Scientific American Supplement, No. 514, November 7, 1885(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)


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Scientific American Supplement, No. 514, November 7, 1885

Scientific American Supplement, No. 514, November 7, 1885试读:

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO.514

ROMAN REMAINS AT LEICESTER, ENGLAND.

The Roman tessellated pavement in Jewry Wall Street, Leicester, discovered in the year 1832, is well known to archaeologists; it has also been known as difficult of access, and hardly to be seen in a dark cellar, and, in fact, it has not been seen or visited, except by very few persons.Some time ago the Town Council resolved to purchase the house and premises, with the object of preserving the pavement in situ, and of giving additional light and better access to it, and, this purchase having been completed in the beginning of the present year, the work of improvement began.It was now seen that the pavement was continuous under the premises of the adjoining house, and under the public street, and arrangements were at once made to uncover and annex these adjoining parts, so as to permit the whole to be seen at one view.The pavement thus uncovered forms a floor which, if complete, would measure 23 feet square; it lacks a part on the west side, and also the entire south border is missing.It is a marvel of constructive skill, of variety and beauty in form and color, and not the least part of the marvel arises from the almost beggarly elements out of which the designer has produced his truly harmonious effects.No squared, artificially colored, or glazed tesseræ, such as we see in a modern floor, are used, but little pieces, irregularly but purposely formed of brick and stone.There are three shades of brick—a bright red, a dull or Indian red, and a shade between the two; slate from a neighboring quarry gives a dark bluish gray; an oolite supplies the warmer buff; and a fine white composition resembling limestone is used for the center points and borders.In addition, the outside border is formed with tesseræ of rather larger size of a sage green limestone.Speaking generally, the design is formed by nine octagon figures, three by three, surrounded and divided by a guilloche cable band; the interspaces of the octagons are filled by four smaller square patterns, and the outer octagon spaces by 12 triangles.Outside these is a border formed by a cable band, by a second band of alternate heart-shaped, pear-shaped, and bell-shaped flowers, and by alternate white and gray bands; and outside all is the limestone border already described.This border is constructed with tesseræ about five-eighths of an inch square.The remaining tesseræ vary from one half to one-quarter inch of irregular rhomboidal form.The construction of the pavement is remarkable.There is a foundation of strong concrete below; over it is a bed of pounded brick and lime three to four inches thick, and upon this a layer of fine white cement, in which the tesseræ are laid with their roughest side downward.Liquid cement appears to have been poured over the floor, filling up the interstices, after which the surface would be rubbed down and polished.

As to the probable date and occupation of the floor, it may be observed that the site of this pavement was near the center of the western Roman town.It is near the Jewry Wall, that is, near the military station and fortress.It was obviously the principal house in the place, and as clearly, therefore, the residence of the Præfectus, the local representative of the imperial power of Rome.The Roman occupation of the district began with the proprætorship of Ostorius Scapula, A.D.50.He was succeeded in 59 by Suetonius Paulinus, who passed through Leicester from the Isle of Anglesea when the insurrection under Boadicea broke out.In the service of Suetonius was Julius Agricola, who was elected consul and governor of Britain about the year 70.He is commonly described as a wise and good governor, who introduced the arts of civilized life, taught the natives to build, and encouraged education.He left Britain about the year 85, and from that time to the decline of the Roman power is but about 300 years.We shall not be far from the truth, therefore, if we assign this work to the time or even to the personal influence of Agricola, 1,800 years ago.—London Times.

Some time ago we published the fact that the Empress of Germany had offered a prize of $1,000 and the decoration of the Order of the Red Cross to the successful inventor of the best portable field hospital.Wm.M.Ducker, of No.42 Fulton St., Brooklyn, sent in a design for competition.A few days ago Mr.Ducker received notice that his invention had won the prize.Another instance of the recognition of American genius abroad.

THE BARBARA UTTMANN STATUE AT ANNABERG, SAXONY.

The question whether Barbara Uttmann, of Annaberg, Saxony, was the inventor of the art of making hand cushion lace, or only introduced it into Annaberg, in the Saxon mountains, has not yet been solved, notwithstanding the fact that the most rigid examinations have been made.It is the general belief, however, that she only introduced the art, having learned it from a foreigner in the year 1561.The person from whom she acquired this knowledge is said to have been a Protestant fugitive from Brabant, who was driven from her native land by the constables of the Inquisition, and who found a home in the Uttmann family.However, the probability is that what the fugitive showed Barbara Uttmann was the stitched, or embroidered, laces—points, so called—which are still manufactured in the Netherlands at the present time.It is very probable that the specimens shown induced Barbara Uttmann to invent the art of making lace by means of a hand cushion.BARBARA UTTMANN, INVENTOR OF HAND CUSHION LACE.

Very little is known of the family of Barbara Uttmann, which was originally from Nurnberg; but members of the same migrated to the Saxon mountains.Barbara's husband, Christof Uttmann, was the owner of extensive mines at Annaberg, and was very wealthy.She died at Annaberg, Jan.14, 1584.

The art of making hand cushion lace was soon acquired by most of the residents in the Saxon mountains, which is a poor country, as the occupation of most of the inhabitants was mining, and it frequently happened that the wages were so low, and the means of sustaining life so expensive, that some other resource had to be found to make life more bearable.Barbara Uttmann's invention was thus a blessing to the country, and her name is held in high esteem.A monumental fountain is to be erected at Annaberg, and is to be surmounted by a statue of the country's benefactress, Barbara Uttmann.The statue, modeled by Robert Henze, is to be cast in bronze.It represents Barbara Uttmann in the costume worn at the time of the Reformation.She points to a piece of lace, which she has just completed, lying on the cushion, the shuttles being visible.

Some point, Valenciennes, and Guipure laces are made on a cushion by hand, with bobbins on which the thread is wound, the pins for giving the desired pattern to the lace being stuck into the cushion.A yard of hand cushion lace has been sold in England for as much as $25,000.The annexed cut, representing the Barbara Uttmann statue, was taken from the Illustrirte Zeitung.

A Boston paper tells of a man who built two houses side by side, one for himself and one to sell.In the house sold he had placed a furnace against the party wall of the cellar, and from its hot air chamber he had constructed flues to heat his own domicile.The owner of the other house found it very hard to keep his own house warm, and was astounded at the amount of coal it took to render his family comfortable, while the "other fellow" kept himself warm at his neighbor's expense nearly a whole winter before the trick was discovered.

IMPROVEMENTS IN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Portland cement concrete if made with a non-porous aggregate is impervious to moisture, and yet at the same time, if not hydraulically compressed, will take up a sufficient quantity of moisture from the air to prevent condensation upon the surface of the walls.It not only resists the disintegrating influences of the atmosphere, but becomes even harder with the lapse of time.It may also be made in several different colors, and can be finished off to nearly a polished surface or can be left quite rough.Walls built of this material may be made so hard that a nail cannot be driven into them, or they can be made sufficiently soft to become a fixing for joinery, and, if a non-porous aggregate be used, no damp course is required.Further than this, if land be bought upon which there is sufficient gravel, or even clay that can be burnt, the greatest portion of the building material may be obtained in excavating for the cellar; and in seaside localities, if the (salt) shingle from the beach be used, sound and dry walls will be obtained.The use of concrete as a material for building will be found to meet all the defects set forth by practical people, as it may be made fire-proof, vermin-proof, and nail-proof, and in dwellings for the poor will therefore resist the destructive efforts of the "young barbarian." Nothing, therefore, can be better as a building material.The system ordinarily employed to erect structures in concrete consists of first forming casings of wood, between which the liquid concrete is deposited, and allowed to become hard, or "to set." The casings are then removed, the cavities and other imperfections are filled in, and the wall receives a thin facing of a finer concrete.If mouldings or other ornament be required, they are applied to this face by the ordinary plasterer's methods.This system finds favor in engineering construction, and also in very simple forms of architectural work, but with very complicated work the waste in casings is very great.Besides this, however, the face is found sometimes to burst off, especially if it has been applied some time after the concrete forming the body of the wall has set, and the method of applying ornament is not economical.1.-18.

A system of building in concrete has recently been invented by Messrs.F.& J.P.West, of London, illustrations of which we now present.To this system Messrs.West have given the name of "Concrete Exstruction," from the Latin "exstructio," which they consider to be a more appropriate word than "constructio," as applied to concrete building in general.In Messrs.West's system of building in concrete, instead of employing wood casings, between which to deposit the concrete or beton, and removing them when the beton has become hard, casings of concrete itself are employed.These casings are not removed when the beton has set, but they become a part of the wall and form a face to the work.In order to form the casings, the concrete is moulded in the form of slabs.Figs.1 to 18 of our engravings show various forms of the slab, which may be manufactured with a surface of any dimensions and of rectangular (Fig.1), triangular, hexagonal (Figs.2, 14, and 15), and indeed of any other form that will make a complete surface, while for thickness it may be suited to the work to which it is to be applied, that used for heavy engineering work differing from that employed in house construction.It is found that the most convenient height for the rectangular slab (Fig.1) is 12 inches and the breadth 18 inches, as the parts of a structure built with slabs of these dimensions more often correspond with architectural measurements.The hexagonal slab (Fig.2) is made to measure 12 inches between its parallel sides.Where combinations of these slabs will not coincide with given dimensions, portions of slabs are moulded to supply the deficiency.The moulds in which the slabs are made are simple frames with linings having a thin face of India-rubber or other suitable material, by the use of which slabs with their edges as shown, and also of the greatest accuracy, can be manufactured.That portion of the back of the slab which is undercut is formed by means of soft India-rubber cores.The moulds for making portions of the slabs have a contrivance by which their length may be adjusted to suit given dimensions.

During the process of casting the slabs, and while they are in a plastic state, mouldings (if required) or other ornaments, having a suitable key, are inserted in the plastic surface, which is finished off to them (Figs.7, 8, and 10).The slabs may also be cast with ornaments, etc., complete at one operation (Fig.11), but it is more economical to have separate moulds for the mouldings and other ornaments, and separate moulds for the slabs, and to apply the mouldings, etc., during the process of casting the slab.Corbels (Fig.9), sets off (which would be somewhat similar to the plinth course slab No.10), and other constructive features may also be applied in a similar way, or may be provided for during the casting of the slab.A thin facing of marble or other ornamental solid or even plastic material may be applied to the face of the slabs during the process of casting, thus enabling the work to be finished as it is carried up, or a key may be formed on the face of the slab to enable the structure to be plastered afterward.FIG.19.FIG 20.

In Fig.20, the structure from the bottom of the trenches is shown with the sides of the trenches removed.It will be seen that the footings are constructed in the most economical manner by not being stepped.As no damp-course is required in concrete work, when the aggregate is of a non-porous material, one is not shown.Upon the top of the footings is generally laid a horizontal slab, called the wall-base slab, the special feature of which is that it enables the thickness of the wall to be gauged accurately, and also provides a fixing for the first course of slabs.Figs.4 and 5 show such slabs for internal and external angles, and Fig.6 shows one for straight work.The use of a wall-base slab is not essential, although it is the more accurate method of building, for in cases where it is desirable to economize labor, or from other causes, the slabs forming the first course may be made with a thicker base, and may be fixed by a deposition of concrete, which is allowed to set behind them.The second course of slabs is laid upon the first course with breaking joints of half-slab bond, each course being keyed to the other by means of a quick-setting cementing material poured into the key-holes provided in the edges of the slab for that purpose, a bituminous cement being preferred.The key-holes are made in several ways, those shown in the illustrations being of a dovetail shape; circular, square, or indeed holes of any other shape formed in the edges of the slab and in an oblique direction are also employed.Special slabs for cants, or squint-quoins (Figs.17 and 18) and angles (Figs.12, 13, 14, 15, and 16) are manufactured, the angle occurring (if we omit the hexagonals and take the 18 inch slab) at three-quarters the length of each slab.This gives a half-slab bond to each course, as on one face of the quoin in one course will appear a quarter slab and in the course above a three-quarter slab superimposed upon it, or vice versa.Thus are the walls in Figs.19 and 20 built up.For openings, the jambs and lintels (and in window-openings the sill) are made solid with a provision for a key-hole to the mass of concrete filling behind them.That portion of the jambs against which the slabs butt has a groove coinciding with a similar one in the edge of the slab, for the purpose of forming a joggle joint by squeezing the bedding material into them or by joggling them in with a cement grout.All the slabs are joggled together in a similar way.FIG.21.-FIG 25.

The plastic concrete filling or beton which the shells are made to contain may be deposited between the slabs when any number of courses (according to convenience) have been built up, and when set practically forms with the solid work introduced a monolith, to which the face slabs are securely keyed.With over-clayed Portland cements, which are known to contract in setting, and with those over-limed cements which expand (both of which are not true Portland cements), the filling in is done in equal sections, with a vertical space equal to each section left between them until the first sections have become thoroughly hard, and these are then filled in at a second operation.In order to provide for flues, air-passages, and ways for electric installations, and for gas and water, pipes (made of an insulating material if required) or cores of the required shape are inserted in the plastic beton, and where necessary suitable openings are provided on the face of the work.Provision is also made for fixing joinery by inserting, where required, slabs made or partly made of a material into which nails may be driven, such as concrete made with an aggregate of burnt clay, coke, and such like.Hollow lintels are also made of the slabs keyed together at their vertical joints, and when in position these are filled in with beton.This system, however, is only recommended for fire-place openings instead of arches.

In Fig.25, circular construction is exhibited as applied to the apsidal end of a church, slabs similar to those shown in Fig.21 being employed for that purpose, while Figs.22, 23, and 24 show forms of slabs suitable for constructing cylinders with horizontal axes and domes.In Fig.19, which is the upper part of Fig.20, is shown a system of constructing floors of these slabs.It is only necessary to explain that the slabs are first keyed to the lower flange of the iron joist by means of a cement (bituminous preferred), and the combination is then fixed in position, the edges of the slabs adhering to, or rather supported by, the iron joist being rebated so as to receive and support intervening slabs, the heading joints of which are laid to break with those of the slabs supported by the joists.For double floors the iron joists are made with a double flange on their lower edge, and are fitted to iron girders, which cross in the opposite direction.This provision secures the covering of the cross girders on their undersides by the ceiling slabs.The concrete having been deposited upon the slabs, its upper surface may be finished off in any of the usual ways, while the ceiling may be treated in any of the ways described for the walls.This system does not exclude the ordinary methods of constructing floors and roofs, although it supplies a fireproof system.Where required, bricks, stone, and, in fact, any other building material, may be used in conjunction with the slabs.

The system of building construction is intended, as in the case with all concrete, to supersede brickwork and masonry in the various uses to which they have been applied, and, at the same time, to offer a more perfect system of building in concrete.Hitherto slab concrete work has never been erected in a perfectly finished state (i.e., with mouldings, etc., complete), but has either been left in a rough state or without ornament, or else has been constructed so as never to be capable of receiving good ornamental treatment.Hitherto the great difficulty in constructing concrete walls of concrete and other slabs has been to prevent the slabs from being forced outward or from toppling over by the pressure of the plastic filling-in material from the time of its deposition between the slabs until it has become hard enough to form, with the slabs, a solid wall.Besides the system of forming the slabs of L (vertical or horizontal) section, or with a kind of internal buttress and shoring them up from the outside, or of supporting the slabs upon framing fixed against the faces of the wall, several devices have been used to obviate this difficulty.

In the first place, temporary ties, or gauges, connecting the slabs forming the two faces of the wall, have been used, and as soon as the plastic filling-in material has set or become hard (but not before), these have been removed.Secondly, permanent ties or cramps have been used, and, as their name implies, have been allowed to remain in the wall and to be entirely buried in the plastic filling-in material.These permanent transverse ties or cramps have been of two kinds: those which were affixed as soon as the slabs were placed in position, and those which were made to form part of the manufactured slab, as, for instance, slabs of Z or H horizontal section.Thirdly, a small layer of the plastic filling-in material itself has been made to act as a transverse tie by depositing it, when plastic, between the slabs forming the two parallel faces of each course, allowing it (before filling in the remaining part) to set and to thus connect together the slabs forming each face of the wall, a suitable hold on the slabs, in some cases, being given to the tie by a portion of the slab being undercut in some way, as by being dovetailed, etc.As the slabs in this latter system generally have wide bases, they may also be bedded or jointed in cement, and, provided temporary ties be placed across their upper edges to connect the slabs forming each face of the wall together, the space between the faces of the wall may then be filled in with the plastic concrete.

All these devices, however, are not of permanent utility; they are only temporarily required (i.e., up to the time that the beton has become hard and formed a permanent traverse tie between the two faces of the wall), for it is manifest that the ultimate object of all slab concrete construction is: (a) To retain and to mould the plastic concrete used in forming the wall; (b) to key or fix the slabs to the mass which they themselves have moulded; and (c) to form a facing to the wall.When these objects shall have been accomplished, there is no further need of any tie whatever beyond that which naturally obtains in a concrete wall.In West's system, however, where the slabs are keyed course to course, any kind of transverse tie to be used during the process of construction, except that used in the starting course, is entirely dispensed with, and the courses of slabs above depend solely

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