Chap. IV.

PRINCITLES OF PROPORTION.
1065
In tlie Saxon cathedrals, one tliird of the entire area was employed for "alls and ])iers
;
m the Pnntheon at Rome, one quarter
;
in St. Paul's, London, one sixth
;
and in most of
the cathedrals constructed from the 12th to the I5th century, the same proportions are
practised ; hut we have never hitlierto seen any attempt to lessen the proportions of the
supports beyond a twentitth of the entire area, when the ordinary building materials,
as brick or stone, have been employed, whilst in this instance iron columns are found
sufficiently strong, wlien they have the proportion of a 2,000th part of the whole, or are
one hundred times less in section tlian their points of support, estimated as a twentieih
of tlie whole, and which we have considered as the lightest of the constructions hitherto
practised; the round Temple of Claudius at Rome being the example. TredgoJd
calculated that an iron column of cast iron 8 inches in diameter, and 24 feet liigh,
will carry nearly 50 tons, or 1,106, 55,300 tons; so that, if each of 1,387 squares had
to sustain 30 tons, there would be ample strength, this not amounting to more than
41,610 tons.
In preparing the foundations for the columns, great care was taken to arrive at the
gravel, upon which a bed of concrete was thrown
;
and it was estimated that a pressure per
superficial foot of 2^
tons should be provided for. The concrete varied in depth from
.S to 4 feet, and was finisiied by covering the top with a surface of fine mortar, worked
even and with a level face. On this was laid a base plate for each column, the lower p:irt
CDUsisting of a liorizontal jilate having attached to it a vertical tube of the form of the
column it was to carry. The length of these base plates was from north to south, so
that the water brought down by the columns from the loof might run in the
direction from east to west. Into the sockets, cast iron pipes 6 inches in diameter
were inserted, for the purpose of conveying the water into the cisterns and tanks provided
to receive it.
At the upper portion of the base plate four holes were cast, in as many projections,
which answered to others at the foot of the column to be placed upon it, which, when
fixed, was secured by nuts. Between the shaft and its base, pieces of canvas dipped in
white lead were introduced before the joints were secured, which were thus rendered water-
tight. The columns were 8 inches in diameter, and those on the ground floor 18 feet
5^
inches in height, being cast hollow to allow of a current for the rain water
;
tlie strength
of tliese columns was increased by four projecting ribs, and by the form of angular additions
made to receive the nuts and screws.
IVte Crystal Palace at Sydeiiliani had also the simple cube as the nucleus of which this vast
edifice was composed
;
and
the simplicity
of its form
enabled tlie constructors, by
a small variety of castings,
to execute the wliole. It
was to this locality that
tlie materials of the Hyde
I'ark building were removed
and readapted to a much
more extensive erection,
Three cubes, ])Liced one on
the other, formed the si.ie
galleries, as seen in tiie sec-
tion,
fig.
1342 The omis-
sion of six such cubes mea-
sures the width and iieight
of the nave to the level of
the springing of the arched
covering; such are the sim-
ple proportions composing
this vast-
structure. On the
ground floor is laid l)oard-
ing I}; inches in tliickness,
ii. iU2. SECTION OF THB CRYSTAL PALACE, svi^E.NHAM.
1
au inch apart, upon joists
7
inches by
2|
inches, which rest upon sleepers 13 inches
by Si'inches,
placed 8 feet apart.
The second tier of columns are 16 feet
1\
inches long, with connecting pieces 3 feet
4i-
inches deep, and a similar girder to those below. The'tliird tier of columns and connecting
pieces in every case are the same as the second.