated, his dam is a smooth-faced concrete structure with an iron handrail along the top, his power 

 house is of precisely the same design as he would put up in the meanest of manufacturing towns, and his 

 pipe line joining the two is of tarred cast iron, uncovered and unashamed, the whole forming an ugly blot 

 on what may be an enchanting view. Perhaps one of the worst instances in this country of this lack of care 

 for the beauty of the site of a water-power scheme is to be found at Lynmouth, where the supplv of electricity 

 for lighting the towns of Lynton and Lynmouth is obtained by water-power from the river I.yn. Here 

 the water is taken from the upper stream along a straight canal cut, and thence through an iron pipe, or 

 penstock, to the power-house. This is a frankly factor\-like structure, and an ugly thing to confront 

 on a spot where one might expect to see the shade of John Ridd meeting that of I.orna Doone. 



In order to show how perfectly possible it is to combine use and beauty in these cases, a description 

 of a small plant, where the natural features of the scenery have been conscientiously considered, is here 

 given at some length. At Ardkinglas the crimes complained of have not been committed, and. indeed, 

 with this example before 

 him, the engineer of the 

 future will be the veriest 

 vandal should he ever 

 again perpetrate some of 

 the utilitarian misdemea 

 nours that were due to 

 ignorance rather than vice 

 in the past. The thanks 

 of the whole profession are 

 due to Sir Robert Lorimer 

 ol Edinburgh, the architect 

 who designed the struc 

 tures which are now de 

 scribed and illustrated. 

 \Yhen the scheme was first 

 proposed., all the small 

 streams that come down 

 from the mountain and the 

 glen were examined, but it 

 was found that none could 

 be depended upon for a 

 sufficiently constant supply 

 of water, so that in the end 

 the river Kinglas itself had 

 to be pressed into service, 

 and even in this case ex 

 perience has shown that in 

 long periods of dry weather 

 the water supply is only 



141. THE POWFF -HOUSE AT ARDKINGLAS. 



