Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/948

 772 The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal. [June, of water, water will be there found. If the vase placed in the pit be of unburnt clay, having been covered as above di- rected, when uncovered it will be damp, and perhaps desti'03'cd by the mois- ture. "A piece of wool being placed in the same pit, if, on the following clay it be not exhausted, but still retain uncon- sumed some of the wick and oil, and present a humid appearance, it shows that water will be found there, inasmuch as heat invariabl}' draws the moisture to- wards it. Moreover, if in such places a fire be made on the ground, and the ground, when heated, throw out cloudy vapors, water will be found in it. " These experiments having been made and the requisite indications being mani- fest, a well is to be sunk on the spot ; and if the head of the spring be found, many other wells are to be dug round about it, and by means of under-cuttings, connected with it so as to concentrate them. The spring-heads, however, are chiefly to be sought in mountains and northern districts, because, in those situations, they are generally sweeter, more wholesome, and more copious, on account of their being sheltered from the raj-s of the sun, of the trees and shrubs in those places being in greater abundance, and of the sun's rays coining obliquely on them, so that the moisture is not carried off. Valleys in the midst of mountains receive a very large pro- portion of rain, and from the closeness of their woods, as well as from the shade the trees afford, added to the snow, which so long remains on them, allow it to percolate through their strata, and thus arrive at the foot of the mountain, when, issuing forth, it becomes the source of a river. "On the contrary; in a charapagn country, much water will not probably be found ; or if it should, it will not be wholesome, because the great power of the sun, unobstructed by shade, attracts and carries off all humidity from the plains ; and were even the water to ap- pear, the air would attract and dissipate the lightest, subtlest, and wholesomest parts, and leave the heaviest, most un- pleasant, and most unwholesome in the spring." SHUTTER FASTENING. A "VERY simple, yet highly practi- cal invention has been laid before us, in model, Iry the Patentee, Mr. John H. Peterson, of this city. It does away with the barbarous finger pinching bolt, and secures the closed shutters to the meeting rail of the window. The action is that of pressure on a spring kneeler-latch, screwed to the shutter, which catches in a stop-plate screwed to the under side of the meeting rail of the sash. It is much more difficult to pry open this fastening than the old fash- ioned bolt ; for, the shutter is held firmly to the window and cannot be opened except by pressure from within. These fastners are a neat piece of fur- niture and can be silver-plated, bronzed, or of brass. They may also be economi- cally made of lacquered ware. In a city like this where outside shutters are a part of our unchangeable institutions, any improvement on that feature is de- sirable, and we would say, that this fastener is very much to be commended. Erratum. — In the article on " Warm- ing and Ventilation," at page 723, right hand column, the word "water" should have read " steam," as will be evident. The sentence as corrected, reads " Look at the difference, let any one taste hot water of 140° F., or let him inhale'hot steam of that temperature ; try it with a thermometer ; and he will suffer a painful ordeal."