260 



ENGINEERING. 



supply. The Athletic Club of New York 

 city recently sunk a well under their house 

 and obtained a fine yield of water, but, hoping 

 for still better results, the drill was pushed 

 still farther, when the " bottom dropped out," 

 and the water all went down instead of upward. 

 Such failures must occasionally happen, since 

 at best the location of a well is a matter of un- 

 certainty. 



Harbor Improvement. The port of Ceara, capi- 

 tal of the Brazilian province of the same name, 



dragging their anchors and going ashore. The 

 breakwater is placed so as to afford shelter 

 from the prevailing winds, and is of simple 

 construction. The principal quay is of solid 

 concrete, and is connected with the shore by a 

 viaduct of iron and steel 750 feet long. A rail- 

 way runs the entire length of the structure, 

 alongside of which vessels drawing 19 feet of 

 water can lie even at low tide, the rise and 

 fall being C feet. The works are constructed 

 under an imperial concession from the emperor 



HARBOR OF CEAHA, BRAZIL. 



has long been one of the principal South 

 American ports at which foreign steamers 

 call, and with which a considerable commerce 

 has sprung up within the last generation. Prior 

 to the erection of the works illustrated here- 

 with, the port hardly deserved the name, since 



of Brazil, and it is estimated that the income 

 from port-dues will amount to at least $100,- 

 000 per annum. The fine granite used in the 

 construction of the work and of the adjoining 

 custom-house buildings is quarried about six- 

 teen miles from the port, and brought by rail 



TRANSVERSE SECTION 

 or- 



PLAN OP THE CEARi BREAKWATER. 



the only anchorage was an open roadstead, and 

 all goods and passengers had to pass between 

 ship and shore by means of small boats or 

 lighters. The situation was very dangerous for 

 vessels receiving or discharging cargo, and it 

 was often necessary for large vessels to run 

 out to sea in order to escape the danger of 



direct to the works. Railroads already exist- 

 ing afford communication with an inland 

 region rich in all the staples of South Ameri- 

 can commerce. The engineers in charge 

 are Messrs. R. E. Wilson and R. T. H. Saunders, 

 both of England, and the work is done by a 

 firm of English contractors. 



