THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[JANUARY) 



Bandstone, and had hitherto been supplied from wells sunk into that stratum, 

 which consisted of a red sand rock, sometimes very soft, sometimes rather 

 hard, intersected with occasional hands of marl, very much faulted with large 

 and continuous veins, often filled up with clay, and many of them completely 

 impermeable. Tlie new red sandstone rested upon coal measures, and cer- 

 tainly contained a great deal of water, which was absorbed from the imme- 

 diate surface, or drained into it from the hills in pretty large quantities, of 

 which the actual limits were ascertainable, since they knew how much fell 

 from the clouds, and how much was e\aporated ; and they could calculate 

 how much was lost by drainage into the rivers. The supply thus obtained 

 was found to be very insufBcient for the necessities of the town, and it was 

 supposed that the quantity could not be materially increased from this 

 source. This point, however, bad to be decided upon by reference to the 

 structure of the district, and by calculating whether they got all the available 

 water of the district, or only a part, and it turned out that the latter was the 

 fact. The mode in which this water was obtained was by wells, with hori- 

 zontal galleries at their bottoms, to allow the admission of a large quantity 

 of water, which was then pumped to the surface. The water obtained from 

 the new red sandstone contained oxide of iron and some salts of lime and 

 magnesia, which made it exceedingly hard, and ill adapted economically for 

 many useful purposes connected witli tlie manufactures of that neighboui- 

 hood, and in all operations in which soap was required. It was very good to 

 drink, but unfit for other domestic purposes. The question was, whether a 

 sufficient supply, even of this water, could be obtained from the district ? 

 The proprietors of the wells attempted to show that an increased quantity 

 could not be obtained. It was to their interest that that should be the case, 

 and they very naturally believed that it was so — consequently, they opposed 

 all measures, the object of which was to obtain water from any other source. 

 The corporation gathered all the information that could be obtained locally, 

 and then called upon several scientific men for their opinion ; and it is a fact 

 of great interest, as illustrating the present practical position of geology, 

 that it was thought necessary to have the opinion of persons, more noted 

 for their geological knowledge than for simply a practical acquaintance with 

 engineering. Professor Phillips was first invited to give his attention to the 

 suliject, but was prevented from doing so by his engagements with the Go- 

 vernment. He (Professor Ansted) was then applied to, and after close ex- 

 amination and full consideration, he came to the conclusion that a sufficient 

 supply could not be obtained from the new red sandstone formation, he 

 being of opinion that, though a somewhat larger quantily might be had of 

 the water which fell on the district, yet that would not be nearly enough for 

 the requirements present and prospective of a town like Liverpool. What was 

 next to he done.' Then came in that admixture of engineering with geolo- 

 gical science, now necessary indeed to every engineer, who wished to do his 

 work satisfactorily, and with the consciousness that, whatever the result, 

 every means had been adopted which the circumstances of the case would 

 allow. The engineers looked about the neighbourhood far and near, their 

 object being to discover where the necessary supply was to be found. One 

 scheme, which met with consideralile favour at first, was to take the water 

 from the Bala Lake, in North Wales, and convey it to Liverpool, a distance 

 of 60 miles, by closed canals. Great natural obstacles, however, intervened, 

 and it was found that this plan involved an enormous expense, with the 

 chance of incurring still greater outlay in overcoming several of those natural 

 obstacles, which could not be well estimated until the work was attempted. 

 This scheme, after exciting much discussion, was at length abandoned, and 

 the engineers began to look nearer home. After again considering the supply 

 from the wells, and again convincing themselves of its utter inetficiency, they 

 found they must resort to other means, and thus originated the somewhat 

 celebrated Kivington Pike scheme. The Rivington Pike distiict presented a 

 hilly surface of 17 square miles, admirably adapted by nature for such a 

 project. The plan pursued in this case was to take the district and measure 

 its area of drainage, then to estimate tlie quantity of water that could be ob- 

 tained from it, and, finally, to consider how the water might be best accumu- 

 lated. This was a beautifully scientific problem, perfectly practical indeed ; 

 but one which had rarely, if ever before, been tried to the extent now pro- 

 posed. First of all, they had to see whether the quantity of water would be 

 sufficient; anil this was efTected by accurately marking 'the water shed, ob- 

 serving where all the rills and streams coukl be caught conveniently, and, 

 when caught, considering whether they could be conducted into some' sound 

 and sufiicient reservoir. The model on the table, which was an accurate re- 

 presention of the district, would show that all those points were readily at- 

 tainable. The drainage was regulated by the shape of the country, and it 

 might be seen eitlier by the Ordnance Map, a contour map, or a model. In 

 this case, he was able to exhibit a model, which was the best; but the 

 Ordnance Map was the guide originally used. Having then found the area, 

 the question whether it would yield .-i sulficient quantity of water to supply 

 the town of Liverpool was next to he decided. This calculation involved a 

 considerable amount of knowledge of geological structure. It was easy to 

 tell bow many inches of rain descended from the sky on a certain space and 

 in a given time ; and they had only to multiply that by the whole area in- 

 tended to he drained, and they would have the exact quantity which fell 

 upon the whole. That was simple enough ; but they had then to ascertain 

 what was the nature of the surface on which the water alighted ; for if it 

 were permeable, as sand, for instance, it was obvious that a large proportion 

 would be absorbed and lost ; or, if there were many hollows, the water 

 would lie in them and evaporate. These and other geological considerations 

 had all to be well considered; but geological science showed that the dis' 



trict, being composed of the bed of hard sandstone, called millstone grit, 

 partially covered over with shaley beds belonging to the coal measures, the 

 whole of it might, for practical purposes, be regarded as impermeable. The 

 sandstone rock, oftentimes very soft, was here very hard, a good deal faulted 

 but not open — so that it would allow almost the whole of the water to run 

 off the surface. The consequence was, that almost all the rain that fell ran 

 into the streams, which a further examination showed might be readily col- 

 lected into two principal reservoirs on the side of the district nearest to 

 Liverpool, which would be 2-1 miles distant. The natural valleys, in which 

 it was intended to place these reservoirs, had, no doubt, held water before, 

 as the bottoms were covered with fresh water silt. There were also beds of 

 alluvial clay — an additional indication that a considerable quantity of fresh 

 water had at some period been there. By means of two or three embank- 

 ments, these lower districts would thus accumulate that water, which the 

 structure of the upper districts allowed to run off. The whole of the rain 

 which falls upon an area of 4 7 square miles would thus be collected, produc- 

 ing a supply of '20,000,000 gallons per day, sufficient for the town of Liver- 

 pool were it twice the size, and also for the supply of a more useful and 

 economical article to the mills, bleach-works, and other works in the neigh- 

 bourhood. Here advantage was taken of the peculiar natural circumstances 

 of the district, to make the ruhumujn quantity of surface produce the ina.vi' 

 mum amount of water ; but which could never have been accomplished, but 

 for a distinct geological knowledge of the structure of the district. Had it 

 not been for a practical application of geological science, that on a certain 

 description of stone tlie whole of the water would run off, the selection of 

 the Kivington Pike district would never have been made, and the probability 

 was, that Liverpool would have remained for a much longer period suffering 

 from the want of a sufficiency of so vital a fluid. This was a remarkable in- 

 stance, in which a knowledge of structure had been applied to superficial ob- 

 jects of this kind. 



The Professor dismissed the subject of draining by explaining the nature 

 of the operation of a newly-invented draining pipe (Watson's draining pipe), 

 which was remarkably effective. It was cylindrical, with a great number of 

 longitudinal slits, which were wider inside than outjide, and thus counter- 

 acted any tendency to clog. These pipes were most useful to insert in beds 

 of clay, and, even after a considerable length of dry weather, might he seen 

 giving out water very plentifully. This efficient draining caused the beds to 

 contract and crack, and, by thus making openings for the water, rendered 

 the draining perfect. To the proper use of these pipes a knowledge of the 

 dip of the beds was indispensable. 



The next subject was connected with ina^ej-iafe as required for various 

 engineering operations, and ustd for a vast numtjer of economical purposes. 

 These he would divide in the same manner as he had divided the various 

 rocks, and he should commence with the clays. 



Ctag was either mixed with limestone or with sand, in various proportions, 

 and was a very important material. All clays contained alumina, hut a con- 

 siderable number of materials existed, some known by the name of clays, 

 and others, though belonging to the class, not recognised by the general ap- 

 pellation. Of clay, properly so called, there were several distinct kinds. 

 One was the clay found in the shape of subsoil, chiefly used for agricultural 

 purposes. In this case it consisted, nut only of silicate of alumina, the base 

 of all clays, but of limestone, magnesia, potash, iron, &c., and was none the 

 worse for a little pbospliorus ; while it contained also a quantity of carbon. 

 This admixture was indispensable for vegetation ; hut for " materials" clays 

 were better without these foreign substances. The most common clay con- 

 sidered as a material was known by the name of irici clay ; it was a silicate 

 of alumina, with a certain amount of free sand in very variable quantities, 

 which might, however, be easily determined by washing. A good brick clay 

 should consist solely of these materials, without lime or potash, and if the 

 free sand was not in sufficient quantities, it must be mixed with it to make 

 it work; and, generally speaking, the purest, in the common sense of the 

 word, was the best for making bricks. The clay derived from the decom- 

 position of some of the old rocks was particularly valuable, and that derived 

 from the decomposition of slate was generally most pure, and was useful, in 

 certain distiicts, in the manufacture oi fire-bricls. The best kinds were the 

 purest, and contained neither alkaucs nor salts, either of which make it run, 

 in the great heat to which it was sul'jected in the furnaces. The presence 

 of such substances helped the action of the fire, and the surface of the brick 

 would he turned to glass. Pure clay and sand was thus the best for fire- 

 bricks, and it was obtained, as he had observed, from slate. The London 

 clay, one of the tertiary series, was for the most part tolerably well ada|ited 

 for bricks — indeed, all London was built of it; but it was not well suited for 

 the making of fire-liricks, though it possessed many separate portions that 

 were so. The mischievous ingredients miglit indeed be separated, hut gene- 

 rally it was not worth the Iroulilc and expense, as there was no great diffi- 

 culty in olitaining clay for fire bricks. 



Pipe-clay m palters' clay, another of this class, was used in the manufac- 

 ture of the rougher kinds of earthenware. This was a most useful material, 

 and dhl not require to be so carefully selected as that used for fine potteiy 

 and porcelain. It contained a considerable quantity of water, and it was 

 unetious and soapy to the feel. It was necessary for the (purposes of the 

 potter that it should contain a considerable quantity of water, which usually 

 amounted to 18 per cent. It did not contain sand; but it usually liad about 

 1 per cent, of oxide of iron, and a small quantity of lime. The chemical 

 composition of materials of this kind, however, was not very accurately as- 

 certained, as they were for the most part accidental mixtures, and were apt 



