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The Civil engineer & [and] architect's journal
- Bandzählung
- 7.1844
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 1844
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Signatur
- A128
- Vorlage
- Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz
- Digitalisat
- Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz
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- SLUB Dresden
- Lizenz-/Rechtehinweis
- Public Domain Mark 1.0
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- urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-db-id375634746-184400006
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- http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id375634746-18440000
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- Projekt: Bestände der Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz
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Zeitschrift
The Civil engineer & [and] architect's journal
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Band
Band 7.1844
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- Titelblatt Titelblatt -
- Register Index I
- Register List of illustrations VI
- Sonstiges Directions to binder VI
- Ausgabe No. 77 - January, 1844 1
- Ausgabe [No. 78 - February, 1844] 49
- Ausgabe No. 79 - March, 1844 97
- Ausgabe No. 80 - April, 1844 137
- Ausgabe No. 81 - May, 1844 177
- Ausgabe No. 82 - June, 1844 213
- Ausgabe No. 83 - July, 1844 253
- Ausgabe No. 84 - August, 1844 293
- Ausgabe No. 85 - September, 1844 333
- Ausgabe No. 86 - October, 1844 381
- Ausgabe No. 87 - November, 1844 421
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- Abbildung Plate. IX -
- Abbildung Plate. X -
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- Abbildung Plate. XIII -
- Abbildung Plate. XIV -
- Abbildung Plate. XV -
- Abbildung Plate. XVI -
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Band 7.1844
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- The Civil engineer & [and] architect's journal
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7S THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT’S JOURNAL. [Feb. 17, ward side reaching to the saddle-bow of my camel. This terrific blast consists of sulphuretted hydrogen and carburetted hydrogen, and other noxious exhalations of the earth, uniting within their volumes an enormous quantity of burning sands, so exceedingly minute, as to be invisible to the eye: it is said, and I believe truly, that no human being can fully inhale this vapour without having the lungs irreparably injured, and instant death is very often the consequence. In some parts of the desert, towards the land of Abyssinia, about Narea and Caffa, there are immense marshes where the waters an nually accumulate, until in the overflow they empty themselves into the beds of the rivers,—this gives a new character to the oceanic fossil soil, the grey marls are converted into a red bole, the sands in many places consolidate as sandstone, and much terrestrial matter or vegetable earth is blended with the various substances primarily com posing these plains. Again a portion of these waters passes off by filtration into valleys disposed at a great distance from them, carrying with them the causes of effects manifest in the changes of fossil mat ters into minerals. The entire Delta of the Nile is spread over a marine formation, being generally of a calcareous nature, or consisting of sands silicified, marine exuviae, and marls converted into clay in consequence of uniting with the overlying matters. The deserts, in whatever parts of the globe they are disposed, even exhibit phenomena peculiar to themselves, and as such at variance with the geological notions of the day; in our researches, no remains of lacustrine fresh water or land species have hitherto been found be neath this marine strata, the organic character disappears the lower we descend, but, the lower beds, to the greatest extent known, consist of sands and ocean marls. We cannot therefore conclude that in the changes of this planetary body, the waters have experienced no diminution, but that the great preponderance of oceanic matter, com posing in entirely ancient soils, as well as in recent formations, the phenomena of the deserts, and of newly formed islands and continents, all demonstrate priority of existence to thp soils formed by the opera tions of nature on dry land, and it is palpably manifest to all men that the ocean earths form the basis of land vegetation, and of all things produced thereon by the influence of the atmosphere. In one of the preceding articles, has already been explained the reason why the term “terrestrial” is used to designate the earth or dry land, in contradistinction to the term “ oceanic.” It is palpably manifest to men of even common sense, that there are organic specips peculiar to the waters, and organic species peculiar to dry land: also that there are earths peculiar to the one, and to the other, as for in stance vegetable earth and ocean marl: in reality the one and the other are the products of animal and vegetable organic bodies—ocean marl implies or embraces varieties, but vegetable earths do not, although much animal matter is blended therewith, they are in fact the earths of earths, species of dryland proceeding from oceanic earth; the term “terrestrial” in contradistinction to “ oceanic,” implies no contradiction. It has also been observed that gelatinous matter, whether generated by animal or vegetable species favours the con glomeration of silica, and there are few analytical chemists of the pre sent day who will be found to dispute this acknowledged and palpable truth. I go a step beyond this and prove that gelatine favours the generation of silica. A correspondent holds it to be absurd to sup pose that the comminuted particles of shell fish can be converted into sands. “ The earthy matter in shells,” being, as the correspondent says, “wholly lime;" truly this is some new discovery, the elementary con stituents of living creatures of the deep are various, the most simple organization being purely gelatinous, others combine in their elements albumen and gelatine, with phosphorus; others with these, marine acid, the earths of sodium, &c.,—the abundance of these elementary compounds is manifest in the ocean slime, the phosphorescent light, and saline quality of the waters; the slime is the natural cement of the shells of mollusca, as it is the natural and sole constituent of many species, the elements of the gelatine generated by living organic ac tion, and forming other combinations, become converted into albumen, and then again gelatine and albumen on the death of the animal, form other combinations, entering the mineral kingdom with silica, &c. Otherwise, whence comes the silica which constitutes full two-thirds of the entire bulk of the earth ? it is not found in tile waters oosing from the ocean beds, for the generation and increase of species, is invariably followed by tlie continuous increase of fossil beds. Mr. Lyell would supply calcium from internal reservoirs. Whence will he derive his supply of silica and other earths? It is said that silica is composed of definite elements, so is the living organic body; in death this mathematical union is sometimes wholly dissolved, and other mathematical and mechanical combinations take place, the results being definite.; undecompounded bodies, defying the art ol the chemist to separate the elements of their composition but being of necessity compound bodies, and therefore susceptible under some, though to us unknown circumstances, to change. To the highly intellectual body to whom I address myself, no sub ject can be more interesting than “ The Architecture of this Earth ;” from the elementary works alluded to by a Correspondent, they derive ideas of the general building, but from me they learn the nature and composition of the material, and the circumstances under which it was and is produced: geologists seethe building through geo logical spectacles clouded by crude i leas and contradictory opinions, and are told to rest satisfied with this general view, and not to look for foundations to the building or primary causes of its being, as that is not their province: I simply hold up the mirror of nature and permit men to judge, for themselves. Twenty years travel and obser vation is worth at least double the quantity of closet philosophy. Geologists teach that crystalline rocks are produced from a previous heated liquid state. I maintain that aggregate masses are combined together by certain common bases or cements, and under the influence of long continuous atmospheric heat or chemical action. Geologists maintain that the material of crystalline rocks has been upraised from the interior of the earth; I am prepared to prove that the most elevated crystalline bodies are produced by atmospheric influences, and that they do not exist at any considerable depth within the earth; geologists term these rocks primary, and say that the causes of effects thus manifest have universally ceased : I prove that many of them are recent, and that the causes of their formation are even now more active than ever they were. It was only a short time since that much learned eloquence was put forth by geologists to prove that from the geological character of the soil no coal could possibly be found in the Falkland Islands, but the existence of coal in those islands was well known to individuals at that time, and it has since been proved that there is abundance of coal, and that the great beds pass by gradual transition into this mineralized form, specimens of which are now to be seen in the “ Museum of Economic Geology.” Again, bodies every year are added to the number of known undecompounded bodies. Who then shall presume that natural philosophy is now perfect? Geology at present is a very uncertain and fluctuating science. The effects of heat and cold, water and atmospheric air, gases and vapours, upon bodies exposed to them, or chemically combining with each other, are palpably manifest to all men, however limited their sphere of action may be ; the flowers of the garden, the grasses of the field, the creature which exists by the one or the other, all exist by sufferance of temperature and association. On the island wholly com posed of marine exuviae and sands, vegetable species, peculiar to that island, make their appearance, and as they generate and die oil', or periodically shed their fruits, flowers, and leaves, so the formated soit becomes covered with a coating of mould gradually increasing in thickness; the plants yield potash; whence is the potash derived? It cannot be. from the oceanic soil, because in this soil potash has no place; and, again, its quantities multiply as vegetable matter in creases ; if derived from the soil, and eventually returned to the soil, there would be no perceptible increase. It is not a constituent of ocean waters. If, then, it be an inorganic substance, whence can it be derived ? Certainly not from the atmosphere. It cannot, there fore, be primary, not being antecedent but contemporaneous with, as necessarily appertaining to, the vegetable body: under other aspects the same plantyields soda and not potash. It is found as a constituent of many mineral bodies, and its presence truly denotes the presence of vegetable matter, lost in combinations with other compounds: afford ing demonstrable evidence that the rock, of which it forms a consti tuent part, assumed its consolidated form after this earthy matter was deposited, consequently that the rock is a secondary product. On the Advantages of employing Large Specula and Elevated Sit uations for Astronomical Observations, by C. P. Smyth, Esq., in a paper lately read at the Astronomical Society, the author adverts to methods proposed by Mr. H. F. Talbot for the multiplication of copies of specula by means of the electrotype, and for observing astronomical objects with a telescope absolutely fixed, by means of a revolving plane mirror, which me thods he considers might, if carried out, produce great improvements in astronomy. Amongst the advantages of the latter method he enumerates the following, arising chiefly from the unlimited focal length which it would he possible to give to the mirror : First, The obviation of the necessity of an accurate parabolic shape for the reflector ; Secondly, The magnifying of the image without distortion or colour ; Thirdly, The small effect which inaccu racies of the screw of the micrometer would produce, eye-pieces of low power being employed ; Fourthly, The elimination of errors dependent on the contraction or expansion of the tubes of telescopes; and lastly, The advantage of having the eye in a fixed position. The author then enlarges on the advantages which would attend the use of such a fixed telescope if placed on the slope of a high mountain, with the object-mirror and the eye piece fixed on piers, and separated by a considerable interval, the ipirror being beneath.
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