f)4 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[March, 



by \T)iich he has proved that no volcanic agencies — fire or hot vapours — 

 have occasioned the fall of the mountain. It is merely a land-slip, occa- 

 sioned, however, by very complicated causes, resulting from the upheav- 

 iu" of inounlaios or hills composed of basalt or basaltic conglomerations. 

 Large sections were exhibited by Prof. Niiggerath, which he will, no 

 duubt, publish. 



Neiipiilitiin Riiilwaiis <md Steamboals. — The activity and progressive 

 tendencies of these hiive been very great of late. Even ancient Nola is 

 now reached by a side branch of the great Apulian line. An especial 

 communication -with Calabria has been established ; so much so, that the 

 line gulf of I'alicastro, Coscnza, Calanzano, and the bay of Squilace, 

 become acccessible to the curious. All this grealiy advances the com- 

 merce of ihe country, and not only taverns and inns, but clubs and festi- 

 vals, increase ; and last but not least, agrarian, historical, and ardiaiulo- 

 gicai societies, and the latest works on Calabria by Spinelli, Grimaldi, &c. 

 are very reputable productions. 



Malcriuls <•/ Anchnt and Modern Structures — Ancient: basalt— sye- 

 nite — porphjry — granite — marble — freestone — alabaster — lapis lazuli — 

 verde antico— agate — jasper — pozznlana — cedar — oak — sycamore — 

 C'orinih br.iss— copper — gold For which the Modems have sub- 

 stituted, in most cases — deal — reeds — cows' hair — paper and papier 

 njach*;— canvas — glue— paste — pasteboard — plaster of paris — leather — 

 glass — loam — sand! — [Isis of Oken.] 



NOTES OF THE IMONTH. 



Gradniil Elevation of the Land at P/i/»>ok(/i.— Attention has recently 

 been drawn to elevations or depressions of Ihe land, with reference to the 

 medium sea level. " In our own immediate neighbourhood," says the 

 Plymouth Herald, "proofs of these elevations may be seen. It we land 

 upon the N.E. point of the Mewslone, there is a bank of debris resting 

 upon astialum of rolled pebbles of all sizes; this raised beach being shel- 

 tered from the breakers, remains as an evidence of a change of the relative 

 levels of the Mewstone and sea having taken place. Passing from tlie 

 Mewstone to the mainland, and coasting round Ihe Sound, we find a suc- 

 cession of these beaches in the clifl's, about 15 or 20 feet above high-water 

 mark ; they may be seen at Bovisand, under the Hoe, near Redding Point 

 and Cawsand. But we have other evidence of elevations,— submarine 

 limestone rocks are every where perforated and honeycombed by Pholades. 

 About low-water mark and downwards they are every where found alive, 

 but higher up we find them dead ; and as high as high-water mark their 

 cells may in some localilies be seen. These animals can only live below 

 the mean level, requiring to be altogether under water, or at least covered 

 by every tide. Now, waen we find the empty cells of these creatures in 

 the solid limestone rocks under the citadel, but at such a height as would 

 preclude the animals from living in tliem, we can only infer that the rocks 

 have been raised, or that the sea level has been depressed. iMany of these 

 cells may hi! seen in our locality. The writer had occasion to land a few 

 days ago near the Blockhouse, and directly under the battery at Devil's 

 Point ; here he observed that there had been a fissure in the limestone, and 

 a portion of the rock had been removed, leaving a vertical surface of the 

 solid limestone exposed to view. This part of the rock is covered w ilh the 

 cells of the Se.ricaia Rugosa, and above the ordinary highvvater level, 

 thereby leaving proof that our shores have been rising slowly and imper- 

 ceptibly ; the place is easily accessible, and anybody may see the spot 

 referred to. If the land be still rising, o\ir harbours will become more 

 shallow; the system now pursued of observing and recording tides and 

 soundiogE will ultimately settle the point, if engineers will only have the 

 liberality to admit the possibility of former as well as future observations 

 being made correctly." 



Thermogenic Drauing. — A scientific correspondent of Ihe Liverpool 

 Journal has given the following ingenious mode of transferring the forms 

 of natural objects or the patterns on ribbons to paper: — Saturate common 

 ■writing piiper with porter, cofl'ee mixed wiih sugar and cream, or a solution 

 of achill, then place the object whose form is to be transferred on the pre- 

 pared ]iaper and expose them to Ihe action of Ihe sun's rays or those of a 

 common lire. Various other solutions may be used for the same purpose, 

 as bichromate of potash, yellow chroniate of potash, kc. \\heu figured 

 satin ribbons are saturated with such solutions and exposed to the sun's 

 i-ays, the raised patterns are given in beauiiful relief in a lighter tint of Ihe 

 same colour as the ground. The principle is capable of a very extended 

 amplication. 



Powerful Voltaic Battery.— ftlr. J. Goodman, at the Royal Society, 

 stated tiiat lie had succeeded in constructing a voltaic arrangement of some 

 power by fixing a jivece of potassium to the end of a copper wire, placed 

 in a tube containing naphtha, and bringing it in contact with a small quan- 

 tity of mercury, held by a layer of bladder closing the lower end of the 

 tube, which was itself immersed in acidulated water immediately over a 

 piece of platinum, and then completing the circuit by establishing a me- 

 tallic contact between Ihe copper wire and the platinum. This battery 

 acted Willi energy on the galvanometer, and effected Ihe decomposition of 

 water. A series of twelve pairs of similar plates exhibited a sensible 

 attraction of a slip of gold leaf. Thus it appears that the substance which 



possesses the highest chemical affinity manifests also the greatest power 

 of electrical tension. 



The IFare of Translation in connexion with the Northern Drift. — Dr. 

 M'hewell, in a memoir lately read at Ihe Geological Society, after referring 

 to the northern drift, and the causes that had been suggested for explain- 

 ing its phenomena, and stating the meaning and properties of the wave of 

 translation, proceeded to discuss some of the results of its operation. He 

 assumed for this purpose a certain quantity of material to be distributed 

 within a given area, and showed by simple calculation different expres- 

 sions for the amount of paroxysmal force that would be needed. He con- 

 siders, however, that paroxysmal force is necessary ; but that a movement, 

 although small, will, if sudden, produce effects resembling those to be 

 accounted for. He concluded by observing, that a wave of Iranslatioa 

 differs but little from the dekAcles assumed by earlier geological specula- 

 tors. 



A good Non-Conductor of Heat. — Mr. J. Nasmyth stated lately, at the 

 Geological Society, an instance of the low conducting power of clay and 

 sand, in which a thickness of half an inch of such matter intercepted the 

 heat of a mass of eleven tons of whlte-hol melted cast iron for twenty 

 minutes, without the heat on the outside of the vessel being sufficient to 

 pain the hand. 



Professor of Mechanical Engineering. — The Council of University College, 

 London, have instituted a professorship of the Mechanical Principles of En- 

 gineering, and appointed Mr. Eaton Uodgkinson to the chair. — J. Sowerby, 

 B.A., of Trinity (College, has been appointed to a mathematical tutorship in 

 Bishop's College, Calcutta. — Koliert Thwaytes, B A., of Christ's College, 

 Cambridge, has been appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Phi- 

 losphy at Hooghly College, India. 



Houen. — The beautiful ruins of the Abbey which was built at Jumii-ges, 

 near Rouen, by Robert, one of our early Archbishops of Canterbury, it is 

 stated have been lately purchased, for the purpose of preventing their de- 

 struction, by an architect named De Caumunt, a relative, we believe, of the 

 M. Adolphe de Caumont, of Caen, who some years ago bought the Abbey at 

 Savigny, near Avranches, for the same good purpose. 



Aerial Locomotion — At the Paris Academy of Sciences. Feb. 1., M. 

 Baliinet, in his own name and that of MM. Poncelet and Seguier, read a 

 paper recently presented by M- Van Hecke, of Brussels, on a new system of 

 aerial locomotion. M. Van Hecke formally renounces the idea of seeking 

 for a point d'appui in the air to navigate against the wind. His system con- 

 sists, like that of Meusnier, in seeking, at different heights, currents favour- 

 able to the direction which he may wish to take. Meusnier thought he 

 should be able to effect this by compressing or dilating the air in his balloon. 

 M. Van Hecke has found a more simple means of ascending and descending 

 without loss of ballast or gas. He has invented an apparatus analogous to 

 wings, and which he has placed under the eyes of the committee. With 

 this he has an ascending or descending force equal to from 2 to 3 kilo- 

 grammes ; but with four of these motive powers applied to his car he would 

 have a force of from 10 to 12 kilogrammes, — and with a large apparatus he 

 might reach 100. The report of the committee is favourable to the principle 

 of the discovery. 



New System for Propelling Vessels. — Extract of a letter from Boulogne, 

 in the Herald, announces that " a considerable degree of interest lias been 

 excited here by certain experiments made upon an entirely new system for 

 propelling vessels ; which, if capable of being carried out upon a large prin- 

 ciple, must not only supersede paddle-wheels, but also the Archimedean 

 screw. It has long been considered a matter of impossibility that the prin- 

 ciple of the paddle-wheel could be rendered of any useful effect when totally 

 submerged. The present invention has demonstrated to a certainty that 

 such a disadvantage can be overcome. The experiments were effected by 

 hand labour; the motive force being fitted into the stern of a pilot boat. — 

 The principle is based on the well-known properties of the parabola as re- 

 spects light, and the same properties are proved to be true as respects hydro- 

 statics. The blades are sections of a parabola; and are so constructed as to 

 impinge on the concave surface, whereby the water is grasped and compressed 

 to the centre of the axis, and thrown off in a direct line with the plane of 

 the vessel's course, — thereby rendering the propulsion superior in efficiency 

 to the common paddle-wheel, being uniform and continuous without draw- 

 bank ill respect of hack-water. Another advantage exists in the area of sur- 

 face as compared with the screw ; as less than one-half of parabolic areas 

 will work more efficiently with the same power." 



Hamburg. — Dec. 19. — '■ IMr. George Giles, who during the last eight 

 yeai's has been actively engaged in constructing the Hamhurg-Bergedorf 

 railway, the new sewage ami water works, the navigation locks, canals, 

 bridges, &c., quitted us on the IGlh inst., to enter on a more extended field 

 of professional occupation in England. Previous to his departure, he had > 

 the gratification of experiencing the high estimation in which he is held by 

 all branches of our government and a large circle of friends. Our Senate 

 presented to him a decree of that venerable body, expressive of their 

 unanimous thanks for his zealous exertions on their behalf ; ihis was ac- 

 companied by the large honorary medal, intended as a special token of 

 their grateful recollection of Mr. (iiles's heroism, energy, and skill in 

 conducting a series of explosions at the dreadful fire of the 5ih to the 9th 

 May, 1832, which devaslated nearly Ihe one-fourth part of our ancient 

 city. On the 14lh inst., a large meeting of gentlemen, comprising senat- 

 ors, members of the board of works and board of exchequer, the director; 



