E D D

335

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common run of modern buildings, even of the

0r Sl * e > are composed of pieces in general not exceeding

avpo Slx hundred-weight, except where columns, archi

'-s, ° x . „

sabl

size

’Cornices, and other parts are to be formed, that indis-

ani? equire la >-g e s ' n gl e pieces ; because stones of this,.i. hulk are capable of being handled without the use

lack!

of

PcrpgA 1 ? 8 ’ or purchases, unless where they are to be raised8 eaer a i ICu ' ai 'ly: yet it appeared to me, that this choice ofWin,, Itla gnitude resulted only from the workmen’s notWt nf 0 ° Inmol| ly attained all that expertness in the manage-8 Wen mec hanic powers that they might have ; in con-®'ty 0 (. e °f which, they avoid, wherever they can, the neces-°f tli e ®j®pl°ying them. This arises not from the real naturel^ight ■'*’ w hen properly understood ; for a stone of a tonSboy * S ’ "i |en hoisted by a proper tackle, and power ofWrt er s ’ as soon and as easily set in its place, as one of a„ °‘_that weight; and, in reality, needs much lesshew-

®il up 13 necessary for the preparation of four stones to^ 4 tn e sa me space; nor need this reasoning stop at stonesare R , We ‘ght, but it might proceed even to as large sizesW to l>e found in the ruins of Balbec, if there were

«a

th e 0llVe niences of other kinds to set on the opposite sideW { 0 ^ Ues tion, as well as the want of quarries in this king-‘‘ t^uce stones of that magnitude.

jj ®. s ‘ z e of the stones that could be used in the Eddy-W „«‘thou ae seemed limited by the practicability of land-iei -I 1 !* 011 t * ie roc k : for as nothing but small vessels, thatl 0 tl gai(V I y mana g ea ble, could possibly deliver their cargoes» 0 *"' le roc k, with any reasonable prospect of safety;

fWW . . Vessels could deliver very large stones, because theWu etn , 1Sln g an d falling of the vessels in the gut amounted. °^er at ^ to the difference of three or four feet, even in^ Weather, when it was very practicable for a vesselera. j n cage after a stone was raised from

toWatea "e t

u er e;

h «oo r p 80 tnat in case, alter a stone wasj '‘itch ° t ' le vessel, her gunnel should take a swing, so as^ sn t) ' ln ^. er t ' le stone, one of such a magnitude as we are* ’ and ) S ' n ^’ 011 *"' le vessel's rising, must infallibly sinkp^'tig t j lle nce it appeared, that much of the safety in deli-h ^ le cargoes would depend upon having the singleJWd 1 to exceed such weight as could be expeditiouslya, ' < ' got out of the way of the vessel, by a moderateH Svg,j 0 bands, and by such sort of tackles as could betij'vic r °tn the rock to the store-vessel each tide: and on^ °f the whole matter, it appeared to me very prac-(Whd ?. ' a 'id such pieces of stone upon the rock, as in( r ‘al]y cot much exceed a ton-weight; though occa-fl,' 1 'lig “ticular pieces might amount to two tons.C ft »in e ! enera l s ‘ ze °f our building stones beingill Wvy u P on at a ton-weight, those would have been farH ' 6 n° ex P e ditiously transferred and managed, even* T yard > unless our machinery rendered that easy,jijpWs,; au 'd otherwise be difficult, without too great anill ^ of '“bour : and as the moving and transferring the^ne in the work-yard would be greatly increasedti/> by the very mode of attaining a certainty ing?.? Vor b together upon the rock ; this considerationa 1 ' t ' le more necessary to be able to load upon atli .““crc the different pieces from one part of the

thus

yM if e .. ot ' ler » with as much facility (comparatively speak-Vn “1 l6y ' lad been so many bricks : for, that we mightyW j Perfect certainty in putting the work ultimatelytll its place upon the rock, it did not appear to be

y to at the stones should all be hewn as exactly as poS'that fitted each other ; but it was farther‘ at the stones in every course should be triedSly t |e ‘r real situation in respect to each other, and* Marked, that every stone, after the course was

taken asunder, could be replaced in the identical position inwhich it lay upon the platform, within the fortieth part of aninch. Nor was this alone sufficient; for every course mustnot only be tried singly together upon the platform, andmarked, but it must have the course next above it put uponit, and marked in the same manner, that every two conti-guous courses might fit each other on the outside, and preventan irregularity in the outline: and this indeed, in effect,amounted to the platforming of every course twice : so that,in this way of working, every stone must be no less than sixtimes upon the carriage :—1st. When brought into the yardfrom the ship, to carry it to the place of deposition, tillwanted to be worked.—2ndly. When taken up and carriedto the shed to be worked.—3rdly. After being wrought, tobe returned to its place of deposition.—4thly. When takenup to be carried to the platform.—5thly. When finished onthe platform, to be returned to its place of deposition.—6thly.When taken up to be carried to the jetty, to be loaded onboard a vessel to go to sea.

“ It might, at first sight, appear superfluous to try thecourses together upon each other, as the under and uppersides of all the courses were planes : and, in case the workcould have been put together upon the rock in the same waythat common masonry generally is done, it would have beenso: that is, if we could have begun our courses by settingthe outside pieces first, then it would have been very practi-cable to have regulated the inside pieces thereto ; but as ourhope of expedition depended upon certainty in every part ofour progress, this required us to be in a condition to resista storm at every step: the outside stones therefore, uncon-nected with the inner ones, would have scarce any fasteningbesides their own weight, and would be subject to the mostimmediate and greatest shock of the sea ; and, after com-pleting the outward circle, the inner space would be liable tobecome a receptacle for water : the necessity therefore of fix-ing the centre stone first, as least exposed to the stroke of thesea, and of having sure means of attaching all the rest to it,and to one another, rendered it indispensable that the wholeof the two courses should be tried together ; that if anydefect appeared at the outside, by an accumulation oferrors from the centre, it might be rectified upon the plat-form.

“ The moor-stone, though very hard with respect to itscomponent parts, yet being of a friable nature, is extremelydifficult to work to an arris (or sharp corner,) or even to bepreserved, when so wrought by great labour and patiencethat is, with sharp tools, and small blows ; it therefore soonappeared to me, that we should make very rough and coarsework of it, if the finishing of the pieces were left to theworkmen of the country where produced ; for, though care-fully wrought there in their place, yet in loading and unload-ing from their carriages, and again putting on board, andunloading from the vessels, the arrises would be very subjectto damage. Therefore, to have as much done in the countryas possible, and to save weight in carriage (leaving the finish-ing part to be done at home) rough moulds were sent for eachsize and species of stone, which were to be worked by themto a given parallel thickness, and with length and breadthenough, when so bedded, (as it is called) to be cut round allthe sides to the true figure of the finishing mould : but theywere to reduce them as near the size as they could safely doit by the hammer ; and, that they might not leave on unne-cessary waste, they were to be paid no more for either stoneor carriage, than what the mould measured upon the thick-ness given ; and if they were wanting of substance sufficientto make the figure complete, it should be at our option toreject them when they came home.”