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DOCKS

happy. But the chief novelty in At the Sign of the Lyre was the series of “Fables of Literature and Art, founded in manner upon Gay, and exquisitely finished in scholarship, taste, and criticism. It is in these perhaps, more than in any other of his poems, that we see with how much felicity Mr Dobson interpenetrates the literature of fancy with the literature of judgment. Since 1885 Mr Dobson has been engaged principally upon critical and biographical prose, by which he has added very greatly to the general knowledge of his favourite 18th century. His biographies of Fielding (1883), Bewick (1884), Steele (1886), Goldsmith (1888), (1890), and Hogarth (1879-98) are studies marked alike by assiduous research, sympathetic presentation, and sound criticism. It is particularly noticeable that Mr Dobson in his prose has always added something, and often a great deal, to our positive knowledge of the subject in question; his work as a critic has never been solely aesthetic. In Four Frenchwomen (1890), in the three series of EighteenthCentury Vignettes (1892-94-96), and in The Paladin of Philanthropy (1899), which contain unquestionably his most delicate prose work, the accurate detail of each study is relieved by a charm of expression which could only be attained by a poet. In 1901 he collected his hitherto unpublished poems in a volume entitled Carmina Votiva. Possessing an exquisite talent of defined range, Mr Austin Dobson has, in his own words, “ held his pen in trust to Art ” with a service sincere and distinguished. DOCkS.—The development within recent years of vessels of enormous carrying capacity and great speed has rendered necessary various improvements in the facilities for dealing with the traffic at different ports, including the enlargement of old docks and the construction of new ones. In tidal docks, where the shipping can be accommodated at open quays, the improvements generally consist of deepening the approaches by dredging, providing deeper water alongside the quays, and extending and enlarging the quay space. This has been the case to a large extent at such ports as Southampton, Glasgow, Dublin, and Belfast. In closed docks the chief improvements are the enlargement of old basins and the construction of entirely new ones with deeper sills and improved entrances, as at Liverpool, London, Hull, the Tyne, and various ports in South Wales and other parts of the coast. The position, shape, and general arrangement of docks are determined by local features and the nature of the traffic carried At Liverpool, for instance, there are certain local Liverpool fon. ea£ures which account for the dock arrangements diiierdoc s. ing from those at many other large ports. The channel forming the approach from the sea used to be blocked at the sea end by a bar of sand on which there was a depth of water of only 10 feet at low water of spring tides, though at high water there was 40 feet; the time, therefore, during which ships could cross was limited to a few hours at high water. This, together with the great accumulation of sand in front of the docks, was apparently the reason why until the year 1873 their sills (with the exception of a few on the Birkenhead side) were not formed deeper than the level of low water of spring tides. The consequence was that the largest steamers could not enter the docks at neap tides until some of their cargo had been discharged, and vessels loading in the docks had to move into the river to complete their loading from barges. Within the last few years the bar of the Mersey has been improved by dredging, and the depth increased to 28 feet at low water of spring tides. The improvements in the docks themselves were necessary to enable the port to reap the full benefit of the deepening of the bar and to compete successfully with other places. These improvements have been chiefly at the north end, where there was most room for extension and where new large basins have been constructed. Some of the old docks have been grouped together to form large basins, new entrances and locks have been provided to suit the new arrangements of docks inside, and the sills of entrances have been lowered, the deepest being now 12 feet below low water. New and extensive graving docks have also been constructed. The Alexandra Dock, 44 acres in extent, is one of the latest and largest basins, and was designed to accom-

modate the biggest steamers, having special features to meet their requirements. It forms one of a line of basins opening into each other and having one common entrance from the river. Its shape is that which is found generally the most convenient for traffic, being practically rectangular, with piers projecting from one side into the

water area, leaving sufficient open space near the entrance for vessels to turn. This arrangement largely increases the length of quayage (Fig. 1). In the ordinary course of trade, goods landed at the docks have to be warehoused in Liverpool, and it is found that cargoes on being discharged can be most conveniently and expeditiously dealt with by sorting them under sheds on the quays and removing them by carts to their various destinations. Hence many of the quays differ from those at most docks in not being provided with railways. Compared with the docks on the Mersey, those on the Thames are larger in extent. They are not in one continuous line as at Liverpool, but are situated at various points on the London river. The individual docks or basins are also larger docks. than those at Liverpool. The trade at London is greater than at Liverpool taken altogether, for though the export trade is less, the import is much greater. The range of tide in the Thames is smaller than in the Mersey, and there is a deep and uninterrupted waterway from the docks to the sea. In these different circumstances the arrangements of the docks are somewhat different. The sills of the chief entrance basins are generally fixed at such a depth that ships can enter and leave them at any state of the tide, and the quays are well provided with storehouses and railways, so that cargoes can be loaded direct into railway trucks. Amongst the latest additions to the London docks are those at Tilbury, which consist of a tidal basin of 21 acres with a wide trumpet-shaped entrance to the river, having a depth of 26 feet at low water. A lock connects this basin with the main dock, which is rectangular, with a water space of about 50 acres and a depth of 38 feet at high water. From the side opposite the lock project three piers, each 350 feet wide ; one is provided with a double row of storehouses, railways, &c. Parallel with the lock are two graving docks, each opening into the tidal basin and the main dock, and divided into unequal lengths by a caisson ; these can be used either as four short docks, or two long docks, or two locks. Docks situated in the neighbourhood of the large coal-fields in Scotland, the North of England, and South Wales, which provide almost entirely for the loading of coals, require arrange- Docks for ments different from those which deal with the ordinary trade of such ports as London and Liverpool. Barry export, docks may be mentioned as an illustration. Entirely constructed within the last few years, and devoted almost exclusively to the export of coal, they are fitted with all the latest improvements for the accommodation of ships and for rapidly loading them with coal. In selecting the site, every natural advantage has been considered and made use of, not only for the docks themselves, but also for the approach and entrance. The latter is 80 feet wide, with a single pair of wrought-iron gates, and gives access to a basin 500 feet wide and 600 feet long. Between this basin and the main dock is a passage 80 feet wide, with a pair of gates, so that the basin is used as a large lock. The main dock is 3400 feet long by 1100 feet wide, and is divided longitudinally at one end by a wide projecting pier. Another large wet dock and two graving docks have been added, also a deep lock alongside the entrance basin. In South Wales coal is conveyed from the collieries in waggons containing about 10 tons, with a door at one end ; the lu waggons on arrival at the dock are shunted into sidings, and then taken one by one over a weigh-bridge to the coal-tips, which are erected on masonry towers, or on the quay walls, at intervals along the sides of the dock. At the tip the waggon enters an iron cradle or platform, which is raised or lowered and tilted as required by hydraulic power, and the coal is discharged from the end of the waggon along a shoot to the hatchway of the vessel. The empty