1844.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



125 



tion of climate, or parallels of latitude, in depth. The fourth proposition 

 advanced by the Professor, was, that all varieties of sea-bottom are not 

 equally capable of maintaining animal life. The sandy parts are usually the 

 desert ones. Hence the scarcity of fossils in sand-stone : though traces of 

 worms (which inhabit the sand) are found in ancient sand-stones. As each 

 animal is not able to live, except on its own locality, those marine animals, 

 as the scallop, which are gregarious, deteriorating the ground when they 

 increase beyond a certain extent, die ; then the place becomes silted up, the 

 ground changes, and another race occupies it. This fact explains the phe- 

 nomena of distribution of organic remains in rocks — i. e. their being grouped 

 together in separate strata, fossilliferous strata alternating with those which 

 are free from organic remains. — Prof. Forbes proceeded to observe, that 

 such animals as are common to many zones of depth, are those which have 

 the greatest horizontal range in space, and are generally those which are 

 present in the tertiary deposits ; and thus it is that the most generally- 

 distributed fossils are such as are found in the greatest number of formations ; 

 because these are necessarily the most independent of destroying influences. 

 But, on the other hand, as the elevation or depression of strata to a very 

 small extent would destroy the species peculiar to any zone, or to the zone 

 above or beneath it, it becomes an important inquiry how this destruction is 

 compensated. In dealing with this question. Prof. Forbes announced a most 

 important law in zoology, one altogether new to ourselves — viz. That the 

 mollusca migrate. He discovered by his own observation, that this is the 

 case even with the limpets, the most fixed of all species. This migration 

 occurs in their egg-state, when the ova are strung together, and floated over 

 the ocean, from shore to shore. In the larva state they are swimmers. In 

 fact, they commence their life in a form closely analogous to that which is 

 permanent among the pteropods. But, though in this state they can live in 

 any zone, they cannot arrive at perfection except in the peculiar zone to 

 which they are adapted. This accounts for the very imperfect shells of pre- 

 maturely dying mollusca being found at a low depth. Professor Forbes con- 

 cluded his communication by noticing its bearings on the views of the most 

 eminent geologists of our time. 1st. With regard to Mr. Lyell's principle 

 of distinguishing tertiary strata by the per-centage of recent species in each. 

 This is confirmed by Prof. Forbes's investigations ; only in using Mr. Lyell's 

 criterion, the element of depth, which gives climatal character in living 

 animals, must be taken into account. 2nd. Prof. Forbes next noticed that 

 Sir H. De la Beche had hypothetically anticipated, what his researches esta- 

 blished, the representations of climates and depth, ten years ago. 3rd. He 

 lastly ascribed to Viscount d'Archiac and M. de Verneuil, the credit of 

 having announced (what he had observed and mentioned in the course of 

 his communication) that species which are found in a great number of 

 localilies, and in very distant countries, are always those which have lived 

 during the formation of several successive systems. 



SULPHATE OF BARYTES. 



A correspondent of the Athentmm observes that there is a beautiful white' 

 as all artists know, made from the earth called Barytes. The pigment is 

 called "constant" or "permanent white." If the " quick," or " setting," 

 properties of lime, are not essential to the art of fresco painting, or stuccos 

 and washes in house decoration, I would suggest the use of the sulphate of 

 barytes instead. It is, in itself, a most brilliant white, and from the expe- 

 rience of artists, is known to mix with most colours, without altering their 

 properties. It may not be generally known, that this earth (in the sulphates) 

 is found in large veins in different parts of the county of Montgomery, and 

 is thrown out in large quantities by the miners in the lead mines. It is 

 found, also, in Shropshire (bordering on Montgomeryshire) in the hills called 

 Stiperstones, in a mine called Snailback. It is a mineral which was con- 

 sidered of little use in the county of Montgomery till the last few years, 

 when a person, of the name of Maguiness, rented a vein of the sulphate of 

 baryies, and converted old flour mills, at Pool Quay, (in Welshpool) into mills 

 for grinding this beautiful mineral, which is of a dazzling white when ground. 

 It is put in barrels, and shipped in great quantities for America, where it is 

 used in the composition of china. This sulphate of barytes is indestructible, 

 uninfluenced by damp, foul air, time or light, and seems to be a substance, 

 both from its durability and extreme beauty, peculiarly fitted for house de- 

 corations, when the vehicle is not oil. The carbonate of barytes is, as all 

 chemists knov\', of a most poisonous nature, but the sulphate, being insoluble, 

 is perfectly harmless. It has been used, since Mr. Wedgewood first applied 

 it, in the composition of china, but it seems a pity that such a beautiful sub- 

 stance should be applied solely to that use and the pigment used by artists, 

 if it can be applied more generally in paintings, where water and size are the 

 ■vehicles, and in house decorations. The iNew Houses of Parliament will 

 afford scope for its use, if these suggestions prove practicable. 



The annual exhibition of the works of art was opened at Paris on Friday 

 the 15th instant. The catalogue comprises 2423 articles, or 826 more than 

 in 1843 — namely, 1808 paintings and pictures, 348 miniatures, water colours, 

 paintings on porcelain, &c. ; 24 works of architecture, 133 of sculpture, 89 

 engraviugs, and 21 lithographs. 



ST. STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL, VIENNA. 



In the Journal of last January we gave an abstract of a paper by Mr. 

 Higgins, read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, on the recent re- 

 storation of the spire of St. Stephen, at Vienna (the Dom-Kirche), respecting 

 which a correspondent of the Allienamm has forwarded the following com- 

 munication : — 



" As some recent interest about the Dom-Kirche of Vienna seems to have 

 been created among both your readers and writers, perhaps a few notes, 

 taken on the spot, and before the ' cast-iron ' restoration, will prove accept- 

 able also ; they pretend to no other merit than those advantages may give 

 them, for I had no intention of printing my pocket-book, when filling it with 

 such brief, hurried, and meagre memoranda. The Great Tower of St. Ste- 

 phen's is steeple-capt, very high and noble, but the top leans much from its 

 original position ; it is carried up by canopies and pinnacles, the former on 

 an outer plane of decoration, like net-work hung over the spire itself : the 

 crocketting (as usual throughout German Gothic) is inelegant, has a larded 

 look, and reminds one of holdfasts instead of ornaments, ileyn. crockets 

 should never appear stuck on but growing out of, what supports them. The 

 west front is Lombardesque in character, being decorated with small ani. 

 mals — a phase of Byzantine, or rather Romanesque ; its portal (the ' Giant's 

 Gate ') consists of several round-headed arches under a pointed one, but 

 this last perhaps altered from circular, and all sustained by slender 

 columns, which, as well as the superincumbent arches, are wrought over 

 with lozenge reticulation, or platted over with reeds, not with zigzag nor 

 any other peculiar Norman or Saxon embellisment. The east end has a 

 double apse, one part of which forms the choir, and both parts are polygonal 

 in ground plan. The choir is battlemented with trefoil arcs, the nave with a 

 parapet of flowing open-work. Buttresses run tlironr/h the cornice quite 

 round the church, and rise into crocketted pinnacles, many of which are now 

 deficient. The nave has several gables on its sides, now filled up, except one 

 of beautiful tracery. The roof is tiled in lozenges and letters, made by di- 

 versified colours — another German techtonic fashion that should become 

 English too, as our monotonous red roofs present the ugliest bird's-eye view 

 possible. Correspondent to the great steeple-tower at S.E. stands an intended 

 but unfinished duplicate at N.W.; besides these there are two smaller towers, 

 octagon, and set over gable ends, which appear on the west front. North 

 and south of these towers run the aisles, exhibiting a much more modern cha- 

 racter, as the towers themselves have a Normanesque air. Thus two hnes of 

 corbelling (a table supported by trefoil arcs with bosses for corbel-heads) 

 adorn the lowermost story, while above these are ;three plainer lines (the 

 common Norman table on small arcs without any heads beneath them). 

 Outside the church, at its base, some curious tombs, like rectangtdar mantel- 

 pieces of reeded mouldings, which another triad of reeds, but curvilinear, 

 interpenetrates, where it meets their jambs and crosses, arch-wise or rhumb- 

 wise, their hotels. Interpenetration could not well push its preposterous 

 ingenuity further ; Nureniburg doorways often present -similar examples of 

 it— to be avoided. St. Stephen's Cathedral is neither whitewashed nor 

 painted within, but impressive from gloom, and the fine, soft chiaroscuro 

 produced by darkness stamping itself in visible masses upon the grey co- 

 lumns and walls, yet leaving portions of both to dawn here and there 

 through it. Sundry additions of varied Gothic, such as chapels, screens, 

 &c. enrich the effect. Transept narrow and short ; chancel of deep-tinted 

 wood, well carved, and harmonizes well with the edifice, both as respects 

 character and colour. The columns all massive, composed of numerous 

 rounds and hollows, rise picturesquely from altars at their basement {these, 

 however, are low-classic). Except in the choir, whose nave and aisles have 

 the same height, this church does not hear out Mr. Whewell's assertion that 

 it exemplifies a late system of Gothic vaulting, for the nave is highest else- 

 where, though but by a httlo; generally, the interior has neither the ele- 

 vation, lightness, nor "openness he attributes to edifices thus constructed ; it 

 has his last characteristic indeed— absence of a clerestory. The choir exhibits 

 plain diagonal ribs on its roof, all the rest of the church complex intersec- 

 tions. With regard to the windows they had mixed geometrical and flowing 

 traceries ; those in the body have now modern sashes and square panes : 

 those in the side chapels of the apses are mostly built up, but some retain 

 their old rich painted glass, very splendid, yet very sombre." 



THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 



Mr. Wheelwright lately read a paper at the Geographical Socieiy show- 

 ing how an easy line of communication might be made between the Atlantic 

 and Pacific Oceans, over the Isthmus of Panama. 



Mr. Wheelwright, from his long residence in that part of the world, was 

 perfectly acquainted with the country. After discussing some of the routes 

 that had been proposed as lines of communication, whether by canal or 

 otherwise, between the Atlantic and Pacific, Mr. Wheelwright gives the de- 

 cided preference to the line between Chagres and Panama, the line in fact 

 which had been explored and described by Colonel Lloyd. The Chagres 

 river cannot easily be ascended by sailing vessels for various reasons, but 

 properly constructed steamers of six or seven hundred tons burden may cross 

 the bar to ascend as far as the confluence of the Trinidad, at all times and 

 seasons. From a height, at the junction of the Trinidad, the line pointed 



