with reference to some imagined exterior; and in either case we very often spoil both inside and out. We put up with inconvenience in the plan, for the sake of effect in the elevations; and we so study and constrain the latter, that, whether in a symmetrical style or not, they seldom possess the expected beauty or charm, even if they possess any beauty at all. ter and civilisation. At the same time, we confess that the question, how far and in what manner cast-iron may consistently be used in constructive architecture, is not easily solved. But we may safely lay it down as a rule, that its use must be in accordance with our fundamental rule of fitness and propriety: and therefore that it cannot properly be used where, if it is seen at all, it cannot assume the This is one of the evil consequences of character and appearance belonging to the copying the style of a distant age and country, material itself. We frequently see portions of and disregarding our own peculiar climate and stone buildings which are most exposed to manners, and the architecture which arose out injury from being chipped and broken, as base of them. Our climate requires high-pitched courses, plinths, balustrades, &c., constructed roofs to throw off the water; we must have) of iron, and painted to resemble stone; under chimnies for the escape of smoke, numerous the false notion that the beauty of the parts and spacious windows, variety in the parts and will remain with, and depend upon, the sharp-purposes of our buildings; all which are ness of their preservation. Now, even suppos- utterly at variance with the classical styles. ing that the beauty of stone work did depend On the other hand, we have no occasion for (which we by no means grant) on its perfect columns, entablatures, open porticos, and copreservation, we contend that such contri-lonnades, which are absolutely necessary to the vances are bad in principle, are never satis- classical styles. Our requirements and wants factory even when quite new; and, in a very are all internal; Grecian architecture is all short time, the parts become so rubbed and external. Hence it follows, that classical polished, as to lose what little character of architecture is not fitted for this country; and stone they at first possessed; and their very sharpness become a defect. We would far rather see genuine honest stone, even if it were a little chipped: indeed, we do not think a little damage of this sort, here and there, in exposed situations, where it is only to be expected, at all detracts from the beauty of stone-churches in the likeness of Greek temples. work where there is any. To come at once to the point-we believe that for ordinary building purposes, in the style, usually adopted in this country, iron cannot be considered a proper material. We may, perhaps, at some future time, have ingenuity enough to give it an appropriate and characteristic appearance, and then it may be properly brought into general use. It must, however, be understood, that the above remarks do not apply to iron when used in fireproof buildings. Here a new element is introduced, and the style and material have to be modified accordingly. Now, as in this class of buildings wood cannot be introduced, iron comes to our aid most opportunely, and may be used without reserve as a substitute for wood. It may, indeed, be considered a most valuable and indispensable material for such purposes. It should, however, in all cases assume a characteristic form. With the above important exception, the chief value of iron is in engineering and machinery, not in archi tecture. We come now to the consideration of character, including form and enrichment. One of the chief causes of all the bad architecture of the present day, is a want of propriety and consistency between the outside and the inside of a building. The proper method of designing, and that which was followed by the architects of the middle ages, is, first to get a good and convenient plan, and on that to raise an exterior possessing the appropriate qualities of beauty or grandeur most consistent with its purpose. Our system is, we might say almost universally, the direct contrary to this; we either design the exterior first, and adapt the plan to that, or we arrange the plan or interior our surprise at its being so persisted in is the greater, from the numberless examples still remaining of a style actually the birth and produce of our own soil. What can be more absurd than building private mansions after the manner of Roman palaces, and Chrstian Some indeed seem to consider that we have at length had enough of such imitations, and to think that, for the sake of relief, we had better try what we can do with other styles; and we accordingly now import from Italy, Switzerland, Egypt; and we shall no doubt very soon have specimens after the Chinese fashion. But, as we cannot import with them the peculiar manners which created them, we detach them from that which gives them character and meaning. Even when the true national style is chosen, the application of it frequently betrays an utter ignorance of the rules of propriety. The many fine remains of castles and abbeys which adorn our land are no doubt worthy of admiration, but there is just as much propriety in imitating them in our modern dwelling-houses, as there would be in a man going about in a monk's habit and cowl, or adopting the manners and defence of the twelfth century. As regards enrichment, the grand rule for its regulation, as laid down by Pugin, is, that we should decorate our construction, instead of constructing our deeoration." All the parts or features of a design should be useful first, and then ornamental or plain, as determined by propriety and consistency. No part should be constructed for the sole sake of ornament or effect, or which has not sonie significance. The essential parts of a fabric should be the only medium for rendering it beautiful, and this rule exists, irrespective of any particular style. PROGRESS OF THE TELEGRAPH.-The Electric Telegraph Company have now upwards of 2,000 miles of wires laid down and in active operation. EFFECT OF SMOKE ON BUILDINGS.-In a lecture by Dr. Guy lately delivered at the City are respectfully requested to complete their Sets withou delay. which they are desirous of communicating to the public, are informed that we shall always be ready to introduce such in our pages. QUERIES. of London Literary Institution, he directed Vol. I. is now ready, beautifully bound in scarlet cloth, attention to "the smoke nuisance,' pointing gilt and lettered, price 5s. Embossed Cases may be had' it out as not merely a contaminator, to a for binding in, price 1s. 3d. each. considerable extent, of pure air, so necessary to good health, but as most expensive to the com- NOTICE.-Any of our readers having matured inventions, munity at large, in relation to the frequent occasion which it gives for the washing of linen, for painting, and cleansing of paint and gilding, as productive also of disfigurement of our most beautiful public buildings. In illustration of the damages inflicted by the smoke nuisance, he showed that the expense, by the wear and tear of clothes incurred by washing, and of furniture by cleaning, amounts to half a million sterling per year, and that between the ill effects of the smoke, and of bad drainage, a million and a half of money has been computed to be lost yearly to the public. Now all that might be saved by a legislative enactment which would compel manufacturers and others on the one hand, to consume their own smoke, and which, on the other, would create a tho [In order to collect as much useful information as possible, we have determined on devoting a portion of our space to the insertion of Queries which may be interesting to many of our Readers; at the same time we must intimate that the replies should be as brief as possible, without incroaching on their completeness.-EDITOR DECORATOR'S ASSISTANT.] SIR,-Could any of your correspondents inform me how violins are stained and polished so as not to injure the tone of the same? I am, yours respectfully, A SUBSCRIBER South Ockendon, Essex, Nov. 25, 1847. ANSWERS TO QUERIES. crayons, as used by painters, is merely common pipeclay moistened with water to the consistence of glazier's putty, and tinted with lamp or blue black, then rolled into the shape of a pencil, air dried, and it is fit for use. With the above, the most delicate vein, in all its beautiful varieties of shape and tint, may be faithfully represented by a skilful practitioner. Coloured crayons, for the same purposes, are prepared in the same manner, only that the colours for tinting must be ground in water and incorporated with the pipeclay. I am, Sir, yours very respectfully, A PAINTER. Wisbech, Nov. 20, 1847. MODELLING WAX.-Sir,-The following is the receipt for preparing modelling wax, inquired for by "Lignarium :”” -Take a quarter of a pound of virgin wax, a pennyworth of flake white, half a teaspoonful of Venice turpentine, and a little spirit of turpentine; melt them down together. I am, Sir, yours, &c., M. C. H. Gravesend, Nov. 25, 1847. rough system of good drainage in our towns, MARBLING CRAYONS.-Sir,-The composition of marbling and compel an abundant supply of pure water to every house, with proper ventilation. As an instance of the disfigurement of public buildings by smoke, he directed attention to the new palace at Westminster, which, in the short space of a few years, has been sadly blackened by the volumes of dense smoke poured forth by our river steam-boats. And when they reflected on the immense sum of money already expended, and yet to be be expended on that building, and on its costly carvings, and on the richly-wrought works of art with which it is to be decorated, they must agree with him that measures ought to be enforced to suppress the smoky nuisance. The lecturer then pointed out the means of abating the nuisance, and as an example of the saving which large consumers, including manufacturers, might, on principles of science and economy, effect by consuming their own smoke, he instanced a manufacturer at Bradford, who saved fully £500 a year by the adoption of the art. One means by which the dense volumes of smoke vomited forth from factory chimneys and steamboats might be greatly abated, was by feeding the fire frequently with coals in small quantity, instead of at long intervals with a large quantity. Another reason why men should endeavour to suppress the smoke nuisance, was founded on the benefits which such an accomplishment would confer upon the spread and value of the arts. At present, in consequence of its deteriorating effects, men of taste in the arts were deterred from expending money on them to the extent they otherwise would. Notices to Correspondents. Part VII. of the DECORATOR'S ASSISTANT, in a beautifully embellished Wrapper, is now ready, price Sevenpence. Parts I., II., III., IV., V., and VI. still continue on sale. As the demand for the Back Numbers of this Work is very great, and as there is every probability of their soon becoming exceedingly scarce, new Subscribers R. E. W. (Manchester).-You may prepare canvas in the W. WEBSTER.-The preparations can be applied in the purpose. N. S. T. (Dublin),—We do not care so much for the manner in which the letters of our correspondents are worded, as for the sense they convey. Of course it cannot be expected that every man should be possessed of a facility of composition like "N. S. T." A ANTIQUARIENSIS (Southwark).-Tumuli were small mounds C. J. N.-Your strictures upon us come with an ill grace, FOLIATED CUSP. COAL-CELLAR PLATE, a square or circular iron plate, let into a hole made in the pavement in front of a house, in order to admit coals into the cellar beneath, and fastened on the inside by a chain secured to a hook or staple in the wall. Some plates have a bull's-eye in the centre, formed either of glass or tale, in order to admit light into the cellar. An important improvement has been lately made by Mr. John Greenfield, of Broad-street, Goldensquare, with regard to the construction of cellar-plates. The ordinary exterior form is preserved, but the body of the plate is shaped in such a manner as to admit of the insertion of two blocks of asphalte, wood, &c., so as to secure passengers from slipping. In the centre are holes for the admission both of light and air to the cellar. From the peculiar shape of the edge of the plate, which is as follows, 47 A, flange. it is not liable to tip up. This invention is registered under the Act for the Protection of Articles of Utility, No. 1259, dated Nov. 12th, 1847. (To be continued.) Ventilation. IN the ventilation of rooms, &c., says M. Lassaigne, it is frequently supposed that the lower layers of the air are those which are principally spoiled by respiration. In 1842, Leblanc showed that, at the close of the performance in one of the Paris opera-houses, the upper layers of air contained 0·0043 carbonic acid; the lower ones, on the contrary, only 0.0023. It may be objected to this experiment, that in this case the greater portion of the carbonic acid arose from the illumination, and that, moreover, no very accurate result could be obtained on account of the nature of the locality. The author made his experiment in a small lecture-room in which 55 persons had breathed for more than 1 hour, and in which, as far as it was possible, all communication with the external atmosphere was cut off. The tions made for furniture, to 280,000 litres. If capacity of the lecture-room amounted, deducwe subtract 3,520 litres as the average volume of 55 persons, there remains for the air contained in the lecture-room 276,480 litres. Two samples of the air were examined (half-past 12 o'clock in the morning), one of which was collected near the ceiling, the other near the ground. The air, confined over mercury, was first passed through caustic potash to remove the carbonic acid, and the oxygen then determined by means of phosphorus. The following are the results : 100'00 vols. at 30 bar. and 60 deg. F. We find, therefore, likewise, in this case the quantity of the carbonic acid contained in the upper strata somewhat greater than in the lower, if, indeed, the difference must not be ascribed to an error of observation, for it is generally established that the carbonic acid remains pretty much alike in the lower and in the upper strata. If we admit that there is 0 0005 carbonic acid contained in ordinary air, and that the air examined contained 0.0058, NELSON MONUMENT.-The four battle bas- consequently eleven times more carbonic acid, reliefs for the Nelson monument were entrusted we obtain for the lecture-room 1603-78 litres, by the Woods and Forests to Messrs. Watson, bonic acid contained in the air, 1465'6 litres; and after deducting the usual amount of carWoodington, Ternouth, and Carew. All are in progress, but Mr. Carew is the farthest on, consequently for each of the 55 persons that and has just completed, and is now showing to breathed in the lecture-room 26 64 litres for 13 his friends and the public, the full-sized model, hour, and 17.76 litres for 1 hour-0.281 of the in clay, of the death of Nelson, intended for the volume of the body=32.85 grm. carbonic acid at 32 deg. F. and 29.8 barometric pressure = recess facing Parliament-street. The compartment is fourteen feet square, the figures the air near the ground of the lecture-room 8.96 grms. carbon. In a second experiment, introduced some sixteen in number, and near contained 0.0043, that from the ceiling 00049. seven feet high. The general arrangement of The smaller quantity of carbonic acid found in the group reminds one in part of West's large this case appears to have arisen from a slight picture of the same incident. The modelling is careful throughout, and the figure of the change of air having occurred. dying Nelson not unskilfully managed. The cost of each compartment is £1,000, but the IMPROVEMENT OF PULLEYS.-A patent has Government, it is understood, supplies the been taken out in America for increasing the metal, and undertakes the charge of transfer-adhesiveness of the surface of pulleys, drums, ring the plaster to bronze in the foundry at &c., by a coating of India-rubber, or some Woolwich. other gum of similar nature. Example.-What will be the solidity of the cylinder A F, whose diameter A c is 20 inches, and perpendicular height a E 40 inches? .7854 314.1600 40 20 20 400 (To be continued.) ARTIFICIAL LAPIS LAZULI.-Of all the achievements of inorganic chemistry, the artificial formation of lapis lazuli was the most brilliant and the most conclusive. This mineral, as presented to us by nature, is calculated powerfully to arrest our attention by its beautiful" azure-blue colour, its remaining unchanged 12566.4000 cubic in. = solidity required. by exposure to air or to fire, and furnishing us with a most valuable pigment, Ultramarine, more precious than gold! The analysis of lapis lazuli represented it to be composed of silica, alumina, and soda, three colourless bodies, with sulphur and a trace of iron. Nothing could be discovered in it of the nature of a pigment, nothing to which its blue colour could be referred, the cause of which was searched for in vain. It might, therefore, have been supposed that the analyst was here altogether at fault, and that at any rate its artificial production must be impossible. Nevertheless, this has been accomplished, and simply by combining in the proper proportions, as determined by analysis, silica, alumina, soda, iron, and sulphur. Thousands of pounds weight are now manufactured, from these ingredients, and this artificial ultramarine is as beautiful as the natural, while, for the price of a single ounce of the latter, we may obtain many pounds of the former. TO SILVER IVORY.-Immerse a small slip of ivory in a weak solution of nitrate of silver, and let it remain until the solution has imparted to it a deep yellow colour; then take it out and immerse it in a tumbler of clear water, and expose it in the water to the rays of the sun. After it has been exposed thus for about three hours, the ivory acquires a black colour, which, on being burnished, soon becomes changed to a brilliant silvery one. |