439

E N G I N E E R I N G.
.

ENGINE AND DYNAMO FOR SEARCH

LIGHT.

CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. G. E. BELLISS AND CO., LTD., ENGINEERS, BIRMINGHA~f.

(For Descri1Aion, see Page 4t9.)

--

THE

IRO~

AND STEEL INSTITUTE.

(Concluded from page 417.)

CoN 'ETT I RoN WORKs.

chief excursion of the meeting was that

which had been arranged for Thursday, Septemb3r 28, to the Con sett Iron Works. This may be
said to have been the principal attraction of the
T HE

being present on this r ecord excursion. The train

arrived at Consett shortly before twel ve, and
members were at once divided up into several
parties, under the leadership of guides to take
t hem round the works. The guides were provided
with flags, but, as is nearly always the case in
expeditions of this kind, the parties soon became
mixed, for when two bodies met, members were

CONSTT

. , ,,

or m

A General Offices.
B ntast Furnaces.
Cl Puddling .Mills (Consett).
C2
.,
u
(Tin Mill).
D Malleahle l roo Plates (Tin .Mill).

El West Melting Shop.

F.2 East Mell ing Shop.

E:J Nor th "
,
Fl Gas Producer (West Shop).
F2 ,,
,,
(East Shop .
F3 ,
,.
(North Shop).
QI No. 2 'eel Cogl!ing:Mill.

whole meeting. and it was largely due to the ex

pectation of visiting these famous works that many
~embers journeyed to Darlington. With the exceptwn of an hour's sitting in the morning, which
wehavea~read_y.dealt with, the whole day was given
up. to th1s vtslt. Members started by a special
tral~ at 10. ~0, and although the train was a long
one 1t was filled to overflowing, over 400 members

No. 4 SteEl 0o2'giog Mill.

H l No3. 1 and 2 Steel Plate Mills.
JI2 Nos. 3 a nd 4 ,
J An ~ l e Mille.
J( Test H ouse.
Q :!

L Laboratory.
M Mecha nical Engineeri ng Shope.

very apt to follow the wrong guide. There was,

however, n o r estriction, and the visitors were
allowed to stray wherever they wished without let
or hindrance-perhaps the most satisfactory way
of examining an establishment of this kind. Mr.
William Jenkins, the general manager, had prepared a very excellent description of the works,
from which we shall take the maj ority of the par-

ticulars in our account. ' Vith this guide we were

able to follow the different depat tments, aided by
the map of the works which we hE: r~ r~produce ..
Consett, as is pretty well know11, 1s sttuated .h1gh
up at the back of Durham and Newcastle, and.ts on
the North Eastern Rail way ~ystem. Th ere l S no
lack of fresh air at Consett, nor of moisture, as far
as our experience goe[l. Indeed,_ we have never
visited Consett that it has not ratned, and the day
of the visit of the Iron and Strel Institute was no
exception to the rule. It is satisfactory to know,
however, that it don; not alway s rain at Consett,
for we were informed by an inhabitant at our
recent visit that there is generally six months' snow.
Consett is quite modern ; it is the creation of the
irJn and steel industry. In the year that H er
Gracious Majesty came to the throne there were
only three houses, two thatched cottages, and
0ne or two similar buildings in Consett. Three
years later the iron works were btart~d, and
the progress since then has b~ en con t muous,
until a fl ourishing town, with public buildings and
a park, h a~ risen at this altitude of 800 ft. above
the sea leveL Consett is now one of the most
successful steel works in the country-that is, fr om
a shareholder's point of view- for an ample and
steady dividend id now a circumstance taken as a
matter of course by the fortunate proprietora. It
was n ot al ways thu~, however ; Con sett in its youth
sowed its wi!d oats. and in 1857 owed the
Northumberland "nd Durham District Bank nearly
1,000,000L. The bank stopped payment, and this
brought the iron works into the market. After
some negotiatione, the undertaking became the
property of tho present company in the year 186-:1:.
There were eighteen blMt furnaces, with puddling
forges, extensive plate, angle, and bar mills, and
other adj uncts, producing ~0,000 tons of pig iron
per annum, and from 40,000 to 50,000 tons of
finished iron. Five hundred acres of freehold land
were attached to the works, and more than a
thousand freehold cottages, with manager's house
and offices ; in addition to which there were
certain valuable coal r oyalties; the coal being well
adapted for iron-making. The capital of the company was only 400,000L. , so t hat the bargain could
not have been a dear one. Mr. David Dale was
one of the directors who made this purchase,
and is now the only one of the original body
still remaining on the directorate ; Mr. David Dale
being, as is well known, the present chairman.
Some particulars may conveniently be here given
of the collierirs belonging to the company. These
extend over an area of 13,000 acres, and are ten in
number, th eir output exceeding 1,000,000 tons
a year. There are in progress operati(,ns for
opening out large tracts of unto uched coal on the
north side of the Derwent, and when these have
been concluded, it is expected the production will
reach 1,500,000 tons a year. The company have
1050 coke ovenR in operation, the annual production being about 500,000 tons. The largest proportion of this is consumed at the corn pany's blast furnaces, but a great deal is sold to other com,Panies.
The blast furnaces naturally come first 1n order
in dealing with the Consett works. When the
present company took over the works, the furnaces were all of the old-fashioned open-topped
kind, and au excellent illustration is given in
Mr. J enkins' hand-book of t wo of these original
blast furnaces. The blast was then heated by
cast-iron U and pistol-pipe stoves, fired by coal,
and having a blast pressure of 3! lb. to the square
inch. There were four beam blowing engines,
particulars of which it may now be of interest to
give. A single-blast engine, steam cylinder 2 ft.
8i in. in diameter, blast cylinder G ft. in diameter,
with 6 ft. stroke; a double-blast engine, steam
cylinders each 2 ft . 11 in. in diameter, blast cylinders each 6 ft. 7 in. in diameter, with 7 ft. 8 in.
stroke ; and a single-blast and rolling-mill engine,
steam cylinder 3 ft. 8 in. in diameter, blast cylinder
7 ft. in diameter, with G ft. 11 in. stroke. At the
Crookhall branch of the works there were three
beam blowing engines ; a single-blast engine, steam
cylinder 2 ft. 8 in . in diameter, blast cylinder
6 ft. 8! in. in diameter, with 8 ft. stroke ; and a
double- blast engine, steam cylinders each 3ft. 2 in.
in diameter, blast cylinders each 8 ft. in diameter
with 8 ft. 6 in. stroke. A double-blast en(7ine
was also in use at Bradley, steam cylind ers :ach
3 ft. 1 in. in diameter, blast cylinders each 7ft. 6 in.
in diatneter w-ith 7 ft. 11 in. stroke.
Crookhall and Bradley are both a little to the
north-east of the main works. In these eat1y

E N G I N E E RI .r G.
days there w{re seven furnaces at ConseU, seven
&t Cr,>okhall, and four at Bradley. The blast furn \Ces at the latter places were, however blown out
at the time of the tr ..Lnsfer. At the present time there
sr.e four large beam blowing engines, made by the
Lillesh.all ~ro~ Company, each with a steam cylinder
4 ft. 2 1n. 1n dtameter, blast cylinders each 8 ft. 4 in.
diameter with 9 ft. stroke. There are also two
be~m blowing engines, made by Murray, of Chester~~ treet. The steam cylinders are 2 ft. 11 in . in
dtameter, blast cylinders eac:1 6ft. 7 in. in diamett r
with 8 ft. stroke. There are ala> two beam blowing engines made by Abbot, of Gatfshead, and
Clarke, of unl}er]and. The steam cylinden are
each 3 ft. 1 iu. in diameter, blast cylinders each
7ft. 6 in. in diameter with 7 ft. 11 in. stroke. In the
year.1865 one large blast furnace, with five tu ye res,
was tn blast, and produced about 34:0 tons of iron per
~eek, while the smaller ones produced about ~30
t ons per week each. These older furnaces were,
h owever, unsuited to the modern requirements
growing up, and within the space of eight years,
that is, by the year 1873, the whole of the furn,ces
origin,lly erected at Consett were pul1ed d own,
and six larger ones subltituted. In the year 1880
a seventh furnace, ~imilar to the others, was added,
thus completing the presen t range. The!c furnaces
are each o5 ft. high and 9 ft. in diameter of hearth.
The height to the top of the boshos is 20 ft. ; the
diameter of the top of the boshea 20 ft. ; the diameter of the thr0at 14ft. 6 in. The bell is 10ft. Gin.
in opening. Ther~ are seven tuyeres to each furnace. All the furnaces are fed with material by
means of bell and hopper, with standard beam and
hydr.1ulic brake. There is an escape gas tube and
slide at the top 1 ft. 8 in. in diameter, regulated
by means of a chain and pulley worked by the
stoveman at the bottom of the furnace. E-\ch of
the furnaces is provided with a dust-catcher,
which ddivers the dust direct into wagcns or iron
barrows. The materials are brought in on a highlevel approach. F our of the furnaces have four of
\Vhitwell's hot blast firebrick stoves t o each furnace, all of them 22 ft. in diameter. One furnace
ha, two stoves 65 ft. high, an other stove is 4o ft.
high, and a fourth is 40 ft. high. A second furnace has four stoves, each of which is 46 ft. high.
Another furnace has one stove 65ft. high, two
o ft. high, and one 35 ft. high. The other furnace haa two stoves 45 ft. high, and two 4.0 ft.
high. The other three furnaces have three Cowper
stoves to each furnace. Two of them have stoves
21 ft. in di.lmeter by 65 ft. high, while the other
haa stoves 24 ft. in diameter by 66 ft. high. The
blast pressure is 4! lb. per square inch, the temperature being about 1300 deg. Fahr. There are now
tive fuma-:es in blast; the other two are being relined. They are all making Bessemer pig, and produce on an aversge 750 tons per furnace per wt e~c
Steam f,>r driving the bl "st engines is generated
by thirteen double eg~- ended boilers, each consi-tIDg of two lengths 35 ft. long by 4 ft. 6 in. in diameter ; six long egg-ended boilers, each 70 ft. 1ong
by 4 ft. 6 in. in diameter ;. and twe~ve dou?le
tubular boilera, each 31 ft. 4 tn. long, stx of whtch
are 7 ft. in diameter and the remainder 7 It. o in.
in d iameter. The waste gas from t he blast is
taken from the top of the furnaces through the
dust-catcher and down-comer in to a large underground brick ftue 10 ft. high by 6 ft. wide. J!rom
this tJ ue it is distributed to the stoves and hollers.
There is a chimney stalk 250ft. high and 16 ft. 6 in.
in diameter inside at the top. This was erected in
1868.
The ore used is main1y compoeed of a mixture of
B ilbao rubio with a small admixt ure of other pure
ores. The 'limestone comes from Stanhope in
" ' earda.le. In the iron age the ore used by the
Consett Company was naturally obtained from the
Cleveland district, but t be introduction of steel
has altered that. The connection of Consett with
the Orconera Ore Company is well known. Dowlais l{rupp and Messrs. Ybarra, of Spain, togather
with the Co'nsett Company, amalgamated to acquire
the large bematite mines at Bilbao, where they have
spent over half a m,illion of mo~ey in pl,ant for
handlino the ore. t: nder these cu cumstances one
can easily underst1nd the s.trong partiality expressed
in some qu~rters for. ac1d ~te~l u ~ompared t~
" that infenor matenal ba.3lc steel so called.
The sla()"
is carried in bogies to the tip, half a mile
0
from th e furnaces. The balls weigh from three to
four t~ns.
.
The transition which came over so many uon
works -when steel waJ seen to have gained the un-

[OcT. 13, 1893

questioned mast ery over the o1der metal- -was gone l and on, of ower by Bridge ; the plato and crap
through at Con sett with remarkable success. e p shearing machines by Buck ton and Co., of L edP.
to 1 6970, Mr. Jenkins tells us only plates and There are 10 egg-ended hand-fired boilers, one L nrals were made in the malleable iron department, ea hire hand-bred boiler, two IA\nra hire furnace
and over 000 tons of these were turnd out week ly. boilers, and six steam furnace stack boilers. Th( ro
p to about 18r6 the total output of plates and are, of course, the necessary beating furna ce!l, and
ratls was doubled, and in some weeks nearly 2000 other neces!ary adjuncts.
tons were made. The end, however, was near, and
'Ve now proceed to "bat is known a.a tl.e
the. iron r~il trade m.ay be said to have died in the No. 4 cogging l'!li1J, whi< h is ea pable of ccg,ing
zentth of 1ts prospertty. In the year last named - 2000 tons of tngots per wet k. It i. 45 10 ,
1876- the output of iron rails fell off from 6CO,OOO having one stand of pim ons and one stand of CC'k
tons to 300,000 tons a year, and the trade of Consett ging rolls. They are driven by a pair of directwas reduced fully one-third. Happily for this acting engines geared 2! to 1. There i Jhe rollrr
establishment, however, 1\fr. Jenkins had two gfar on eAch side, and hydraulic edging gear on the
strings to hil!!l bow, and though the rail trade was delivery side, for dealing with blooms durtr g ccggiog
almost lost, the works were kept busy by the un- operations. The top roll is balanced by hydraulic
usual demand for iron ship material ; forges and power, and the screwing is done by steam power.
mills being altered to sujt the demands of the '!'here is a steam bloom shearing macbme, by
dominant trade. In 1882 the works frequently Buckton, of Le(dP, with li~e roller and falJing
t urned out 1900 tons of iron ship plates weekly. table; the engines were made by Hawks, Crawahay,
This output kept at work 170 pudd1ing furnaceP, and Sone, of Gateshead, and the mill by ?tl1ller
with ten steam hammers and suitable rolling and Co.
N o. 3 plate mill will produce about 3GO tons of
power, and seven plate-rolling millP. That again
is all changed in the present day, and t he produc- plates per week. I t has one stand of pinions, one
tion of malleable ircn is confined to v,hat ie known staLd of roughing rolls, and one tand of cbrquering
as the "tin mill, " although there are certain rolls. The roughing and finishing rolls are each
puddling furnaces with the necessary plant, which Q ft. 3 in. by 25 in , and the chequering roll
can be used if the demand fvr th eir production 5 ft. 6 in. by 26 in. These rolls are a11 drtven by
an engine geared invrseJy, as 1! to 1. There are
shou1 d arise.
The steel works are now, it is needless to say, the usual adjuncts to this milL The ]a.st m1ll in
the great feat ure at Cunsett. When, in the year this department is the N o. 4 plate mil1, which wJll
1882, it becameapparent- largely owing to the action produce 1100 tons of steel p!ates per we< k. It
of the Constructive Depa1 t ment of the Admiralty is a 2 in. clutch reversing mill. There is one
-that Siemens-Martin steel was the proper material stand of pinions, c ne stand of roughing roJJs, and
of which to build ships, the Consett Company were one stand of finishing roll~, the latter being 8ft. by
among it the first to eee to what the new departure 28 in. There is a traversing steam platform on the
was likely to lead. They began with the erection deli~ery side, and a l i~e roHer frame on the reof two sma1113-ton iemens furnaces, att ached to cciving side. Outside this mill there is a battery CJf
which wae an 8 ton bteam hammer and a beating sixt<en hand-fired Lan~hire boilers. AltrgetbE r
furnace. 'Ihe plant was put. into operation in there are, in the cogging mill, and in os. 3 and 4
1883, steel plates being rolled from hammered plate millP, t hh ty boilers, six of theec being furnace
ingots. The venture was succesdul, and six other stack boilers, eight are Lancashire furnace boilers,
furnaces of 17 tons each were erectrd. These eight and the rest are Lancashire hand fired boilers.
'Ihe most modern department in the CCJn ett
furnaces, together with the heating furnace already
referred to, which has ~ince been convertt.d in a \Vorks is the new angle mills, which are capable
20-ton melting furnace, n ow form the we t melt- of producing 1500 tons of sections per week, and
ing shop, although their size has been nlarged so consist of fourt een bays of iron roofing, each 50ft.
that seven are of 20 tons capacity, while two are of span ; the area covered is about 4 acres. Pre17 tons. The furnace are arranged in a row, aud viously to about four years ago the operations of
the casting-pit is parallel to them. The operations the company, aa far as shipbuilding was concerned,
were so successful, that in the year 1887 the east were mainly confi ned to the supply of plates, lut
melting shop was erected, containing a Eeparate about the yfar 1888 it was decided to add the trade
plant of nine melting fm naces, 26 tons each, in angle and other sections to the plate trade.
arranged in a similar way to those already described. " ' hat are known as the new angle mil1f:l, marked
The gas for both these shops is suppl ied from a J in our plan, on page 43!>, w< re, tber~fore, put
range of 33 blocks 0f ordinary Siemens gas-pro- in hand, and are now comr,leted. They occupy an
ducers, blown with steam. The whole plant of area of about 16 acres. 'I here are sev< n melting
these two shops will produce about 3500 tons of furnaces, fifteen blocks of gas producer~, a 45-in.
ingots per week. Hammering the ingots was soon cogging mill and bloom-cutting shear, and three
found to be an unprofitable method of procedure, mills for the production of angles, tees, bulbs,
and what is known as No. 2 cogging miJJ , which channel and girder sections, round and square bar~,
is a 28 in. train, wu brought into use for dealing (lc. During the visit f the Institute members bad
with ingots. This mill was originally designed for an oppor tun ity of teeing these mills in action ;
blooming for iron plate making, and was used in angles, bulbs, and other sections being rolled. Two
this way for three or four years. As the demand of the angle mills are 32 in. and 22 in. re pectively,
for iron died down, and steel came to the front, whilst the third is a 12-in. angle and guide mill.
the mill was altered to work on the latter mat erial, The e mills are provided with many of the l;eet
and is now capable of cogging 1400 tons of ingots modern appliances in the way of live ro1ler gear,
per week. There not being room to place a bloom billet skids, heating furnaces with boilers attachd,
shear, a hammer was fixed for the purpose of cut- hydraulic plant, hot eawing machinrs, billet and
ting the cogged slabs into lengths, and this relic of scrap cutting shears, &c. The bar banks are fitted
a bygone day may still be seen laboriously chopping with bar skids, loading gullet, l' c. ThEre are
off the ends of the blooms.
o. 2 mill is driven fitting and smiths shops, roll turners' shope, and
from what is known as the No. 2 plate mill engine, other subsidiary depar tments. The gasproducers
throuah
bevelled gearing, and is reversed by a for this department are of the Siemens type; the
0
steam clutch. \Ve now pass to t he No. 1 p1ate whole of the tubing for the gas uptakes, and also
mill, which is capable of producing about 380 for conveying gas to the furnaces, is above ground.
tons of plates per week. It has one stand There are seven iemens-1\fartin 25-ton melting
of pinions, one stand of roughing and one stand of furn aces. The ca!ting pit r uns paralJel with the
finishing rolls, each 6 ft. 3 in. by 25 iu., driven by furnaces. This range of furnaces will prcduce upa direct-acting non - condensin~ flywheel engine, the wards of 1500 tons of ingota per week.
flywheel weighing 70 ton~ . . A steam lift is pro- . W~ now pass t~ the 45-in. cogg~n g mill.! ~hi~h
vided, whereby slabs wetghmg from 20 cwt. to l8 drnen by a pa1r of geared engmes, 4.o 1n. m
25 cwt. may be dealt with.
diameter by 5 ft. stroke ; they are geared as two to
No. 2 plate mill is a clutch re""ersing mill, and is ~n e, an~ are fitted ~ith p~t on valves and Allan
capable of producing about G60 tons of plates per hnk mot10n. The m1ll consl8ts of one stand of roll
week. It consists of one stand of pinions, one housings, and one stand of pinions ; there is one
stand of roughing rolls, and one stand of finishin g steam Ecrewing gear, hydraulic ba1ance gear for top
rolls each 7 ft. by 25 in. Like some of the other roll and breast roUers, and hydraulic gear for dging
plant in these works, it was originally des1gned for or trave.r ing the bloom as requue~. There are
dealing with iron. The balance gear for the rough- five ho~ontal fur.nace. ~o these nnlls, coal - fire~,
ing rolls has been placed overhead, so as to save each ~av1ng a ve~hcal bo.tler. Th~re are hydrauhc
excavation. There are attached to these mills the chargtng and w1thdrawmg machmes, capable of
usual machinery for dealing with plates produced . dealing with 5-ton ingots, and the .furnaces are
The pla~e shear for No. 2 mill was made by Berry p]accd close to the roll , so that the wgots can be

E N G I N E E RI N G.

OcT. I 3, I 893.]

quickly transferred to the rolls. Arrangements ' bending machines, &c.

The test house and
have been made to lay down vertical furnaces if laboratory--the latter being in another part
required. The shears are capable of cutting of the works- are well equipped, and are shown
blooms 30 in. by 12 in. They are fitted witl~ a on the. plan, ~n. page 439, at IC and L.
'Ihe
pair of reversing engines, the c~linders of whtch lo~o?lollve repatrmg shops and the wagon reare 2G in. in diameter by 2 ft. 6 m. stroke. They p11rmg shops are on a large scale, and are
are geared 20 to 1. There is live r oller gear on well equipped. B efore closing this ace< unt, some
each side of the shears, which is balanced on the particulars may profitably be given of the locom oreceiving side by hydraulic po~er, a~d on the tives and locomotive c.ranes ~sed .at Conse~t. 'Ihe
delivery side it is supported by sptral spnngs. The total number of these 1n use IS 43 m all, takmg both
shears are by Buckton, of Leeds. The 32-in. locomotives and locomotive cranes. What arc
angle mill, which co~es ne.xt, is ~riven by a pair. of known as the A. class constitute th~ m ost p o werful
reversinu
enaines, with 64-to. cylmders by 4ft Gm. of the locomoh\es. There are six of these, all
0
stroke. Th~y have piston valves, and Allan'slink having six coupled wheels. F our have cylinders
motion. They are coupled direct to the mill. 16 in. in diameter by 24 in. stroke, with wheels
This mill has one stand of pinions, one stand 3ft. 2 in. in diam~ter. The other two have 17!-in.
of roughing .roll~, and one stand
fini shing ?Ylin.ders by 25 in. stroke, wi.th . wheels. 4 ft. ~in.
r olls. Provis10n IS made for an add1t10nal stand 1n d1ameter.
Th ey are all mside cyhnder tank
for producing r~lled joists and girders:
The engines, and we~e built by ICitson and Co.! of
top rouohinO'
roll u worked by steam screwmg gear Leeds. They wetgh about 36 tons, and are chiefly
0
ab )re, ~nd hydraulic balance ~e~~ below. There I used in working the tra~c between the collieries
are the usual live rollers, and mchned shoots, for 1 and the works, and haulmg ore. The B class of
the bars to run up, in order to save floor space. locomotives weigh about 25 tons, and are used
The \ boms arJ taken fr ; m the roughing to the principally about the mills. They are by BlA.ck,
fini~hinO' rolb by means of a bar skid. There are Hawthorn, A.nd Co. In class D are included the
two ste;m circular saws, which will cut off bars up locomotive cranes of three typrs. The last classt o 280ft. in length or more, and the bars are taken E - includes perhaps the most inter~sting machines.
t o the bar bank by live rollers, so arranged as to This class is constituted by seven powerfullocomodistribute them to the best advantage. There are tive cranes, designed and built especially for these
coal-fired furnaces with vertical b oilers, and works. Nos. 1 and 2 each lift 12 tons at a radius
hydraulic charging and withdrawing gear. There of 16ft. Nos. 3 and 4 will lift 7 tons each at a
is al'3o a hydraulic lift here, w hi eh will raise the radius of 16 ft. Nos. 6 and 6 will lift the same
billt-ts to the level of the bogie ; this is a very weight at a similar radius, but have longer jib~,
useful a :>pliance, and W:\S seen in operation by the which can be raised or lowend by a derrick motion
members at the time of their visit. The space b e- till the radius is 20 ft., at w hi eh they can deal
hind the mill is laid out for the erection of punch- with 6 tons without being clamped down or othering, straightening, and coldsawing machines, &c. wise supportEd. These cranrs all lift on a single
There is a 22-in. angle mill driven by a pair of re- chain, and are very quick in the various m otions.
veraing engine~ , cyliodera 40 in. in diameter by During the recent visit they were seen to advan4 ft. stroke. They are co upled direct to tho mill . tage, performing their ordinary operations in the
There is one st:lnd of pinions, one stand of r ough- works. The boilers are of the vertical type, and
ina roBs, and one stand of finishing r olls, with live have Field tubes. They are fitted on the tail of
rolJets geared on an inclined shoot. There are fur- the jib, so as to act as counterpoise to the weight
n!lces with boilers and hydr"ulic charging gear; lifted. Nos . 1 and 2 will carry their load of
the biJlets being lifted on to the bogies Ly means of 12 tons easily, and weigh themselves about 65 tons
a. 3 ton steam locomotive train, which is also used each. They were desi g ned by Mr. J. P. Roe,
for the stocking of billets,
and built by Black, Hawthorn, and Co. They
'Vo next notice a 12-in. guide mill, which is con~ist of a bottom carriage, forming the locomodriv~n by a high-pressure engine, baYing a cylinder tive, with a diameter of 13! in. by 21! in. stroke.
30 in. in diameter by 2 ft. 6 in. stroke. It is fi.Lted They are placed on three pairs of w beds, two
"ith piston valve and governing gear. There is one pairs, 3ft. in diameter, being coupled, and the front
stand of pinions, one stand of roug hing r o1ls, and pair, 2 ft. 9 in, in diameter, being fitted with radial
one shod of finishing r olls; there are also two axle boxes, t o enable the engine to go round sharp
stands of guide r olls. There is a steam circular curves. On the centre of this b ottom carriage is
sawing machine and billet shear.
bolted the crane pillar, as well as the spur rack and
The othr fea t ures of this department of the roller path, on which the crane revolves. The liftworks we may deal with shortly.
There are ing and revolving motions are worked by one pair
overhead cr"nes for serving the mills. The ro11 of engines fixed on the jib sides, whilst a p o werful
shops contain three lathes, each driven by its own brake s ustains the load at any point. The lifting,
ergine. The hydraulic plant consists of two sets revolving, and travelling are frequently carried on
of \Vorthington hig h -pressure pumps and one accu- at the same time. Steam is conveyed from the
mulator and tank. There is a battery of twelve locomotive cylinders through the centre pillar, the
boilera, fired by Proctor 's automatic stoking gear, locomotive reversing and brake rods also passing
a.nd arrangements have been made for six more through it.
boilers. The mill furnace boilers are of the vertical
The Consett Company own about 2700 cottages,
type, with one internal flue fitted with cross tubes. an d employ upwards of GOOO hands. The wages at
These boilers are all designed to carry 100 lb. pres- present paid amount to 8000l. per week. The
sure p3r square inch. All steam pipes from 9 in. company also pays to the North-Eastern Railway
in diameter upwards are made from iemens steel, Company in dues the sum of 150,COOl. a year.
in lengths up to 16 ft.., welded from end to end,
A thorough inspection of the works having been
with steel flanges contracted and riveted on . These made, m em hers proceeded to the Town Hall,
pipes were made by Piggott and Co., of Birmingham. Consett, where they were entertained at luncheon
The bar bank is convt>niently placed near the mills by the company, Mr. 'Villiam Jenkins, the
on the south side, it being partly coered by the general manager, occupying the chair. The large
roofing. A skid gear is driven through shafting by hall was entirely filled, and we ~hould judge there
me~ns of friction cones operated by hydraulic rams. must have been n early 500 persons preEent. l\1r.
It JS arranged so that one range of s kids may be David D~le, the chairman of the company, occupied
working independently of another, and in another a seat on Mr. J enkins' right hand. After luncheon,
direction. Thii system has been adopted in pre- son.e interesting speeches were made by Mr. D~le.
ference to that whereby each range of skids is sup- Mr. J enkins also spoke, but unfortunately he was
plie.d with its driving Engine, as the latter is found not heard-a result due to his recent illness, from
to mterfere with loading operations. There are which, however, everyone will be glad to hear he
two 3-to.n st~am traversing cranes at the hot bank. is recovering. Mr. Dale, in his speech, referred
The engmeermg department at these works is in to the prosperity of the company, the credit for
pro?ess of recons.truction, the existing shops which he gave to the management of Mr. J enkins.
havmg been. f~und msufficient for the work. They No d oubt in this respect Mr. Dale spoke no more
were not. vu1ted by the members. The works than the truth, but he might have added that the
fou.ndry Is at Crookhall, about a mile from the 1 success of the undertaking was also nece~sarily due
mam . wo~ks. There are three cupolas, and the to Mr. Dale's own broad-minded p olicy in giving a
capactty IS ~bout 160 t ors of castings per week. free hand to the works management, and recognisTh.ere are brtck works, capable of producing 120,000 ing that when he had a good man at the head of
briCks per week. In the testing depat tment there 1 executive affl.ttirs, it would be most unwise policy to
are t~ree of Buckton's machines, one of 100 t on s hamper hia moYements in any way. It is a hsson
capa.ctty, a~d two of 50 tons each, having the usual many gentlemen in like positions might take to
apphances m the sh'-lpe of t~st- preparing m \chines, 1 heart with advantagP.

.o!

441
Exct:RSlON TO RABY AND B.Alt!iARD CA~TLE.

On the last day of the meeting, Friday, the 29th

ult. , an excursion had been arranged to Raby a~d
Barnard Castle. This was purely a pleasure tnp,
made to one of the most r omantic rarts of the
country.

THE

ENGINEERING CONGRESS
CHICAGO.

AT

(BY OUR NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT.)

(Continued from pa{Je 412.)

THE wvrk of a m ost important congress must

now be considered brieily, viz. :
THE CosoRE:-;s 014' E NO I NF..ERINO ED UCATION.
This was a noto.ble gathering, and the discu~
sions ranged o'er a wide fi eld.
The .first paper was by Professor A. N. Tal bot,
entitld "Maximum and Minimum Mathematics
for an Engineer. " This we..s a plea for mathematics as a mfans of drilling tho student's mind.
There is little doubt that the mind i3 drilled by
them, and it seems to the writer that it is too mU( h
so. In other words, tht re is t oo much time given
to pure mathematics, but no one could expect a
professor to take this view.
A Yery ab!e and interedting paper was then presented, entitled ''Present Favourable and Unfavourable Tendencies in Engineering Education. "
Its distinguished author, Dr. Palmer C. Ricketts,
Director of the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute of
Troy, presented it. The writer being a graduate
of that noted institution, we "ill not presume to
more than note the paper, for we were taught
not to criticise, but to imitate, our instructors.
This was followed with a comparison between
American and European methods of engineering
education by Professor George F. Swain, of
Bostott. The main po:nts of differencE", he eaid,
were: 1. That in Europe the main object of the
instructions was to impart ir.formA.tion, while here
the idea was to tra!n the students to think. 2. In
Europe the laboratory was not made use of in the
same degree as in America.
3. In Europe the
student was absolutely ftee to choose his own
course of study. 4. The technical curricula in the
old countries were broader and more general in
their scope than in the American schools. He discussed at length each of theee points of difft!rence,
incidentally taking strong ground against ne
employment of lecture courses as agencies for
training, and claiming that lect urel were almost
uselees for t.hat purpose. The closing feature
of the meeting was an address by \Yilliam H.
Burr, of Columbia College, on "The Ideal
Engineering Education."
This
distinguished
professor, also a graduate of Troy, considered
mathematical training of the utmost importance,
from the relation of abstract science to practical
engineering. \Vhipple was practically the first man
to grasp the mathematical principles of strains, and
he applied them in bridges which were correctly designed from a theoretical point of view. A practical
study of tmgineering works is very important, as in
fi~ld and shop work, preparation for specifications
and estimates, &c., but no education can make a
practitioner ; it can only fit the student for practical
work. Students should also be made to undrstand
that there are rconomical as well as mechanical
principls to be considered, as in cost of material,
labour, transportation, erection, &c., and no school
of engineering can be considered as satisfactorily
performing its ends if it does not do this.
The next day the session continued with a paper
by Professor R. H. Thurston, of Cornell University, on d Sh:->p and Laboratory Equipment." Cl rtainly no on e is better qualified to speak on this
subject than this eminent profesEor, for he has
probably had as extended and varied practice as
any man. The laboratory tf hydraulics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology was described by Profe3sor D. Porter. The next pap~r was
by an extremely bright man, who came from
England to preEent it, and who charmed all who
had the pleasure of meeting him in this country.
Th e pa.per wa<1 " Graphical Solution (f Problems, "
and its author was Professor H . S. Hele Shaw, of
Sheffield. This paper r ecei red a lcnger and more
exhaustive discussion th~n any other, and it ~bared
the interest. in the topic and the value of the work
of Prof~ssor Hele Shaw. Dr. Ritter, of Zurilh,
discussed it., am ong others, and describt d the
methods in Sw i~ ze rland. The <ther p aprrs read at

E N G I N E E R I N G.

(OcT. tj, 1893.

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the session were "Shop and L~boratory Equipment, 11 by Dr. R . H. Thu1:ston, director of Sibley
College, Cornell University ; "Original Research
hy Students," by R. C. Carpenter, Professor of
Experimental ~ogineering, Sibley College, Cornell
University, and Charles D. Marks, of L cland Stanford, Jun., University.
The next day opened with a paper on "Field
Equipment and Field Practice, " by C. D. J ameson.
There was some discussion between two distinquished professors as to methods for field instruction, in which it was stated that one instit ution had
leased a farm and erected stone monuments for
levelling, so the student.~' work could be carefully
checked. The opponent did not like this plan,
because he t hought it presupposed a disposition on
the part of the student to deceive. This seemed to
be rather a question of morals than of methods, and
the congress did not settle it- a moC3t wise m ethod,
and quite moral withal. The other papers were as
follows : "Methods of Training Eng ineering Students in Technical Literary vVork, " by Professor
Ma.nsfield Merriman ; "Methods of Studying Current Technical Literature, " by Professor J. B.
Johnson, in the discussion of which it was stated
that while students will read current technical
literature it is difficult t o get them to study h is torical technical literature; "Drawing for Engineering Students, " C. D. D ~ni3on. There was a
large attendance in this division at all the meetings. At the last meeting two papers were pre
seuted : "Vacation W ork, " by Professor A. E.
Burton, and "Graduation Theses, " by G. Lan z~ .
Both of these subjects awakened considerable discusgion. It may be said this was a most succe9sful gl\therin~, the subjects being of great interest,
an:! the discussions instructive.

It was termed the "Marin e Section, " and marked

an epoch as being the first general meeting of
the '' Institute of Marine Engineers and Architects. "
Its deliberations wer e presided over with much
grace and dignity by that intrepid Arctic explorer,
Commodore Geo. ' V. Melville, Engineer-in-Chief of
the U nited States Navy.
This assembly was
probably the most cosmopolitan and most disting uished which were brought together at the Fair
during the whole series of congresses. All were
m en well known, n ot alone at hom e, but in foreign
countries; a glance at their names will show at once
who they were :
General L . deBussy, Inspecteur-General du Genie
Maritime of France; Dr. Francis Elgar, of London,
vice-president of the Instit ution of Naval Architects, and delegate from that Institution to this
congress; Colonel N a.bor Soliani, of the Corps del
Genio Navale of I taly ; Professor Carl Busley, of
the Imperial German Naval Academy at Kiel,
Germany; An tonio de Barron Boneto, of the
Brazilian Navy; Mr. James Howden, of Glasgow, inventor of Howden's system of f or ced
draught ; Commodore Melville, Engineer - inChief U.S. N ., chairman of the division; Pll.ssed
Assistant Engineer Mc.Farland, secr etary of
the division ; Commodor e Charles H. L oring,
U S.N. , formerly Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy ;
Mr. Geo. W. Dickie, manager of the nion Iron
'Vorks, San Francisco; Mr. \Varren E. Hill, vicepresident of the Continental Iron \Vorks, Brooklyn,
N.Y.; Naval Constructor Varney, U.S.N. ; Geo.
W. Street, assistant constructor, U.S.N; Chief
Engineer Moore, of the Navy ; Chief E ngineer
David Smith, U.S.N. ; Professor W. F. Durand,
of Corn ell U niversity, Ithaca, N . Y. ; Professor Ira
N. H ollis, of Hanard University; P rofessor W.
THE MARINE SECTION.
F. Spangler, of t he University of Pennsylvania;
The last congre3s to be noted was probably the Colonel E. A. Stevens, superintendent of the
most important of any, and it is d eeply to be Hoboken Ferry Boat Company, New York ; Mr.
regretted that space is only available for a hasty T. A. McElwell, su perintendent of the Vacuum Oil
glance at it and its subjects.
Company, R ochester, N. Y . ; M r. Chas. Y\'ard,

inven tor of the Ward water tube boiler, Charleston

,V. Va. ; Edward E. Roberts, of the Roberts
'Vater Tube Boiler Company; M r. H. B. Roelker,
41, Maiden-lane, New York, proprietor of the
Allen d ense air ice machine; Charles W. Whitney,
of New York City ; Charles A. Moo re, of the wellknown firm of Manning, 1\'Iax well, and Moore,
Liberty-street, New York ; Asa M. Mattice, consulting engineer, o f Cambridgepor t, Mass.; Colonel
David P. J ones, chief engin eer U.S . .N., retired ;
John lVI. Sweeney, of Harvey, Ill. ; Count de
Balincourt, of the French Navy ; Passed Assistant
F rank M. Bennett, U. .N. ; Chief Engineer John
L. D . Bortherwick, U .S.N. ; Mr. J. R. Williams,
mechanical engineer, 60, South Canal-street, Chicago; Professor John Pemberton, U.S.N., associate
professor of m echanical engineering, Pennsylvania
State College ; Captain Chas. H. Manning, superintendent of the Amoskeag Mills, Manchester,
N .H.; C. B. Calder, Puperintending engineer of
t.he Mutual and Menominee steamboat lines, Cleveland ; J oseph McMakin, superintending engineer
Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore; Chief Eogineer
Kafer, U .S.N. ; Mr. F. ' V. G rogan , architect of
the naval exhibit of the 'Vorldls Columbian Exposition ; E. Platt Stratton, chief engineer surveyor,
"Record of American and Foreign Shipping," New
York ; Mr. Frank B . King, superintendent of the
mar,ine d_epartment Maryland Steel Company, Spar row s Pomt, Md. ; J oseph R. Oldham, naval architect, Cleveland; Charles E. Fitch, 296, Elm-street
Chicago ; Alfred H. Rlynal, Elizabeth, N.J.; E:
N. J a.nsen, bureau of steam engineering, Navy
Department; P.A. Lennerty, mechanical engineer
and naval architect; A. George Mattson, constructing engineer . F. Hodge and Co., Detroit, Mich. ;
Henry C. Meyer, Jun., of the E ngineering Beco1'd
227, P~arl-stre~t, New York; Frank M.' Dunlap:
mechaniCal eng1neer, 57, Selden-avenue, Detroit
Mich.; Theodore G. Hoech, royal Prussian inspect o;
of waterways; D. W. Edenston, of Clinton, Ill. ;
E. T. Sederholm, 1629, Fulton-street, Chicago
Mr. Hayden H omer Tracy, S . D. Boynton, and

444

mA.ny otrers, for this was one of the best attended

of the congresses.
The address of welcome of Commojore Mel ville
was shnrt and direct. After the usual courtesies,
the chairman depi<:ted the present state of naval
architecture and marine engineering, and pointed
out the probable lines of progress, indicating
incrflase in steam pressure and in piston speed
as the prominent one~, although he thought improved material of construction And changt d de
signs would also be studi ed. He cited the experiments now in progress with steam at 1200 lb.
pressur~ , and notl d the coil form of boiler, by
"hich gre3.t p ower with little weight would l:e
attained. As seeming t o confirm the Commodore's
position, it may be said that a small boat, 78 ft. 9 in.
in length, was able by the use of the Mosher coil
boiler to r ecord a speed, last week, in New York
Ilarbour, of 31.6 statute miles, or 27 t knots. This
was the celebrated F t i Seen, whose indicated horsepower is GOO, and her displacement is 13 tons. The
engines are of the quadruple type, with cylindeis
9! in . , 1 3~ in. , 18 in., and 24 in. in diameter, and
the stroke is 10 in. The hull is the design of Mr.
\V m. Gardiner. and the boiler and engines that of
1\:lr. M~sher. The propeller is 3 ft. tn diameter,
with a 7 ft. pitch, and the revolutions recorded
were 580.
After the remark~ of Commodore :J\1elville,
which were r eceived with applause, the congress
settled down to work, and the session opened in
earn es~, for they had t o consider some forty-five
papers from the leaders in shipbuilding industry in
England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and our
o wn country. Dr. A. C. Kirk, it was announced,
had begun a paper on triple-expansion engines for
this congress, but his death had prevented its
completion.
The first paper was entitled "The Best Shipof\Var, " and was the work of Sir Nathaniel Ba.rnaby,
(If England. After a discussion of what problems
had been settled by past experience, and what were
unsettled to-day, he came to the following conclueions for the best ship-of-war:
(\ 1. So far as our knowledge of available materials
extends at present, we conclude that she mus t be
~ built of steel.
'' 2. There must be an inner water-tight ship.
'' 3. Excepting vessels required for training purposes, there should be no sail power.
'' 4. Th~ engines and boilers must be protected by
a strong deck, proof against rupture by the exploding force of shell, or by equivalent means.
'' 5. There should be more than one propeller.
'' 6. The engines should be vertical.
" 7. The boilers should be so fitted as to work,
without serious risk of leakage, under forced
draught.
"8. The ship should have a powerful stem.
"!>. The 'brain' of the ship must be protected by
tfficient armour.
'~ 10. I should be disposed t o insist upon another
condition for the best ship-of. war, w ha.tever her
size, class, and speed may be, viz., she should have a.
water-line slice, or raft body, from 5 ft to 9 ft. thick,
having a. resisting power which cannot be destroyed
by a single blow from any gun, and perv ious to
water under gun-fire in such a. alow degree that she
shall always be more secure against tot:llloss under
the attack of the gun than under that of the ram
and t orpedo.
" 11. I think it also reasonable to say that, excepting a few large and powerful ships, designed, not
for line-of-battle but as station ships or naval
centres at outlying places of importance, no ship
can be reaa.rded as the best ship-of-war which,
being liabl~ to be lost by touching a r ock in smooth
water, by the attack of a torpedo-boat, by the
blow of a ram, or by an internal explosion, may
thereby cause the loss of a crew exceeding (say)
400 men.
"In other words, if a ship under existing conditions, designed for fleet action, and not for
definitely exceptional service, demands the services
of more than about 400 men, she is, hy virtue of
that exces3i ve demand for precious personnel, of an
inferior type.
'' 12. There is one remaining consideration. The
b est ship-of-war must have in it the eleme~t~ of
ease of production at need by the grea~ mant.1me
tr~ding communities. If these mercantile na.hons
ca.n, by virtue of, and in pr~portion to, the magnitude of their peaceful ma.nne, produ c~ th~ more
quickly efib ient ships of-war for defendmg 11i, then
the type of ship whi\.!h can be so produced has a

E N G I N E E R I N G.

[OcT.

3,

893.

grrat advantag~ for t hem, and therdore an advan- j transpor tation. As a s:1.mp1e of t he last, he cited
tage in the general interests of peace ; and it is for t hat splendid triumph, lately illustrated in E NGIthis that the ship-of-war is needed. "
NEERING , the Puritan, of t he Fall River line, which
Dr. Francis E 'gar, late of the British Admiralty, he called, "the finest exponent of marine naval
discussed this paper in a most able manner, cha.rac- construction of her class in the world." This was
teristic of a. rr an of his distinguished ability. followed by an interesting discussion, which was
Chief Engineer Kafer, U.S.N., who has had ex- taken down in shorthand, and will appear in the
perionce in warships during our late contest, also Transactions, to be published this Fall in full.
"The Present Condition of Naval Arch itecture"
made s~me interesting remarks. Professor Durand,
of Cornell Uni~ ersity, and Naval Constructor was an able paper, presented by a man ll'ho certainly
Varn ey, likewise discussed it.
ought to know, for he is a close and careful student
F ullowing this exposition of war vessels of Eng- of his theme. It was the work of Dr. Francis
land, came a paper on" The Vessels of the United E lgar, delegate from the Institution of Naval
States Navy," by Lewis Nixon, superintending Architects of Great Britain, and one of the forearchitect of William Cramp and Sons. After a mo~t men in his profession. The character of this
history of the various vessels added to the navy paper may best be understood by a few extracts
since 1882, he instituted comparisons between the quoted below. After stating that no science has
later .A:merican ships and those of other navies. yet reached absolute perfection, Dr. Elgar conThat between the New York and the Blake may sidered the progress made in naval architecture,
and stated :
serve as a sample :
"By a successful vessel is meant a vessel which
''The science of naval architecture is by no means
doe3 what she is designed to do. If a vessel which equally advanced in all its branches : and it will be
is larger and has more displacement than another, convenient t o consider each branch ly itself, and
goes faster, it does not necessarily mean that she analyse it apart from the rest. We w1Jl therefore
is a mor e successful vessel; but wheu a. vessel is divide the subj ect under the following heads:
smaller than another, and goes faster, and is (1) Buoyancy and depth of loading ; (2) Stability
superior in guns, armour, and all powers of offence and storage; (3) Structural strength ; (4) peed
and defence, then she is a more successful vessel. and resistance; (5) Steer ing and manreuvring ;
The New York is such a vessel, and the chief con- and (6) Safety at sea."
structor and the engineer-in-chief of our navy may
U nder the first head he announced :
" The maximum depth of safe loading of cargo
well be proud of her design, and the nation proud
ships, t hat is, the draughts to which they should be
of her poss~ssion.
" The Blake is only a large protected cruiser, limited in still water in order to provid e a height of
but as she has 1000 tons more displacement than deck above water sufficient to enable them to ride
the New York, a comparison is invited.
safely over heavy seas, is a. question that was long
" In the matter of speed they have both been unsettled, and warmly disputed, in England. "
tried. After four hours over an actual course, the
A question on depth of loading and freeboard of
Ne w York holds a record of 21 knots, and t he cargo ships, brough t before a committee of experts,
prouder claim of not having a hot j ournal or a in which Dr. Elga.r represented the Institution of
leaky tube. The Blake's speed has never r eJ.ched Naval Architects, was :
20 knots.
"Can the desired results be deducd from those
"The New York has the same thickness of pro- established principles and t heories which the science
tective deck, but the upper layer is of nickel steel, of naval architecture is able to furnish 1 We soon
as against mild steel in the Bla.ke. Outside she has found that there was no theory sufficie ntly ada belt of 4-in. nickel steel armour, which is wanting vanced or comprehensive t o be of much use, when
in the Blake. She has also a thick belt of obtura.- we came to deal with ships of all sizes, all vari eties
ting cellulose along the water line, which, whatever of form, and many diversities of type."
its defects, is the only obturating material of unHis conclusion on this matter was :
" \Vith regard to buoyancy and the line of fiotadoubted utility, and one t hat will be a most valuable facto1 of defence in time of war.
tion of a. ship, it t hus appears that while we are
u The B lake has two large guns firing 330-lb. able to calculate befor ehand, to as great a d<g ree
projectiles. The New York has six guns firing of precision as may be desired, what this will be
250-lb. projectiles, and four of these guns are pro- fvr a state of rest in still water, we can only aptected by armoured turrets, while the Blake's guns proximate by means of model experiments for a
are protected only by shields.
sta te of motion in smooth water; while for the
" The Dla.ke's 9000 ton s in fact represents but condition of d isturbed water we have no better
little advance except in size over the Baltimore's guide than empirical rules based upon observation
4000 toni. The Brooklyn is a vessel of the same and experience at sel. "
general type as the New York. The Maine is
On t he second head, he decided t hat :
a vessel which is in many r epects an improve" \Vith regard to stability and stowage it therement on the Riachuelo, and compares very favour- fore appears that we can calculate the righting
ably with vessels of her class. "
moments at any angle vf ir.clina.tion from t he
The au thor closed his remarks with the follow- position of equilibrium, and the limiting angle of
inclination at which t he righting moment vanishes,
ing summary :
"On the whole, the &xisting situation presents for the conditionof r est in still water; t hat the
several gratifying aspects :
modifying effect upon stability caused by speed
'' 1. A considerable fl eet of new ships of the ahead through still water cannot be calculated, but
highest efficiency in t heir several rates.
may be determined by ~xperimen ts upon t he ship
"2. A universal popular support of the policy when under way, or upon a. model of the ship;
of steady increase.
and that the stability among waves and the rolljng
'' 3. The ability of the country to produce, at motion when a ship has no headway and is lying in
home, all the war material necessary in the con- the line of the waves can be approximated to by a
struction of the highest t ypes of ships, wh ether combination of experimeBts upon the r olling of the
armour, smokeless powder, heavy forgings, ship ship in still water and of calculation. The motion
steel, guns of large and small calibres, or any of of a. ship at sea under the ordinary conditions of
the numerous accessories of armament and equip- being propelled across waves at various angles with
ment.
the line of t he waves cannot be submitted to cal" With such a situa.t ion the outlook for a corn- cula.tion. "
plete rehabilitation of our national navy, on lines
U nder the next head , the speaker said in concalculated to restore us to our appropriate rank a.CJ eluding this branch of the subject :
a. naval P ower, leaves n othing to be desired, while
"Little more can be done in calculating the
the advance in naval shipbuilding has had t he structural strength of ships that would be fairly
effect of stimulating enterprise in the direction of trustworthy than to determine the longitudinal
t he merchant marine, both as a sequence of the strength for the condition of r est in still water.
new public spirit created, and on account of the The calculations usually made of the longitudinal
great r eduction in the first cost of material which strength among waves have but little quantitative
has resulted from the concurrent development of value, and it is not possible to deal by theory and
our domestic resources.
calculation with the other causes of structural
" The Rise and Progress of Naval Architecture straining in a manner that would be at all satisin lhe U nited S tates," by Benj . Martell , chief factory. "
surveyor to Lloyd's R egister, was an interestmg
After discussing the various conditions and
sketch of what had been accomplished from 1748 designs which afl'ect Apeed and propulsion, the
to the present time, with a short account of various author summed the case as follows :
" With regard to resistance, speed, and propultypical ships, including ships-of-war, merchantmen,
yachts, and stea.mboa.ta for river and harbour sion , we are unable to calculate beforehand by pure

OcT.

1 J,

1893.]

theory what the exact results will Le ! or any .given

bize and form of ship, or for any partl?ular kmd or
dimension of propeller. The r elahon between
speed and resistance can, however, ~e. closely
approximated fo~ smooth. water cond1hons by
means of expertments w1th models ; but ~h e
modifying effects of weather and sea upon reslstance and speed require to be allowed for in the
case of ships intendfd for long oc.ean voyages, and
iu making such allowance~ there 1~ at present no
surer guide than k~owledge and JUdgn:en t based
upon practical exper1ence of the cond1t10ns found
to be most favourable to speed ~t sea."
.
As to steering and manreuvr1ng, after considering the forces acting on the rudder and propeller and their eff~cts at various angles, together
with the shape and area of t h ese parts, he decided
that :
.
" The conditions that affect the acht n of t.he
rudder are so different in a seaway from th ose that
obtain in still water, and are so va.Iiable, that the
difficulties of exact scientific treatment become
enormously increased. The size, form, and strength
of rudders and other points connected with t he
steering arrangements hav~ to be determined by
empirical r ules and by Judgment based upon
knnwledge of the r esults of successful practice."
(To be continued.)

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

(Continued from page 409.)

THE

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SE<.:TJONS.

~YITH the exception of Sections E and H, all

sections had found commodious quattE' rs in the

lecture-rooms of the University College, a fine
Gothic structure, which also contains the largest of
the fourteen public librar ies of N ottingham. The
reception and other se?tion roo~ s. '!ere within a
few minutes. The Ch1cago E xh1b1 t10n and congresses other meetings, and c,ther reasons had
prevented a good many of the habitues, special1y
also electricians, from a.ttendin~ t his year. The
list of visitors from abroad was exception ally s hor t .
No remarkable discoveries wer e announced. E ven
the lists of papers were not so long as has often
been the casa. F or the first time in this and the
past decade, Section A, Math ematical and Physical
Science, commencing every morning at ten, adjourning for committee meeting. a.t ~wo, was able to
do without the customary subdtvlston 1nto a mathematical and a physical depa.rtme ut on Saturday, and
to conclude on Tuesday. On1y mat hematical papers
were discussed on Saturday. Section B, Chemistry,
met on four days. Several committees had practically nothing to report. Yet the proceedings of A
and B were by no means lacking in interest. Remarks have fallen about the predominance of the
professorial element in the discussions or exchange
of views acroRs the committee table in A . If that
be true, it is little to be regretted . F ew but professors are competent to rise in A, and every p ertinent question and remark has met with a courteous reply. The officers of Section A were : President, Mr. R. T. Glaze brook, F . R.S., of Cambrid~e ; secretaries, Professor A. L odge (recorder ),
ltir. Emtage, M.A., 1\fr. Larmor, F .R. S , and Dr.
Peddie, F .R .S.E. Section B met at 10.30, after
the committee meeting. The officers were : President, Professor Emerson Reynolds, F . R .S. , of
Dublin ; secretar ies, Dr. N . \V. J . Nicol. M. A.,
F .R.S E. (recorder)~ Dr. Nagel, Mr. J . R. Dun
stan, ~LA., F.R.S.E ., and Mr. J. Cole man . The
collection ,,f sc:entific exhibits \Vas g0od. In dealing with these sections, we shall grou p t he papers
so far as possible.
OPTICAL THEORIES.

I n his presidential address to the Math ematical

and Physical Section, Mr. Glazeb rook, F . R. S.,
after expressing his deep regret for the circumstances which had prevented Profess~r Clifton
from presiding this year, gave a brief r etrospect of
the events of tho past year. The day v. hen the
address was delivered (September 14) was the first
anniqersary of the famous discovery by Professor
Barnard of the fi fth satellite of Jupiter. It is
equivalent in luminosity to a star of the thirteenth magnitude, and revolves r ound if s primary
in 11 hours 57 minutes 23 seconds. The resolutions adopted at Edinburgh by the Conference
on Electrical Standards, which our readers will remember was attended by Professors V on Helmholtz, Guillaume, and Carhart, representing Germany, France, and the United States, have been

445

E N G I N E E R I N G.
accepted by the B oard of Trade, and will form the
basis of legislation th roughout the world. Their
ratification by th e Electrical Congress at Chicago
was hardly subjecttoanydoubt. Mr. E. H. Griffit hs
has just published his monumental work on the
'' Re Determination of the M echanical Equivalent
of Heat. " The results of five years of unbring
struggle do not differ by more than 1 in 10, 000,
if we abstract one group of experiments ; this
group deviates from the mean only by 1 pat t in
4000. Griffiths finds that 4.194: x lOi er gs are
req uired to raise 1 gramme of water 1 dt>g .
Cent. at 15 deg. Expressed in foot pt und s and
Fahrenheit degrees th e value of J is 778.99.
J oule's value, with air thermometer corrfct ions, according to R owland, was 778.5 at 12 7
d eg. Cent. Row h.nd himself obser vfd 780.1 at
the sam e temperature. A very satisfactory outcome of these txperiments of Mr. Griffiths is t he
exact accordance between the scale of t f mperature
as determined by the comparison of h is platinum
therm omet er with the air thermometer made by
Callendar and himself in 1890, and that o f the
ni trogen thermometer of the Bureau International
at Sevr s. These observations also bear out Professor Dewar's disco'""cry that the resistance of
certain pure metals vanis hes at absolute zero. The
other chief result of Professor D e war's experiments on the liquefaction of gases is t he discovery
of the magn etic properties of oxygen. Professor
Rowland has finish ed }.is" Table of Standard ' Vave
Le 1glihs, ' ' having measured almost a thousand lines,
and Mr. Higg~ has completed his wonderful photographs of the eolar s pectrum taken with a Rowland
grating. The first edition of Maxwell's "Electricity and Magnetism " bore the date 1873. This
y ear Maxwell's disting uished successor, Professor
J. J. Thomson, has edited a new ed ition, the third,
enriched by a supplementary volu me on the advances of electri cal science during the last twen ty
y ears. L ord Rayleigh has made two m ost important cont rib ution s t o optical theory : "The
Intensity of Light reflected frvm Water and Mercury at nearly P erpendicula r Incidence, " and
" The Reflection from Liquid Surfaces in the Neighbourhood of the Polarising Angle. "
Mr. Glazebrook then passed on to his chief subject, ''Op tical Theorie1, " remarkin g that his address
was already in th e printer's hand when he saw Sir
G . Stok es's paper on "The Luminiferous Ethl?r. "
That light is propagated by an undulatory motion
through a medium which we call ether, is n ow an
esta blished fact, though we know little about the
constitution or nature of the ether. The history of
this und ulatory theory is full of interest, but ha~,
in its earlier stages, not been clearly apprehended.
This Mr. Glazebrook fully established. In general,
Newton passes as the father of the emission theory,
as Huygens is regard ed as the originator of the
undulatory theory. Mr. Glazebrook traces these
theories back t o D escartes and H ooke respectively,
and proves, moreover, that N ewton was fu1Jy aware
of the shortcomings of his own theory, and that he
would have adopted the views of his opponents,
the advantages of which he clearly r ecognised,
more wid ely than they themselves, had it n ot been
fur a fundamental obstacle, to which Newton repeatedly r efers. It was the propagation of light in
straight lines. "For it seems impossible that any
of these motion s or pressions can b e propagated io
straight lines without t he Jike spreading everywhere
into the shadowed medium." T o return to Hooke
ho wever. In his "Micrographia." of 1664, h e assert~
that "light is a q uick and short vibratory motion
propagated every way through an homogen eous
medium by direct or right lines extended every way
like rays from the centre of a sphere. " The work
d escribfs an ex periment practically identical with
Newton 's fam ouR experiment published in 1672.
H ooke used for a prism a glass vessel fill ed with
water, and inclined so that the s un's rays might
enter obliquely at the upper s urface, which was
cover ed by a spacious body provided with a hol e.
Hook e later on observed diffraction independently
of G rimaldi. H e could make but lit tle use of his
researches, however ; his theory of colours Mr.
Glazebrook described as pure nonsense.
The
e mission th eory of D escartes was a vague hypothesis. Newton deduced from it the laws of reflection and refraction , and applied it t o explain the
colours of thin and of thick plat es and of diffraction.
But in doing so, h e had to suppose a mechanism
which became so complex and elab "~rate that
in t he words of Verdet, a hundred yEar~
later, "all that is n cessary to overturn this

l~borious scaffolding is to look at it and try to

understand it. " In 1690 HuJ gens p t: blished his

g reat '' Trait e d~ la Lumiere,, written iu 1678. ~e
had clearer views than H ooke, but on the crucial
matter mentioned h e was fat a lly weak. Newton
was not convinced. Newton 's e mission theory was
dynamical. H e t raced the motion of ~aterial
particles under certain forces, ar,~ found the1r pa~h
to coincide with that of a ray of h ght. To explain
why some of the incident light was reflected and
~ome refracted, Newton had t o invent his hypothE- sis of fits of easy refit>ction and transmission.
These are introduced in his " Opticks , of 1704.
" Every ray of light in iti p assage through any
refractina s urface is put into a certain transient
constit ution or state, which in the progress of the
ray r eturns at equal interva1s and dif:poses the ray
at each return to be easily transmitted through
the next refracting surface, and between the returns
to be easily re fJected. D efinition : The return ?f
the disp osition of any ray to be reflected, I w11J
call its fit of easy reflection, and those of the disposition to be transmitt ed its fits of easy transmission. The r eason why the surfaces of all thick
transparent bodies refl ect part of the l ;ght incident
on them and refract the res t is that some rAys at
their incidence are in their fits of easy refl.ectiotJ,
and some in their fit s of easy transmission. , About
tr e causes of the "fits," N ewton does not inquire.
H e suggests that the rays striking the bodies set
up waves in the substance which m ove faster than
the rays and overtake them. ''When a ray is in
that part cf a vibration w hi eh conspires with it s
motion, it easily breaks through the 1 efract ing surface- it is in a. fit of easy transmission ; and con\'ersely when the motions vf ray and wave are
opposed, it is in a fit of easy refl ection. " N e wton
was n ot always so cautious.
In 1675 he sent t o Mr. Olde:nburg, for the Royal
Society, a paper, u Hypothesis Explaining the
Properties of Light . " Thepaper was n ot pubhs hed,
because Newton did n ot finish other c"gnate researches, until later in Birch 's '' History of the
Royal Society." \Vere I to assume an hypothesis,
it should be this, if propounded m ore generally, so
as n ot to assume what light is furtherl than that it
is something capable of exciting vibrations of the
ether. First, it is to be assumed that there is an
ethereal m edium, much of the same constit ution
with air, but far rarer, subtiller, and more strongly
elastic. In the second place, it is to be s upposed that
the ether is a vibratory medium, like atr, only the
vibrations far more swift and minute than those of
the air made by a man's ordinary voice rsucceeding
at m ore than half a foot distance ; but those of the
et.h er at a less distance than the hundred -thousandth
part of an inch . . . L et any man take his fancy. I
suppose that light is neithe r ether n or vibrating
motion, but something of a different kind propagated from lucid bodies. " The relation of colour
and the bigness of the wave length was put very
plainly in other places. Newton never said definitely that light is material. He argues the corporeity of light without any absolute positheness,
though his successors doubtless interprettd his
words into a corpuscular theory.
After Huygens, the real founder of the undulat ory theory, there was hardly any progress till the
discovery of the interference p henomena by Young
in 1801, the same principle being again independently enunciated by Fresnel in his great work on
diffraction in 1815. Fresnel's genius triumphed
over the difficulties to which his predeceRs~rs had
succumbed . Young f elt h ow thoroughly he was in
touch with Newton : "A more extensive examination of Newton 's various writings has sh own me
that he was in reality the fimt who s uggested a
theory such as I Ehall endeavour to explain.,
Newton's theory may be called dynamical, as the
particles of light obeyed the laws of motion like
particles of matter. The undulatory theory of
Huygens and Fresn el was geometrical or kinematical. In his book, "The Optical Indicatrix, " Mt.
L. Fletcher h as ind efd shown that Fresnel arrived
at b.is views in the first instance by purely
geometrical reasoniug ; afterwards he attempted
to give it a dynamical form without success. A
dynamical theory of light b ecame possible after
N a vier's mathematical theory of elasticity of
1821, and the similar 1 esearches of P uisson
and of Cauchy, and of Neu mann. c~uchy's
mol~cular hypothesis assu!lled !or an isotropic
med1um two waves travelhng With the velocitits

JAfP and .JBj ;, Pbeing the dim~ity,

A and D con-

E N G I N E E R I N G.

LOcT. 13, I 893.

SNOW PLOUGH AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

CO NSTRUCTED BY THE ENSIGN MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

H U NTINUDON, ' VEST VI RGINIA,

U.S. A.

(For Description, see PCVJe 449.)

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E N G I N E E R I N G.

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stants interdependent upon one another. Green

advanced the theory of elasticity a good deal further in 1837. He retains these two constants,
independent, however, of one another ; h is A must
either vanish or be infinite for certain optical
effects. Until a few years ago this first supposition appeared inconsistent with stability. The
second agrees with certain experimen ts, but is
fatal for others. The first mechanical theory of
light failed, therefore. Mr. Glazebrook, however,
hopes for one, and discusses the requisite properties
of the ether. The medium must have rigidity, or
quasi-rigidity, to t ransmit transverse waves, but be
incapable of transmitting normal waves, and this
involves that Green's A must vanish or be infinite.
The latter assumption forces us back to t he incompressible solid theory ; he therefore supposes A to
be zero. Reflection and refraction show that the
ether in a transparent medium like glass differs in
properties from that in air. It may differ either in
density or effective density, or in rigidity. The
equations of motion for a medium such as supposed
can be written : p x acceleration of ether + acceleration of matter = ~ B x function of ether displacements, and their differential coefficients wit h
respect to the co-ordinates + ~ ~ B1 x similar
function for matter displacements. The quantity
P may be spoken of as the effective ether density,
the B as the effective elasticity or rigidity. Dispersion and absorption tell us t hat in some cases
energy is absorLed from the vibrations by the
matter or by something connected with the matter
through which they pass. The action may be proportional to the acceleration of the ether particles relative to the matter, and some of the
energy of the ether may be transferred to the
matter. Lord Kelvin has given us such a medium
in his labile ether, an elastic solid or quasi-solid
incapable of transmitting normal waves. The A

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would be zero, but the medium

would still be stable, provided
its boundaries are fixed or pro0
vided it extends to infinity. A
soap film affords an illustration.
-11
The tension at any point does
17JS C ( - --r~-n ot depend upon t he dimensions ; the area of the film may be altered ; waves
of displacement parallel to the surface would not be
transmitted, but in consequence of its tension the
film has an apparent rigidity for displacement
normal to its surface. The labile ether ha~ in
three dimensions the characteristics of the twodimensional soap film.
Such hypotheses would explain almost all optical
phenomena ; for the explanation of rotary polarisat ion, the case would become more complicated.
B ut t here is another objection : the connection
between light and electricity is n ot hinted at.
Maxwell's equations of the electro-magnetic field
are practically identical with those of the quasilabile ether; they speak of permeability and inductive capacity instead of rigidity and density. Still,
such a theory is not mechanical. '' .Te have supposed, '' says Maxwell, ''the medium to be in a
state of stress, but we have not in any way
accounted for this stress or explained how it is
maintained. , Those stresses are still unaccounted
for.
The analogy between the equations of the electromagnetic field and those of an elastic solid has been
discussed by many writers. Only two such analogies
have throughout a simple mechanical interpretations ; both have been developed by Mr. H eaviside
in the E lect rician of January 23, 18'91. In the first
the kinetic energy of the mediun1 measures the
magnetic energy ; the potential energy measures
the electrostatic energy; the stresses in t he ether,
however, are not those of Maxwell. The second

11

analogy makes electrostatic energy ktnetic, and

magnetic energy potential. This arrangement is
not easy to grasp, but there are reasons for adopting it. Optical experiments demonstrate that in
all probability p varies, n ot B, whilst we know
from electric measurements that K is variable
and IJ. constant. Electrostatic effects would be due
to the attractions and repulsions of a certain imaginary matter distributed throughout space. This
matter in the ordinary theory would be electricity.
An electrified conducting sphere would not be a.
body cha.rgP-d with a quan tity of something we call
electricity, but a surface at which there is discontinuity in the rotation impressed upon the medium
or in the flow across the surface; in a conductor~
viscous resistance to the motion takes the place of
rigidity. N o permanent strain can be set up.
From this standpoint , we consider electrical
force as one of the manifestations of some action
between ether and matter. We can strain the
ether by various ways, by friction, by chemical
action. When, adopting the first analogy, this
straining is of such a nature as to produce a
rotational twist in the ether , the bodies are said to
be electrified. The energy of the system is that
which would arise from the presence over their
surfaces of attracting and repelling matter. We
falsely assign this energy to such attractions
instead of to the stresses and strains in the ether:
"Such a theory," Mr. Glazebrook concludes "has
many difficulties. I~ is far fro.m being p:oved;
perhaps I have erred 1n trespassmg on your time

E N G I N E E R I N G.
with it in its crude form. The words of the
~rench savant, quoted by Poincare, will apply to
1t : 'I can understand all Maxwell, except what
he means by a charged body.' It is n ot the only
theory, perhaps not even the most probable. For
many. points,. the vortex sponge theory is its
supenor. Still I feel confident that in time we
shall come to see that the phenomena. of the
electro-magnetic fluid may be r epresented by some
such mechanism as has been outlined."
The passing of the customary vote of thanks
gave rise to a little incident. It was evidently expected that President ~anderson, who had been
present all the time, would discharge this duty,
but he remained seated, and the room began to
empty. When, then, L ord Rayleigh had paid a
tribute to his distinguished pupil, whom he had
once examined, and who had proved so able a
worker in this his particular and in other fie]ds of
research, and Professor Carey Foster, F. R. S., h ad
seconded the vote, reminding the section that Green,
frequently mentioned in t he addre~s, had lived in
Nottingham, a third speaker claimed to be heard.
As Presidential addresses are n ot discussed, loud
protests were raised when the spe1ker r egretted
that the President did n ot appear to be acquainted
with the current literature on ether. It was an
unpleasant task for Professor Glazebrook to interfere, and the m over of the vote of thanks might
perhap3 have emphatically declared the custom and
evident deaire of the sec ~ion.
Ether papers are so much in favour at the British
Association meetings that certain ether theories
have been coupled with the name of the locality of
the meeting. A paper by Mr. G lazebrook, ''A
M echanical Analogue of Anomalous Dispersion,"
described a model constructed to illustrate the
theories developed by Sellmeyer, Helmholtz, and
Lord Kelvin. In his address Mr. Glazebrook had
referred to the dangers of models. We are apt to
ascribe to the r eality the properties of the model,
to look upon ether as a collection of gyrostatic
m olecules and aprings, pulleys, and indiarubber
blonds. But authorities like Maxwell and Boltzmann r ecommend the judicious use of mod els.

the light if there be n o mechanical connection

between ~ther. and matter 1 Dr. Lodge's answer
was that hght 1s not ethereal oscillation, but electrical oscillation. For the benefit of the section
the President confessed that he did not fully eo m~
prebend h ow all connection could be denied ; electricity might be a manifestation of stress between
ether and matter. It was in this sense that Professor L odge wished his r e m:u k understood. Professor Fitzgerald was not so sanguine about the
success of Dr. L odge's intended experiment with
the electrostatic field. H e gave a lucid simile for
the displacement current in a dielectric-a corkscrew m otion; magnetic force might be explained
as '' corkscrewedness" of the ether. Professor
Hicks did not grasp why the interaction should
manifest itself after a few hours; we might have
to wai t hundreds of years.
The last essentially '' eth er " paper was t he last
brought before the section : ''The Disturbance of
a Fluid Composed of Hard Partic1es by a Moving
Body, with Special Reference to the Ether." The
author, Mr. E. Major, had little opportunity to
expound his views, which he has published in book
form, under a pseudonym, however. The other
ether papers were more electrical.
VIJJRATI ON PERIOD OF M AGNETIC DISTURBANCES
ON TilE EARTn 's S u RFACE.

This paper, by ProfessorS. F. Fitzgerald, F.R. S.,

ia by no means so transcendental as it might have
appeared when the deduction commenced. If
we consider the earth as an isolated spherical conductor with opposite charges at the poles, the
period of oscillation would be one-seventeenth of a.
second. We may assume, however , that the upper
layers of the atmosphere are fairly conductive, as the
air in a Geissler tube. From Professor Schuster's
researches, we know that a discharge in one part
of a gas renders the n eighbourhood capable of
transmitting disturbances. Such conditions may
exist during thunderstorms. We may then regard
the earth and its atmosphere as r epresenting
two concentric spheres. There would result a
change of the oscillation period, but the selfinduction of the system being also modified, the
THE CoNNECTION BETWEEN ETHER AND MATTER. period would not be materially affected.
If we
Professor Oliver L odge, F.R.S., again reported suppose aurora. effects to originate at 60 miles
upon some fundamental experiments of his which elevation, the period would be 0.1 second ; if at
as yet h ave given no proof of the effect sought six miles, 0.3 second. On the sun, the oscillations
after. Since the days of Fresnel, the problem has would be much more serious ; but the outer
exercised scientists whether the earth in its motion conducting sphere would prevent these oscillations
carries the ether with it, or whether the ether from causing radiat ions. Hence Professor Fitzgerald
ru~hes through the earth as the wind through the does not accept L ord Kelvin's theory as to the
foliage. \Ve know that the motion of transparent connection between solar radiation and magnetic
bodies does affect the light, and to what extent; but storms. Alternating n orth-south currents would
that does not imply that the ether is dragged along. generate magnetic west-east oscillations of periods
Michaelson has attempted to solve the problem by 0.1 and 0. 3 second. A disturbance of 0.1 of the
u tilising the motion of the earth itself. The diffi- h orizontal force, equivalent to an electrostatic
culty is to bring the light back to its origin, to render charge of 80 C. G. S. units per square centimet re,
experimental observation possib1e. Dr. L odge has would cause a fearful magnetic storm and diminish
been experimenting with two steel discs, one yard the barometric pressure by 2 centimetres. A charge
in diameter, fixed 1 in. apart on the shaft of an of 8 C. G. S . units producing a variation of 0. 01 H
electromotor running at 3000 r evolutions maximum would not sensibly affect the barometer.
Professor Fitzgerald re~d several other matheper minute ; a g reater speed .was n o.t feasible: A
light beam falls through a shght.ly s1lvered mirror matical papers, covering every blackboard available
under an an a le of 45 deg., and is split into two parts, with integrals. The " Note on Ebert's E stimate
which are se~t round the h ollow by three mirrors, of the Radiating P ower of an Atom," confirms the
finally to he received in a telescope, where they view that m olecules must have a complex structure.
produce interferen ce bands. Each ray travelled Mr. J . L armor, F.R.S., of St. John's, Cambridge,
round three, sometimes five and six times. If t he joined in their discussion. His paper, '' Magnetic
discs spin, and if there be any d ~ag of th~ eth ~r in Action on L ight, " Dr. L odge characterised as the
the n eiah bourhood of these rapidly r otatmg d1scs, most important communication brought before the
the ba;ds should shift, and the displacement should section. It was more in the shape of a note, of so
depend upon the direction of the r otat.ion. No lucid and comprehensive a nature, however, that the
shifting was observed, h owever. The dtscs were committee at once agreed to publish the paper in
replaced by two oblate iron ~asses, weighing ~ne full, so as to force Mr. Larmor to give a complete
ton, spinning at 1200 revolutwn~ , surrounded w1th sketch of his views. Mr. Barton's ' Electric Inter a coil leaving a g roove for the a1r ; the space thus ference Phenomena somewhat Analogous toN ewton
trans~ersely magnetised gave n o effect. Bobbins Rings, " are of the Hertz type, being produced in
were then arranged to form a qu:J.drangle, and the wire systems connected to disc oscillators, the
beam passed through water- carbon bisulphide waves being reflected from the two ends of sheets
would be too sensitive to temperature changes- also of tinfoil hung over part of the wires. This paper,
without effect. Dr. L odge still wishes to ascertain as well as one by 1\'Ir. Yule, "Passage of Electric
whether opposite electrostatic charges on t~e. tw.o Waves through L ayers of Electr olytes, " are condiscs would influence the ether. Some of h1s m cl- tinuations of researches laid before the R oyal
dental remarks were highly r elished by t he section. Society during this summer.
He extolled the beauties of mathematical formu] re ;
ELECTRI CAL S'T'AND AH. DS.
they are so beautifu~ly v.ague. Up to a certain
The report of the Committee on Electrical
point t he interpre~atwn 1s perfectly clear. . ~ut
where the leader w1shes to h alt, the zealous d1sc1ple Standard s was, a<J usual, presented by its secretary,
(if h e should h ave any disciples~ steps .in and twists Mr. R. T. Glazebrook, to whose untiring energy
Professor Carey Foster, chairman of this comand distorts until he has comm1tted hts master.
The paper was subsequently amplified by a no~e. mittee, paid a high tribute. The work of testing
Mr. R an yard h~ d inquired, how can dust polanse coils is being continued They have all been ''ohms. "
4

An ohm is the resistance offered, ab the temperature of melt ing ice, to an unvarying electric curr ent by a column of mercury 14.4521 grammes in
mass, of a constant cross-sectional area, and of a
length of 106.3 centimetres. The relation between
the ohms and the B A unit is : 1 B A unit = 0. 9866
ohm. 'his is the definition as adopted by the
Board of Trade, whose amended report was communicated in Appendix I. The Chicago Congress
has agreed to the Edinburgh r esolutions, and
adopted the name "Henry" for the unit of selfin.duction. This resolution the committee regard
w1th favour, but they postpone definite action
until the official report h as been received. In
March, M. Mascart wro te t o the secretary about a
name for the standard of r esistance. In reply to a
circular letter, various names- " international,"
"norma]," "cHalon, " "ohm d e 1893,"-have been
suggested. The majority were in favour of "international ; " the committee are, h owever, ready to
abide by any of the first three terms which th.e
French committee may select. Dr. Muirhead finds,
as the capacity of a condenser constructed twentythree years ago to represent 0.1 microfarad, B. A. U.,
the value 0.09998 microfarad. In explanation of
the report, Mr. Glazebrook added that in resistance
determinations one arm of the bridge is shunted by
a high resistance, and this shunt varied until
balance has been attained. ThiR shunt is, however,
influenced by the current employed ; hence a
correcting factor has to be introduced, ranging
from (1 - 0. 000208) with a current of 0. 5 A to
(1 - 0.0000250) with 1.5 A.
STANDARDS OF L ow ELECTRICAL RESISTA~CE.

For standards of lower resistance, 0. 01 ohm and

less, such as demanded in practice, the bridge
method is not suited. Professor Viriamu J ones
advocates their absolute determination by means of
the method of L orenz. In Cardiff, he uses a disc
of gun-metal, revolving eo-axially within a coil of
one layer placed in the Ecrew thread of a brass cylinder of 22 in. diameter. From the centre and the
circumference of the disc, wires lead to the end of
the resistance to be determined, which is contained
in the coil circuit. The circumferential brush is a
tube through which mercury is flowing. Professor
Rowland, who at first rather mocked at the L orenz
method, suggests a. plurality of brushes. The disc
is rotated by an electromotor whose speed is controlled by a tuning-fork of Kcenig's pattern, and
the revolutions are recorded by means of a Bain
printing telegraph. The r egularity of speed is not
so good as desirable. L ord Rayleigh mentioned
that he let his disc spin all day, when this trouble
was more easily avoided than with intermittent
driving for an hour or two. In spite, h owever, of
this and other difficulties, of brush contact, of obtaining ~ perfect cylinder, Professor J ones thinks
that in a national laboratory such an apparatus,
which might be simpler than his, should be titted
up for constant use; the cylinder should be of insulating materia], and t he wire naked. Many determinations of a resistan ce of 2 ~ 0 ohm agreed
very closely, the values varying between 0.00050013
and 21 (leaving out the six first d ecimals), with a.
mean of 17. Mr. Crompton had sent to Mr. Jones
a manganin sheet gauged at Cambridge by stepping
down from the ohm. The sheet is supplied with
heavy end pieces and also with loose screws for
the potentiometer terminals. It was ascertained
t hat on unscrewing and resetting these screws, the
r esistance r ose each time, so that, if accuracy to
0.1 per cent. be desired, those screws would have
to be soldered. Otherwise the comparison was
quite eatisfactory. Mr. Glazebrook acknowledged
that the bridge meth od did n ot ans wer for low
resistances, but he feared the Lorenz method would

prove expens1ve.
Mr. F. H. Nalder showed an "Apparatus for
Comparing nearly Equal Resistances. " This is Professor Carey Foster's design, described in the
Physical Society meeting of June 23, and noticed
then in our columns. Together with Professor
Oliver L odge, F .R.S., Mr. Nalder also presented
a " Phs siological Gal va.nometer, " a very sensitive
ballistic astatic instrument with four coils.
(To be continued.)

TI-IE TOWER BRIDGE.

(Contin ued from page 417. )

WE n ow come to the most important feature in

the bridge, namely, the bascule or opening span,
each leaf of which is 113 ft. from the centre to the

ENGINEERING, OcroBER 13, 1893.

THE

TOWER

BRIDGE:

DETAILS
J.

MR.

WOLFE BARRY,

ENGINEER,

SPA N.

OPENING

THE

OF

LONDON.

(Fo1 Desc1iption, see Paye 448.)

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449

E N G I N E E R I N G.
THE TOWER BRIDGE.
~I R.

J.

vV 0 L F E

I$ A R R Y ,

E N G I N E E R.

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pivot and 50ft. wide. As the short arm is n early

50 ft.', the total length of each moving half is close
on 163 ft. Fig. 74, above, gives an elevation,
with the bascule chamber in the p ier in part
section . In Fig. 75, on our two-page plate, the
construction of the balance arm of the lifting
span is more fully given. Figs. 76 and 77 are
cross-sections on the lines marked. Figs. 78 to
87 give details of the long arm. Figs. 78 and
79 give a side elevation, the sections of girders
on the vertical planes marked being given in
Fias. 80 to 87. In Fig . 88 we give a more
detailed drawing of one of th e lifting quadrants
before referred to. The quadrants each have a
double rack of eleven segments, which are of steel,
and are fastened to the main structure by thirteen
bolts in each, in the m anner shown in Fig. 89,
which is a cross-section at th e line K J{. Fig . 90
is an enlarged section of the structure at the plane
J J, which is at t he base. Fig. 91 is another
cross-section of the plating at t he line E E, also
showing the attachment of t h e cross- bracing,
a cross-section of the latter being given in Fig.
92. In Fig. 93 we have another section of
the plating of the structure taken on a plane
C C higher up, and i n Fig. 94 is given a
cross-section near the top, and taking in both
members. Fig. 95 is a section on t he bottom
on the line H H.
The end cross-girder at the
centre opening is shown in plan and elevation in
Figs. 96 and 97. The parts B B (Fig. 97) are
cast-steel locking bolts, which form part of the
hydraulic apparatus, and therefore need n ot be
more particularly referred t o at pr esent. C C in
Fig. 96 are the holes fo r taking t he b olts. The
section at the part ing joint over t h e pivot, by which
the roadway is completed when t h e bridge is down,
is shown in Fig. 98, and t h e j oint in the centre of
the span in Fig. 99.
The fixed girder s for the
opening span are shown in Figs. 100 to 103 (page
450). In the former illustration a side elevation is
given, with end elevations in thP.ir positions. Sections t.hrough this girder are shown in Figs. 101,
102, and 103 of th e planes indicated.

lo

1$.

maining half (Fig. 3) to pass below the 6-in. end sill

and the dead wood. The inside lower flange is cut
away enough to r eceive the pressed steel draught stop
(Fig. 3), and thus forms a shoulder, back and front,
for the stop. To prevent the driving in of the end
sill, a steel plate is riveted to t he lower inside flange
of the end sill (Fig. 3), and is turned up behind t he
end sill, and down in front of the centre sill. There
are t wo longitudinal truss rods, 11-in. st eel, with
1!-in. ends, connected by turnbuckles at the centre
(Fig. 1). They are placed inside the intermediate
sills (Fig. 2). Three cross ties are used to bind the
sills together (Fig. 2) at intermediate points between
the bolsters and needle beams. Gas pipe is used for
spreaders between the sills. The floor is laid directly
on to the sills without the interposition of nailing
pieces, and is bolted with flat-head bolts 12 in . apart.
The upper frame, or body, is a structure of t ees
(Figs. 1 and 4) mounted on malleab]e iron pockets.
The side and end plates are tees in verted. There are
twel ve carlins of 3-in. tees bent t o the shape of the
roof. 1'he ends of the carlins rest on the inside
flanges of the side plates, each fastened by two &-in.
bolts. The end plates are fastened to the side plates
in the same way. Matched siding is used, as on
wooden cars. It is fastened by pieces of yellow pine
on the si11s and plates, and belt rails are employed.
In case of repairs, t he nailing strips are unbolted, and
the wooden sheathing sprung aside. The roof boards
are laid longitudinally, and nailed to yellow nailing
pieces bolted to the rafters and end plat es. Sheetsteel roofing is used.
The trucks (Figs. 7 and 8) are of the Harvey steel
pattern, of the diamond rigid type. The t ruck bolster
is composed of two 24i l b. 10-in . ! -beams. They are
connected at each end by steel plates, and also by
plates riveted to the t op flanges on each side of the
centre bearing. The spring plat es are composed of
two steel angles, held together at each end by a
malleable casting, which forms a spring seat and a tee
for the angles. The roller side b earing is a noticeable
feature. The roller, which is attached to the body
bolster (Fig. 5), has a travel of 6 in. The rod which
holds the roller in place is depressed in the centre,
causing the roller to return to its position again a.fter
the truck has resumed alignment with the car body.W e are indebted for these engraYings to t he Railway
Maste1 M echanic (Chicago).

(To be continued.)

HARVEY STEEL BOX CARS.

TnE illustrations on page 447 show a steel frame
covered railway truck, construct ed at the Harvey Steel
Car and Repair \Vorks, Harvey, Ill., U .S.A. Steel,
however, is not used exclusively in its manufacture,
as the sides, ends, floor, and roof are of wood. The
side a.ud intermediate sills are of 6-in. steel beams,
13 lb. to the foot ; the end sills 15 lb. 6-in. 1-bea.ms;
the centre sills of 28 lb. 12-in. ! -beams; the needle
beams of 10 lb. 5-in. Ibeams. In the bolsters the
top plate is 10 in. by 1 in. steel ; the bottom plate
10 in. by ! in. steel. The side and end plates and
the door and corner posts are 3~- in. steel tees; the
carlins, braces, and posts ar e 6 lb. 3-in. steel tees. The
strength of the 12-in. centre sills is more than double
tha.t obtained with wooden beams. One half of
these sills is cut away at the ends to allow the re-

THE RUSSELL SNOW PLOUGH.

to the framing the form being indic-ated in Fig. 1.

By means of gearin g operated from inside the car,
th ese wings can be extended or contracted, as seen in
Fig. 4, according t o the amount of snow to be r emoved.
The plough is mounted on two fou r-wheeled trucks,
and ~s it advances, the snow thrown to the rear by
the fixed portion is deflect ed by the adjustable wings.

STEAM DYNAMO FOR SEARCH LIGHT.

THE dynamo and steam engine illustrat ed on page 439
were constructed by Messrs. Belli~s and Co., Limited,
of Ledsam-street Works, Birmingham, for the Admiralty. The plant is intended for supplying current to
th e search light of a first-class torpedo-boat. As it is
essential that weight should be economised on these
craft, special c~re has been taken to secure lightness.
The engine and baseplate weigh only 4 cwt. 0 qr. l7lb. ,
and the complete combination 16 cwt . to 20 cwt., depending on the type of dynamo. T he output is
50 amperes at a pressure of 80 volts, with a speed of
650 revolutions.
The engine is double-acting, and is worked by steam
at 100 1b. pressure, the entire plant occupying a apace
of 4ft. 11 in. by 1 ft. 8 in. by 3ft. 2 in.

DREDGING OPERATIONS ON THE

MERSEY BAR.*
By Mr. ANTHONY GEORGE L YSTER, M. Inst. C.E.
BEFORE entering upon a description of the operations
which have been carried on for the last three years on the
bar of the Mersey, it will be well, for the benefit of those
who are not intimately acquainted with the physical feature~ of this ri ver and its outlet, to give a. general description thereof, as well as an account of the conditions under
which it is maintained.
The Mersey proper commences at the junction of the
Rivers Goyt and Etherow, about 4 miles east of the town
of Stockport, the former stream hav ing its source near
Axe Edge, and Bowing in a. northerly direction for about
15 miles, the latter risJDg near the junction of the counties of Y orkshire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire, and taking
a. south-westerly couree for about 16 miles, when it joins
the Goyt. From this point to the mouth of the Mersey,
at New Brighton, it has a. length of about 71 miles, mea.sured along its course.
For th~ first 27 miles of its course it is a very insignificant and tortuous stream, very little more than a. large
ditch, until it joins the River Irwell, when it acquires a
gradually increasing width down to the town of Runcorn,
but below this point it becomes practically an estuary or
arm of the sea, rather than a. riv er, and at one pointnamely, about 7 miles below Runcorn-it a.tta.ins a. width
of over 3 miles.
There is a natural convergence of the shore lines
abreast ?f Li verpool, and this has been increased by
recla.ma.t10ns of the foreshore for the construction of
docks, and the construction of walls within the tidal are~
which has been effected on both sides of the ri ver.
The geogr aphical mouth of the riv er is at the north end
of the town of Liverpool, abreast of New Brighton, where
the Cheshire shore turns abruptly to the west, and forme,
with the L ancashire shor e, which continues its former
a.lignm~nt seawards, what is ca1led Liverpool Bay.
The general features of the estuary and sea. channels of
the Mersey, from th e upper limit of tidal flow a.t Woolston W eir above the town of Wa.rrington to the bar, are

Ensign Manufact urin g Company, of Huntingdon, VVest Virginia, exhibit in the Transportation
Building at Chicago an example of the Russell wing
elevator snow plough, of which we give illustrations
on page 446. This plough is attached to the head of a
train and pushed before th e locomotive or locomotives,
or it may be sent ahead with a pusher engine to clear
the track. I t consiats of a very heavy frame, on the
rear of which is placed a car body, while on the front
is mounted the close-timbered plough. The general
appearance is well shown in the perspective view,
while th e framework and n1ode of construction are made
clear from t he details. The front of t he plough, with
its inclined and curved surfaces on each side of a.
sharp central ridge, is a fixture on the framing, but
beyond it, and reaching to the front of the car, are two
* Paper read before the International Maritime Con-.
movable wings. These are hinged, as shown in Fig. 4, gress, London, July, 1893.
TH E

GIRDERS FOR OPENING SPAN.

THE TOWER BRIDGE: F IXED

11R.

J.

~
Ut

WOLFE BARR.Y, ENGINEER.

(For Description, see P age 448.)

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all clearly indicated on Fig. 1, opposite, and it will be noted

that, although the ri ver itself, considered as a duct for
the discharge of land waters collected within its catchment basin, is fa voured with an abnormally large outlet,
this is due to the large area of reserYoir which exists
immediately above Liverpool, into and from which a vast
amount of tidal waters flow on each tide.
This peculiarity has been frequently and aptly compared to a bottle, the body of whwh is represented by the
wider upper estuary, and the neck by the narrows abreast
of Liverpool.
W ere it not for this prominent and r eLOarkable feature,
the outlet of the Mersey would unquestionably be a comparati vely insign ificant chann el, and would be quite unequal to dealing with the vast amount of shipping which
under present oircumstancf:'s takes advantage of it.

From the diagram above referred to, which shows the

mouth of the M er sey at low water of a spring tide, it
will be seen that the principal features of Li verpool Bay
under these conditions are a. mass of sandbanks intersect ed by one large and deep main channel and several
minor and comparatively insignificant ones, and that the
bar is situate at the outer extremity of the main channel,
at a distance of about 11 miles from the geograph ical
mouth of the river.
The main channel is for the greater part of its length
designated the Crosby channel, its outer end, for a distance of 3 miles, being called the Queen's channel. Of the
subsidiary channels, the two of greatest import~nce are
the Rook channel, which follows the Cheshire shore, and
the F ormby channel, which leads out of the Crosby
channel ab its northern end, and lies close to the La.nca-

sh ire shore. The large area of sandbank on either side

of the outer main channel is intersected by oth er depressions in the form of channels, but these are not buoyed
or marked out as in the cases of the other three, and are
not made use of for the purposes of n avigation.
The width of the main channel between the lines of
buoys on either side varies from a maximum of 1400 yards
at each end, to a minimum of 800 yards n ear the Crosby
lightship.
The depths, according to the mos t recent soundings,
vary from 23 ft. to 50 ft. at low water of a. spring tide,
whilst on the bar the minimum depth on the sailing line
in the year 1890, before the dredging operations commenced, was 11 ft. on the same condition of tide.
It will thus be seen that for the whole distance between
the Liverpool Docks and the sea, there is generally am pls

depth of water in the main channel on all conditions of

tide except at the bar, and that it is at thab spot that
amelioration is required.
This fact has been recognised for many years, but inasmuch as vessels only en ter the Liverpool Docks during
the period of about 2! hours about high water on each
tide, it was not until recently, when the service between
this country and America became much more regular and
rapid, and was carri ed on by vessels of increased size and
draught, that it was considered of so great importance
that the entrance to the rivf:'r should be such as to admit
as far as J>Ossible of the passage of vessels under all conditions of t1de.
Now, however, that vast sums of money have been
spent to effect a comparatively insignificant r eduction in
the time required for crossing the Atlantic, it is, without
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E N G I N E E R I N G.

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doubb, a great drawback t hat such efforts should in a.
great measure be nullified by delays arising from the
want of water.on the bar at the entrance~ the Mersey.
The first rehaLle chart of the lower port ton of the river
with ~bich l a.m acquainted was made it:l1689 by Ca.ptain
Gren,ille Colhns, hydrographer to Hts Majeaty King
W illiam Ill., and in this there are only two channels
indicated- the \Vest, or R ock channel, and the Formby

become more consolida..ted, and the main channel more

d.efined, alt~ou~b the dtrection of its axis has varied constderably w1thm certain limits. These variations one
woul~ naturally ex pect, bearing in mind that a.t all times
the. Sides of the channel in this position and the bar are
entt~ely made up of sand free to shift under the influences
of ~mds and changes of currents, t he causes of which are
va.r10us, and many of them inexplicable. It thus happens

Fzg. .1.
PL.A:N OF THE

M ERSEV ESTUARY & LIVE RP OOL BAY.

a.t Low Water of Spring Tides .

Sankt_y

Elftsmue

Inet

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LIVERPOO L BAY.
Fig.2. Pion( of Oueen's, Channel Bar, 1890.
~fo}e dred!J!!!.9. was commllnUd.)

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Jllg.,'J. Plan of Queen's Channel Bar . 110.f.189J.

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<:hannel to the north. Since then, and up t o the time

when regular surveys were made, there have been several
by different authoriti es- namely, in tlbe years 173'6, 1755,
1767, 1771, 1794, 1 13, 1814, 1822 ~.
In 1 33 Lientenant Denbam made a complete survey of
the Bay, and his chart of that year is the fi rst of a. long
and complete series of carefully compiled records made
by the different marine surveyors up t o the present time.
The general deduction to be drawn from a comparison
of these charts is that the banks seem during the time
covered by many of the recent charts gradually to have

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that the plaee where there is deep water at one time fills
up at another, and becomes part of the general banks;
and not only does the axis of the navigating channel vary,
but the position of the crest of the bar on that axis also
varies. At the present time this crest is some 1150 yarels
further out t o sea. tha.n it was in the year 1868.
So far as the records show, no attempts at dredging
were ever u ndertaken before the operations now being
conducted were commenced, but some 3000l. or 40001. was
spent at intervals during the years 1838 a.nd 1839 under
the direction of Captain D enham, the then marine sur

45I

veyor to the dock authorities of the day, in an attempt to

deep~n by harrowing across the new channel then
openmg.
It is doubtful whether these occasional efforts t o assist
the optming out of a new channel were of any avail. It is
t rue that the nev: cut did open out in the ordinary course
of natural opera.t10ns, and it became the principal channel
of the port, ~s Victoria chan!lel, for many years.
Alt~oug~ mstances. of the tmprovement of river bars by
dredgmg lt:l con~ectlon with permanenb works were
numer~ms ID this and other countries, no dredging
operat10ns, S? far as ~ am. a ware, bad ever succeeded by
theJ?selves m effectmg 1mprovementR in any ri ver bar
until those a b "Gedney's channel, , in the Lower Bay
New York, un~ertaken in the year 1885, and dred~ing fo~
a purpose of th1s sort was up to that time certaiDly regarded by the most competenb authorities as practically
useless .
. One. of the !~lOSt prominent examples of failure in this
dtrectton was ID connection with the bar at the mouth of
the .:Mississippi, where for years operations bad been
earned ()n under mosb disadvantageous circumstances,
and ~here a powerful. ~redger was utilised for forming,
each t1de, for the wattmg vessels a channel which silted
up almost as rapidly as ib was formed. It was in consequence of this unsatisfactory state of affairs that the late
Mr. J ames . E ads ~a.s appointed to report on the best
~ethod of 1mprovmg th.e O?tlet of the Mississippi, an d
hts successful scheme of Jetttes was proposed and carried
out.
In the year 1885 the improvement of the entrances to
the harbour of New York was und er taken and after a
seri~s of dredging operations, extending ove~ two years,
an Improvement was effected of about 2 ft., which gave a
depth of 26 ft. of water at average low water in Gedney's
channeL
Th is w~rk, however, n:mounted t o very little more th an
a regulat10n of . the wtdth ~nd depth of the original
channel, by wh10b the maxtmum depths which were
alrea?y att~ined in certain pl.aces, were exte~ded throu~b
out 1ts entt re length, bub tt nevertbele38 entailed the
removal of about 600,000 cubic yards of material.
Inasm\lch, however, as the mean range of tide at this
b~r is but small, namely, 4.8 ft . it could not be compared
wttb th e problem to be solved in the case of the ~M ersey
bar. H ere the rang.e of. tide is very large, namely, as
much as ~1ft. on sprmg ttdes, and the minimum daptb at
low water of spring tides was, as has already been stated
11 ft! so that to admit of vessels of a draught of 26 ft:
entertng under all conditions of tide, an increase in the
depth of at least 17 ft. bad to be effected.
The. velocity .of the cu~rent, a!ld the large amount of
mater tal held ID suspens10n uy 1ts water~ still further
increased the difficulty; a~d although the Mersey Board,
m th~ year 1889, determmed to n~ake the experiment of
dredg~ng, the at~empt was not undertaken with very
sangume expectat10ne.
As regards storms, the effect of which was expected to
be very prejudicial t o dredging operationEZ it may be
mentioned that instances have been quoted ~here storms
have made very great changes in the neighbourhood of
the bar, and large quantities of sand have been deposited
but these have never been observed with sufficient accu~
racy t o enable any reliable computation of the quantities
of material so dealt with to be made.
Jfig. 2. shows the condition of the Queen's channel
and bar ID 1890, just before the dredgi_t)g expPriment was
commenced by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.
The position in which it was decided to make the ex
perimen tal cu t by dredging was on the line of the Crosby
at:ld l f?rmby lightships in one, for although in some other
directiOns a cross the bar there were at the time slightly
greater depths of water, yet the selected site was the best
for navigation, leading, a~ it does, direct t o the axis of
the Queen's channel.
The position of this cut is shown by dotted lines on
Fig. 3, which has been prepared t o show the condition of the Queen's channel and bar at May, 1893, when
the latest sound ings available at the time of writing this
paper were taken .
As the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board possessed a
fleet of st eam hopper barges which bad been used for
the conveyance of dredgings from the docks to sea, it was
determined in the fi rst instance t o fit up two of the
largest of those, each of 500 tons capacity, with sand
pumps, and to carry out dredging operations with them
on the bar whenever conditions of weather permitted.
Those barges were accordingly fitted wit h centrifugal
pumps, provided wit h suction pipes of 22 in. and 18 in .
diameter respectively, by two firms-Measrs. J ohn and
Henry Gwynne, of Hammersmith, and 1\-Iessrs. William
Simons and Co., Renfrew.
As, however, a ~uc~ more ~owerful dred~er of improved form, a descrtptton of wbtch has been giVen at this
Congress, has recently been construct ed and set to work,
I only propose to describe the older ones very briefly.
In each case the engines and pumps were placed in the
stokebold of the dredger, the suct10n pipe in one case
leading through, and in the other over, the side of the
vessel, and the delivery bei ng t aken up through the deck
into two landers running fore and aft the hoppers on
either side of the strongback.
In each case the pump is situa te in the forward part of
the stokehold, which is j ust abaft the hopper, and the
suction pipe trails aft on one side of the vessel.
The discharge to the hoppers from the landers was
arranged through slits in the bottom of the landers, which
were closed at will by doors. The hopper doors were
made sand-tight by an arrangement of overlapping strips
of rubber and leather, secured by steel plates to the inner
face of the hopper.
In one case the upper end of the suction pipe was
arranged to work on a segment path, so as to admtt of its

452

E N G I N E E R I N G.

being swun~ inboard when not dredging; in the other

case, where 1t was led through the side of the vessel, it
was permanently hung alongside, above the water level
when idle.
Several forms of nozzle for the suction end of the pipe
were designed and tried before that at present working
was finally adopted.
This consists of a sort of inverted cowl with the opening in the direction of the bow of the vessel, the pipe, as
has been stated, being trailed aft. It is provided with
grids to prevent the entrance of any large solid material
which might injure the fan of the pump, and is perforated
at the back or convex side with a number of holes, some
3 in. or 4 in. in diameter, so as to prevent the pipe being
choked when buried in the sand.
The contract conditions required that the dredgers
should be capable of filling tbemsel ves with 500 tons of
sand in one hour. In each case this was accomplished,
and ib was found that under favourable conditions the
dredgers were capable of loading themselves in from
20 to 25 minutes. The time taken to fill, however, varied
according to the nature of the ma~erial and other circumstances.
(To be continued.)

in the trade that has, for the time being at least, been several leading houses have been closed for a month.
diverted from the English markPt by the strike in the Without supplies of coal and coke at r easonable rates,
Midlands. Last week's shipments at Scotch ports ex- there will be no resumption of work for the pres~nt.
ceeded the record made a fortnight ago by 9409 tons, the An essential to the trade of Sb~eld and the district
total quantity shipped amounting to no less than 239,727 is a full supply of fuel at rates running for steam coal
tons, being 19,919 tons above the figures of the preceding from 7s. t o 9s. Prices are now 16s. to 20s. per ton,
week, and an increase of 69,686 t ons compared with the the consequence being almost a total stoppage. Armour
corresponding period of last year. Had the coal been plate houses have fair orders in hand on home and foreign
forthcomiDg at the Fife ports during the week to the account, but little is doing, owing to the exigencies of
extent that was necessary to dispose of the vessels, the the si tuation.
shipments in that district would have been very much
Coal C1isis.-Better supplies of Derbyshire and Stafhigher. All the ports show increases with the exception fordshire fuel are coming into the m arket, but prices are
of Ayr, Grangemouth, and Gran ton, th e decrease in each still high. Colliers are obdurate for the present, and
instance being comparatively small. The aggregate de- not inclined to listen to any proposals for a reduction of
crease, whioh stood about 400,000 tons in July, has now wages, though within the past twenty-four hours the
been reduced to 93,798 tons. One day last week there offers of those who are willing to compromise matters by
were outside Burntisland and Methil Harbours as many a 10 per cent. reduction are b eing listened to. In
as 32 stea.mera lying waiting their turns for admission, the Sheffield a meeting of ten mayors has made recomharbours both being filled at the time with vessels mendations that amount to the men returning to work ab
loading.
the old rate of wages, with a 10 per cent. reduction in wages
New Shipbuilding Co-ntracts.-It is reported this week in six weeks, time. The fact that the owners have made
that the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Com- a rebate of 10 per cent. in their demands is knownpany have booked a contract for a paddle steamer, 330ft. offering full work at 15 off the 40 per cent. ad vanoe. The
long and 38 ft. broad, for the passenger service on the point must be settled between the contending parties,
Thames and for the owner-s of the Koh-i-Noor, which was but in the meantime valuable supplies of fuel are coming
also built by that company. It is said that a. fast pas- in from the little collieries, and there does not appear the
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
senger steamer is to be built on the Clyde for service in slightest probability of any material reduction 1n prices,
GLASGOW, Wednesday.
the Bristol Channel. A number of local builders have though the whole of the pits were at once to com merce
Glasgow Pig-Iron .ilfarket.-There was a quiet business tendered for the work. The vessel is to have a speed of work, for at least a fortnight to come. All the heavy
in the pig-iron warrant m arket last Thurda.y forenoon. 18 knots.
trades are "down " till the question uf fuel supply is
settled.
Aboub 8000 tons of ~cotch warrants were done at about
Contractjo1 Sugar Refine?'Y llfachinery.-Messrs. J . and
the previous da.y 1s closing prices, the close being id. per
ton cheaper. Cleveland warrants were 1d. per ton lower, R. Houston, engineers, Greenock, have contract ed to
NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
and hematite irons remained unchanged in price. In the construct a large quantity of machinery for a sug:u
afternoon, the market was easier, with about 2500 tons refinery in Brisbane.
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
of Scotch warrants done. Scotch closed 1d. and Cle veGlasgo'W Coal Trade a;nd the Clyde Trust.-A movement
MIDDLESBROUGll, \Vednesday.
land 1~d. per ton down on the day. The settlement has been originated amon~st the coalmasters of the west
The Oleveland Iron Trade.-Yesterday the quarterly
prices at the close were-Scotch iron 42s. 4~d. per ton ; of Scotland for securing d1rect representati on of the coal meeting of the North of England iron and allied trades
Cleveland, 35s.; Cumberland and Middlesbrough hema- trade on th e Clyde Trusb. It has long been maintained was held here, but the attendance on 'Change was hardly
tite iron, respectively, 44s. 6d. and 43s. 4~d. per ton. that the interests of the trade are not properly attended so numerou:S as is generally seen at the usual weekly
Friday was another quiet day on the warrant market, to by the Trust, that the required facihties for shipping gathering; the tone of the market was fiat, and little busiand prices were fla.~. Only Scotch warrants were det\l t coal in the harbour are not provided, and that when the ness W&$ transacted. Although shipments this month
in and the prices obtained averaged ~d. per ton und er slightest pressure of demand arises, inconvenience and continue good and stocks are decreasing, buyers were
th~ average for the preceding day, hub the clo~ing loss result. The movement, we hear, meets with con very backward, a.nd would not place orders except for
price was 1d. per ton cheaper on the day. Cleveland uon siderable sympathy and support. The shipowners, as early delivery. The usual quarterly day facilities for the
was idle and sellers came down 1d. per ton, but buyers also the timber trade and the grain and fl our iruporters, exhibition of articles of interest to the trade were afforded,
also low~red their offers. There was no change in the have in recent years been careful to have th emselves but Messrs. Macnay and Co., of Middle~brough, were the
only firm who availed themselves of this mode of advertising
quotations for h~ma~ite ?ron, and th~ week closed without represented amongst the elected members of the Trust.
a single transact10n 10 e1ther sort be10g ~ecorded. At the
T he Gla.'fgow Corporation Tram ways.-It is now a settled their specialities. They exhibited specimens of an industrial
close in the afternoon the settlement pnces were-Sc:>t . .:h thing that the Glasgow Corporation tramway sy~tem, light patented by a London rm. There wer-e sellers of
iron, 42s. 3d. per ton; Cl~ve~and, 34s. 10~d. ; Cumberland which is on a. very extensive scale, will, on and after No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron at 35s. for prompt f.o.b.
and Middlesbrough bemat1teuon, respectively, 44s 6d. and July 1, 1894, be worked by and for the owners. With delivery, and parcels were disposed of at that price, but
43s. 4~d. per ton. The market opened wea~ on Monday, that end in view, the Corporation Tramways Committee several buyers endeavoured to purchase at rather less.
and prices were easier. A small amountofbusu e s was do~e have extensive works in course of erection as depots for No. 4 foundry was sold at 33s. 6d., and grey forge was
in S cotch iron whi ch was 1~d. per ton lower at th~ close 10 car&, stables, and power stations (if need be) at no fewer said t o have been bought at 32s. 6d., but the latter quality
the afternoon'. indeed, ab one time the cash price was ~~d. than nine places within the city and the immediate was rather scarce, and many sellers asked 32s. 9d.
per ton down.' Hematite irons wer.e neglected, and pr~ces suburbs. These will cost, it is expected, about 100,000Z., for it. Middlesbrough warrants were weak at 34s. 10d.
remained unchanged. The closmg settlement prtces and they will afford accommodation for about 3000 horses cash buyers. Local bematite pig iron was in fairly good
were-Scotch iron, 42s. 1~d. per ton; Cl~vel~nd, 34:3. 9d.; and from 250 t o 300 cars and other vehicles. By way of demand, and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of makers, east coast brands
Cumbarla.nd and Middlesbrough hemat1te 1ron, respec- inaugurating this great municipal enterprise, a memorial were non easily obtained under 43s. 3d. for early delivery.
ti vely, 44s. 6d. and 43s. 4~d .. per ton. In Tu~sday,s J:?a~ket stone was laid at tbe most important of the depOts last Spanish ore wa.s steady, some dealers reporting a slightly
only a small amount of busmess was done m the ptg-uon Friday by Lord Provost Bell, in presence of a very large upward tendency in price. To-day our market was very
warrant market. Scotch warrants were a shade firmer company, including members of the town council and weak, and little business indeed was done. Prices were
for cash and the month price was easier, but Cleveland other leading citizens. The event, which was followed by weaker, No. 3 Cleveland pig being sold at 34s. 10~d. for
was 1d. 'per ton higher. Only one lob of t~e latter a lunch eon , at which several speeches were delivered, was prompt delivE'ry. Middlesbrough warrants closed 34s. 9d.
cash buvers.
changed hands. At the close the settlement pr1ces were a very marked success.
-Scotch, 42s. 3d. per ton ; Clevela.nd,, 34s .. 10~d.; Cum
Manufactu/rcd I ron and Steel.-Little can be said of
P
ete1head
Harbour
of
R
ejuge.-Tbe
engineers'
report
b erla.nd and Middlesbrough hemat1te 1ron, . resp~c
these two important industries. New work is not easily
for
the
year
ended
March
31
last
states
that
during
the
tively, 44s. 6d. and 43s. 4~~ per ton. The ptg
secured, and quotations are certainly not moving upwards.
pa.st
year
the
breakwater
at
Peterhead
Harbour
has
been
iron m arket was stagnant thts forenorm. Not more
Probably most firms would accept contracts on th e follow67~
ft.,
and
the
foundations
of
a
further
length
extended
than 3000 tons of Scotch changed ~a.nd~:t, but the
ing terms: Common iron bars, 4l. 153. ; iron ship-plates,
of
60
ft.
have
been
prepared,
and
the
structure
raised
sellers' price rose ~d. per ton. Cl~veland .uon was offered,
4l . 13s. 9d. ; iron ship angles, 4l. 12s. Gd. ; steel ab ipupon
them
to
a
height
of
about
7
ft.
The
preparation
of
but was not dealt in, and the pnce dechned ~d. p~r ton.
plates, 5l ; and steel ship angles, 4l. 15s., all less 2~ per
the
foundations
for
this
length
was
very
tedious,
owing
to
The market during the aft~rnoon was dull and w1t~out
cent. discount for cash. Heavy steel rails are about
its
having
b
een
necessary
to
bench
a
quantity
of
very
change in price. The follow10g are the current quo:a.tlOns
3t. 15s. to 3l. 17s. 6d. net at works.
hard
side-lying
rock,
and
clear
away
not
only
the
material
for some of the No. 1 special brands of makers uon :
Wage& Question in the I ron and Steel Trade.-A meeting
Ga.rtsherrie, 493. per ton; Summerlee, 49a. 6d. ; Cd.lder, thus excavated, but also a quantity of large boulders and
50s. ; Langloan, 55s. 6d. ; Coltness, 56s. 6d.-t?e fore- gravel which had accumulated in the rock basins and composed of the Conciliation Board 's representatives, th e
going all shipped a.t Glasgow ; ~lengarnoo~ (shtpped a.t gulleys on the line of breakwater, all of which work had members of the executive of the National Iron and ~teel
Ardrossan), 493. 6d. ; Shotts (shtpped a.t Le1th), 51s. 6d.; to be execut ed by divers in a very expoaed position. The Workers' Association, and in addition a delegate from
of the works whose wages are governed by the
Carron (shipped at Grangemouth), 53s: 6d. per ton. There quantity of rock, boulders, &c., thus removed amounted each
of the awards of the Board, was held in the
were rumours yesterday of other .e1g~t bla.s~ furnaces to 327 cubic yards. The design of the Barge Harbour decisions
Mechanics' Institute, Da.rlington, t o consider the wages
having oeen or a. bout to be put aga10 10to act~ ve <;>pera- having been modified, and its extent reduced, this section question.
Mr. W. Ancott, Wednesbury, president of
tion 80 that the number now actually b.lowmg 1s un - of the works has not proceeded as regularly as ib would the Association,
occupied the chair. There were, including
cert~in. L1ostl week's shipments of p1g 1ron from .all otherwise have done.
the offi cera a,nd representatives of the Board, 35 delegat es
Scotch ports amounted to .5035 tons, as compared w1th
pre3ent. A long discussion t ook place with regard to the
6840 tons in the correspondmg week of last year. T?ey
offer of the employers t o readopt the sliding scale, leaving
NO'rES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
included 595 tons for Canada., 230 tons for ~outh AmeriCa,
out certain questions of revision for considE'ration after125 tons for India, 530 tons for Austra.ha, 195 tons for
SHEi''FIELD, Wednesday.
wards. A very st ron~ feeling was expressed by the deleFrance 280 tons for Ital y, 540 tons for Germanr . 1040
Lancashire, Derbyshire, and East Coast R:.tilway.- Mr. gates against the act10n of the empl~yers who desi red a
tons fo;Russia., 120 tons for Holland, s~allar _qua.ntittes for Emerson Bainbridge, the chairman of this company, revision in the iron rates, as they cons1dered it was a deother countries, and 1108 tons co~stw1se: The stock of together with the other directors, has this week made a. parture from principle and. custom. !o-fter fully c<;>nsideri iron in Messrs. Conna.l a.nd Co. s pubhc wa.~ra.nt stores tour for the purpose of inspecting this new railway so far ing the matterhthe followmg resolut10n was unammously
pt god a.t 33l 300 tons yesterday a.ft~rnoon, agamst 331,763 as it is completed. Owing to the energy of the contractors, adopted : " T at this meeting of de~~ga~es, represen.ti ng
~o~s yesterd'a.y week. thus showing a decrease for the past aided by fine weather, everythine- wa3 found in a forward the subscribers of the Board of ConctltatlOn and Arbttrastate. The party included the Hon. Evelyn Pierrepoint, tion and the workmen at works nob subscribing to, but
weak amountmg to 463 ton~.
F inished I ro'lll and ~teel ~rad~s.- ~erchants .report Major Dalrymple, Mr. Nicholson, Mr. R. Elliott Cooper gov~rned by the decisions of the Board, unanimouslY re
that the inquiry for fimsbed 11'0n.1s qu1eter than .1t was (the engineer of the line), and the other members of the solve to instruct the operatives' representatives to agree
ver recently, but the works are 10 most cases st1ll we~l staff. After leaving Chesterfield, they were able to travel to a renewal of the sliding scale on the condition that
y d with contracts formerly placed, a.nd there 1s a distance of nearly 12 miles over the route of the new the whole of the claims for the revision of rates paid in
occup1e
. pr1ces.

c ommon bars r ange railway. The S taveley C~mpa.ny's. new yYarsop Col- the manufacturing iron department be withdrawn ; the
ractically no change 10
hom 5l. 5s. up to 5/. 123. 6d. per ton, and best ~ars run liery is close to the new hne, and 1s no~ m a forward question affecting the revision of the steel rates to be
u to Gl. 2s. 6d. par ton-all less 5. p er ?ent. d1sco~nt. state. It is expected to be a very tmportant1 cus- submitted to the Board, and if necessary to an indeOlber finished iron goods hav~ pnces 10 pr<;>portt<;>n. tomer to the new lin~. The Bolsover Company s new pendent arbitra~or; and, failing t~i~, to ask that the
Cress well Colliery will shortly open its . wor~ings near to sliding scale basts of 2s. above shilhngs for pounds be
Most of the steel works are faul~ well s?pphed With the
new railway. These two compaDles wtll be capable increased." The question of the amalgamation of the
'
t
's
found
to
be
exceedmgly
difficult
to
get
ord ers, b u t 1 1

of despatching n~a.rly 3000 tons p~r .day. In several of Midland and Northern wages scales was considered, but
additional orders at any advance m priCes.
. . the railway cuttmgs valuable bmldm~ stone has been
as the whole of the facts concerning the operation of the
Scotch Coal Trade._There appears to .be no cessat10n m discovered, and it is expected that thlB may open out a scale had not been submitted to the various meetings, it
h
ti vity which prevails at pres~nt m the Scot.ch coal new line of industry.
was decided that the question be again referred to the
ed ac The shipments at the var1ou~ ports durmg ~he
Iro-n and Steel.-The heavy industries of the district lodges for their further consideration, there being plenty
r:St e.;,eek wer~, with on ~ or two except10ns, of a ~e~y h~gb
a':'e suffering severely, and in the ~ast end of Sheffield of time for this to be done, th e meeting of the Arbitr&
P verag P~ an4
...:~ t"-e
,.
t,,rns
show
an
all-round
p'lrtlOtpa.tlOn
.1
., 2 ..,
w

!
3

OcT. 13, 1893.]

-

ENGINEERING.

tion Board havi ng t o be posti_><?ned o wing t o the unfortunate indisposition of the pres1dent, Mr. \Vm. Whitwell.
The F ut.l Trade. - The coal trad e is rather quieter.
Collieries in the north, however, have full work, and in
some cases lon~ turns. On N ewcastle Exchange 14s. is
asked for best Northumbrian steam coal, but fe w transactions occur. Sma11 steam is in good demand at 5s. 6d. t o
63. , and bunk~r coal is firm. Gas coal is in better request,
with a. pressing demand for small lots, and for prompt
supplies high prices a re asked. Coke keeps st eady. H ere
bla~t furnace qualities are about 12s. 6d. d elivered.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL NOTES.

Natal Iron Ore.-A valuable deposit of iron ore exist s on
the P restinck Farm, near Dundee. Natal. The ore is rich
and free from phosphor us and sulphur, and it is considered
well adapted for the manufacture of st eel. The quantity
of ore ready t o be worked is very great; the amoun t
lying exposed on the surface is estimated at upward s of
1, 000, 000 tons.
I ndian Railways.--The length of railway in op eration
in British India at the close of M a rch, 1893, was 18,042
miles, as t:!ompared with 17, 564 milesatthe oloseof M arch,
1892; 16,996 miles at the close of March, 1891 ; 16,093
miles at the close of March, 1890; a nd 15,243 mil ~s at the
close of March, 1889. Of t he 18,042 wiles of line in operation a t the close of !\larch, 1893, 10,346 miles were upon a
4ft. 8~ in. gauge, and 7451 miles upon a. 3 ft . 31 in. gauge.
Irrigation in the Western States.-The Go,ernor of New
!\-Iexico h as issued a. proclamation s ummoning an irrigation
convention at D emmg, New M exico, on November 7.
The object of thl) con vention is to de vise ways and means
to sto\) the unlawful use and diversion of the waters of
the R lO Grande in Sou thern Colorado, and to store and
pre. erve in reservoirs epring a nd st or m waters which no w
go to waste annually. A nother irri gation con vention is
to commence at L os A ngeles, California, on Oct ober 10.
Belgian Coal Exports.- The E'x ports of coal from Belgium
in the fi rst seven months of this year amounted t o
2 350,29i tons, as compared with 2,298,360 t ons in the
c~rrespond ing period of 1892. In these t otals the exports
to France fig ured f~r 1,846,515 t ons. and 1,936,~68 tons r.espectively. The sh1pments of B elg tan coal t o E ngland 10
t he fi rst seven months of this year figured for 53,20-1 ton s~
a.q compared with 35,920 t ons in th e correspond ing perioa
of 1892.
Belgian Rail Expcrrts.- The exports of steel rails from
Belgium in the first seven months of this year amounted
to 15,235 tons, as compared with 36,377 t ons in the cor
responding period of 1892. The exports of iron rails from
Belgium in the first seven months of this year were 14,584
t ons, as compared wi th 11,366 t ons in the corresponding
period of 1892.
Iron Minerals in France. -The imports of iron m inerals
in to France in the first seven mo nths o f t his year
amounted t o 854,614 tons, as compared with 928,204 tons
in the corresponding period of 1892, and 724.182 t ons in
t he corre. ponding of 1891. In these t otals Spanish iron
minerals figured for 216,853 t ons, 256,086 tons, and
241,067 tons respectively; and German iron m inerals for
659,966 tons, 573,416 t ons, and 433,111 t on s respectively.
American Llfinerals.-Tb e value of the mineral product ion of the United S tates in 1880 was 372,724, 060 dols.
Since then there has been a great and st eady increase, the
total for 1885 having been 429, 688,895 dols. ; for 1890,
656,338,626 dols. ; for 1891, 679,087,390 d ols. ; and for
1892, 679,597,879 dols. Comparing 1892 with 1880, we
have an increase of no less than 306,873,819 do!s., or
about 90 per cent.

MISCELLANEA.
I T is proposed to build a cantilever bridge, of 1800 ft.
clear span, across the Ohio River a t Cincinnati. The
engineer to th e scheme is l\tlr. G. W . G . F erris, the d esigner of the Ferris Wheel at the World 's Fair.
T he North Cornwall section of the South-Western
system, extended from Tresmeer t o Camelford on August
H, has been further extended to D ela.bole, to which
station the line will be opened for traffic on W ednesday,
the 18th inst.
Owing to the t erritorial acquisitions recently made by
the French in Siam and the prevailing uncertainty as to
the settlement of the frontier, which it is feared may lead
to future complications, the British scheme for the prompt
construction of rail ways to Khorat and N ong khai on the
Mekong River, as well as a subsidiary narro w-gauge railway, has been abandoned.
According to Glaser's .A nn~len, the "Goliath " rails
laid on the Brusaels-Antwerp division of the Bel~ian
State Railways in 1887, were recently carefully exammed
by the Government engineers. The traffin on this line
is particularly heavy, but no important defects in tbe
rails have been d iscovered. The amount of wear in no case
has exceeded . 04 in.
The c:>ntractors for the Salisbury-Tete section of the
Tran continental T elegraph have left Fort Salisbury, and
the material for the construction of th e t elPgraph is now
being conveyed t o that place by th e B eira R ailway.
Consul John ston reports that th e contract ors for the
Zambe~i - Blantyre section commence operations on the
1st prox.
According t o the returns compiled by R 9land's Iron
'1'-rade Circular, the t otal number of blast furnaces in the
U nited K ingdom on September 30 last was 743, of which,
however, only 255 were in blast, a decrease of 90 on the
r~t1,1rns for the prev ious quarter. In this connection it is

of interest t o n ote .that a similar g reat decrease in the

number of furn a?es m blast has taken p lace in America.,
41 furnaces ha.vmg been blown cut d uring the recent
financial troubles in the Stat es.
. One of th e most interes ting novelties in t he constructiOn ~f the great !\1emphis Bridge across the !\Iississi ppi,
at Catro, was the use of mattresses to protect the ri ver bed
from scour un~er th e. pier sites. These mattresses were
woven from wtll.ow w1ths and wire. They were 400 ft.
long by 240 ft. w1d e, a nd were sunk by load ing them with
s~one. When in pla~e they completely protected the
n ver bottom from scou r, a nd enabled the pier caissons to
be handled a.n d sunk without difficulty. Each of the mattresses con tamed 1000 cords of brush and poles 900 tons of
ston e, and 10,000 lb. of wire.
'
Among the amusements provided at the \Vorld,s Fair
Chicago, on "Railroad Day, " September 16 was a. tug~
of-~ar between a n electric motor car and ~ steam locom<?ttve. The former had a weight of 27 t ons on its
d rt vers, and the latter 32 tons. The motors on the electric
ca.r w~re two in number, and of 300 horse- power each. In
the. trials the vict?ry lay with the steam locomotive,
w~1c~ won every tnal, the wheels of the elec tric engine
sktdd~ng t~rou~h lack of ad hesion , and revolvi ng in the
oppos1te dtrect10n t o that in which the car was being
dragged by the Rteam engin e. Another trial is we learn
to be made under more equal conditions.
'
'
In a paper read before the Arr.erican A ssociation for
the ~d vancement of Science, Mr. \Villi a m L. Dudley
describes a uew. method f~r . ~aintaining the strength
of an elec troly tic bath for 1r1d1Um plating. By experi
me?t ~e found that t he strength of the bath could be
mamtam~d by t~e use of . a.n oxide or hydroxide of the
~ etal wh.t ch was m soluble 10 the bath, but readily soluble
10 the actd . s~b. free at the anode. In practice he makes
URe of the Ir1d1c hydrate Ir (0 H).~. A carbon plate is
~sed a.s the ano?~ and is surrounded by a loose-fi tting
l~n e_n bag contammg the hydrate. H e thinks tha t a
s1m1lar process might be used for plating with aluminium.
:rhe t raffic receipts. f~r tb~ week ending Oct ober 1 on
t bnty-tbree of the prmc1pal hoes of the U nited Kingdom
amounted t o 1,442, 742l., which, having been earned on
18,388 miles, ~ave an average of 78l. 9s. per mile. For
th e corrf'spnndmg week in 1892, the rec~ipts of the same
li~~ amou.1ted to 1,589,427l., with 18,199 m ile:t open,
g tvmg a.n average of 87l. 7s. There was thus a decrease
of 146,685l. in the receipts, a n increase of 189 in the
mileage, a nd a decrease of Bt. 18s. in the weekly receipts
per mile. The aggregat e receipts for thirteen weeks
to date amounted on the same thirty-three lines t o
20,054,040l. , in comparison with 21,581,746l. for the corresponding period last year; decrease, 1,527, 706l.

A report from J\.-Ir. Hussey- Walsh, British Vice-Consul

at B eira, on the Beira-Mashonaland Rail way, has just
been published by the Foreign Office. According to this
re port, the line was expected to be open for a distance of
75 miles by the end of ~eptember. The gauge, however,
iR 2 ft. only, but it is proposed to increase this to 3ft. Gi n.
if tbe traffic proves sufficient to warrant the additional
E'xpend itu re. As laid, th e rai ls we>igh 20 lb. per yard; the
steepest gradient is 1 in 50, and the sharpest curve of
4 cha ins rad iu~. The opening of this line, small as its
capacity is, will enormous)y reduce the freight ra tes to
Ji'ort Salisbury, which by th e Cape route are at present
45l. per t on.
Discussing the question of the return circuit for electric ra.il ways, in a. paper read before the American Street
Rail way Association, Mr. Thomas J. M. T ip be states that,
taking u on as having onesixth the conductivity of copper,
a 70-l b. rail is equi valent to a. copper conductor 1 in.
thick and n early 1.17 in. wide. There is thus no necessity for laying a. return main of copper, the rails being
ample if properly bonded to each other. These bonds
should be short, and m ake thoroughly good conta.ot with
the rails. Corrosion should be prevented by surrounding
the bonds with a grooved strip of wood filled with a.sphalte.
The better the return ci rcuit, th e less is the corrosion
a rising from electrolytic action between tbe rails a nd the
earth.
The returns of the Board of Trade show that the imports
into this country for the nine months ending S eptember
30 were va.l ued at 297, 180,803l., a decrease of 15,293, 715l.
on the returns for the same p eri od last year. About onehalf of this decrease was in foodstuffs, and th e other half
a d ecrease in the imports of raw materi als for manufacturing purposes. On the other hand, the importation
of manufactured articles was 1,259,049l., or nearly 2~ p er
cent. increase as compared with the same period last year.
The exports were valued ab 165,393,621l., a. decrease of
!>,087,167l. for th e n ine months ending September 30 last.
'!'he raw materials exp orted (coal, &c.) show a decrease of
1, 749, 246l., and the textil e fabrics one of 2, 342, 352l: The
exports <Jf m etals, machin ery, &c. , also show a. decrease
of over 1,000,000l.
Cases sometimes happen in the location of a street railway in which a very severe ~rade is unavoidable for a
sh ort distance, while th e remamder of the line is comps.ratively leveL T o meet this condition of affairs the following d evice was adopted, and has been for more than two
years in successful op e>ration on a line in Sea.ttle, Wash .
F or a. di stance of 1000 ft. there is a grade var ying from
11 to 16 per cent. Two counterbalance ""eights, aggregatin g G tons, run on rails laid in a. conduit und erneath
the track. These wei~hts exactly balance an empty car,
and are attached t o w1re r op es running over pulleys. At
th e t op of the ~rad e, on its way d own, the car picks up
the ro.Pe, and in d escendinf(" hauls the weights up, thus
check10g its own speed, so t hat the brakes will hold the
load without difficulty. In ascending, the ca.r is aided by
the desc~nt of the weight,

453
The first general meeting of the \)resent session (18934)
of the H ull and District InstitutlOn of Engineers and
Naval Architect s, was held at tbe institute R ooms, B ondstreet, on Ivi onda.y evening, the 2nd insb., when :rYir.
A. V. Coster read a paper on "Boiler Furnace$, their
Construction and R enewal," in which he first described
the different classes of boiler furnaces now made, a nd the
various m ethods of flanging and ri veting t hem in to the
boilers. Having pointed ou t what he considered the best
and worst modes, be dre w special attention t o the need
of a good type of " withdrawable furnace, " it being his
opi nion that such a. one would greatly facilitate the repairs of boilers, and also le$sen t he cost of such r Apairs.
The paper was full y illustrated by means of models of
furnaces, diagrams, sketches, &c. A discussion followed
the read tng of the paper.
The obser vatory erected by !\-I. J ansen a.t tho summit
of Mont Blanc is built entirely of wood, and is found ed
on the firm sno w with which the top of the mountain is
covered. It was originally intended to carry th e fou ndation s down to rock, !Jut tb o excavation made showed th e
thickness of th e &now cap t o be much greater than was
expected, an d th e plan had to be abandoned. A sma ll
test structure was accordingly erected on the snow, and
left on the mountai n during the whole of last winter ; it
showed no sig ns of movement, a nd it was accord ingly
determined to pro eed with the p ermanent structu re.
This resembl~s a truncated pyram1d in form. I ts base
measures 33 ft. by 17 ft., and it contains two floora, as
well as a flat roof, reached by a s piral staircase. 'Ihe
walls, doors, and wind ows a re m ade double, as a protect ion froru cold, and the latter are also provided with
shutters on the outside, tting tightly over the openings.
The elecr;o in&tallation at the F ore& try E xhibition, Earl's
Uourt, no w on the point of closing, is claimed to be the
largest and most varied pri vate electric plant in the
kingdom. E very practicl\lly succest ful system of electric
lighting is there in use, whilst the motor plant, on th e
other hand, includes both alternating and direct cu rrent
m achines. The engines, which were supplied by M essrs.
Davy, P axman, and Co. , of Colchester, are capable of
indicating 450 horse pow'er in the aggregate, \\ hi lst the
dynamos, supplied by the B rush Electrical Engineering
Company, have included amongst th em ~ 1CO-kilowatc
Mordey alternator, and a similar machine of 37 ktlo watts
capacity, in addition to t en direct-current macbines.
The arc lam ps used are the Brockie-Pell type, and number
210. The m candescent lamps are upward s of 1000 in
number. The whole of the work has been carried ou t
by Mr. G. C. F ricker, M.I.E E. , of 46, Queen Victoriastreet, E .C.
Professor Arnold, of the S heffield T echnical Schoo), recently prepared a sound ingot of iron of 99 8 per cen t.
purity, particulars of which are given in a paper read
before the Ameri can Institute of Mining E ngineers by
Mr. R. A. Hadfield. The general results of the testtf
made on this iron are given in the annexed T able:
T est by
Professor
Arnold.
Series mark

.. .

...

c.

1S6

0.07
Si.
0. 04
0.02
Analysis, per cent.
P.
0 02
~In. O.OG
Al. 0.03
Fe. 99.76
Original diamet er
in.
0. 564
Specific gravity ...
...
Original area.
... sq . in.
0.25
Elastic lim it, tons per ,
Breaking stress
,
21.0
50 p. c.
Elongation on 2 in.
...
Total reduction of area ...
80 ,
Extension at permanent
set
.. .
...
. ..
Silky
Appearance of fracture ...

s.

T est by
Mr. Hadfield.
1.37111' .
0.07
0.0-1
0 03
0.015
0.07
99.81
0.798
7.863
0.50
18.0
23.0
49.25 p.o.
69.60 ,
.007 "
Silky

GAS AT PARIS.- The revenue collected in August by

the Parisian Company for Lighting and Heating by Gas
amountt:d to l 65,278t. , as compared with 170,460/. in
August, 1892, showing a decrease of 5182l. , or 3.04 pet'
cent. 'he aggrt>gate collection for the first eight months
of this year was 1,864,1'i5l., a s compared with 1,895,617l.
in the corresponding period of 1892, showing a. decrease
of 31,442l. this year. The company has now t o <'Ontend
with the electric light, but it is still a prosperous undertaking.
I RON AND STEEL I NSTITUTE : EnRATU~r - In ou r issue
of Oct ober 6 (see page 416 artte), in dealing with coalwashing machinery on the L tibrig syst em at the Randolph
Pit the following passage occu rs : ' The plant has a.
capacity of 1500 t ons per day of t en hou rs on the basis of
a. coal containing 23 per cent. of ash. Ash contained
in washed coal of y"~ tbs to i!!nd not t o exceed 6 per
cent. The rubbish or dirt wh ich has been washed
ou t is guaranteed not to contain more than 2 p er
cent. of fine coal. The cost of labour is guaranteed
not to excee~ -l~d. pe~ t <;m of co~l handled! including labour m band-ptcktng, sortm g, washmg. ar:d
loading into trucks.'' 'h is passage refers to the plant on
the L tihrig system which has been in work for some time
at Motherwell, on the property of M essrs. Merry and
Cuninghame, and not to t h~ works at the Randolph Pit.
\ Ve understand that the coal fr om the latter pit contains
from 6 to 7 !>er cent. of ash only.

E
40 0-IIOR~
G 0 N t' T I t U G T E D

E ER I

G.

) T . I '\

'9 "

E -PO\\YE

n \"

T nr. nginel which we illu tmtc hove arc of

t lw iuv rl fl m riuc typ , ml rod irro d for dri'
i ng c m nt ntlll oth r mill , hop runchin ry and for
g acral 1 tHl purpo c. . 'flte chi f d~out rr C~D.imcl
for thi ty{ of ln me ov.nr the ortlmary h~nzon 1
1 nd nziue, :u economy m lloor p Cl' occnpu~d, and
r . tPr ""t, lnn~.:' c, working p m.
In the ogin
1llu tr t d. thi 1 tt r point h b n c p ci:>.lly tudicd,
tbc er nk being pi c d oppo ite toe eh other, in-.t d
I

GI

M g

J\N l> 1J

Nf.JA~\

E .. "< I NEg l l ',

:OV J N.

of t 1 i ht a.n~lcs, :>. u u 1. The en nine r d i(!n cl Th ooll tion for th fi t tw nty d y or

l1 17lon m tb
to cle' tlop ~ 00 ho~~-pow r, th cylindc lJ iurr 1H in. lfJ';',t)()Ol. 'l'h oorr 1 ndin
and :J:J in. in di, m t r by ~ in . trok ' 'fh Hy- ing 1 riod of 1 ~2 w 1 1:.! lfl 1.
whe I i lU ft. in clia.uaet r n1l "cigh I~ ton . The
OUTII A f RI C ~'\
AL- \
m of c I, 1 ft. tbi ,
m ke
re .M r . Ho
nud I>uuC<J n, \ \'"hitcfi Id
h
n truck on a ( nn bout tb
i m
\Vork , :o, u, <:1 gow.
Kl rk dorp, in the t)t ng 1 r
t 1'h
1
m t ith only ft. r Ill th.. r(

1 r r 1 in nd
Tu '""uEz 0 SAL. -T be tr n it r ~ nu or tb
uez S tch '-'ell h V fOUO
1 in tb S tk t
1 tnCt.
Canal Comp ny ha b n r 'h ing to om e t nt of 1 t R nt t t h vc bo "11 tb t tb oo 1 i or
bty.
1

OcT. 13, 1893.]

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CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Iron and Steel Institute
Notes from the Uni ted
(lllm trated) ...... ..... . 439
States .. .... ... . . ...... . 461
Tbe Engineering Congress
Th6 America Cup ........ 461
at Chicago .. . . . . ........ 441 Ftashin~ Point of PetroThe British Association . . . . 445
leum .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
The Tower Bridge (l llm.) 448 Economical Speed of SteamHarvey Steel Box Cars (Ils btps .. ............ ...... 462
lustrated) ... . ..... . ... 449 Marine En~i ne Indicator .. 462
The Ru.ssell Snow Plough
Ball Bearmgs for Thrust
(llltt8trated) ........... . 449 I Blocks (l llmtrated) . ... 462
Steam Dynamo fo r Search
Steam Fishing Smacks . . . 462
Light (ltlmtrated) ...... 449 Concrete Tippio(! Boxes . . 462
Dredging Operations on the
10-Ton Pillar Crane at the
Mersey Bar ( l llmtrated) 449
Columbia.n Exposition (Il
Notee from the N orLh . . . . . . 452
l ustrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Notes from Cleveland and
Maginnis's T -Square At
the Northern Counties .. 452
ta.chment ( I llmt1ated) .. 463
Notes from South Yorkshire 452 Industrial Notes ..... ... . 464
Foreign and Colonial Notes 453 Locomotive at the ColumMiscellanea ... ...... ... .... 453 1 bian Exposit:on (l llus. ) . . 465
Some Suggestions for a Good
Lau n ch ~s and T1ial Trips . 466
Patent Law .. .... .. ... ... 455 Rosa's Pneumatic Caulking
The Prospects of the Coal
and Chipping Tool (Itlu8. ) 466
Trade .... .. ...... ...... 456 The Waste of Heat in Iron
The Working of Bri ti~h
Smelting (l llmt'rated) . . .. 467
Railwa.ys ............ . .. . 457 The German State I nstitute
The Yisit of the French En
for Pbysica.l Technology .. 46
gineera to Ame r io~ . . . ... 457 Notes from the South West 468
Bri tish Colonies at Chicago 459 " Engineering " Patent Re
Notea .. .. ........ ........ 460
cord (I ll ustrated) .. .. .. .. 469
PAGB

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ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1893.
=----:================~-----========-=
-

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR A GOOD

PATEN T LAW.
THrs is th e. title ch osen by Mr. Lloyd Wise for
a paper contributed by r equest, and which was read
on t he 6th inst. at the World's Congress on Paten ts
Trade Marks an d Copyrights, at Chicaao.
'
Whilst admittin~ that the patent la;,s of various
countries h ave influenced ingenious persons to
confer, thro.ugh their inventions, many blessings
upon mankind, the author remarks that in the
f~aming and administration of laws avowedly designed to encourage and p rotect inventors it does
almost seem as if, in some cases, no pains h~d been
spar ed in the endeavour to introduce needless complication and uncertainty,
Of course there ar e two sides to this, as to every
question. Inventors are not the only p ersons to
be thought of; on t he contrary, utility t o t he
public should be the consideration for every grant
of t he sole use of an invention.
Therefore a good patent law would be one which,
on the one hand, would offer every r easonable
inducement to those possessed of inventions to
introduce the same into use in the particular
country ; and, on the other hand, would not depri_ve any one of any liberty he had already prop erly
enJoyed.
It iB recognised as impossible, within t he limits
of a paper such as that under notice, either to
specify and enter upon an adequate consideration
of t he various features deemed open to obj ection in
existing patent laws and the practice ther eunder,
or even to indicate and give r easons for the various
details esssential to a complete paten law. The
aim is merely to submit for consideration cer tain
suggestions which t he author believes would, if
incorporated into a law, be found to give satisfactory results. These suggestions are n ot put forth
as novel; on th e contrary, some of them have been
advocated for many years, with a certain measure
of success. In t his connection r efer ence is made
inter alia t o numerous articles t hat have from time
to time appeared in this j ournal, as also to some of
the provisions of the existing patent laws of the
United Kingdon1 and Switzerland.
The au thor suggests t hat t he first applicant who
complies with the prescribed r equirements in any
country should be entitled t o a patent there (subject to international arrangements), provided h e
has not fraudulently obtained the invention from
some other person or persons in the country. In
support of this proposition it is pointed out that
the fundamental object of a patent law is to induce
the early communication of inventions n ew t o t he
particular country ; t hat a community may derive
considerable benefit from the exertions of a person
who succeeds in bringing about the extensive use
of a t hing that may have been previously proposed
in some shape or form, or even patented or described in some printed publication abroad; and
that it is not practicable to restrict the grant of a
patent to the "first and true inventor, " interpreting that expression literally, because it is not possible to insure that some p erson other than the
applicant for a patent has n ot previously conceived
the same thing ; n or is it expedient to attempt
such a r estriction. In connection with the suggestion under n otice, the author enters into a somewhat detailed consideration of the difficulties and
complications that r esult from the pr actice t hat
now obtains in the United Stat~.
He n ext suggests that a complete specification,
with claims, should be lodged with the application for patent, but that the applicant t o patent
should b~ at liberty to apply from time to time for

455
~eave

to amend his specification, claims, and drawIngs, by way of disclaimer, correction, explanation,
or addition; and it should not be a ground of objection that the specificat ion, as amended, would
claim an invention substantially larger than, or
substantially differ ent from, the invention claimed
in t he specification as it stood before amendment.
The line of argument adopted is that no one can
~e consider ed fairly entitled to a patent unless he is
In possession of a perfected invention- that is, an
inve.nti~n so far ~atured as to he capable of being
carried mto practical effect; that such an invention
has been pretty generally r ecognised as beina the
consideration which the public should receive ht exchange for the privilege of limited duration granted
under a patent; but that, as a person in possession
of an invention is hardly in a position to carry it out
and improve its details unless it ia protected, it is
desirable t o provide as suggested for the amendment
of the specification. In other words, the object of
the proposal is to afford to the inventor, as far as
possible, the benefits incidental to caveats and to
p:ovisional protection, without t he corresponding
d.ISadvantages; and to insure to the public informatiOn respecting the invention , in its most efficient
form, at the expiration of the exclusive privilege.
The proposal is one that was long since advocated by the author in this journal.
His n ext suggestion is that the application for
patent should be examined as to (a.) whether t he application is in due form and the specification is clear ;
(b) whether the invention is contrary to morality ;
and (c) whether the invention appears to have been
anticipated, regard being had to prior publications in
the Patent Office of t he country ; but that the discovery of.a publication deemed by the Patent Office
authorities to anticipate the invention claimed by
the applicant should not be a ground for r efusal of
the patent, provided he inserts in his specification
a reference to such publication, with a clear statemen t of what he n evertheless claims ; and t hat no
official repor t as to want of novelty should be made
public.
Experts often differ on points vitally affectina
the validity of letters patent, such as whether tw~
things are the same, whether one thing is an
improvement on another, whether one thing
will work and another will n ot ; and this
with r espect to inventions already introduced
into use. How, then, asks the author, are sound
and reliable conclusions to be expected at the
hands of examiners charged with the duty of deciding, from documents alone, whether a given invention ought or ought not to become the subjectmatter of a patent 1 On the contrary, is it not
notorious that in countries whose patent laws provide for preliminary examination as to novelty,
patents are sometimes r efused on insufficient
grounds, and many patents are granted that are
ultimately declared invalid by the courts ? At th e
risk of r epeating arguments long ago given in
these columns, we feel j ustified in now supporting (as we have before done) the author's suggestion, especially in view of the fact that
there has lately been agitation in some quarters
in favour of t he adoption here of the American
system of preliminary examination ; which, besides
being costly~ is decidedly misleading, because the
uninitiated are induced to imagine that allowance
of a patent affords positive proof of the n ovelty
and utility of the invention and the validity of the
gr ant; whereas the propor tion of contested patents
declared invalid by the courts is probably larger in
the United States than in this country, where
there is no official examination of the k ind.
Mr. Lloyd Wise's plan, if adopted, would insure
uniformity of practice, notwithstanding change of
officers; simplification of the duties of officers ; and
that n o patentee could deceive the public ab out
the extent of his invention. If the invention
amounted t o nothing, the applicant, being compelled to define it in the manner proposed, would,
as a rule, naturally abandon the application on
finding h e had nothing t o claim. On the other
hand, if, though seemingly trivial- so trivial, indeed, that the examiner, if he had the option, would
cause the application to be r ejected- t he inventor
nevertheless believed his claim to be good, he
would be able to stand or fall upon it purely on
its own merits, without being unduly prejudiced by
publication of official opinions, which might often
b e erroneous.
In case of litigation, the point at issue would,
under the proposed practice, lie within the
narrowest limits, on the faces of the specifications

E N G I N E E R I N G.
themselves, and the patentee c0uld not (as now)
Anoth er suggestion contai ned in t he paper under
shift his ground .. ~hus the time occupied by, and n oti.ce is t hat there should be provision for cornthe cost of deternun1ng cases, would be enol'mously pellmg the owner of a patent to grant licences on
r educed. I t stands to rea~on that with a .ha~ ~ase equitable t erms where n eedful to supply the
t~e paten~ee woul~ n ot be lt~ely to ~tternpt 1ntim1da- r easonable r equirements of the public, or where
twn,. as ~s somet n?es p oss1~le with. a patent . t he necessary to enable bona-fide improvements to be
speCificatiOn of whiCh contains amb1guons claims. utilised, but not provision for compelling the owner
lf he ~ssa~ed to proceed at law, h is case could be to introduce t he patented invention into actual
speedily ~1sposed of:
use. The intention evidently is to protect t he
We quite agree with the author of the paper that public on the on e hand, and on t he other to obviate
the pr~~iminary e?tamin~tion should n ot ex~end. t o the irritation and gross injustice t hat r esult fr om
the uhhty. of t he Inventwn, as n o such examinatwn compulsory working provisions of various kinds,
can be reliable.
such as are embodied in the patent laws of many
H e suggests that the application should be ad- countries, and which have t he effect of dis<Yusting
0
vertised, with abstract; th e specification be opened instead of en couraging in ventors, whilst the public
t o public ~nspection, printed, and placed on sale ; gains nothing. An equitable compulsory licen ce
and opposition be allowed on the grounds of fraud, system, whilst it inflicts n o hardship upon t he
prior patent in the country for the same inven tion, patentee, and introduces no uncer tainty respecting
prior publication in the country of a. full description the validity of a patent, affords an ample safeguard
of the invent ion, and prior public use or sale of to the public, and r enders it impossible that the
the invention in t h e country.
owner of a. patent for a val uable invention should
What is here recommended is a modification of act the dog in t he manger.
the practice that at present obtains in the United
The author's concluding suggestion has r eference
Kingd om, where opposition is allowed on gr ounds to a matter as t o which some experience has been
similar t o the first and second above indicated, and gained in this country under the Patent Act of 1888.
also on a t hird ground, which would n ot apply assum- H e recommends t hat all patent agents or attorneys
ing the author's suggestion to be adopted that a corn- should be register ed in t he Patent Office of the
plete (as distinguished from a provisional) specifica- country, should be required to annually obtain
tion should be d eposited on application for the patent. certificates of their right to practise, and should be
The practice under the English law is t o give t he liable, for misconduct, to be struck off t he r egister,
applicant t he benefit of any r easonable d oubt, and and otherwise punished according to circumstances.
that is a courge which it is in the author's opinion
It is only too true t hat many disreputable persons
d esirable to follow whatever be t he system adopted . set up as patent agents and patent attorneys ; t hat
His r eason for adding the third and fourth grounds in many cases money intrusted to persons of this
of opposition is to supplement the preliminary ex- class by confiding inventors is misappropriated ; so
amination by the Patent Office authorities as to that the unfortunate clients lose not only their
n ovelty; a r esult of which would probably b e, that money , but also not unfrequently their inventions,
the chances of a. patent, once granted, being sub- owing to the applications for patents actually paid
sequently upset would be largely reduced, and t hus for not being lodged befor e some fatal publication
not only would inventors be often spared useless ta,k es place. And in addition to all this there is
expenditure of money and loss of valuable time, the serious fact that many so-called patent agents
furthermor e, capitalists would gain confidence in or att.orneys are totally unqualifi ed to properly
patent property as an investment.
perform the work t hey undertake.
It is, h owever, expressly urged that the patent,
U nfortunately in these days there is an absurdly
when granted, should not be indefeasible. Mr. exaggerated dread of curtailing individual liberty
Lloyd Wise is of opinion that t he validity and and creating monopolies. T o insist upon r eason duration of the patent should not depend on any able q ualification and the obser vance of common
for eign patent ; and in this view we entirely rules of honesty as a condition of being permitted
concur. Indeed, the point is one we have in the to practise a. profession in which most grievous
past had occasion t o refer t o on mor e than on e injury to others may result from incompetence or
occasion. It is a matter that has given rise to pr o- dishon esty, is surely not t o create a monopoly in t he
tracted and costly litigation in the United States, true sense ; for no one is debarred from qualifying
besides having r esulted in gr eat hardship to the and practising, and surely no right-minded personcan
authors of meritorious invent ions.
desire liber ty to obtain money from his fellow-men
As is pointed out in t he paper before us, once under false pretences, which, mor ally speaking, is
admit that an invention previously publicly known what is done by every one who draws fees from
abroad may be t he subject of a valid home patent, others for work he knows himself to be incapable
it can hardly be material in the public interest of properly performing. Yet for such men alone is
whether it has or has not been patented abroad. it that the public is sacrificed by t hose who so unIf ther e be a patent in one for eign country, t he reasonably raise the monopoly scare whenever an
invention will become known in other foreign honest attempt is made to purify the profession of
countries where it is not patented, and persons in the patent agent- a profession calling for the
those countries will be able to compete with t hose exercise of skill and training of t he highest order ;
who hold the patents, and with their licensees, in a. profession numbering amongst its members many
all the countries of the world in which the inven- men of great ability and undoubted probity, but
tion is not protected. Then, again, i f t he f~ct of upon which discredit ~as often ~een brought by t he
an invention being patented abroad constitutes dishonourable practices of disreputable persons
such an impo~ tant fact~r, why sho~ld it make such whom t he law has s~ far been inadequate to exclude.
an essential difference If the foreign patent bears
The only consolatiOn appears to be the hope t hat
date one day earlier than the home patent instead as years roll on the incompetent and unreliable will
of one day later- especially seeing that, in the be gradually weeded out, and the ton e of the profeslatter case the circumstance may be purely acci- sion improved.
dental and the patent may have issued on a. cornplete ~pecification d eposited in the foreign P atent THE PROSPECTS OF THE COAL TRADE.
Office mont hs before the home application was
THE issue between t he coalowners and t he
lodged 1
. .
.
The writer of the paper IS In favour of makmg a miners seems clearer, although it is doubtful if we
patent subj ect to moderate periodical payme~ts. are any n ear er a permanent solut ion of this, t he
In t his connection it is urged that t he mer e t akmg great est of r ecent strikes. The mayors of six of t he
out of a patent does not n ecessarily confer appreci- Midland towns met on Monday, and submitted sugable benefit upon the public, and that nothing seems gestions for a basis of agreemen t. Taking into conmor e calculated to impede progr ess than t he accu- sideration the fact that the price of coal, now enmulation of a. vast number of patents which., once hanced owing t o the scar city consequent on the
granted, r emain in force to the end of .t he1r full strike, will not recede a.t once, t hey suggested
terms and t hough in other respects entirely neg- that the miners should be permitted t o start
lect ed by their owners, continue ~va~lable as means work at their old r ate, and that six weeks
of levying blackmail from deserving Inventor s, who hence a reduction of 10 per cent., out of the 40
may be prepared t o ~ommercially . int r oduce valu- per cent. granted since i 888, should corn~ into
able inven t ions, possibly ~roduc~Ive. of g~eat and force. The '' hatch et," it was suggested, should
widespread b enefit. Bearm~ this In m1nd, t he be buried, advances made to the men on returnp eriodical payment system will ~t on~e be r ecog- ing t o work, and deducted from t he wages in
nised as a valuable weeder, especially If the fee be weekly instalments ; wbile, as to t he fut ure, it
11
a. moderate on e levied annually after the first few was suggested t hat a ''tribunal of conciliation
y ears of the t~r~ of .the patent, as i~ now the prac- should be at once established by masters and men.
All ad mit that something in th~ form of the lat t er
tice in th e Un1ted Kmgdom,

==================

[OcT. I 3, I 893.
is J?OSt desirable; but it is cont ingent upon an
amiCable settlement of present differences. And
with the prospects of this we are more immediately
concerned. The terms suggested by the mayors
are certainly t he most reasonable the men could
expect. A man earning lOOs. in 1888 is now paid
140s., but this it is proposed to reduce to 130~.
The Owners' Federatior. having considered the
s~ggestions, determine,. in r espect of t he widespread
distress and general dislocation of trade, to make
a reduction of only 15 per cent. , instead of 25 per
cent., as from M onday :first, when work may be
r esumed . Several collieries, however, have intimated that t hey agree to the terms suggested by
the mayors. B ut will t he men accept one or
other of the t erms granted ? Mr. Samuel Woods,
M. P., has practically been publicly advising the
men to remain firm for t heir old rate of wage, and
says he told the mayors that t he clause suggesting
that 10 per cent. r eduction six weeks hence
would defeat the whole scheme. This attitude has
since been adopted by a resolution of the men, so
that the struggle cont inues. Without this clause
there would have been no scheme.
As to whether t he terms s uggested by t he employers are reasonable, an opinion may be formed
by some examination of official statistics. In the
first place, it is interesting to note t he price of coal
for t he past five years, and Ghese are given as
follows in t he mineral statistics :
A verage P rice of Coal.
At th e Mines.
s. d.
1887.. .
...
...
4 9.87
1888. ..
...
...
5 0.68
1889...
. ..
...
6 4i
...
. ..
8 3
1890...
18!)1. ..
..
.. .
8 0
1892. ..
.. .
.. .
7 3
1893 (nine months)
5 11

Export Price.
s.
8. 19
8.27
10.06
12.39
11.96
10.83
9.57

The figures for t he nine months of 1893 have

been arrived at from t he official return issued this
week of the total quantity and t otal value of coal
exported from the United Kingd o m~ which works
out at 9s. 7d . per ton. I t will be noted t hat in
preceding years the price at the mine has been
usually from 3s. 6d. to 3s. 11d . less t han the export
price, and this year it may be computed as 3s. 8d.
less. This r esult is even more favourable t han
it was six weeks ago, for the average expor t price
of coal for the first balf of the year was 9s. 5d. per
t on, or 2s. 1d. less tha n in the corresponding period
last year, and on this computation t he price at the
mines would be 5s. 2d. per ton . The average
price of t he coal exported in September was considerably higher than t he mean for the nine months,
hav~ng been 10. 22s. , indicat ing that the result for
t h e nine months has been affected materially by
the recent advance consequent on the strike and
scarcity of coal. But it insures more than justice
to the men in arriving at the present condition of
affairs as to t he relation of price and remuneration
now, as compared with five years ago, to accept
even t he inflated figures for t he nine months, and
the r esul t js found t o be tha.t whereas t he price at
the mine in 1890 and 1891 was Ss. 3d. and Ss.
respectively, it is n ow only 5s. 11d. Certainly t he
result is not above, but r ather below, the actual
state of affairs when t he reduction of 25 per cen t.
was determined upon , and it is difficult to understand how the owner can afford to pay the same
wages when his income has been r educed by at
least one-fourth. In 1888, before the wages
began t o rise, the price was just over 5s. As we
have shown, t he probabilities are t hat it was not
much over 5s. when the reduction was decided
upon.
The labour cost of producing a ton of coal in 1888
was 39.3d., now it is 65d. ; so t hat t he sum left now
for all other expenses is 16d., whereas in 1888 t he
sum left was 21d. Presuming t hat t he decrease of
25 per cent. on t he standard wage originally deter mined upon by the owners were effected, the labour
cost of a ton of coal would then be about 45d.,
leaving 26d. on the assumption t hat the average
price of coal was 5s. 11d. But with the decision of
this week t o make the reduction in wage only 15 per
cent., the surplus after paying labour would be 20d.,
or still1d.less t han thecorrespondingsurplus in 1888.
before the 40 per cent. increase in wage took effect.
It seems, t herefor e, that t he offer now made by
the mineowners is consistent with t he state of
affairs, and that a reduction of even 15 per cent.
leaves the men in a better position t han is consist ent with the selling price of coal. The meu, however, while <1dmitting that prices of coal have

457

E N G I N E E R I N G.

companies have made a great effort to minin:tise

R.
Giffen
and
Mr.
Francis
J.
S.
H
opwood,
of
the
;eatly decreased since they were granted_ a very
Board of Trade, and just issued. The authors clearly mileage, and a r esult is the maintenan_ce at_a fairly

:ubRtantial increase of 40 per cent. to the1r wages

in 1888, hold that wag~s ought not to be re~u
lated by the selling pr1c_e, but that the selhng
price ought to be determined by the wages. A
priori this may seem re~sonable, for . the ?ost
of production fixes, theore~1cally, th ~ sellmg pn?e;
but there is a limit to Increases 1n the Eellmg
price, because of. co~petition not only bet~een
collieries and d1stncts, but between natwns.
They fail to grasp, further, that a r educed pr?duction may mean a less r ate of wages, for u1
such a case the permanent charge~ arA the sam_e
for a small as for a large productwn, so tha~ if
the sellinu price is maintained at the same pr1ce,
the retur~ for wages, as for capital, mus~ be less.
'fhis attitude of the men accounts 1n great
measure for their determination to fight to the
end but the yielding attitude of many of the
own~rs certainly helps.
It is probable that the
owners erred in deciding upon such a great reduction as 25 per cent. I t is true that the wage_s had
been increased by 40 per cent., but only at intervals and even although the state of the market
and 'the prices got justified_ it, the decrease ~as
too great to be quietly subm1tted to. A man w1th
28s a. week cannot look with equanimity on a
propos1\l which means a reducti~n of 5s., and his
mind fails to carry back to the tlme when he only
had 203. This really is the position and demands
of the owner. Of course it is possible that a reduction of even 10 per cent. would have been r esisted, but public sympathy with the men would
not have been so strong, and the moral and
financial support would have been less. As it is,
the men are encouraged on all sides t o r esist, and
a consequence is serious inconvenience to t rade,
as has been from time to time indicated in our
"Industrial Notes." Moreover, there is a want of
combined attitude amongdt the owners. Many are
influenced, perhaps by the high prices going, to
take a sympathetic view of the .di~t~ess prevalent
in their districts, and start thetr mmes at the old
terms, with the re~ult that there is every prospect
that the owners w1ll be defeated, and that before
many days are over the strike will. be at an en?.
But it is only for a season. The prtce of coal w1ll
not enable the masters to work at a profit, and the
past success of the men will tend to graater r esistance even of a less r eduction. Certainly there
will be strained r elations between masters and
men, and the tendency of such is clearly to
lessen men's confidence in enterprise, which confidence is most essential to trade prosperity.
There are not wanting indications, too, that the
minds of the working men, as a well-known economist puts it, are becoming unsettled on all the cardinal truths of economic science, so that they enter
upon a conflict with employers without fully apprecia.ting the accuracy or the possibilities of the arguments they add uce, and certainly success under
these conditions, as in the case in point, encourages them in their very unsatisfactory course.

THE WORKING OF BRITISH

RAILWAYS.
most other undertakings t hroughout the
C')Untry, the railways experience a shrinkage of
profits, notwithstanding every effort to minimise as
far as possible the expenditure. This tendency
we dwelt upon at some length in a recent article
(page 245 rmte), when it was pointed out that the
percentage of net earnings on capital had last year
declined to the lowest point for several years, 3. 85
per cent., while the dividend on ordinary capital
in one year decreased from 4:.24 per cent. to 3. 98
per cent. The current year, however, will probably show a still further decline, for the circumstances which were operative last year in bringing
about this result are more pronounced at the present moment. The strike in t he Durham coal trade,
which tended to decrease the receipts, was but a
snail affair, when compared with the stubbornlyfoughh and serious conflict now exerting far-reaching effects. L'lst year, for in ~ta.nce, there was a
decrease, all told, of but 300,000l. in goods r eceipts,
du_e ~o the Dur~am strike, while t~e twenty-five
prm~1pal compames report a decrease of 1i million
sterlmg for the past three months. The addit ion
to expenditure made last year, in respect of
wage3, will also affect the general r esult, so that
the return to capital promises to be still less.
This is borne out by the careful and inter estin a
analyses of the rail way r eturns prepared by Mr~
LIKF.

indicate t he unsatisfactory character of last year's

r esults, and cannot help noting t hat the dispute
must exercise an injurious influence upon the traffic
returns of th e current year. But our inten tion in
returning to the subject of rail way r esults, is not so
much to estimate t he possibilities of t he fu lure, as
to indicate some of the influences by which the
result for the past year has been brought about,
as to which the r eport r eferred to affords much information.
There is, in the fi rst place, a reduction in goods
receipts, although a slight increase in passenger
payments, which more t han balances the former.
But it is matter for r egret that the general development of the past few years has not been maintained in r espect of goods traftic, more particularly
when one r ecalls the fact that it would have been
otherwise if a little conciliation had been exercised
by the Durham miners and owners. The r etrogression is most pronounced in the case of minerals,
the decrease in r eceipts h aving been 219,000l. out
of a total decrease of 364, OOOl. for all goodR traffic.
This, of course, does not r epresent all the increase
of 1891 ; so that, as compar ed with two years ago,
there is still a surplus. Never theless, it is a check
in development. The r esult indicates that it is not
only the railway shareh older who suffers, but the
nation. There has been a decr ease in t he coal mined
of 3. 69 million tons, the total being 181f million
tons ; and this decreased quantity, taken at the
average pr ice at the pithead, represents fully 1!
million sterling. The total quantity exported was
29 millions, n early half a million less than in the
pr evious year ; and t his, taken at t he average export price, r epresents a loss of about a quarter
of a million sterling in the goods which we, as a
nation, got from for eign countries in exchange. The
iron ore raised shows a decrease of 1. 46 million, the
total being 11. 3 million tons ; while the pig iron produced totalled 6. 7 million tons, or . 7 million less.
It follows, of course, with the production of these
three showing a decrease of 5! million tons, that
there was less work for the rail ways and for ships to
do, although the decr ease may n ot be proportionate,
for in many cases where the mineowner is also t h e
iron producer, the blast furnaces b eing contiguous
to t he pit, there is no loss in railway work by the
reduction in the output of coal. This, combined
with an incr ease in the coal shipped coastwise, may
explain why the quantity of mineral conveyed by
rail does not show the same ratio of decrease as the
figures of production.
We have indicated that the decrease in goods receipts has been compensated by an increase in the r eceipts from passengers-on which subject we wrote
last week-but the gross increase from all sources,
equal to 300,000l., was earned at the cost of greater
effort. That is to say, that while t he earnings
only increased by 0.3 per cent., the addition to train
mileage was equal to 1.3 per cent. The gross
earnings per train-mile were t herefore less than
in the previous year, when, again, they were lower
than in t he immediately preceding twelve months.
Moreover, the expenditure was heavier per trainmile, although t he increase was not so great as in
the two previous years. In 1890 there was an addition of over three millions to t he expenditure of
1889, while in 1891 the increase was nearly two
millions, and now it is over half a million. In
other words, the t otal is n ow 5. 62 million pounds
more t han it was in 1889, while the income has
only increased 4. 81 millions, showing a loss in
divisible profit of 800, OOOl., and this notwithstanding extensions t o rail ways, and consequent
additions to capital. Out of every 100l., 56l. is
needed for expenses, instead of 52l. four years ago,
so that t he profit is . 35 per cent. less on capital
than it was in 1889. Before investigatin g the
direct cause, it may be interesting to indicate the
decrease on the past five years, and this will
probably be best shown by taking the results per
train-mile :

uniform figure of the r eceipts per tratn-mile ; but

expenses over which they had n o contr ol- fu_el,
wages, &c.-have bounded up, and thus each trainmile costs 2! d. more than it did five years ago. The
net earnings are r educed a corr esponding amount,
r esulting in an appreciable fall in t h e divisib~e
profit. The increase in expenses is h eaviest .1n
1890-91, and t his is attribu table to the higher pnce
exacted for fuel. The Boar d of Trade r eturn gives
some information as to the cost of fuel of fifteen railways, which pay out 84i per cent. of the total
expenditure of all r ail ways, so that the figures
r epresent accurately the state of t he case. These
companies paid for coal 2. 3 millions in 1889,
which sum was increased to 3. 14 millions in 1890,
and to 3i millions in 1891, but last year the prices
were lower, and the total dropped to 3. 20 millions.
When the greater train mileage is consider ed, this
is probably about equivalent to the coal bill of
1889. But there has been a continuance of the
incr eased price for many materials used in r epairs,
while wages still bulk more largely in the expendi
ture. The working of engines in the case of the
same fifteen companies cost 3. 16 millions in 1889,
and has since increased steadily to 3! millions last
year. Ther e is a corresponding increase in wages
spent for the r epairing and r en ewing of engines ;
wbile in the t raffic depar tment 1! millions more is
spent, bringing tho total t o 9.4 millions. Thus
fifteen companies have paid for wages in these
three departments 1. 9 millions more than in 1889,
and assumin g that the same proportion is applicable to the few r emaining companies, th e addition
to wages in t he locomotive and traffic departments
alone amounts to 2! million s sterling. The greater
part of this incr ease was conceded in 1890 and
1891. N ot only is it still maintained, but increased
concessions were granted last year. Of course,
part of this increase is due to development of traffic,
a lar ge portion to additions to staff consequent on
the shortening of the working day ; but much is
due to higher wages directly paid t o individuals.
H aving given th e expenditure per train-mile for
~ve years, it may be interesting to give some of the
Items :
-

Main tenance of way

Locomoti\e power . .
Rolling stock
..
Traffic ex penses
General charges
Rates and taxt.s

1888.

1889.

1S90.

1891.

1892.

d.

d.

d.

d.

5. 10
7.89
3.02
9.61$
1. 42
1.78

d.

5.19
8.31
2.98
9.71
1.39
1.76

5.40
9. 45
2.96
10.22
1.39
1.66

5 42
9.22
2.96
10.35
1.42
1.73

5.38
9. 10
3.00
9.97
1.38
1. 72

It will be n oticed that the items, in which wages

form a large proportion, h ave steadily increased
while the fuel cost in providing locomotive powe~
accounts for the more pronounced increase over
the period and for the sligh t decr ease last year.
Circumstances i_n the ind~strial world at the present
moment make 1t very ev1dent that, when increases
in wages are once conceded, it is very difficult to
enforce r eductions, even when conditions make
such desirable, so that the additions due to thi-s
cau_se are permane~t. A~ain, th ere are many indicatwns that material required will not, in t he n ear
future, be cheaper t han in the past, and whatever
advantages may ha.ve been obtained from the
cheapening of fuel are sure to be lost as a result of
the coal strike. Mor eover, th e minor items of e:x:pense per train-mile are now so low that such
reductions as may be made will n ot appreciably
affect the general r esult, so that, unless a r duction
in train mileage is possible, even with an increased
traffic, there is little lik elihood of the divisible
profit r ecovPring much in the n ear future. Th e
t otal tonn~ge conv~yed is n ot given, so that we
cannot arnve defin1tely at the t onnage per mile
but the presumption is that this means of economy
has lung ago been in for ce, and that a still further
improvement is difficult, if n ot impossible.

Results per T rain-Mile.

Receipts

Exoendtture . .
Net earnings

1888.

1889.

1S90.

1891.

1892.

57.48
29.97
27.51

58.37
30.54
27.83

58.61
31.8l
26.79

n8.12
32.22
25.90

57.49
32.24
25.25

4.(\6

4. 21

4.10

4. 22

4.66

4.51

Per cent. on capital

,
ordinary
stock

1.'he general tendency is uniform.

THE VISIT OF THE FRENCH ENGI NEERS 'IO AMERIOA.

NEw YoRK CoRRESPONDENT.)

F oR a number of years it has been the desire of
- the engineers of the United States to entertain a
4.00 I 3.85
visi~ing body of ~h~se of their profession from a
4.24
3.93
fore1g~ land. Th1s Idea ~as stimulated by the trip
'
made In 1889 by the engtneers of this country to
The railway England , France, and Germany, and it was hoped
(FRoM ouR

E N G I N E E R I N G.
The Plymouth was first examined, and her masthat the occasion of the Columbian E xposition thousand miles of territory wer e received and
sive engines called f orth much admiration from the
might be the excuse for returning the elegant and classified.
The various dinner bells implanted by a benefi- visitors. Steam was applied, and the engines relavish hospitality we had received when abroad at
the ha.nds of our brothers in tho profession. It cen t Providence in t he interior of every human volved a few times, showing their workings in a
was only n ecessary to announce the project in t he organisation had been ringing sharply for some most praisewor thy manner ; and then the stateUnited States to have it met by enthusiasm and time, and this suggested that ~ 'civilised man can- r ooms and saloons were inspected, after which the
a liberal response in the shape of money. Among not live without cooks," so all sat down to a fine par ty crossed the dock and boarded the Puritan.
If admiration was the feeling expressed on the Plythe other prospective visitors none were more lunch in the banquet-hall of the Cafe Savarin.
The creature comforts, both solid and liquid, mouth, absolute astonishment was depicted when
anxiously expected than the Institution of Civil
Engineers of Great Britain and their genial and having been carefully "stowed away, " to use a our French friends saw the Puritan. They could
efficient secretary, Mr. James F orr est. But in nautical t erm, sightseeing was resumed, and the hardly find words to express themselves, even in
this respect we were doomed to disappointment. Post Office and Brooklyn Bridge were n ext ex- that most fluen t of all languages, their native
Yet such was the desire to receive them, that it amined. The bridge called for th many enthusiastic tongue.
One gentleman said to the writer, on seeing one
was n ot till a positive statement from Mr. r emarks, as it deserved to, being the largest and
F orrest that he could not possibly arrange this, most beautiful suspension bridge in the world, and of the large state-rooms, '' This is not a cabin, it is
that we reluctantly abandoned it. France, how- having been thoughtfully embellished by Superin- a chamber. " The electric lights were t urned on,
ever, was not lacking in acceding to our demand, tendent Martin with an American flag on the and added to the beauty of the scene, especially
and the body of men who responded, although Brooklyu pier and a French flag on the New York to t he appearance of the grand saloon. The officers
small in number, comprised some of the most im- pier. Again the Elevated Rail way was called of the line were r epresented by Mr. L ovell, Mr.
portant members of the profession, not only in into service, and our party, in response to an in- Gardner, the general manager ; Mr. Pierce, t he
France, but in the Nether lands, in Roumania, and vitation from the New York Central Railway, went chief engineer ; and Mr. Taylor, the general pasin other adjacent countries. They war e evidently to the Grand Central Station and examined the senger agent. Added to t hem was the veteran
engineer, Mr. Andrew Fletcher, whose triumphs
what our French friends call "men of affairs, " terminal facilities, switch signals, &c.
occupying prominent positions, and being themThe Railroad Men's Club was a novel and inter- of skill have never been surpassed, and who twentyselves men of cultivation and of much general esting sight. This is in a spacious brick building, five years ago built t he Mary Powell, a boat which
information. Although most of the visitors had adj acent to the Grand Central Station, and is the to-day holds the record as t he best steamer afloat.
never been in America before, yet they seemed donation of the Vanderbilt family. H ere, by the He looked proud of this work of his, as he had
t o take kindly to our methods, and to enjoy all payment of ten cents per month, any employ~ can every reason t o be, and yet was so modest that he
the novelties set before them, and, further, to have the use of the building, r eading-room, baths, had to be sought for and presented to our F rench
fully appreciate all means taken for their pleasure and gymnasium. He may also find lodging, pro- friends. It may be men tioned that these marvellous
and comfor b, while th~y heartily enter ed into vided there is a vacan t room. The value of this to boats cost 1,250,000 dols. each.
The Fall River Line, it should be remarked, never
every plan presented by their hosts.
a single man is simply incalculable, and ought t o
The arrangements were inaugurated on Sunday, foster a most kindly spirit between employer and does anything by halves, and when the party were
when a party of Americans went down t he bay employ ~ . This closed the programme for the day, invited to inspect the dining saloon, they found
on the Fie Seen (the Japanese name for flying and our party reach ed their hotel at 6 P. M., tired, there a beautifully decorated table, full of everyarrow), the fastest craft afloat, to meei and wel- perhaps, but assuring their hosts they had spent a thing to tempt the appetite, and the wine of t heir
come the visitor a. This boat, t he property of Mr. deligh tful and instructive day.
native land to assist its assimilation, as well as to
\V. B. Cogswell, was kindly placed at the disThe following morning we were forced to rouse hasten its departure. The walls of th e rooms wero
posal of the committee, and when it is borne in our guests at an early hour, for we had a pretty full beautified by French flags, festooning them in a
mind that the boat has a record of 31.6 miles in programme to carry out.
most graceful and attractive manner, while behind
an hour, it will be seen that the Fie Seen justified
They embarked on the steamer Laura M. Starin, the guests' chairs stood a row of coloured waiters in
h er name, and that we could not have had a which was chartered for the occasion, and steamed uniform , brought into bold relief by the white backbetter chance to show our guests the greatest up the E ast River, wher e views were afforded of ground of t he cabin. Their glistening teeth showed
triumph of marine engineering. The little boat, Blackwell's I sland and Hell Gate, the scene of a welcome to the foreigners, who r egar ded them
74 ft. long, sailed around the Champagne as General Newton's triumph, about which our visitors with almost as much curiosity as anything they had
though the latter was at rest, while Nature seemed seemed to have a clear and correct idea. Indeed, seen.
t o lend herself to the enbertainment, for the day it was r emarked more than once how much they
The president of the French engin eers felt
was bright and sunny, and New York Bay never knew of the engineering features of this country moved to make a suitable and agreeable speech in
looked more beautiful.
which they had never seen, and this established response t o a hearty welcome given by Mr. L ovel,
As soon as the steamer was made fast to the them, at once, in the minds of their hosts as men and soon the room resounded with merriment, puncdock, a party of Am~ricans went on board and of great general information. Our point of destina- tuated at proper intervals by the cheery popping of
welcomed our guests in their own language, the tion was the De La V erg ne Refrigerating Company, the champagne corks. I t was hard to get our
address being pronounced by a native-born French- where we were received with great cordiality, and guests away, but other matters called us out, and
man who has lived in New York for twenty-five conducted through their works. These works are we reluctantly left our genial h osts one hour later
years, and now occupies the distinguished position most interesting, and notwithstanding the fact that than the programme, and steamed across the river
of chief engineer to the Croton Aqueduct. The the general manager's r ecent death had cast a t o the Pennsylvania Railroad station, where the
party wer e then transferred to t heir hotel in car- gloom over the officials, yet everything was done party was met by Mr. W oolcott J ackson, general
riages, and left to meditate on the difference to entertain and to explain. The massive machinery superintendent, and Mr. Crawford. These gentle
between a New York and a P arisian Sabbath. The was greatly admired, and the completeness of the men conducted the party through the station,
contrast was all the more marked, because New plant called forth many expressions of praise. The showed them all the various arrangements of this
York at this season is alm ost deserted.
absence of great lines of shafting was the object perfectly equipped railway, and took them outside
The next day our guests assembled at the Engi- of r emark, and tpis was soon explained by the t o the signal towers, which at once fixed their atten.
n eers' Club for a breakfast, and were then taken in fact that each machine is run by its own electric tion. The party were then shown through a model
carriages for a dri ve through Central Park, where a motor.
vestibule train, and after seeing the transfer boat,
visit was made to the Gate H ouse and other points
After an entertainment in the dining-room of the where the freight cars are run on, and conducted
of interest under the control of the Croton Aque- works, which is run on the plan of a restaurant for around the harbour, we bade farewell to our euterduct.
the employ~s, the parby r e-embarked, and were tainers, and steamed up the Hudson.
Cable cars were taken to Washington Bridge- speedily under way. We passed on the easterly
In passing Mr. Fletcher 's yard, attention was
that immense steel arch at 188th-street-and a side of Blackwell's I sland, saw the entrance to the called to the new boat in process of construction
view was had of High Bridge and the new bridge Brooklyn Navy Yard and t he great warehouses of for the F all River Line, and a few whistles of
under construction at 7th-avenue and 155th-street. Brooklyn, took a look upward at the East River salutation were sounded. Just at that moment the
The day closed with a tour of Riverside Drive, a Bridge and a side look at Governor 's I sland and Mary P owell, as if to bear tribute to Mr. Flet~her,
view of General Grant's tomb, and a visit to t he New York City, and halted opposite the noble darted out of her dock and started up the river.
General Electric Company's works, our guests statue of Liberty, that most thoughtful and ex- We had a sort of dissolving view of her for her
being returned to their hotel at 6 P . M.
quisite gift of the French people to their American speed was n early twice that of :our boat,' and she
The next morning we found our visitors wide friends. The features of M. Ba.rtholdi's great work was soon out of sight on her daily trip to Newawake, and full of enthusiasm. By invitation of seemed to wear a smile of welcome, and it was r e- burg. Another of Mr. Fletcher's successes passed
Mr. Geo. W. McNulty, chief engineer of the Broad- gretted that its eminent author, who was in New us on our way, the speed of which nearly equals
way Cable Company, our foreign friends were York, could not have been there to see, with us, that. of the Mary Powell: Our guests saw a
taken by the cars of that company to the power this n oble effort of his genius.
portwn of the Hudson, admtred the Palisades and
h ouse at 50th-street, where the machinery and
The party had their attention called in passing the ~eautiful towns cluster ed along the banks of
cables were examined, and they were then, by t o the work of the Dock Commission, some of the river, and were, about 4.30 l'.M. invited to a
invitation of Colonel Hain, general manager of the whose engineers were on board, and a blast was " pe t'.1t souper, 11 to ~ h'ICh one man replied,
'
accomElevated R oads, treated to their first r ide on that promised, but, like the baby on exhibition, it panYing the words w1th a most pathetic but despair.
structure, which called forth many favourable wouldn't show off, and we were compelled to pro- ing gesture : '' I thank you very much, but I have
comments from them. This trip compr ised a jour- ceed " un blasted. "
no longer any stomach. "
ney over the entire elevated system.
The wonderful steamers of the Fall River Line,
The party returned at 6 P. M., and if the writer
By noon the party wer e in the E quitable Build- which have been fully described and illustrated in can understand the full import of the French
ing, and were shown the process by which we had ENOINEEitiNO, were n ext visited. The writer, who address made on the forward deck before landina
0
arranged such fi ne weather for them at the United had planned this trip, selected them as not only t hey had a good time.
'
States Signal Station. They wer e very much in- beautiful specimens of marine architecture, but as
The next day was put do~n as " the r espite, "
t erested in the apparatus, and asked many ques- a novelty to a for eigner. The conditions calling as we though t our guests m1ght desire leisure to
tions, seeming to grasp the somewhat startling idea them forth do not exist o.broad, hence American arrange matters before their departure. H owever,
to them of the extent of this country, and the ease hosts are sure they will prove a surprise to for eign a larg~ nu~ber of them accepted t he invitation of
with which the various reports from so many guests.
the '\ orthmgton Company to visit their works in

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Brooklyn, and that eveuing they entertained a
number of the committee at their hotel.
The next morning a fine vestibuled drawing-room
train was placed at the committee's disposal by t he
authorities of the New York Central Railway
Company, to conver their gues~s to Niagara Falls.
This favour was h1ghly apprec1ated by hosts and
guests, and will undoubtedly result in a m ost
favourable opinion of this splendid r oad, b oth in
America and in France. The train was of the best
type, and had all the modern improvements for
luxury and comfort which have marked the administration of this celebrated line for many years.
A dining-car of latest pattern left nothing to be
desired, and the t rain glided out of the station on
its happy mission with hardly a m otion, which was
remarked by the visitors, and spoke well for the
road-bed, as well as for the high character of the
rolling stock. One enthusiastic Frenchman told
the writer with considerable amazement that when
the speed was sixty miles per hour he could write
as easily as in his own house.
The Hudson never looked m or e attractive than
when viewed from the wide windows of the Wagner
car, and the French gentlemen remarked on it,
saying there was nothing ~ E~rop~ to ~om pare it
with, even the Danube bemg 1nfenor 1n beauty.
\Vest Point was poin ted out, and the Catskill
:Mountains, which formed a m ost suitable background to the scenery.
Albany was soon reached, and t he party sped
along the lovely Mohawk V alley, that garden spot
of the Empire State ; later, dinner was served in the
usual excellent style of the Wagner Company, and
several of the party r ode on ihe locomotive by the
courtesy of Mr. Buchanan. The Central Rail way
did everything that could be desired to show t heir
guests how heartily welcome they were. A day
was profitably spent at Niagara F alls, and after the
wonders of N ature had been viewed, and a d rive to
Dufferin Park completed, the visitors were shown
man's practical handiwork in the shape of the
Niaaara. Falls Tunnel, the canal and the wheel pit,
und:r the guidance of representatives of the
Niagara Falls Construction Company. At nigh t
the party were safely placed in sleeping cars and
sent on their way rejoicing. This courtesy and
the remainder of the trip to Chicago were t he gift
of the Michigan Central Railway, and came to us
through the good offices of t h e H awks and M r.
Jesse Smith, both of the American party of 1889.
Mr. 'Valter Russel, another of the same par ty,
met our guests at Detroit, and assisted greatly in
entertaining them. The passage of the Detroit
River on two large ferryboats, which took t h e
whole train, was also of g reat interest to the
foreign gentlemen.
~rhe party were immediately taken on board
special electric cars courteously provided by the
Citizens' Street Railway Company, conveyed along
Jefferson to 'Voodward-avenue and thence to the
end of the line at P iq uette-avenue.
They returned, and at the foot of Woodward-avenue
boarded the ferry boat Promise, which had been
placed at their disposal by the Detroit and Windsor Ferry Company. They went up the A merican
Channel, round Belle I sle, and down the river past
the fort. The weather was superb, and everything
appeared under the most favourable auspices. The
Frenchmen were delighted with the trip, and were
profuse in their compliments on all they saw. They
were alike impressed with t he natural beau t ies along
the river, as with the magnificent body of water
which formed so important a highway forcommer ce
in the interior of the country. When t hey r eturned
to the foot of 'Voodward-avenue they were escorted
to the Detroit Club, where t hey sat down t o an excellent luncheon in the large banquet-hall. Ther e
were sixty in the company, including the escorts
and George H. Barbour, president of the club.
Any one who has had t he good fortune to be entertained at the Detroit Club knows exactly how it
was done on this occasion, and to those who have
not had this good fortune, it may be simply said :
'' Go yourself, and you'll know what it is to live on
the fat of the land !" Good-humour and jollity
prevailed, and compliments flew fast in French and
English, till an outsider might have imagined that
another angel had descended and r epeated the
miracle of the Tower of Babe!; but farewells had to
be said at last, for the Michigan Central's special
had a schedule to maintain. The journey to Chicago
wa~ ac~omplished speedily and without incident or
acctdent, as is usual on this well-equipped and
smooth running rail way, and our party was handed

over in good order to the Chicago local committee

th~ next mo~ning, where they wele safely left to
enJOY the Fa1r, and, on the conclusion of t heir visit,
to make a further trip ar ound the U nited States,
in the course of which they will visit St. L ouis,
Pittsburg, Washington, and P hiladelphia, r eturning to N ew York in timo to take the steamer for
France on September 30.

BRITISH COLONIES AT CHICAGO.

VL- N Ew SoUTH WALEs-continued.
NEw SoUTH 'V.ALE. has not yet become a manufacturing countr y, and accordingly her displays in
the Machinery, Transportation, and Man1Jfactures
sections do not call for much remark on our part.
In Department F, that of machinery, the colony
only exhibits in some half-a-dozen classes. The
Government printer, Mr. Charles Potter, of
Sydney, sends a collection of p rinting office
materials, such as elect ro and stereotypes, and
specimens of typography. The history of the
Gover n ment Printing D epartment is of interest. In
1788, Governor Phillip brought out from England
a small printing plant, b u t it r emained useless for
seven years, because no one in the colony was able
to make use of it. The official organ, the Sydney
Ga~etle and N ew South Wales Advertise?, made its
first appear ance in 1803, and was, in fact, the first
n ewspaper published in Australia. It was succeeded
in 1832 by the Gove1"n11tent Ga~ette, whi eh is still
the official organ. Out of t hese small beginnings
has grown the Government Printing D epartment,
a large and most important bureau, in which
printing, binding, engraving, photography, &c.,
are carried out in a very high-class manner. In
the g roup devoted to lithography and colour printing, Messrs. Turner and Henderson, of Sydney,
send a large n u m her of specimens of colour work,
of a very creditable quality.
Miscellaneous
machinery exhibits ar e confined to three objects :
a washing machine, a grease interceptor, and a railway switch.
In the apportionment of space in the Transportation Building, New South Wales suffer ed badly, it
h aving been found impossible to make an allotment sufficient to do justice to the objects displayed by t he colony in that department. As a
necessary consequence, the transportation exhibits
ar e so cr owd ed that t hey interfer e with one another,
and the court is undoubtedly overlooked by visitora,
whose attention is diver ted by adjacent and more
imposing sections. But the t ransportation section
of N ew South Wales contains much of interest, and
many things that illustrate the hist ory of improved
communication, and therefore the g rowth of
civilisation, in the colony.
We may glance
rapidly at the most important of these exhibits,
beginning with the large and well-executed maps
sent by the Commissioners for New Sou t h Wales
R:1ilways . These maps sh ow at a glance what has
been don e in the matter of rail way communicat ion in the colony. In 1892 there were 2313
miles open for traffic and 205 miles under construction ; the longest t hrough journey that can be made
at pr esent is 986 m iles, and it is possible now to
travel from Sydney n orthwards for 490 miles;
westward, 503 miles ; south, 387 miles ; and southwest, 454 miles. The Railway Commi~;sioners also
show a large collection of photographs, and specimens of permanent way for main and suburban
lines. On t he former, fiat-footed 80 lb. rails are
employed, the sleepers being of iron bark, of which
more will b e said presently when d ealing with the
T his timber weighs 80 lb. per
forestry section.
cubic foot, and its d urability is d emonstrated by
ties exhibited which were taken up after twenty-four
years' service. On the suburban lines 80-lb. d oublehead ed rails are used, with 45-lb. chairs and teak
keys. The ironbark sleepers ar o spaced 2ft. 7 in.
apar t, and are 9 ft . long by 10 in. by 5 in. The
photog raphs illustrati~g engit;teering works, stations, &c., ar e of cons1derable 1nterest. The more
important refer to the Hawkesbury Bridge, which,
it will be r em ember ed, was of American d esign,
and built chiefly of English material. The total
length is 2896 ft., divided into seven spans sup
ported on six cylinders, the length of which varies
from 146ft. to 210ft.
Another inter esting photograph shows the coalshipping facilities at Newcastle, r eferred to in a
previous article. In t h e year ending June, 1892,
there were shipped 2,105, 770 tons of coal by the
fifteen hydraulic cranes upon the wharve~ . I t may

4 59
be mentioned that 313,200 tons of coal were shipped
from this port to San Francisco in 1892. Other
photographs illustrate the standard locomotives
and r olling stock used on N ew South W ales railways; these are all of English or Amer ican construction, and include cattle and r efrigerator cars ,
for which there is a large demand. A mod el of
t he Lithgow V alley Zigzag in the Blue M ountains is
an interesting exhibit in t his section. This descent
of the Great \Yes tern Rail way from the summit
level, 3600 ft. above the sea, is about 90 miles from
Sydney. The gradient of each section of the incline is 1 in 42, t he sections being connected by
reversing stations, which have a. rising grade of
1 in 66. There are three stages of descent. The
high est falls from the summit level 238ft. in a distance of 1 mile 62 chains, to the first reversing
station 3362 f t. above the sea. The engineering
work on this section is very heavy, and includes a
masonry viad uct on a 10-chain cur ve 233 ft . l ong,
and several cuttings and embankments GO ft. high.
The second descent is 1 mile long, the fall being
100 ft. The cuitings and embankments here are
70 ft. in height, and there are two viaducts 300 f t.
long, one of which has a maximum h eigh t of pier
of 75 ft. ; t her e is also a tunnel 220 ft. long. The
third length of the zigzag is 1t miles long, with a
fall of 188 ft. ; the work on t his section was n ot so
heavy as on the other two . Th ~ height above sea
level at the foot of the zigzag is 3074 ft., and tho
foot of t h e last incline is immediately below the
top of the highest one; the length of line to gain
the total fall is 4t miles. The model is a very excellent piece of work, and was executed for the Railway Commissioners by Mr.James \Vhite,of Sydney.
It is 20ft. long and 10 ft. wide, the scale being 1 to
264. Three miles of line are shown on the mode],
which is artistically blended into a picture at the
back. Ther e are shown a variety of r oad vehicles,
either by actual examples, models, or photographs,
but there is only one more object that need arrest
our attention. This is t he model of the Sutherland
Dock, Cockatoo I sland, Sydney, contributed by the
New Sou t h Wales Commissioners. The model
illustrates a r emarkable engineering work, claimed
to be t he largest graving d ock yet constructed. The
principal dimensions of the dock, which has been
complet ed for sever al years, are as follows:
\ Vidth between copings of outer caisson
sea.t1ng . . .
...
...
...
. ..
Width between copings of outer in vert
,
,
,
1nner ,, ...
Greatest width of dock between copings
Width bet ween copings of pier
...
Length at coping level from inner stop
t o dock head . . .
. ..
. ..
. ..
Length at coping level from outer stop
to dock head . . .
...
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
Depth from coping to sill
' Vater over sills at high water spring
tides
...
. ..
. ..
...
.. .
Water over sills at low water spring
tides
..
...
...
...
. ..
F loor of dock below sill of inner invert
Inclination of floor
. ..
...
. ..
Batter of entrance walls
...
. ..

Ft. In.

01 0
88 0
84 0

108 0

88 0
GOB 0
638 0
37 0

32 0
26 0

3 6
1 in 367
1 in 24

The sides of t he d ock are divided into four bays

by three projecting piert~, on one face of each of
which a flight of steps leads to the floor of the d ock.
The entrance is closed by a wrought-iron caisson,
which can be withdrawn into a recess on one
side ; pumps are provided for forcing water
into, or withdrawing it from, the air chamber
in the caisson, the latter condition being r equired
when it is withdrawn into the chamber , on the
floor of which a roller path is provided, the caisson
being traversed by a hauling engin e. The deck of
the caisson is automatically lower ed t o enable it to
pass under a bridge built over the chamber. A very
complete installation of cranes exists on the sides
of the d ock for handling shores, &c., when a vessel
is being d ocked. The pumping plant is, of course,
very powerful, as the d ock contains 48,200 tons of
water, and this can be r emoved in four hours,
though it is found advisable in p ractice, when a
ship is in place, not to empty the dock in less than
six hours. P ower is obtained from a pair of horizostal surface-condensing engines, with 38 in.
cylinders and 48 in. stroke. The two pumps are
vertical double-acting, with plungers 54 in. in diameter, and a stroke of 72 in. Steam is supplied
from t hree externally-fired boilers, only two of
which are r equired, the third being kept in reserve.
When t he d ock is emptied it is kept dry by a small
non-condensing 14 in. by 12 in. cylinder engine,
driving a three-throw single-acting pump, with

E N G I N E E RI N G.
11-in. plunger having 30 in. stroke. This engine structive purposes ; it is plentiful, and is claimed to
is also used for shifting the caisson. The model of be proof to the attacks of the teTeclo navalis.
this dock exhibited at Chicago is on a scale of 40ft. Among the indigenous timbers of New South
to 1ft.
Wales, there is a variety of acacias ; few of these
Naturally we expect to find very few exhibits grow to a large size, but all are valuable for
illustrating the manufactures of New South Wales, many purposes, especially for cabinet and turners'
but there have been found some exhibitors of work. Nineteen varieties of indigenous eucalyptus
sufficient enterprise to prevent this department are shown, among which may be specially mentioned
from being a blank so far as the colony is concerned. the stringy - bark (E. capitellata), the blue
There are several exhibits of drugs and essences, gum (E. sa~igna), the r ed ironbark (E. side1in which for the most part eucalyptus is the base. oxylon), and the red gum (E. te'reticontis).
There are two manufactories of varnish represented, These appear specially well adapted for conand several collections of furniture, handsome both structive purposes, especially for exposed situain execution and material, especially those made of tions, or for purposes where considerable strain
black bean, New South Wales beech and r ed cedar, has to be resisted. Among other forest trees
and rosewood. The carvings in wood and other may be mentioned the white cedar (Melia commaterials, such as emus' eggs, are worth notice, posita), which r eaches a h eight of from 80ft. to
and tailoring and bootmaking do n ot go by defau1t. 100ft., and a diameter of 3ft. t o 4 ft. This is a
The trophies of skins are admirable, and the dis - beautiful flowering and shade tree, and its timber
play of rubber goods is relatively extensive. is Yalued for coopers' work. The lignum vitre is
Messrs. Ludowici and Son, Sydney, make a good also an important though not a plentiful tree; it
show of leath er belting, and there is a large exhibit provides excellent deck planking, and material for
of different kinds of humanitarian horseshoes.
the turner and cabinet-maker.
The black bean
In t h e Fisheries Department (D) the space ( Oastanospenrvllm a'w>t?ale) has some exceptional
allotted to New South Wales is well occupied by a characteristics ; it is a handsome tree, objected to
small number of exhibitors. There is a conspicuous by stock-owners on account of the poisonous nature
collection of the fishes of the colony, prepared by of its leaves, although t he fruit when soaked and
the Commissioners, with the assistance of the Chief roasted is eaten by the aborigines. The timber
Inspector of the Fisheries Department, and the resembles walnut, and is largely used for cabinet
trustees of the Australian Museum. It comprises work. The yellow and red grass tree gums (Xanexamples of 100 different varieties of fresh-water thonhea hastilis and X . wrborea) are of considerable
and sea fish, and with the information appended to value on account of the resin they yield ; t hat of
the cases, the collection conveys \'ery complete in- the former is employed in making varnish, the
formation upon the fisheries of New South Wales. latter supplies a wood stain . The collection is supThe Commissioners also send specimens of nine plemented by a second, comprising 105 herbarium
varieties of commercial oysters, nearly all of them specimens of t imber, and also by others of the
taken from nat ural beds, which are carefully pre- seeds and seed vessels, barks of commercial trees,
served and cultivated. This same body has also and commercial tim hers in marketable lengths. Of
contributed types of the crustacea, and no less than other exhibits we may mention those by the Com77 examples of the reptiles of the colony. There missioners of hard wood blocks for r oad paving ;
is also a g roup of Australasian birds destructive these are arranged as atrophy, and include blue gum,
to fish, and the furs and skeletons of the Australian tallow-wood, forest mahogany, boxwood, and ironsea-bear or seal. There are a few books and r eports bark. Some seven or eight private exhibitors make
on the fisheries of New South Wales ; the model of a display of polished and unpolished woods; that
a colonial fishing boat, and a good collection of of Mr. M. W. L ewis, of East Maitland, is especitinned and smoked fresh and salt water fish, and of ally to be noticed. There are also examples of tan
biche de me? and other unusual marine delicacies, barks, some containing 35.75 per c~nt. of tannic
of which large quantities are exported from New acid ; grass rope used in foundries, and a number
South Wales to China. Finally, there are shown of photographs of remarkable trees, among which
19 differen t varieties of fish oil and of fish fer- is a spotted gum (E. macttl<tta) 300 ft. high and
18 ft. in circumference ; a native fig 250 ft. high ;
tilisers.
The Forestry Department of New South Wales is a black-butt (E. pil1tlaris) 280ft., &c.
It is to be hoped that the magnificent for estry
of high importance ; it cannot be compared with
the British exhibits in the building devoted to collection to which we have but very briefly referred
forestry, for the excellent reason that we have will be preserved complete, and that it may find an
n on e, but it will certainly bear comparison with the ultimate home at t he J mperial Inst itute.
corresponding exhibits of any other country. There
(To be continued.)
are but very few exhibitors, because nearly all the
work of collectina0 has fallen upon the Commission ers, who have acquitted themselves admirably.
N 0 T E S.
The interest and value of this, like all the other
SWEDISH ORE.
sections of the colony, is enhanced by the large and
THE iron ore exports from Sweden are very conwell-digested amount of information either append~d siderable this year, the aggregate shippings up to
t o the objects shown or given in the catalogues; In the end of August exceeding 327,000 tons, against
this respect New South Wales has set an example 225,000 tons for the corresponding time of 1882.
that puts most of the other countries to shame, and Over 200,000 tons of the above have been shipped
constrasts especially with the wholly ~n.satisfactorr from Lulea, and hail from the famous Gellivara
general cat~logue issued by ~he Expos1.t10n authon- deposits. It is expected that about another 100,000
ties. Passing by a few speCimens of timber ~hown tons will still be shipped from Lulea this year, and
by private exh~bitors, we c~me to the splendid col- that next year's shipments from this port will
lection of nattve commerCial woods made by the amount to quite 400,000 tons. Of this year's
Commissioners; there are no less than 156 specimens, Lulea shipments the bulk, or about 75 per cent., has
all of sufficient size to show the quality and charac- gone to WestphaJia and other German provinces
teristics. They were prepared under the direction by way of Rotterdam, in addition to which a conof Mr. J. Ednie Brown, the Director-General of the siderable quantity has gone tu North German ports,
Forestry Department. A number of these specimens whereas only 15,000 tons have gone to English
represent trees foreign to the colony, but most of ports.
them are indigenous. Lack of space would prevent
THE ATLANTIC RECORD.
our referrin o- to all the varieties r epresented , but we
The Cunard steamer Lucania has succeeded in
may mentio~ some of the more important. The red her ::;econd voyage to New York in breaking t he
cedar (Oed1ela aMstralis) is becoming somewhat r ecord held for a long t ime by the American Line
scarce, and much attention is being paid to its p~o steamer Paris, reducing t he time on the voyage by
pagation. It attains a height of 200 ft. and a d_Ia- 39 minutes, the time now being 5 days 13 hours
meter of 10 ft., and is used largely for decorattv.e 45 minutes. The Cunard Company now have t he
purposes. Nine varieti~s . of eucalyptus. are exht- credit associated with the record for both outward
bited as of foreign or1gm, the mos~ Im~ortant and homeward passages, and it may be interesting
perhaps being E. tnicrorys and E. ptlHla'ns-the here to note the progress made since this credit
tallow-wood and black butt. These reach a height was due to the Umbria and Etruria's performances:
of 150 ft. or 200 ft. and 8 ft. in diameter, and are
Out'Wards.
serviceable for house and shipbuilding. E . pan.idays. hrs. min. knots.
culatn, or pale ironb~rk, gro~s. also to a large tre~,
1888

Etruria . .
..
6
l
45 = 19.3
..
Paris
..
..
6 14
24 = 20.7
1892
and the timber, for Its durabthty and toughn~ss, 1s
1893
..
Lucania. .
..
5 13
45 = 20.75
valuable for sleepers, rail way and ~oad ca:rn~ge~,
&c. The tur pentine tree (Syncarpta lcw,rifolw) 1s It will thus be seen that the Inman and 'Vhite
much prized for piles and other under- water con- Star steamers by competitive effort reduced

the passage between 1888 and 1892 by 11 hours

20 minutes, and now the Cunard steamers have
entered upon a course of r ecord-breaking runs,
so that the time will yet be reduced considerably by them. The Lucania in one day
made 560 miles. As she was steaming from the
sun, the time from noon to n oon was over the 24
hours, and the mean speed works out to 22! knots.
If she is fortunate in having for a whole voyage th e
favourable weather experienced on t hat day, the
time taken may be easily reduced to 5 days 6 hours.
The improvement on the speed of the Etruria is
very marked, but it must not be forgotten that the
engines fitted at Fairfield by Mr. L aing into the
newer vessels ar e of greater power and efficiency
than those h e designed for t he earlier steamers.
The daily runs were 452, 503, 542, 508, 560, and 210
miles, and the cable r eceived indicates that the ship
was "very steady,' a point of interesL in view of inaccurate statements regarding vibration, and one of
satisfaction to Mr. Saxton White, as well as to the
Fairfield Company. In fact, we understand that the
Cunard Company are high in their praise of both
ship and engines. We have said that the Cunard
Company also hold t he homeward record, and it
may be indicated that t he improvement on the
Umbria and Etruria passages is also marked :
Homewards.
1888
1892
1893

...
..
.

Umb ri:~.

.
New York
Campania

days. hrs. min. knots.

..
6
a 12 = 19 1
..
5 19
57 = 20.10
..
5 14
24 = 20.94

The Campania on a winter run, however, main

tained for the whole voyage 21.3 knots, and here
again one finds encouragement in t he hope that
before long the duration of voyage may yet be
reduced to 5! days, for, as a rule, vessels steam
better after their first year's service.
E ROSION OF THE MISSI SSI PPI RIVER BANKS.

In an inter esting paper recently read before the

American Society of Civil Engineers, Mr. J. A.
Ockerson, M. Am. Soc. C. E ., compares the recent
accurate surveys of the Mississippi River, made
since 1879, with an early r econnaisance, made in
1770, and with each other. He finds that the
lateral motion of t he river is very much less than is
generally assumed, nearly every important bend
now existing being represented in practically an
identical position in the map of 1770, the changes
in the river between that date and the more recent
surveys being confined to a fewcutsoffwhich occurred
at known dates between the surveys. Apart from these
the river flows round the same bends and between
the same islands now as in 1770, its excursions into
one side or other of its mean position being in
general limited within a very narrow belt. Steps
were taken in the 18'79 survey, and since, to erect
stone monuments at frequent intervals, forming
permanent base points, by means of which it will
be possible in future to determine changes in the
bank line, and make accurate determinations of the
rate of erosion of the bank. The ten years that
have elapPed since the first of these accurate
surveys, have already enabled Mr. Ockerson t0
make a fair approximation to the rate at which
the changes in t he bank lines are now taking
place. He r emarks t hat er osion does not usually
take place by the steady wearing away of the
banks, but by caving, most of which occurs not
at high water, but during a falling stage of the river.
The banks of the Mississippi for miles consist of
sand and silt, with horizontal layers of clay at irregular intervals.
The sand and silt become
saturated during high water, and when the river
level falls, it carries with it the water which has
penetrated the banks, underm~ning the latter. T?e
result is that a block 200ft. wtde and about a mile
long, sometimes settles down bodily several feet.
On a length of 885 miles between Cairo and
Donaldsonville, there are 916 miles of caving banks,
of which 430 miles are on the left-hand bank, and the
remainder on the right-hand one. The erosion is
practically continuous on one bank or the other for
the whole distance, and, in general, erosion on one
bank corresponds to accretion on th e other, though
t he er oded areas overlap. The average annual
erosion per mile of caving bank is about 42,000
cubic yards per annum. Of this total less than
one-third is carried away by the river, as proved
by sediment observations on the water passing New
Orleans.
SAYERs' CoMPENSAToRs FOR Loss oF PRE~. uRE
IN ELECTRIC FEEDERS.

On page 778 of our last volume we gave an account

of the sparkless armature invented by Mr. W. B.

OcT. 13, r893 .]

E N G I N E E R I N G.

46r

:
Sayers, of Glen wood, B earsden,near G lasgo w. Since g~s~s.. A second steam j.et was placed b elow th e
V varies as -Ct sa1'1.
the date of o ur former n otice h e has d esig ned two 011 mJ ectors, s o as to rap1dly sweep o ut the oil gas
. V of Vigilant
~ 11,272
machines on his system, as compensators for the by means of a rus h of water gas, if n ecessary. The
V of V alkyrie = ~ 10,042
Midland R ail way Compa ny's electric lig h ting three gases-hydrogen, oil gas and water gasstation at D erby.. As the thr ee-wire system is were made to mix in t he top of' the (l'enerator and
22.42
104
employed ther e , 1t b ecame necessary to provide thence pass on t o be purified. One thousand ~ubic
21. 56
lOO
against the disturbance produced by the loss o f feet of 20 can.dle-power gas have been obtained by
~?w compar~ the actual time of race on 1tionday.
pressure in the so-called neutral wire when a cur- t he consumptwn of 3 gallon s of oil and 35 lb. of V1glla.nt occupted 180 minutes to cover the 30 miles
r ent is flowing in it, owing to the two s ides of t h e coke, . on the average of d aily working. The conseq':lently the Valkyrie should have completed th~
course m
system being out of balance. In expla ining this analys1s o f the gas is :
matter at the recent meeting of t h e Britis h Asso~of 180 187. 2 min.
Ilydrogen
...
..
.
..
.
...
40.77
lUO
ciation, Mr. Sayers took an extreme case and supSa.tura.ted hydrocarbons, methane, &c. ::: 29.20
posed there to be d ouble as much current flowing
This she failed to do, as she was over 10 minutes late and
U nsatura.ted hydrocarbons ethylene &c
14.21
was, tberef?r~, really be.a.ten by~ minutes. On Satu;day.
Carbon monoxide
...
'. ..
' ' 15.15
on on e side as on the other, so that half the total
however, y1gtlant oc~upted 218 mmutes1 and Valkyrie, less
Oxygen ...
...
.. .
...
...
. ..
current (200 a mperes) was r eturning by the balanc.13
that? ? mm~tes behmd her, was witbm the 4 per cent.
Nitrogen
...
...
..
.
...

.54

ing wire, which was supposed to have a cross-section
a~d1t10nal t1me which she ought mathematicall y to be enequal to one-half that of either of the ou ter f eeders.
tttled to, a-s above shown. Moreover, it must be remem100.00
bered that the actual areas of sail differed more than in
U nder these conditions, if the feeders h ad t h e r esistances indicated, there wo uld have bee n a fall of Ths space r equired for a generator to make 250 000 the figures employed above.
It is really qui~e a b op~less ~ask to win back the cup
10 vollis, both in the feede r and also in th e bala nce cu~ic fee.t per diem is 18 ft. by 7 ft. by 10 ft. h'ig h. unless
our Amencan cousms w1ll consent to meet us with
It
1s est1mated that 20-candle gas could in most
wire, as r egards t h e overloaded side ; but the fall
an e.qual boat:-not ?nly equal in the principal speed-pro
localities
b
e
made
at
a
cost
of
1s.
3d
.
per
1000
cubic
of 10 volts in the balance wire counted as a rise o f feet in the h older.
ducmg hull drmens10na, but equal in sail area.
:r'here should be as much care taken about the actual
10 vol ts as regarded th e underloaded side, an d as
~a.tl of defender not exceeding that of challenger as now
the fall in the feeder on the underloadedside was only
1s taken over the length of hull on waterline.
5 volts, i t was clear that the gen er ator on the underNOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.
Yours truly
loaded side must only give 95 vol ts in ordPr that
PRIL.\DELPRIA, October 3.
J. T. BUCKNILL.
the pressure at the distant end should b e 100 volts,
ALL of the st eel rail mills of the United States have
whereas the gener ator on t h e overloaded side must started up, and the probabilities are that orders for
FLASHING POINT OF PETROLEUM.
give120volts to secure the normal of 100 volts at t h e 40,000 t ous wi ll be placed this month, mos tly for small
To TIIE EDITOR OJ.t' ENGINEERING.
distant end. The disturbance, h owever , was com- lots for repairing or extension purposes. This does
S1n,-I see in your issue of September 22 some notes
not
mean
that
there
is
a
revival
at
hand
or
in
sight
,
pensated for by providing a 'vinding on the k eeper s
Gn my paper on ~be flash P?int of pe~roleum. I feel obliged
but
only
that
pressing
necessities
are
being
provided
connected in series with the n eutral wire, the windto you for dra.wmg attentiOn to th1a important subject.
for. elling prices are 29 d ols. Offers for 5000-t on lots ;pez:haps
you will allow .me to give a few facts, and
ing being put on in such a way as to m odify the have been made at 28 dols; brokers think rails wi ll
amount of pressure added to or subtracted from the drop to this figure. There is no move to increase the mdlCa.te where my conclusiOns are different from yours.
You acknowledge that raising the fl ash point would
two sides of the system, so as to keep the pressure production of fou ndry or forge iron. Stocks are still reduce the danger, and you ask, 113 the game worth the
constant on both sides at the distant end of the very heavy. Large consumers are waiting for a. candle? a.nd say that absolute safety may be bought too
feeders under all co nditions.
The compensator stronger market before buying winter supplies. Steel dearly. You also say
that I should show that accidents

through which the current to th e feeder on the billets are delivered at 21 dols. in 1000-ton lots. One are more frequent than is generally supposed. One hundred deaths from la.mp explosions per year from the Re
overloaded side passed needed t o raise the pr essure or two experimental shipments from Northern Alabama gist~ar-General's
return, and twice as many from lamps upto
Liverpool
are
about
to
be
made.
To
under
stand
20 volts, while the compensator thr ough which the
settmg, from Mr. Alfred Spencer's calculations, make 300
the
iron
situation
in
the
United
States,
it
must
be
current to t he underl oad ed feeder passed needed
deaths per year ; or, say 200 to be within the mark. That
to lower the pressure 5 volts, the main dynamos kept in mind t hat stocks of all kinds are very low is 2000 for ten years, and the tale still going on. I s the
among consumers, tha t necessary work is being post- game not worth the candle? Are the lives to be despised
being k ept at constant press ure of 100 volts. It poned as long as possible, that contemplated work is
because the people are poor ? L et ten mercba.n ts be
therefore followed that the compen sator must be being pushed off, and that consumptive requirements killed in a. yea.r, and we would Eoon see the law altered.
capable of running sparklessly, n ot only when the a re being crowd ed down to the lowes t possible point. Try and imagine the horror of one death. I inclose a
magnetic induction through the armature and I t should also be borne in mind that for quite a while list of deaths in September- not a. full list . But it is not
keepers was propor tional t o the current flowing, nearly 200,000 t ons of iron per week were melted, a matter for me a.t all; it is a. matter for Englishmen
i.e., the ordinary conditions of a series mach in e, without an accumulation ; and that now, and for some and I went into the matter with great reluctance beca.us~
the Government seemed to be misled by the ~dvisers th ey
time
past,
th
e
melting
has
been
considerably
u
nder
but also when ther e was a current through the
trusted to. If these deaths are preventible, our guilt is
armature, but no effective magnetic field, or even 100,000 t ons. The logiea.l and inevitable result of this great.
The safety point a.t present is 73 deg. ; the Inflammable
a magnetic field in the opposite direction t o what restriction is, sooner or later, an increasing demand.
might be called the n ormal, so as to r ed uce the What effect this will have on prices is not to be pre- L iquids Bill, 1891, proposed to raise it to 150 deg. Fa.br.
dicted. Furnace and mill capacity are impatient for Instead of my proposal of 100 deg. being a.n extreme one,
pressure. It so h appen ed that Mr. Sayers' ma- employment, and the first evidence of improving de- it
seems to me to be the middle course you were advocatchines fulfilled these conditions to an a lmost per- mand will be followed by a n abundant supply.
ing, between danger and unnecessary interference with
fec t degree.
trade. The 1891 Bill left 7~ deg. as the point between
naphtha and burning oils, and put all the safe burning
GAs SuB TITUTES.
======~
oils into the same category as the dangerous, and made
In a paper read befor e the S ociety of Engineers
THE AMERICA CUP.
all subject to a burdensome surveillance, so that the
by Professor Vivian B. L ewes, the author d escribed
T o THE EDITOR OF E NGINEERING.
trade, with some re9.aon, I think, objected moat ema process he had devised f or t h e m anufacture of
Sm,-We are again doomed to bear with our disap- phatically.
Wba.t would be the effect of raising the stand ard to
cheap carburetted gas, containing Only a small pointment as well as we can, but as engineers we should,
percentage of carbon monoxide. The apparatus perhaps, have foreseen the result more clearly than we J00 deg. ? It would cause the foreigners to send in only
did.
safe oil of this test, which they could do for ~d . extra per
employed consisted of a vessel charged with iron
What are the facts ? A Britisher challenges for the gallon. The poor would never feel any difference in the
turnings surrounded by a fuel chamber. An air cup, and declares the "estimated " length on water-line price, and they would then be a.s sa.fe as the rich and the
blast raised th e whole to incandescence, and the of his yacht. He builds his yacht, and he sails her in Go vernment servants are a.t present. The trade in this
producer gas formed in the fuel chamber was made European waters all the summer, during which time country would be greatly advantaged by the oil being
to pass through t he vessel containing the iron. everythin g becomes known with regard to her sa.il plan safe, and the terror being put a stop to. The trade would
and its area. In the meantime the defenders are on th e increase. At present it is hampered by its dangers.
'Vhen the r equisite t emperature was r each ed, the stocks, and when the trial races come off the winner is The Petroleum Association and the Government have
air blast was shut off, and the steam turn ed on to found to carry 12 per cen t. more sail than the challenger been altogether misled into hampering the trade and
the iron. This yielded iron oxide and h ydr ogen by A merican measurement, and quite 15 per cent. more sacrificing hundreds of lives per year, merely to suit the
convenience of the foreign producers.
by decomposition of the steam. When t h e evol u- by E nglish (or actual ) measurement.
T he conditions under which the races are held stipulate
Government should provide us with full statistics of
tion of hydrogen became s low, the s tea m was that
the length shall not exceed the challenger's estimated accid6nts; but they seem to have adopted a. policy of
turned off and the air blast admitted, and the pro- length by more than 2 per cent., and that ~ny excess ignorance to hide their own blunderings. At any rate,
ducer gas thus formed r educed the iron oxide back within this 2 per cent. abaU count double for trme allow- they will not do anything unless forced by public opinion.
It is quite true that explosions with lamps take place
to the metallic state, and at the same time raised ance (if any) between the yachts. Nevertheless, the deit to the necessary heat. The plant could be fender can take much more than 2 per cent. excess for her only under exceptional circumstances. There is, howlength or rating, which is found by the f_oriD:ula : ever, nothing mysterious or unexplained about them.
worked con t inuously without renewal of the iron. sailing
Sailing length = length of hull on water hne m feet
The explosive mixture is practically always present in
Experiments led to the modification of this appa- added to the square root of the sa.il area in square feet the lamps of the poor; but it does not go off unless a light
ratus, and in its improved form the gener a tor con- and divided by two.
is a.pphed to it. A properly fitting wick is a. nearly
perfect preventive, otherwise we should have fatalities
tained three compar tments, t h e central on e filled
!':: .
L
LWL+
JSA.
~o..: at1mg
=
by th e thoueand every evening. As it is, it is only when
with coke, and the two sides with iron. The coke
2
the wick is exceptionally small, or when the wick is turned
was raised to incandescence by air blasts, one at t he
The defend er had 1230 square feet more sail (by Ameri- down into the reservoir, or the reservoir broken in some
bottom and one two-thirds up the fuel. The pro- can measurement) than the challenger, the ~xcess being way, &c., that the light gets a.t the mixture. The poor
ducer gas thus formed passed through the iron, and understood best if considered as a sail no less than ~0 f~. know to be careful, but, being ignorant, they sometimes
r educed the iron oxide back to the metallic state wide by 41ft. high ! and the time allowance ~or t~us court danger, by, for instance, leaving one burner of a
after each run. When t h e temperature was rig ht, excess was only 1 minute 40 seconds (or somethmg hke duplex la.mp designed !~ empty. N.ow i~ is a .disgrace to
us a.ll that the danger ta a.l ways lymg m wa.1t for them.
that)
on
a
course
of
30
knots.
.
.
.
.
the air blast was s hut off, and steam admitted at
E vidently in such a compet1t1on for mternat10nal cham- The exploai ve mixture ought never to be there. It does
the bottom of t he iron cylinders. At the same pionship honours, the sail area should have as many not suit the requirements of our trade at all. .
.
All other countries, except Germany, h~ve a. ? 1gher pomt
time crude oil was injected into the centre of restrictions put upon it as the length.
In all recent American contests for the cup, the same of separation between !la.Ph.tha.. and burmng oil ~han ou~s;
the fuel by means of superheated steam. The fuel
but even with that then pomt 1s not a safety pomt as wtth
decomposed the steam into a mixture of hydrogen thing has occurred. The Am~ricans have ~anaged to us
and they ta.ke surveillance of the burnmg oil as well.
aba.rt
with
a.
defender
carrymg
more
sa1l
than
the
and carbon m onoxide, w bile the oil was simulIn' Europe, two barrels. at. most, a.nd often ?nlY one, ~nd
challenger.
.
taneously cracked, being protected from b eing
Now, ceteris.parlbus, the power. P to ~nve a yacht .at these often with restrtot10ns, a.re allowed m a dwellmg.
burnt up by the water- gas, which also allowed velocity V var1 ea as V 3, or V vartes as .v'P, and P vanes In this country dangerous burning oil can be stored in any
quantity in the middle of a. ~ity or anywhere, ~nd .the
it to be subjected to the hig h t emperature as sail area multiplied ~y wind pressure..
Government, instead of proteotmg us, has, by leg1slatton,
H ence, taking any wmd pressure as untty,
necessary for its convers ion into permanent
~

E N G I N E E R I N G.

L162
I

shut itself out from the power of interfering. (See evidence

in Hammersmith inquest lately. ) It is all very well to
get as safe lamps as possible until the standard can be
altered, but that will never do instead of altering the
standard. The Hammersmith accident shows that lowflashing oils are dangerous when not in.the lamp, and that,
therefore, safety lamps do nob obviate all the danger.
America takes care to supply itself with safe oil, and
sends all ita dangerous oil here. Germany has a standard
of 70 d eg. A bel, but it treats its burning oil with the care
we treat naphtha. It allows only 5! gallons to be kept in
a dwelling, or 82 gallons if kept in a m et al tank.
You think laboratory experiments nob decisive as
evidence in such matters. But we trust to a tiny laboratory experiment to test the danger- the Abel test. I
showed the relation of this t est to large quantities. A
9-in. wide tin can, half filled with oil of 73 d~g. flash and
t emperature 73 deg., has vapour present sufficient, not to
give a mere flash, but a dangerous explosion. A tank in
a. cellar with &uch oil pumping in at that temperature,
and a candle put near the hole in the top to see if getting
full, would produce a violent explosion. At higher temperatures the danger is much greater. Our Government
and their advisers go on the supposition that there is no
danger until the temperature reaches 27 d eg. above the
Abel flash point-whence the unnecessary slaughter of
the poor.
In Scotland, Germany, and America, and even in
L ondon, I may say, the voice of pure science says exactly
what I say.
Y ours truly,
D. R. STEUART.
Broxburn, N.B., October G, 1893.

ECONOMICAL SPEED OF STEAMSHIPS.

To THF. EmTou OI<' ENGINEERING.
SIR,-Mr. W. J. Millar, in his article on the above
subj ect in your issue of September 8, asserts that "the
work done will vary as the product of the power exerted
a nd space traversed, " i.e., that the total work d on~ by a
vessel's engines on any voyage is proportional to the
product of the indicated horse-power and the length of the
voyage. H ere Mr. Millar has made a. mistake.
The indicated horsepower is a measure of the work
done in one hour; the total work done on the voyage
must, therefore, be equal to the product of the indicated
horse power and the number of hours taken on the voyage.
Using Mr. Millar's symbols:
P = power exerted (indicated horse-power).
V = speed of ship.
E = energy expended.
S = spa~ traversed, or voyage.
t = b1me of voyage,
we have

E=Pt
=m V3.~

=m V 2 S.
So that the energy expended is proportional to the
product V2 S instead of V 3 S, a.s given by Mr. Millar.
The same result may be arrived at by another m ethod.
The wotk done in propelling a. vessel through any distanceS ab a ~iven speed must be equal to the product of
the vessel 's resistance (R) a.t that speed and the distance S through which that resistance is overcome.
That is,

E = R . S.
But the resistance may be taken as proportional to the
square of the speed, or
R =m V 2,
a.nd, substituting, E =m V 2 S as before.
One other p oint seems to require ex planation. The
formula given ab the end of the article for the most
economtcal speed at which to make a. number of voyages
in a g_iven time T, is quite independent of the value of
T ! That is, whether the t ime T allows of four, three,
two, or one voyage being made, the most economical
speed is the same.
How is '' the proportion of T to t to be given effect to ?"
B. Se.
Pa.rtick, October 5, 1893.

MARINE ENGINE INDICATOR.

To THE EOI'ron 014' ENGINEERING.
Sm,-In your issue of the Gth inst. we notice a letter
from ~Ir. Henry Plater, a-sking for particulars of a speed
and direction indicator for use on board ship.
Many attempts have been made to devise an instrument
which would give accurately and continuously, on the
bridge of a ship, the number of revolutions of the engine
sha ft, and the direction in which it was working.
The problem at first sight appears t o be very simple;
but although a large number of pneumatic, hydraulic,
and electrical contrivances, many of t hem of a. moat ingenious nature, have been devised, there has generally
been some unforeseen, but insuperable, difficulty which
has cropped up a.t the last moment, to disappoint the inventor, and up to the present we believe that no satisfactory continuous-workmg "speed indicator " is in use.
A large number of inventors have naturally taken electricity as the most likely source from whi ch to procure
the foundation of the system, but here the difficulty comes
in that, in order to work continuously, the battery must
be kept continuously working, so that there is a great
waste of power. and, consequently, a. considerable expense
in working. It would appear, therefore, that with a n
electrical contrivance continuous working is a disadvantage, and that a syatem which only works when required,
and takes a very little battery power, providing it can be

worked with r easonable speed, would be a preferable

system.
::)uch a. syst em is in exist ence, known as Spratt's electrical speed and direction indicator. With this system
an indicator would be placed on the bridge, so arrang-ed
electrically, that the officer of the watch, on pressmg
a button at the side of this indicabr, would s tar
the mechanism and counting device, and after waiting
15 seconds (or a shorter time even could be arranged if
necessary) would read off on the dial of the instrument
the exact number of revolutions of the engine shaft,
a.nd whether it was turning ahead or astern ; although
this latter information is, we think, not often required by
an officer on watch.
This system was worked on a. t orpedo-boat during the
naval manceuvres of 1892, a.nd kept running at all s peeds
up t o 400 revolutions per minute, working p erfectly all
the time. Since then, it has been fitted up on ll.M.S.
Vernon, a.t Portsmouth, where it has been left for any
one to work at will. In this way it has probably recei~ed as much work in the twelve months as it would
have in actual ser vice in as many y ears, the result being
that it has worked in a most satisfactory manner, only
one hitch, due to a. dirty contact, having taken place
throughout the twelve month s.
The sa.me system is in use on several foreign warships,
giving excellent results.
We are, Sir, your obedient servants,
ELLIOTT B ROTHERS.
101 and 102, St. Martin's-lane, L ondon, \V. C.,
October 10, 1893.
[ We have also received a. letter on this subj ect from
Messrs. Little and Hall, of 4, Royal-arcade, Newcastleon-Tyne, inclosing particulars of an indicator made by
them which appears to satisfy Mr. Plater's requirements.
-Eo. E.]

BALL BEARINGS FOR THRUST BLOCKS.

To THE EDITOR 01!' ENGINEERING.
SrR,-The letters in your issue of the 29th ulb. re roller
bearings, supply a.n interesting illustration of th e outstripping of theory by experiment.
The method of forming a. notched groove given by 1\Ir.
Wingfield is obviously correct as far as it goes, but is not
suitable for carryin g a heavy pressure, owing to the ball
only bearing upon two points.
Where the pressure is con siderable, it would be necessary
to extend the outline of the bearing surface. \Ye should
then be confronted with the fact that some rubbing must
occur (a.s the simple conical roller is inadmissible owing
to its outward thrust), and it becomes necessary to equalise
it if a. permanent form of roller is t o be obtained.
It seems that some form similar to that employed by
Captain E dwards is likely to give the best result, as by
the increased flatness of the curve on the portion having
the least motion, that part of the downward pressure
which resolves in a direction normal to the cur ve, will be
greater than that upon the portion having the greater
motion.
The case seems analogous to that of a curved footstep
bearing, and doubtless a similar analytical treatment
would be easily applied.
Yours truly,
w. c. CARTER.
Mansion Housecharnbers, E. C.
To THE EDITOR m ENGINEERING.
Sm,-In a recent issue, a correspondent wrot e to you
concerning the use of ball bearings for engine thrusts.
\Vhile the question has been answered by others, it seems
that there still remains something which can be said on
the subject which will be of general use to your readers.
In general, ball bearings are at thei r beat on drawing
paper, because you cannot
the conditions requisite to
secure the economy promised by their use. Successful
ball bearings require :
1. That the balls should be perfect spheres.
2. That they should be exactly of a size.
3. Their shape and size must not change under working
pressure ; tba.t is, they must be made of material hard
enough to prevent the slis-htest change in shape or size,
and the surfaces upon wbwb they roll must be perfectly
true, also, and must be bard enough to sustain the pres
snres without yielding.
4. They must not wear.
This last condition shows, at once, that ball bearings
are unsuited for heavy pressures, high speed, or, indeed,
continuous work. It is very rarely that they can be used
with profit.
Where rolling friction is desired, cone-shaped friction
rollers are greatly t o be preferred, because they can b~
made very accurately, they give more surface for bearing,
and they wear uniformly, while b~tter able t o resist
change of form and size.
Respectfully yours,
HENRY BINSSE.
Newark, N.J., U .S.A.

nil

STEAM FISHING SMACl{S.

To THE EDITOR o1- ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Whilst agreeing with all that your correspond ent
"Summer Visitor " says, it seems to me that there should
nob be the slightest d ifficulty in overcoming all t hese objections and dang6r3, viz. , by doing away with the boiler
altos-ether. The other day l was asked on behalf of a
foretgn client t o inspect one of Vesper's oil engines, and
went on M onday afternoon last to their works ab Hammersmith, and was allowed to take a. run in a 30-ft. boat
so fitted. The motor was under way in less than ten
minutes, and from then until I got off the boat two hours
later ab Westminster Pier, the engine ran without being

touched in any way, the screw being sent from "ahead"

to" astern " with great ease, and I may say I was really
astonished at the eaay way in which it was all done, and
without smoke, dust, or smell. I was informed that this
30-ft. boat had been run over 2000 miles in Ireland, having
just returned, and that neither the engine nor boat had,
during that time, required repair of any kind, nor do they
now.
Surely this is what is wanted in fishiug smacks?
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
A . , V, TICKLE.
6, Fenchurch buildings, L ondon, E.C.,
October 11. 1893.

CONCRETE TIPPING .BO .. ES.

To Tin; EmTon OI' ENGJNEERINO.
Sm,-In a paper on the" La. Guaira llarhour ' Vorks,"
read before the Maritime Congress by ~fr . A. E . Carey, and
reprinted by you on page 314 ante, the concrete depositor
is referred to as the invention of Mr. \V. C. Puncha.rd.
A llow m e, through your columns, to contradict this. I invented, designed, and superintended the construction of
these depositors, a.nd Mr. Puncbard, who was then a.t La
Guaira, had absolutely nothing to do with them, and
when be received the first d epositor, declined to use it.
It lay there for nine months, when he returned to England, and another engineer-~Ir. Houston - was sent
out in charge of the works. The Thames Iron Worka
Company was then construoting two barges, under my
inspection, for the work, and, as the works were at a standstill for want of the barges, Mr. Houston put my invention to work, and found it did all I claimed for it, although
th e syst~m was condemned by Mr. Carey himself.
I am, Sir, yours very truly,
w~r. T. CAl1ERoN.
402, E. Lafayette-avenue, Baltimore, ~Id ., U.S.A.,
September 25, 1893.

INDIAN CoTTON.-The area of country planted with

cotton this year in India is estimat ed at 14,878,000
acres, as compared with 14,928,000 acres in 18912. The
arrivals of cotton at Bombay in 18880 amounted to
1,851,000 bales ; in 1889-90, to 2,2~ ,000 bales; in 18901,
to 2, 021,000 bales; and in 18912, to 1, 771,000 bales ;
while in 1892-3 they are estimated ab 1, 738,000 bales.
CATALOGUES.-We have received from M essrs. J. H.
Wilson and Co. a. copy of their new catalogue of
cranes and other lifting machinery. The steam cranes
illus~rated ra~ge in ca:pacit!' from 1 to 70 tons, and a.pproxlmate prw&~ are g1ven m every case. Amongst th e
other plant illugtrated and described in this catalogue we
not e Carey and Latham's concrete-mixing machinery.
HA~IBURG.-The

number of ships which entered and

cleared at the port of Hamburg in the first eight months
of thitS year was 12,011, of an aggregate burden of
7,925, 771 t ons. The corresponding number of en trances
and clearances in the corresponding period of 1882 was
12,030, of an aggregate burden of 7,823,243 tons; and in
the corresponding period of 1891, 11,418, of an aggregate
burden of 7,409,568 tons.

--

GERMAN ~IILITARY T ELEGRAPHY.-The German military authorities decided, shortly a fter the war of 1870, to
connect the great fortresses of the empire by und&ground
cables. The ease with which the German lancers in
France destroyed the enemy's telegraphic comunications
miles a.nd miles ahead of the German vanguard, was a
lesson nob disregarded.
M etz a.nd Strasburg were
accordingly connected by underground cables with each
other first, then with Mayence and Cologne, and then
with B erlin and G ra ndaus ab t he other end of the empire.
After the great fortresses came the capitals, the seaports,
and the most important commercial and industrial cities,
all of which are now connected by subterranean cables.
THE I NCORPORATED ASSOCIATION 0~' ~IUNICIPAL AND
CoUNTY ENG INEER~. -The sixteenth voluntary pass
examination of candidates for the offices of municipal
engineer and local board sur veyor, carried outJ by this
Association, was held atJ the S t. George's Ilall, Liverpool,
on Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7. Seventeen
candidates were entered for the examination. The
examiners were: Municipal engineering, T. D e C.
~Ieade, 1\1. Inst. C.E.; building construction, H. P.
Boulnois, ~1. In~;t. C. E. ; sanitary science, A. hi. Fowler,
1!. Inst. C. E. ; public health law, J. L obley, M. Inst.
C.E. Mr. Lobley act ed as superintending examiner.
The next exami nation will be held in L ondon in April,
1894.
COAL IN VrcTORIA.-The consumption of coal upon the
Victorian Governmenb railways is 180,000 tons per
annum, of which 97,200 tons are Victorian. The Korumburre mines contribute 5000 tons per month (with the
prospect of increasing t o 7000 tons per month); the Moe
Coal Company supplies 1500 tons ; the Coa.lville Mine,
600 tons; a.nd the North Coalville, 1000 tons. The
Victorian Railway D epartment pays, C\n a.n average,
lls. 6d. per ton for local coal, but with the freightage to
1\ielbourne the price is brought up to that of Newcastle
(New South ' Vales) ooal, vi z., 14s. 5d. per ton. It is often
said th at N ewcastleo coal is superior in quality to the
Victorian, but until a satisfactory expert opinion is
obtained, the railway departm ent has t o pub each coal on
thA same level. E xperiments are being conducted by the
Coal Test Board; and should it report favourably to
Victorian coal, the .Proportion supplied by Newcastle will
be gradually dimimshed.

OcT. r 3, 1893.]

E N G I N E E R I N G.

peripheries with the rim of a ratchet wheel which is

loose on the sha ft, a.nd which, by a pawl, is prevented
10-TON PILLAR CRANE: COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. from
rotating backward. Power applied to either of
CONSTRUCTED BY THE YALE A~D TO'\YNE J\JANUFACTURING CO, STAl\IFORD, U.S.A. the gear wheels in the direction of hoisting, causes
them to screw the hub, which carries them, on the
shaft in the direction which forces the hub against
the friction plates, locking the latter tightly together,
a.nd thus rotating the ratchet wheel coincidently with
the gear wheels, all of these parts being then rigidly
united and rotated together. \Vhen motion is reversed,
in order to lower, the pa wl an-ests the ratchet wheel,
and continued rotation of the gear tends to unscrew the
hub on the shaft, thus releasing the pressure on the
discs, and permitting th e alternate sets to move relatively to each other. Thereupon the reaction of the
load causes the gears t o again rota te until they overtake the shaft and apply pres~nre to the discs, t ending
to arrest motion. 1'his alternate release aud engagement is effected so rapidly that it gives an apparently
continuous lowering motion, which, however, immediately and automatically ceases whenever the backward motion of the cranks is discontinued. The load,
therefore, descends only so far and so fast as is determined by the positive backward motion of the cranks.
On the left-hand side of Fig. 2 the '' despatch " lowering brake is shown. This consists of a pinion loose
on the shaft, having cast with it a. box containing the
friction dies. At the right of the pinion is a co1lar
keyed to and rotating with the shaft ; at the left a hub,
als~ keyed to the shaft, and carrying on its external
penphery the metallic discs which are drhen by keys
on the circumference of this hub. The box or chamber
attached to the pinion has similar keys on its internal
p~riphery, which engage with the wooden friction
d1scs alternating with the metallic discs. At the extreme end of the shaft is a pressure plate controlled by
a handwheel screwed on the shaft. By rotating this
ha.udwbeel, the pressure tending to engage the two
series of friction discs with each other can be modulated. When the pressure is put on by the hand wheel,
' .
the discs are locked, and the pinion is thereby engaged
with and rotates with the shaft. For lowering the
load by "despatch '' brake, the hand wheel is turned
slowly backward until the pressure on the discs is
reduced to a point where the reaction of the load
'
causes the wooden discs carried by the pinion to slip
F ig. 1.
relatively to the steel discs carried on the hub keyed
to the shaft. In this way the pinion rotates while the
shaft stands still, and the load is permitted to
descend. The speed and duration of lowering are
thus readily controlled by means of the ha.ndwheel.
The discs are lubricated with plumbago, and we found
that in working the crane had a. very smooth lowering
-- -.
action ; also that it was a simple matter to handle a
....
Fig.3.
'
load in any way desired, and that the small power
Fig.Z.
required for rotation was all that cou Id be desired.
t

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... _____

MAGJNNIS'S T -SQUARE ATTACHMENT.

.--

TrrE T -square attachment illustrated below is the

invention of Mr. James P. }.1aginnis, of 8, Ca.rteretstreet, Queen Anne's gate, '\Ve stmin~ter. Its object
is to enable a.n ordinary T -squa.re to do the work for
which a shifting head square is usually employed.
The attachment consists of a. wooden bar prodded
with two metal struts, secured to it by screws. This
bar is placed against the working edge of the head or

12 Teeth

-; r---

&-t=~~~

--

~"'
I'

I'

./leg 4
ZO C.B

.01&KI
--.......

THJo: 10-ton pillar crane shown in the illustrations

abo~e was constructed by the Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company, ofStamford, Conn., U.. A. The crane
on exhibition has an effective radius of 15 ft., and will
swing all round. The baseplate is 4 ft. 6 in. in diameter, with six 2i-in. foundation bolts, carried down
through a. masonry foundation of sufficient depth to
more than balance the overturning mom~nt. The
pillar is cast in one with the b.1se, a.nd at the t op a.
hardened steel pin is fixed, on which rests a crosshead
carrying suspension guy-rods 1! in. in diameter,
whereby the whole vertical moment due to the load is
carried on the pin. A hard steel disc, with spherical
face, is fitted, to reduce the friction to a. minimum. The
~.uys are carried down to the footing s upport of the
Jtb; this casting carries two rollers 8 in. in diameter,
~hich work against a turned face on the pillar. The
Jib .consists of two 9 in. by 2! in. channels, well
atttced, and braced with 2-in. angles. The bead is
supported by two tie-rods H in. in diameter, secured
to the pillar crosshea.d with pins. The ft- in. crane

'

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I

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'

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I

.
I

: ~:;

'

chain, with links 2i in. long, is carried over a grooved

sheave to t he block.
The hoisting gear consists of a train of spur gearing
operated by hand cranks, with a. spirally grooved
barrel of ample size to take t he chain in one la.p without ridin~. Two speeds can be obtained by throwing
o\er a sliding bar connected to t he goar shaft. Fig. 2
shows the details of thn two clutches on the second or stock, and under the blade, and is secured in place by
intermediate sha.ftof the winch of this crane. This stan- brass screws passing through the slotted struts into
dard winch, used on all the company's cranes, is pro- nuts let into the he9.d. By means of the slots the angle
vided with two brakes, one for "safety" and the other between the attachment a.nd the bead can be varif d
for despatch lowering, both being based on the Weston considerably. When the attachment is removed, the
system of disc clutches and brakes. The safety brake milled screws on the head are transferred to subsidiary
is shown on the right hand of the engraving. In con- nuts in the attachment, thus preserving them from
sists of a hub which carries the two spur gears giving being lost.
different speeds, this hub being screwed to the shaft
The application of the attachment to a. T -squa.re is
and having a face which bears against the friction very easy . Two blind holes are bored by a centrebit
discs. One set of the~ e friction discs or plates engage in the head, and plug nuts, threaded both inside and
at their internal peripheries with a hub keyed fast to out, are then screwed into the holes by an ordinary
the shaft, so that they necessarily rotate with the hub screw-driver. In a. few minutes a.ll the T-squares in an
anu shaft. The alternate discs engage at their external ' office could have the nuts fitted ; it is not necessary

[OcT. I J, I 893.

E N G I N E E RI N G.
that there should be an att1chment for each, as one
could very well serve for several squares. \Vhen it is
d esired to make additions to a drawing, or to make n.
t racing from a drawing, such drawing may be pinned
down on the drawing board without reference to the
T -square; or it may be that a drawing is already
attached to a boud, and the T -square applied t o it
m'ly not coincide with the horizontal lines- in any of
these cases, by the adoption of the attachment, a
correct a.djustmPnt may be immediately obtained.

extent. It is evidence of a change in public opinion.

Even the merits of the dis pute are forgotten in the one
desire to relieve the sufferings of those affected by the
struggle. Perhaps it is 1 emembered that the miner~ are
exposed to dangers such as few workmen are called to
face; that their labours a t the best are in the dark, deep
mine, \vhere the heat is intense, working by an artificiallight which is always dangerous; and that, under
the very best conditions, the a\erage earnings are very
low, taking one year with another, from the beginning
to the end. 1Ioreover, the miners are brave and
generous, risking their lives in times of accident to
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
rescue their fel~ows, and always to the front in giving
THE "Coal War, " as it is frequently called, is still help to other workmen in their labour struggle~.
the one subject which colours all other labour questions,
by re \Son of i ts far-r ~ac~ ing eff~cts and consequences.
The condition of the engineering branches of trade
Although n o real change in the situation has taken is not ,rery satisftl.ctory at the present time, judging by
place, in so far as the attitude of the Miners' Federa- the total number of the unemployed in the Amalgation and the Federation of Employers is concerned, mated Society of Engineers. The total number on
there is a considerable change in the circumstances donation is 6865, aCJ against 6074 last month, or a total
of the case, and in the condition of affairs. As was increase of 791. The members are urged t o use every
expected, the whole aspect has been altered by the possible exertion to secure situations for those who are
re3olve of the m :m iu variou~ districts to return to out of work. Only once in the whole history of the
work wherever the coalowners cotJsented to open the union have there been so many out of work, which wa~
pit3 at the old rates. The pite so opened ar~ larger in in April, 1879, when 6889 were on donation, or only
number than was ex pected, and they are not oonfined to 24 in excess of the present number. But at that da te
special districts, but are spread over vast areas affected there were only 44,078 members in the union; now
by the strike. Quite an important number of collieries there are 73,039, or 28,961 more than in 1879. The
have resumed operations in Yorkshire, where it was relative proportion out of work now is therefore conthought thl.t the stern realities of industrial warfare siderably leas. The influence of the miners' strike is
would be experienced t o a greater extent than in any such that it is not possible to estimate what proportion
other county. 'fhe resumption of work at the old of the increase in the number of the unemployed is due
rates of wages is a partial victory for the men- partial to depression in trade, or to the one transitory cause of
because it is at present confined to certain collieries the coal dispute. In addition to the 6865 out of work,
only. Of course this does not warrant the conclusion there are aho on the funds 1742 on the sick list, and
tha t there wa.~ no excuse for the proposed reduction 2342 on superannuation allowance; total, 10,949. The
when it was decided upon; but it does show that cir- cost for those three benefits amounts t o 4709l. weekly,
cumstances have changed. The low prices which ruled or an average of 1s. 7d. per member per week. 'I'he
for a long time prior and up to the date of the dispute benevolent fund is exhausted, and the members are
h1.ve disappe~red , and high prices have been substi- urged to replenish it, in vie w of a possibly severe
tu te::!, such high prices as have never been known winter, in so far as work is concerned. The Sunderexcept in the years 1871 to 1873, when they were land Smiths' Society have resolved to amalgamate
high in consequence of the enormous demand, caused with the Engineers, and the latter have decided t o
by such a flush of trade as bad never before been ex- accept the former by a. majority of 12,988 Yotes. It
p ~rienced. That was a time of coal famine resulting is probable also that the Machine 'Vorkers' ociety
from excessive consumption; now it is a coal famine will also amalgamate, and negotiations a re on foot
caused by a dearth through non-production. The two with respect to the Metal Planers' Society. The
c<l.ses are not parallel, though, aCJ regards prices, the Engineers have voted 100l. towards the John Burns
effects are the same. Then coalowners and merchants Wages Fund. The overtime question at Swansea has
made huge fortunes by enormous sa.les at large profits; been arranged on the same lines as at Cardiff, namely,
now large profits have been made by some on a \ery not to exceed 13 hours in any one week, that is, at the
rate of nearly 7i working days per week. Trade in
reJtricted supply.
Efforts arc being made to bring about a settlement America, Canada, and Australia. is reported to be bad,
by p3rsons outside the parties concerned. The mayors many of the members being out of work and on the
of several imp:>rtant towns more or less affected by the funds. There does not appear at present t o be any
di~p:1te are bestirring themselves to bring about a fair prospect of a revhal in either of those countries
settlement, or to at least open the door for such nego- for the engineering branches of trade.
tiations as may lead to a det ermination of the strike.
The building trades are not in quite so flourishing a
Again, it is on the cards that the Government may unofficially intervene, in a friendly way, to effect a settle- condition as they were some time ago. Possibly the
ment. Both p.n ties have to some extent receded from unsettled state of trade, owing to the coal dispute, may
the position at first taken up-the men by their resolve have had something to do with it, although the several
to rE'sume work on the old conditions wherever possible, branches are not directly affected very much by the
and the coalowners, or some of them, by reopening scarcity of coal, or its dearness. The Carpenters and
their pits at the old rates, even where notices bad been Joiners have a total of 40,984 members, of whom 1099
given of the 25 per cent. reduction. In neither case are out of work and on donation, 793 are on the sick
are the circumetances quite the same, and, therefore, list, and 403 on superannuation allowance. The oLly
a friendly intervention may lead t o good results. :Mere disputes on hand are at Blackburn and , 'outhampton,
stubbornness, or false notions of dignity, ought not to all the others having bPen settled. The most imporprevent negotiations for an honourable settlement of ta11t of the latter was the lock-out of the joiners and
tile ma.tters in dispute. The nation is greater than shipwrights on the Clyde, by the Associated Employers,
factions, however powerful, and the community are on , eptember ll las t. The dispute arose as to the
now suffering as a whole by the prolongation of this apportionment of work between the joiner3 and the
industrial struggle, the greatest ever known in our shipwrights. The representatives of the two bodies
agreed to refer the matter to arbitration, to which
history.
the men locked out assented, and the employers of
One of the most remarkable circumste.nces in con- the Shipbuilders' Association agreed thereto. The
n ection with the coal dispute is the popular sympa.thy matter was referred to Mr. D. J. Dun lop, chairman of
which has been evoked in favour of the men. Their the General As3ociation of Clyde Shipbuilders and
repugnance to arbitration, which was generally con- Engineers. His decision was to be given before the
demned, has been forgotten in view of the stubborn fight men resumed work , but that decision was not to prethey have been making for what they deem to be a judice the ultimate arrangement as to the demarcation
l1ving wage; E:ven the riotous proceedings in some question as regards the two trades. Mr. Dunlop
localities have been condoned in view of the terrible decided that at Clydebank the work in dispute should
sufferings which have been bravely endured. The be done by the shipwrights, while a.t the yards of
sympathy exhibited is not confined to a class, or to a Messrs. Hamilton and Co. , Port Gla~gow, the men
section ; it is widespread. Workmen who are them- were to be taken on by that firm on their agreeing to
selves suffering acutely by the dearness of fuel, and by resume work. So far the disputes were settled, and
the loss of work owing to the scarcity of fuel, are the men resumed work.
generously helping the miners' families in their terrible
Last week a new dispute occurred on the Clyde at
privation. Rich capitalists have sent donations to the Messrs. J . and G. Thomson's works at Clydebank. and
funds for the starving families. The great trade unions as the men on strike refused to resume work, the Assohave voted large sums. The co-operators have made a ciated Employers decided t o lock out t he whole of ihe
splendid grant of 5000l. out of their funds. Churches and men, numbering about 2000, until those on strike
chapels have made collections on their behalf, and last, agreed to resume work on the employers' conditions.
but not least, the local tradespeople ha,e generously This dispute is most unfortunate, as work was beginassis~d, while some of the colliery proprietors have ning t o revive in the Clyde districts, and there were
helped to sustain the wives and children of their hope3 of a good winter's work for the whole of the
own workmen engaged in the dispute. At the branches employed in the shipyards along the banks of
recent Church Congrees a collection was started for the Clyde.
the relief of the distress in the colliery districts, as a
tokeu of symp1thy in the struggle. Never before has
'I'he report of the Ironmoulde:s of Scotland announces
such generous sympathy been shown to the same wide an increase in the number of members working, as

compared with last month. The total cost of idle

benefit was only 580l , while that for last month
was 853l. "till, the total number out of work was
851, out of a t otal membership of 6300. The prospects
for the winter are said to be fairly good, as t he orders
placed will carry the firms well over into the next year.
A serious dispute has arisen in th e large shipbuilding
yards of 11essrs. Harland and Wolff, Belfast, where
1000 joiners struck work because of the employment of
some L rmdon cabinetmak ers to assist in finishing the
White S tar Liner Gothic. It is even said that the
strike may extend t o other departments. These strikes
between craftsmen are very deplorable; they show
that all the talk about solidarity, socialism, and
oth~r matters is scarcely more than lip service. If
wurkmen fight workmen in this way, how ca.n they
complain with justice of employers ? The joioers and
shipwrights have had many such disputts during the
last year or so, to the injury of themselves, of the
employers, and of the trade of the several districts.

- --

The condition of trade in the t extile industries is

not good, and there are some sad forebodings "ith
respect to the coming winter. But some of the dark
clouds may disperse with the close of the coal dispute.
Ne,ertheless, the total number of cotton spinners out
of work is not great ; out of the total of 16,490
members, 474 on the average were in receipt of
donation bene.fit. The relative proportion is very
small compared with other trades. Twenty-three
disputes are registered for the month, but they were
all arranged and settled without a strike. These disputes are mostly of a technical character. Sometimes
they are settled by the men's rE'presentatives and the
firm alone, sometimE's the secretary of the Masters'
Association attends the conference. But, as a rule, the
matter is arranged amicably. At times, however,
there may be a. stoppage of a few hands for a few
hours or days, as the case may be. There were no
storpages last month from disp utes.
The condition of the engineering trades of Lancashire is of an unsatisfactory character, apart from the
coal dispute. There i~ an absence of new work of any
considerable weight coming forward, and there does
not appear to be any very bright prospect. In only
t!Xceptional instances are the establishments going
full time. In other cases, shortness of work and
scarcity of fuel have resulted in fi rms suspending
bands, or working short time. One or two of
the largest establishments ba\e had to stop partia lly or wholly for want of fuel. Boilermakers are
short of orrlers as compared with some time ago,
and machine tocl makers are getting work in only irregularly. T he iron trade generally is almost at a stan dsttll, only such business being done as is urgently required for immediate purposes. Uscrd 'f iron are so
uncertain as to the supply of coal to keep their works
going, that they only buy from hand t o mouth. The
tinished iron trade is exceedingly slow. The forges
ha.\e been idle for a month, but the stocks have not
appreciably decreased. The steel trade is also very
quiet, very little being done in any of the branC'hes.
Fortunately the whole of the above branches of trade
in the Ll.ncashire districts are fairly free from disputes.
In South 'Vales the iron and steel industries appear
to be in a wretched state, going from bad to worse. The
Ebbw Vale Company haYe been obliged to close their
steel works, on the completion of the contract for the
supply of steel rails for the Transvaal Rail way. The
Tredegar Company, also, and the Rhymney Company,
are in a state of enforced idleness. The only contract
of late secured for this district is for colliery sleepers,
some 30,000 of which have been taken for a,bout l s. 2d.
each. In the tinplate trade there has been a. change
for the better; one firm, that of ~1essrs. 'Villiams,
has secured an American order for 500,000 boxes of
191 in. plates. In other firms there is also greater
activity. But generally the state of trade in South
\Vales is not good, nor are the p rospects for the winter
very encouraging, except in the tin plate branch.
In the \Yol verhampton district business has continued moderately good. But there has been an indisposition to book orders for heavy quantities for forward delivery beyond the current month at existing
rates. The manufacture of finished iron is restricted
by t he dearness of fuel and the pres"nt price d pig
iron, and there is a fear that fuel will be dearer as the
winter comes on . There is a fairly good foreign demand, and the demand for home cocsumption is b~rely
met by the furnaces in blast. There has been a fair
amount of inquiries for steel pla te!:!, billets, and stiips
at fair prices. On the whole th:s district has not been
a. great sufferer by the prolonged coal dispute.
In the Birmingham district the deficiency of fuel is
felt more severely tha.n in some other places. It is
said that large orders a re being held back till the coal
dispute is settled, and there are hopes tha.t the winter

OcT. I 3, I 893.]
trd.de will not be bad. At present, however, most of
the staple industries are very q uiet. There are no
serious disputes in either of th e above two d istricts
nor are any pending.
'

E N G I N E E R I N G.

'.alve .m otion s are of iron thoroughly case. hardened.

Combm ed r elief and vacuum '\alves are fitted to
The cross heads are of
---~----------- each end of th e cyli nder.
cast steel, w ith brass shoet:~ a nd run on case' Chicago and North h ardened iron guide bars. Th e driving wheels are
Western R dlroad.
On several of th e railways great inconven i~nce anJ
~7 in. in diam eter over tread~. They have charcoal
Ten
Wheel
Pas
stoppages h~ve taken place. Durham is supply in g coal
uon cen~res a nd steel t.yres, the latter being 3~ in. thick.
senger.
as fast a1 th e m en ca n produce it, but the s upply is
T~ e ma.m. aud r ear dr1vers are flanged, and are 5f in.
not eq u!ll to the requirements. The Durham men are Fuel . .
..

Bitumi nous coal

w~de, whtlst th e for ward pair are p la in, and are 6~ in.

Gauge
of
roo.d
.
.
.
.
.
.
seckiog an advance .in wa.ges in consequence of the hig h
4 lt. 8~ io.

Wt~e. T~e a.~ les are of wrought iron, th e journals

To
t.~~ol
w
ei~ht
in
pounds
.
.
.
.
1
9,000

pressure an<l the htgher rates for coal, and it seems

betn g 7! 10: dtameter by 8! in. long. T h e ax le-boxes
WetgM oo drh ers, in pounds ..

\Jti,OOO

th 1.t the coa.lowner3 can scarcely resist their claims.

,,
truck
,,
~re of cas t 1ron., a nd a r e fitted with Ajax m etal bear
3 t,OOO

The railway servants h ave been holding their annual Total wheel base . .
..

25 f t. 3 in.

togs. The sprtngs are connect ed to equalising b eams

Driving
.,
.
.
.
.
congress in Glasgow. The report was encouraging as

H , ll,

S'> that the load is the same on all the wheels.

Th~
.,
.
.
.
.
Rigid

9
ft.

rega rds progres~ i 40 new branches, and 79l new Cylinders, diameter
..
connecting and coupli ng rods are of steel and of a n I .
19
itl

members bad been added in the fi nancial year. 1'he

sec t ion i the ~earings are of A jax metal. '
..
..
rep.,rt expressed r egret that two unions shhuld ex ist Piston, stroke of . .
24 in.

The cran kpms are of &teel, and ate of large diameter

,
horiz?ntal
thicknes)
of
6t ,

in ""cotla.nd, espec ia lly as they had vot ed 6000/. to t h e

an~ length ; th e~ h ave a b ole borecl through them
.,
po.ckiog, kind . .
..
Castiroo
rings

Glasgow men during t heir strike, a sum which now ii

.,
rod, diamete r . .
..
axtally. Th e bogte has wrought-iron framiog and its
St
in.

declared to be lost. The congress voted 1000/. to the

,.
,, plcking, kind . .
S u~ li van metallic

wheels are 33 in. in dia me te r, and are fitted with steel

size
.
.
.
.
.
.
Steam
ports,
l S In . by l l in.
miners, s om e d esiring to loan them lO,OOOl. T he

ty~es. :.r'h~ ax l.e s are of wrought iron, the journals

coogr, ss decid ed in favou r of the Government BillExhaust ,
bemg 5 m. m d 1ameter by 9 in. lono-.
Two ioj ectors
18 .. , 21 ..

0
'
'
..
Employera' Liability- notwithstanding the fac t that a
are provided for feed ing t he boiler.
Bridges,
width
.
.
.
.
large vote of th e London and N orth -Western m en con 1 ~ in.

The ten~er is carried on two four-wheeled bogies .

Slide
vo.l
ves,
kind
..
.
.

Am erican balanced

demned one of it3 chuses. The delegates resolved t o

~ts frame 1s built up of 6! in. by 4 iu. by i in. angle
..
g(e~~ est travel

6!
in.

ask the President of the Board of Tra'.ie to a ppoi nt

.,
lap of
..
. . Outbidf', k in. ; in 1r~n, thoroughly braced together. The wheels are

practica,l rail WclY men a s s ub insp ectors.
side, .,! in.
ch tlled cast iron, 33 in . in diam eter over trc:>.ds. The
,
lead in full sroke
..
l'll in.
a~les are of wrought iron, w ith journals 4! in . in
Va~v.e
stem
packing,
kird
.
.
.
.
:
.
Sulli
van
metallic
The strike of miners in B elgium and F r ance h !Ls not Dr1 vm g wheels. di.~mete r outside of tyre ..
d tameter and 8 in. long. All the wheels are brake d.
67 in.
very much atfe ~ted the coal dispute in this coun t ry.
,
journals . .
..
..
..
7! in. in diameter The brake in the en g ine is of the American outs ide

At most of t he coal district s the men h ave returned to

by 8! in. long
eq ualised type, ope rated by air. The tender brakes
Engin
e
truck,
s~yl e
Four.wbeel,
rigid

work in Luge numbers, though th e s t rike cann ot be

are of t h e \Vestinghouse type. The t ank has a capacity
centre
sa.H to b3 at an end. The scen es of the strike have
wheels, kind
. Wasburnst.eel-tyr ed, of 4000 gallons ( U. S. ).

"
been more free from d isturbance tha n us ual, and the
~poke centre
The annexed Table gives t h e general pa rticulars
,
diameter
33
in
.
men were less r e:1.dy to obey the command of the

,
journals
.
.
.
.
. 6 in. in diameter by and dimensions of this engine .

socialists for a general strike at a.ll pits.

9 in. long
Cro.okpin journals, main pin, main red . a in. in diameter by
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
The unemployed question is bothering t he Govern
6; in. long
,
side ..
T.RE Elsinore S hipbuilding and Engineering Company
.,
. .Jl in. 1n diameter by
ment, and even more so the boards of guardians in
6 in. long
Els more, Denmark, launched on the 4th inst. the steef
the Vclrious localities, a nd e ven the vestries a.nd
.,
front " '
, .1 in. in diameter by s~re w s~eamer Vi rgo, built for Gothenburg owners. The
county c )uocils. It is a. gra,e question, and on e that
3J in. long
d1m ens10ns are: L ength, 146ft. ; breadth, 24 ft. 6 in. :
,
bade
,
> in. in diameter by
will ha,e to be grappled with. But the charact er and
d epth, 12ft. 9 m. The vessel has a carrying capacity of
.
3l
in.
long
training of the wilhng workers are an obstacle t o con- Boiler, wo1king prcs3ure in lbs. per sq m. .
52~ t ons. dead vyeight on a mean draught of 13 ft. She is
170
t inuous employment on relief works ; such men will
,. sty le
..
..
..
..
. Extended ~aJoo top bUilt w1th. ratse.d quarterd e~k, bridge, and forecastle.
,. di~mete r of fi rst ring outside .
(0 ID
only, cl.n only, use that kind of employment as a s topTh.e vessel1s d es1gned to attam a speed of 10 knots with

,
tb1ckness of steel
..
..

1 ..
gap. The ordin'l.ry street loafer i3 even more uncertain
a h ght .cargo. .Her m~bine~y con~ ists of a. set of triple.. . .
..
..
W
ell
man
., maker
..
exl?ans~on ~ng m es, With cyhnders 136 in., 21! in., and
for he i3 not used to continuous work at r egular hours~
., horizontal seanu
..
..
Stxtupld
rheted,

36 m . 1n d1ameter and a stroke of 24 in. S team is aup

Yet t his is th e real test. To the first class o f m en it
butt j ints
plied by one boiler :vorking at a. pressure of 160 lb. One
.. ci rcu mferential seams . .
D.>uble

may mean injustice i as to the latter, the injustice is

length . .
..
..
tubul~r donkey b01ler supplies steam t o the auxiliary
77U in.

rather to t he r ate payers. But wise and prudent m en Firebox,

,
wid th . .
..
..
33 ,
ma<:hmery .

will brave diffi culties and try to solve them, and it is

,.
depth . .
..
..
84 ,

--better t> pay for useful w o rk than to k eep men idle

The first-class battleship Centurion which was conthickness
of
st.el
Cr?wn,
q
ir.
;
t~be
,

by p1.uper relief. 'Ve ma.y be able t o learn lessons t o

structed at Portsmouth and engined 'by the Greenock
!1n., s1des, i 1o.;
help us in the futura if some local authority will decide
Foundr~ Company, underwent her four hours' continuous
back. {'8 in.
~team trial under forced draught on Friday, the 6th inst .,
maker of steel ..
,
Shoen berger
t o act promptly.

Front, 4 in.; sides, be~ween the Warner Lightship and Bea.chy Head. The
water space
..

8~ in. ; back, 3! in.

ship was under th e command of Cai,>tain Bumell and
Radial
stays,
1
m.
,
crown stlyed by

Comman der M 'Kinstry, and the en ~ tn es were work ed

in diameter
LOCOMOr[VE AT THE COLU MBIAN
under the super intendence of Mr. Wi1liam C~irnes by
Tu be~. material . .
.
.
.
.
.
Charcoal
iron

EXPOSITI ON.
whom the whole of th~ mach in ery was fitted on bo'a rd.
,
number of
_.
..
..
268

THE loc)mot.ive which we illustrate on p l.ges 442 a n d

2 in. O.D. by
Among oth ars on board interested in the tri al wera Mr.
., outiide diamf:ter and thicknt"ss
No. 11 W.G.
J . ~cott, C.B ., director ~f the firm, and Mr. E . M'Kay;
443 has been built for the Chicago and North-' Vestern
H f t . 6 in.
..
,
length over tube E.heets

Ch1ef I nspector of Macbmery W ootton and F leet EngiRailway by the S..!henecta.dy L ocomotive Works
1742.3
Heating surface, tube9, in square felt

n eer Colquhoun, of the Steam Reserve i Mr. Oram fr om

Scbenectacly, N. Y . , and is exhibited by the builder~
161
,
firebox
,
..

the Admirah,y, a.nd Mr. J. T. Corner, chiE'f engir:eer of

1906. 3
at the Chicago Exhibition. As will be seen from the
,
total
,
..

the Dockyard. Since the previous trial of the Centurion

17.8
..

woodcut ( Fig. 1), the engine is of a type common Crate surface in square feet . .
i
in. had been taken from the t ops of the slide valves to
Rocking
,. style
..
..
..
..

in. the Uni ted t.t.te~, ~aving s ix wheels coupled, Asbp~o, sty le
Plain
..
..
..
..
ad~it m ore steam i?to the high and the low pressure

w1th the UBual bogte 1n fron t.

Further details
cylinders. the eccentrics bad been r eadjusted so as to reOouble

of its general arrangements will be under stood by a Exhaust nozzles, ~tty le ..

lieve the exit of the exbau~t steam, and the reported

.
.~1
in.,
Si
in.,
&
Si
in
.
,.
.,
diameter

reference t o the side elevation (Fig. 2 ), a n d the end
leakages in the st ok eh olds, which d etracted from the
.Balanced ''alve,
Throttle . .
..
..

us f'fu i work of the fans, bad been stopped. There was

ele,ati'lns and cross-sections ( Fig~. 3, 4, a nd 5).
The
double poppet
16 in. near bottom litt le wind and a. smooth sea. The following are the d eboiler and firebox are both o f steel.
'!'hat for Smoke etack, inside diameter . .

J 4 ft. 10 in., engine tails of the four hours' st eaming :

,.
,
top above rail ..

the shell wa~ specified t o have a. tensile btrength

central
60,000 lb. p er squa:e inc.h, with an elonga Boiler supplied by
. One No. 10 Monitor

Re\'o!utions.
injector R S. Ooe
tlon of 25 per cen &. 1n 8 10. A toleration of
IndicatEd
Ai r'
Boiler
No. 9 A W/ t' injector
5000 lb. per square i acb either wa.y is allowed, plates
Preesurf'. Pressure. - - - - - -- - - H orae p owf'r.
L.S.
differing from the specification by more than this Teod t:r, weight empty in pounds . .
..
32.90J
Starboud.
Port.
amount being r ejected, with the exception that a
,,
wheels, number of, atld dilmeter . .
8; 33 in.
- -- - - - -- ------ ---- ~' ---- - -,
kind . .
..
..
. . Rarnum Richardson
10 I. ')
12,954
,,
105
1.5
higher tensile s trength is admitted if accompanied by
us
cast iron chilled
I S 581
106
10!\.8
16
147
an increase in the elo:1gation. For the firebox the
plat e
13,010
lOll
10!i. 6
1. 3
1~6
t ensile strength was fixed a.t the same figu re ; a. greater
. I! in. in diameter by
105.0
13,2~6
104 9

1.5
, journals ..
H7
8 in Ion~.
13,494
~longation is required- viz., 28 per cent. i 1 8 in. B J th
104 4
10t3
1.5
146
16 ft. 11 ! In.
tohl whe.. l base of
lf4. 7
13,139
104 6

J.7
147
firebox and shell pla.te steel ha.~ to s tat:d the t emp3ring
. 6~ in . I y 4 in. by t in.
104. 7
12,766
frame, style
..

1.7
101. 6

146
and bending tests.
angle iron, S. L . W.
103.9
13,202
103.6
17
144
The boiler (Fig. 6} has au ex tended Wcl.gon top and
standard
1-wheel,
channel - - - - - ----.:....------ _ _ _ __;__ _ __
an extended smokebox. It is built of f-a in. plating
Owing to the premature comm encement of the trial,
iron, cf' ntre bear
for a . working pressure of 170 lb. p er square in ch .
ing f. and b. , adcli a.nd th e consequent throttling of the st eam, the first halftruck ,

It~ dlameter at the narrowest part is 60 in. Detionalsid~ bearin~s hour w~ somewhat disappointing, and it was thrown over
tatb of the riveting are s~own in }4'igs. 9 t o 12.
;~a~d~r~ck, S. L. W. Ther e was also a. falling-off in the power d e veloped during
The t ubes are of char coal iron, 2 in. diameter a!ld
4000 gallon 3
the fourth half-hour, owing to a changing of stokers, but,
,
tank, water C3.pacity .
..

7 tone
with these exception!!, the per iodical r eturns were highly
12ft. 6 in. long, arranged a s shown in ]fig. 8. They
,
..
..
,.
, , coal

47ft. 9! in.
gratifying throughout. S ubeeq uent calculations by the
are beaded over at both end~, copper fer rules b eing Tote.l wheel base of engine and tender

68 ft. 4 ~ in.
staff on board gave the appended means : S team in boilers,
., lengLh
,
,,

placed on the tubes at the firebox end before the tubes

__ _
146 lb. ; vacuum, 27.6 in. starboard and 27.1 aft; r evoa.re .expanded in b place. The firebox, a. tra.nsvene
Schenectady, .May 12, 1893.
lutions, 104.7 starboard and 104.8 port, displaying remarksec~10n ?f which ~s sho wn in Fig. 7, is 77}! in. long by
able unifotmity in the action o f the t wo sets of engines ;
33 tn. wtde by 84 10. deep. The pla tes are T"rr in. thick,
total indicated h orse-power. 6401 star board and 6773 port,
The
frames
are
of
iron,
4
in.
thick,
with
braces
the crown and s ide sheets bein g in one piece. The
r epresenting a collecti ve horsepower of 13, 174, or a
w.t.ter sp:Lce (Fig. 13) is 4 in. at fr ont and 3~ in. else welded in. The cy linders a.re of close. g ra ined char coal margin of 174 beyond the contract. The m ean air preewherE'. The s tay bolts (Fig. 10) are of iron, a.nd ~ in. irvn, and are interchangeable. They are lubricated sure was 1.58 in., and the coal consumption 2.24lb. per
and 1 ia. in rlia.meter A s will be seen from the sec- by a s ight-feed lubricator placed in the cab. The indicated horse-power per h ou r. The average d eep sea
tional ~iew (Fig. 7}, the crown of th e box is s upporte j pistons a r e of cast iron, and the rods are of Lowmoor speed of ship, as recorded by lo~, was 18 51 knots, which,
~y rad1al ~tays which are 1 in. in diamet er. The grate iron, 3! in. in diamete r, and are secured to the pistons though believed to be below the actual performance, ia
1s fitted wtt h rocking bard and drop plate, and the ash - by a heavy nut. The stuffing-boxe3 are fitted wi t h th e greatest Sped which has hitherto been attained by an
metallic rack ' ng. The slid e valvua.re b 1.la nced. The armour-clad.
pan has dampers b::>th at hick and front.

Schcnecta1y L ocomotive Wor ker Exhibit at the World's

Fai r, 1893.

---------------

---

..

. .
.. ..

.
..

o!

..

..

E N G I N E E R I N G.

ROSS'S

PNEUMATIC

CAULKING AND

CHIPPING TOOL.

.Pig.J.

~..

.......... "

...........

1897

appear, by calculation, that ~s regards the oxygen and

carbon, in the quantities set forth in the edcapi ng gases,
viz. , 36.87 units of the former and 22.08 of the latter, the
two are in such proportions that they r epreeent 5. 74 as
carbon dioxide a nd 16.34 as carbon oxide, Leing thus one
of the first to 2.84 of the latter. This cannot be called a
first-class performance, because 5. 74 of carbon as dioxide
p er 20 units of pig iron is n ot a n unusually low ratio for
the carbon in its higher form of oxidation.
Formula showir.g A ction of Carbon Oxicle on b Jn P eroxide and en Metallic I ron.
Iron per oxide probably r educed to a lower oxid e :
Fex 0 y + 2 CO = 2 C + Fe:. 0 y + 2.
On m e~allic iron which also splits up CO.
a. aFe + b CO = Fe., Ob + bC.
On the other hand, a mixture of oxide of iron lower
than Fe2 0 3 and car bon furnishes by heat alone met allic
iron, CO a:1d C02
b. Fe ... Om + 2 n C = m Fe + 2n CO.
c. Fem Om + nO = m Fe + n CO.,.
Again, it was ascertained that Fe2 0 3, exposed to the
action of CO, gave C02 , and a lower oxid e of iron, thus:
d. p Fe2 0 3 + q CO = Fe2p 0 3 P - q + q C02.
We now pass a point 16! ft. below the charging plates,
of which 8 ft., owing to the " bell and hopper, , only will
be occupied by minerals. In this brief space, therefore,
all the chemical action, save such as may be reserved for
t he zon e of fusion, has been effected. This is inferred
from the close approach to u niformity of composition
until the lowest region of the furnace is r eached, which
varies only from 5.22 to 6.66 units of carbon, the average
being 5. 70, t o 8 of oxygen to form carbon oxide, the difference probably being due to small traces of carbon
dioxide; this Etpace, not less than 54 ft. i n depth, but
probably something more, being a huge zon e in which no
great amount of chemical action takes place. It consists
m reality of a zone of heat interception, a nd its value
consists in preventing that en ormous amount of heat
which we have seen was formerly carried out of the furnaces of the olden time, by the current of gas rushing too
rapidly through their contents.
We have new arri \"ed at the last stage of the process,
where the metal is m elted and flows out of the tapping
bole, having taken up durin~ the act of fusion those substances, viz., carbon and sal icon, which cons titute the
difference between it and malleable iron. T o these have
to be added sulphur and phosphorus, which more or less,
in all probability, enter into combination with th e iron as
fusion bE>gin s, which it does g radually, a few feet above
a nd at the tuyeres. I would now call attention to a r emarkable change which manifests itself within a very
circumscribed area.. This area does not extend beyond
the level of 70~ ft. from the charging p lates, and aa 3! ft.
of the so-called cruci ble is filled with iron or slag, there is
left for the cha nge referred to, something under 400 cubic
feet for its accomplishment.
Ebelmen was, I believe, the fi rst to notice that within
this space there was an increase of oxygen which, in th e
in sta nce given, amounts to 3 23 units, or about 40 per
cent. of the quantity originally u nited with the oxide of
iron. E belmen himself, and after him Dr. Percy, and
probably oth ers, were great perplexed at this. Percy in
particular was slow to believe that oxide of iron could
pass through, and remain in an atmosphere so intensely
reducin g, and retain such a large quantity of oxygen. A
portion of this unquestion ably is due to the decomposition of the hygrometric m oisture of the b last, and probably some t o the reduction of silicon and pbosphorns
whi0h are found in the metal. It seems, however, to have
escaped the n otice of the two authorities just named, that
along with this excess of oxygen an increase in the carbon
had also mad e its appearance. ThiR, in the present ca.~e,
amounts to 1.15 units per 20 of m etal, which, n ot being
THE WASTE OF BEAT IN IRON
originally in the calcined ore, must have been withdrawn
SMELTING.
from the gaseoua contents of the furnace, possibly during
On the Waatc of H eat, Past, Present, and Future, in
the whole of its d escent to the hearth. It seems t o me
Smelting Ores of I ron..
that, with the exception of the oxygen, due to the two
causes I have mentioned, the remainder, and the whole of
By Sir L owTHTAN BELL, Bart., F.R S.
the excess of carbon, must owe their presence to the dis( CO'Ttcluded from page 435.)
sociation of carbon oxide already d escr ibed.
RETURNING now to the consecutive actions as they take
The particulars of the changes in question will easily he
place in the furn ace submitted as an example, it would understood by a reference to the figures given below.
* Paper read before the Iron and Steel Institute.
Practically all the oxygen capable of being expelled in
ON the present p:lge we give a:n illus~rat~on of ~~ss's
patent percussive tool for caulkmg, cluppmg, munng,
&c., which is an invention of Mr. MacE wan Ross, of
the G reen head Engine 'Vorks, G lasgow. As Mr. Ross
p ointed out in a. paper r.ead on this s.u~ject bef~re .the
re~ent Nottingham meetmg of the Brttlsh AssoCiat10n,
the operation of caulking boilers, ships' tanks, &c.,
has long been performed by hand labour, but in recent
years the deman d for heavier work turned out with
greater rapidity has attracted the attention of engineers, who have endeavoured to supersed e hand-caulkina by mechanical work . In such a n op eration as this,
si~plicity is naturally one of the first considerations,
and in this respect the tool now described appears to
be w ell desiCYned; there being few parts, and those o f a.
mos t solid ~ud substantial character. Referring to
our illustration, the piston is of solid steel forging
truly t urned , and ground into the cylinder so as to
work quite freely; this is the only moving p :ut in the
tool. It is 3 in. long, slightly reduced at the centre,
where the actuating fluid is introduced into the cylin der. The handle of the outer casing is cast hollow;
one side is truly bored out and fitted with a brass
piston valve, covering the outlet of exhaust. This
valve is fitted with a trigger, which , when drawn
back by the finger, sets t h e tool in motion by a~low
ing the exhaust to escape.
The tool has a. plSton
1! in. in d iameter, weighing l i lb., while the .total
weight is 1 2~ lb.
This size is found most smta.ble
for general engineering work; tools are, however,
made in various sizes to suit the different presssures. The U -in. size is capable of caulking heavy
plates at the~ r ate of about 3 ft. per minute, and
work don e with it on the Clyde has been satisfactorily
tested up t o 400 lb. pressure p er square inch. One
man, with the u se of this tool, can p erform as much
work in a given time as six to fifteen men (accord ing
to t he work} when caulkin g by hand.
The principle of the device is simple. The piston is
turned, as before stated, reduced at the centre, leaving a collar on each end.
The inside edges of these
collars form the cut-off edges for pressure, while the
outside edges govern the exhaus t p orts. 'Vhen the
piston is on its central position in the cylinder there
is a dead point for pressure and exhaust, but when the
piston r ests on the end of the chisel or drift and th e
t ool is pressed up to its work, the inle t and exhaust
p orts are opened.
Therefore, when the exhaust
trigger valve is opened, a load of about seventy
times the piston's mass acts on the end of the piston,
which, b eing well but not t oo slig htly fitted into the
cylinder, is impelled at a n enormous velocity, which
carries it over the dead point until it is cushioned at
the back end of the cylinder, and sim ilarly on its
return stroke, until it hits the c hisel h ead at the front
end of the cylinder. The tool works equally well w ith
steam, and special provision is made to prevent t he
h eat of the s team inconveniencing the workmen.
\Ve u nderstand that these tools are n ow largel y used
for caulking, and they haYe been applied with s uccess
t o the operations of c hipping and dressing plates and
castinga. They are also capa ble of boring a 1-in. hole
through sandstone at the rate of about 12 in . per minute,
and through ordinary whinst one at about 4~ in. per
minute. They are being largel y used by the leading railway co mpanies, engineers, and shipbuilders throughout
the coun try.

the zone of reduction takes place within a depth of 8l ft.

of the materials. Then for 5t ft. little change is apparent. Alongside of the numbers showing this is a ca.kulation setting forth the quantity of oxygen required to
con vert the amounts of carbon g iven into carbon oxide,
the difference between which and those of the tirst column
may be taken as the weights of oxygen obtained from
other sources, probably chiefly from water. Finally, in the
last line is the sudden increase of both oxygen and carbon.
We mus t n ow take leave of the action of the blast
furnace, with an attempt to d escribe the manner in which
the hot blast effects the great saving of fu el in smelting
iron ore. Dr. Percy gives t en pages, in his classic work
on iron and steel, t o this object, half of which are devoted
to a discussion between Mr. Truran and himse! f, as to
what the amount of this saving really was. Into thi.q we
need not enter because we now possess information
which dispels ali the mystery which e n veloped the question when Dr. Percy wrote twenty-nine years ago.
I only remember three attempts to explain what was
called the theory of the hot blast - Professor ,V, A.
Miller, of King's College, London ; Professor Clark, of
Aberdeen U ni versity; and Dr. Percy himself. By all
the three, its beneficial action was attributed to a d eficiency of b eat in the hearth of the furnace, whi ch deficiency was remedied by the heat in th e blast. But this,
it seems to me, was erroneous, because, were it otherwise,
pig iron would not have been produced under . uch a condition of things. Supposing for a moment the view propounded to have been correct, and reducing the saving to
only one ton of coke, the explanation given takes us a
very little way. This seems incontrovertible, because it
cannot a ccount for an amount of beat r epresented by
2~ c wt. of coal, making good the alleged want of heat,
and saving ~ight times its weight of coke in the furnace.
If, however, we admit, and there is n o other alternative,
that the temperature of the furnace hearth blown wit.h
cold air sufficed for producing good pig iron, then the
economy effected must be dne to some c hange in the
higher regions of the structure. F rom what has been
Composition cf Gases p1oduc(d per 20 Dnits of P lg I ron,
given in. Order to show Chemical Changts at Various
Depths of a Fu-r nace of 80 ft.

11)
Ql

8~
o... -P-e

D.

E.
F.
G.
H.

Mean of B to 0, both inolusive

...

c:
..c bD
Ql bl-

a.o
Q

...ea. :::> Q

..c~
Q..c

0
C'l

::I.

-aS

c.

.... be

A. Esca.ping gaE!es

B. Depth below ..

(but only about halt
this below surface
of material )

......c

o ao

~- P-e
>.Q.I

0 ~0

...Ql .O..

Q..._
0

cao
o ....
..0
... c:

<~~ :::>

'Cco
Q) 0 . . . .
... -

Q)

,
c ...
CTGIO)(
ca.>..oo
..c
..
c: oaS c

::! aD
...

G>00 0
bD
..0
>. ...
...

xo..,.aS
0 .... oo

ft .
36.87
25.00

22 08
17.29

2J.C5

i6 ~

24 i l
24.69
2 ~ . 72
24. 14
23. 74
26.97

17.33
17.4 2
18.09
17.98
17.80
19.35

23. 11
23.23
24. 12
23.97
23.73
25 80

24.60

17. 48

23.:n

16!

26
39
62!
05
70t

already said, there can be no doubt that, to obtain the

heat needed at the tuyeres, such a large amount of fuel
bad to be u sed that the volume of gas produced left the
throat before it had time to leave a nything bnt a mere
fraction of its heat in the materials through which it had
passed. L ord Granville was the first, and his example
has r ecently been followed, as we have seen, by our President a.t L ow M oor, to raise their furnaces to a height of
70ft. The result in both cases has been to reduce the
consumption of fu el as much as was E'ffected upon the
first introduction of the bot blast.
But it may be maintained that this does not necess nily account for a saving in a. furnace of small dimension s to which h ot blast has been applied. It would be
d ifficul t t o deny the inconvenience arising from the t oo
rapid escape of th e heated gases. This rapidity, however, is diminished for a given quantity of iron produCEd
by the use of hot air. L et u s take the case of one of the
48- f~. furnaces at the Clarence \Vorks, already quoted in

E N G I N E E R 1 N G.
these pages. In it 11,000 calories wer e introduced by the
air blown in at the tuyeres, and 81,000 calories wer e furnishE>d by the combustion of the coke. T~us 11,,000
ca.lcries, or 12 per cen t. of the heat, was obtam~d without any fr >d uction of gaseous matter. the effect of
which was t ) reduce the volume of ga-:~ leaving the furnace p~r ton of iron to Ieee than one-half of what it
would have bPen in the case of its being blown away with
cold air.
No doubt in this train of reasoning we ar e met by the
difficulty already ad verted to, viz., t hat the make of the
furn ace having been d oubled, the volum e of gas passing
out at the throat in a given time r emains the same as it
was when the furnace was blown with cold air. The
explanation of this apparent anomaly I consid er due t o
the fact that the increased volume of ore in r elation t o the
volume of coke has conferred upon t he con tents of the
furnace a greatly increasod capacity for the interception
of the heat carried unwards by the gases. This d ifference
wa.<1 pro\'ed by actual experiment.
But the sma ll d imenshn 3 of a n old h"'t ula.st fu rnace
admitted of fur ther impr ovement. The high tem perature
of its upper zone s till permitted a n unnecessary quantity
of heat to leave the throat, and there was the furth er inconveni~nce of reduci n ~-partially unburning, as it were
-carbon dioxide to the form o f carbon oxide.
On referriug to tbe items which make up the snm of
the heat app:opriated in th e work of a. blast fu rnace-, it

at atm ospheric temperatur e, and nearly double this at its

normal temperature, is not so manageable as a few cubic
feet of coke. The products of the combustion of this
gas occupy a n enormously increased apace, due to the
excess of atmospheric air beyond that needed for burning the inflammable gases it contains. In weight the
incr ea.ae is such as t o b!!i e~al to two and a. half times
that of the gas consumed. T aking the total weigbo of
the gaaes at 115 cwt. for 20 of iron, and two- t hirds of this,
or 76.66 cwt., going to the boilers, we have twothirds of
the 80,247, or 53,498 calories, so applied. The estimated
heat in the gases of combustion amounts t o 25,527 calories
on leaving the boilert~, leaving 27,971 for raising steam and
supplying wast e. It has been estimated that for each 20
units of pig ir on 31 units of water have to be con verted
into s team, and this, at a preesure of 90 lb. on the squar e
inch, r equires for its conversion 20,708 calories, which
presents a loss of about 26 per cent. of the 53,487 calorie~.
This, ho wever, d oes n ot embrace all the waste, for we
have the gases of combustion entering the chimney at a
temperature of 321 d eg. Cent. (614 d eg. Fa.hr.) above that
estim ated by Peclet for cr eating the necessary vacuum in
the chimn ey. This means a. loss o f H,556 calorieP, which
brings up the t otal waste to 22,034 calories, and this upon
the proportion of the beat assigned t o the boilers means
a d eficiency equal to about 41 per cent.
Vve have now to consider the application of the heat
capJ.b~e of being obtai ned from the r em ai nin g third of the

l lt.5RA.\4 SIIE'tti!CG THE UlCCT OF A SLACBA!.L IJCO ITS C.\RR~E ON TME TEMPE.Rt.TlJRE Of 1. tUI\R~NT Of XHA~ST STAU OURiiCC 24 HOUR';.

: ~

AUG IS

T'MP.F.

''"
I"U

AUG 16

I I

AUG 17

~~~

t.!

_A; C. I\)

rotP. F

*f:::.

...jo14:. . -.

li'r'.n..-"

I"'
.n

t51
f44

uo'

uo

.-.

,..;

110'
'u'
n
v

f./0'

-'1d

ltM

. ; 11

'ur'

J7l

I~ '

Im'
IJSd

1(0

rsrl

..,

1U'

r.o'

, . .V

....

-4t

1110.

Jtd
J~

lto

uo

JDO
VD

I UI

,uo

nd

vo

l ltv

;;;

...

1 1~

zo

!lW

,,

uo
u o

ll(l

~2fl

~:t$

l/0

? Do'

will be found that they may be di vided into two

cla~ses.

There are those which constitute the nece1sa.ry duty t o

be parformed, and others which, if they are classified as
waste, may, in the nature of tbingP, be unavoidable. The
lasb are those included in transmission through the walls
of the furnace. and m ost likely, from its small amount,
that carried off in the water used in bot blast furnaces
for the protection of the structure a t the tuyeres. In a
modern furn ace the united loss from t hese sources, however, only amounts to 6 or 7 per cent. of the entire heat
genHated.
The profortion carried off in the escaping gases from
furnaces o recent cJnstruction is about 10 per cent. of
the whole, and this, so far as the actual furn ace work is
concerned, may be looked upon as unavoidable. This is
inferred from the fact that there r emains, after deoxidation of the ore has been effect ed almost entirely in the
reducing zone, a balance of beat which is communicated
to the gases. Any addition, t herc,fore, to the height of a
furnace raises the position of this zone, and thus leaves
the temperature of the gases carried upwards almost
unchanged. We have, however, the inflammable portion
of these gases at our disposal, and we must now proceed
to ascertain bow this is, or may be, dealt with.
We shall not be far wrong in assuming 12! units of
carbon per 20 units of Cleveland iron to escapP, as carbon
oxide gas. The heat produced by burning this, added
to that derived from the combus tion of the hydrogen, and
the sensible beat of the gases, give us 80,247 calories to
account for. In the particular case from whi ch these
figures were derived, the heat actually engag~d in the
furnace work, inclusive of what has bee n d escribed as

Potential H eat in E &coping Ga.3cs.

Calorie.J.

12.5 of cubon as carbon oxid e affords

(125 X 5600)
. ..
...
...
. ..
Hydrogen burnt (.08 x 34,000)...
Sensible heat in the gases
. ..
T otal

. ..
.. .

70,000
2,720
7,527

...

80,247

unavoidable loFses, \Vas 81, ,41 calories. Thus a power

amounting to 94 per cent. of that engaged in ac tual
furnace work remains to be appli ed to other useful purposes. It will, however, be readily u nd ers tood that
12~ cwt. of combustible carbon in the form of gaseous
ca~bo!l oxide, diluted with carbon dioxide and n itr ogen,
bnngmg up the total volume to about 200,000 cubic feet

Estimate of L oss of H eat in the Gases after Combu&ti(m

undtr the Boilers.
U nits.
\Veight of gases for 20 units of pig iron
115
Two-thirds of this going to boilers ...
76.66
W eight after combus tion, including
excess of air
.. .
. ..
. ..
.. .
191. 65
T emperatur e of gases after leaving the boilers, 555
d eg. Cent. ( 10:~2 d eg. }'ahr. ). Taking average
specific beat at .2i, we b~ve 191.65 x 555 deg. x
. 24, or 25,527 calories.
'
Pscaping gases intended for the stoves for b eating the air.
This was estimated t o be 26,749 centigrade calories, while
the number contained in the blast for 20 unibs of pig iron
may be taken at 14,500. In this case the loss at the chimney is very trifling, because the construction of the brick
s toves permits t he gases of combustion to be eo r educed
in temperature that little remains beyond that required
for chimney draught. This, on th~ weight of the gases
taken at 95.82 cwt . per 20 of metal leaving the stoves,
Phows an escape of 5~35 calories, which, added to those
contained in the blast, gives a total useful effect equal to
19,385 calories. T he calculation of the beating J?Ower of
the gases d elivered to the stoves was 26,759 calone~, thus
s howing a loss of 25 8 per cent.
From the figures given in relation t o the heat capable
of being obtained from the gases escaping from the blast
furnace, the average loss at the b oilers and stoves works
out t o 36 per cent. This d eficiency, ib ahould be observed, covers the escape each time the bell is lowered for
admitting the charges.
Of the 84,841 calories expended on the actual furnace
work proper all save 23,000 may be regarded a s irrecoverable. The exceptions are those which appear on the
solid products-viz., the pig iron and the slag. Of the
heat obtained from the combustion of the carbon oxide in
th~ escaping gases, there is also a product -viz. , the
exhaust s team from the engines employed, which, a s it
reaches the atn10sphere, carries with it a certain amount
o f heat which is now lost. It is now proposed to inquire
how they may be r end ered available.
The 6GOO calories contained in the pig iron at the
moment of its running from the furnace are speedily dissi pated. Indeed, it necessarily mu t be allowed to cool
before it can be rem oved, so that we may safely predict
that none of the heat of fus ion can be made use of.
Th e 15,500 calories, more or less, conveyed from the
furnace in the slag are differently circumatanced. There
is not only much m ore initial heat to d eal with, but in-

stead of bein g spread over a. large surface like the iron,

the slag is run into compact masses whi ch cool slowly.
The recent experiments, r eferred to in the early part of
this paper, were undertaken to ascer tain whether the beat
in the exha.us t steam and that in the slag, taken together,
m ay not be susceptible of useful application. My experience so far do~e not permit m e t o estimate with sufficient
p recision the actual amount of the heating va.lue of either.
That of the steam will d epend on h ow much, if any, of
its latent heat remains in what, more or less, is not steam
p roperly so called, but is chiefly vesicular water. Of the
beat in the slag, I have, by plunging it into water, ascertained that during the time occupied in running it into
the wagons for ease of tra nsport, a. consid erable quantity
of its original heat haa disappeared, but this will be a
vary ing quantity, according t o the time which elapses
between the slag leaving the furnace and being applied to
d o work. U nd er any circumstances, the temperatures
obtainable for direct application cannot be vory high,
because the steam cannot, it is suppof'ed, be m uch, if anything, above 100 d eg. Cent. (212 deg. Fahr. ), and the heat
in t he slag can only be slowly ex tra ct ed. In the present
s tate of our knowledge I will no+-, because I cannot,
attempt t o give you any satiofactory figu res to prove the
qua.nt1ty of beat at our comma nd, which I will leave
you to infer by d escr ibing what has been d one by its
means.
The experiments in quEstion have been directed towards
a~certai n i n g what temper atures could be obtained by
passing tb~ exhaust steam over the slag balls during a
t :me, ha it r emembered. in which it was performing its
work, and by so much being cooled. This will depend,
of course, on the relative wetghts of steam and slag employed, and the rapidi ty of the current of the former, and
the amount of heat lost by the la tter before i t is exposed
in contact with the steam .
Eight .ilag balls on their r espective wagons were placed
in a. chamber, and the steam of 16 to 20 t ons o f water
was passed over them in twenty-fou r hours. Without
troubling you with figure~. I will r efer you at once to
the di agram, which shows th e maximum t emperature obtained, and th e rate of cool inS' over four consecu ti ve days .
For th e reasons gi ven, it 1s m ost probable that while
tfmperatures resembling those set forth in the diagram
will be found the m ost convenient in praotice, there is no
r eason t o doubt that the steam might be heated considerably above 500 d eg. or 600 d eg. Fa.hr. \Vithin the
limits which necessarily it m ay be most con venient to
obser ve in such a. system of recovering beat otherwise
lost, we must endea vour t o apply it, where possible, t o
such purposes a.s can be served with beat of moderate
intensity. Such an instance can, I think, be found in the
industry recently established at Middlesbr ough-viz , that
of producing salt from brine.
It was, indeed, from ex perience at the Clarence Works
in the evaporation of brine, that the idea. of utilising the
~eat d a ily going to waste at .the blast f~rnaces suggested
1tself. In order to ascertam the premse rate at which
steam, superheated in the way alluded to, performed ita
work, three pans, each 25 ft. long by 21 ft. broad, were
erect ed. U nd er the first, eigh t bot balls were placed in
two rows, iron doors wer e then closed, and the exhaust
steam admitted into the two compartments occupied by
the alaS'. The vapour, heated to about 500 deg. Fahr.,
passed mto a space about 18 in. high, of the breadth of
the pan under the second vessel, and from it under the
third. By the time it arrived at the end of this last pan
it was frequently under the t emperature of boiling water.
There was s till, however, heat enough p assing into a
small chamber in which a. coil of small pipes was introduced, which served to pre-heat th e brine before it was
run into the pans. Through this the brine ran in a. continuous stream at a rate just sufficing to make good the
loss by evaporation. From this chamber a mere trace of
vapour made its appearance at the outlet ; indeed, occasionally ther e must have been an influx of air caused by
a vaouum due to the p erfect condensation of the steam.
So far as t he figures at my disposal enable me to calculate, a furnace producing 500 tons per week may be r egarded as probably being able to evaporate a quantity
of brine equa.l to about 150 t ons of salt, or perhaps more.
I cannot but feel, a d regards the further utilisation of
heat connected with the manufactur e of :pig iron, I have
laid myself open to the objection of havmg prematurely
brought the subject befor e an audience entitled to m ore
exact e vidence than I am in a position to offer. At the
same time I am able to direct your attention to som e of
t he inferences to be drawn from the diagram I have cons tructed.
Taking one month the average temperature a.t which
the superheated st eam laft the three pans, it bad1 after
performing its duty under each, the t em peratures 10 the
'!'able on the n ext page, while the brine it had heated
stood at the figures given in the second line.
T~ere ar e two or three ~acts in this Table which may
reqmre a word of expla natiOn. Between the exit from
first and second pan there is a differen ce of 163 deg. Fa.hr.,
and 165 d eg. between No. 1 and No. 3. But in spite of
the apparently much larger absorption of heat in No. 1
pan, the salt produced, and therefore the water evaporated, is only 35.96 per cent. of the whole. Practica.Uy
we may assume Nos. 2 and 3 each to h ave performed r especti ~ely 32.02 per cent. of th e duty.
Now, it is clear that whatever may have been the condition, in a calorific point of view, of the exhaust steam
on entering the slag chamber, it has becom e, by contact
with the slag, true steam o f a very high t emperature, and
besides, this has become charged with latent in a ddition
to the sensible heat it conta.ins. It is no doubt due t o this
latent heat being transferred to the brine that Nos. 2 and 3
pans are enabled to perform nea.rly as much work as the
pan which is first in the series.
It will be further observed that the brine which enters

E N G I N E E R I N G.

[OcT.

3, I 893.

It is pleasant to note that many results of the work of

State Institute have been heat measur ements. It is well
known that the accure.cy of the average thermometPr this Ins titute for Phy~ica.l Technology h.ave been increascannot be relied on. Not only physicists and engineers, ingly accepted in international intercourEe.
.F or this purpo<3e, only last year (1892) the President of
but also physicia.nEJ, have always wanted precise and
tested thermometers, so the Institute took upon itself t o the Institute and two assistants att ended the meetings of
supply this want. First of all, a. better kind of glass had the British Association held in Edinbu rgh, where many
to be produced, havi ng great toughness. '!'his was of the German proposals were agreed to.
obtained in 1884 at the laboratory for glass industry at
J en a, and it remains almost unimpaired at high temperatures. The next step was to compare various therNOTES FROM THE SOUTH-'\VEST.
momet ers and thei r scales with one another and with the
Plymouth Sound.- The L ords of the Admiralty having
air thermometer, which is the most accurate of all thermometers, because air expands more uniformly with decided t o expend 15,000l. in dredging Plymouth Sound,
the L ond on and Tilbury Lighterage Company has been
increasing
temperature
than
any
other
body.
This
work
No. 1 Pa.,. No. 2 Pan. No. 3 Pan.
engaged to carry out the work. A Atea.m dredger has
of
comparison
has
been
carried
out
to
very
high
degrees
of
d e~r. F.
deg. F.
d ('g. F.
already a.rri ved, and is berthed off Devon port Dockyard.
heat,
such
as
are
generally
only
measured
by
the
electric
Supef>beated steam at exit
375
212
210
pyrometer. When we remember that the melting point The work, which will be commenced as soon as the preBrine in pan
..
..
155
149
152
Brine entering . .
..
198
198
19~
of the precious metals, auch as silver, platinum, gold, and liminary arrangements have been completed, is expected
copper, lies above 1000 deg. Cent. (say 1800 deg. Fahr. ). to occupy several months. It is understood that the
Proportions of eaU ob
we can imagine the scientific and technical importance of dredging is to be carried out a.s a result of reports furtained per cent.
.. 35.96
64.0J = 100
these new determinations where thne is a. possible error nished the Admiralty by Staff Commander Haslewood,
RN.
of not more than 5 deg .
The demand of engineers and physicians for officially
Cardi.ff.-Prices of st eam coal have continued to Hhow
tested th~rmometers has bef'n so great that the State an upward tendency; the best descriptions have made
THE GERMAN STATE INSTITUTE FOR
Institute could not cope with it. Therefore in 1889 a 15s. to 15s. 6d. per ton, while secondary qualities have
PHYSICAL TECHNOLOGY.*
special laboratory was built at Ilmena.u by the Govern brought 14s. to 14s. 6d. per ton. Household coal has
By FRAN Z BENDT.
ment of the Grand Duchy of Weimar. It works on the been in strong demand ; No. 3 Rhondda large has been
T OWARDS the end of the seventif's, electrotechnology same lines as the State Institute, and is controlled by the making 1ils. 6d. to 13s. 9d. p er ton. Coke has been well
had made such rapid advances, that it became absolutely latter. In Ilmenau 70,000 thermometers have been maintained; foundry qualities ba.vA made 20s. to 21s. per
necessary to come to some international agreement re- calibrated, whilst the State Institute has examined 10,000 ton, and furnace ditto 18s. to 19s. per ton. Iron ore has
specting units of m easurements as they occur in that cli nical thermometers. The exports to foreign countries been fairly active. The manufactured iron and steel
acience. For this purpoee, the French Government in have also increased considerab1y, so that now the certifi - trades have exhibited little change. Thero have been
1881 and 1884 invited the most emi nent men in the cates for these thermometers are printed in French, rather more inquiries for steel rails.
physical and t echnical world to Paris, where the E lectrical English, Spanish, and P ortuguese. The thermometer, as
Barry Rail1.0ay.-On Friday th e directors and officials
used by a. physician, has a ralatively small range;
Congress determined these units.
But to be ab]e to carry out experimental research engineers, un the other hand, need instruments t o measure of the Harry Dock and Hailway Company proceedtd by
special train to Cad ox ton, to inspect some additional land
n .:-cessary for th e determination of such unit@, it was both very high and very low temperatures.
These latter are calibrated by the State Institute, and which the company proposes to acquire for dock and
essential to obtain a. well trained staff of experimenters
and large and convenient premises. The physical and about 4000 have been examined. Instruments made of railway extension purposes. The party alFo inspected the
t echnical laboratories of the German universities were the new J ena. glass could a.t first only be made to read fite of the proposed n~w dock. It is cocsidered probable
a.lrea i y devoted to teaching purposes entirely, and, there- up to about 360 deg. Cent. (68Cl deg. Fa.hr. ). More that the directors will shortly commence the construction
forel it was impossible to carry on the necessary research recently, however, by filling the spac8in the thermometer of a lock which will connect the proposed new dock with
work in these places. Germany had, in fact, no institu- above the column of mercury with nitrogen, 460 dE'g. Cent. the existin~ dock.
tion specialJy devoted to the kind of measurements necP.s- (8GO de g. Fahr.) have been read off; and lately the J ena
The E lectric L-ight at Taunton.-A special meeting of
sary for the dt t ermination of such units as referred to laboratory for glass industry has produced a new glass
above.
of great resistance, so that a. g1Ms thermometer has been the Taunton Town Council took p]a.ce on Monday, for tLe
It had often been pointed out t.bat a special institution made to read 550 deg. Cent. (1020 deg. Fahr. ). In this purpose of receiving and considering a report from the
would be of great value for research work such as physical instrument the hollow of the thermometer is filled with electric lighting committee as to the carrying on of certain
works by the council, and for affixing the commou seal of
technology requires at tbepresent time, if properly carried compressed carbonic acid gas.
Spirit thermometers for low temperatures have also the borough to a. contract with the Electric Lighting Comout by qualified m~n. The means, however, were not
forthcoming, until \Verner von Siemens presented to the been tested and calibrated to - 80 deg. Cent. ( - 112 deg. J:>any, Limited, for the purchase of their w01ks and plant.
nation a large plot of land at 0harlottenburg for the pur- Fahr. ). All these thermometers have been of extreme The. electr:ic lig~ting_ commit~ee statd that they had bad
pose. The State accepted his gift, and the Reich::,tag value, especially to thof:A engaged in the chemical and an mterv1ew With Dr. Flemmg as to the carrying nn of
found the necessary money. Even before th e buildings allied industries. The State InPtitute devotes a grE'at the wc,rk, a.r.d he would report in due course. They asked
were completed, the Institute began itR work on hired deal of interest to these researches, and is continually for leave to cury out certain works at a. cost not exceedpremises in Octob~r, 1887, under the direction of Professor devising new and better methods and apparatus. At ing 507. Mr. Potter moved the adoption of the report
Helmholtz.
the. present moment a room is being spe<:nally built, in and urged that the wires in Upper Highstreet shonld b~
taken down and placed underground ; the street could
The Institute is divided into two departments: the wbtcb the t emperature shall always be constant.
Another kind of work of the Institute is that devoted then be lighted with incandeecent light. The su~jeC;t of
first for purely scientific research, i.e. 1 for the determination of physical constants and for dev1sing th~ most accu- t o acoustieta. It is necessary that musicians should have laying an underground cable was adjourned, but the
rate methods of measurement ; the eecond department accurate tuning-forks; and at an international conference report of the committee was ad opted.
for technical research as appl ied to practice. At the at Vienna in 1885 it was determ ined to decide on a stanSu:ansea.- The report of t.he Swansea. Harbour Trust
beginning of 1891 the buildmgs of the first department dard tuningfork giving 435 vibrations a second for the for September ehows that th e imports amounted to
were finished and immediately occupied; those of the note A.
41,376 tons, compared with 55.835 t ons in the corre~pond
of
this
kind
has
been
constructed
at
the
A
standard
second department are still in the builders' hands, work
ing month last year. The decrease is attributable to a
State
Institute,
with
such
precision
that
the
number
of
being meanwhile carried on in the Charlottenburg Polyfalling off in copper, silver, lead, a nd tin ores of over
technicum. Besides a. president and a director of the vibrations came to within ~ of the specified number. 5000 tons, while the imports of iron, steel, pig iron and
second department in this Stat~ Institute, there are eight
castings also declined about 5000 tons. 'fhe impo;ts for
By
means
of
very
delicate
methods,
which
cannot
here
active membera, nine assistants, seven scientific and four
the nine months amount to 4-!3,775 ton~, agai nst 491 349
this
standard
has
been
frequently
checked,
be
described,
technical instrument makers, beside3 a. number of firstt ons in tho corresponding nine months of 1892. Th~ exand
some
1900
tuning
forks
have
been
t
estd
and
corclass skilled mechanics and labourers. In the five years
ports for September were 181,702 tons, against 172 686
rect
ed.
since its foundation a large amount of fresh experience in
tons in September, 1892. There was an increase of 4ooo
A further important task the Institute has set itself, tons in coal and coke, and 70CO t ons in patent fuel shipnew methods has been gamed.
As mentioned above, it has been principally electro- is the preparation of uniform measures for fitters ments. The total exports for the nine months amount
tecb nology which has required a number of very delicate and other mechanics, and to simplify scientific instru- to 1,573,634 tonS~ , as compared with 1,657,111 tons in
Thus the late director of the sacond the corresponding nin e months of 1892.
measu rementS~, and these were made at the new Insti- ment-making.
tute. For example, accurate measur ements are wanted department of the Institute, Dr. L owenberz, succeeded
Tt:.lfgraphy at Portsmouth.-The Monarch, one of the
to estimate the amount of light necessary for the light- in eKtablishing a uniform screw thread for the Gering of a certain space, and to know whether the bril- man Empire. Anybody can understand that where Government telegraph vessels, has just visitd Portsliancy of the lamps corresponds t o this amount of light. hitherto a variety of screw threads bad beE'n in use, it mouth. The officers examined all the subma rine ttleAs to such measurements, the Paris Electric Congress of became practically impossible for delicate instruments phone~ and tel;graph wires c~nnected with the Admiral
188t bad come t o an understanding, and they are now m9.de, say, in one State, to be repaired in another Sta~ Supenntendent s offire. It 1s proposed to establish a
connection between Portsmouth Dockyard and the Clarcarried out by the most accurate methods in this German having another standard thread.
In many other ways thi~ deservedly admired Institute ence VictuaJling Yard, Gosrort. The telephone lines
State Institute. Standards of electromotive force, current intensity, and resistance of various metals are made has been ut eful. It has tested " spirit " level~, such connected with tbe Spitbad fort~, Eastney Bar, ack, and
to the requirements of practice. The socalled abso- as are med with scientific instruments, for the purpose other outlying stationfl, will ~hortly terminate in a room
lute unit of light, as that proposed by Violle at Paris, of ad)usting- .them horizontal1y. For ~t ha~ been found now being fitted up in the dockyard sjgnal tower, instead
is a very complex quantity. This unit was to be the that tmpunties, such as water, contamed m the liquid of in the superintendent's office. It is a]so proposed to
quantity of light emitted by the surface of one sg.uare ether in these levels, cause chemical action on the glass eatablish a J..ignal station in the Spit Fort, which is already
Howaver: cvnnected with Portsmouth.
centim~tre of molten platinum a.t the moment of sohdifi- thereby preventing free play in the levels.
cation. It has so far been impossible to determine this the new J en a. glass, a-s used in thermometers, has proved
Toff: Vale and Rhymney Rail u:ays.-A joint meeting of
quantity directly; but by indirect methods very near better also for levels, and with the use of these more the directors of t he T~ff Vale and Rhymney Railway
valuP..s have been obtained. While it was the object accurate levels important discoveries have been made.
Companies was held on Friday evening at the offices of
Experiments have also been made with smokeless the Rhymney Company, for the purpose of discussing
of the first department of the Institute to realise a
stand ard unit of light corresponding to the highest claims powd er and other modern inventions.
tf>rms of amaJgamation. Mr. Brewtr, engineer of the Taff
of science, the second department has had to make this . Lastly, the Institut e has ha.d to deal wit.h legal ques V ale Rail way, and ~r. Riches, l?comoti ve superintendent
tions. In all branches of physical and chem1cal industry, of th e Taff Vale Railway, have m spected the engines and
unit a.s simple as possible for use in practice.
Hitherto the measure of light has been the candle- a large amount of capital has been invested, and all kinds rolling stock of the Rhymney Railwav, and found them
power, bt1t there has been a German and an English of disputes between producer and consumer are daily in good working order.
candle-power. Lately, however, a new lamp has been dealt with before the Judges. It is1 therefore, necessary to
The Bristol Channel.-The Government is prepared to
devised by Hefner von Alteneck as a standard of illumi- establish scientific principles whicn should ht'lp the judge greatly
improve the defences of the Bristol Channel. In
nation; this has done awar with all confusion. The to correctly interpret the law. A case in point is fur- all probability new batteries armed with guns of_ great
"Hefner" light is now umversally recognised in Ger- nished by a Bill introduced into the Reiohsta~ by the penetra.tipg power will be t:rected on the Flat Holm
many as th e stand ard measure of liB"ht. The lamp is Postmaster General, which contair.ed clauses dealing with Penarth Head, and possibly abo at Barry.
'
the
protection
of
telegraph
and
telephone
wires
from
the
fed with acetic e.cid ether (C5 H n C~ H:~ 0 :!), and has a
The Rhy;nncy Valley.-The coal. trade of this valley has
flam e 40 millimetres in height. 'fhis standard has bean effect of heavy currents m electric lighting mains. There
compared with Violle's unit, and with the old candle was a. good deal of lively discussion and contrary opinion shown an Improvement. No. 1 p1t of the Cardiff Steam
power, and the relati ve values have been determined with among electrical engineers, whilst the law must, of Coal Collieries Company, Limited, Llanbradach has in the greatest exactitude-this in the second department of course, be supported by the overwhelming testimony of creased its output to th~ amount of 200 tons per day. A
experts. In future the high est tribunal for this kind of fine seam of marketable steam coal has be~n struck at a
tt-e Institute.
Other researches of great importance made at the expert evidence will be the State Institute, which will depth of about 500 yards in No. 2 pit ; the vein is 6 ft.
collect the views' necessary to submit to a. judge for the th10k. ~lessr~. J .. Fowle~ and Co., or L eeds, are erecting
administration of justice.
* Translated from Die Nation.
a compound wmdmg engme at No. 2 pit.
at HH deg., notwithstanding its constant ab3orption of
beat from the steam passing und er the pan, falls in temperature from 40 deg. to 50 deg. Fa.hr. This is partly due
to the cooling influence due to the ~et of evaporation, but
probably still more to the fact that the experimental
apparatus had no roof, and in consequence the surface of
~he b:-ine. was cooled by radiation and by the wind passm~ over 1ts surface.
I hope, before our volume of Transactions, containing
an account of this meeting, is printed, to be able to add
further particulars as to the precise origin of the heat. In
the m eantime i t may be mentioned that 300 or 400 t ons of
salt have been produced in the manner described.

60 000

E N G I N E E R I N G.

OcT. 1 3, I 893.]

the tap: r of the btck edge of the cotter D. On the front edge of
the latter are fonned teeth E adapted to engaj;te 1he inner edj;te
of a concaY'OOOnvex washer .lo' slipped on the bolt A in front of
t be cotter D. 'Ih ~ washer is made of diminished t bicknesa towards
the loner edge, so that "hen the parts are io place the bolt A can
COMPILED BY
LLOYD WISE.
be secured ir. p osition by merely d r iving the cotter D through
SELECTED A.BSTRAC1'8 OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS the ttlot. the cotter in t ra,e llinR" forward pressing ago.inst the
UNDER THE ACTS 1883- 1888.
washer F, and thus ti~hening the bol t., at the same time that
Tilt. numbtr nf cuws gi oen in the Sptcifi.catioll Draw 'no il ~tn led tb ~ teethE slide over the inner edge, and finally engaj;t"e with it
i" uvh CJUe; where none are mcntwned, the Specficatum 111 when t he cotte r ha9 been dri ven home. so that the J~tter is looked
io posidon . ( d cupted ~ tt!JU&t 30, 1893).
not tlmtrated.
.
Jfh~re JnoenttoM ar~ commun~ted f i(J.m !!broad, the Nam~s.
etc., (If the Communt.eaton are gtoeJ~ ~n ttaltc8 . .
MINING AND METALLURGY.
eo iu of Specifications may be obtamed at the. Patent 0./fiu
~ale Branch, 38, Curitor3treet, Ch!tncerylane, E. C., at the 15,880. A. Dauber, Westphalta, Germany. Calcln
ing Furnaces. (16 P'i,1 1 ) 'eptember 5, 1892.- Tbls invention
tLil;fonn p1 ice of Sd.
The uaU of CM a:doertifement !f the acce-ota11ce nf a complete relates to furnaces for continuous calcining, roaatin,t, and bnrn
~ec 'jicttton i4J, tn each ca~e, gtoen ofttr the abstr.act,, U1Uu8 the ing of lime, cement, &c. Tbe furnace consists of a co nical shaft
A built upon a cylindrical socle and pillars B. Toe eoole ca rries
PaUttt ho.JJ bun Btaled, :when tlv date nf l!ealtng t1 [Jlr>en .
A 1, 11 per.on mau at any tlme tc&tltm two montM from th~ dat~ of oo girdus D the delivery cone E, and abo,e it the conical furnace
the atfoerti.st1M"t (If the acuptanct of a complete e-pecijiC4ttot~. A is built, having six outlet doors .t' , and bein~ surmountE-d by a
g;oe ru>tice at the Patent Ojllce of oppo,ition. to the grant of a cbimnt'y 0 . The girders D suppor t a r ing g1rder H, whic h oar
ries the table with the air \'&I ves K. The dtlivery cone E is cut
Patent o11. any nf the grou~ mentioned in the Jt ct.
off at i ts upper part, forming an open t ru nce.ted cone, e.od upon
thi s part a re fixed the lanterns L and the closing cap M, allowm~
ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.
air passages between them . The dt livery cone is immonble :
16 437 w. J:. Gray and W . A. Price, SUvertown, tbe caps L and M e.re fixed by a rms N to a vertical haft 0, so
JCseex MAking Electrical Contacts between pa1 ts that, hy means of gearin ~ P e.t the bottom, they mlly be turned
of Ele~trlcal Apparatus. l7 Jt ifJB.] August 27, 189:!.-In
this 10 \entloo. wbeo using a perfCirated strip for. th~ automatic
tranamiFsion of mt'BfO.~es. & floe jet of mercury tuumg from &
reservoi connected with one pol e of a b&ttery is eau ed to fall
up >o the strip E, and thereby to ma.ke electrical contact with the

" ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.

w.

end of the cylinder , and a:d~ in kct>piog it a~ ea m tight. (A ccepted

.A t(Jtlbl 30, 1893).
19,390. A. Schnabel, BerliD, Germa:Dy~ . Steam
Pipe Couplings. (4 Figs.] October ~. lbi:Jt.-ltne 1ment1on
cous sts of a metallic coupli ng employed bet wt:en the ra1l ".'Y
c uriagts, to connect tbe pipe systems cs.ed to bea~ .thtz:tl Wtl h
steam a.ud consists io a. method ut coonectmg two ug1d p1pee by
uoive;sal joints formtd by bollowinR" out the tod ot one of ~he
pipes and rounding up the end ot the other , and coooe~tmg
two par ts by mee.ns of & bow photed on one part and ha' 10g a
spriniC pin mounted in it adjustable by mean~ of a screw thread
and thumb nut, thie pio fitting ioto a depn88ton oo the hea~ ot
the second par t ot the coupling. The pipee A and B, torm1rg
tbe couplir g, are each jointed at their upper end~ to mouth
pieces K wnicb ftt into the spouts of the end cocks ot each ot
the car r'ager, &nd o.re detacbab' y connect\d up t o the ~eapec
th e cocks hy bows and a rews. The lower <nds of the ptpes A

~.7.

Fig.:l.

Fig .1

cl -
round ; the lower ClP is ther efore pro,ided with rollers, which
s~and upon the cone E.
Trapdoon. R sene for closiog the outlet
openings F. When opened these doors act at the same 1ime as
eboots for guid ing the matuial into the wagons below tbem, and
al s~ u grates fo r sep!l ratin~ ashes and small mater ial from tbe
big pieces, and are therefore provided w}th slots. Counterdoo s
S are linked to them, which are also made like o. gr&te, but so toot
the solid bu s CO\'er the openinge of tbe door R when the e are
'l'sed . In order to regulate the outfall of ftoished maerial when
the doors Rare opened, bar T a re eo connected to their lower
put th~t the spikes linked to t.beir illner ends a re raised in to
tbe fu rnace through holes in the coneplate E, and thus pre vent
the sliding down of t he material abo ve them. ( A.ccepte:l ~ uaust
30, 1893).

Pisz.

wheel 0 wblo~ t r.Herees the etrip E past the jet, and is itself
connected with the other pole of the batt!ry. l a using the a\)p&ratus with a receiving instr ument, a ei'Teen c&rried by aS\\ tog
lo~ ann operated by a relay, is mt.erposed between the s~re&w of
mercury and a metallic surf&ce connected with one pole of & t-at
tery, so tbt.t "hen the creen is withdrawn from under the jet,
met&Ub coott.ct is est&bl'she1. (Accepted .August 30, 1893).

c.

IIACBINJ: TOOLS, SRAFTING,

18.613. A. B . Brown, Edinburgh, Scotland. Rotat
la Cutter. [ \l Jtija. ] October 18, 1892. -Thie invention
relates to a method of seou rm~r the t >Olholders of rotating cutters.
A disc A is em plcyed for carrying the cutters, which hae formed
on the outer part of ita f.loe a raieed annular p:Lr t B, acros," hich

and B are j.:~inted together and pro\'idtd with a blowc ff cock C

for the condensed wtc r. To obtain sufficient flexibility of the
joints, the pipee A and 8 a re bent so 1h~t t bdr open ends fit into
each other , the (>Od J.ipe A being rounded out to r c:ceive the
rounded off end b ot the pipe B, the two pipes being held to
utber by a bow pivotally e.tt&ched to pipe B aod a looee pin,
Jtuided io a bow tb re&ded sleeve-piece scr ewed in the bow, the
pin resting with its lower poiott>d e nd in a depr t:esion formtd in
tbe e).terior of the pipe B. A bridgepieoe is &ttachcd to the
pin near its pointeci end, ag~iost whi~h the pre11ur e eprinapb.ys, the le.tter re&I ing at its upper end in t he threaded sleevl",
having Juga by "bioh its poeitaoo io the bow, and thue the
prefsure of tht> epring, is adjueted. The pin ie free to pley
up and down In the sleeve under pressure of the epri nv, thus
imparting elas~icity to the j ointlt. (~ ccepted A ugttBt 30, 1893).
MISCELLANEOUS.
19,022. A . W. MetcaU'e and W. J. Rennlug, Pateley
Bridge, Yorks. Frames for Roving and rwiattng
Fibres. (3 Figs.] October 24, 1892. - This iovt>ntion relates to
meobtces for roving, stubbing, anc' g ill spinning of flax, the rovioge
being combined together at t he r oving frame. 1 is t he dr.. w ng

STEAM ENGINES AND BOIIERS.

17,107. F. Lamplough and J. A. Bauer, London.
Valve Motion for Steam Jl:ngtnes. [1 F i.J.] September
2~. ::.~92.-The object ot this invootion is to arrange rods and
levers to e~ect th.e mo,ement or ~be slide \'alve fo r governing
and r evers10g aotaons of e. steam ptston from the connectingrod,

Fig .1.

I
I

'

'

A le ,e r A i6loosdy attached to the conne<t.ingrod B, nod has it s

opposite end joira1ed to the valve-rod C. Uetwf>Pn the two joint

ptns on the le ver another rod E is e.rraog(d for motion by
quadrant to r everae tbe direction of motion. (~ccepted A ugust r oller with the rre sing roller 2 above it, 3 the spindlee and flye rs .
0
30, 11)3).
Upon on exteosioo of the e&rrioge plate 4 is mounted & front
roller 6, with pressing rollere 6 abo,e it, the le.tter being main
19,027.
R
.
B
.
Smltb,
Higher
Tranmere,
Birken0
hined in correct posi lion by means ot the brackets 7. (.Accepted
be~d. Engines for Propelling Shlps of War, &c. A ugust 30, 1893).
[7 Y'flll.] October 24, 1892. - Tnis invention has fo r its object to
enable the engines for propellin$' ships of war , &o., to be wor ked
20,194. J. Stephens, Stonehouse, Glouceatera.
a.t low po.wen>, n.d still mainta10 the economy due to the expan. Screw Propellers. [4 Jl'igB.] No,ember 9, U92 - In this
81 ve workmg of btgbpres.. ur e ateam. A vahe is fitted to each of invention a boss A is attached to & propeller abaft, and has holn
th e oylinder.s of the prop.elling ~ogines to close the upper ports hllred to lt t ran versely to its a:xis Cif rotation for the reception of
tbrou)lb wh1ch the steam 1s &dmttted to the upper sid s of thei r the thanks of tbe propeller blad ee C, each bole beiog 6Ufficiently
respecti ve pistone, and thereby cause the steam to work I)O the far removed to admit of the ehanks pa sing entirely tbrou(.!h the
are formrd a series of groovu C. toto eac h of these groovu fita un~ersides of the pistons only. 1 is the upper end of steam boes, aud therefore \\hfn in operation to r e\ohe in different

a tool holdrr blol'k D, which Is b lted to the dieo, and bored cylmder, ~ the larger part of the cylinder cover, and 3 the other
obl quely to rt crive the cutter Thie cutter, which is fixed in
"&Cb holder hy a pair of eorews. pr('ljeote slightly outw&rde and
Pi.g.1.
.:b.
forward from lt~ holder, so as to be olear of tbe work except at
the cutting point. (.d cCJ71ltd Au!JU&t 30, 1893).
1066. C. 11. Stetson, Roaarlo, Saute Fe, Argentine
B e])ubllc. Secur1Dg the Cotter of a Slot Bolt.
(2 /I'W1.) January 17, 189J. - Tnie io,ention relatee to means f()r
tecurior Lbe cotter of a slot bolt, aod consists in making the

R91,.

washer C)DC&VOconve:x and pro' idiog the co~tff with ratchet

teeth adapttd to engal'e with the edge of the \\'Uher to tb~t the
,.hbdra11'&} nf the cotter ie prevented. The bolt A h~e a diame.
n tal alot C ot which tbe outer end le bevelled to correspond to

par t, the two parh 2 and 3, bolted together stee.mtight-, formi ng

tbecomplc' e cover. In the plane of Lbe joint of the two parts ie
formed a pocket 4, i to which the sbutoff \ahe his mo ved when
not r equired to abut otf tbe steam from tbat end of the cylinder.
The valve i! opt>ned and shut by spindles 8 "hich pasa throua-b
stutHog-boxea 1n the cover, and a re moved upw&rds or downwards
by gear , which mAy be led to the engioeroom star ting pl&tform
& is t he port leading the stee.m from t he main slide valve to tb~
oylin~er ; 7 ii thesn.meport where it cuts t hrough the oylioder cover.
The rtbs 9 in the small part of tbe cover a r e n.oaled to torm with
tbe ta~e of the valve a V shape, wbiC'h toroee the v&lve a.gaioet ita
lace as iG ie being mo' t:d down to shut olf the eteam trom tbe.t

plam s. ~ach blade is seou rcd in its hole eo n juet to revohe

fre ely on u s axis. I n order to cause the bJadn to revolve on their
axes, a segment E of a spur" heel is c ut on the shanks within the
bo88, and epur racke F fitted in reo<"88es ~ear into the segment
l 'o. cau.se the b ladee to ueume a differen t or r e,eee angle to th~
a~nal ~me of the P.ropeller, the racke a re gh en e. motion in the
d1recttoo of that uae, meane for which are pr o\ided. (~ cct>pttd
.& tt:JU6t 30, 1898),

E N G I N E E R I N G.

470
20,341. P . A. Fic h e t a nd R. Beurtey, P a ris , France.
Gas Producers . [1 l! iy) November 10, 1892.-This in ven tion relates to the working of gas producers. The jlases fur
nished by the gas producer pass through a canal C round the
pipes V in which the steam gett~ superheated, and afterwards in
tbe tubular bundle T, and th ey arrive in tbe case S for depo 3it

at right angles to each other, and are carried in bearings marle in feed roller always maintain the eame relati\e positions to the
a square box G, which bas screwed to its top a cover arranged circular saw, whate,er their diam eter. .Secured to the fen ce is a
with fou r projecting corners. The d rill bores a round bole bracket projecting from H at rig ht angles, and le' el with the
to the circ umference, the four drilJs F foll ow on and form sliding table when t he fence is in a Yertical pcsition, but when
the corners of tbe Fquare, each cutter F revolving at righ t

an ~les in opposite directions to the drill, the diam eter of th e

hole, therefor e, forming t be width of the subs( quently form ed
square. 1he box 0 works loosely on the spindle A, and the
l'i.g.1.1,
necessary pressu re is gi.-en to the cutters F by the fixed collar J .
As the d rills F begin to form the corners of the square hole, the
projecting corners of the cover entPr the hole, thus steadying
the appliance during the rest of its performance. (.A ccepted
A ugu6t 30, 1893).
19,012. R. and J . W a llace, Glasgo w. Potato
Diggers. [2 F igs.] October 22, 1892.-This 10vention relates
to the construction of potato diggers. The digger runs on a pair
of wheels A, on an axle extending through a tubularpart B of the

body frame of th e machine. At a hollow part C of the fram e, n

bevel wheel D on the axle gears with a p imon E on a longitudi nal

shaf t carried in a tubular part F of the frame ; t hi 9 longitudinal

shaft driving by a pair of be ,el "hcele 0 at its ba ck end a ,-c rtical

---

Pig.1.
s

of the dus, from "hich they f!O out through the val ve R. The
s~eam comes through the tube a in the pipes V, in which it gets
superh t>ated, and gce9 to tbe injector I, which ii fi xed on thE'
basis D of the tubular bundle T. The mixture of air and steam ie
insum ~ted by the iuj ector I rouud the pipes of the bundle T, and
away through the tu ~es d to the heart h, wbich is on the under
part of the gas pr: ducer. (.Accepted ..dugust 30, 1893).
17,059. W . Smith, Bradford, and T. Waddington,
Bowling, Yorks. Rot ary Motors, Pumps, &c. (3
F gs.] September 2!, 1 92. - This invention relates to rotary
pump~, blow~ rs, &c. , in which two vane drums C are employed,
1t.3 obJect bemg to form the vanes and receeses in them, so that

inclio<.d at any angle forming the support for the board being
s~wn , and preventing- it fr om bein~ thrust down a-nd jammed
between the sa.w and the fence. The vert ical or angular feed
roller is kept in contact with the board by a weight suspeuded
from the end of a ch!lin. (A ccepted .August 30, 1893).

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRACTICE.

D~ crip tions

with illustrations or imeotions paten ted in the

United States of America from 1847 to the present time, and
reports of trials of patent law cases in the United States, may be
consulted, g ratis, at t he offices oi E r\O J.NEERll'O, 35 and 36, Bed fordstreet, Strand.

11011.

haft H held in a tubular bearing in a bracket J bolted f o the

body frame. On the lower end of the shaft H is fixrd a diso K,
to which are bolted cu rved arms I~ made with forks M at their
outer ends, their ends being, from t he curvature of the arms, below
the disc K, so that there is a clear space within the forks. The
implement is fitted with a sock, the back ed~e of whioh is made
slightly concave, and approximating to the course of the forks M
as they pass near it. (.A ccepted ..dugust 30, 1893).
~. a
18,777. W. B . Vaugha n a nd T. Foster, M a nche s ter .
Grindin g t h e Centres o f Lat h es, &c. [2 F igs. ) October
20, 1892.-This invention relates to mean s for g rinding lathe,
&c., centres whilst held in t he headstock spindle, and consists of
1\ light frame cast with a. square shank, which, when in use, i~t
clamped in th e slide rest. The frame carries on adjustable
centres a spindle to which is Scured an emery wheel, avd at t he
other end is cast a small pinion in gear with a spurwheel mounted
on a stud carried by tha fram e ; to the boss of this wheel is cast
a em.all bevel pinion in gear wit h a bevel wbe>1 keyed on n. spindl e
the former fill the latter as t hey pass. The vanes A and recesses passmg through th e square shank of the fram e and projecting
B are ma1e semicircular. Each of t he end plates D is made with beyond 1it, where a handle is fixed. The frame a has a square
a g roove E to recehe the end or the casing. The drum shafts are shank a The spindle b is supported onadjustingscrewsc which
~eared together, one of the wheels M, instead of being rigidly
secured to the shaft, being adjustably connected to a dri ving disc
N fixed on the shaft. (.A ccepted .A ugust 30, 1893).
2 3,172. J. M. Smith , West Bromwlch , Stafftr.
M a ndrlls for Cold B e nding, &c., L ight Tubes.
[9 F ins. ] December 16, 1892.-This iu vention relates to mandrils
for cold bending and manipulat ing light tubes without den ting
them in, and consists of a length of steel wire coiled spirally close
a
t()~ether round a steel bar, and then turn>d to the desirtd size.
The steel bar, acting only as a mould, is then withdrawn from
the inside of the coiled wire, and a hollow flexible mandril is
II

obtained. Both ends can be twist>d from the opp,site end , where
a handled is provided with means to secure the twis.t in variou.e
positions, by carryinll down the inside of the hollow sptral mandnl
a second wire coiled in an opposite direction and joined to tbe
one end of the outside manctril. By this twist the coils are
wound up or unwound. thus varying the outside diameter of the
mandril so that it can be inser ted and withdrawn from the t ubes.
( ~ ccepted ...4 Uf)Ullt 30, 1893).
18,609. B . a nd W . J. J e nnl n gs, R y d e, Isle of
W igh t. Drilli n g Squ a r e Boles. [4 Figs. ] October 18,
1892.-This invention relat>s to means for drilling square boles,
or for squaring previously form ed round boles, and it consists of
a central drill, which when re,ohing turns four other drills, the
four drills being in a horizontal position and at right angles to

Ftg .I

Rg.Z.

IJ60S
l

each ot.hea, whil e thf' ccmtrn.l d rill is' ertical, so that they form
the cornHa of t he squue hole. Th e lower end ot the spindle A
recehes a drill which. when working, forms a round hole to the
size of the dotted line (Fig. 2). Secured to the spindle A is a
bevel wheel C, which gears with four oth>r bevel wheels D, each
of the latter being secured to the shank part of a horizontal
drill F, milled on its cutting edge. The four drills Fare situated

pass through th e arms of the ftame a a nd are secured b\ lock

nuts d. Oo th e spindle lJ is fixed an em>ry wheel e and a pinion
! , the latter gearing into a ~pu rwh eel !J fi xed oo a stud h supportEd
by t.he fram e a: n.nd c~st wt b the wheel f1 is a bevel pinion i gear
log mto a be'.el wheel J .fixed on a spindle k, which passes t hronsth
a hole bored m the square shank al, a handle being fix ed on the
lower end of the spindle k , which projects below the quare
shar.k. ~o g-rind an article uch as~ lathe centre, the shank a l is
cla.mped 10 the lathe rest, t he lathe ts set in motion, and the rest
is then moved to bring the emery "heel e up to the centre t he
handle l is then turned b.v band, and t he emE'ry wheel e rotat~d by
th~ train of gears grinds . the centre, t he angle of the ~rinding
bemg controlled by the adJustment of the slide rest. (.Accepted
A U.(JU.Bt 30, 1893).
19,206. J. a nd G. P i ckles, B e bde n Bridge, Yorks
W~o.d-Sa~ng Machine r y. [6 Fi!Jil.] October 26, 1892. _:
Thts ~nyent1~m refers to woodsawing machines, and consists of
~ombmmg w1th the movable table a hori?.ontal feed roller mounted
m a bracket secured to the top of the sliding table and adapted to
allow for sufficient lead being ghen to the feed ~ollH t his horizontal feed being movable with the tablE', and capable of ad\'a!lcement up. to the perip~ ery of the circular Paw. the feed also
he1ng thus adjusted to vanous diameters of t he saws employed
Th e horizontal feed , "it h its hea.rin~, are ren1ovabl c from th ~
table, and in terchangeable with a vertical fe>d which can be
m~unted on tbe same shaft. the bracket supporting the shaft
htmg movn.ble on a stud, so that the feed roller m :q he placed a t
~ny angle and secured by bolts pas ing th rough ;tuadro.nt slots
tn. t~ e bracket. The verti~a l fe ed roller is also movable with the
sl ~ mg ta.ble up to the prlpber y of the circular saw, and is also
ad]us~abJe to any required angle eith er in conjunction with a.
beve!hn~ fen ce or not, the latter also c.:apable of being set to any
requtred angle by means of a worm and toothed quadrant operated
by hand, the fence also sliding with the table, so that it and the

WATER SU PPLY OF THE M.&TROPOLIS: EBRATU;\l.

:-In our article on 'The Water Supply of the Metropolis,"
1t was stated, on pape 395 ante, that the New River
Company had storag-e for 740 million gallons. It s h ould
have been the East London Company.
THE

~RANS SIBERIAN RAILWAY.- This great line is b eing

t
1
h d f
df
h f

h
ac Ive Y pus e orwar rom eac o tts ex tremittes-t e
U ral Mountains on the wes t and Vladi vostock o n the
Pacific. The line, when comple te d, will be the longest
main railway in the world, and its commercial import
ance is expected to be very great. Sib~ria is considered
to be well adapted for the growth of grain, and when the
Trans Siberian Railway has been bro ught into operation
a
good deal of S iberian wheat is expected to make its
appearance upon European markets.

NE'IY SouTH WALES RAILWAY . -The aggregate outlay

of Cl.pttal upo n the New South Wal es Government railways
t o. the close of June-, 1893, was, 33,456,4 96l., a s compared
W1th 26, 704,873t. at the close of June , 1898. The aggregate length of line in operatic n at the close of June 1893
was 2351 miles, as compared with 2114 miles at th~ clos~
of June, 1888. The n e t profit realised in the twelve
months ending June 30, 1893, was 1,188 540l. as compare d with 764,573l. in the twel ve month~ encl'ing J nne
30, 1888. Th e ratio of the working expenses to the
traffic r eceipts stood in 18923 at 59.R9 per cent. as compared with 66.69 ~er c:ent. in 1887-8. The aggr~gate distance run by trams m 1892-3 was 7,(;05 310 miles, a s
compared with 6,689,~13 miles in 18878. '
FRENCH HABDOUR IM PROVEMENTS.-The }"""rench Minister
of Public \Vorks has publish ed a report on certain harbour
wor~R executed by the French Government up to 1891 in~
clust ve. The total outlay made is r eturned at 44 120 000/.
in round .figures. Of this sum nearly half h~ be~n ex~
pended . sm ce 1876, when French maritime works began
to a cqmre a a r eat d evelopment. The total of 44,120,n00l.
""
'1
was made up a s follows: Ocean a nd c hannel ports
36,0~0,000l.; M editerranean por ts, 7,2S0,000l.; and
CorsiCan ports, 800,000l. The la rgest outlay has bet'n
made at Ha~re, whic h had absorbed up to 1891 6,520,000l.
An ex penditure of 4,1GO,OOOl. had also been made at
Dunkirk, while 3,,..t60,000l. bad been expended at Mar""
seilles.

AMERICAN R AILROAD FREIGHT R NL'E . -Itwould apJ>ear

that bottom has at length b een t ouched in connection
with Am erica n railroad fr e ight rates. The decline which
has take n place during the las t twentyfi ve years has been
en?rmous, the avera~e rate ~ecei ve~ upo n the C hicago,
M1lwaukee, and St. Paul R atlroad m 1868 having been
3.49 c~nts p er ton p er mile; in 1873, 2.50 cents per to n
per mile ; m 1878, 1.80 cents p er ton pe r mile and in
1883, 1.39 cents p er ton p er mile. Since 1883 the yearly
average has been as follows: 1< 4, 1.29 cents per ton p er
mile; 1885, 1 .28 cents p er t on p er mile; 1886, 1.17 c~nts
per ton p er mtle; 1887, 1.09 cents per ton per mile 1888
1.01 cents p e r t on p er mil e; 1 89, 1.06 cents per t~n p e;
mile ; 1 90, 0..9!) c~nt p er t on per mil e ; 1 91, 1.00 cents
p~r ton per mtl e ; l 92, 1.03 cents per ton per mile and
1893, 1. 0~ cents per ton per mile. It will be seE n' that
not only have rates b een maintain(d of late but that
there has also been a slight rally from the le;el touched
in 1 90.