AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 601 



on, continually, for any required number of stories. The spaces 

 between the columns are tilled up with windows, doors, and 

 panels, which may be ornamented to suit any taste. 



It may be here remarked that, in certain cases, the first layer 

 of sills may be dispensed with altogether; and also that, immedi- 

 ately before uniting the pieces, it is the practice of Mr. Bogardus 

 to apply a coating of paint to those parts which are designed to 

 be in contact with others; thus rendering the joints absolutely 

 air-tight. 



From this description it is plain, that the separate parts are so 

 united as to form one stable whole, equivalent in strength to a 

 single piece of cast-iron. Hence, such a structui-e must be far 

 more firm and solid than one composed of numerous parts, united 

 only by a feeble bond of mortar. On this account it may be raised 

 to a height vastly greater than by any other know^n means, with- 

 out impairing its stability in the least; and, were all the columns 

 of any story removed or destroyed by violence, except the four 

 corner ones, or others equivalent in position, the building would 

 still remain firm as an arch; and the greater its height, the firmer 

 it would be. 



It is also plain that such a building may be erected with extra- 

 ordinary fixcility, and at all seasons of the year. No plumb is 

 needed ; no square, no level. As fast as the pieces can be handled, 

 they may be adjusted and secured by the most ignorant Avorkman : 

 the building cannot fail to be perpendicular and firm. Wedges, 

 mortises, and chaii's, are all ignored : tliey are the subsequent in- 

 ventions of interested individuals, in order to evade the patent; 

 and to render less dangerous, or less apparent, their imperfect 

 and unstable joints. Strength is secured in the simplest and 

 surest way, and at the least possible expense. 



It also follows that, a building once erected, it may be taken to 

 pieces with the same facility and despatch, without injuring or 

 destroying any of its parts, and then re-erected elsewhere with 

 the same perfection as at first. The size and form of the pieces 

 greatly favor their portability, which has enabled Mr. Eogardus 

 to construct them in New- York, and export them to distant cities. 

 This quality is of the greatest importance; for it renders every 

 cast-iron building not only a present, but a permanent addition to 

 our national wealth. Who can estimate the annual saving to the 

 city of New-York alone, \vere all its buildings of this character ? 

 The progress of improvement would no longer be accompanied 

 with the work of demolition; instead of destruction, there would 



