FIGS. 1 TO 4.--BUILDING OCCUPIED BY THE OFFICES OF THE NEW YORK, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD. Illustration: FIG. 5.--THE WALL, A B, SUPPORTED BY SCREWS. Illustration: FIG. 6.--THE WALL, C D, READY TO BE MOVED. Illustration: FIG. 7.--METHOD OF MOVING THE JACK SCREWS. Illustration: FIG. 8.--JACK-SCREW. Illustration: FIG. 11.--HOLLINGWORTH'S DOUBLE-THREADED SCREW FOR QUICKLY MOVING BUILDINGS. RAISING AND MOVING MASONRY BUILDINGS.] * * * * * RAISING AND MOVING MASONRY BUILDINGS. The first important application of the method of lifting massive structures and moving them to another spot was made two years ago at Boston, Mass., in the moving back of a hotel that stood about fourteen feet on the line of a proposed widening of Tremont Street. Since that time several analogous cases have occurred in several cities of the United States, so that, for this sort of work, a general method of operating has been devised, notwithstanding the special difficulties that present themselves according to the different methods of construction and the surroundings. All structures, before being moved, must first be separated from their foundations and then raised. These operations are certainly the most costly and those that take the longest time. It is necessary to take minute precautions and to exercise great watchfulness in order to succeed in planting solidly on the ground the timber work that has to support the pressure of the screws by means of which the entire building is to be afterward raised. The success of the operation depends absolutely upon the care and attention that are bestowed upon these preliminary operations, since the least negligence may lead to a disaster. [Illustration: FIG. 9.--MOVING A HOUSE BETWEEN TWO FIXED WALLS. FIG. 10.--METHOD OF MOVING A HOUSE WITHOUT LIFTING IT. RAISING AND MOVING MASONRY BUILDINGS.] The accompanying figures show the method employed in moving several buildings of different construction, and the peculiar arrangements that have been made, according to circumstances. The instrument most commonly employed in the execution of such work consists of the following parts: (1) of a cast iron screw having a pitch of 0.56 inch; (2) of a nut provided with a shoulder and two projections that serve to fix it; and (3) of a cast iron plate that is interposed between the head of the screw and the beam upon which the latter is to exert its pressure. Moreover, each nut is set into an oak block, 4 inches in thickness, which rests upon the upper beams of the timber work that is designed to sustain the structure. All the pieces of wood of the timber work, properly so called, are of spruce, and measure 6x6 inches. Those that are in a direction perpendicular to the foundation walls are 3 feet in length while the longitudinal ones must be long enough to support several screws in order to annul the effect of joints.