of machinery to hand-rails. The magnitude of this great building elevated into serious undertakings matters The application which, under ordinary circumstances, are accounted little more than trifles. make the gallery Hence machinery was applied to the formation of the entire length of hand-rail required for the galleries. In fig. 33 is represented a set of cutters (A fig. 33), by exposure to the rapid revolution of which, roughly-shaped strips of mahogany were instantaneously converted into smooth and cleanly rounded hand-rails (B fig. 33). A little sand-paper and French-polish sufficed to bring them to their present excellent condition. accidents. In summing up the description of any great engineering undertaking, it is too Paucity of often a painful task to have to record the loss of life so frequently involved. Considering the difficulties of construction, the necessary perils to which the workmen were exposed, and their habitual imprudence, arising, partly, from real indifference to danger, and partly from bravado, it has been a source of congratulation that, in the performance of this contract, but very few accidents have occurred, and those, with two or three exceptions, of a slight nature. Having now brought to a close our description of the building as it exists, and Conclusion. of the processes by which its existence has been developed, it remains only to reiterate our conviction that the courage, energy, and strength represented by its construction should be regarded by every Englishman with emotions conducive to some yet higher manifestation of national capability; and at the same time to express a hope that the products of British industry (of which the building is but the shrine), may display, in a yet higher degree and in a yet more tangible and varied form, the sources of COMMERCIAL POWER, so many indications of which it has been our happy privilege to trace in the edifice itself. M. DIGBY WYATT. G SCIENTIFIC REVISION AND PREPARATION OF stances of pro Peculiar circum- THE circumstances under which this work is published appear to call for some duction of Cata- observations upon the method of its production. From the fact that it is without logue. Exhibitors the authors. Catalogue form. a precedent in the annals of literature, it follows that its preparation and publication have been attended with peculiar, because unforeseen, difficulties. All those obstacles in the way of its completion which would necessarily develop themselves from the remarkable manner in which its contents have been created, and from the want of a guiding experience in the publication of works of this nature, have been contended with in its progress to a perfect state. The following may be considered as an outline of the manner in which the materials for the construction of this volume were collected, and of the system adopted to reduce them to a definite form, and as far as possible to a certain degree of consistency of expression and of harmony of proportion. It is not the least remarkable fact in connection with the Great Exhibition, that the Catalogue may be really regarded as the production of many thousands of authors,―represented by exhibitors themselves. By a decision of the Executive Committee, every exhibitor was required, prior to the reception of his articles at the Building, to have filled up a certain printed form, containing a description of his productions in the English language, accompanied with such general observations as might be suggested by the peculiar character of the things described and intended for exhibition. These forms, which were to be to the Catalogue what the MS. of an author is to his proposed work, were framed with care, and were accompanied with instructions for filling them up, which suggested those points on which interesting or important information might be supplied, together with the descriptive account. There were four varieties, each appropriated to one of the four great sections of Raw Materials, Machinery, Manufactures, and Fine Arts. The essential characters of these forms were similar in each section, but the instructions for filling them up differed necessarily with the peculiar differences suggested by each section. The subjoined form represents that used in sending in descriptions of machinery, and is a type of those used in the other sections: the forms. In order to facilitate their classification on being returned by exhibitors, the Classification of forms in the four different sections were printed in black, blue, red, and yellow, the latter applying to sculpture and fine art, the former to raw materials, and the intermediate ones respectively to machinery and manufactures. Every exhibitor was required to send in one of these forms, accompanied with a duplicate in every respect similar to it, and in so doing was supplied with a "receipt for catalogue forms," which was a guarantee for the reception of his goods into the Building. A very large number of these forms were printed and supplied to Local Committees, and to all exhibitors who applied for them. The instructions for filling them up were as follows: RULES FOR COMPILING THE CATALOGUE, The Executive Committee are desirous of impressing upon Exhibitors that the formation of the Catalogue which, however great may be its bulk, must necessarily be compiled and printed in a very short time, will be much facilitated, if Exhibitors will have the kindness to follow the rules hereinafter prescribed when they furnish the descriptions of the Articles as they wish them to appear in the Catalogue. 1. Every Exhibitor should write the description of every Article or series of Articles he Rules for comexhibits, on paper of the same size as the present page (namely, about 13 inches by 8 inches), piling forms for Catalogues, The paper must be written on one side only. There should be a margin of one inch at the left side of the page. 2. Should the description extend beyond a single page, each separate page must be marked with the Exhibitor's name, and numbered consecutively, both at the head and foot. 3. To prevent errors in compilation and misprinting, it is desirable the handwriting should be very clear, especial care being taken with all names and technical terms. 4. It is indispensable that each Exhibitor should furnish the following particulars, and in the exact order prescribed: I. II. III. Exhibitor's surname Christian name. Address, stating the nearest Post Town. Capacity in which the Exhibitor appears, whether as Producer, Importer, IV. The name and description of every Article of importance or class of Articles exhibited; a Specimens of dyed Cottons, &c. b Specimens of dyed Silks, &c. 5. It is necessary that the descriptions of the Articles should set forth, as far as may be practicable, the following particulars :— As respects Articles to be exhibited In SECTION 1. RAW MATERIALS and PRO- a The commercial name in English, French, b The scientific name. c The place where obtained; the name of the mines and period they have been worked, should be given with minerals. d The place where exported. e The uses. f The consumption. g The superior excellence of the particular Specimens. h In the case of processes, such as dyes, or prepared materials, such as mixed metals; it should be stated whether the Article is patented or not. The novelty and importance of the prepared product, and the superior skill and ingenuity manifested in the process of preparation should also be very briefly pointed out. i Where price is an element for consideration, the price at which the importer or producer can sell the Article. j Any particular features which the Exhibitor desires to be noticed by the Jury. Fine Arts. Illustrations. Rules. j The place or places where manufactured. 7 Where price is an element for considera- a The name of the Artist or Designer, if b The uses. c The novelty in design or treatment. e New use of known Materials. g New combination of Materials. h Improvements in processes of production. k Any particular features which the Exhi- 6. Exhibitors are required to make their descriptions brief, and to confine them as much as possible to facts. 7. Two COPIES, in the English Language, of the Exhibitor's descriptions, both being precisely alike, must be furnished before the Articles can be permitted to enter the Building. If an Exhibitor's Articles are sent in several packages, the list should indicate the contents of each separate package. 8. Her Majesty's Commissioners have consented to allow Illustrations of Articles exhibited to be inserted in the large Catalogue, after approval by the Executive Committee. Exhibitors desirous to avail themselves of this privilege must communicate their intention of providing the Illustrations, and state their character, whether Engraving on Wood, on Steel, or Lithography. Communications are to be addressed to the Executive Committee, at the Building for the Exhibition, Hyde Park, London, marked on the outside, "CATALOGUE." 9. Exhibitors who may desire that their names and the descriptions of their productions should appear in any French and German Editions of the Catalogue which may be authorized, are requested to furnish at the same time with the two English Copies, a French and German translation of the descriptions, made out in all respects as before prescribed. That a careful attention to these instructions would have developed a vast amount of most valuable and interesting knowledge, can scarcely be questioned; and that in a considerable proportion of cases such has been the result, will appear Attention paid to on examination of the contents of this volume. That such a degree of attention was not universal is only what was to have been expected, both in consequence of the pressure of time under which many exhibitors laboured, and also from the fact that a large proportion, occupied in exclusively industrial pursuits, were unused to literary composition. The forms, with their duplicates, on being filled up, were transmitted to the Executive Committee; the duplicate being retained by the Executive, the other copy was placed in the compilers' hands. First stage of preparation for printing. and correction. The first step in preparing these forms for the press was their arrangement into classes corresponding to the thirty divisions decided upon by the Executive. The number and variety of objects embraced by the returned forms rendered this a tedious and difficult task. On its being effected, the forms remained to be examined, and put into such a state as to satisfy the requirements of the printer. They were consequently read, and as far as possible thrown into that state of connection of parts, and removal of superfluous material, which might enable them to be set up in a convenient form in type. Although much had been by these means effected in the preparation of the material of the catalogues, the most important part of the labour involved, prior to its assuming its present form, remained to be accomplished. The scientific and Scientific revision technical inaccuracies of a large proportion of the returned forms, together with their literary reconstruction rendered in a large proportion of cases absolutely necessary, demanded attentive revision and correction. Several considerations rendered this extremely difficult. Among these were the shortness of the period absolutely allotted for the completion of the work, the impossibility of verifying the descriptions given with the objects of which they treated, and the immense variety of subjects comprehended by the Exhibition itself, and necessarily described in these forms in a manner in many instances more or less imperfect. The occasion called for a large amount of peculiar knowledge-of knowledge not to be gained by study, but taught by industrial experience, in addition to that higher knowledge, the teaching of natural and experimental philosophy. To meet these requirements the following plans were devised, and carried into operation. A Plans adopted. number of scientific gentlemen gave their consent to undertake the revision and correction of proofs of the returned forms in their peculiar departments, with a view to remove from them those errors which might present themselves, and to supply what might appear requisite to give prominence to their really important features. In addition to this it appeared advisable, as critical observations werc necessarily inadmissible, to relieve the tedium of mere description, and to assist in pointing out the leading features of interest in the objects described, or in direct relation with them, by appending, as the subjects of the proofs suggested, such brief annotations as might appear best calculated to effect these objects. principles of annotation. As a certain degree of harmony of procedure was considered absolutely neces- Suggestions as to sary, in order to give a consistent character to such corrections and annotations, correction and supplied as they would be from a variety of sources, a few suggestions of certain general principles were adopted, and as far as possible acted upon. It is not necessary to reproduce the whole of these suggestions in their original form; but since it is important that exhibitors should be informed of the principles which, to a great extent, guided and determined the corrections and annotations which are found in this work, they are here subjoined. Attention is particularly directed to suggestion 5, under the head annotations, by which it will be perceived that the character of critical notices has been strictly excluded from the annotations appended to the descriptions in this work. 1. Corrections. These will be chiefly of the following kind :— 1. To correct in a general way any obvious typographical inaccuracies. 2. To correct with care all technical and scientific errors in names, places, and things. 3. Occasionally, if time permit, to recast badly composed sentences or expressions. 4. To delete redundancies and self-laudatory terms, or expressions that could in any Corrections. 2. Annotations. Many of the proofs will undoubtedly suggest interesting elucidatory notes. Annotations. As it is desirable that the same notes should not be repeated, the information which, under other circumstances, or in a volume of a different kind, it would be well to present in a mass, may be conveniently subdivided, and a portion appended to the most appropriate proofs on the subject to which it refers. Thus, for a vegetable or animal product, a line or two as to its history might be attached to one proof, a note upon the natural order or tribe yielding it to another, the uses to a third, the commercial importance, &c., to a fourth, &c. In the selection of proofs for annotation, those of course will be preferred which are in themselves the most interesting and suggestive. It is considered desirable that these notes should as far as possible partake of the following characters : 1. To be as short, clear, and definite as possible. 2. To have reference, as far as may be, if the article cannot be seen a. To the article as described by the Exhibitor. b. To its uses, history, consumption, production, &c. (See Memorandum for 3. To be of the following average length 99.66 a. Articles of primary importance, as, for example, "cotton," iron," b. Articles of secondary importance, four and three lines. 4. The same annotations not to be repeated or appended to more than one proof. 5. OBSERVATIONS OF A CRITICAL CHARACTER, IN EITHER SENSE OF THAT TERM, ARE INADMISSIBLE. Character of. ding transmission So soon as the work actually commenced, a mechanical difficulty of no common Difficulties attenproportions presented itself. On the distribution of proofs for the purpose of and return of annotation and correction, they were necessarily cut up into separate portions, proofs. |