18t9.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



259 



of them may very well pass for legitimate, notwithstanding' that 

 according to Mr. Ruskin's reasoning, the better the deception 

 the greater the dishonesty; and yet even he must own that if 

 there be no perceptible difference as to appearance, the mock 

 answers all the purposes of the genuine material; nay, possibly, 

 even better, for the latter may not be best of its kind, whereas 

 the other may and ought to be after the choicest specimens of the 

 real substance. There is a great deal of stone of so inferior a 

 quality now used, that in a short time it acquires a positively 

 squalid and trumpery look — not the venerable appearance of the 

 gradual decay wrought by years, but tliat of mere filtli and pre- 

 mature rottenness; yet, as the material answers to the name of 

 stone, the buildings constructed of it are spoken of as if they 

 were on that account entitled to more than ordinary respect, even 

 be they ever so poor or bad in point of design. That, on the 

 other hand, a building which is only coated with stucco may, both 

 by general beauty of appearance and the superior taste displayed 

 in it, quite put to shame many that are faced with stone, is proved 

 by the Travellers' Clubhouse, more especially by its front towards 

 Carlton Gardens. If, instead of inveighing in the outrageous 

 manner he does against imitation altogether, without tlie slightest 

 regard to its being well or ill executed, Mr. Ruskin had contented 

 himself with reprobating the introduction of it in churches and 

 other public edifices, which ought to be erected for durability 

 throughout, no one could have contradicted him; more especially 

 had he at the same time enjoined a very wholesome and necessary 

 caution — namely, that design should be worthy of the material, 

 •nd be such as greatly to enhance the value of the latter. But to 

 froth and foam, and to call what at the very worst amounts to no 

 more than trumperiness and paltriness, downright sinfulness and 

 lying, is, if not actual insanity, sheer extravagance. — One thing is 

 quite certain: John Ruskin may live to need a wig, but never will 

 be guilty of such a practical lie as to wear one which at all resem- 

 bles a natural head of hair. 



IV. According to what has been reported of one of the recent 

 meetings of the Institute, an observation was made to the effect 

 that the greater part of architectural criticism proceeds from those 

 who are not architects themselves. Such is undoubtedly the case, 

 for a great deal of that sort of writing evidently betrays a very 

 superficial acquaintance with the art; — and gives us, if nothing 

 worse, very stale and second-hand opinions, furbished up to look 

 "better than new," by being tricked-out with tawdry flowers of 

 rhetoric, and all that brummagem sentiment which should be left 

 to our Lady Blarneys. Still the profession acquiesce in such 

 soi-disant criticism, inasmuch as they suffer it to be put forth with 

 perfect impunity, without so much as attempting to gainsay it, or 

 to substitute more wholesome criticism for it. If they are of 

 opinion that the public are misled by incompetent critics, it as- 

 suredly becomes their duty to set it right; or, at any rate, they 

 cannot reasonably complain of others doing what they themselves 

 do not care to do, although they may aU the while feel that they 

 could do it very much better. Just the same channels for promul- 

 gating opinions are open to them as to others, of which, if they 

 do not choose to avail themselves in order to correct what they 

 consider false and mistaken criticism, the fault is entirely their 

 own; and it is quite unreasonable in them to complain of mischief 

 — if mischief it be — which they themselves have the power of 

 checking. It is not enough that professional men put forth what 

 is or ought to be sound instruction, in books addressed to their 

 own class; for however valuable the information they contain, it 

 does not reach the public, who are precisely those who require to 

 be instructed — so far instructed, at least, as be able to take an in- 

 telligent interest in the Art — with which alone criticism concerns 

 itself; its office being not to make men architects, but to make them 

 competent judges of architecture, and to inspire them with a 

 genuine relish for it. If professional men are above condescending 

 to avail themselves of those ready means for addressing and in- 

 structing the public which are afforded by the popular form of jour- 

 nalism and periodical literature— a literature which finds its way 

 among every class of readers, — so it must be ; but to complain that 

 others who may be less qualified, presume to do what they them- 

 selves do not care to do, shows too much of the dog-in-the-manger 

 spirit. Far more to the purpose would it be to attack bad criti- 

 cism boldly, and drive it out of the field at once. 



V. Although an article in a periodical does not come before the 

 public with the same dignity as a book, such productions have fre- 

 quently e.xcited far greater interest, and done much more for the 

 particular views they have advocated, than many big books. Be- 

 sides which, as it is not every one who has leisure to read books — 

 at least, would not think of applying to them for further informa- 

 tion on subjects to which his attention had not been previously 



awakened by something that had interested him in a briefer form — 

 so neither is it every one who, however capable he may be of con- 

 tributing something towards the general stock of information, has 

 so much to say as would go any way towards forming a volume, or 

 even a pamphlet. Besides which, what may be called floating criti - 

 cism and opinion must be brought before the public in such manner 

 that they are sure to get it without having to hunt it out. Many 

 brilliant and shining articles on various topics, literary or other, 

 which have appeared in our Quarterlies, and have made a sensation, 

 would have probably fallen quite still-born from the press, had they 

 been issued in the form of separate pamphlets on the same subjects. 

 Many a one has read a paper of the kind when he had it actually 

 in his hands, who would never have thought of seeking out any- 

 thing of the kind. Such at least I know has been frequently tlie 

 case with myself, and I have casually acquired an interest in what, 

 but for its so coming before me, I should liardly have turned to, — 

 wherefore I suppose it is pretty much the same with many others. 

 Floating criticism does much for the ventilation of opinions, which, 

 if confined merely to formal treatises and books, are apt to become 

 musty and mouldy; and although of such criticism there may be a 

 great deal that deserves to be rejected either as mere empty froth, or 

 mere dregs and sediment, there will also be something worth pre- 

 serving, and of being afterwards incorporated in works of au- 

 thority and standard character. If professional men could 

 greatly improve tlie tone of architectural criticism, wliy do they 

 not do so.'' By merely censuring it, they also censure themselves 

 — their own indolence or apathy in permitting the public to be 

 misled by those who are merely ready-writers — in other words, 

 mere scribblers. 



RENNIE'S PATENT TRAPEZIUM FLOAT WHEELS. 



Sir — I have read with much interest in the Journal for July and 

 August last, an account of a series of 'Experiments on the Figure, 

 Dip, Thickness, Material, and Number of the Paddles of Steamers, 

 by Thomas Ewbank, Esq., of the City of New York, in the years 

 1845 and 1848,' extracted from the Journal of the Franklin Insti- 

 tute. As Mr. Ewbank has devoted much time to these pursuits, 

 and is the author of a valuable work on 'Hydraulic Machinery," 

 his observations are entitled to attention. 



The facts developed by his experiments may be briefly stated ; 

 they are as follow : — 



1st. That with equal areas and equal dip, triangular blades may 

 be rendered twice as efl^ective as 

 ordinary rectangular ones; and this, 

 too, while the propelling surface of 

 the smaller number of floats was 

 only one-half that of the greater. 



2nd. That as the propelling power 

 of a paddle is greater at its greater 

 or outer extremity, and diminishes 

 to nothing at the surface, so its face 

 should enlarge with the dip, and be 

 nothing above — in imitation of the 

 tails of fishes, the wings of birds, &c. 



3rd. That the fewer the number 

 of paddles on a wheel, the better, 

 provided one be always kept in full 

 play ; and, 



4th, That it would be more ad- 

 vantageous to point or fork them as 

 proposed, to evade the jar of their 

 striking the surface. 



Mr. Ewbank concludes his paper 

 by referring to the experiments 

 made by me on H.M. steamer African, in the year 1841, but which 

 he had not been able to find, although similar experiments on 

 two other vessels were published in your Journal for January 1840, 

 and subsequently in the Nautical Magazine for 1841. As the sub- 

 ject is now more interesting, I no longer hesitate to communicate 

 the results. 



In the year 1831,* my attention was attracted to this subject 

 during the investigations undertaken for the purpose of ascertaiii- 

 ng the laws of the friction and resistances of solids in motion in 

 fluids such as air and water, — when, on causing discs or plates of 

 metal to rotate round a fixed axle by means of weights descending 

 through given spaces and times, it was found that when a certain 

 portion (one-fourth) of a rectangular disc or fan was intercepted 



Fig. 1. — Ordinary System. 



* See • i'btlosophlcal TransactioQB* fjr IdSJ. 



34* 



