Oct. 16, 1885.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



333 



which form the windows of two of these rooms, are 4 ft. 

 in diameter. The tusks are 36 ft. long and 5 ft. 8 in. in 

 diameter. 



In laying the foundation of the structure the builders 

 met with some difficulty, owing to the instability of the 

 soil, it being simply a sandy beach. Piles were driven 

 to a great depth, and a solid platform was raised on top 

 of the piles and secured firmly thereon. A second plat- 

 form, which was designed to bear the direct weight of 

 the colossus, was constructed above this, and was sup- 

 ported on vertical timbers strengthened by inclined 

 braces reaching to the platform, with a view of resisting 

 great lateral as well as vertical strains. 



After the foundations were completed, work was 

 commenced ujaon the visible portion of the building, the 

 legs being the first point of attack. Yellow pine posts, 

 12 by 16 inches, were first raised above the platform, 

 and, being bolted to the fluoring beneath, were made self- 

 supporting. Two posts, 42 ft. long, were thus raised in 

 each leg, and twelve smaller timbers, placed in a circle 

 so as to inclose the main posts, were also bolted to the 

 platform in a similar manner to form the outer wall of 

 the leg. These timbers were joined at the top by 

 connecting beams. 



Cranes were mounted on the platforms thus formed, 

 to which the material was raised as the work progressed. 

 The difficulties increased, however, with the work, and 

 it became necessary to secure the services of the 

 most skilled workmen. Not only was this so on 

 account of the dizzy height that the structure attained, 

 but to the necessity of conforming the construction to 

 the peculiar emergencies that arose, it being requisite 

 to form nearly all the parts on the spot, under the 

 immediate personal supervision of the architect. The 

 weight of the structure is carried, as may be seen by 

 the engraving, by five supports, the four legs and the 

 trunk. 



Commencing at what is now the flooring of the main 

 liall, trusses were raised on each side and at the two ends 

 of the hall, and these trusses (the bottom chords corre- 

 sponding with the floor and the top chords with the ceiling 

 of the hall) constitute the principal support of the ribs. 

 It will be seen from this that what might be termed an 

 immense box girder was formed, the ends of which are 

 supported by the front and hind legs respectively. 



The ribs weigh directly upon tlie upper chords at the 

 four corners, but at other points the ribs bear away from 

 the chords, owing to the enlargement of the body under 

 (he howdah. At these points it was necessary to extend 

 the vertical and horizontal members of each truss from 

 the wall and ceiling until they intersected with ribs. In 

 .iddition to thi.s,an arched rib, corresponding to the back- 

 bone, is carried from the main support of the hind legs to 

 t he neck of the monster, where it bears indirectly upon 

 the vertical support of the front legs. The ribs in the 

 l)ody of the colossus are forty in number, and each consists 

 (if six sections bolted firmly together. As they serve to 

 Ljive consistency and rigidity to the whole structure, 

 iliey form an important element in its construction, 

 They are about 7 in. in width, and are placed 2 ft. apart, 

 measuring from centre to centre. The head framing is 

 similar in general construction to that of the body, and 

 is supported by the trunk and forward supports of the 

 front legs. It is provided with twelve ribs. Great diffi- 

 lulty was experienced in raising the ears and adjusting 

 I hem in position in the head. This was principally due 

 to their enormous weight — some six tons each — and the 

 •.'leat height to which they had to be raised, and the diffi- 

 culty of securing such an enormous mass securely to the 



drums which had been prepared to receive them in each 

 side of the head. In addition to being bolted firmly in 

 position at these points, iron rods were extended from 

 the main trusses within through the ears at two points 

 below the drum. The ears are some 34 ft. long by 20 ft. 



The architect depends upon the enormous weight of 

 the elephant, and upon iron rods that pass from the 

 trusses above, through the legs, and connect with the 

 foundation platform, to hold the colossus in its position. 

 He has kindly furnished us with a few statistics that 

 may be of interest. The colossus, he informs us, weighs 

 about 100,000 tons. It contains 1,500,000 square feet of 

 timber, and 700 kegs of nails were consumed in its 

 construction. In addition to this, 7 tons of bolts were 

 disposed of, and it required 35,000 square feet of tin 

 to cover its surface. In size it compares favourably 

 with many of the large hotels and other structures in 

 its neighbourhood; and some idea of its magnitude may 

 be had by comparing it with Jumbo, which is drawn 

 in scale by its side, and which would find plenty of 

 room for a promenade within one of the legs of the 



RATIONAL DRESS. 



WE quote the following interesting paragraphs from 

 the reports of the Rational Dress Society :— 



Miss Sharman Crawford, a member of the Committee, 

 who passed last winter in America, brings an encouraging 

 report of the interest taken there in dress reform. 



For the present, however, the reform in that country 

 is almost exclusively limited to underclothing, in which 

 department boneless bodices as a substitute for corsets 

 are a conspicuous feature. The weight of the fashion- 

 able skirt is generally deplored, but the contumely to 

 which ladies who adopted the Bloomer dress were 

 subjected impelled many to submit unwillingly, as the 

 lesser evil, to the dresses of the prevailing mode, and 

 by these the divided skirt has been welcomed as afford- 

 ing in a considerable degree a solution of the perplexing 

 problem of the reconciliation of personal comfort and 

 public approval. 



In San Francisco, where Miss Sharman Crawford gave 

 a drawing-room lecture on the subject of Dress Reform, 

 an urgent request for patterns of the divided skirt she 

 wore was made by the ladies present. In Boston, too, 

 she found the divided skirt regarded with much favour, 

 and there also the patterns of the dress were much 

 solicited. 



In America the prevalence of rational ideas in refer- 

 ence to shoes was also clearly shown by printed labels 

 bearing the inscription " Common Sense Heels " fre- 

 quently seen in the windows of shoemakers' shops. 



In California several ladies accustomed to riding con- 

 stantly complained of the unnecessary fatigue to which 

 they were subjected by the use of the side-saddle, and 

 several said that on mountain excursions in the summer- 

 time they frequently rodo with ordinary saddles, adopt- 

 ing for the occasion a kind of Bloomer costume. Not 

 only did this departure from conventional rule give them 

 increased security and relief from the cramping effects 

 due to a constrained position for several consecutive 

 hours, but their horses derived great benefit from 

 the removal of that unequal pressure which so often 

 renders the side-saddle an instrument of torture to 



So serious has been the injury inflicted on horses by 

 side-saddles, that in one town in California a livery stable- 



