1850.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. 



33^ 



ON FARM BUILDINGS. 



A very valuable improvemeui bus been lately suggested in the erection 

 of farm buildings, that the whole arra be rouffd over like the terminus of a 

 railway. This idea is very little kuowo, and will, do doubt have to cou- 

 teud with much oppoT-iliou, It will protect the animals, prevent the heavy 

 rains from iujnring ihe dung, and protect the manure from beinj; dried 

 on the surtace by the hoi suns of the eaily summer. For such roofs, 

 corrugated iron ia the most proper, as its owu btrength will stand over a 

 moderate width, and it does not rrquire any supporting substance on 

 which to be laid. The asphhtted ft-lts are combu.->libIe, ami itquire an 

 under i"oof, on wliich they are tixed, and ou l)olh these poinis Uiej are 

 iufeiior to the corrugated iron. The three uings of the tannery will be 

 loofed over with the thin iron, at ilie common clevatiou. In coveiiiig the 

 widtli of 20 feet over walls, three rows of rooting will cover the interior 

 of the farmery, aud may range north and south, and will rest ou cast-iron 

 pdlars, which are placed in the subdivision walls of the feeding jards. 

 The roofing can extend over the rick yard and the railway, and place all under 

 one roof. If agriculture would look to tiie miglily, and al the same time 

 the ver} conveuienl joint performances of machinery aud railways, il would 

 quickly perceive that many useful moditicaiions ot tiieir utility might be 

 introduceil into the practical operations of it*, own departments. It may be 

 very reasonably proposed, that till ihe articles of agncullur:il produce, 

 which are cbunged in form for the purpose of being used, should be placed 

 on the second floor of the farmery, or carried to it, and hence let down in 

 the prepared tonu lu the places where they are wanted. \Vhen it is 

 preferred tu cut the tuiuips into laikcn aud the hay lulo chaff, aud when 



THE QUARRY OF THE LIVERPOOL DOCKS. 



Kilmabreck Quarry is the source whence all supplies of granite blocks 

 and paving stones for the Liverpool Dock Quays are derived. Kilmabreck 

 is situate near Blackcraig, in Galloway, and has of lute years become a 

 place of some importance. The quarry was opened about twenty years 

 ago; and the clergyman of the parish gives the following interesting 

 description of the modus operandi: — ** The working of this quarry, in 

 1S34, cost nearly I5,00t)/., including rent and tonnage of vessels, 6cc. It 

 is wrought in three breasts, about 30 feet high each, the one above and 

 behind the other. The operations are conducted with much skill and 

 regularity. At one time powder vvas very inui;h employed in (his work ; 

 tifly, sixty, and as high as seventy pounds were used in one blast. These 

 explosions were felt and heard at a considerable disiauce, as the slight 

 shocks of an earthquake. The use of powder, however, except in open- 

 ing up corners, has been for some time entirely giv^-n up. Blasting was 

 found to shake and frequently to destroy some of the finest blocks. Drills, 

 wedges, crowbars, sledge-hammers, and cranes, are now principally u-^ed 

 in quarr} lug even the largest masses; aud ills truly astonishing to see 

 with what facility even mountains can be removed by handicraft. In the 

 quarry the rocks are stratified The strata are perpendicular, and vary 

 in thickness from nine inches 'o five feet. U hen a n>f(ss is to be separated, 

 wedges are introduced between the strata, and are driven down with 

 sledgehammers until a separ;itiou is efj'ected, A large crow-bar, well ■, 

 maun- d, is then applied, to throw down the mass to the bottom of the ' 

 quarry. This arcomplished, the next thing is to cut up the stone info '■ 

 blocks as large as the materials will admit of; and this part of the work 

 is, perhaps, Ihe most interesting process of thq, whole. The rude and j 

 unshapely miiss may be five feet thick, and ten or twelve feet long, and , 

 must be cut inio the form of a parallelogram, to fit with mathematical | 

 precision in its own appointed place in the docks. Holes are bored four 

 or five inches deep, with a drill or jumper, aud eight or nine inches apart, | 

 in the line the stone is to be split A block of fourteen tons is soon cut to ' 

 llie size ami shape required by tlie power of ' the plug and feather.' 

 When a hole has been bored of the required depth, two wedges are : 

 introduced into the hole, with the thick end down, and by driving 

 the one down into the centre, the combined power of three wedges is 

 thus obtained, and made to bear upon every hole, and thus split the 

 stone. A few holes charged w ith plug and feather will be found sufficient . 

 to split a very large stone. In splilling granite in this way, the qiarry- i 

 men are careful to place the holes and the wedges parallel with the reed i 

 or grain of the stone. This arrangement renders the process comparatively ; 

 easy ; and the skilful workmen can shape their blocks and paving stones 

 with as much comfort as if they were cutting wood in a saw-mill. As a 

 proof of the extraordinary power of the '* plug aud feather," it may be 

 slated, upon the authority of the present skdful overseer, that masses of 

 500 tons are sometimes lifted or removed by their aid. There is a compa- 

 lively narrow ridge of granite rock running paral!--! with the shore from 

 Creetown to the entrance of Fleet Bay, and vvhich is probably connected 

 with the great mass of the same formation of v\hich Cairnsmore forms the 

 wes' rn side, though divided on the surface by a stratum of grej wacke. 

 The situation of the quarry has thus been well chosen ; for the blocks, 

 when cut and shapen, are transported by a short railway to the shore 

 below, and there sliipped in vessels belonging to the Dock Trustees, who 

 have a little fleet *>f what are called *' stone boats." continually sailing 

 betwixt V\ igiown Bay and the Mer;^ey. — Liverpool Chronicle. 



the inconteslible improvement comes into use of cutting all straws that aie 

 used for litter — then it is evident that all the articles in the crude fuim 

 must be placed on the higher floor, and de>ceDd from it in the prepaied 

 coD'litiou. In the improved use of threshing machinery, the unihrc^hed 

 grain is raised from the ground-floor to the f^eeding board by means of a 

 travelling carrier that is driven by the machinery; or it may be carried 

 from the rirks to the second floor on a hifjh railway, that is placed to tho 

 necessary height. The grain from the ricks is laid upon a light wagon, 

 which runs upon the railway to the feeding board The power of steam 

 will drive machinery to almost any extent ; and cutters may be placed ou 

 both sides of the engine for the purpose of cutting the straw, hay, and roots. 

 The straw may be taken as it falls from the shakers, and put ioto tlie 

 adjoining cullers of the kind to cut il into lengths of 3 or 4 inches for tho 

 purpose of litter. The hay may be cut into chaff by cutters closely adjoiu- 

 iug. On the other side of the engine the roots may be cut by a similar 

 application ; aud can be raised to the box of the knives by a narrow tra- 

 velling carrier from the ground floor , and in quantij as the cullers are able 

 to manufacture. The cut fuod may be laid in stores, whence il can be 

 carried in light wagons ou railways to the required places, and lei down 

 in spouts. The railways for this purpose roust run to the necessary posi- 

 tions for feeding cattle and horses, and for strewing litter over the >ards. 

 It is a good thing to have a railway on the ground between two rows of 

 ricks, on which a waL;on conveys the grain to the lower floor of the barn, 

 whence a travelling carrier raises it to the second floor, where the machiuerv 

 receives it to be scutched. A suggestion not much ditlereut, places the 

 railway betweeu the rows of ricks on cast-iron pillars, that stand at the 

 height of the second floor of the machinery, and on which the grain i% 

 carried by a wagon to the feeding board. A third idea may be published, 

 that the ricks of grain stand singly on four-wheeled platforms resting on a 

 branch railway at a sharp angle of divergence with the tnain trunk, which 

 leads to the threshing barn. When the rick is wanted to be threshed, the 

 platform is run along the railway vvhich inclines gently to the barn, where 

 an outside shed receives the rick under cover from rain, during the lime of 

 threshing. The barn stands across the railvvay, and receives the rick 

 witiioul the labour of turuing such a heavy body toa cross direcliou. The 

 platforms are returned to the position on the branch railway, in order to 

 receive a rick of the next year's growth. The ricks and machinery are 

 covered by the corrugated irou roof of the farmery extending over them. 

 The suggestion of having a second floor over the entire area of farm build- 

 ings, on which to perform all the manufacturing work in the preparatioa 

 ot the difJeient articles for use, may be reckoned a chimera, or a wild saliy 

 of the imagination, and with it will be classed the idea of placing eai h rii k 

 of grain upou a four wheeled platform, aud running them entire to the barn, 

 as each may be required to be threshed. Bui from a due consideration, 

 there certainly appears nothing improbable in the feasibi.ny of its adoption, 

 aud nothing impossible in the application and execution of the various 

 parts of the composition. It is only an extension of the principle that h ks 

 already been used on a minor scale and for smaller purposes. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, 



NOTZS or THS MONTH. 



New Port in the Mediterranean. — The Constitutionnel con- 

 tains the following:— "Bastia is the wealthiest and most populous 

 town in Corsica. Situated opposite to the Gulf of Genoa, within 

 a few hours' journey from the coasts of Italy and France, on the 

 road to the Adriatic, Sicily, and the Levant, it has become the 

 most important centre of traffic in the counti'y; and of itself 

 possesses one-fourth of the navy. Struck with this importance 

 and with the insufficiency of the old port, the govei-nment applied 

 for a credit of 3,000,00()f., with the addition of a subvention of 

 500,000f. furnished by the town of Bastia for the construction of 

 a new port. The works are now in active progress. The port will 

 be of vast dimensions. It will inclose a surface of more than 12 

 hectares (26 acres), one-half of which will present a depth of (i 

 metres (19 feet), and of which 2 hectares at least will afford a 

 depth of more than 8 metres (26 feet). A mole in the direction 

 of north to south will shelter the port on its widest side. A 

 refuge will thus be created from the most dangerous storms of 

 those seas, not only for trading vessels of the largest tonnage, but 

 also for the war navy, an important result upon a coast whicli, for 

 an extent of tO leagues from the Cape Corse to Porto Vecehio does 

 not aflFord a single harbour of refuge." 



Raii^way Station. — Although there is a station at Chester 

 1000 feet long, and which cost 100,000/., defrayed by four com- 

 panies, the London and North- Western have decided upon a sepa- 

 rate establishment in consequence of the annoyance and litigation 

 attendant upon their present locale. A deputation of the directors 

 has chosen the site, and plans and estimates are being prepared. 

 AVe have not heard whether Mr. Philip Hardwick is to contribute 

 the architectural features, but we presume they will be under his 

 charge as the Company's architect, 



