1 846. J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



289 



equal to 3° 39' 37'''26."— Page 20. 



" Let it be required to describe a 

 figure abcde, similar to A B C D E, 

 whose area will be ^ of it." — 

 Page 21. 



" Let it be required to construct 

 a parallelogram whose area shall 

 be equal to that of a given circle." 

 Page 2G 



" Describe a circle whose circumference will be llj inches."— Page 27. 



" Given the diameter of a globe, to find the side of a cube whose solid- 

 ity will be equal to that of the globe."— Page 28. , ^ . . , 



" In a certain construction the square root of 33 equal parts is required 

 with great accuracy ; at what point must the centre be set to eliect this 

 object?" — Page 28. 



Mr. Byrne has not spared his labours. The tables which he has given 

 for the purpose of graduating the instrument are very extensive and carried 

 to a greater number of places of decimals than would be generally re- 

 quired in practice. The enplanations are so ample and precise that, with 

 this book before him, the draughtsman can never be at a loss respecting 

 the various problems which he is constantly called upon to solve by prac- 

 tical construction. It has been remarked truly that, while the theodolite, 

 SEXtant, and other instruments of surveying, have been brought to extra- 

 ordinary perfection by the refinements of modern ingenuity and workman- 

 ship, the constructions obtained from these exact instruments are reduced 

 in a very rude manner. While almost everthing that could be done for 

 attaining accuracy in the original trigonometrical operations has been 

 effected, the means by which they are rendered practically available have 

 been comparatively disregarded until the iuveution of the simple instru- 

 Hient which we have been describing. 



Proposal for a general Metropolitan Railway. By J. C. H. Ogier, Esq., 

 Barrister-at-Law. London : Weale, 1846. pp. 14. 



This pamphlet is published in the form of a letter addressed to the Com- 

 missioners for inquiring into the various railway projects of which the ter- 

 mini are proposed to be established in or near the metropolis ; the object of 

 the letter is the discussion of a plan for uniting the various metropolitan 

 railways in such a manner that they may be rendered accessible from every 

 part of London. The impartial opinion of an unprejudiced person, on a 

 subject usually debated with reference to individual interests, is generally 

 worth having : and accordingly in this pamphlet we find the various schemes 

 for perfecting the railway communication with London put in a new light, 

 because for the first time examined by one who has no private interest in 

 the settlement of the question. Mr. Ogier observes truly that with respect 

 to the project for uniting the various great lines which now radiate from 

 London, " the greatest impediments arise from the clashing of the various 

 interests connected with it, rather than from the impracticable nature of the 

 undertaking." 



The proposal that a line of railway should be laid down according to a 

 scheme agreed upon by representatives of the interests of each railway com- 

 pany, the city corporation, and the government, appears very practicable, 

 and moreover it is suggested by the wise policy which avoid obstacles in- 

 stead of overcoming them. There is no doubt that by a little tact all the 

 companies might be enabled to come to an agreement respecting the method 

 of connecting their lines, and the course so agreed would probably be the 

 best that could be devised. In all other great cities but London the tra- 

 veller is able to pass from one line of railway to another without incurring 

 the wearisome and unnecessary delay of traversing the extreme length of the 

 city through crowded streets ; whereas facility of uninterrupted communica- 

 tion with opposite parts of the kingdom is the most important with respect 

 to London, where the traveller is frequently delayed as many hours as would 

 suffice for the rest of the journey. The object is one of national interest, 

 and impartial practical suggestions such as those here offered towards the 

 effecting so important an undertaking, deserve the attention of all who would 

 have the subject fairly discussed. 



A Series of Letters on the Improved Mode of the Cultivation and Manage- 

 ment of Flax. By James H. Dickson. London: Groombridge, 1846. 

 pp.248. 



This book deserves attention, as the result of the observations of one who 

 bas devoted fifteen years assiduously to the examination of the subject. We 



confess ourselves incompetent to give an opinion as to the merits of the 

 several improvements suggested by Mr. Dickson ; still we imagine that his 

 object will be sufficiently answered if we draw the attention of those interest- 

 ed in the cultivation of flax to the fact that they will here find detailed inform- 

 ation on every point connected with its agricultural and commercial purposes. 

 The machinery for spinning the yarn, &c., the economic value of the plant, 

 ascertained by a comparison of the cost of cultivating it> and its productive- 

 ness, and the methods of cultivation and preparation for manufacture pursued 

 in various countries, are fully and clearly described. 



Got hie Ornaments, being a Series of Examples of Enriched Details and 

 Accessories of the Architecture of Great Britain, drawn from existing autho- 

 rities. By James K. Colling, Architect. Bell, Fleet-street, 1846. Nos. 

 1 & 2. 



Every contribution towards a more accurate knowledge of the beautiful 

 architecture of our ancestors is worthy of commendation; and the work be- 

 fore us is one of the most elaborate which has been published with this ob- 

 ject. Each part contains one illuminated, and three uncoloured, lithographic 

 plates. The subjects are the decorative enrichments of Pointed structures, 

 and will comprise " bosses, canopies, capitals, crockets, corbels, dripstone 

 terminations, finials, foliated cusps, gurgoyles, paters, poppy-heads, span- 

 drils, subselloe, string-courses." The subjects of the first illuminated plate 

 are portions of a Perpendicular rood-screen in Langham Church, Norfolk, 

 showing the manner in which it is enriched by painting. The colours are 

 magnificent, and beautifully printed. The other plates contain poppy-heads 

 from Paston Church, Norfolk, wooden spandrils from North Walsham 

 Church, and capitals from the choir of Ely Cathedral. The subject of the 

 illuminated plate in the second part is diaper enamelled on copper gilt, from 

 the tomb of William de Valence, in St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster 

 Abbey. The other subjects are details from Lincoln and Norwich Cathedrals. 



We certainly object to the use of the word " Gothic" as applied to forms 

 so beautiful as those here depicted, but it is difficult to find a substitute for 

 it. We are not favourable to the unnecessary invention of technicalities, 

 but certainly wish the continental term " Ogival" were in more general use 

 in this country ; the word is expressive and does not involve an architectural 

 or chronological blunder. The ornaments delineated by Mr. Colling are 

 Ogival — not Gothic. We must not conclude without speaking in commenda- 

 tion of Mr. Jobbins, for the very beautiful manner he has got up the illus- 

 trations. 



Tables for setting out Curves for Railumys, S(c. By G. C. Darbysbirb, 

 land-surveyor. Weale, 1846. pp.16; foolscap. 



The review of a series of tables can contain little more than an opinion 

 respecting the general method of calculation ; an examination of the accu- 

 racy of the numerical results cannot be expected. As far, then, as concerns 

 the general method, this little work has our unqualified approbation : there 

 are many grounds of superiority to similar publications ; in the first place, 

 instead of mere rules for calculation, which, in practice, would be found 

 tedious and liable to error, the actual figures are here given, and can be 

 referred to at once ; in the second place, the curve for which the calcula- 

 tions are made is the arc of a circle, and not a parabola; lastly, alterna- 

 tive methods of calculations are employed, so that where the nature of the 

 ground does not admit one set of tables being used, another may be substi- 

 tuted. The following is the author's preface, which, being brief enough, 

 may be given entire : — 



" The author calculated the following tables for his own private use, but 

 at the solicitation of several friends, he has been induced to publish them. 

 He can speak with confidence of their accuracy, great pains having been 

 taken to prove every figure, and the utmost caution observed in correcting 

 the press. When the calculation of these tables was nearly completed, the 

 author's attention was directed to the ' Civil Engineer and Architect's Jour- 

 nal' for January, 1840, containing tables (calculated by Mr. A. A. Mornay) 

 on the same principle, but having only the column headed t for finding the 

 tangent to the curve : and it was satisfactory to find that the principle he 

 had adopted had been approved of by the conductors of that Journal." 



A table shoiving the Contents of Excavations, derived from Mr. G. P. 

 Bidder's furnmlie. By C. Creeoy. Maynard, Earls Court, 1846. 24 mo. 

 pp. 24. 



This is a pocket edition of Mr. Bidder's tables, of which the utility has 

 been greatly increased by Mr. Creedy's additional calculations for muc& 



