56 Mr. Arthur Deane on 



So far, we have l)een considering the advantages of wood 

 over metal. We must not, however, overlook some of the 

 disadvantages. 



Disadvantages : — 



1. Wood cannot be melted or cast. Rods, or thin sheets of 



wood, however, can be bent when steamed, and when 

 reduced to pulp can be moulded into almost any shape. 



2. It shrinks and expands with variations of moisture a good 



deal more than metal under ordinary A'ariations of 

 temperature. 



3. Being more easily crushed than iron, it is not so well 



suited for bearing the greatest weight or for resisting 

 heavy blows. 



4. For commercial buildings greater strength is obtained in 



steel, less depth of girder is required, and thus ;* gain 

 in height. 



Sir T. G. Jackson, R.A., in his book "Reason in Archi- 

 tecture," 1906, }). 171, says: "Iron construction is really still 

 in an experimental stage ; we do not yet know how it Mnll 

 stand the test of time. Meanwhile, all experience hitherto tends 

 to show that an Architect who wishes his building to go down to 

 posterity will do wisely to let iron play as small a part as possible 

 in his construction. It has been prophesied that 30 years hence 

 no one will employ iron in his buildings, at all events, as the main 

 element in their fabric. The failure of a single tie-rod seems to 

 have been the cause of the collapse of the roof at Charing Cross 

 Station, and it is certain that no monster roof of that kind will 

 ever be put up again. To say nothing of great railways and other 

 engineering works, it is disquieting to think of the miles and miles 

 of streets in London and other towns where the whole of the 

 upper storeys rest on girders accessible to atmospheric changes, 

 liable to rust and fatigue and possible injury by vibration, which 

 no one can examine and which cannot be repainted." 



It would be interesting to know the opinions of our local 

 architects and civil engineers seeing it is 12 years since these 



