1840.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



PROFESSIONS IN FRANCE. 



"They do these things better in France," has been echoed by 

 Sterne's Starlings ahnost for the last century, and that we may enable 

 our readers to pick out what good they can, and eschew the evil, we 

 have thrown together some notes, based upon oflicial documents and 

 upon the almanacks and directories. With regard to the directory, 

 by the bye, it conies from the hand of an editor with many tails, and 

 is dated'in the 3-2d year of the publication, and in the lUth year of 

 our reign, or as it phrased X'' de la continuation par I'Edtttur actuel 

 (Edtteur, usually means publisher.) ' 



We shall throw our notes together just as they come, and leave 

 their connexion to the industry of our readers. One of the first 

 things that strikes us, is a dealer in essence of mahogany (taunce 

 d'acajoii,) though what that is, we do not know. The list of country 

 architects is, to a great degree, filled up with surveyors, as they are 

 there called geumttrts dii cadastre. Among the cement dealers we 

 find Impermeable Mastic Powder of the Romans, Stone-coloured 

 Mastic, Adialyte Roman Cement, Lucidonic Colour, Economic Bitu- 

 minous Painting, (we presume tarring fences,) Hj'drofugic Mortar, 

 Eydrophyluctic Mortar, &c. One brick-maker has an establishment 

 for making moveable terra cotta letters for shop boards ; the master 

 carpenters are formed into a body by a police ordonnance of the 9th 

 December, 1&U8, for internal government, for inspecting the solidity 

 of buildings, and for preventing pieces of carpentry from being 

 placed so as to cause fires. Their tools must be stamped with a 

 punch bearing their family name at full length ; no journeyman must 

 work on his own account beyond two days, without a previous decla- 

 ration at the Prefectore of Police. Oh, blessed state of affairs! when 

 shall we have the advantage of protection from the authorities of 

 Scotland-yard, and be under the enlightened directors of the nearest 

 station-house. The masons and locksmiths enjoy the same privi- 

 leges ; the paviors -Jso, by a police ordonnance, are prohibited from 

 undertaking any work without being inscribed at the Prefectore, and 

 having their tools stamped with their names. 



The number of well borers is ten ; designers of bronzes, carpets 

 and ornaments, ten ; designers of paper hanging, twenty. There are 

 several offices for doing specifications, drawings, measurements, esti- 

 mates, &c. The gas fitters are twelve. Of engravers, there are in 

 mezzotinto nearly a hundred ; architectural, twenty ; topographical, 

 thirty; in wood, twenty ; for paper hangings, ten; of lithographers, 

 fifty. The engineers are all government functionaries, dispersed over 

 the provinces, except about thirty civil and practical engineers at 

 Paris. The steam-engine makers are six-and-twenty ; the modellers, 

 eleven; moulders of effigies, fifteen; mosaic factories, five; scene 

 painters, seventeen; decorative painters, fifteen; painters of artifi- 

 cial marbles and woods, thirty ; glass and enamel painters and gilders, 

 thirteen; platina manufacturers, twelve. The surveyors are about 

 two hundred and fifty in number. 



The next portion of our subject, will be the immense mass of go- 

 vernment functionaries, one of the best tests of professional inde- 

 pendence, whatever it may be of national encouragement. The first 

 that comes in our vv'ay is the royal household, direction of crown 

 buildings, with thirty-three architects of all grades. The next is 

 the private domain of the king, with another board of architects. 

 We then have the home department, directors of public buildings 

 and monuments, with twenty-one employers of the general board, 

 and a hundred and five district functionaries employed in different 

 public works. The Prefecture of the Seine, almost equally ]jrolific, 

 has about a hundred and fifty. The Prefecture of Police has also a 

 number of good births — the division of architecture alone, sixteen. 



The engineers come oft' as well. In the war department, they are, 

 of course, well provided for; but the ministry of public works, is 

 their great support, there are to be found the names of fifty. In the 

 Prefecture of the Seine, about as many. 



COMPETITION DESIGNS. 



Sir — You will perhaps favour me by inserting the following in an 

 early number of your useful Journal. 



Derby, Your's respectfully, 



13th Dec, 1839. B. 



Two advertisements for designs have appeared in the "Times" 

 this month, one for laying out 26 acres of ground near Ipswich, for 

 which premiums of 30.'., 20/., and 10/. were liberally (?) offered; the 

 designs to be sent in by the 30th of this month ! The other design 

 required was for the Lincoln Diocesan School, to accommodate 2U0 

 boys ; with a master's house attached, to have accommodation for 40 



boarders, which was to be furnished by the 17th of this month (!) the 

 board to assemble on the ISth, to make their selection (!!!) A short 

 time since, designs were requested for a gaol at Peterborough, which 

 were to be sent in by tirelrt o'clock of the 30th November, ichtn the 

 magistrates would meet to select the design! These last two cases, 

 if the designs were really selected at the time announced, form a 

 beautiful contrast to the dilatoriness of which Mr. Dionysius com- 

 plains in the Sunderland AtlieuiEum committee. The gentleman, Mr. 

 Billington, wdiose design is adopted by that body, is an architect, sur- 

 veyor, and civil engineer, as well as joiner and builder, in Wake- 

 field. 



It may be satisfactory to the "young architect" to know that ten- 

 ders for the works were advertised for certainly three months since, 

 as he may ascertain by reference to the " Leeds Mercury " of about 

 that date. 



The exertions of the Manchester Architectural Society are entitled 

 to great praise from the profession. It is their intention, with the 

 concurrence of the competing architects, to exhibit the designs for the 

 Lancashire Independent College, which were advertised to be sent in 

 bythe 19th of October last. The building to cost £12,000. 



Of the favourable result of such exhibitions, I am very sanguine — 

 as thev will awaken an interest in, and a taste for architecture among 

 people in general; besides acting as a check upon the judges in com- 

 petition. . , . , 



But what are the Institute and the London Society doing ? It 

 is now three years since the first part of the first volume of the 

 " Transactions of the Institute " appeared. Are we to have no more ? 

 The non-appearance of part the second does not speak rohimes in 

 favour of the interest of the communications that the Institute has 

 received ; unless, indeed, the publication of the Transactions was a 

 failure. As to the Society, as far as we provincials are concerned, it 

 is perfectly barren. Why do not tky follow the example of the In- 

 stitute, and throw open tfitir competitions to the profession at large? 



I consider that the Institute might exert itself very beneficially on 

 behalf of the profession, by interfering in competitions. 



I suggest that a sub-committee be appointed, which might be called 

 the Competition Committee, whose business it would be, when de- 

 signs are advertised for, to direct the Secretary to obtain particulars ; 

 and should they consider the time allowed too brief, or the premium 

 too small, to urge upon the parties advertising the desirableness of 

 increasing either. By thus bringing the matter home to the different 

 bodies, I apprehend that the profession would be generaKy thought 

 more respectable. The exertions of such a body, would be more 

 likely to succeed than the isolated efforts of individuals. 



To parties about to advertise, if requested, the Committee might 

 furnish manv useful hints. In addition to this, they might have ex- 

 hibitions of the designs in remarkable competitions, and thus obtain 

 some increase to the Institutes' income. 



If, following the example of the Useful Knowledge Society, they 

 would appoint local committees throughout the country, they would 

 have their trouble lessened, and would unite the profession more in- 

 timately than it is. These committees, it is evident, may collect 

 much useful information; as every provincial architect is not ^o- 

 ionally acquainted with these metropolitans. It should not, 1 think, 

 be considered essential that the local committee be members of the 

 Institute, but provincial architects, of whose professional standing the 

 council was satisfied, might be requested to act. Though these sug- 

 gestions may not meet with approbation, I must regret that neither 

 the Institute, nor the Society, have opened an exhibition of the Royal 

 Exchange designs. The gods will not help them who will not help 

 themselves, neither will the world assist an apathetic profession. 



It is to hoped that the Liverpool Society will exert themselves to 

 obtain an exhibition of the Assize Courts designs ; though the non- 

 exhibition of the designs for the St. George's Hall argues a great 

 deal of inactivitv or apathy on their part. 



That competition seems "to have reached a satisfactory conclusion, 

 For, though some may think that a better design might kave been 

 selected, nobody will question the honourable conduct of the " Liver- 

 pool gentlemen," 



COMPARATIVE POWER OF STEAM ENGINES. 

 The following calculation by Mr. Wicksteed, the engineer of the 

 East London W ater Works, exhibiting the saving of fuel to be eftected 

 by using a single acting expansive engine and an overshot water- 

 wheel, instead of a double-acting condensing engine of the ordinary 

 kind will be found interesting. This was made at the request of His 

 Excellency Edhem Bey, ambassador from the court of Egypt, upon 

 his late visit to this country. 



