1850.") 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



241 



CORN MAGAZINE AT NOVOGEORGIEVSK. 



{With an Engraving, Plate IX.) 



The chief trade in Russian Poland is in the supply of wheat, as 

 is well known to those accustomed to corn-law discussion, and it is 

 an incident of that trade to be subject to very great fluctuations. 

 For the whole of the exports Dantzic is the port, receiving the 

 produce by the Vistula and its affluents, the Bug and the Narew, 

 and the harvests from Cracow to Thorn, and being the only place 

 of shipment. The trade at Dantzic is, to a great extent, carried 

 on with England, and by English houses, or with English means; 

 and in cheap years the Polish corn is bought up, and was formerly 

 kept in the granaries of Dantzic until a favourable state of the 

 market and duty here allowed of its shipment; but now that the 

 Customs restrictions are removed, cai-goes are bought in Poland, 

 and warehoused here. However beneficial it is to the English 

 merchant to buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest, 

 yet, to the Polish landowner or tax-payer it is a matter of great 

 moment, and therefore of no less to' the Russian government, 

 tliat he should not be forced, by his necessities, to sell at the 

 lowest price to the English agents. Tlie Emperor of Russia, 

 taking this state of affairs into consideration, issued an edict, 

 decreeing, that on various points of the Vistula magazines shall 

 be established, in which, during low prices of corn, every one shall 

 have leave to warehouse grain, and by means of the Polish Bank, 

 obtain advances, so as to be in a position to hold out until a better 

 market can be obtained. 



In pursuance of this edict, a point was chosen at tlie junction of 

 the navigable Narew with the Vistula, close to the fortress of New 

 Georgievsk, formerly called Modlin, and 22 miles from AVarsaw. 

 The Emperor directed that a magazine should be established there, 

 with the d<uible purpose of being a corn warehouse to receive the 

 produce of the Bug, the Narew, and the Vistula, on the way to 

 Dantzic, and of being a granary for the fortress of New Georgievsk, 

 which is one of the largest garrisons in Europe. Tlie execution 

 of this project was put under the direction of what is called the 

 Polish Bank, an institution somewhat after the Birniingham model, 

 which issues paper money, and forms tradiiiff establishments, 

 among which is an ironfoundry and factorv. The building was 

 likewise to serve the purposes of the Bank, by giving it a place of 

 deposit for the crops on which advances were made. 



The place chosen is on a tongue of land between the rivers 

 Narew on the right, and Vistula on the left; and which being 

 subject to the inundations of the two streams, is insulated during 

 much of the year. On the right bank of the Narew is the town 

 of Modlin and citadel of New Georgievsk. Under its guns, in 

 the middle of the waters, is the warehouse. On the left bank of 

 the Vistula, commanded by the citadel and the warehouse, is a 

 large outwork, to keep up the communications. 



The directions of the Emperor were, that not only a warehouse 

 should be built, but that its lower story should be bomb-proof, in 

 casemates, and pierced with embrasures, to carry guns both on the 

 side of the Vistula and the Narew. The architect charged with 

 the direction of the work was Mr. Jacob Gay, though of what 

 nation he is we are unaware. 



The situation, as we have intimated, is very low, with a slimy 

 soil, and occasionally flooded by both rivers. It, therefore, became 

 necessary to lay the foundations on firm pilework, the more parti- 

 cularly as they were to carry enclosure walls of unusual thickness, 

 and a building of five stories in height. Besides, it was necessary 

 to provide an embankment*! the Narew side, on whicli the Ware- 

 house could be placed above the greatest rise of the water, which, 

 in 1S13, was 23 feet. In order to provide against any further 

 extraordinary flood, and the upheaving of great blocks and flakes 

 of ice accumulating in the neighliouring islands of the Vistula, it 

 was resolved that the lowest floor should be laid two feet above the 

 water-mark of 1813. 



The first works began in 1835, and the driving of the piles and 

 laying of the foundations was entrusted to Heer J. Singhels, an 

 eiigineer from Holland, then in the service of the Polish Bank. 

 He began with a tascine-dam in the bed of the xNarew, 2(i feet from 

 the hue ot the foundation. The piles driven under the front walls 

 and piers were 2g00 in number, each 30 feet long and 10 inches 

 square, shod with iron. These works were carried out in the 

 winter ot 1836 and summer of 1837, at the time of the lowest 

 water, which varies very much in the Vistula, for though at some 

 times of the year boats drawing more than tuo feet water cannot 

 navigate it, yet it will suddenly rise 20 feet. 



In order to carry on the woi-ks as free from water as possible, 



No. 155.— Vol. XIII.— August, 1850. 



a 12-horse power steam-engine was set up, and kept pumping day 

 and night, until the foundations were got six feet above the level 

 of the water. In the month of March, 1837, the heigiit of the 

 foundations had reached 10 feet above the water level, when an 

 unexpected flood, which rose 15 feet, burst into the works, and 

 suspended them. On the waters falling, a fortnight after, it was 

 found that the walls and arches of the foundations were in nowise 

 injured, but that the chief mischief was in carrying off some of 

 the materials prepared. In the autumn of 1837 the embankment 

 and foundations were fully brought to an end. The whole em- 

 bankment on the Narew side is faced with strong sandstone, from 

 some very rich quarries lying on the Vistula, about 150 miles from 

 Warsaw. This stone has been likewise much used in other parts 

 of the construction. The smallest stone used for facing the 

 embankment or retaining wall, is 8 feet long, 2 feet broad, and 1^ 

 feet thick. The thickness of the walls behind the sandstone and 

 the inner foundation are of mountain granite, with strong layers 

 of hydraulic lime, and all hollows and interstices of the stone are 

 filled in with broken granite and hydraulic lime. 



The inner foundation is carried on piers of granite and arches 

 of brick set with hydraulic lime, and each pier is bonded with iron 

 thrice in its height. All the foundations are filled-in with earth 

 to the height of the embankmant, as cellar room is not wanted, 

 and the whole space before the warehouse on the Vistula side is 

 raised by filling to the same height as the quay wall on the Narew, 

 and secured where it lies against the stream of the Vistula by a 

 dam 200 rods long, constructed on the most approved plan of those 

 in Holland. On tlie top of the basement wall, which batters, is a 

 balcony of cast-iron, and on the wall are strong hooks for making 

 fast barges and boats. 



The cost of the basement wall and embankment was 23,000/. 

 (155,000 silver roubles), and in consequence of numberless unfore- 

 seen difficulties, exceeded the estimate by 9000/. In April, 1838, 

 Mr. Gay began the building of the magazine, and having the ma- 

 terials ready prepared, and the labour of 250 Russian masons, the 

 vaulting-in of the bomb-proof casemates was effected in the July 

 following. 



Ill the same month the building was inspected by the Emperor, 

 and he gave permission for several deviations, which ^Mr. Gay's 

 experience had pointed out. In November, 1838, the whole 

 building was roofed-in, and most part of it covered with zinc 

 against the approaching winter, so that in th« ensuing year 

 nothing was expected to be done but the completion of the roofing 

 and the laying of the floors. In the course of 1838 they used up 

 11,000,000 bricks, 60,000 cubic feet of sandstone, and above 30,0 

 logs, 40 feet long and 10 inches by 12. 



The prejiaration of these materials was attended with consider- 

 able difficulty, as the neighbouring fortress was likewise in pro- 

 gress, and for which 50,000,000 bricks were yearly required ; be- 

 sides which, the site of the building was confined by the waters, 

 and all the materials had to be raised from the river to a heiglit of 

 60 feet by slow and toilsome labour. Single blocks of sandstone 

 for the vaulting of the gateways, for corner stones, and for 

 the cornice on which the fourth and fifth floors rest, and which 

 measured 30 or iO cubic feet, were dragged up from the barges in 

 theNarew by the physical strength of the Russian masons. 



The progress of the works was slower in 1839, but on the 13th 

 of July the building was near its completion, when the roofers, at 

 a time when a gale was blowing, by some want of care, let red- 

 hot coals fall on the woodwork of "the roof, which catching, fire 

 spread throughout the building, and in four hours all tliat was con- 

 sumable was in ruins. On subsequent examination it was found that 

 none of the walls of brickwork had lost any of their strength, 

 although the beams which kept them together had been burnt 

 through. The bomb-proofs received no injury. The sandstone on 

 tlie \'istula facade was the most affected. The whole cornice on 

 which the overhanging upper floors rest was so much injured as to 

 require many repairs. It was small consolation to the architect in 

 such vexation to find that the construction of his walls was good 

 uniler an unexpected proof, but he had at least the comfort of 

 being entrusted with the re-i'onstruction. 



In the re-construction, iron columns were in many cases intro- 

 duced to carry the girders, and Mr. Gay found it necessary to 

 remove many of the blocks in the cornice which had been injured 

 by tlie fire. For this purpose a scaffolding was put up, the injured 

 stones taken out, and new ones put in. At last, tliese and the 

 other works were carried out and completed; and the magazine 

 being filled with wheat, and the guns on the lower story being 

 fired, the building was found to stand all tests, and it is' said to 

 have since remained in a good condition. la the summer of 1840 



■6i 



