The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
Over the Blue Ridge.

But as matters are. the ancient engin-
GERS and legislators have ~bequeathed
Us a small sized "Hoosac.' Not ex-
actly IN that shape, however, although
the tunnel Is no small affair, but III
the form OF cuts, through steep noun
tam spurs, which thrust themselves
down, numerous and p~recipitous, from
The crest of the Blue Ridge. One of
these, through which the now famous
mud cut is undertaken to be
carried, and in which fifty convicts
have been at work since last summer,
without making any progress, IS an
ancient slide, which, several hundred
years ago, as the age of the trees plain
ly shows, dropped down from the
steep flank of a sharp and high spur
which walls in the upper part of Mill
creek on the South. This slide is about
one third af a mile broad at its base on
the stream, which it doubtless once
damned up, forcing the creek to cut
out a new channel for itself. And,
along the line of its descent, it rises in
successive benches and slopes of so to
10 yards each, to the foot OF the Cliff
from which it was torn, reaching at
this point, between 5000 and 1000
yards from the baSe.) an elevation of
about 500 feet above its foo at the
creek. and more than 800 above the
railroad grade. The cut Is attempted
to be made in the second bench and at
the deepest part, and has a depth of
20 feet. or more. The area of the mass
is more than 80 acres, and OF course it
consists of earth and stones, in a con
fused tumble, many single blocks
weighing hundreds of tons, and one
over 1900. The water which falls on
the benches percolates through the en-
tire mass, to the underlying rock,
making the lower portion of it an un-
stable loblolly. As to the depth of the
mass, of course it would be difficult to
ascertain it with exactness, but it is
probably at least twice as deep as the
cut, and may be much beyond that.
" viz u III - Jo'S 80
the earth is removed from the cut, In
the first place, the bottom of the cut
is pressed up. the sludgy mass yielding
to the enormous pressure of the 80 to
| 50 feet of earth above. And as a conse-
quence, this mass itself gradually
sincks, and moves into the cut, break
ing off section behind section, as you
ascend the slopes and benches above.
separated by yawning rents, parallel
to the cut, and extending already
nearly 900 yards above it. These rents
are continually widening, as the sew
cred masses move downward with
their heavy forest, standing upright
There are not less than 20 acres Of this
mass above the cut, about half of which
is already on the moye. Of our the
spade is useless in such a contest, even
though it were backed by a thousand
convicts' power. And the president
engineer, in turning the creek through
it with a head of so feet. has wisely
called to hisaid one of the great forces
of nature, which has hewn out the
mountains themselves, and is o fcOurse
capable of modifying some of their
minor features with an energy and
speed which belittles any moun of
mere man power. How much of the
a above will move in. and how
long it will be about it Will depend
largely on the amount of rainfall. BIT
it will probably be long before a stable
track can be laid that will not show
that SO common and so baneful dispo-
sition, to rise in the world, at other
peoples expense.
There is another slide about a mile
further up, of 10 or 20acres apparently,
which has recently broken loose from
a high rise, and has dropped down q
or 30 feet. and pushed its lower end
into the track, but it has only aided to
till a depression, and bring it up &c
grade, and SO is m~oveless, if it can be
persuaded to stop right there, and
not move off again another stage
downwards track, and all. after every
extraordinary rain; of which we have
so many lately. And as every thing
stands on end here, slides are the order
of the day, all along the line, and nc
one who has not been around the
curves can conceive the magnitude ot
the difficulties which beset the engin
eer at every turn. Major Wilson ha:
got an elephant, and if he can get hin
l n harness this summer as he promises
he Will deserve the unmeasured graft
tude of the travelling and waiting pub
lie. w. & K.
To cure a soft corn-saturate a piece
of raw cotton with lemon Juice. addins
some of the pulp; bind this to the corn
and continue the application until al