This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 Excerpt: ...sum estimated, the 'modus operandi, ' which had answered so well in comparatively still water, must be abandoned for some other plan where the work was to be carried on in a more exposed position. It was this conviction that induced the Author, in the spring of 1869, to adopt an alternative plan for consolidating the seaward ends of the piers. This plan was to carry up the wall from a foundation on the rock work, carefully leveled by hand, a system-which succeeded perfectly, and will now be described. As experience had shewn that, up to the distance of 600 ft. from the pier head, the heaviest seas had never succeeded in displacing the rock work on either side of the close piling below the level of 4 ft. below the water line, this limit was taken as a guidance in preparing the foundations for the next 1,247 ft. of the north pier. In order to carry out the new plan, it was therefore necessary to establish a perfectly level bed at the depth of 5 ft. over a width of 12 ft., on the river side of the sheet piling, and this work was executed with great labour by skillful Russian divers, called to Sulina for the purpose. To afford greater security to the foundations, four 3-in. oak planks were spiked to the open piling, which formed the inner row of the provisional piers, the lowest plank being fixed at 7 ft. 6 in. below the water lino, and the planking itself was ultimately protected by artificial blocks, 8 tons in weight, carefully set by divers on the 'berme' of the river side of the rock work. The foundation being thus prepared, blocks weighing 18 tons each, and composed of 1 of cement to 7 of sand and gravel, which had been made in the meantime on the timber platform of the pier immediately above the site they were to occupy permanently, wore lowered to their b..