1848.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



31 



stiuction : of some of these, however, the author produced rubbings ; and, 

 having traced the history down to the 19th century, and referred to the 

 latest of that period (prior to those produced under his own direction), he 

 proceeded to urge the desirableness of possessing as a nation a complete 

 collection of the rubbings of the brasses of this country, as illustrative of 

 the costume and history of bygone times, and the propriety of such a col- 

 lection being deposited in the British Museum. The author then concluded 

 his paper by calling attention to the cartoons of several monuments recently 

 executed by himself, by a new processs of working on brass, and which he 

 promised to communicate to the Society at an early period. 



Dec. 8. — T. HoBLYN, Esq., in the Chair. 

 Mr. H. Cole made some remarks in reference to Mr. Archer's paper on 

 sepulchral brasses and incised stones, read at the last meeting. He observed 

 that about ten years since the study of brasses re-commenced in this coun- 

 try. During that period, however, almost all that is known respecting the 

 brasses has been exhausted, and several works have been written on the sub- 

 ject; so that there is scarcely anything to find out, unless the brasses happen 

 to lay under pews or in parts of the churches which at present are concealed. 

 The most remarkable have been published by the Cambridge Camden So- 

 ciety, and on the walls are exhibited engravings from a book of great excel- 

 lence by Waller ; others have also paid attention to the subject. The ordi- 

 nary process of obtaining rubbings is as follows : — A sheet of paper is laid 

 upon the brass, and kept in its position by weights ; it is then rubbed over 

 with a composition known as heel-ball. By this means, the whole of the 

 paper where the brass under it is not cut away becomes blackened, while the 

 incised lines remain the colour of the paper. In some cases, a kind of 

 bronze composition is used upon a black paper, and by this means as nearly 

 as possible a facsimile of the brass is obtained. The most important brasses 

 to be found in London are in Westminster Abbey, St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, 

 AUballows, and St. Andrew's Undershaft. Passing out of London, the 

 nearest churches where any remarkable brasses are to be found are, Willes- 

 den, Harrow, South Minns, St. Alban's, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Roystead, 

 Chigwell, Windsor, Stoke-Pogis, Taplow, Westerkam, Penshurst, and Cob- 

 ham. 



Mr. Hall made some remarks relative to the history of copper-plate en. 

 graving, and the probability that it grew out of the art of engraving monu- 

 mental brasses. 



Mr. Slocum exhibited two ploughs, a scythe and cradle for reaping corn, 

 a grass scythe, three spring tempered manure and hay forks , a cast-steel hand 

 hoe, and an American axe. He stated the peculiarity of these implements 

 to consist in their lightness, cheapness, and durability, thus enabling the 

 agricultural labourer to accomplish a larger amount of daily work at a less 

 cost. The implements he exhibited were such as are commonly used in the 

 United States. — A letter was read from Mr. Love, of Manor House, Naseby, 

 in which he states that the ploughs were tried on a clay soil, in rather a dry 

 state, against Adams's Northampton plough, and one of Howard's Champion 

 ploughs. Howard's, when working five inches deep by eleven inches wide, 

 had a draught of 31 stone ; and Adams's plough, at the same width and 

 depth, a draught of 30 stone; while the American plough, at five inches 

 deep and fourteen wide, drew only 26 stone. " In justice to the American 

 ploughs, 1 must say," observes Mr. Love, " that they cut up and cleaned 

 their furrow quite as well as the other ploughs, and also turned the earth, 

 completely breaking it, and putting the soil in capital position for drilling 

 or dibbling ; they are the most simple, strong, light, and effective ploughs it 

 is possible to conceive : other experiments were also made, and the draught 

 tested by the dynamometer." — The cost of the ploughs Mr. Slocum stated 

 to be £2 each. 



A communication was read from Mr. W. Taylor, F.L.S., &c., "on the 

 Cultivation of the Polygonum Tinctorium, or Dyer's Tinctoria." 



" This plant," observes Mr. Taylor, " is a native of China, and was intro- 

 duced into this country in 1776, by John Blake. It is used in China and 

 Japan for the purpose of dying a blue similar to that of the finest indigo. 

 The colour is obtained from the leaves of the plant, which are dried, pounded, 

 and made into cakes. ' With these cakes,' Hunberger says, ' they dye 

 linen, silk, and cotton.' When the cakes are boiled, they add ashes ; and 

 the stronger the decoction is made, the darker is the colour. The plant 

 grows best in this country on soils of a medium texture, which must also be 

 well manured before the seed is sown, which is best sown in rows about the 

 middle of April. Two pounds of seed to the acre is sufficient, but the plants 

 may be planted out in rows from the hot bed, at the rate of about 16,000 to 

 the acre ; and unless they are brought forward and planted out, they will 

 not produce seed in England. The plant can be prepared for the market in 

 three ways, viz. — 1st, it may be cut in a green state and sold to the dyer, in 

 which case an acre would produce five tons of leaves and stalks, worth about 

 f 30. — 2nd, if cut and placed in vats, so as to precipitate the fecula, or in- 

 digo, the acre would produce 3 cwt. of colour, which, at Is. per lb., would 

 be worth ^16 16s. — 3rd, the plants may be cut up, dried, and packed in 

 bundles : the acre would then yield three tons of dyeing matter, and be 

 worth about £21. The colouring matter may be extracted either by fer- 

 mentation or scalding." Specimens of the plant and colour were exhibited. 

 The last communication read was by Mr. W. Bennett, " o« some samples 

 of Flax grown in Ireland in 1847." 



Specimens of the flax were exhibited, and Mr. Bennetf stated they were 

 produced under every disadvantage possible, and in one of the most remote 



and destitute corners of the whole island, viz., the barony of Boris, county 

 of Mayo, on the western coast, and under the superintendence of Mr. G. S. 

 Bourns, the peasantry being wholly unacquainted with its mode of culture 

 and preparation. The flax is of good quality, and worth from 6s. to 8s. per 

 stone. The introduction of its culture has also afforded employment to a 

 large number of poor women in spinning. The peasantry are also being 

 employed to manufacture linen from looms erected in the stables of a clergy- 

 man, in another most distressed locality, specimens of which were exhibited. 



ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. 



Nov. 8, 1847.— David Maclagan, M.D., F.R.S.E. President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were made : — 



1. On the first principles of Symmetrical Beauty, as developed in the Geo- 

 metric Harmony of the Human Head and Countenance. By D. R. Hay, 

 Esq. 



Mr. Hay commenced his paper with a quotation from Dr. Reid's " Intel- 

 lectual Powers of Man," showing that it was the opinion of Ihat great philo- 

 sopher, that, as taste might be true or false according as it was founded on 

 true or false judgment, it must have first principles. He then observed, 

 that by truth being properly investigated in the natural sciences, natural 

 philosophy had arrived at its present advanced state, and its application in 

 the useful arts had consequently produced the happiest results. But that in 

 our search after truth in the science of aesthetics, a very different course 

 had been followed, and that our ideas of beauty were clothed in mystery, and 

 our attempts to produce the former in the various branches of art, depend 

 in a great measure upon chance. This he attributed to the practice of ser- 

 vile copying in our schools of art, instead of studying the first principles or 

 teachable laws of beauty ; in short, that we study and imitate results without 

 investigating causes. He asserted that there exist precise mathematical 

 principles of a practical nature, by which the external form of the human 

 head and countenance may be delineated, and by which the proportions and 

 relative positions of the features may be arranged upon the facial surface so 

 as to produce a primary species of symmetrical beauty ; and that these prin- 

 ciples were identical with those which produce beauty in architecture and 

 ornamental design. This he demonstrated by combining in a diagram the 

 Platonic triangles and the curvilineal figures that belong to them, showing, 

 at the same time, that those triangles were the root of all symmetrical 

 beauty and harmony in geometry. He showed that this diagram corresponded 

 in all its parts to the anatomy of the human head, and that the countenance 

 thereby produced possessed the beau ideal beauty of the finest Grecian sculp- 

 tures. Mr. Hay stated that he believed the principles he explained were 

 known to the ancient Greeks, and were introduced by Pythagoras, and taught 

 by Plato in connection with mathematics, and by Pamphilus as connected 

 with art. The drawings by which Mr. Hay exemplified his principle were 

 larger than life, and very numerous, and we understand it is his intention to 

 publish them on a small scale. 



2. The Report of the Prize Committee, awarding the Prizes for Session 

 1846-7, was read. 



Nov. 22. — G. Buchanan, Esq., President, in the Chair. 

 The following communications were made : — 



1. Suggestions for preventing Accidents on Railways. By J. Stewart 

 Hepburn, Esq., of Colquhalzie. These suggestions have reference to the 

 injudicious practice of mixing light with heavy carriages in different parts of 

 thetrain,and to the injudicious applications of the break, and the order in which 

 it is applied ; and propose the classification of the light and heavy carriages, 

 and the working of the break from the rear to the front of the train. They 

 have also reference to the permanent works of most railways as originally 

 constructed, being too light and insufficient for the heavier loads and high 

 Telocities which are now used ; and propose to give increased stability to the 

 rail by a well laid pavement of heavy blocks of stone, along the outside of 

 each rail. They have also reference to what is called "jumping," which is 

 often the cause of carriages running off the line — to unequal subsidence of 

 the roadway, and proposes Telford's plan for forming the embankments in 

 concave layers, or thai; the earthworks should be allowed ample time to sub- 

 side of themselves before the rail is used. Mr. Hepburn also proposes longi- 

 tudinal supports under the joinings of the rails, which he considers their 

 weakest part. The suggestions have also reference to the entanglernent of 

 the buffers, and " riding" on each other ; and propose to enlarge vertically 

 the surface of the buffer, by having in its place three elliptic springs on the 

 lower frame of the carriage, and two on the upper part, each set connected 

 with a horizontal bar of wood, and the whole covered with boarding. Mr. 

 H. holds that this arrangement would prevent the carriage from turning up 

 and rolling over each other when a collision takes place. 



2. Description of a Model of a Malleable Iron Railway Chair. By Mr. 

 RoBB, Haddington. The advantages are stated to be greater strength, and 

 thus giving additional security in passing sharp curves : the rails would fit 

 much better from the chairs being all cut true to the pattern, thus securing 

 a uniform bearing to the head of the rails : the superior manner in which 

 the wooden keys will fit, and with less rigidity. Mr. Robb thinks they could 

 be made cheaper than cast-iron chairs, and tliat they would be stronger, al- 

 though one-half lighter, whereby a saving in cost of carriage would be 

 effected to an extent of 50 per cent. 



