122 THE BLOCK MACHINERY, 



the result might have been I know not, but nothing could have been 

 easier accomplished than striking them, and only in fifteen fathoms water. 

 I had been after these whales three hours, and they never went above 300 

 yards from our boats, and at that distance turned their huge heads 

 towards the boats, and got away. I gave up following them towards 

 evening; had I struck them at the commencement of our chase, when they 

 \vere perfectly tame, I might have succeeded, even with the sun fish 

 spear and line, owing to the small depth of water. " 



THE BLOCK MACHINERY, PORTSMOUTH DOCK-YARD, 



These unparalleled machines were the invention of Mr. Brunei, sen., 

 the celebrated Engineer, who took out a patent for them in 1802, and in 

 J804 Government resolved to erect a set of them: this was accordingly 

 done, and forty-four machines were set to work by a steam engine of 

 thirty-two horse power, erected by Boulton and Watt. The manual 

 labor required is simply to supply the wood as it is wanted, and to 

 remove the blocks from one machine to another till they are completely 

 finished. In order to convey some idea of these machines, and the effects 

 they produce, we shall trace the whole process, from the rough timber to 

 the finished blocks. By means of four sawing machines, distinguished 

 for the ingenuity of their construction, (viz.) the straight cross-cutting 

 saw, the circular cross-cutting saw, the reciprocating ripping saw, and 

 the circular ripping saw, the timber is cut into parallelepipeds of the 

 proper size for the blocks. The blocks in this rude state are taken to the 

 boring machines, of which five are used for the purpose of boring a hole 

 for the centre pin, and another at right angles of this at the same time for 

 the commencement of the mortice which is to contain the sheave. 

 From this machine, the blocks are taken to the morticing machines, of 

 which three are used. These beautiful machines give motion to one or 

 more chisels in a vertical direction, which mortice out the cavities for 

 the reception of the sheaves. A chip of the thickness of a piece of 

 pasteboard is cut out with the most wonderful accuracy, and these chips 

 are prevented from accumulating by means of a piece of steel at the 

 back part of each dhisel, which drives them out. The chisels make 

 from one hundred and ten to one hundred and fifteen strokes every 

 minute. When the cavities are morticed out, the blocks are taken to 

 the corner saws, of which there are three, by which the angles are out 

 off in succession, by means of a circular saw fixed on a maundril. When 



