Philadelphia's Great Reservoir

A vast corps of men are at work on the new Kast Park ïiésfrvoir. Tilia basiu will cover over ona hundred acre8 oi grouud, and will be divided into thret oompartménts. The embankments will be ono huadred feet wide at the baso and flfteen i'cet wide at the top. Th ewatei will be circulated btítween the three divisious ot' the reservoir, and will thus bn kopt pure. The eutire reservoir will be made to hold seven liundred and fifty million gallons of water, ono división holding ftfty-Hvo raillion, and the othera about throe hundred and forty-oight niülions each. The bottom of the basin will bo oovered with olay bvicked over, and the sides of the etnbankment will also bo of brick. About two thousand five hundred men and nearly one thousuiil horses and carts are engaged ia the work, and it is expeoted that the reservoir will be completo! in 1870. It will be useful'in securing for thé city greut volumes of water that now pass over tho iamdiiring the fresheta and le;ivo the Áty without a full supply in seasons of Irought. Tho Wow of water ia very uníven, and beyorid n, ctrtain point the injrease in dopth of iha water over the dam a no advantage to tho city. Daring tho present month tho water has been rising ind falling froni ono iuoh to tbirty inch;a, bnt with tho new reservoir in o era;ion advturtage ouuMbe taken of tb. v t mnnmniT- ■ rrmn mun i ■ ■umi immnu.. tra supply and pi o visión made ugnirist :ilt. The embankments of thi,j reservoir iro oonstructed with the utmost care. The dirt is not simply dug out and piled np on the sides, but aooro of elay and Boft built lip 111 steps throurli the middle of the sloping srabankmi at, layer being oarefully puddlod and rolled so as to reduce the oluy to a compact masa impervious to water. The dirt dug froin the reserioir is of dfferent kinds, ui'l lias to bo sortcd out for different of the enibankment and broken into fiue partiólos t'or use. Any neglect in puddling, rolling, or in breaking up the largo masses of earth, niight result in weakaning the embuukinent to gch au extent as to produce a surious broaoh in the work when the prefigure of ïnilliuns of gallons of water should be brought apon it. - PhüadeLphia Tdegrayh.