1841.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHlTECrS JOURNAL. 



261 



publish an extract from the report of M. Hericarb de Thuiy, made to 

 the Societe d' Encouragement, on the improvements introduced by M. 

 Soyez in the moulding of bronze sculptures. 



"This statue 4'25 m. (11 feet) in height, supported on the toe, 

 and bending forward, presented great difficulties in the moulding, and 

 still greater in the casting, as the solidity of the statue depended on 

 the extreme lightness of the upper parts, and the strength of the leg 

 on which it is supported. Had the old methods been resorted to, the 

 figure would most probably have failed, or have been tried in several 

 pieces ; because the upper part being very thin would cool down im- 

 mediately, while the lower part cooling more slowly, would have con- 

 tracted on itself, leaving at the ancles an opening of about 25 milli- 

 metres (au inch), the metal contracting from 12 to 14 millimeires per 

 metre (4 an inch) and the statue would undoubtedly have been lost. 

 To obviate these difficulties, M. Soyez determined upon casting it 

 head downwards, by which he diminished the danger, I say diminished, 

 for in this posture, the mould must have yielded, or the leg broken 

 above the ancle. To provide for this, Jr. Soyez placed on each side of 

 the foot a branch of copper G-6 met. (2t) in.) broad, finishing in a strong 

 head, so as to force the foot to contract on the knee. Further these 

 branches were so managed as to be rather thinner than the leg. Full 

 success crowned the trial of this bold and ingenious innovation, the 

 casting of this admirable statue succeeded in every detail, being per- 

 haps the first time that a figure of this importance was cast without 

 any defect. The thickness of the statue is from 4 to 5 millimetres (a 

 sixth to a fifth of an inch) in the upper part, except the wings, which 

 are only 2 millimetres. The supporting leg is 55 millimetres (2i 

 inches) thick, beginning from the ancle, and progressively diminishes 

 in thickness up to the thigh." 



The monument of July undoubtedly marks a new era in the history 

 of the art of bronze casting, and places France in the first rank in its 

 pursuit, and in order to do justice to M. Soyez, we must mention some 

 of the improvements effected by him. This artist has got rid of 

 the use of iron as a means of consolidating isolated parts of figures, 

 and particularly in supporting members ; he casts these parts full by 

 turning the figure upside down, which is an important innovation. He 

 gets over the resistance of the sand of the mould on the contraction of 

 the metal, not only by the weight of the mould, but by the progressive 

 tenacity of the bronze while cooling. This tenacity, which may be 

 considered as proportional to the area of the section of the part so 

 cast, is increased at pleasure by accessary parts placed in the mould 

 according as they are wanted. It is thus that the Genius of Liberty 

 ■was cast, having as it were a second shapeless leg placed parallel to 

 that which supports the figure, and intended to become at the period 

 of contraction, auxiliary to the statuary leg to which it was united by 

 the two extremities. Thus also was cast the bent back leg of the 

 horse of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy. In order to prevent this leg from 

 breaking in the ham when cooling, the foot was united to the thigh by 

 a strong tenon, which was afterwards chiselled away. 



ENGINEERING WORKS OF THE ANCIENTS, No. 7, 



WORKS OF HERCULES. 



Besides the performance of the Egyptian Hercules already mention- 

 ed, Diodorus Siculus, Book 4th, gives an account of several works of 

 the Greek Hercules. Not to speak of the operations attributed to 

 him at the Straits of Gibraltar, there w ere two hydraulic works in 

 Greece said to have been executed by him. The large champain 

 country about Tempe being all over a stagnant lake, he cut trenches 

 through the lower grounds, and through these trenches drained all the 

 water out of the lake, by which means were reclaimed all the pleasant 

 fields of Thessaly as far as the River Peneus. In Beotia he did quite 

 the contrary, for to punish the Minyoe it is related that he caused a 

 river to overflow the whole country, and turn it into a standing pool. 

 In his passage of the Alps from Gaul, an expedition in which he was 

 the predecessor of Hannibal and Napoleon, he levelled and opened the 

 rough and difficult ways to make way for bis army and carriages. In 

 Italy Hercules performed some remarkable works about the Lake 

 Avernus, for whereas the lake extended as far as the sea, Hercules is 

 said by casting up earth, to have stopped up its current, and to have 

 made the way near the sea, called the Herculean way. — In Sicily to 

 express his good wishes for the inhabitants, he caused a pond or tank 

 to be sunk near the city of the Agrineans, four furlongs in compass, 

 which he caUed after his own name. — In Greece Hercules had the 

 further merit of having diverted the River Achelous into another 

 channel which he had dug for it. This irrigated a considerable part 

 of the country, and was done to please the Calydonians. It gave rise 



to the poetical fable that Hercules fought with Achelous transformed 

 into the shape of a bull, and in the conflict cut oft" one of his horns and 

 gave it to the Etolians. This they call Amalthea's horn, in which the 

 poets feign that there grows all manner of summer fruit, as grapes, 

 apples, and such like, not the only time by the bye that engineers have 

 filled the horn of plenty. 



DED.\.LnS — ENGINEERING FESTIVALS. 



Diodorus gives a long account of Dedalus, from which we have 

 made the following extracts. Dedalus was an Athenian of the family 

 of the Erechthids, being the son of Hymetion, son of Eupalamus, son 

 of Erechtheus, King cf Athens. He was extraordinarily ingenious, and 

 very studious in the art of architecture, an excellent statuary and en- 

 graver upon stone, and improved those arts with many notable inven- 

 tions. Dedalus was obliged to flee to Crete for the murder of his 

 nephew Talus, who was killed by him out of envy. To Dedalus is 

 attributed the invention of sails for ships. After leaving Crete he 

 staid with Cocalus and the Sicilians, in whose country Diodorus, a 

 native, says that works of his were to be seen in that day. 



While on the subject of Dedalus we must not omit what the Bio- 

 graphie Universelle says on the subject of festivals established in his 

 honour. When the Plateans returned to their native city, 311 B.C., 

 after an exile of sixty years, they instituted an annual festival called 

 Dedalia, which every sixtieth year was celebrated with extraordinary 

 magnificence. All the trees cut down were made into statues callei 

 Daedala. The name of Dedalia was also given to a Theban fete in 

 honour of the reconciliation effected between Jupiter and Juno by 

 Cithero. 



talcs. 



Talus is sometimes called Atalus, Calus, and Acalus ; he was the 

 nephew of Dedalus, as before mentioned, and murdered by him. Being 

 the son of Dedalus's sister, and but a young boy, he was bred up with 

 his uncle to learn his trade. Talus for ingenuity exceeded his uncle, 

 and invented the potter's wheel ; he got likewise a serpent's jaw bone, 

 and with it sawed a little piece of wood asunder, then in imitation of 

 the tooth in the jaw, he made the like in iron, and so he found out an 

 instrument for sawing the greatest pieces of timber. He invented 

 likewise the turner's lathe and many other tools. 



PROMETHEUS — CRETAN HERCULES — VESTA — MINERVA — VXTLCAN. 



Prometheus is according to some the first who stole fire from the 

 gods, and bestowed it upon men (Book 5th), but the truth is he found, 

 out the way how to strike fire out of flint or stone. The Idsei Dactyli 

 are also said to have found out the use of fire. They discovered the 

 nature of iron and brass to the inhabitants of the Antisapterians, near 

 the mountain Berecynthus, and taught the manner of working it, and 

 because they were the first discoverers of many things of great use 

 and advantage to mankind, they were adored" and worshipped as 

 gods. One of them they say was called Hercules, a person of great 

 renown. After them were nine Curetes who invented swords and 

 helmets. — Vesta invented the building of houses, and upon this ac- 

 count almost everybody sets up her statue in their houses, and adores 

 her with divine honours. — Minerva was the introducer of architecture, 

 and also according to our chronicler of the use of garments, so that 

 architecture and tailoring according to him boast one common parent. 

 Vulcan they say found out the working of iron, brass, silver and gold, 

 and all other metals that require forging by fire; and the general use 

 of fire in all other cases was found out by him. 



XERXES — AGRIGENTUM — PHEAX — THEjaSTOCLES — DIVERSION OF 

 THE NILE. 



The Eleventh Book of Diodorus, is on Greek history, he mentions 

 Xerxes throwing a bridge over the Hellespont, and cutting a canal 

 through Mount Athos. 



The Agrigentines in Sicily having acquired great spoil by the defeat 

 of the Carthaginians, took the greater part of the prisoners into the 

 public service, and employed them in cutting and hewing stone. They 

 not only set them to build the largest of the temples, but made water 

 courses and sewers underground, so great and wide, that though the 

 work itself was contemptible, yet when done and seen was worthy of 

 admiration. The overseer and master of the work was one Pheax, an 

 excellent artificer, from whom these conduits were called Pheaces. 

 The Agrigentines likewise formed a tank for fish, at great cost and 

 expense, seven furlongs in compass, and twenty cubits deep. This by 

 neglect of succeeding ages, filled up with mud, and at last through 

 length of time turned wholly into dry ground ; but the soil beingvery 

 fat and rich, it was planted, and yielded the city a large revenue. 



Themistocles has the merit of projecting and carrying into effect the 

 construction of a haven at the PyrEeus, by which the naval power of 

 Athens was greatly increased. "The account of his negociations with 



