1S43.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



283 



the yard there are also other wells, accessible by pumps, supplying fresh 

 water for the nse of the dockyard, the latter wells being perfectly uncon- 

 nected with the dock itself. 



The time occupied in these works has extended over something more 

 than seven years, and the difficulties which the engineer has had to meet 

 and surmount may be judged from the fact that the basin itself is cut 

 through a stratum of peat and another of quicksand, through which per- 

 colated a spring which afforded some 800 gallons of water per minute. 

 The whole of these strata were dug through to the depth in some places 

 of 125 feet, and the sub-springing waters were conducted through various 

 channels towards the river. The altars or steps on each side of the dock, 

 which are 24 in number, extend from the top to the bottom of the basin 

 which, viewed from its upper end, presents the appearance of an inverted 

 parabola, and the whole of which is formed of hewn granite masonry; 

 every stone being joggled to its neighbour by pieces of Bangor slate, so 

 that no part of the work can sink in or get out of place ; or if it should, 

 then, that all parts of it should sink equally without disturbing their 

 respective bearings and proportions to each other. 



The masonry, which is 18 inches in depth, is laid upon concrete seven 

 feet thiek. The dock itself is executed from the plans of Mr. Walker, by 

 Messrs. Grissell and Peto, and is calculated to have cost already about 

 80,000/. exclusive of the steam engine. 



Taken as a whole, this basin is really a wonderful work, whether we 

 consider it merely as a plain engineering operation, or whether we look at 

 the difficulties which have been encountered successfully. In either case 

 we conceive that great praise is due to Mr. Walker, the engineer, not 

 merely for the general plan of the undertaking, but for the minor details 

 in carrying it out. Taking it for all in all, the work is worthy of the 

 country, it is o editable to those engaged iu it, and is calculated to be 

 eminently useful for the public service. — Times. 



SYANIZING OF TIMBER. 



Sir, — In consequence of one or two erroneous statements which have 

 appeared in your Journal, and also on account of a Report to the Treasurer 

 of the Brighton Suspension Chain Tier Company, upon the preservation of 

 timber from decay by Mr. Prichard, of Shorcham, which report contained 

 many mis-statements, which, if not contradicted, may injure the reputation 

 of a very valuable discovery, you will much oblige me by inserting the 

 following remarks : — 



1st. It is asserted that sleepers Kyanized five years ago, and in use at the 

 West India Dock warehouses, have been discovered to decay rapidly. — I 

 would state in reply, that Kyanized sleepers have not been used at any of 

 the West India Dock warehouses, but the Anti-Dry Rot Company did lay 

 down at their own station, West India Docks, in 1836, some Scotch fir 

 sleepers prepared with very weak solution, by way of experiment, aud some 

 of these have shown symptoms of decay. 



2ndly. It is asserted that the wooden tanks at the Anti-Dry Rot Com- 

 pany's principal yard are decayed. — The tank referred to was made of un- 

 prepared wood, as the maker can testify, and was used as a water cistern, 

 and occasionally held solution ; only one or two of the boards showed the 

 slightest symptoms of decay, and that on the outside alone. Mr. Prichard, 

 it appears, is not aware that a waterproof tank is capable of containing a 

 solution of corrosive sublimate without waste ,- the solution will not pene- 

 trate timber laterally, but only from the extremities, and therefore that it is 

 in no way surprizing that a tank containing a solution of corrosive sublimate 

 should decay on the outside. 



3rdly. It is asserted by Mr. Prichard, that iu Shoreham Harbour there is 

 a wailing piece, the very heurt of English oak, Kyanized, and in use only 

 four years, which is like a honeycomb, or network, completely eaten away 

 by the teredo navalis, and other seaworms. — The truth of this assertion is 

 denied upon the authority of the annexed Minute of Survey and Report from 

 the Commissioners of Shoreham Harbour. 1 



4thly. Mr. Prichard states that he opposed Kyanizing on the ground that' 

 in tropical climates it would be as poisonous as the quicksilver mines of 

 Illyria. — In reply to this statement, I would refer to Messrs. Enderby of 

 Great St. Helen's, who built a ship, many years since, wholly of Kyanized 

 wood. It has been three voyages to the South Seas, the crew have returned 

 each voyage remarkably healthy, end we have now in our possession some of 

 the bilge water, which has been analysed, and found to be considerably more 

 pure than on ordinary voyages, 



I am. Sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



Tasweli. Thompson, Secretary. 



' We have not room for the Committee's Report further than the follow- 

 ing extract.— Editor. 



"Report, that Mr. Thornton, the Harbour Master, had pointed out five 

 pieces of English oak wailing which the sub-committee had inspected and 

 lound as sound, in their opinion, as when first put in, and th it Mr. Prichard 

 slated that the piece he alluded to as heart of oak was remo»ed from the pier 

 I > himself, but he refused to exhibit it." 



REVIEWS. 



Applications of the Electric Fluid to the Useful Arts. By Mr. 

 Alexander Bain. With a vindication of his claim By John Fin- 

 laison, Esq., of the National Debt Office. London : Chapman and 

 Hall, 1843. ' 



Controversies on the subject of prior claims to scientific discoveries 

 always involve doubt and pain, but much more so when patties are 

 concerned who have rendered efficient service to the public. State- 

 ment is made upon statement, reply upon reply, and the simple truth 

 becomes more difficult to ascertain than before, while personal abuse 

 and personal feelings enter the field to vender the contest still more 

 violent and irregular. The main question at issue is, whether Pro- 

 fessor Wheatstone or Mr. Baiu is the inventor of certain applications 

 of the electro-magnetic power; upon this, several other extraneous 

 issues have been raised, each patty accusing the other of piracy, one 

 charging ingratitude and another breach of trust. Under these cir- 

 cumstances a case has been brought forward by Mr. Finlaison, on the 

 part of Mr. Bain, to which we should be inclined to attach consider- 

 able weight, if it were not an exparle statement, to which we have 

 not yet had Mr. Wheatstone's reply. When it is remembered too 

 that parlizanship has displayed itself to a great extent, that the sci- 

 entific men have enlisted themselves under the banner of Professor 

 Wheatstone, and the natives of Scotland under that of Mr. Bam, the 

 danger of coming to a rash decision is evident. We shall certainly 

 not be so unwise at the present moment. When we recollect the con- 

 tests between Newton and Liebnitz, Wren and Hooke, Worcester and 

 De Cans, Talbot and Daguerre, Jacobi and Spenser, and so many others, 

 we feel the danger of hazarding a decision. Time is one of the 

 grand elements towards arriving at a correct conclusion in questions 

 of this kind, for it is not until passions are allayed that it is at all 

 prudent to ascend the tribunal of judgment. It must be recollected, 

 too, that there is scarcely an invention or discovery of importance, 

 with regard to which several parties have not been in the field 

 at the same moment, and having at the first blush very strong 

 claims to priority. Under such circumstances, we retreat from the 

 arena ; but this we can say, on the present occasion, that whatever 

 may be the result of the present contest, the talent, the invention, and 

 the valuable services of Mr. Alexander Bain, must remain undis- 

 puted and unimpaired. His last discovery, it appears to us, cannot 

 be contested, and would alone be sufficient to confer on him high sci- 

 entific rank. From this part of the pamphlet we shall proceed to 

 give some extracts, with regard to this new and important discovery, 

 which led to the means of dispensing with the galvanic trough, by 

 having recourse to the earth an a source of permanent voltaic electricity. 



For the purpose of investigating the nature of this phenomenon, 

 Mr. Bain in conjunction with Lieutenant Wright, performed several 

 experiments in the Polytechnic Institution and on the Serpentine 

 River in Hyde Park. 



" The first experiment consisted in passing an electric current through the 

 water, by means of a complete circuit of wires laid from one side of the 

 river to the other, with a compound battery of six cells, of about twelve- 

 square inches surface on one side of the river, and on the opposite side an 

 electro-magnet of soft iron, with its feeder. On an electric current being 

 established in the wires, it was found that a small portion only reached 

 the electro-magnet ; enough, however, to enable it to sustain its own weight. 

 On the circuit being broken, by disconnecting the wires from the battery, it 

 was found that the attractive power of the magnet did not entirely cease. 

 The electric current being again transmitted through the wires, the circuit 

 was broken by detaching the wires from the magnet, when its attractive 

 power ceased immediately. The experiment was then repealed as at first, 

 and the same result obtained — -viz., a very gradual decay of the magnetic 

 power. It is well to observe here, that the feeder was removed from the 

 maguet, and kept from it several minutes ; on being again presented to the 

 magnet, it was slightly attracted by it. It was premised that on an electric 

 current being established in one direction, its effects on the magnet might be 

 instantly annihilated by changing the direction of the current ; experiment 

 proved this to be the case, and thus pointed out an effectual remedy for the 

 inconvenience, although the cause was still unknown. As it was evident in 

 the foregoing experiment thai the greater portion of the electricity was con- 

 ducted from one wire to the other by the water, particular attention was 

 next given to this branch of the subject. A portion of one of the wires 

 formiug the circuit was lifted out of the water at several points between the 

 two banks of the river, aud the electro-magnet placed in the circuit, when it 

 was found that the current was transmitted by the water from one wire to 

 the other, the greatest portion of the electric current passing from that part 

 of the wires which was nearest the battery. These facts rendered it obvious- 

 that water was quite capable of conducting voltaic electricity, provided a 



