W
E have been requested to call attention again to the International Congress of Hygiene which is to meet in London on August 10, next. The sixth Section, which is to consider Architecture in relation to Hygiene, meets in Burlington House, Piccadilly, on August 11, and will consider live special subjects, — the Laying out and Extension of Towns, including the control of the construction of buildings, and the reservation of open spaces; the Planning and Construction of Dwelling-houses, especially common lodginghouses, workmen’s dwellings and residential flats; Hospitals for Infectious Diseases; the Construction and Arrangement of Asylums; and the Sanitation of Theatres and Public Halls. Those persons who have valuable suggestions to make on these subjects are earnestly requested to contribute papers. The papers may be written in English, French or German, and, for this Section, must be sent to Mr. Ernest Turner, the Secretary of the Architectural Section, at 246 Regent Street, London, in time to reach him by June 30; and abstracts of the papers, written with a typewriter, and containing not more than five hundred words, must be in his hands by June 15. No paper will be received which has been previously published, or communicated to any other society.
AN interesting competition will, it is supposed, soon be announced in Germany. The beautiful city of Munich, one
of the most interesting towns in the world, architecturally and artistically, has been growing of late years with a rapidity that throws American cities of the same rank into the shade. Within the last five years, the population has increased nearly twenty-five per cent, and, including the recently annexed district of Schwabing, the town now contains three hundred and forty-nine thousand people, who find it by no means easy to get suitable places to live in. It happens that the municipality, by a curious survival of the mediæval military law, exercises control over a large territory outside the city, under the name of the “Burgfrieden, ” or Castle Liberty, as we should perhaps say, and nothing is needed but the improvement of this Burgfrieden, by means of streets, sewers and so on, to make it available for an almost unlimited extension of population. Instead, however, of setting cows at work to design the topography of the new district, as is said to have been the practice in the older American cities, or of striking off a map with a few flourishes of a T-square, as is the method pursued in our newer towns, the municipality of Munich, in compliance with the representations of Doctor Widenmayer, the burgomaster, and an engineer, Herr Jacob Heilmann, has recently decided, by a unanimous vote, to open a general competition for a scheme of streets for the new suburbs. Plans of the present city, and of the new district to be divided, are to be prepared, at a scale of one to five thousand, for the use of competitors, and each competitor must indicate the principal streets, as he proposes to arrange them, leaving the minor ones to be determined later, but showing a suitable system of street railways for connecting the new suburbs with each other, and with the old part of the city, as well as a steam railway for bringing the new district into convenient relation with the railway lines entering the city. Parks, squares, public-gardens, cemeteries and suitable positions for school-houses, markets, churches and public baths are to be indicated. The problem is a very inspiring one, and the competition will undoubtedly call out designs of the highest order. As the matter now stands, it is intended to appropriate three thousand dollars for prizes, of which there will probably be three, and to place the decision in the hands of a jury of not more than seven persons, to be hereafter nominated. Some months will probably be required to prepare the sketch-map for competitors, and it is supposed that six months will be allowed, after the programme and maps are ready, for the preparation of designs.
I
T appears that there is a romance about the invention of India ink. As every one knows, India ink was not first made in India, but in China, and its discovery dates from the reign of Houang-ti, in the twenty-seventh century, b. c., or about sixteen hundred years before the siege of Troy. Naturally, the particulars of the investigation which led to the discovery have not come down to us, but a Chinese historian, who published, in 1398, a few years after the Battle of Crécy, a book on the subject, says that the inventor was a certain Tien-Tschen, who prepared the ink originally in the form of a
liquid paint, or varnish, which was applied by means of little bamboo sticks. Later, it was found more convenient to make the ink in solid masses, generally spheres, which were rubbed in water, just as India ink is still used. The black ingredient of the ink was then the soot formed by burning lac and pine charcoal. The manufacture was confined, by Imperial privilege, to the province of Kiang-si, and an official inspector watched over the factories, each of which sent an annual tribute of ink to the Emperor. The rival manufacturers of Kiang-si resorted to various means for increasing their business by improving the quality of their product, or for temporarily increasing their profits by cheapening the material, and at this period, about the beginning of the Christian era, the dishonest manufacturers began to add musk to their ink, to conceal a defect in manufacture which is explained by a little story. A certain mandarin, named Ouen-lou, visited an ink-manufacturer named Ouang-ti, and asked for a sample of his ink. In response to this request, Ouang-ti presented himself before the mandarin, and begged him to take what he wished from a box, which he held out to him. Ouen-lou put his finger into the box, expecting to find a stick of ink, but, instead of that, a cloud of black dust flew out, and filled the whole room, as with a mist. As the mandarin gazed with astonishment on the black cloud, the manufacturer explained that the fineness and lightness of the lampblack from which the ink was to be manufactured were its most important and indispensable qualities; and that a black of perfect lightness, such as he used in his own manufacture, had naturally an odor of musk; but that his rivals in the business imposed upon authors by furnishing them with ink made of coarse and bad lampblack, made to imitate the good material by artificially perfuming with musk, which really injured the ink, rendering it susceptible to deterioration from dampness.
IN course of years, the art of making lamp-black so fine as to smell of musk by itself appears to have been lost, and musk
was artificially added by all manufacturers. It is well known that the Chinese are very fond of musk, and it became common, as, indeed, it still is, to rub India ink in water, and drink the liquid, as a delicious refreshment. The particles of black pigment were held together by some kind of size or glue. Fish glue, or isinglass, was used, as well as ordinary glue, made from bones or horn, and pearls are said to have been sometimes boiled in the glue. Dried ox-tongue was occasionally added, to give the ink a purplish color, and the bark of the pepper tree produced a blue tinge. After moulding, the sticks were carefully dried, and packed in wormwood leaves, with lime or ashes, until properly seasoned. The addition of sepia, or the coloring liquid of the cuttle-fish, to the ink is not mentioned in the history, but it is said to be common now, and there is no question that the best ink at present has a brownish tinge, as if from a mixture of sepia; and sepia alone, dried, is often used in China instead of the black ink. It appears from the pages of the distinguished historian of ink that good India ink is inhabited by gods. One day, the Emperor Hiouan-Tsong was engaged in learned literary work, when he saw a little god, about the size of a fly, issue from the ink he was using, and seat himself upon the edge of the dish. This diminutive deity addressed the Emperor, introducing himself as “the Spirit of Ink, ” and announced that in future, whenever a truly learned man wrote with India ink, he would see the Twelve Great Gods rise from the ink, and pass before him. So far, we have no record of any literary person, who used India ink, having suffered annoyance from this cause, but we need hardly caution architects to be careful about ornamenting their plans with Chinese lettering, lest they provoke a rush of divinities from the ink-slab.
A TUNNEL is to be made through the Pyrenees, to connect France and Spain, by joining the Pau-Oleron railway on
the French side with the Huesca-Lanfranc system on the other. The tunnel will be situated about four thousand feet above the sea, and is to be about five miles long. This will make it the fifth in length in Europe, the Saint-Gothard being more than nine miles, the Mont Cenis over seven and a half, the Arlberg about six and one-half, and the tunnel under the Apennines, on the Genoa-Novi line, five miles. The Simplon tunnel, whenever it is made, will be nearly twelve miles long, but it is to be hoped that it will be many years before it Is completed.
E have been requested to call attention again to the International Congress of Hygiene which is to meet in London on August 10, next. The sixth Section, which is to consider Architecture in relation to Hygiene, meets in Burlington House, Piccadilly, on August 11, and will consider live special subjects, — the Laying out and Extension of Towns, including the control of the construction of buildings, and the reservation of open spaces; the Planning and Construction of Dwelling-houses, especially common lodginghouses, workmen’s dwellings and residential flats; Hospitals for Infectious Diseases; the Construction and Arrangement of Asylums; and the Sanitation of Theatres and Public Halls. Those persons who have valuable suggestions to make on these subjects are earnestly requested to contribute papers. The papers may be written in English, French or German, and, for this Section, must be sent to Mr. Ernest Turner, the Secretary of the Architectural Section, at 246 Regent Street, London, in time to reach him by June 30; and abstracts of the papers, written with a typewriter, and containing not more than five hundred words, must be in his hands by June 15. No paper will be received which has been previously published, or communicated to any other society.
AN interesting competition will, it is supposed, soon be announced in Germany. The beautiful city of Munich, one
of the most interesting towns in the world, architecturally and artistically, has been growing of late years with a rapidity that throws American cities of the same rank into the shade. Within the last five years, the population has increased nearly twenty-five per cent, and, including the recently annexed district of Schwabing, the town now contains three hundred and forty-nine thousand people, who find it by no means easy to get suitable places to live in. It happens that the municipality, by a curious survival of the mediæval military law, exercises control over a large territory outside the city, under the name of the “Burgfrieden, ” or Castle Liberty, as we should perhaps say, and nothing is needed but the improvement of this Burgfrieden, by means of streets, sewers and so on, to make it available for an almost unlimited extension of population. Instead, however, of setting cows at work to design the topography of the new district, as is said to have been the practice in the older American cities, or of striking off a map with a few flourishes of a T-square, as is the method pursued in our newer towns, the municipality of Munich, in compliance with the representations of Doctor Widenmayer, the burgomaster, and an engineer, Herr Jacob Heilmann, has recently decided, by a unanimous vote, to open a general competition for a scheme of streets for the new suburbs. Plans of the present city, and of the new district to be divided, are to be prepared, at a scale of one to five thousand, for the use of competitors, and each competitor must indicate the principal streets, as he proposes to arrange them, leaving the minor ones to be determined later, but showing a suitable system of street railways for connecting the new suburbs with each other, and with the old part of the city, as well as a steam railway for bringing the new district into convenient relation with the railway lines entering the city. Parks, squares, public-gardens, cemeteries and suitable positions for school-houses, markets, churches and public baths are to be indicated. The problem is a very inspiring one, and the competition will undoubtedly call out designs of the highest order. As the matter now stands, it is intended to appropriate three thousand dollars for prizes, of which there will probably be three, and to place the decision in the hands of a jury of not more than seven persons, to be hereafter nominated. Some months will probably be required to prepare the sketch-map for competitors, and it is supposed that six months will be allowed, after the programme and maps are ready, for the preparation of designs.
I
T appears that there is a romance about the invention of India ink. As every one knows, India ink was not first made in India, but in China, and its discovery dates from the reign of Houang-ti, in the twenty-seventh century, b. c., or about sixteen hundred years before the siege of Troy. Naturally, the particulars of the investigation which led to the discovery have not come down to us, but a Chinese historian, who published, in 1398, a few years after the Battle of Crécy, a book on the subject, says that the inventor was a certain Tien-Tschen, who prepared the ink originally in the form of a
liquid paint, or varnish, which was applied by means of little bamboo sticks. Later, it was found more convenient to make the ink in solid masses, generally spheres, which were rubbed in water, just as India ink is still used. The black ingredient of the ink was then the soot formed by burning lac and pine charcoal. The manufacture was confined, by Imperial privilege, to the province of Kiang-si, and an official inspector watched over the factories, each of which sent an annual tribute of ink to the Emperor. The rival manufacturers of Kiang-si resorted to various means for increasing their business by improving the quality of their product, or for temporarily increasing their profits by cheapening the material, and at this period, about the beginning of the Christian era, the dishonest manufacturers began to add musk to their ink, to conceal a defect in manufacture which is explained by a little story. A certain mandarin, named Ouen-lou, visited an ink-manufacturer named Ouang-ti, and asked for a sample of his ink. In response to this request, Ouang-ti presented himself before the mandarin, and begged him to take what he wished from a box, which he held out to him. Ouen-lou put his finger into the box, expecting to find a stick of ink, but, instead of that, a cloud of black dust flew out, and filled the whole room, as with a mist. As the mandarin gazed with astonishment on the black cloud, the manufacturer explained that the fineness and lightness of the lampblack from which the ink was to be manufactured were its most important and indispensable qualities; and that a black of perfect lightness, such as he used in his own manufacture, had naturally an odor of musk; but that his rivals in the business imposed upon authors by furnishing them with ink made of coarse and bad lampblack, made to imitate the good material by artificially perfuming with musk, which really injured the ink, rendering it susceptible to deterioration from dampness.
IN course of years, the art of making lamp-black so fine as to smell of musk by itself appears to have been lost, and musk
was artificially added by all manufacturers. It is well known that the Chinese are very fond of musk, and it became common, as, indeed, it still is, to rub India ink in water, and drink the liquid, as a delicious refreshment. The particles of black pigment were held together by some kind of size or glue. Fish glue, or isinglass, was used, as well as ordinary glue, made from bones or horn, and pearls are said to have been sometimes boiled in the glue. Dried ox-tongue was occasionally added, to give the ink a purplish color, and the bark of the pepper tree produced a blue tinge. After moulding, the sticks were carefully dried, and packed in wormwood leaves, with lime or ashes, until properly seasoned. The addition of sepia, or the coloring liquid of the cuttle-fish, to the ink is not mentioned in the history, but it is said to be common now, and there is no question that the best ink at present has a brownish tinge, as if from a mixture of sepia; and sepia alone, dried, is often used in China instead of the black ink. It appears from the pages of the distinguished historian of ink that good India ink is inhabited by gods. One day, the Emperor Hiouan-Tsong was engaged in learned literary work, when he saw a little god, about the size of a fly, issue from the ink he was using, and seat himself upon the edge of the dish. This diminutive deity addressed the Emperor, introducing himself as “the Spirit of Ink, ” and announced that in future, whenever a truly learned man wrote with India ink, he would see the Twelve Great Gods rise from the ink, and pass before him. So far, we have no record of any literary person, who used India ink, having suffered annoyance from this cause, but we need hardly caution architects to be careful about ornamenting their plans with Chinese lettering, lest they provoke a rush of divinities from the ink-slab.
A TUNNEL is to be made through the Pyrenees, to connect France and Spain, by joining the Pau-Oleron railway on
the French side with the Huesca-Lanfranc system on the other. The tunnel will be situated about four thousand feet above the sea, and is to be about five miles long. This will make it the fifth in length in Europe, the Saint-Gothard being more than nine miles, the Mont Cenis over seven and a half, the Arlberg about six and one-half, and the tunnel under the Apennines, on the Genoa-Novi line, five miles. The Simplon tunnel, whenever it is made, will be nearly twelve miles long, but it is to be hoped that it will be many years before it Is completed.