HO 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[April, 



way, the principal entrance to the monastery, — represented in the drawing 

 of the monk — still remains : and he did not know a more beautiful exam- 

 ple, tliouijli somewhat altered in the ii|i|)er s(ory and ilisfisured by minor 

 additions. The gate of the cemetery no longer exists. The cloisters in 

 tlie drawing are Norman, though now l^erpendicular, and with some 

 traces of their Norman origin. The dormitory running from the cloisters 

 was 145 feet by 80; and the Norman piers of the substructions, with some 

 of the Norman windows, still remain. In a private garden belonging to 

 one of the canons is a Norman cloister, very little known, but a beautifully 

 simple piece of architecture, more like an Italian clinrdi or one of Wren's 

 or Inigo Jones's constructions, — and a curious example of the slight sepa- 

 ration between the Komanesque and the style from which it was immedi- 

 ately derived. The necessarium (now the site of the house of one of the 

 minor canons) was 130 feet long, with fifty stone seats im each side, and a 

 drain under each of the aisles. The place was most ingeniously drained 

 and ventilated ; for the monks were in advance of the rest of the world not 

 only in learning, but in tlio conveniences and comforts of domestic life. Of 

 tiiis necessarium certain Norman traces remain. Of the refectory, only 

 two sides are at present standing ; but traces exist of a line octagon kitchen, 

 of a brewhouse, bakehouse, granary and infirmary. The iuhrmary was a 

 building complete in itself; having a chapel, hall, refectory and neces- 

 sarium. This was generally the case; and he would remark, in passing, 

 that tlie whole establishment of the sick at Ely has been called the early 

 church of the Cathedral, — when, in truth, it was nothing more than the in- 

 firmary of the sick. 



Of the prior's house every portion has been swept away except a cloister 

 under the prior's ch ipel. This house would appear to have been so in- 

 geniously situated and contrived that the prior could see from his own 

 house the principal altars of the church. Of the rooms set apart for the 

 guests a Norman gateway still remains ; and the hall, or the refectory for 

 the guests, has been floored and titled up as a residence for one o'' the 

 minor canons of the Cathedral. — He would return to the subject of tlie 

 distributiou of the water; and would first direct attention to the number of 

 straggling lines running about the drawing of the mouk — some green, some 

 red, and some yellow. These were water-courses — for the drawing would 

 appear to have been made to show not the elevations of the monastery, but 

 the machinery used for the distribution of the water. The canons of the 

 Cathedral are still supplied by wooden pipes from the reservoir in use 

 when the drawing was made. The reservoir was about a mile out of the 

 town ; and the water-course led to a circular building at the end of the 

 beautiful Norman cloister to which he had already referred. This circular 

 building has hitherto been called the baptistery — but it really is nothing 

 more than the caslellum aqu« of the drawing; and on a minute examina- 

 tion he discovered, on clearing the rubble out, the hollow pillar in the cen- 

 tre (represented in the drawing) by which the castellum aquae was supplied 

 with water. 



REVULSION IN THE M.\NUFACTURE AND TRADE OF 

 COPPEK. 



The copper mines of Cornwall and Wales have, hitherto, yielded 10,000 

 tons of copper annually ; for which, however, 170,000 tons of ore were 

 required, as they do not yield more than an average of 9Hb. per cwt. 

 These mines will no longer be able to compete with those of other coun- 

 tries, discovered or even worked at the present moment. We allude chiefly 

 to the South Australian mines; the more so, as their riches seem inex- 

 haustible, and lay so close to the surface, that their working will require 

 little skill and expense. In 1845, the tirst year these ores were brought to 

 England, their value scarcely amounted to £10,000, while last year it had 

 extended to £100.000. It would, perhaps, have far exceeded this sum, 

 bad not the simultaneous discovery of gold diverted attention and capital 

 therefrom. It is to be expected that the great influx of emigration to that 

 quarter in general, as well as the aid of German (Fieyberg) miners, w ill 

 soon enable the colonists to have their own furnaces, and supply the mar- 

 kets of India and China, which hitherto have been partly supplied with 

 copper from England. 



The mines of North America are next to be alluded to, which were 

 known even so far back as when the Jesuit Charlevoix visited tbi ^e 

 places, where (the north-west lakes) he says copper was made into candle- 

 sticks and other church implements for the use of the missions. In 1773, 

 a British copper-mine company was formed, but the succeeding revolution- 

 ary wars and territorial disputes rendered it inelfeclive ; but, of late, more 

 than a hundred mining companies have been formed on Lakes Huron and 

 liuperior. The American press is full of the praises of the riches of 

 these parts in silver and copper ; large masses have arrived at Moston, 

 where extensive smelting works are being established, which will make 

 this place the Cornwall of New England. lu other parts of the lliiitid 

 States also, as in New Jersey and Missouri, vast layers of topper liave 

 been discovered, at which latter place, the mine of Buckeye yields already 

 IS tons of ore daily, containing 37 lb. per cwt. of copper. 



Tlie prospects of Canada are equally cheerful, and the strata of this 

 part of Lakes Huron and Superior are very profitable, and companies 

 have been formed both in Montreal and Quebec, whose surveyors were 

 very active last season. The Quebec society hare begun operations at 



Mairoaase, and the first samples of ore yielded a gross arerage of 30 lb. 

 per cwt. of copper. The society of Montreal have begun the construction 

 of furnaces and pounding engines on a large scale. Their surveyors have 

 found large lumps of copper, one of which weighed two tons, and seams 

 of that metal 00 feet wide by 70 feet deep. The ore is conveyed through 

 the lakes and canals to tlie St. Lawrence, and it is intended to cut a new 

 canal at the Sauil Ste. Marie, where the communication between the Hu- 

 ron and Superior takes place. As the mine district is a very barren one, 

 profitable employm<'nt will thus accrue to the surrounding corn-growing 

 lauds. 



J. L 1. 



THE CENTRAL SUN. 



Although it has been known that the sun is merely the central body 

 of our planetary system — yet, it seems that it is Madler's discovery, which 

 will bring us somewhat nearer to the elucidation of the form, extent, and 

 the stratification (altogether — orf^anisution) of our whole cosmic system, 

 — such, at least, as it is accessible to human ken, pres^-nt or future. The 

 discovery of Aliidler has already done so much, as to ati'ord us some fixed 

 point from which the form, extent, and stratification of this huge system 

 of star-molecules can be ascertained, measured, and laid down ; — although 

 it is obvious, that if any one had, by means of mere speculative induction, 

 begun to extend the hitherto calculation or construction of our common 

 orreries — that is, constructed an orrery of all the known fixed stars — the 

 central sun in the Pleiades would have been arrived at, ipso facto. But, 

 Prof. Madler's central sun is (by his own sta'.ement), not the real central 

 sun, as he cxclutlcs (torn his system the Magellanic clouds and other nu- 

 merous slar-nebula5. Then, therefore, only «lien tliese vast accumulations 

 of milky ways will have been properly observed and studied, the true 

 central star of the cosmos will be ascertainable. But, even now, tlie cal- 

 culation and construction of a world'sorrery is becoming a great deside- 

 ratum. The scale, certainly, as we have to deal with 34,000,000 of pa- 

 rallaxes of the sun — will be a dillicnlt task ; still, it is not so much the 

 laying down of single stars (evanescing in such spaces), than the configura- 

 tion and stratification of what Miidler calls " rings and layers" of stars, 

 which will be ihe most important. It is impossible, in viewing these sub- 

 jects, not to think of the macro-cosmos u( the ancients, or still mure of 

 what Pliny conjectured on this huge world-system, in saving — " Munduin 

 — seu quod alio nomine Deum nuncupari fast est." Lib. II. I. 



J. L Y. 



THE RECOVERY OF THE SPHYNX STEAM SLOOP. 



The recovery of the Sphynx sti;am-sloop from the fate which was gene- 

 rally predicted for her, has reflected much credit on Captain Austin, C.B., 

 Commander Cafliu, Lieutenant Thompson, of the \ ictory ; Mr. Bellamy, 

 assistant master attendant of Portsmouth Dockyard ; Mr. Biddlecoiiiti, 

 master ; and Mr. Mallard, second master of the St. Vincent, and the offi- 

 cers and men of the royal navy, and Mr. Watts, assi>tant master shipwright, 

 of Portsmouth Dockyard, to whom was entrusted the task of recovering 

 this tine steamer from olf the coast at the back of the Isle of Wight, 

 where she stranded in February la^t, duriuK a fog. It is impossible to 

 commenil too highly the exertions of all engaged in ihe arduous task, and 

 Ihe cheerful manner in which they endured all sinis of privations. Com- 

 mander Calhn, of the Scourge sleam sloop, was first sent to assist in get- 

 ting off the Sphynx. He at once saw the necessity of mechanical help, 

 and immediately applied to the Portsmouth dockyard, when RearAdmirul 

 Parker ordered Air. Watts to go to her, taking 30 mechanics of dill'erenC 

 departments ; and no time was lost in con.-^ultiiig on the best means to be 

 adopted. It occurred to Commander Caliiu tliat they should avail them- 

 selves of the paddle beams and fiamiog to apply buujaul vessels of some 

 kind underneath, and Mr. Watts tlioiight a rait of casks or of tanks might 

 answer the piirpo.se. The diHi'uliy, however, of lashing or uniting them 

 together sufhcieutly securely to withstand the immense force of the rollers 

 and breakers, so common olf that part of the island, was seen, and Com- 

 mander Cafliu then sug^esteil the London barge, decked over and applied 

 as camels underneath the paddle-boxes. On this the framing was imme- 

 diately planned, and iMr. Watts's designs were received at Portsmouth- 

 yard, wiiere it — together with the barges — was prepared. In tlie fiist at- 

 tempt with these barges they failed, in consequence in part of one of them 

 having i-eceived injury for want of sufficient security. Unfortunaiely it 

 forged ahead, and the pump, which projected up through the deck, came 

 in contact with one of the bearers of the framing, and ripped up a portion 

 of it, which caused it to fill. But even if this accident had not happened, 

 the change of weather would have defeated them. They profiled by this 

 experience, and Commander Cafliu having left, iMr. Walts went to work to 

 remedy and improve ou Ihe first attempt; and Captain Austin having ar- 

 lived, determined on carrying out the plans agreed upon. The barge! 

 were t'ound not to possess suflicieut buoyant power, and consequently they 

 were raised upon so as to bring them up to about 140 tons. Mr. Watts 

 found that the nose of the vessel, instead of being lifted over the reef , 



