New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-11-05
INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC INTEL
LIGENCE.

sal
cary to convey the Cro'oi across, involve immense
dficuitie- especially in properly syhg and repairing
and Judging f.c,n the results Of attempts TO carry
us,e, under the Charles River and other navgable
.tr,sr,s nav be pronounced impract:cab.e L.r.e
v, IL purcuring deeply into the peculiarly saturated
sand which Is found to underle the whole lsi.nd might
by steam pumping, furnish plenty of rather limy or
hard ws.-r but would dry up all other wells and
.prings for perhaps miles around, AMI arouse more
",,rorr language" than thanksgivings. When the
excavations FOR the Dry-D,ck at the Navy-Ysrl
being made b. fore the sides and bottom were walled
ard c.mented. it rot OILY took al the water ro the
surrounding ves but exhibited strong disposition to
suck in and punpo oft AZ tho eastern end 81 the Island,
which in is turn. seemed ready to dissolve into quick
sand for tie purpose.
81, bnrd,el thousand or more New-Yorkers drink or
otherwise consume, each an average OF about my
colo7, n water per day Brooklyn which ia, in point
Of POPULATION, the third city in the Union, Is, wth
rrsi.ewo,tby ambition dtsou. Of providing equally
liberal l4.h FOR her rapidly increasing progeny; but
where and how shall she obtain 1t New-York and
Boston By EXTENDING from ;htr elevated reservoirs ex
persivc conduits, n,irg gently still higher, find ia the
country large streams at sufncient elevations to I'LL
them Ot,e cities as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Gin
rna,i Orlecns, Chicago Cleveland, Bufilo AMI
jersey City, having fresh rivers or lakes contiguous,
elevate quantity By pumping; but Brooklyn = CON-
PEELED by Ter peculiar situation 10 shoulder the ex-
rep,e Of both methods. She must construct and main
tain Powerful engines, keeping the same supplied with
fuel ard competeLt engineers and must ALTO construct
ard maintain river to be pumped
There j. vet another difficulty which, however, is
nlso f v most other cities. TINS - the unela! ele
walton of her surface. The topography OF Pittsburgh
q even less favorable than that Of Brook and that
ofNew.YoIk is but little beter-the houses on large
area termed Murray Hill" near tie Foreth-stleet
Reservoir. being high that the Croton refuses to
rise much above the Easements. Pittsburgh sur
noun the difficulty by having separate system for
the elevated part with reSerN Or and steam pumping
apparatus Of moderate capacity for its supply. The
water is pun ped by large engines from the Allegheny
into principal reservoir for the lower parts of the
CITY. while a smaller engine is continually pumping a
poion from ti- into still higher receptacle for the
hill people Brooklyn will surmOunt the difficulty in
the same way ard it has been seriously urged on the
city authorities OF New-York to privilege party to
pump water from tie present Croton Pipes INFO
tower So az 70 afford Sufficient pressure for the c!e
waited district.
To meet tl. difficulty small reservoir and pumping
establishment il located at Prospect Hi, but with this
execution the distribution of the water in the city ia
commonplace Outside the city large pipe leads
across or rather under gently undulating surface
snd mounts TO nearly or quite the highest point of the
rrnse known ~ Cypress Hills. Here occurs baiurdl
deprt scion which much dimDishes the labor of con-
stIuotirg the reservoir. One hundred and seventy.
-four men were at work at that point on October 2Jth
and 3 more teams hourly expected some twelve
of which arrived during stay. The reservoir fronts
on the Wilamsbureh and Cypress Hills Plankroad,
but few rods this side Of the fist entrance to tie
Cemetery and when full viii oi - acres
to n depth Of "a feet.
We cannot avoid essociating with the construction
Of such works the immensely long period during which
some now in service ore known TO have existed.
Aqueduots are not inventions, and being subject
neither TO conclusions chGngcablc loads, Ike railroad
stIucturce irregular action OF animals, boats and
ice, Ike canals, perfectly willing To endure for
ever The squeduct Of Spoleto, in II ly constructed
ty Tbeodcric King of the Goths about A. d. 500,
mains entire ut the present day, although portion
was Of comparatively slender arches of altitude
exec eding anything attempted in modern times The
middle arches which cary this supply over tue River
De IA Moreia are 32S feet high, three times as tail rs
the High Bridge over the Harlem River, and the total
water was again admitted into old Roman aqueduct
Which had been ont Of use nearly eco years, and it
as found that the masonry had been preserved with
out leak during the whole of that long period.
The surface Of the reservoir on Cypress Hills, when
full will be IL feet above tide The walls are
ben g built up eight inches at time each layer being
carefully rois,oned by sprinkDg cart and pressed
down by r,ler. Tie wall is TO be 20 feet wide on
the top, with grass the outside AMI stone on the
inside slopes Several swales of excellent clay have
been met with in the excavation which material is
catfully prescIved to form the "puddliog water
tight lining of well mixed clay and sand, which pro-
tecs the bottom ard sides of this well as all the
more distant earth-work ard masonry. Up TO this the
highest convenient point the island, the water will
be forced from low point about one mile beyond by
the agency Of what will necessarily be the most pow
eiful machuery for this purpose in America. The
col Tract is for twenty mionJ of gallons daily, all of
which must be urged with no very sluggish speed up
the side of IL activity the vertical lift berg about
les feet. The style Cf engines and pumps to be en-
ployed is decided CO. but the specification of the
t rgine house provides for four Of the largest
Cornish pumping engines and pumps with three
" double return drop fue" boilers connected to each.
II is point, which is near the New Lots depot of the
L.rg Island Railroad, is the mouth of the artificial
river which, either covered or open, stretches far
enough eastward to find and bring the water. Inc
point selected is 20 lew that the surface of the water
in the large and tightly constructed pumr-we Is but Ut
tie above the level Of extreme high tide and an oval
PIPE or conduit Of brick laid in cement commences
q; this well and proceeds gentle rise in nearly
straight line across TIE low country to Baiseleys Pond
On Jamaica Creek about FIVE miles distant. By ayoi!'
il short curve. III the conduit, and making smooth s
terror which is 10 feet vide and feet inches high,
the Iropo.ed inclination Of 6 inches per mile viii con-