~& rb Noi^qo^ T_ 0L # /t*+.~ ftl^A.zo. XyiAtta I" }i £) T©H A O U £ '£) iy c I Jl C « E E It J E> E FA MT II E fl T J.N CjiBO»S e a1<° ]Sew^¥brk and X4©m«l_©]fx; "Wiley ami FiMtiiaiJti Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Public Library http://www.archive.org/details/illustrationsofcOOtowe PREFACE The views which I have given of the important points…

A description from such source, accompanied with detailed plans of all the appurtenances of the Aqueduct, with the results of experiments on the flow of water in the Aqueduct, would be a useful contribution to the cause of science, a valuable work to Engineers generally, and particularly so to younger members of the profession. The history which I have given of the preliminary measures leading to…

For the account of the Aqueducts of Mexico and South America, I am indebted, in a great degree, to " Bradford's Antiquities of America" and " Ewbank's Hydraulics." F. B. Tower. TABLE OF CONTENTS ------ Page. ------- Aqueducts of Ancient Rome, ------ Principal Aqueducts constructed by the Ancient Romans in other parts of Europe, Aqueducts of Modern Rome, Principal Modern Aqueducts of Italy, …

------ Isometrical View of Culvert, 90 Tunnel and Gate Chamber at the head of the Aqueduct, - - 92 ------ View above the Croton Dam, 95 Entablature over the entrance to the Aqueduct, - 96 View below the Croton Dam, Croton Aqueduct at Sing-Sing, Aqueduct Bridge at Sing-Sing, - ----- ----- - - - - 101 10:9. Aqueduct Bridge for Road-way, Croton Aqueduct at Mill-River, ... - Croton Aqueduct at …

And here united pour their silver streams, Among the figured rocks, in murmuring Falls, Musical ever." The Ruins of Rome. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. A supply of pure and wholesome water is an object so essential to the health and prosperity of a city, that it should form one of the leading features of the public improvements which characterize its growth. The advantages arising from it are so numer…

the persevering traveller finds ruined cities buried in the depths of the forest, where nature is at work covering and concealing them among those ruins he tells us of the Aque- : duct. We find them also among the ruins of cities along the western coast of South America. With such examples before us, we may consider that by the construction of the Croton Aqueduct for supplying the City of New-Yo…

We have accounts of Aqueducts constructed under the reign of Solomon, and the remains of them still existing in Palestine, give evidence of an extensive acquaintance with the principles of hydraulics among the Hebrew architects. The Pools of Solomon, which are mentioned by travellers who combine in their researches a regard for the arts as well as the religion of Judea, are connected with a scheme…

That this plan was not generally adopted by them in cases where great expense has been incurred to maintain the uniform declivity of the conduit over valleys, may be accounted for perhaps by the want of proper material for the construction of pipes. In cases where this plan has been adopted leaden pipes were used, and since it is only within the last century that iron pipes have been invented, we …

tion of Temples, Palaces and other public buildings, and what is more natural than to suppose that in the construction of these Aqueducts, which were considered so essential to the public welfare, they should encourage works of such architectural magnificence? Whatever the reasons might have been for maintaining the elevation of their Aqueducts over valleys by such expensive structures, we have n…

A view is given of the Aqueduct of Spoleto, in Italy. The bridge supporting this Aqueduct is remarkable for the slender form of the piers and their great height; being only ten and a half feet thick and two hundred and fifty feet high to the base of the arches. This Aqueduct was built by the Goths, a people who gave a model for Church Architecture which is much admired at the present day. It is …

of thrust of the arches, so that if a portion of the bridge were removed, the remainder of the arches and piers would maintain their By the present plan the permaposition. nency of any one individual arch may be considered to depend upon that of the whole structure.* The Aqueduct of Spoleto, has been standing about eleven hundred years and is still in a perfect state of preservation. With prope…

For 440 years from the foundation of Rome the inhabitants contented themselves with the waters of the Tiber, and of the wells and fountains in the city and its neighborhood. But at that period the number of houses and inhabitants had so augmented, that they were obliged to bring water from distant sources by means of Aqueducts. Appius commenced this scheme of improvement. About 39 years after him,…

In the remains of these ancient Aqueducts, some are elevated above the ground upon a solid mass of stone work, or upon arches continued and raised one above the other ; other portions are subterraneous, passing through deep excavations, and in many instances piercing through mountains of rock ; such is that seen at Vicovaro beyond Tivoli, where a tunnel of about five feet deep and four broad, pie…

It is represented by Pliny, as the most beautiful of all that had been built for the use of Rome. It was begun by Caligula, and finished by Claudius, who brought its waters from two springs called Coeruleus and Curtius. Vespian, Titus, Marcus - Aurelius, and Antonius Pius, repaired and extended it ; it is now called Aqua, Felice. The Aqueduct that conveyed the Aqua Neroniana to Rome, was built o…

From the ruins of this fabric, which are still seen, and are called " II castel del Acqua Marcia," it appears to have been a very superb structure. The Aqueducts were under the care and direction, first of the censors and cediles, and afterwards, of particular magistrates called " Curatores Aquarum," instituted by Agrippa, to whom the Aqueducts of Rome were objects of particular attention. Messa…

D. 101. He gave an account of the Aqueducts, which has since been translated into French by Rondolet. The following table is made up of data from that work. ; The table is arranged to show, First, the name of the water or Aqueduct ; Second, the era of its construction Third, the length of each Aqueduct in miles and decimals Fourth, the cubic feet discharged in 24 hours, and Fifth, the gallons in…

The names of the Roman Aqueducts are taken from those of the River or Lake which supplies them, or from the emperors who caused them to be constructed. Frontinus gives the following as the origin of the name Virgin Aqueduct : " It is called the Virgin (Virgo), because it was a young who showed some veins to a few soldiers who girl were in search of spring water. Those who dug followed these ve…

Agrippa, flattered by the honors which he received from the inhabitants of Nismes, made his residence there : he enclosed the town with new walls, built baths, and probably the Aqueduct of the bridge of Gard ("pont du Gard") for bringing water to them. This Aqueduct is nearly thirty miles in length, forming, in its course, the figure of a horse-shoe. It brought water from the fountains of Eura a…

are vertical, and the top covered with a flagging of cut stone, except where it is under ground, in which situation the top is covered by an arch of stone. The interior face of the walls and the bottom were covered with a coat of plastering two inches in thickness, composed of quick-lime, fine sand, and brick nearly pulverized. This coating has now a tenacity and consistence equal to the hardest s…

The pont du Gard is that part of the Aqueduct of Nismes which crosses the deep valley in which runs the Gardon or Gard. This part, considered alone, is one of the noblest monuments built by the Romans among the Gauls. It is composed of three ranges of arches one above another. The first range, under which the Gardon flows, is formed by 6 arches ; the second by 11, and the third by 35, all of which…

of the fifth century, about the year 406, and it is supposed that by this means they would deprive the inhabitants of Nismes of the water furnished by the Aqueduct, and force them to yield. But by this supposition, which is very probable, the water had been running in this Aqueduct for more than four centuries ; and this structure which has been out of use during fourteen hundred years, is still…

Aqueducts, of which three were constructed under the reigns of Augustus, of Tiberius and of Claudius, for conducting water to that part of the ancient city situated upon the mountain. The first and the most ancient of these Aqueducts, constructed by Mark Anthony, brought the waters from Mountd' Or, by means of two branches which embraced that group of mountains. The water furnished by the first…

This Aqueduct was built by Claudius, who was born at Lyons, to conduct water to the emperor's palace, situated on the highest part of the city.The sources which supplied it, were in the neighbourhood of Mount Pila, and they were brought into the main Aqueduct by branch aqueducts. The main Aqueduct was forty miles in length ; and adding the branches, the length of the Aqueduct was forty-five miles…

These bridges which were constructed for the support of pipes, were wider in the bottom of the valley and also half way up the inclined plane, than they were for the remainder of the distance ; and this form has suggested the idea that the pipes of 8 inches diameter, when they reached half way down the plane, separated, each one into two of 6 inches diameter which crossed the bridge, and converged…

Aqueduct : upon the bottom of this trench was laid a mass of masonry 1 foot thick, upon which two walls were built, each li foot thick and 5i feet high, these walls standing 2 feet apart, and surmounted by a semicircular arch of a thickness of 1 foot and generally covered with earth 2 feet deep. The interior had a coat of cement plastering, 6 inches thick on the bottom and H inch thick on the side…

The Aqueduct when it was above the ground, was supported upon a wall of masonry, and the side walls of the channel-way had an increased thickness. When it was elevated 6 or 7 feet above the ground, the foundation wall was six feet thick ; but when it had a greater elevation it was supported upon arches and piers, and upon the elevation depended the span of the arch, the thickness and height of the…

Pontchartrain, Minister of State, to repair to Rochefort, to conduct spring water to the port from the fountains of the city, which were supplied from a source, though quite insufficient for the city, in the neighborhood. In his researches he discovered a good and copious source, at less than half a league, but on the other side of the river, the Charente. Many difficulties were presented, because…

take some loading ; but when the commander wanted to sail again he could not raise the anchor. This fact attracted much attention, and many people went to witness the singular circumstance. The Captain, unwilling to lose his anchor, sent down a man, to find what was the matter. The diver reported that the anchor was hooked under something round, but he could not tell what it was. A capstan was app…

F. which was apparently the name of the maker or architect, who laid down the conduit pipe in the time of the Romans. I delayed not to inform Mr. Begon, at Rochefort, of this discovery, because he had always favoured my project of conducting water along the bottom and across the Charente, which would not have been half so difficult as it had no doubt been, to lay one across the Rhone where this w…

structures built by the Romans at Metz, belongs to a time more remote, and that the date of the reign of the first emperors may be the era when the legions of Caesar occupied the country of the Gauls. The total length of the Aqueduct was 14 miles, and the fall for this distance was about 73 feet. The channel-way was 6i feet high, by 3 feet wide, constructed with stone masonry and having an arch …

One of them is remarkable for the beautiful architectural arrangement and the solidity of its construction. It is 115 feet high, and was built under the Emperor Justinian, A. D. 527. It has two ranges of arches, one above the other, and the Aqueduct supported upon the second. These Aqueducts are in some parts unlike those of Rome, which were formed on a continuous line for many miles, with a regu…

passes along the ground to a second pier at a proper distance and rises to another cistern on the top of it, and so on till it rises on the crest of the opposite bank, where the water resumes its regular motion along the Aqueduct. This plan was probably adopted with a view to avoid the expense of constructing a bridge which should preserve the general inclination of the channel-way ; but it is d…

The water this Aqueduct furnishes is 2,322,762 cubic feet (14,168,848 gallons) daily, discharging through 7 principal conduits, at 13 public and 37 other fountains. Second, Aqua Felice. This is a part of the ancient water of the Claudian and Marcian Aqueducts united with many others, and collected under Sextus V. The daily quantity it furnishes is 727,161 cubic feet, (4,435,682 gallons,) and supp…

An evidence of the durability of these old Roman structures is furnished in this junction of water from Lake Bracciano by Cardinal Orsini, under authority of Clement X., upon condition that a part of the water should be used to feed a second fountain about to be built in St. Peter's Square atRome, and the rest to be divided between the Apostolic Chamber and the House of Orsini. From the lake the c…

This Aqueduct was commenced in 1753. It is twentyseven miles long, from the sources which supply it to the gardens of Caserta. The sources are at the base of the mountain called Taburno; the principal one is called Sorgente de la Sfizzo; it is afterwards joined by streams from many other sources, which are in the country called Airola. These waters are all joined in one Aqueduct, crossing the ri…

The lower range has nineteen arches, the middle twenty-seven, and the upper one forty-three; makin all eighty-nine arches. The labor of constructions under ground for this Aqueduct was more than that above; it pierced through five hills or mountains, making an aggregate length of tunnel of about four miles, and most of this was through rock. To give air and light to the channel, they made pits o…

Pitot, engineer and member of the Academy of Sciences. He was thirteen years constructing it. This Aqueduct is formed by two ranges of arches ; those in the lower tier are seventy in number, and each 28 feet span ; the piers of these arches are each 12 feet thick. The arches of the second or upper much smaller, and are arranged so that tier are three of them come within the space occupied by one …

composed of ten grand Gothic arches each 71 feet diameter, supported upon piers of 10^- feet thickness. The middle arches which are over the river de la Morgia, are about 328 feet high. On the top of this bridge is the Aqueduct which carries the water to Spoleto. This structure was difficult to execute, and being built of a very hard stone, remains entire at the present day. The total length is…

D. 360 ; it supplied the palace and hot baths, but was destroyed by the Normans. It was above nine miles and a half long, and was entirely under ground, except the stone arcade over a deep valley at Arcueil. After its use had been suspended 800 years, a new and beautiful arched Aqueduct was built by the side of the ruins of the old one, and its final restoration to public use was completed in 1634…

This work, had it been completed, would have been one of the most remarkable of modern times. The project was one of the noblest examples of the enterprise which characterized the reign of Louis XIV., and had it been carried out would have presented a work equal in grandeur to any of the kind constructed by the Romans. It was projected by Vauban, and the work was commenced in 1684, but was aband…

The length of this Aqueduct bridge would have been three and a quarter miles, and the height from the lowest part of the valley would have been 234 feet. The whole number of arches designed for this bridge was 685. Some of the piers and arches of the lower tier were constructed, but have since been suffered to crumble and fall. Many deep valleys were filled with embankments, and the canal was co…

In some parts its course has been excavated through hills ; but near to Lisbon it is carried over a deep valley, for a length of 2400 feet, by means of several bold arches, of which the largest has a height of about 250 feet, by a breadth of 115. The arches being pointed have an interesting aspect, particularly when viewed from below, the interior of the spacious vaults being not only majestic in …

The people who, in remote times, inhabited the region of Mexico, were advanced in civilization and in the arts ; they had regularly organized states and established forms of government, and their immense cities, their roads, Aqueducts and other public works, give evidence of the advanced state of the arts among them and their knowledge of the sciences. The location and great population of some of…

The fourth supported the celebrated Aqueduct of Chapoltepec, by which water was conducted from springs, upon an insulated hill of that name, at the distance of from two to three miles." The Aqueduct of Chapoltepec was the work of Montezuma, and also the vast stone reservoir connected with it. This Aqueduct consisted of two conduits formed of solid mason work --each five feet high and two paces b…

This Aqueduct, as described by Cortez, consisted of twowonduits composed of clay tempered with mortar, about two paces in breadth, and raised about six feet. In one of them was conveyed a stream of excellent water, as large as the body of a man, into the centre of the city. The other was empty, so that when it became necessary to clean or repair the former, the water might be turned into it which …

Two miles from Tezcuco, the village of Huexoila, situated on the site of the ancient city of that name, which was considered as one of the suburbs of Tezcuco, exhibits signs of ancient civilization, in the foundations of large edifices, in massive Aqueducts, one of which, covered with rosecolored cement, still exists in a perfect state, and in an extensive wall of great height and thickness. A co…

Among the ruins of the city of Zacatecas, are found the remains of an Aqueduct ; and at Palenque is found an Aqueduct of stone, constructed with the greatest solidity. Among the hieroglyphical ornaments of the pyramid of Xochicalco are heads of crocodiles spouting water, and much proof may be found that the ancient Americans were acquainted with that property of liquids by which they find their l…

" The Peruvians and some of the neighboring nations carried the cultivation of the soil to a higher stage of perfection than any of the American nations. In consequence of the narrow extent of land intervening between the mountains and the sea, the rivers in this region are usually of small size, and the soil, being arid and sandy, needs the aid of artificial irrigation. To such an extent did the…

" Frezier says the Indians were very industrious in conveying the waters of the rivers through their fields and to their dwellings, and that there were still to be seen in many places Aqueducts formed of earth and stone, and carried along the sides of hills with great labor and ingenuity." " I have had various opportunities," says a recent traveller, " of closely examining one of these canals, wh…

Many of them consisted of two conduits, a short distance apart the larger of these was for general use ; the other and smaller, to supply the inhabitants and water the fields, while the first was cleansing ; a circumstance in which they bear a striking resemblance to those of Mexico." Molina, in his " Natural and Civil History of Chili," observes, that previous to the invasion of the Spaniards, …

The conquerors of the 16th century destroyed these Aqueducts, and that part of Peru has become, like Persia, a desert, destitute of vegetation. Such is the civilization carried by the Europeans among a people, whom they are pleased to call barbarous." These people had laws for the protection of water, very similar to those of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and all the older nations ; for those who conveyed…

partially refined people, centuries before the time of Manco Capac, the first Inca ; and that a long period of barbarism had intervened, induced, perhaps, by revolutions similar to those which, in the old world, swept all the once celebrated nations of antiquity into oblivion. The ancient Peruvians had a tradition respecting the arrival of giants, who located themselves on the coast, and who dug …

When the sixth Inca acquired a new province, he ordered the lands to be " dressed and manured ;" the fens to be drained, " for in that art (draining) they were excellent, as is apparent by their works, which remain to this day ; and also they were (then) very ingenious in making Aqueducts for carrying water into dry and scorched lands, such as the greatest part of that country is ; they always mad…

This current of water had its course through all the country of the Rucanas, and served to water the pasturage of those uninhabited lands, which are about 18 leagues in breadth, watering almost the whole country of Peru." There is another Aqueduct much like this, which traverses the whole province of Cuntisuyu, running above 150 leagues from south to north. Its head or original is from the top o…

future ages ; for, indeed, we ought to consider that these waters had their source and beginning from vast, high mountains, and were carried over craggy rocks and inaccessible passages ; and to make these ways plain, they had no help of instruments forged of steel or iron, such as pickaxes or sledges, but served themselves only with one stone to break another. Nor were they acquainted with the in…

"The current of water which passes through all the division of Cuntisuyu I have seen in the province of Quechua, which is part of that division, and censidered it an extraordinary work, and indeed surpassing the description and report which hath been made of it. But the Spaniards who were aliens and strangers, little regarded the convenience of these works, either to serve themselves in the use o…

Garcilasso observes, " there were five fountains of water, which ran from divers places through pipes of gold. The cisterns were some of stone, and others of gold and silver in which they washed their sacrifices, as the solemnity of the festival required." Fountains. Artificial fountains and jets d'eau are of extreme antiquity ; they have been used for beautifying public grounds of cities, and h…

Here stood anciently, a beautiful fountain, adorned with the finest marbles and columns ; and on the top was a bronze statue of Jupiter, from which issued great plenty of water, as may be seen on the reverse of one of Titus' medals. This fountain was of great use both to the spectators and the gladiators in the amphitheatre to refresh themselves. Pope Alexander VII. caused it to be repaired, but …

The surplus water not used for the supply of the fountain flows down the mountain-side forming a beautiful cascade. The cities of Europe abound in fountains which in their arrangement furnish beautiful designs and are ornamented with specimens of workmanship displaying much skill and refinement of taste : a minute description of them would, however, occupy too much space, and since we have had o…

" If during the most distinguished eras of the Roman state, the Aqueducts conduced to the luxurious enjoyments of the wealthy and powerful, yet in modern times, the residents of Rome have also found them particularly advantageous, by their furnishing occasions for the cultivation of those elegant arts, which, in a peculiar manner, call forth the energies of genius, and the exercise of refined tast…

Janiculum hill, and Dominica Fontana, and Carlo Mederno, furnished the designs for its construction. The front is adorned with six Ionic columns of red granite, on which an attic has a tablet containing an inscription with the pontiff's arms placed above it. Between the columns the spaces are open, and from these arcades the currents of water flow with a loud noise, and in great abundance. The a…

The middle arcade has a colossal statue of Moses, causing the water to issue from the rock ; and at the sides are two basso relievos, one representing Aaron leading the Israelites to the miraculous spring, and the other Gideon selecting the soldiers to enlarge the passage for the water, which flows in great abundance through three apertures into marble basins. The sides are adorned by four marbl…

Niccolo Salvi designed the grand front, but the work was completed under Clement XIII., who decorated it with statues, basso relievos in marble, and different columns of the Corinthian, Ionic, and Composite orders. In the centre is a statue representing Oceanus, standing in a car, drawn by two large sea-horses, guided by Tritons. One of the horses appears furious and impatient, whilst, on the cont…

The cost of constructing this splendid and useful fountain was great but it ranks among the most interesting objects ; conspicuously embellishing the city of Rome." " The Piazza Novana has a very noble fountain standing in its centre. It is composed of a large circular marble basin 79 feet in diameter, in the middle of which is placed a rock of square form with apertures at the sides. The figu…

La Plata too, and Danube's streams unite Their liquid treasures, copious, clear and bright.' " During the summer, it is the custom occasionally to permit the water to overflow the whole square, for the entertainment of the people ; and on midsummer's eve persons amuse themselves by wading and driving through the flood. This practice has sometimes been attended with fatal acci- dents, and not on…

being also formed of an open shell, from which three bees throw out the water." " In the vicinity of the Temple of Vesta stands a handsome fountain, having a capacious basin, in which some Tritons support a large marble shell. From the centre of the latter, the water spouts to a considerable height, and then descending flows over its margin into the basin beneath. Some fine fountains adorn the ma…

" The delightful promenades, groves, and gardens belonging to the Doria family, are interspersed with fountains of various forms ; besides having a beautiful lake with waterfalls. Statues, antique basso relievos, and small fountains, adorn a kind of amphitheatre, where a circular edifice contains the marble figure of a fawn holding a flute, on which it seems to play different airs : the music, how…

' The pilgrim oft, At dead of night, 'mid his oraison hears Aghast the voice of Time, disparting towers, Tumbling all precipitate, down-dashed, Rattling around, loud thundering to the moon ; While murmurs sooth each awful interval Of ever-falling waters ; shrouded Nile, Eridanus, and Tiber with his twins, And palmy Euphrates they with dropping locks ; Hang o'er their urns, and mournfull…

A spacious reservoir was constructed on the east line of Broadway, between, what is now known as Pearl and White streets, and a well of large dimensions was sunk in the vicinity of the Collect. The war of the revolution, which commenced in 1775, and the consequent occupation of the city of New-York by the British troops, was the cause of the abandonment of the work in its unfinished state. In the …

In April, 1799, the Manhattan Company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, and the object of this Company was declared to be, to supply the city with pure and wholesome water ; but instead of looking for a supply from foreign sources, they resorted to the plan of furnishing the water from wells which they sunk within the city limits. Besides these wells of the Manhattan Company there wer…

They spent two days, the 20th and 21st of March, in exploring the country adjacent to the River and Sound, and at a meeting of the Common Council, on the first of April, the Mayor, as Chairman of the Committee, made a report of their observations, and recommended an appropriation, with authority to employ a competent engineer to survey and profile the whole line between the city and the main sourc…

White, a Civil Engineer of repute, to examine the several sources from which a supply was likely to be obtained, and to furnish correct surveys and profiles of the heights and depressions of the country through which the water must be conveyed, and that he had been requested to report as soon as it was practicable. In 1823, the Sharon Canal Company was chartered by the State, andamong its duties …

by Stephen Allen, Esq., late Mayor, in November last, desiring me to assist Canvas White, Esq., with my advice and counsel, as to the best method of supplying the city of New-York with plenty of good water, I beg leave to make the following report," &c. Mr. White reported in favor of bringing the water of the Bronx to the city ; taking it from the River at the Westchester Cotton Factory pond. The…

Canvas White, Esq., was appointed Engineer to this Company, and in his report to the Directors, he recommended taking the waters of the Bronx at Underbill's bridge ; estimated that 9,100,000 gallons of water could be delivered in the city daily, and that the expense would not exceed $1,450,000. The charter of this company proved so defective in practice, that they were unable to proceed under it,…

In 1831, the Common Council of the city, impelled by a sense of the importance of a supply of pure and wholesome water, began to take more decided steps towards the accomplishment of the object : a Committee of the Board of Aldermen on Fire and Water, consisting of James Palmer, Samuel Stevens and William Scott, to whom were referred ; various communications and resolutions on the subject of sup…

present and future wants of the city cannot be obtained. This Committee drafted an Act for the Legislature to pass, which was approved by the Common Council, and presented to the Legislature in the session of 1832, but failed in becoming a law. That Act provided for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners of three persons, by the Common Council, to superintend the execution of the plan and mak…

recommended the Bronx as a sufficient source, with some artificial reservoirs, to answer all the city purposes. The frightful ravages of the cholera, during the summer of 1832, gave to the subject of a supply of pure water a deeper interest, and the minds of the citizens were again aroused to the importance of it. The Committee of the Board of Aldermen, on " Fire and Water," James Palmer, chairma…

the Bronx as the source of supply, he arrives at the conclusion, that an adequate supply can only be obtained from the Croton River. He proposed to take the waters of the Croton at Pine's bridge, which he stated to be 183 feet above the level of the Hudson ; to conduct the water in an open Aqueduct, following the line of the Croton and Hudson Rivers, and cross Harlem River on an arch of 138 feet i…

the year previous, was in consequence of a want of sufficient information to warrant the opinion of the feasibility of the project, and it recommended that immediate application should be made to the Legislature, asking for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners, with full powers to examine all the plans proposed, to cause surveys, and to estimate the probable expense of supplying the city o…

In compliance with the request of the Common Council the Legislature of the State, on the 26th of February, 1833, passed an Act,* providing for the appointment by the Governor and Senate, of five persons, as Water Commissioners, whose duty it was by said Act declared to be " to examine and consider all matters relative to supplying the city of New-York with a sufficient quantity of pure and wholes…

gineers, and made all necessary examinations so as to determine, whether a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water could be obtained for present and future purposes, whether its introduction into the city would be practicable at an elevation precluding the use of machinery, and also what would be the probable cost of completing the projected work. Their report satisfied the Legislature tha…

near as may be, what amount of money may be necessary to carry the same into effect ; to report an estimate of the probable amount of revenue that will accrue to the city, upon the completion of the work, and the reasons and calculations upon which their opinion and estimates may be founded ; such report to be made and presented to the Common Council of the city on or before the first day of Janua…

Various plans were proposed for conveying the water to the city, and estimates made of the cost of the work constructed by either of these plans, but the one recommended by the Commissioners, and that for which a preference was expressed by the Engineers, Messrs. Martineau and Douglass, was a closed Aqueduct of masonry. These gentlemen each made an estimate of the cost of bringing the water of the…

These resolutions were adopted by the Common Council, and at the election in April, 1835, the subject having been duly submitted to the electors of the city and county of New-York, a majority of the voters were found to be in favor of the measure. On the 7th of May following, the Common Council " instructed the Commissioners to proceed with the work." Thus authorized, the Commissioners immediate…

The construction of the work was commenced in May 1837 ; and on the 22d June, 1842, the Aqueduct received the water from the Fountain Reservoir on the Croton : --on the 27th of June, the water having been permitted to traverse the entire length of the Aqueduct, entered the Receiving Reservoir at the city of New-York, and was admitted into the Distributing Reservoir on the 4th of July. The Commiss…

In the course of examinations which were made to determine sources whence water could be obtained, questions of deep importance presented themselves in regard to the source to be relied upon for a supply, also in reference to the plan which should be adopted for conducting the water to the city. It was of so much importance to the city that the supply should be such as not only to answer the pres…

Structures would be required, which, in their design, would find no parallel among the public works of this country, and in forming plans for them he might study with advantage, the works constructed for similar purposes by the Ancient Romans. The examinations embraced all the sources from which a supply of water might be obtained in the neighboring counties of Westchester and Putnam ; giving a c…

This dam was proposed to be built about 2 feet above the level of high tide, thereby keeping all the salt water below ; and above the dam would be the fresh water for supplying the city, which must be pumped up into a reservoir by means of water-wheels, which would be operated by the overfall of water when the tide was low, but when the tide was up within 2 feet of the top of the dam there would n…

The difference of tides is about 5 feet, which added to the height of dam above high tides, would give 7 feet of the top of the dam exposed to the pressure of the water on the up stream side when the tide is low. It was suggested that the hydraulic power here obtained, could be used for manufacturing purposes, except that portion of it which would be required for elevating the water to the reser…

This objection was offered by Frederick Graff, Esq., the superintendent of the Philadelphia Water Works, who stated that although the dam on the Schuylkill River is raised 6 feet 6 inches above the highest tides, the delay in pumping, occasioned by the tides, averages seven hours out of the twentyfour ; and in full moon tides, from eight to nine hours. The projector of this plan set forth many adv…

The distance being about forty miles, over a country extremely broken and uneven, and following a direction, for a portion of this distance, parallel with the Hudson River, encountering the streams which empty into it and form deep valleys in their courses. It will be interesting to notice the different plans which were suggested for forming a channel-way to conduct the water. The following m…

upon this for a supply, would be cut off, except there should be sufficient in the reservoirs to furnish a supply during the period of repairs. The canal could never be subjected to a thorough repair, because of the necessity of keeping it in a condition for furnishing water constantly during the whole year, so that all repairs would be done under great disadvantages, and the channel would be year…

The close channel or culvert, composed essentially of masonry seemed to possess all the requisite advantages for conducting the water in a pure state and keeping it beyond the influence of frost or any interruption which would be liable to occur to an open channel. In point of stability this plan had a decided preference over either of the other plans proposed, and the only objection offered was t…

Could a line be graded so as to give a regular inclination from the Fountain Reservoir to one at the city, then the expense of laying iron pipes for conducting the proposed quantity of water, would be greater than for constructing a channel-way of masonry ; and when laid, the pipes were thought to be less durable. Should the pipes follow the natural undulations of the ground, there would be so muc…

The country bordering upon the Croton is generally elevated and uneven, not sustaining a dense population and cleared sufficiently to prevent injury to the water from decayed vegetable matter. The river has a rapid descent and flows over a bed of gravel and masses of broken rock. From these advantages there is good reason to suppose that the water will receive very little impurity from the wash o…

The dam on the Croton River is about 38 feet above the level which was the surface of the natural flow of water at that place, and sets the water back about six miles, forming the Fountain Reservoir which covers an area of about four hundred acres. The country forming the valley of the River was such as to give bold shores to this reservoir generally, and in cases where there was a * For some ge…

Could we suppose that the Croton River will ever in any season of drought, fail to furnish a supply greater than would be carried off from this Reservoir and the Reservoirs at the city by evaporation, we have still a supply of water which would be sufficient for one million of inhabitants during the space of thirty days (estimating the amount necessary for each inhabitant to be twenty gallons for …

certainly be supposed to continue during the length of time (about four months) that would be required for the present population of the city to exhaust the quantity in store when all the Reservoirs are full. The minimum flow of water in the river where the dam is constructed, has been stated to be twenty-seven millions of gallons for every twenty-four hours. This would be a sufficient supply for…

Other Reservoirs may also be constructed farther up the Croton to draw from in seasons of drought. These suggestions would only be useful to provide a supply during the low stages of the river, for at other seasons the flow of water in the Croton would be equal to the full capacity of the Aqueduct* General Design of the Channel-way and Reservoirs, A description of the general design and purpose …

At the place where it was determined to build the dam across the Croton River, the surface of the natural flow of water was about 38 feet below the elevation required as a head for the water to flow into the Aqueduct leading to the city. By going farther up the river the dam would have been of less height, and a point might have been found where it would be only necessary to build a dam to turn th…

No essential change occurs in the form of the channelway from the Fountain Reservoir on the Croton, to the Receiving Reservoir on the island of New- York a distance ; of thirty-eight miles, except in crossing Harlem River to reach the island, and in passing a deep valley on the island, where iron pipes are used instead of the channel-way of masonry to provide for the pressure consequent upon a de…

From the Receiving Reservoir the water is conducted (a distance of two miles) in iron pipes to the Distributing Reservoir, where the surface of the water is 115 feet above the level of mean tide. This last is the height to which the water may generally be made available in the city. GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE AQUEDUCT. Plate I. is a section of the Aqueduct showing the form of the masonry used …

Having thoroughly mingled the broken stone and mortar, the concrete is placed in its proper position and form, and brought into a compact state by using a pounder ; and is then suffered to remain until it set, or become indurated, before any work is commenced upon it. The object should be to mix as many stones or pebbles as will thoroughly bed in the mortar, allowing none of them to come in contac…

Though we have evidence that concrete was used by the Ancient Romans in the foundations of some of their structures and even in the formation of their roads --such as the Appian-Way, and though we find it used in the foundations of the feudal castles of the Norman Barons of England, still it has not been introduced into the general practice of architure until quite a modern date, and even at the p…

The mortar used in these side walls is formed by mixing clean sharp sand with hydraulic lime, using the proportions of three parts of the sand to one of the lime ; and these are thoroughly mixed and incorporated before they are wet ; when this mixture is wet and thoroughly worked, it is used immediately and always kept properly tempered so as to render it plastic, and to prevent any disposition to…

They are required to be burnt to such a degree of hardness that they present a cherry red, or brownish color, and give a clear ringing sound when struck ; and when broken, must present a compact and uniform texture. All bricks brought upon the work which are soft and of a pale color, such as are usually denominated salmon brick, are rejected. Those which are used, possess nearly the hardness and d…

The inverted arch of brick, as well as the brick facing on the sides, is four inches thick, and the roofing arch of brick is eight inches thick. After the masonry is finished the excavation which was done to receive it, is filled up around it, and over the top of the roofing arch generally to the height of 3 to 4 feet, and in some instances of deep excavation, up to the natural surface. If the nat…

The side walls of stone and brick are bonded together by headers of brick entering the stone walls as shown in the drawing, and the walls of stone are built closely against the sides of the rock and forming a junction with it. On the exterior of the roofing arch a heavy spandrel of stone masonry (of the same character as the stone walls beneath it) is built, filling the space between the arch and …

The width of the tunnel excavation in rock is the same as that of open excavation in rock ; and the manner of building the masonry to form the channel-way is the same, with the exception that the rock roof of the tunnel serves as the roof of the channel-way, where it is sound, but in cases where the rock is soft and liable to fall, a brick arch is built over the channel-way, and the space between …

When the earth is dry and compact, the excavation for the bottom and sides is made of a proper form to receive the masonry, which is built closely against it : the top is excavated sufficiently high to give room to turn the arch, and the space above is afterwards filled with earth closely rammed in. Where the earth is wet and there is difficulty in making it stand, the excavation is made larger, a…

That such settlement should in some instances occur, even after the Aqueduct is completed, is not surprising, for passing over so many different elevations, and encountering such numerous transitions from a hard soil, or from rock, to valleys of alluvial deposit, it would be beyond human powers of foresight and vigilance to prevent it. To render the Aqueduct more secure in such positions, the conc…

great care being taken to obtain a deep and firm footing for this wall in order to render the work secure. In such a position the Aqueduct is perhaps less secure than in those before described. Where the soil is wet from springs, and the formation clay, there is danger of slides ; and in rainy seasons there is danger from the torrents which gather on the hill sides and come down with destructive f…

level, and arrangements are also made at these places to close the channel-way entirely, by means of stop planks, and to discharge the whole of the water through waste-gates so that the water might be running from the Fountain Reservoir through a portion of the Aqueduct and discharging ; from these waste-weirs while the remainder of the channelway, or portions of it, would be drained so as to a…

The sill of the door is about 12 feet above the bottom of the channel-way. Those not intended for an entrance stand directly over the top of the Aqueduct and are groined into the roofing arch. Besides these Ventilators, there are openings 2 feet square in the top of the roofing arch, every quarter of a mile : they are covered with a flag stone and the place is marked by a small stone monument proj…

upon which an inverted arch of cut stone is laid forming the bottom of the water-way : side walls of stone are built and surmounted by an arch of stone. The span, or width of water way, of the culverts built, varies from 1^ foot to 25 feet. Those of li foot span have a square form for the water-way, and are constructed by making a foundation of concrete, upon which a flooring of well dressed ston…

Plate VII. is an isometrical drawing of one of the culverts with rectangular wings and parapets ; the body of the culvert is cut in two in the drawing, showing that it may be of any length, according to the width of the embankment through which it is The length is generally constructed. arranged so that the slope of the embankment may intersect the rear of the top of the parapet and pursue a dire…

face of the water ; any floating substance cannot enter it, and during the winter season when the water is frozen over no obstruction can take place to the flow into the Aqueduct, and during the summer season the water will be drawn from a level where it is cooler than at the surface. The gate chamber has two ranges, or sets of gates ; one called regulating gates, and the other guard gates : the …

Commencing at the south side of the gate chamber at the Croton dam, The 1st plane of Aqueduct extends 26099.72 ft. or 4,943 miles, and the descent 2.94 ft. The 2d plane of do. extends 148121.25ft.or28.053miles, . . . .30.69 ft. Length of pipes across Har. River, 1377.33 ft. or 0.261 miles. DifF. of level betw'n extremes of pipes 2.29 ft. The 3d plane of Aqueduct extends 10733.14 ft. or 2.033 mile…

In crossing Harlem River there is a fall of 2 feet more than there would have been had the Aqueduct continued across with its regular inclination : this extra fall will afford an opportunity to adjust the number and capacity of the pipes (which descend below the level of the Aqueduct and rise again) to discharge the full quantity of water as freely as the Aqueduct, or channel-way of masonry, woul…

The height of the interior of the Aqueduct is 8 feet 5Jr inches, and the greatest width is 7 feet 5 inches. The sectional area of the interior is 53.34 square feet. On the first plane, the Aqueduct is larger ; being 2.05 feet higher at the gate chamber, 2.31 feet higher at 2244. feet from the chamber, and then diminishing, to the head of the second plane, where it assumes the size above mentioned …

The original design was to continue the inclination which the second plane has, up to the Fountain Reservoir ; but it was considered desirable to draw from this Reservoir at a lower level, and the head of the Aqueduct was depressed for that purpose, and a less inclination adopted for the length of the first plane. The roofing arch was left on the same inclination as was originally designed, excep…

would be proper to attribute to the whole body of water in the Aqueduct ; but the depth of water in the Aqueduct will be probably 4 feet as soon as it is brought into general use, and then there will be a corresponding increase in the velocity of the body of water. This velocity of a mile and a half an hour may be taken in general terms as the velocity of the water in the Aqueduct, £ i a; DESC…

the valley opens so that for the length of two miles more the width is about a quarter of a mile ; here the valley contracts again and diminishes the width until the flow line reaches the natural width of the River at the head of the lake. The country immediately contiguous to the shore has been cleared up, and all that would be liable to impart any impurity to the water has been removed. This giv…

The entablature which is seen on the left against the rock, is built directly over the mouth of the tunnel, and from this the tunnel extends through the rock to the gate house, which is seen on the right of the picture and some distance from the dam. The structure which is seen in the centre of the picture and on the ridge of the dam is a gate house over a culvert which extends through the body …

Plate X. is a representation of the entablature over the mouth of the tunnel, showing the inscriptions upon it, relating to the date of the commencement of the dam and its completion, the persons who had contracts for building it, and those having charge of the work during the time. Plate XI. is a view taken from a point below the dam and shows the relative positions of the dam and the gate chambe…

In making the plan for a dam at this place it was determined to fill the main channel and the table land on the right bank with an embankment of earth ; and on the left bank where rock was found, to build a body of masonry against the slope to the requisite height for the surface of the Reservoir and connect it with the embankment in the channel ; this masonry formed the overfall for the water, a…

The overfall was made of such length as was thought sufficient to pass all the water of the river during its highest stages, and with the view of adapting it to such purpose, examinations were made to find the highest marks of floods on the banks of the river and those who were engaged in determining these marks were guided also by the observations of the inhabitants of the vicinity who had long k…

such a flood occurred as could not have been anticipated from previous knowledge of the River; the water filling the entire passage at the overfall, flowed over the top of the embankment where it was not supposed it could ever reach. The lower slope of this embankment was covered with a wall not calculated to resist the action of the water and it gave way ; the water broke through the embankment a…

The fertile fields were torn up and covered with masses of stone and gravel, and the flood left marks of its fury far up on the hill sides. At the commencement of the rain which caused this flood, the ground was covered with snow to the depth of eighteen inches : the weather became warm and the powerful rain storm continued incessantly for forty-eight hours. Notwithstanding the immense volume dis…

Access to the house over the culvert, is gained by a foot bridge which is seen in the picture. The masonry of the original structure has a rock foundation, and the extension of the overfall which is seen on the left of the house extending across to the embankment has an artificial foundation of concrete. The masonry of the dam is about 8 feet thick at the top and 65 feet at the base ; it is built …

On the upstream side of the masonry of the dam, an embankment of earth is filled in, extending 275 feet from the masonry at the base, and extending from the masonry with a slope of 1 foot in 5 on the top. The whole work about the dam possesses great interest, and though it be distant from the city and somewhat difficult of access, will not fail to please those who may take time to visit it. Just a…

Enough of the forest has been cleared away to admit of the construction of the work, but the place still possesses much of its original wildness, and to see such beautiful mechanical work standing against the rude rocks, -- to observe what changes have been wrought # cv ; in the form of this rock to render it subservient to the purposes of the work, makes us feel that there has been a strife t…

reaches the left bank of the Hudson, which it pursues, keeping at a distance of nearly half a mile from the River, until it arrives at the village of Sing-Sing, which is eight miles from the dam. In the course of this distance the Aqueduct passes through four tunnels and encounters many valleys and ravines where high foundation walls were required, and culverts for the passage of the streams. At t…

ing not at right angles with the line of Aqueduct required the arch to be built askew ; the arch lies in the direction of the road-way, having the ends in planes parallel with the direction of the Aqueduct. This bridge is worthy of notice, but public attention is more generally directed to the larger one : that has an arch of 88 feet span and a rise of 33 feet the form of the arch is elliptical, b…

what adds much to this boldness, is the narrowness of the arch, or small distance from one end of it to the other ; being only 23 \ feet long at the springing line while the span is nearly four times this length. The length of the arch diminishes towards the crown, the ends being in planes not vertical, but inclining towards each other at the top. Each end has a batter or inclination of one twent…

This lining is within the brick work of the bottom and sides of the channel-way, having four inches of brick outside of it and four inside. The object of it is to prevent any water dripping through the work, lest by any means it should fill the exterior masonry of the bridge with moisture and thus render it liable to injury from frost. Other precautions are taken in forming the masonry about the c…

It is about half a mile east of the road leading from Tarrytown to Sing-Sing, and to follow the course of the stream which passes through it, it is three quarters of a mile to the Old Dutch Church, near Tarrytown, which is well known, and familiar to every one who has read Irving's " Legend of Sleepy Hollow." There is much of the wildness and beauty of nature about this place ; the woods are stan…

The culvert for the stream is 6 feet span and 148 feet long. The larger culvert for a private road is 14 feet span and 141 feet long. The wall which supports the Aqueduct at this valley is 50 feet high. In this case, as in many others, the slope wall which covers the face of the embankment has an arch turned in it over the top of the culverts : the object of this is to S& ^ S 3 %l b © © to}…

From Hastings the Aqueduct continues along the bank of the Hudson until it reaches the village of Yonkers where it leaves the valley of the Hudson, and passing through a tunnel of considerable length reaches the valley of Saw-Mill River. At the crossing of this valley there is a culvert of 20 feet span for a public road to pass under the Aqueduct, and one having two arches each 25 feet span for th…

The distance across this valley is about a quarter of a mile, and the surface of the River is 120 feet below the bottom of the Aqueduct. In all the examinations which were made with a view of bringing water from Westchester County, the crossing of this River, or arm of the sea, was regarded as the most formidable work that would be encountered ; various plans were proposed, and in presenting these…

The design was a bold one, yet instances where such bridges have been constructed for road-ways afford examples of the feasibility and permanency of the structures, and prove that the application of that principle for this purpose was riot a visionary project. The plan which was adopted as the most suitable under all the considerations of economy and security to the work, was a Low Bridge to suppo…

of the pipes, and from this wall the table land on the northern shore and the slope of the northern side of the valley, would be excavated to a form to give the proper position to the pipes descending from the Aqueduct. The lowest level of the top of this stone embankment was designed to be 4 feet above flood tide. Suitable parapet walls were designed to be built along the sides of the embankment …

At this time when the work was going on vigorously, they were compelled to abandon the plan which had been adopted, and devise one which would comply with the requirements of the law of the Legislature. A comparison was instituted between the plan of a tunnel under the bed of the river and that of a bridge of masonry at the required height above the river. The tunnel would be at least 300 feet lon…

difficulties of such a work and the uncertainty of arriving at a proper estimate of the cost. In the alternative to which they were driven by the Act of the Legislature, the plan of an Aqueduct bridge of masonry was adopted as the proper one for crossing the River ; but in establishing its altitude they complied only with the requisitions of the law, and made the soffit or under side of the arch…

considerations of economy induced them to build the work only high enough to comply with the requirements of the law. The plan which has been adopted for building an Aqueduct bridge across this valley is as follows : on the south shore of the river there is one arch of 50 feet span, across the river there are eight arches, each of 80 feet span, and on the north shore there are six arches each of 5…

The height from the foundations in the river, to the top of the work is 150 feet ; the width across the top is 21 feet. The pipes when laid upon the bridge will be covered with earth to protect them from frost. The distance between the extremes of the pipes when laid across the bridge will be 1377-g- feet. For a distance of 18 feet at each end of the pipes there is an inclination and the remainder…

Tradition among the inhabitants of the vicinity says that at an early period of the Revolutionary war a vessel was scuttled and sunk in that part of the river. To a mind fond of antiquarian researches and accustomed ' ' 1 li Ill to invest objects of such a nature with associations of the past, this ancient wreck would furnish a fruitful theme. We are now laying the foundation of a magnificent …

In the progress of preparing foundations for the piers of the bridge, an embankment has been formed across the River and the pipe leaving the Aqueduct on the north side of the valley follows down the slope of the hill, and crossing over the River upon this embankment, ascends on the south side again to the Aqueduct. At the bottom or lowest point in this pipe, a branch pipe of 1 foot diameter has b…

when there is only a depth of 2 feet of water in the Aqueduct. To those who had watched over the work during its construction and looked for its successful operation, this was peculiarly gratifying. To see the water leap from this opening and rise upwards with such force and beauty, occasioned pleasing emotions and gave proof that the design and construction of the work were alike faultless, an…

side of the rocky hill, and continues over an uneven surface encountering two tunnels before it reaches Manhattan Valley, which is about 35 miles from the Croton dam. This valley is four fifths of a mile wide where the Aqueduct meets it, and the depression is 102 feet below the plane of Aqueduct grade. Here was an opportunity for constructing a work of architectural beauty and boldness by bui…

Provision is made for four pipes of 3 feet diameter, but at present only two are laid which answer the demands of the city at this time. At the bottom of the valley waste cocks are provided which discharge into a sewer leading to the Hudson River, a distance of half a mile. The lowest point in the pipes is 102 feet below the bottom of the water way of the Aqueduct on the north side of the valley. …

Plate XXI. is a view of a portion of the work at Clendinning Valley showing the three bridges ; and comprises a length of about 700 feet. The greatest height from the foundation to the top of the work is 50 feet, and the width at the bottom of the Aqueduct is 30 feet. Parapet walls are built on the sides of the wall above the bottom of the Aqueduct to support a covering of earth over it. ; Plate…

is considered that this is only one of the parts which make up the whole. From Clendinning Valley the Aqueduct soon reaches the Receiving Reservoir which is thirty-eight miles from the Croton Dam. This Reservoir occupies an elevated part of the island between 79th and 86th streets and between the 6th and 7th Avenues. It covers seven of the city blocks ; is divided into two divisions, one covering…

the rock, which over the whole island, presents a singularly broken and uneven formation. In almost every instance of excavation, the rock was found above the proposed bottom of the Reservoir, and the difficulty of preventing leakage along the surface of this rock may easily be conceived ; but considering that measures are taken to prevent such an occurrence, another difficulty is still presented …

They are about 20 feet wide on the top, and increase in thickness towards the base by a slope on both sides : the outside face of the Reservoir bank has a slope of 1 foot horizontal to 3 feet vertical : the inside has a slope of li foot horizontal to 1 foot vertical. The outside face is protected by a stone wall 4 feet thick having the face laid in mortar : the inside face is protected by a slope …

water a depth of 20 feet over the whole, but a quantity of rock was left, as the capacity was thought to be sufficient without taking it out. The southern division has 30 feet of water where the bottom was filled in with embankment, and 25 where excavation was made. A portion of rock was left in this division for the same reason as that in the northern division ; the greater part of it being in th…

A connection pipe of cast iron is placed in the division bank at C. to allow the water to flow from one division into the other in order to equalize the level ; it is placed 10 feet below top water line and has a stop-cock to close or open it. @2 eg ,Ufl a IUJ] o Esfl At D. is a waste weir, where surplus water may pass off: it is so arranged that the water, when it rises to a proper level, w…

Those houses on the east side denoted by E, F, are the ones from which pipes lead to the lower or Distributing Reservoir, and those on the west side denoted by G, H, are intended for supplying the western part of the city north of the Distributing Reservoir. There is a vault within the eastern bank to accommodate the pipes which leave the house E, and passing along, connect with those from the hou…

The pipes are placed at a level below the bottom of the division from which they draw : the bottom of the interior of those from the southern division being 2 feet below, and that of those from the northern 5 feet below. The exterior walls of this Reservoir present a face of rough-hammered masonry, finished in a manner to give them neatness and durability. As a specimen of mechanical work, this R…

been located farther down, bringing the store of water more nearly in the centre of the city. Plate XXIV. is an isometrical view of the Distributing Reservoir showing the front on the 5th Avenue and on 42nd street. The pipes which leave the Receiving Reservoir follow along the 5th Avenue until they reach 42nd street, where they turn and enter the Distributing Reservoir at the base of the central …

On the south side of the Reservoir a pipe of 3 feet diameter leaves each division and they are arranged with branches so as to draw from one or both divisions. The house standing across the division wall is directly over the mouth of the effluent pipes, and is constructed like those at the Receiving Reservoir, with a gate and screen frame of timber. ; The central pilaster on 40th street has an e…

This Reservoir is 420 feet square on the top, measuring on the cornice of the main wall ; it is 425 feet square at the top of the cornice of the pilasters, and 436 feet square at the base, measuring from outside to outside of the corner pilasters, covering a little over four acres. The height of the walls is 45 feet above the streets around, and about 50 feet above the foundations. The water is 36…

One object of this arrangement is to obtain the greatest breadth with a given quantity of material ; another is to afford an opportunity to examine the work so as to guard against leakage and another, to prevent any moisture finding its way through to the exterior so as to cause injury to the wall by the action of frost. This kind of open work of the wall rises to within about 8 feet of top water…

wide 16 feet below the top, and 76 feet wide at the bottom : the cornice projects on the outside and the coping on the inside so as to make the width of the top 21 feet. An iron railing bounds the outside and inside of the walk around the top. The outside of the Reservoir is built on a slope of one sixth its height, or two inches to the foot, and an Egyptian cornice projects at the top of the mai…

for distributing the water in the city, will make the total cost of supplying the city of New- York with water about 12,000,000 dollars* The water was introduced into the Distributing Reservoir on the 4th of July, 1842, and the event was hailed by the citizens of New-York with an interest scarcely less than that pervading the whole American people at the remembrance of the event, the anniversary …

The 14th of October following was set apart as a day for the celebration of the introduction of the water into the city : and it was an occasion of unrestrained enthusiasm and joy. Multitudes came in from the country around, and from sister cities : -- all business was laid aside for the pleasing ceremonies of the day, and the Croton water, with the beauty and grandeur of its fountains, met with …

With cleanly streets, and the public parks beautified with the fountains which send forth cooling and refreshing vapours upon the air, the citizens will forget to leave the city during the warm months of summer, and the sea-shore, the mountain-tops, and watering-places, will fancy their beauty has faded, since they cease to be visited. The foreigner who visits this country will find the Croton Aqu…

Leaving the valley of the Croton we come out upon the Hudson at the head of the "great waters of the Tappan Zee," beyond which the early inhabitants of New-Amsterdam dared not to voyage without first " settling their family affairs, and making their wills." As we approach Tarrytown we find the localities which were pictured in the " Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and easily recognize the Old Dutch Chu…

( Chiefly compiled from the works of Thomson, Pereira, Whewell and others.) Water was regarded by the ancients as an elementary substance, and as a constituent of most other bodies. This opinion was somewhat modified by the experiments of Van Helmont and Mr. Boyle, who maintained that it could be changed into all vegetable substances, as well as into earth ; but it was substantially held until th…

supposed to be the cause of the blue color to the sky ; and in a vesicular form, in which state it constitutes the clouds. Terrestrial water forms about three-fourths of the surface of the terraqueous globe. The average depth of the ocean is calculated at between two and three miles. Now as the height of dry land above the surface of the sea is less than two miles, it is evident, that if the pres…

Even in those rocks which merely supply springs, the amount of disseminated water must be enormous ; for they so far resemble filters, that are necessarily charged with the fluid before they permit it to pass out. De La Beche has advanced the opinion that capillary attraction has great power, both in mechanically disseminating water among rocks, and in retaining it in them when so disseminated, a…

But though water is thus generally diffused over the surface of the globe, yet it is not found perfectly pure in any place ; even the rain and the snow that descend from the clouds, the condensation, as it were, of a natural distillation, are slightly tainted by saline matters ; which circumstance can only arise from the great solvent power of water enabling it to take up a portion of most substan…

Water, therefore, which is transparent, colorless, inodorous, and tasteless, is called good and pure, and none other can be called such ; though some medical writers are of opinion, that it is not necessary it should be in this pure state for common use. Such opinion however is undoubtedly erroneous II. In the organized kingdom. Water enters largely into the composition of organic substances. It…

According to Chevreul, pure water alone can reduce organized substances to this state of softness ; although salt water, alcohol, ether, and oil, are also imbibed by dry animal textures. Moist animal tissues, by virtue of their porosity, allow soluble matters, which come into contact with them, to be dissolved by the water which they contain, and which oils their pores : if the matters are alread…

It is almost incompressible, a pressure equal to 2000 atmospheres occasioning a diminution of only one-ninth of its bulk; or, when submitted to a compressing force equal to 30,000 lbs. on the square inch, 14 volumes of this fluid are condensed into 13 volumes ; proving that it is elastic. Water being the substance most easily procured in every part of the earth in a state of purity, it has been c…

Caustic potash (potassa fusa) and slaked lime may be instanced as compounds of water, and basic substances ; these are therefore called hydrates. The crystallized salts, such as alum, common salt, sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, borate of soda, (borax,) &c., contain a large amount of water as a chemical constituent, called water of crystallization. Water rapidly absorbs some gases, as am…

Heat is communicated through water in a different manner, from that observed in relation to solids, for it is not conducted as in them, from one particle to another, but carried with the parts of the fluid by means of an intestine motion. Water expands and becomes lighter by heat, and therefore it is, that if the upper portion of water be cooled below the lower, the former descends, and the lat…

The different temperatures of its upper and lower parts produce a current which draws the seas, and by means of the seas, the air, towards the mean temperature. This circulation is also carried on between distant tracts of the ocean ; as we see in the case of the Gulf Stream, which rushing from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic to the western shores of Europe, carries with it a portion of…

But though water expands by heat and contracts by cold, there is even a limit to this law, for had there not been, the lower parts of water would have frozen first, and thus entire lakes, rivers and oceans, perhaps, become solid, and had they become thus frozen, they would have remained so ; for, as the heat at the surface would not have descended far through the colder parts, the main body of…

Hence we never can have ice formed at the bottom of deep water, though it is not uncommon to find it thus situated, in shallow streams or rivers of rapid flow. Here the temperature of the whole body of water is brought down to the freezing point, and in freezing the ice adheres to the sides and bottom of the stream. What a beautiful provision is this, that the coldest water should rise to the sur…

contraction without limit, a great portion of the earth would be bound in fetters of ice. Such a disastrous result, is prevented by the substitution of expansion for contraction, when the temperature is reduced to 40°, and the benevolent purposes of an all-wise Designer, are made still more manifest by the further expansion of water in the act of freezing. As water becomes ice by cold, it becom…

Now the pressure of the latter is measured by the barometrical column, about 30 inches of mercury, while that of watery vapor is equal to one inch of mercury at the constituent temperature of 80 degrees, and to one fifth of an inch at the temperature of 32 degrees. If the atmosphere of air by which we are supported were annihilated, there would still remain, an atmosphere of aqueous vapor, arising…

Whenever the temperature becomes lower than the constituent temperature, requisite for the maintenance of the vapory state, some of the vapor, or invisible steam, will be condensed, and become water. This may be seen illustrated in the condensation of the steam, as it issues from the spout of a tea-kettle. Clouds not only moderate the fervor of the sun, but they also check radiation from the eart…

The expansion of water during its congelation, at which time its volume increases one twelfth, and its contraction in bulk during a thaw, tend to pulverize the soil, to separate its parts from each other, and to make it more permeable to the influence of the air. When ice changes to water, or water to steam, although at an invariable degree of temperature, yet the change is not sudden, but grad…

The 13 inches of water are of course supplied by evaporation from the sea, and are carried back to the land through the atmosphere. Vapor is perpetually rising from the ocean, and is condensed by cold in the hills and high lands, as is easily recognized by the mists and rains, which are frequent in such regions ; whence it descends through their pores and crevices, till it is deflected, collected …

Rain Water is the purest kind of all natural waters, though subject to some variations. Thus, when collected in large towns or cities, it is less pure than when obtained in the country ; moreover it is usually loaded with impurities at the commencement of a shower, but after some hours of continuous rain it becomes nearly pure ; for the first water which falls brings down the various foreign matte…

These combinations, in the small quantities in which they exist, in no degree injure the diluent properties of rain water. It is indeed to the presence of the two elastic gases, that rain water owes the taste which renders it palatable to animals and useful to vegetables. Ice water, being destitute of these gases is extremely vapid ; fish cannot live in it ; and it does not seem either to quench t…

According to Liebig, it is the atmospheric ammonia which furnishes the nitrogen of plants. The traces of nitric acid which have been detected in the air, are referable to the oxidation of the constituents of ammonia ; and not to the direct union of the oxygen and free nitrogen of the atmosphere. Dr. Pereira states that a carbonaceous (sooty) substance, and traces of sulphates, chlorides, and calc…

it is more apt to become contaminated with lead from roofs, gutters, cisterns, and water pipes. To purify rain water and render it useful, for the delicate purposes of chemical experiment, Morveau recommends dropping into it a little barytic water and then exposing it for some time to the atmospheric air. This combines with the carbonic acid, which being the solvent of the carbonate of lime, both…

But this malady occurs at Sumatra, where ice and snow are never seen ; while, on the contrary, the disease is quite unknown in Chili and Thibet, although the rivers of these countries are chiefly supplied by the melting of the snow, with which the mountains are covered. Ice is said not to quench thirst, but on the contrary to augment it, and that the natives of the Arctic regions prefer enduring…

always contains more or less of the sulphate and carbonate of lime, and it generally contains a trace of common salt, and the usual proportions of air and carbonic acid gas. The presence of these is detected by subacetate of lead, which displays the smallest portion of carbonic acid or a carbonate, and nitrate of silver, which detects the muriates by the formation of muriate of silver. Water fr…

Mountain streams, which generally issue from siliceous rocks, and run over stony or pebbly beds, are, for the most part, comparatively pure and soft.. The river water of New-England, and the other hilly portions of the United States,, is usually of this description, though in the time of floods, and after heavy rains, they contain much sedimentary matter. River water gradually deposits much of its…

month or two in a closed cask, on opening it, a quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, of the most offensive odor escapes, and the water is so black and nauseous as to be unfit for use. But on racking it off, it clears, depositing a quantity of slimy mud, and becomes remarkably clear, sweet and palatable. As the matters deposited in such rivers are merely mingled with the body of the water, which…

Avoirdupois, Source ofthe Chelsea. In the City of Grand Junc- Source of the At its source New-York as at 62° Fah., Chelsea Wa- CrotonLake it issues from tion Water ter WorkB or 70, grs. Avoirdupois. Works Com- the pipes. pany. Company. Grains. Grains. Grains. Carbonate of Lime,. ----„- 16-000 Grains. 16-500 1-42 1-52 Sulphate of Lime, > •00 •44 Chloride of Sodium, J 3-400 2-900 Oxide o…

Carbonate of Lime, - 45.86 2.293 53.67 2.190 Carbonate of Magnesia, 18.78 .939 11.87 0.484 Alkaline Carbonates, - 16.57 .828 4.53 0.185 Alkaline Chlorides, 3.87 .193 3.75 0.153 Oxide of Iron, 2.21 .110 Silica, 7.18 .359 9.68 0.395 Organic Matter, 5.53 .276 0.88 0.036 Parts, 100.00 grs. 4.998 Alumina and Oxide of Iron, 1.88 0.077 Alkaline Sulphates, - 13.74 0.560 Parts, 100 grs. 4.080 The Crot…

solid matters, though amounting to only one half a grain to the gallon. It appears from the above table, that the amount of impurities contained in the Thames water, exceeds those of the Croton by nearly six fold, and that the quantity of lime, held in solution in the former, surpasses that of the latter, about fifteen times. The Thames water differs also from the Croton, in the circumstance that…

In a trial at Nottingham, England, in 1836, it was proved that dysentery of an aggravated form, was caused in cattle by the use of water contaminated with putrescent vegetable matter, produced by the refuse of a starch manufactory. The fish, (perch, pike, roach, dace, «fec.,) and frogs in the pond, through which the brook ran, were destroyed, and all the animals which drank of the water became ser…

There are many instances on record where troops have sickened and many died of putrid fever and dysentery, from drinking the water of stagnant pools and ditches or of rivers, as of the river Lee, near Cork, (Ireland,) which, in passing through the city, receives the contents of the sewers from the houses, and is otherwise unwholesome. The organic matter contained in river water consists chiefly …

same as spring water, but liable to impregnation, owing to the land springs filtering through the walls, and conveying impurities into it. This is sometimes prevented by lining them with cast-iron cylinders, or by bricks laid in water-cement. Dr. Percival affirms, that bricks harden the softest water, and give it an aluminous impregnation. The old wells must, therefore, furnish much purer water th…

Hard water is a less perfect solvent of organic matter than soft water; hence in the preparation of infusions and decoctions, and for many economical purposes, as making tea and coffee, and brewing, it is much inferior to soft water, and for the same reasons it is improper as a drink in dyspeptic affections, causing irritation, and a sensation of weight in the stomach. The abundance of this earthy…

Instinct, or experience, has made even the horse himself conscious of this ; for he will never drink hard water, if he has access to soft ; he will leave the most transparent water of the well, for the river, although the water may be turbid, and water can be easily freed from these earthy salts ; boiling precipitates the carbonate of lime by driving off the carbonic acid which holds it in solut…

lower part of the city, has always been, more or less, brackish, owing to the percolation of the salt water from the north and east rivers through the loose sandy soil, thus giving them a distinct saline impregnation. The amount of impurities contained in these waters, varies, therefore, in different parts of the city, according to its elevation, and the denseness of the population. A gallon of wa…

For example, at the Chemical Works on the North River, at 33d street, and at an extensive distillery on the East River, some distance above the Alms House, water cannot be procured in sufficient quantities on their premises, where, but a few years past, it was obtained in great abundance. At the Gas Works on the Collect grounds, where they have a well 20 feet in depth, by 18 feet in diameter, whi…

Some trainers have so much fear of hard or strange water, that they carry with them to the different courses the water that the animal has been accustomed to drink and what they know agrees with it." ; to increase that of another. There is, therefore, every probability that had not water been introduced into the city of New-York from abroad, the supply from the wells would, in a few years, hav…

From 1815 to 1836, it ranged from 30.08 to 22.05, (in 1836), but the mean duration of life for the last 20 years is about 25 years ; and the ratio of mortality, according to population, about as 1 to 35. From the manner, however, in which the inspector's reports have been made, from the imperfection of the law, no great confidence can be placed in the returns, --those carried out of the city for b…

" Within a few years," says the Report, " it has become common in Boston, and the vicinity, to bore for water, and to make what are called Artesian wells. But no certain or valuable result has grown out of these endeavors. There are 33 bored wells, only two of which are stated as furnishing soft water. The same remarks will apply to the public wells of this city, the most of which produce nothin…

This is analogous to lake water, except that it is altogether stagnant and is more loaded with putrescent matter. The sulphates in sea and other waters are decomposed by putrefying vegetable matter, with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen ; hence the intolerable stench from marshy and swampy grounds liable to occasional inundations from the sea. Marsh water cannot be drunk with safety either …

Lime Water. This is a test for carbonic acid, with which it causes a white precipitate ( carbonate of lime) if employed before the water is boiled. 5. Chloride of Barium. A solution of this salt usually yields, with well water, a white precipitate insoluble in nitric acid. This indicates the presence of sulphuric acid (which, in common water, is combined with lime). 6. Oxalate of Ammonia. If thi…

If the test produce this effect on the water before, but not after boiling, the iron is in the state of carbonate ; if after, as well as before, in that of sulphate. Tea may be substituted for galls, to which its effects and indications are similar. Fcrro cyanide of potassium yields, with solutions of the sesqui-salts of iron, a blue precipitate, and with the proto-salts a white precipitate, whi…

Nitrate of silver is the best test for the presence of chloride of soda or common salt. By adding a small quantity of this to the common well water of New-York, a copious, white, flocculent precipitate is immediately formed, which is the chloride of soda. The same test, however, applied to the Croton water, produces no discoloration whatever. Purification of Common water. By filtration, water may…

When alum is used, two or three grains are sufficient for a quart of water. The alum decomposes the carbonate of lime ; sulphate of lime is formed in solution, and the alumina precipitates in flocks, carrying with it mechanical impurities. This agent, however, adds nothing to the chemical purity of the water, but by converting the carbonate into sulphate of lime augments its hardness, Caustic alka…

Alkaline carbonates soften water, decompose all the earthy salts (calcareous and magnesian carbonates, sulphates, and chlorides) and precipitate the earthy matters. They leave, however, in solution, an alkaline salt, but which does not communicate to water the property of hardness. Sea-water includes the waters of the ocean and of those lakes, called island seas, which possess a similar compositio…

- 168 " 167 " 76 " At Carshamm, - - - - - 66 " The average quantity of saline matter in sea-water is 3| per cent., and its specific gravity about 1.0274. The composition of sea-water differs also in different localities. Iodine has been found in the Mediterranean sea. Action of Water on Lead. When lead is exposed to atmospheric air, the oxygen of the air combining with it, forms an oxide, whi…

* It is now well ascertained, that carbonate of lime has only a slight action on soap, and cannot in the proportions in which it exists in potable waters decompose it, by giving rise to the formation of a clotty precipitate, as we observe with sulphate and nitrate of lime, and chloride of calcium -- and this is probably owing to the excess of carbonic acid which prevents the re-action of the calc…

In 12 ounces of distilled water, contained in a shallow glass basin, loosely covered to exclude the dust, twelve brightly polished lead rods weighing 340 grains, will lose 2J grains in 8 days, and the lead will show evident marks of corrosion ; and this action will go on as long as the water is exposed to the air. While these changes are going on, a small quantity of lead will be dissolved, as m…

muriates, carbonates, hydriodates, phosphates, nitrates, acetates, tartrates, arsenates, &c. These salts, however, do not possess an equally protective influence, the carbonates and sulphates being most, the chlorides the least energetic of those saline substances commonly met with in waters. As a general rule, it appears that those whose acid forms with the lead a soluble salt of lead, are the le…

The general results of Dr. Christison's investigations, appear to be, that neutral salts in various, and for the most part minute , proportions, retard or prevent the corrosive action of water on lead --allowing the carbonate to deposite itself slowly, and to adhere with such firmness to the lead as not to be afterwards removed by moderate agitation, -- adding subsequently to this crust other in…

Lead pipes ought not to be used for the purpose of conducting water, at least where the distance is considerable, without a careful examination of the water to be transmitted. 2. The risk of a dangerous impregnation with lead is greatest in the instance o f the purest waters. 3. Water, which tarnishes polished lead when left at rest upon it in a glass vessel for a few hours, cannot safely be tr…

In all cases careful examination should be made of the water after it has been running a few days through the pipes; for it is not improbable that other circumstances, besides those hitherto ascertained, may regulate the preventive influence of the neutral salts. 8. Where the water is of sufficient purity to act on lead, a remedy may b e found, either, in leaving the pipes full of water and at r…

Dr. Dana, of Lowell, has lately investigated this subject and detected lead in the water which had passed through the leadenpipes for the distribution of water in the city of Lowell. The first examination was made from a sample of water taken from the source or spring-head before it had entered the leaden pipes, when the specific gravity was found to be 1,000,18. The pint, on evaporation to dryne…

* Where water contains a large quantity of carbonic acid, there are some facts which appear to prove, that it may act on lead, to an injurious extent, though there may be present a large amount of neutral salts. ing through the leaden pipes, contains 1.312 grains of the carbonate of lead. Such water, although it would not speedily destroy life, would undoubtedly be attended wtih injurious conseq…

Ifitbetrue that the Schuylkill water does not act upon the lead pipes, it would follow as a matter of course, if the doctrines above laid down be correct, that the Croton, which contains very nearly the same quantity of saline ingredients, would also exert no influence upon this metal. In cases, however, where injurious consequences have resulted from the agency of lead, the pipes through which …

D. Coggeshall. No 421 Pearl-street in this city, and found the water evidently affected by the lead. He has also obtained similar results in several other instances. If the precaution be used, of not employing the water first drawn from the pipes for dietetic and culinary purposes, no injurious consequences would probably attend the use of water conveyed in this metal, but as this is not likely …

* Containing 4.05 grains of solid matter to the gallon, or about one 18,000 part. pipes have been highly recommended by our first chemists, and other men of science, as furnishing an effectual safeguard against the corroding effects of pure water This highly ingenious process, strengthens the pipe, without diminishing its elasticity, and although some small portions of the lead should escape bei…

Considered in a dietetical point of view, water serves three important purposes in the animal economy ; namely, it repairs the loss of the aqueous part of the blood, caused by the action of the secreting and exhaling organs ; secondly, it is a solvent of various alimentary substances, and therefore assists the stomach in the act of digestion, though, if taken in very large quantities, it may have …

The diminution of the fluid part of the body, is the cause of an uneasy sensation, indicating the necessity of repairing the waste of fluids, which we familiarly call thirst. This is a sensation connected with some natural state of the corporeal funo tions, and altogether independent of the occasional excitement of foreign bodies, although it may be induced by these. There is a demand for a certa…

This may arise from the absorption of the fluid parts of the saliva ; for it appears to be necessary for the due performance of the functions of the palate and the tongue, that the mucus should possess a certain degree of liquidity. The sensation of thirst is generally indicative of the necessity of a supply of fluid to the system generally ; for although thirst may be momentarily assuaged by wett…

Alcott, who lives entirely on succulent vegetables, states that he has drunk no fluids for more than a year past, and that he never experiences the sensation of thirst --a similar case is mentioned by Sauvages, of an individual who never thirsted, and passed whole months of the hottest weather without drinking. It is well known that many warm-blooded animals such as mice, quails, parrots, rabbits…

Thus it is greater in infancy and childhood than in adult age, and less in old age ; it is greater in women than in men ; it is varied by constitution and temperament ; by climate ; season ; the nature of the diet ; exercise ; passions of mind, and even by imagination. As an aliment, water is of prime necessity to all organized beings. As a solvent, it reduces to a fluid mass all the principl…

A great proportion of that which is drunk, is speedily absorbed by the veins, and carried into the circulation, some time before the product of the digested food is introduced by the way of the laeteals. There are numerous cases on record, where persons have lived, for a considerable length of time, on water alone. In the " Transactions of the Albany Institute," for 1830, Dr. M'Naughten relate…

River into the City of New-York, no city in the world of equal size, will surpass it in salubrity. To the operation of the same cause, we may doubtless look with confidence for a decided improvement in personal comeliness and beauty. " It is evident," says Dr Jackson, " that the health of a whole community may be so affected by impurities in water drank by them, as to give a peculiar morbid expres…

Does not this water, if we drink it, likewise corrode and injure the fine membranes of the stomach ? The Boston people, who constantly use hard water for all purposes of cookery and drink, certainly have bad complexions, sallow, dry, and hard looking ; and complaints of the stomach or dyspepsia are very common among them.* A Salem gentleman declared, that when his daughters, who frequently visited…

Health, however, is no less promoted by the internal, than by the external use of water ; and it is to be hoped, that but a short period will elapse, before free baths will be provided at the public expense, for the use of the poor, as well as the public generally. Daily ablution should be regarded as necessary as daily food or sleep. The advantages which soft water possesses over hard, in the th…

in the sinks and gutters, and the consequent purity of the atmosphere, --the diminution of danger from fires, and the consequent reduction of rates of insurance, with other important advantages too numerous to detail, we shall not consider its introduction purchased at too dear a rate, even were the expenses attending it increased to double the actual amount. We need not attempt to specify in d…

Since then, we have made a calculation, by which we are satisfied that in the single items of tea and coffee, it will save to the inhabitants of this city annually, not far from 90,000 dollars. To this may be added the improvement of the public health, and the consequent saving in medicine, and physicians' fees, a sum probably exceeding that above specified ; the increase of the working days,…

Pure and sparkling to the eye, bland and refreshing to the taste, whether it bubbles up from mother earth, gurgles in rills, flows along in streams and rivers, or spreads out in lakes and oceans, it every where proves a blessing,- -- and ought to be universally regarded as one of the most inestimable gifts of Providence to man. As it is the only fluid capable of quenching thirst, so it is the onl…

the salts held by it in solution. But in all such instances, the spirit which is added proves far more injurious than the small quantity of vegetable and mineral matters which it is designed to correct. To the latter, the system becomes in a manner habituajed, so that even when pure soft water can be had, the former is often preferred, as is now the case with many individuals, who prefer our brac…