20 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[January, 



Mr. Dyer's note has afforded me ;in opportunity of explaining these 

 circumstances, and accounting for, what I admit to be, undue brevity 

 and obscurity in the column of remarks in the table. Whether he has 

 seen only that portion of the article Portico in the Cyclopsedia, I 

 know not; neither do I know how he relishes the terms I have ven- 

 tured to coin. Perhaps not at all ; at least he has employed one term 

 in a sense which I hold to be grossly solecistical and contrary to 

 analogy, namely " intercobimniations" instead of " intercolumns " ; 

 since the former term does not admit of a plural meaning, because it 

 does not refer to the separate spaces or intervals between the columns, 

 but merely the general arrangement, accordingly as the columns are 

 put closer to, or further apart from each other. We therefore employ 

 the first word very properly, when, with reference to that circum- 

 stance, we speak of the intercolumniation in a portico, &c., as being 

 compact ('/i/C7«)8/i//e^, or straggling (arceostijk )■, but we should say 

 "the centre intercolumn is wider than the rest;" or "there are seven 

 }niercoli/miii<," and so on ; for in such cases the other term is nonsense, 

 and we might as well talk of a portico liaving eight or any other 

 number of culumniatiom instead of so many columns. .Surely architects 

 ought to know English well enough to feel the distinction at once; yet 

 as a great many of them, it seems, do not, that must be my excuse 

 for dwelling so long upon that little lapsus lingua'. 



I remain, &c., 

 L. 



J. CROKER'S HINT TO THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH 

 ARTISTS. 



(In a Letter to tee Editor.) 



Sir — In noticing the Exhibitions at the Royal Academy, other |)ub« 

 lications besides vonr own have animadverted upon the very inade- 

 quate space there afforded to architectural drawings, in consequence 

 of which, not onlv a great many are rejected every season, but of those 

 admitted the majority are so hung up that they cannot possibly be 

 examined, or even looked at all with any degree of comfort : accord- 

 ingly those so placed are in danger of being altogether overlooked, let 

 their merit bo what it may. If the evil admits of no remedy nor miti- 

 gation — which, I for one, do not believe — complaint and remonstrance 

 are of course useless. What surprises me, however, is to find that 

 the Society of British Artists should not have had nous enough to take 

 advantage' of this circumstance, which they might easily enough con- 

 vert to a trump card of their own. Surely it would be far better policy 

 on their part, instead of entirely shutting up one of their rooms, as 

 they have done for the two last seasons, to devote that room — which 

 1 should take to be quite as large as the one at the Academy — entirely 

 to Architectural Drawings, and invite the profession (by public adver- 

 tisementj to contribute designs. They might not perhaps be able to 

 ^11 it — to get together such a squeeze of fran)es, as we invariably find in 

 in the Architectural Room of the Royalists ; yet that I conceive would 

 be a very great recommendation rather than the contrary : and many — 

 not the lowest of all in talent — would, it may be presumed, prefer the 

 chance of a favourable situation in Suffolk-street, to the risk of being 

 either turned out altogether from the building in Trafalgar-square, or 

 else seeing their drawings hung up, where very few would be at the 

 trouble of looking at them at all. 



Nevertheless, 1 have been informed, upon most unquestionable autho- 

 rity, that the plan here suggested has been actually submitted to the 

 council, by one of the members, and was thrown out almost ncm. con. 

 and without any con-sideration ! Upon what grounds it is difficult to 

 guess, for I believe no argument was attempted to be brought against 

 it, except the most perverse and negative one, that it would do them — 

 J. f . the ))ainters — and their exhibition, no good whatever. Was there 

 ever such grovelling, narrow-minded stupidity! Even granting that 

 it would not render their exhibition more attractive, it could not possi- 

 bly tend to make it less so. Those who did not care to look at such 

 drawings would not be compelled to enter that particular room against 

 their inclination. Neither would the addition of architectural draw- 

 ings detract from their treasury: on the contrary, it might perhaps 

 serve to draw a few more shillings into if. At all events the experi- 

 ment would cost nothing — except, perhaps t!ie printing one or two 

 more pages in their catalogue, — and should it turn out quite a failure, 

 they might then abandon the jUan for the future. But until such 

 proof be afforded, I will not believe that it would prove one: so far 

 from it that I am of opinion the public generally would learn by de- 

 grees to take an interest in architectural designs and drawings by fre- 

 quently seeing them : an opinion in which I am confirmed by a ri mark 

 which Heinz makes in liis notice of the architectural subjects at the 

 Paris exhibition this year. After observing how desirable it is tha' 

 the designs for all buildings of importance should be publicly exh 



bited beforehand ;— that considerable interest is thereby excited, and 

 that critical remark and discussion are elicited, he continues thus: 

 " It is idle to assert, by way of objection, that the public generally do 

 not understand or relish architectural drawings : such argument will 

 not hold water, when drawings of that kind are as beautifuUv executed 

 as most of those in this exhibition. We had positive proof to the 

 contrary, for we observed many even of the lower orders examining 

 and ajiparently both imderstanding and gratified by them — even those 

 which were sections. Onh/ afford /fie public the opj/ortunity of seeing 

 and becoming acquainted tvilh architectural drawings, and tliey will very 

 soon learn to understand them." 



1 make no further comment on this than to remark, that it is to be 

 presumed the same might be the case here, unless, indeed it should be 

 urged that English people are so very nuich more stupid than French 

 people, that the latter country is no rule w hatever for our own. — With 

 respect to the British Artists and their enliglitened Council, I leave 

 them to chew the cud on what I have said. Neither 1 nor any one 

 else can compel them to have common sense, if they are determined 

 to have nothing to do with it. There is a saying which mforms us 

 that ' though one man can lead a horse to water, not ten men can make 

 him drink :' — and so, I suppose, it must be with them ; they will not 

 swallow my prescription. Therefore, having sent you this epistle as 

 a New Year's gift, I now take my leave, remaining, 

 Your's, with a Thousand Et-caeteras, 



John Croker. 



TABLES FOR RAILWAY CURVES. 



Sir — Having heard much controversy between writers of scientific 

 works, relative to the best mode of laying out segments of circles, 

 whereby the prescribed limits of almost all lines of railway, render it, 

 in the majority of cases, necessary to substitute curves of various radii; 

 and I think several of your correspondents have not given the formula 

 in a manner sufficiently comprehensive for general purposes. Having 

 had frequent opportunities of determining curves upon several public 

 works for some years, none yet appearstome so ably adapted, to all ca- 

 pacities, as the method you have set forth in the first number of your 

 Journal for ISIU, as to the accuracy of which I can testify, from having 

 repeatedly put it into practice upon ground of no ordinarj- character. 



I am. Sir, 



Folkestone, Your obedient servant. 



ItiM Dec, 1840. William Dodd. 



Suhslitute for Tinning. — We have \iitnessej several interesting experiments 

 calculated to test the success of an important discovery in the art of manu- 

 facturing cast-iron cooking vessels, by Messrs. T. and C. Clarke, the extensive 

 iron -founders of Wolverhampton. English manufacturers of articles tech- 

 nically denominated " hollow ware." have for many years been sorely puzzled 

 concerning an ingenious and beautiful metliod, practised in Germany, of 

 lining iron culinary utensils uith a smooth white enamel, resembling porce- 

 lain, which far surpasses, in point of cleanliness and durability, the English 

 system of " tinning" the interior surface. Indeed, so desirable has this art 

 been considered by our countrymen that, with their usual enterprise, con- 

 siderable sums of inoncy, and a most liberal expenditure of time and talent, 

 have been for many years employed in seeking to discover the process. Until 

 the present instance.however, every ellort proved fruitless. Several of our 

 manufacturers, it is true, have contrived to line the vessels with an enamel 

 equal or superior in appearance to that of the foreign article ; but this enamel 

 cracked, chipped, and would not stand the fire ; and the grand secret, which, 

 of course, is the production of an enamel which shall so expand and contract 

 with the metal as not to chip or crack, remained as much unknown as ever. 

 Messrs. T. and C. Clarke, however, have at length most perfectly succeeded, 

 and having, of course, secure 1 a patent, are now manufacturing an article in 

 every way superior to that of their Continental rivals. The manufacturers of 

 British lioUow ware have alwavs surpassed those of Germany in the lightness 

 and elej;auce of their castings, so th.it Messrs. Clarke are enabled to add this 

 advantage to that of at least equal excellence of enamel. The German 

 enamel is found to wear as lung as the iron vessel itself, but we believe it will 

 scarcely stand the severe test to which we have seen Messrs. Clarke's article 

 subjected— nz.. that of heating an enamelled saucepan to a white heat, and 

 then plunging it suddenly into cold water, until cooled, without either the 

 vessel cracking or the enamel being damaged or discoloured. Another ex- 

 periment consisted in placing one of the vessels filled with water upon a large 

 tire, and allowing it to remain until the water had completely boiled away, 

 and for some minutes afterwards, without in the slightest degree iiijuringthe 

 vessel or iti enamel. The great importance of the applicauon of this dis- 

 covery to our own manufactures is, that the hollow-ware manufactured in 

 this country may be purchased at less than half the price of that imported 

 fjom the Continent. — Staffordstiire Examiner, 



