﻿92 



DE. H. C. SOEBT ON THE APPLICATION OF [May I908, 



six weeks, and then, although soft, was not liquid. The water was 

 removed and the whole left several months to dry, when it greath'' 

 contracted in volume ; but, though looking quite solid, it was found 



Table IV. 



Depth of water 2'30 inches. 



Hours. 



1 

 4 



I :: 

 1 .. 



li- 

 ll .. 



2 .. 



Bays. 



1 ... 

 2 



3 !!! 



4 ... 



5 ... 



6 ... 



7 ... 



8 ... 

 Dry 

 Solid 



Mild 

 at bottom. 



•12 

 •2.3 

 •35 

 •40 

 •35 

 •30 

 •28 

 •97 



•20 

 •18 

 ■16 

 •15 

 •14 

 •13 

 •12 

 •12 

 •03 

 •02 



2'90 inches. 



Clear water. 



•05 

 •14 

 •20 

 •30 

 •50 

 •60 

 •70 

 •80 



Days. 



1 



2 



3 '.'.'.'.'. 



4 



5 



6 



7 



8 



Dry ... 

 Solid 



Liquid mud. 



2-85 

 2-76 

 270 

 2-60 

 2-40 

 230 

 220 

 2-10 



133 

 1^08 



by the oil-method (described later) to contain only two-thirds of its 

 volume of solid material, the rest being invisible cavities. Table V. 

 (p. 193) shows the amount of subsidence in hundredths of an 

 inch, smoothed down, for every two days until the volume became 

 permanent, and in the lower part the constant volume when wet 

 and when dry. 



As shown in Table Y, the successive differences prove that 

 the predominant influences vary greatly as subsidence goes on. 

 During the last few weeks the first differences are nearly equal, 

 as though the rate of subsidence were nearly uniform ; whereas 

 during the first few days, it is not untU we arrive at the fourth 

 order of differences that they become nearly equal. Towards 

 the end, when no further subsidence occurs, although there was 

 five times as much water as solid material, it is as though the 

 gravity of the minute particles were just balanced by the cohesion 

 of a film of water. For about four weeks before this, the rate of 

 subsidence varied nearly as the amount of space through which the 

 rising water had to escape upwards, but in the first few days the 

 rate approaches the fourth power of the time, as in the case of 

 water passing through small pipes. It will thus be seen that we 

 have to deal with a very complex subject. 



