The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-26 00:00:00

The Thames Embankment.

The quantity of "filling in" supplied respectively from
the land and the river,during the last seven weeks, has been
from the former 19,711, and from the latter 23,778 cubic
yards. The total quantity since the 9th December, from
both sources, has lcoen 256,091 cubic yards. These state-
ments will go some way towardsgiving an appreciable idea
of the progress made in substituting land for water on
the north bank of the Thames. Such of the public as
have kept themselves acquainted with the subject aro
aware that these gigantic works are divided into two cora-
tracts—No. 1, extending from Westminster to the other
side of 'Waterloo-bridge, where it makes a landing stairs ;
and No. 2, embracing the river bank from within a few feet
of -Waterloo-bridge to the eastern end of the Inner Temple-
gardens. Perhaps the chief features in both contracts will
be the now steamboat piers and landing-stairs for small
boats. In every case these will be, alike in extent and
convenience of arrangements, incomparably superior to
those to which we have been hitherto accustomed. On
No. 1, the larger contract, five new piers, averaging 250 ft.
each in length, are to be constructed—viz., one at West-
minster, two at Hungerford (one at each side of the bridge),
and two at Waterloo, in the same way. Tho quantities of
materials used or to be used on these great works are
almost fabulous. Iu No. 1 contract there are 420,000 cubic
feet of timber in use ; 30,000 cubic feet of granite have
already been built in, and 67,000 ft. more are ready for im-
mediate use. Here also they have at work ten of Murray's
chain pumps, varying from 500 to 2,000-horse power each,
and 30 steam engines, ranging from 5 to 20 horse power.
There is a most ingenious pneumatic apparatus, by which
air is forced in by steam to prevent the waters rising from
below ; the pressure has actually been so great that the
water from the bottom has pushed the men at work
through the top of the caisson. There are 15 barges con-
stantly employed in bringing stone, bricks, lime, and
cement to the sphere of this No. 1 contract, and 30 more
barges bearing filling in stuff from the river bed. Upwards
of 20 millions of bricks have been already laid, and three
quarters of a million are on the spot ready for use. There
are 14,000 bushels of cement on the works, one in every 20
of which is severely tested beforo used-2,000 bushels a
week aro required. There are 3,000 tons of iron of all
sorts in use, two-thirds of which is in plant, 250,000
yards of excavation have already been made, and 15,000 of
concrete used up to the present time. There are 100 and
odd horses and carts daily employed, and there are over
800 men now on the works, exclusive of some 200 masons
in quarries in Scotland—whence the greater part
of the granite used comes—and also in Ireland and the
Channel Islands. Labour is just now scarce and high-priced.
The skilled men earn from 6s. to 7s. a day, and the common
labourers from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. T his is better paying em-
ployment than Feniauism. From -Westminster-bridge there
are 600 ft. of the low level sewer completed. It is built into
the wall, and above it is a subway for gas and water. Vitri-
fied bricks are used for the sewers. The rest are known as
" washed" bricks, some of which were made down the Great
'Western Railway and others latterly on the Medway, near
Maidstone. They are considered by the initiated to be first
class bricks. The old York Gate is to be removed from
the bottom of Buckingham-street to a site opposite the
centre of 'Whitehall-gardens, where there will be a landing
stage for small boats. There will also be another such land-
ing stage between Waterloo and Huugerford bridges, equi-
distant from the steamboat piers. 700 ft. of granite wall,
founded on concrete loft. below the river bed, has already
been carried up to high-water mark. Four rows of cast-iron
pipes 31t.. in diameter are to be brought from the rear of the
Duke of Northumberland's gardens, near Scotland-yard, to
the river, to carry off the storm water of the large sewers
now running into the Thames. Under these will be the
pneumatic railway, from this point to Waterloo. Some of
the caissons have been sunk, on this portion of the work,
to a depth of 50ft, but the average depth is 35ft. or 3Gft.
It takes a week, usually, to sink a caisson, but there was
one instance in which it took six months. 400 ft of iron and
timber dams are now finished on this contract, and the work
is being steadily carried on; but it will most probably take
take two years to bring the embankment road and railroad
to that state in which they can relieve the streets of any
portion of their present traffic. On contract No. 2, which
is about half the size of No. 1, extending from Waterloo-
bridge to the east end of the Inner Temple-gardens, the
works are being carried on with energy. Along the whole
length of the works, with the exception of some 300 ft.,
the tidal waters aro excluded. The means used for
this purpose by Mr. kits= have been coffer dams. There
are here 250 foot of the river wall, sewer, and subway
brought up to the required level of the roadway in two
separate levels of 120 and 130 feet respectively. Between
these will be the Temple steamboat pier, which will be a
fine piece of work, when completed. Opposite Somerset-
house there is a long dam 400 ft. in length. Little more
filling matter is now here required from the land, the
Thames Conservancy dredges sending sufficient stuff from
the bed of the river. On this contract 600 men, 15 horses,
and a large amount of steam power are employed, and the
work is pushed forward as vigorously as possible. On con-
tract No. 1 Mr. Furness has had several large photographs,
taken by Messrs. Dollarnore and Bullock, of Regent-street,
showing the principle of "timbering" adopted, as likewise
the system of "staying," and the application of iron and
timber dams, all of which would be most interesting to
engineers. The approach from the west to the embank-
ment will be at Westminster-bridge, part of the parapet
wall of which, opposite Palace-yard, will come down for
this purpose. The exit, going eastward, will be at Black-
friar's-bridge, from which there will be a straight street to
the Mansion-house. It will be satisfactory to any one who
has not been upon the river for some years to find that its
water is evidently more pure than it used to be.

ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—At the last sitting M.
Serres communicated a paper on the Glyptodon
claripes, an enormous antediluvian quadruped of the Arma-
dillo genus, but of the size of an elephant. Hitherto no
complete skeleton of this wonderful animal has been found.
Owen, Lund, Nodot, Huxley, and Burmeister had only had
incomplete fragments at their disposal ; but M. Serres has
at length succeeded in reconstructing its skeleton, which
will very shortly be exposed to public view at the Museum
of Comparative Anatomy at the Garden of Plants. The
total length of the creature is 3 30 metres, or nearly 11
feet ; its height from the ground to the top of the crests
which support its bony armour is 4 feet. The head, which
had only been until now described on the evidence of mere
fragments belonging to different k individuals, is en-
tire ; its vertical diameter is equal to its transver-
sal one, viz., about 151 inches. M. Faye announced
that having received a volume published by Dr.
Spoerer, containing some further details respecting
the rotation of the sun, ho had compared the observa-
tions of Dr. Spoerer with Mr. Carrington's, and found that
there either must be a mistake in the results obtained by
ascertaining these two distinguished astronomers, or the velocity of the
sun's rotation must have abated during the last six years,
the latter alternative being, in his opinion, the most pro-
g culinary whether
pro-
bable. Jeannel sent in a note on a new way of easily
in
methodthe tin used fo srce tinningin
vesselsthere in exists
hospitals.any l lead
a din
Hi s
con-
sists in this—Take about five decigrams of scrapings of the
metal to bo tested, and boil it in an excess of nitric acid
diluted with ono-third of its weight of water. When the
solution is complete, filter
and then put in a crystal of
iodide of potassium. If the liquid
thousandth part of lead yellowa precipitate will be
formed, which will not disappear by the addition of an
excess of ammonia.
The French Academy of. Fine Arts, in its sitting
of Saturday last, awarded the Bordin prize to MM. Louis
and Rene Menard ; the Valmy prize to M. Alex. Thom.
u2ont prize toM. Justin
d'Aziout ; the Tre
_Cachus ; and
the chaztier prize to DI. 11993 l gaginel.