1840.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



405 



modation means being left to shift as well as you can for yourself, and 

 perhaps be forced to sit in dim-twilight — wliere if you cannot see to 

 read, you may at least sit and muse, — which of course looks solemn and 

 meditative, and is highly becoming in a l\Lise-um. 



This is no exaggeration of mine, since it is hardly possible — except, 

 indeed, for literary omls — to see to read at any of the tables on the 

 window-side of the West room, in dull weather ; those windows being 

 at a considerable height from the floor, and there being no others at 

 either end. Consequently one-half of it is so imperfectly lighted, that 

 were it a church people would grumble at it as a dismal dark liole, 

 where they could not see either to hear the sermon, or to study the 

 newest fashions of the congregation. There may indeed be some who 

 can see to read by their own inward liglit ; but the generality of people 

 will perhaps agree with me that apartments not intended merely as 

 libraries, but as public reading.rooms, wliere instead of seating them- 

 selves just where they can see best, people must be content with the 

 best vacant places they can find, — that such apartments should be 

 sufficiently and uniformly lighted, so that every part should be equally 

 commodious in that respect. 



It would have been infinitely better to have had for the purpose, 

 rooms less lofty, and lighted entirely from above, with a clerestory 

 lantern along the centre, and skylight compartments along the sides, so 

 as to diffuse the light as equally as possible every where. But, it will 

 be said, it was quite out of the architect's power to do this, there 

 being an upper floor : yet it was surely then matter for consideration 

 whether it would not be more eligible to convert the present rooms to 

 some other purpose, and make use of one of the upper galleries (lighted 

 from above) as Reading-rooms. The extra trouble of having to ascend 

 higher in order to reach them, would be amply compensated by their 

 greater comfort and commodiousness, — for their present length might 

 then have been considerably extended. Perhaps it will be objected — 

 for bids and objections are always plentiful enough — that this would 

 have been attended with one serious inconvenience, — namely, the dis- 

 tance from which books would have to be fetched were the Reading- 

 rooms not upon the same floor as the Libraries. Yet that difficulty 

 would be at once obviated by having a li/t or shaft ("as many as might 

 be requisite), close by the bar where the books are delivered ; and by 

 means of whicli a whole cargo — if requisite, might be raised equally 

 expeditiously and easily. 



There are, however, other inconveniences in the present rooms that 

 ought to be remedied. One is that the space is by much too conflned, 

 for either the tables ought to be nearly double their present width, or 

 there ought to be seats only on one side, for when a person has — which 

 is frequently the ca^ — very large folios before him, they occasion in- 

 convenience both to his opposite neighbour and himself: besides which 

 sufficient space is not allowed between one sitter and another, should 

 they both happen to have many books or very large ones by them. 



Were it not that it might be deemed a piece of shameful extrava- 

 gance, I would hint that it would not be omiss if a few yards of drugget 

 or matting were purchased to lay down along the centre avenue of the 

 Reading-rooms, in order to deaden the noise of persons ])erpetually 

 passing to and fro on the stone pavement there. By way of providing 

 the ways and means for raising the sum required for buying the said 

 drugget, I would recommend that the open wire-work doors now en- 

 closing the bookcases in those rooms should be taken oft" their hinges 

 and sold ; because so far from being of any use, they are merely a very 

 gieat nuisance. Being unglazed tney do not protect the books from 

 dust, neither are they any protection whatever against plundering — if 

 such be their intended purpose, because those cases — which contain 

 books of reference, journals, dictionaries, &c., are accessible to any 

 one, as he may have as many as he pleases opened in turn, if he sum- 

 mons the turnkey attendant, and as wlieu once opened the cases are 

 left unlocked, there are always several from which persons can take 

 down books. There are, besides, always piles of books on the tables, 

 from which a person frequenting the Museum for such a purpose, 

 might filch away any pocketable volume, though even then he could 

 not pawn it without first mutilating it, by tearing oat the Museum 

 stamp-mark. Therefore in the way of precaution against filching 

 books, the doors to the cases in the Reading-rooms are quite nugatory 

 — a mere idle show of carefulness and security. In themselves, how- 

 ever, they are a nuisance, not only as imposing needless trouble and 

 busthng about, to both attendants and visitors ; but because they are 

 actually in the way when opened, while persons are referring to the 

 books, there being then no room for other people to pass between them 

 and the tables. If, therefore, there must be doors to those bookcases, 

 the tables ought to be shortened two feet, so as to allow greater space 

 between the ends of the tables and the walls. I will nut now speak 

 of the Catalogues except to say that I believe they are blessed unde- 

 voutly backwards, every day and all day long. Neither will I now 

 touch upon the literary wealth of the Museum in those departments 



which are most likely to interest your own readers, it being utterly 

 impossible to do justice to either topic at the fag end of my present 

 letter; I must, therefore, reserve them for another. That some im- 

 provements have taken place of late years I do not deny, but still the 

 Museum requires a good deal of poking up, before it will be placed 

 upon the footing which it ought to be. 



I remain, &c., &c., &c., 

 John [but not John Wilson] Croker. 

 P.S. I forgot to remark that had the Reading-rooms been on the 

 floor above that where they now are, namely, on the first floor from 

 the sky, they would have been much more in character, for the votaries 

 of literature have always greatly aiTected the upper regions of build- 

 ings — vulgarly termed garrets — for their abodes. 



SURVEYING. 



REMARK3 ON THE NEW SCALING INSTUMENT. 



Sir — '1 he last number of your Journal contained a letter from " An 

 Old Surveyor," in which, speaking of the New Scaling Instrument re- 

 cently introduced at the Tithe Office, and extracted from my Treatise 

 on Engiimriiig Field tVork, into your Journal for October, he remarks 

 " that I mnst have been misinformed when I stated that the principle 

 of the plan had long been known to some few surveyors, &c., and also 

 believing that I did not wish to deprive the inventor of his due share 

 of credit, to state who were the parties acquainted with tlie principle 

 of the plan, prior to its introduction at the Tithe Office." From the 

 courteous — not to say complimentary tone of your correspondent's 

 letter, I feel much pleasure in affording him the requisite information. 

 By referring to page 353 of your Journal, he will perceive what I mean 

 by the principle of the plan, which was communicated to me about three 

 years since by an esteemed professional friend, but who at the time 

 did not inform me that it was his own conception ; and which I was not 

 aware of until I applied to him, since reading "An Old Surveyor's" 

 letter, to know in what manner he became acquainted with the pro- 

 oess. Subjoined is the reply, but at his request his name is withheld ; 

 but for your correspondent's satisfaction, I send you the letter to take 

 the requisite particulars from. In the autumn of 1837, he observes, 

 " being engaged upon a survey of 12,000 acres, I looked with some 

 degree of concern at the drudgery of computing the quantities. Mr. 

 B. had previously explained to me his mode of ruling parallel lines 

 across the several enclosures, but this method I thought would be 

 troublesome, and be attended with the risk of injuring the maps. The 

 idea then occurred to me of using a thin piece of horn ruled with lines 

 one chain apart. In the interval that elapsed between my sending for, 

 and receiving the horn, I made of tracing paper the machine I described 

 to you, and find it to answer my purpose, used it to the end of my 

 survey in the spring of 183S, since which time it has not seen the 

 light, but is no doubt amongst my old papers." 



I think the above particulars must be satisfactory to your corres- 

 pondent, at least I hope so ; and now perhaps I may be excused asking 

 him, who the inventor of the modified instrument at present in use at 

 the Tithe Office, is ? for certainly there is great credit due to him, 

 and which I indeed stated in my work, when I called it an "ingenious 

 application of the above system." If an Old Surveyor will favour me 

 with this particular, I shall have much pleasure in mentioning it in the 

 second part of my work shortly to be published. 



I remain. Sir, your's very obediently, 



Peter Bruef. 



Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, Nor. 16, 1840. 



Sir — An "Old Surveyor" in your last number doubts the remark 

 made by Mr. BruflT, that the principle of the New Scaling Instrument 

 had long been in use by some few surveyors. — In reply I beg to observe 

 that I have known many surveyors of the old school who worked »n 

 this principle, by means of a long scale and pricker, taking the amount 

 of the chain widths and transferring them into acres, roods and perches 

 by the decimal table ; the new instrument has certainly much im- 

 proved the system, and having the parallel lines on glass paper is a 

 further improvement. The old system was a very defective one, and 

 repudiated by all really practical" men. As to the new instrument, 

 after using it in my office for many months, and in various large sur- 

 vevs— I find it unsatisfactory, it is after all (notwithstanding its high 

 recommendation) best adapted for the schoolboy and the tyro. 



I am not surprised at its general adoption, for the former approved 

 system of equalizing into trapeziums and triangles is very laborious 

 work, if pursued for a length of time successively, but after giving 

 both a fair trial, I must say I find the old system the most expeditious 



