1847.1 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



367 



corn when necessary, and thus the land is rendered firm, and the ewes are 

 kept in healthful exercise. Lastly, I must advert to the treatment of the 

 dung made hy the cattle and pigs. That on the boards is hourly swept 

 down, and wheeled away to a long covered shed ; contiguous to this is 

 another shed containing a large store of burnt earth and other ashes. The 

 dung is worked up with the ashes, and therewith is mixed the other 

 manures, dissolved bones, soot, powdered clialk, &c. This, about 8 or 10 

 cart-loads per acre, is carted to the lield ready tor turnip sowing. The 

 manure is drilled in by one of those that deliver moist manure, and thus 

 eight acres can be got over ia a day drilled ou the flat. If the field is very 

 poor, the drill goes over four acres in the morning without seed ; in the 

 afternoon the same quantity is again deposited in the same ruts, and the 

 seed upon this double discharge. The advantage of this is, that the dung 

 is never exposed to the drying of the sun or air ; tiiat the seed being de- 

 posited over a moist bed, germinates immediately in the driest season, and 

 cares not for the fly, though for the prevalent grub it is cerlairdy uo remedy. 

 The pig manure I consider the best of all ; because one-half of the corn I 

 feed them ou is in the shape of beans, which contains the best mineral in- 

 gredient for growing Swedes, as 1 have endeavoured to set forth in my 

 *' lecture on manures." These, gentlemen, then, are the principal points 

 of the practice which has brought me into that pleasing embarrassment of 

 ■whicli I spoke before, and which I wish may befall you all — more manure 

 than you can safely put on your arable laud. 



THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS AT POMPEII. 



Naples, Oct. 2. — In the magnificent street leading from the ancient sea- 

 shore, in the neighbourhood of the theatres, to the so-called crossway of the 

 Fortuna, and thence in a direct line to the northern city wall, there has been 

 excavated a house that surpasses in richness and elegance all that has been 

 discovered previously. The space of the court-yard is open, has a mosaic 

 pavement, and on the walls fantastic pictures of the richest and most taste- 

 ful style. At the sides of the atrium (court-yard) are small sleeping rooms, 

 with the following wall paintings : — Polypheme, who receives a letter from 

 Galatea by an amorino riding upon a dolphin ; Venus occupied with fishing ; 

 a Narcissus; a few swimming gods of Love; a Victoria upon a car; and 

 several landscapes. In the background of t\ie atrium opens a tablinum (the 

 reception-hall), with chequered marble pavement. On the walls of this room 

 must have been wood paintings, as the spaces which they once filled are still 

 plainly seen, as also the charcoal remains of those paintings. They were, 

 perhaps, from tlie hands of those celebrated masters who, according to 

 Pliny, preferred painting upon wood. At the side of the reception-hall is a 

 dining-room, where are seen three large paintings of full-size figures. They 

 represent Hercules with Omphale holding his club, and wrapped in the skin 

 of the Nerasan lion. Next, Bacchus as a boy, and arm-in-arm with Siienus, 

 on a car drawn by two oxen, and followed by Bacchantes. Thirdly, a Bac- 

 chanal procession of triumph. Here were also the TriUlinian reposing beds, 

 richly adorned with silver. 



Behind the reception-hall is the garden, with a fountain at the end, which 

 is adorned with mosaic and a small marble statue of Siienus. In the centre 

 is the water reservoir, adorned with rich marble sculptures. This dwelling 

 joins a second open atrium where the servants lived. Here was found a 

 four-wheeled wagon with iron wheels and much bronze ornament. The 

 kitchen contained many implements of bronze, and the traces of sraoke 

 were in many places still visible, after the lapse of eighteen centuries. 



The dwelling had — what is very rare^secoud and third stories, to which 

 led a wide staircase. Upon a small picture close to the staircase lies a 

 letter with the (scarcely legible) name of the owner of the house, iu oblique 

 charactM's, and plainly indicating his rank. It belonged to the Decuris 

 or senators of I'ompeii. 



The house has therefore been christened, Casa della Sonatrice, or dell' 

 Ercole Ubbriaco. It is the newest excavation of importance 



NOTES OF THE MONTH. 



Royal Institute of British Architects, — The 'ordinary meetings of this 

 Institute, for the session 1S47-48, commence on Monday, the 1st inst., and 

 will he continued as follows : — 



1847 November 1 IS 29 



December 13 .... 



1843 January 10 24 



February 7 .... 21 



March (i .... 2ft 



April 3 .... 17 



May 1 Ij 2'.) 



June \2 .. . . 'J'i 



Litliography. — Messrs. Hullmandel and Walton have favoured us with 

 some specimens of tbeirnew process of '* stumping" in lithography, ^howiug 

 its advantages for representing architectural engineering, plans, and me- 

 chanical suljjects. The lints approach nearer the nature of a wash than 

 ordinary lithography, and the style olTers the advantage of forming a com- 



plete subject with one printing alone, as from the facility with which skies 

 can be executed for architectural drawings, it supersedes the necessity of 

 a tint stone. The execuliou of the subjects ou stone is, we understand, 

 easy and simple as well as rapid, which we also deem of importance, as 

 there is an economy of time as well as of actual cost. , 



Roynl Artitlenj. — Some interesting experiments have been carried oq 

 during the past month iu the practice range of the royal arsenal under the 

 direction of the select committee. It h-id been suggested by Capt. Chadds, 

 K.N., of the Excellent, naval gunnery ship at Portsmouth, that a great ad- 

 vantage would be gained in naval gunnery by uniting the shot and shell, 

 and firing both ai the same time. This suggestion has been tried during 

 the past month, from 32-pounder and 8-inch guns, with remarkable suc- 

 cess. The efl'ect produced upon the bulkheail which serves as a target has 

 been surprising, and afiords some idea of the havoc that would be com- 

 mitted upon the hull of a ship of war under similar circumstances. The 

 shell, although the lighter body, is said to enter the bulkhead first, and 

 from its inferior specific gravity, strikes above the shot. Another great 

 advantage appears to be the almost momentary bursting of the shell oa 

 concussion, the whole ot those fired having burst either on striking the 

 bulkhead, or oa passing through it. The suggestion, altliough only in- 

 tended hy way of experiment, promises important results in uaval warfare. 



Mechtinical Eiiuivuteut of Heat. — M. Seguiu's experiments on the com- 

 pression and dilation of gases confirm the mechanical equivalent of heat, 

 as obtained by Mr. Joule. M. Seguin, however, reasons thus: — If to 

 these facts be added all those where heat results from motion, such as a 

 blow, compression, friction, change of condition, it will be clear that the 

 two phenomena, identical in themselves, are only the consequences of a 

 general law, which governs the motion of all bodies, and that the phenomena 

 classed under the term caloric, are nothing more than the effects of motion. 

 This principle admitted and properly understood, involves a modification 

 and a vast improvement in the steam-engine. Steam may be said to be 

 used between certain limits of pressure, say equivalent to a fall of tempe- 

 rature of 80°, and ou being then condensed or allowed to escape, it is evi- 

 dent that it still contains about OGU° of temperature, which is not utilized. 

 By retaining this same steam, and restoring to it at each stroke ol the piston 

 the quantity of heat it lost to produce the motion, a complete and immense 

 change in the steam-engine would result. ___^^_^____^^^^^^ 



Metal/or Clocks. — M. Laugier communicated to the Academy of Sciences, 

 Paris, the result of a series of experiments with a view to ascertain the 

 proportion of melals to be used iu clocks in order to establish a perfect 

 compensation. Hitherto, although very large sums have been expended 

 in experiments for the pioductioa of compensation clocks to keep true time, 

 DO really satisfactory result has been arrived at. M. Laugier declares that 

 perfect compensation may be gained by employing the follosving metals, 

 and in the following proportions : iron, 100 ; copper, 135 ; zinc, 109 ; pla- 

 tiua, 147. 



Atmospheric Rays— Colours of the Horizon. — A paper was likewise re- 

 ceived from M. C'horon, on the peculiar colours visible on the horizon be- 

 fore the rising and after the setting of the sua. These colours of orange, 

 yellow, red, greeu, and blue have hitherto been ascribed to atmospheric 

 absorption of certain coloured rays. lAl. Chorou ascribes them to the earth 

 acting as a screen, and shutting out the whole of the white light above the 

 horizon. He gives a series of optical txperimeuts iu sup port ot his opinion. 



Fortifications nf tlie Soutlteru Coast. — It is reported that, iu consequence 

 of a determination of government to put the whole line ol the southern 

 coast into a more etiicient state of defence, there are to be several powerful 

 batteries erected along that stretcli of laud coiunieacing ai the Castle port 

 at Dartmouth, at the harbour's luoulh, to the Start Point ; and that the 

 men now on the Coast-guard duty will be regularly trained and aug- 

 mented in number, so as to constitute a disciplined body for the immediate 

 duty, if required to work the newly-formed batte ries. 



Value of Land reclaimed from the Sea. — A lew dajs ago were offered 

 for sale, by the Nene (Jutfall commissioners, at Wisbech, 960 acres of land, 

 in 27 lots, being their poriioa of between 3,000 and 4,000 acres gained 

 from the sea, by the completion of their great work. The lots varied from 

 7 acres to 180 ; and ihe reserved bid varied from about 45/. to 80i. per 

 acre ; and though none of the lots were actually sold at these prices, above 

 CO/, per acre was bid for one lot, containing 103 acres, and for some of the 

 smaller lots higher prices were otiered. It is but a few years ago that the 

 whole of this valuable land formed the bed of the Wisbech river, and from 

 the rapid deposits now going on beyond the barrier bank, another portion 

 of from 3,000 to 4,000 acres may be added to terra firma ia the course of 

 a few years. 



TUe Law of Atmospheric Rtsistauce. — Professor Uavies ol the Koyal 

 Military Academy, has promulgaied in the .Mechanics' Magazine, the fol- 

 lowing law of atmosplieric resistance (the atmosphere being homogeneous 

 within the limits of the problem) to the flight of a projectile : — " If t) be 

 the velocity of a shot at any point in its path, and P be a constant depend- 

 ing on the physical condition of the atmosphere ; then the resistance of 

 the atmosphere lo the progress of the shot will be p (/—i) '■ aad /a: is 

 such a function of x as to vanish with x, and which is under ordinary 

 conditions but slightly different from x itself. In fact, I am led to think 

 that the errors arising from so taking fx Ate so small as to be less than 

 the probable errors of experiment, as this class of experiments has been 

 hitherto made." 



