IS38] 



FARMERS- REGISTER. 



691 



freely all the plants I have named. If this com- 

 munication instructs but one individual, 1 shall be 

 happy in havint? done some little, towards advan- 

 cinfj the husbandry of my native stale. 



Edgefield. A Farmkr. 



For the Farmers' Register. 

 ROUGH FIELD NOTES. 



No. II. 



Philadelphia and Beading Rail-Road. 



There is no work in Pennsylvania more inte- 

 resting, or, as far as finished, better executed than 

 this. "For several months the navigation of the 

 Schuylkill improvement is closed by ice, and 

 ^reat difficulty is experienced in transporting coal 

 ^om the extensive coal region of Pottsville, and 

 4hat section of the state, to market. To remedy 

 this evil was the Philadelphia and Reading rail- 

 way projected. When completed, it will not stop, 

 ■as its name would indicate, at Reading, but will 

 €xlend to Pottsville, a distance of 93 miles, and 

 will there connect with the rail-road Irom that 

 place to Sunbury, and also with the numerous lit- 

 tle roads radiating from Pottsville to every coal 

 mine in the neighborhood. When this road shall 

 tiave been finished to the coal region, the amount 

 of transportation it will do will be immense. 



From Philadelphia, to a point opposite Norris- 

 town, 18 miles, the road is yet unfinished. The 

 traveller, lor the present, leaves Philadelphia on 

 the Norristown rail-road, and, at its termination, 

 crosses over to the Reading road, which is com- 

 pleted from that point to Reading, a distance of 

 ibrty miles. Between Reading and Pottsville, 

 ground hi-s just been broken ; but, from the energy 

 and success with which this great work has here- 

 tofore been prosecuted, there is no doubt but that 

 it will steadily progress till completed. 



This road all the way pursues the valley of the 

 Schuylkill, being located on the southern side lor 

 thirty mdes from Philadelphia, and then crossing 

 to the northern. With a few exceptions, it con- 

 forms to all the windings of the river, and its lo- 

 cation partakes of the same general nature as 

 that of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road along the 

 valley of the Patapsco, except that the bends of 

 the Schuylkill being generally less sudden and the 

 valley wider, more gentle curves have been ob- 

 tained throughout. There is no curve between 

 Philadelphia and Reading with a radius less than 

 ^50 leet, and, with one or two exceptions, the 

 curves have radii as much as 2000 feet, or more. 

 The hills sometimes encroach on the river, con- 

 fining the roadway, and causing either deep side- 

 cutting, oftentimes through rock, or expensive 

 walling on the river side. Near Phoenixville, the 

 Schuylkill makes a circuitous bend of three miles, 

 and returns to within half a mile of the place 

 from which it set out, forming a bold promontory 

 one and a half miles long, and only half a mile 

 across the neck. To save the three miles of dis- 

 tance, and, at the same time, to avoid much bold 

 curvature, it was determined to tunnel under this 

 neck of land, which is a spur from the main 

 ridge. This tunnel was commenced in 1835, and 

 has been successfully carried through. It is the 

 greatest work of the kind in America, and no 

 man ought to visit Philadelphia without going to 

 see this triumph of art. It is 1932 feet long, 19 



feet wide, and 17 feet high, with an elliptical 

 arch. It is cut through a dark-colored graywacke 

 slate, from which it derives its name of " Black 

 Rock tunnel." h was excavated from both ends 

 as well as from six vertical shafts. These shafts 

 are einlit feet in diameter, and were sunk in pairs 

 to enable the miners the better to keep the true 

 line of direction. The deepest shaft is 140 feet 

 deep. A true and accurate line has been obtained 

 ihrouijh the tunnel lor the rail-road, showing the 

 accuracy with which it was excavated, and the 

 greatest care and attention on the part of the re- 

 sident engineer. The cost of the shafts, per cu- 

 bic vard, was $20, and of the tunnel itself, $5. 

 The whole cost of this tunnel was about $170,- 

 000. On the first division of this road, there is 

 also another tunnel, about 900 feet long, not yet 

 completed : and it is more than probable that 

 there will be another near Port Clinton. 



Immediately at the far end ol' Black Rock fun- 

 nel, and on a line with it, is a handsome bridge of 

 hewn sandstone, across the Schuylkill, by means 

 of which the rail-road crosses to the northern side 

 of the river. This viaduct has four arches, each 

 with a span of 72 leet, and a rise of 16^ feet. 

 Each arch is the arc of a circle, and contains 53 

 rinfT-stones, which measure 30 inches in depth. 

 The road- way is 16 J feet in the clear between the 

 parapets, which are of sandstone, 2 feet wide, and 

 project two feet above the road-way. The piers 

 are not what are termed abutment piers, being 

 only eight feet thick. The wings of the abutments 

 have a radius of 18^ feet, and terminate by steps 

 descending to the surface of the ground. The 

 execution of this costly bridge is good, but the 

 architectural effect is not pleasing. The very 

 slight projection of the pilasters which go up from 

 the piers, and the nicety with which the material 

 has been cut, give a delicacy of appearance al- 

 together unbecoming a structure of this nature. 

 The arches, too, springing at an elevation of only 

 six feet above ordinary water, would have looked 

 belter had they been elliptical, instead of circular, 

 particularly if the faces of the piers had also been 

 slightly curved. The Thomas viaduct across the 

 Patapsco on the Washington branch rail-road, 

 produces a much finer efl'ect, and is not surpassed 

 by any similar work in our country. The Tho- 

 mas viaduct is built of unhewn granite of the 

 best quality. It is 660 feet long, 66 feet above 

 the surface of the water, and consists of 8 circular 

 arches of 60 feet span each. Each abutment is 

 60 feet long, and terminated by strong buttresses 

 on each side. Heavy pilasters also go up from 

 every pier. The road-way is 22 feet wide, and 

 is confined on either side by a heavy iron railing, 

 3| feet high on the top of the parapet, which is 

 2^ feet wide. The whole work presents the ap- 

 pearance of great strength and stability. The 

 cost of this bridge was $120,000. It is worthy 

 of note, that this immense bridge is built on a 

 curve, with a radius, to judge by the eye, of 2800 

 feet. 



In the construction of the bridge across the 

 Schuylkill, the necessary precautions were not 

 taken to guard against ice, which frequently 

 comes down that river in great quantities. The 

 piers below high-water-mark should have been 

 built on the upper side circular, and with a slope 

 of at least 45°, like the piers of the Alexandria 

 aqueduct. Instead of which, however, the piers 



