Scientific American Volume Xxiv., No. 12, March 18, 1871 Part 9

As many of our readers have evinced much interest and ingenuity on the question of the propriety of placing reliance upon the accuracy of dropping a perpendicular from the top to the bottom of a shaft 1,030 feet in depth, by means of an ordinary plummet, we take the earliest opportunity of settling the matter beyond dispute, by reporting the results lately obtained, through a series of experiments by the engineers in charge, for the ultimate purpose of laying down the correct line for the tunnel.

The perpendicular line has, of course, been dropped many times, and the main result taken. The plummet used is made of steel, properly balanced and polished, in shape something like a pineapple, and of about the same size, weighing fifteen pounds. It was suspended, with the large end downwards, by a thin copper wire, one fortieth of an inch in diameter, immersed in water; and, after careful steadying with the hand, occupied about an hour in a.s.suming its final position or motion, which, contrary to the expectation and theories of many, resulted in a circular motion around a fixed point, the diameter of the circle being a mean of one quarter of an inch. The suspending wire in these operations was not quite the entire length of the shaft, being only 900 feet; and before the plummet had settled, the wire had stretched nearly twenty feet.

The suspension of the plummet in water was not considered necessary for any other reason than that water was continually trickling down the wire, and dropping on the plummet. The experiments so far have not been of the perfect character it is determined to attain, when the final alignment is made, as, until the headings east and west of the shaft have advanced to a considerable distance, any slight error would be of no account.

A neat and ingenious instrument has been constructed for determining the variation of the plummet, and will be used when great accuracy is desired; the plummet will also be suspended in oil.

The bearing of the tunnel is about S. 81 E.; but, independently of its near approach to the line of revolution described by the earth, it is not considered necessary to take into account any motion it may derive from this cause. In fact, the opinion is, that the motion of the earth will not practically have any effect.

On the whole, after the still imperfect experiments which have been made, enough is established to show there is no difficulty to be encountered, other than the accurate and delicate manipulation of the plummet and its attachments.

The shaft headings are progressing favorably. The rock is not so hard or varied as that met with at the west end markings. Already nearly 300 feet have been taken out, and with the proved energy of the contractors, this great task will doubtless be prosecuted steadily and surely to completion, within the contract time expiring March 1, 1874.

A MUSEUM OF ART AND NATURAL HISTORY.

Our recent articles on "Scientific Dest.i.tution in New York" and "The Scientific Value of the Central Park," have called forth numerous letters from correspondents, and have been extensively noticed by the press. We now learn that the legislature of the State has taken the matter in hand, and there is some prospect, with an honest administration of the appropriations, of something being done to relieve our city of the opprobrium that rests upon it. A bill is pending, before the Senate, authorizing the Park Commissioners to build, equip, and furnish, on Manhattan Square, or any other public square or park, suitable fire-proof buildings, at a cost not exceeding $500,000 for each corporation, for the purpose of establis.h.i.+ng a museum of art, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and of a museum of natural history, by the American Museum of Natural History, two societies recently incorporated by the Legislature. This is a million dollars to begin with, and an ample site, without cost, to the aforementioned corporations.

Manhattan Square extends from Seventy-seventh to Eighty-first streets, and from Eighth to Ninth avenues, and spans about eighteen acres.

Until it was set apart by the state Board of Commissioners, for the purposes of a Zoological Garden, it was proposed, by a number of enlightened citizens of New York, to devote it to the uses of four of our existing corporations, giving to each one a corner, and an equal share in the allotment of s.p.a.ce. The societies were, "the Academy of Design," for art, "the Historical Society," for public records and libraries, "the Lyceum of Natural History," for science, and "the American Inst.i.tute," for technology. These have been incorporated for many years, and are known to include the leading artists, men of letters, science, and the arts, of the city, on their lists of members. The committee went so far as to have plans of the building drawn by competent architects; but, like many other well-meant schemes, want of money compelled the originators of the plan to abandon any further attempts. In the meantime, the Legislature chartered the American Botanical and Zoological Society, and gave the Commissioners of the Park authority to set apart a portion of it, not exceeding sixty acres, for the use of the Society, for the establishment of a zoological and botanical garden. This society was duly organized under the act, and Mr. Hamilton Fish was made its president, and considerable sums of money were subscribed. But, according to the sixth annual report of the Board of Commissioners, "the society never manifested its desire for an allotment of ground."

It appears to have died, and made no sign. Some of our citizens, fearing that the Central Park would go the way of every other public work in the city, made strenuous effort to revive the Zoological Society, for the purpose of obtaining a perpetual lease of a suitable site, on which to establish a zoological garden, similar to those in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cologne. Their object was to remove this part of the Park beyond the reach of political intrigue. Subsequent events have shown that the fears of these gentlemen were well founded.

The Legislature of the State, on the 25th of March, 1862, gave ample powers to the New York Historical Society to establish a Museum of Antiquity and Science, and a Gallery of Art, in the Central Park.

They have submitted designs for a building, but, for some reason, no decisive steps have been taken towards its construction.

The Lyceum of Natural History was also negotiating with the Commissioners, for the use of the upper rooms of the a.r.s.enal for its collections, and there is no doubt that an arrangement to this effect would have been made, if a fire had not destroyed the entire collections of the Lyceum. The Lyceum made great effort to raise money to purchase a new collection, but without avail; and, although this is the oldest scientific society in New York, and has inrolled in its list of members, nearly every professional scientist of the city, it is probably the poorest, in income and resources, of any academy of sciences in the world. We do not know that the Academy of Design has ever applied for a home in the Central Park; and we cannot speak for the American Inst.i.tute, nor for the Geographical Society, in this particular. As we stated in our former article, the old Board of Commissioners appears to have become weary of the unsuccessful attempts on the part of numerous societies to divide up and apportion the Central Park, and they applied to the Legislature for authority to conduct matters in their own way. An act was duly pa.s.sed, authorizing the Board "to erect, establish, conduct, and maintain, on the Central Park, a Meteorological and Astronomical Observatory, a Museum of Natural History, and a Gallery of Art, and the buildings therefor, and to provide the necessary instruments, furniture, and equipments for the same."

Here would seem to be ample power for the establishment of museums of science and art, but nothing is said about the manner of raising the money. One would suppose, however, that, by means of the "Central Park Improvement Fund," abundant means could have been raised. The bill now before the Legislature puts matters in a new light. If it does not conflict with previous enactments, nor destroy vested rights, it has the appearance of being a thoroughly practical way of solving the question of art and science for the city. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History are in the hands of the most respectable citizens of New York. It would not be possible to find a body of men of more unimpeachable integrity and greater worth, than the gentlemen who have founded these two societies. It is impossible that they should lend their names to anything that will not bear the closest scrutiny; hence the proposition, now before the Legislature, to put up buildings for them, at a cost of a million dollars, must attract unusual attention. If the State would appropriate the money to these corporations, giving them the control of its expenditure, we should have considerably more confidence in its honest administration than, we are grieved to say, we can feel under the present circ.u.mstances; and if we knew what other inst.i.tutions are to have the remaining portions of Manhattan Square, it would be a great relief to our minds.

"We fear the Greeks bringing gifts," but are willing to accept the gifts, if the officers of the two organizations are certain that it is all right.

The need of a Museum of Natural History, and of a Gallery of Art, in New York, is so pressing that there is some danger of our accepting the appropriations without a proper regard to consequences. The Court House is not yet finished, and the foundations of the Post-office are scarcely laid.

REPORT OF THE JUDGES OF GROUP 1, DEPARTMENT V. OF THE EXHIBITION OF THE AMERICAN INSt.i.tUTE FOR 1870. THE ALLEN ENGINE.

The labors of the judges in this department were much lighter in the last exhibition than in the preceding one, and we are happy to say, were, in our opinion, so far as the award of premiums is concerned, much more fairly performed. The award of two first premiums to two competing engines could scarcely be repeated this time, as there was in reality no compet.i.tion. The Allen engine was the only important one entered, and of course received the first premium. The engine is, however, one that evidently could have competed favorably with those previously exhibited.

We are in receipt of advanced sheets of the judges' report pertaining to the critical examination of this engine, being a record and account of experiments performed under the supervision of Was.h.i.+ngton Lee, C. E.

The experiments were very comprehensive, and comprised approved tests, of each important detail, usually made by expert engineers.

The report is too voluminous for reprint or even for condensation in our columns. In looking it through, we are satisfied that the experiments were accurately made, and that the engine exhibited great working efficiency and economy.

As the engine has been recently ill.u.s.trated and described in our columns, we deem it unnecessary to dwell upon the details of its construction. The water test of the previous exhibition was employed, the water being this time measured, with indisputable accuracy, in a tank, instead of by a meter as before.

The voluminous comparison of this engine with those previously exhibited, seems unnecessary, and we think not in good taste in such a report, however much it may possess of scientific interest. Moreover, the circ.u.mstances under which the trials were respectively performed, render the comparison difficult, if not unfair.

Mr. Lee concludes his report with a thorough endors.e.m.e.nt of the theory of Mr. Porter upon the action of the reciprocating parts of engines, as set forth by the last named gentleman in recent articles in this journal. He says:

"Under the resistance of 128.375 horse powers at the brake, the motion of the engine was remarkably uniform; not the least diminution of speed in pa.s.sing the centers could be detected, ill.u.s.trating very satisfactorily the value, in this respect, of the speed employed, and of the action of the reciprocating parts of the engine in equalizing the rotative pressure on the crank through the stroke. The governor was, during the trials and through the exhibition, nearly motionless, while the load remained constant, and instantaneous in its action on changes of resistance, maintaining a steadiness of running which left nothing to be desired."

The judges--Prof. F. A. P. Barnard, Thos. J. Sloan, and Robert Weir--speak in their report as follows:

"The performance of this engine has exceeded that of the two fine engines which were on trial here last year. The results seem to be without precedent in such engines. The engine ran from 11 to 12 hours repeatedly without showing a sign of a warm bearing, displaying thorough perfection in all its parts. In all respects the engine is first-cla.s.s, and from the fact of its presenting weight with speed, as a requisite for perfection in steam engines, it has opened a new era in this necessary branch--its economy having been clearly demonstrated in the careful trials, which ought to be published in full."

LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.

There was an unusually large attendance of members at the meeting of the Lyceum of Natural History, on Monday evening, the 6th inst., to listen to an address by Professor B. Waterhouse Hawkins, on the progress of the work of the restoration of the forms of extinct animals in the Central Park. Mr. Hawkins gave an account of the difficulties he encountered at the outset, in finding any skeletons of animals in New York, with which to make comparisons, and he was finally compelled to go to Boston and Philadelphia for this purpose.

After much study and many delays, the casts of the _Hadrosaurus_ were completed, and numerous smaller skeletons prepared. At this stage of the proceedings an entire change in the administration of the Park took place, and the newly appointed Commissioners decided to suspend the work upon the Palaeozoic Museum, and they dismissed Mr. Hawkins from their service.

The announcement that an end had thus been summarily put to one of the most important educational projects ever started in this country, was received by the Lyceum with profound surprise. For a few minutes after the close of Mr. Hawkins' report, no one felt disposed to make any comment, but as the truth of the great damage became apparent, there was considerable disposition manifested to have the Society give expression to its sense of the value of Mr. Hawkins' services in the cause of education, and their regret that so important a work should be suspended at this critical period. Remarks were made by Dr.

Newbery, Professor Joy, Mr. Andrew H. Green, Professor Seely, Dr.

Walz, Mr. E. G. Squier, and others, and the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

_Resolved_, That the Lyceum of Natural History, in the city of New York, has learned with deep regret of the temporary suspension of the work of restoration of the forms of extinct animals, as. .h.i.therto prosecuted in the Central Park, under the able superintendence of Professor Waterhouse Hawkins.

_Resolved_, That the Society considers the proposed palaeozoic museum not only a valuable acquisition to the scientific treasures and resources of the city, but also as a most important adjunct and complement to our great system of public education.

WARMING AND VENTILATION OF RAILROAD CARS.

There has been enough of denunciation against the present general method of warming and ventilating railway cars. It produces no effect on the corporations who could, if they would, adopt appliances that would not burn people to death in cases of accident, nor regularly and persistently poison them with bad air.

There is no lack of ways and means; the problem is simple and easily solved; nay--a not very extensive search through the Patent Office records will show that it has been solved already; perhaps not in the most practical and perfect manner, but still solved so well, as, were it not for corporation cupidity, would greatly add to the comfort and safety of pa.s.sengers.

The real problem is how to compel corporations to recognize the fact that the public has rights they are bound to respect. It is the disregard of these rights that fills our cars with smoke, dust, and exhalations, and puts box stoves full of hot coals in the corners, ready to cook the human stew whenever a frisky car shall take a notion to turn a somersault. The invention needed is a conscience for corporations--an invention, by the way, scarcely less difficult than the one advertised for in our last issue, namely, a plan for preventing the sale of intoxicating liquors and tobacco in New Jersey.

The _Railroad Gazette_, imitating the English ideal of prolixity in discussion, for which _Engineering_ has recently patted it on the back approvingly, treats us, in its issue of February 11th, to a page article, to be continued, under the t.i.tle of "Warming and Ventilation of Railroad Cars." In this article the writer takes the ground that people in general are ignorant of the effects of pure air, and not being able to "see the foulness," they "therefore do not believe it exists." It is quite possible they may not be able to see the foulness, but if in the majority of railroad cars run in this country, they are not able to feel it in gritty, grimy acc.u.mulations on skin and linen, and smell it in suffocating stenches which serve, with sneeze-provoking dust, to stifle anything like comfort, their skin must be thicker, their linen more neglected, and their noses less sensitive than those of the majority of fellow travellers it has been our fortune to be cooped up with for a day's railroad journey.