18-lO.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



393 



be employed for diftereut lengths of lead. Without accompanying 

 the author through his investigation of this snbject, it may be snfficient 

 to say that while his theoretical deductions from certain assumed data 

 cannot be objected to, yet these deductions are certainly at variance 

 with what any practical man would think of adopting. For instance, 

 he aseestainsby means of this investigation, that for working a 20 feet 

 embankment at one end only, and for a lead of 150 chains, there should 

 be employed no fewer than 109 horses and 235 wagons, a proposal 

 sufficiently monstrous to startle any one at all acquainted with the na- 

 ture of earjhworks. 



The next section is devoted to an examination "of the amount of 

 friction incident upon contractor's rails." The author here establishes 

 that the gross load for a horse on contractors' rails may vary ton a 

 level?) from 5-2S to 7-17 tons, so that knowing the weight of the 

 wagons employed, and deducting this from the gross load mentioned 

 above, we may readiiy ascertain the number of wagons to be assigned 

 to each horse, provided the quantity of sturt' which each wagon is to 

 hold be known, or nee ixrsn, the quantity of stuff which each viragon 

 is to carry, according as. 1, 2, or 3 wagons are to be drawn by each 

 horse. 



The following extract from this section exhibits the author's results 

 derived from an examination of the friction. 



" Let P represent the power of a horse, F the friction per ton, upon the 

 load wliicli he draws, and fV the weight of a loaded wagon in tons ; then it 

 follows, that 



P 



Fx ;r 



-=X 



is the load proper for each horse, expressed in wagons; and this value of A' 

 has been given in the following table : — 



Table, giving the Load proper for a singe Horse, expressed in 

 Wagons, according to the state of the Weather. 



Value 

 ofF 

 in ft). 



Value Value 



of W \ oiP 



in tons.! in ft. 



Valne of 



P 

 TTW 



25-45 1 3-43 



188-27 



188'27 25-45 x 3-43 

 188-27 



31-22! 3-43 188-27 31-22x3-43 

 3-43 



26-86 



35-54 



1 88-27 

 188-27 26-06"TFl3 



188-27 



3-43 188-27 35-54x3-43 



Value 

 of .Y. 



2-09 



1-75 



State 



of the 



weather. 



Remarks. 



Fine. | Rails in good order. 



Fine. 



Road wet, and rails 

 greasy. 



2-04 Fine. , ^^']\ *"^, ™='' '° 

 tolerable order. 



Road and rails in 

 1-51 I Wet. verv bad order. 



We observe that in several pages of this section the erroneous velo 

 city of 2-40 miles per hour is made use of. 



'fhe eighth section contains a summary of those preceding, but as 

 w-e liave alreadv considered these so minutely, it may be unnecessary 

 to remark particularly on the summary. 



The remainder of the work is occupied by an investigation into the 

 burrowing system, our notice of which we must defer till next month, 

 and in the mean time we may safely recommend the work to the 

 younger branches of the profession, as exhibiting a very neat, clear, 

 and simple application of algebraical calculation to subjects of practi- 

 cal inquiry. 



For the reasons already so fully stated, Vf e cannot advise dependance 

 on the gross results to be derived from the author's mode of calcula- 

 tion, but whenever the student shall either from his own, or the ex- 

 perience of others, have acquired sufficient rfa/a to fonnd his calcula- 

 tions u|)on, then the method of handling the subject generally, and 

 particularly of adapting calculations to the practical facts on which 

 they are established, will be found exceedingly useful. 



A great deal of useful information may also be gleaned from the 

 observations detailed in the work, and the young engineer in particu- 

 lar, can scarcely fail to have his knowledge of the subject improved by 

 a perusal. 



Report of a Proposed Line of Raihcay from Plymouth to Exeter, over the 



Forest of Dartmoor. Bv James M. Rendel, C.E. Plymouth: Stevens, 



1840. 



This is a well drawn up report, but we can do no more than call attention 

 to the mode proposed of worUing tlie inclines, respecting which we may also 

 mention that a similar plan is described in the First Volume of the Journal. 



" From the point of divergence of the Tavistock branch, the main line 

 ascends to Dartmoor; the prevailing gradient being 1 in 38, and the plane 5 

 miles 860 yards. This part would be worked as one continuous plane, by two 

 water wheels, each equal to 160 horse power, constructed at the head of the 

 plane, and supplied with water as hereafter to lie described. The rope to be 

 Used for drawing tlie trains up this plane would be what is technically called 

 an end rope, of the whole length of the plane; being verv little longer than 

 the rope similarly used on the Loinlon and Blackwall Railway, upon which 

 there is an enormous passenger traffic." 



"To insure a snpjily of water for working the water-wheels before describ- 

 ed, by which the trains are to be drawn up tlie two great inclined planes, at 

 a velocity of not less than from 15 to 20 miles an hour, I propose to throw 

 dams across the gorges of tlie following valleys on Dartmoor, vi-i. — across the 

 Blackabrook valley east of the prisons of war, the Cowsick valley above Two 

 Bridges, and the East Dart valley, about three miles north of Post Bridge. 

 These reservoirs wotdd liave an area of 255 acres, with an average depth of 

 20 feet, and contain a sufficient quantity of water, during a continued drought, 

 to pass eigiit trains per day up the planes, for three months; their height 

 above the wheels is from 50 to SOUfeet. The great depth of these reservoirs 

 will cause their sujiply of water to he independent of the severest known 

 frost ; whilst from their height above the Railway, the leats by whicli the 

 water is conveyed to the wheels, will have so quick a descent as to prevent 

 all chance of the passage of the water being interrupted by either frost or 

 snow. The wheels will work under ground, or rather, in chambers under the 

 Railway, and would not therefore be affected by weather." 



Tlte Process of Blastivg by Galvanmn, addressed to the Hiytitand and Agri- 

 cultural Association of Scotland. By Martin J. Roberts, F.R.S.E. 



In mentioning that Mr. Roberts has been as successful in Scotland with 

 blasting by Galvanism, as Col. Pasley has been in England, we say enough 

 for the merits of Mr. Roberts. We may farther observe that this small pam- 

 phlet contains in addition to a good description of the process, several dlus- 

 trative plates. 



By Robert Scott and 



Memorial, Oxford. By S. S. Scott, and W. B. Moffatt 



Scott's Practical Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer. 

 William Scott. Preston: Livesey, 1840. 



We are glad to perceive that a useful class of works by practical men are 

 springing up in the manufacturing districts, and likely to prove of great hene- 

 tit. The book now before us is a collection of calculations applied to the 

 several parts of cotton spinning machinery, adapted equally to the use of the 

 engineer and the manufacturer. It seems indeed to be a most useful work. 



J Glossary of Civil Engineering. By S. C. Brees, C. E., &.C. London : 

 Tilt, andWeale, 1840. 



Mr. Brees seems to have been so successful with his previous works, and 

 rendered so confident by his good reception by the public, that after a very 

 short interval he is again before us. The present work is one of less preten- 

 sions than those usual emanating from his pen, being a glossary of the terms 

 used in civil engineering, adapted for popular use, and that of the yonnger 

 members of the profession, and very useful as a handbook of reference. It 

 is copiously illustrated with woodcuts, some of them of considerable artistic 

 pretension. We should have wished that Mr. Brees had given a little more 

 room for mining terms, of which a manual is much wanted. 



T/te Martyr^ 

 Architects. 



This fine monument is an elevated cross in the pointed style, of majestic 

 proportions, having in the second story statues of the three bishops. The 

 cross is raised upon a series of steps, and we are glad to observe without an 

 iron railing round it. The irregular pinnacles of the church in the back 

 ground are made by the cross to look rather awkward, and should he made 

 more symmetrical — we should suggest, by the gentlemen who have so well 

 fulfilled their previous task. 



Jiicauti's Rustic Architecture, No. 5. Loudon : Grattan and Gilliert, 1840. 



Mr. Ricauti goes on with success in his undertaking, he has shown com- 

 pletely how much beauty may be combined with economy by the simplest 

 means. Even the woodman's axe is an efficient instrument in Mr. Ricauti's 

 hands for giving a picturesque appearance to unbarked trees and small 

 branches. It appears to us that in several of the plans Mr. Ricauti might 

 h.->.ve greatly promoted the convenience of the arrangements by a few slight 

 alterations. 



The Dominican Convent and Chapel at Afherstone, Wanvicishire. By 

 Joseph Hansom, iVrchitect. 



These buildings were finished in August 1839, and consist of a pile of 

 mixed character in the pointed ?tyle. The turret or spire attached to the 



3 H 



