sure under the piston of about 140 tons.
As the weight of the hammer is 100 tons, it is evident that it can be
raised with great velocity.

The stroke of the piston in the cylinder is 5 meters. This height
of fall, multiplied by the 100,000 kilogrammes of the mass, gives a
working force of 500,000 kilogrammeters, or about 1,640 foot tons. The
width between the legs is 7.5 meters, and the free height under the
cross ties 3 meters, thus providing ample space for maneuvering large
masses of metal.

The entire height of this colossal structure from the base of the
masonry foundation to the upper part of the steam cylinder is 31
meters (102 feet), but notwithstanding this unfavorable condition for
stability and the enormous effect resulting from a shock of 500,000
kilogrammeters, everything is so well proportioned that there is but
slight vibration.

The workman who maneuvers the hammer is placed on a platform on one
of the legs, about 3 meters above the floor. He is here protected
from the heat reflected from the mass of metal during the operation of
forging.

* * * * *

PLAN FOR AN ELEVATED RAILWAY AT PARIS.

Elevated railways have been in operation for a long time in New York,
Berlin, and Vienna, and the city of Paris has decided to have recourse
to this mode of carriage, so indispensable to large cities. The
question of establishing a line of railways in our capital has been
open, as well known, since 1871. During this period of nearly fourteen
years this grave subject has at various times given rise to serious
discussions, in which the most competent engineers have taken part,
and numerous projects relating to the solution that it calls for have
been put forth.

The problem to be solved is of the most complex nature, and the
engineers who have studied it have not been able to come to an
agreement except as regards a small number of points. It may even be
said that unanimity exists upon but a single point, and that is that
the means of locomotion in Paris do not answer the requirements of
the public, and that there is an urgent necessity for new ones. The
capital question, that of knowing whether the railway to be built
shall be beneath or above ground, is not yet settled; for, up to the
present, no project has been prescribed in one direction or the other.

While some extol the underground solution as being the only one
that, without interfering with circulation in the s