} UNE 8, I 900.] E N G I N E E R I N G. 737

* ' Although it was arranged that a tug was not to guide .Atlantic seaboard. Nevertheless, Americ~ ~as m~de ARCHED BRIDGES OVER THE RHINE. more than one long boat through this passage, several rapid strides in the direction of competitiOn with

(Concluded fr<>m page 680.) boats were taken in tow at the time on the very first this country ." . THE main arches are very much like those of day ; some of them collided with the f~lse work. in How serious is this handicap of inland carnage

B b 'd C t' b f th t' ' t f th f d f t t 1 th t d g may be seen from Mr. Consu l Fraser's report 0~ the onn ri ge. oun rng, as e ore, ever I- spi eo e en er courses, or una e ywi ou om the trade of Baltimore for the year 1899. Balti-cals from the pier, the wind-bracing lies in the any serious damage. The rive.r police then revoked plane of the upper members, descends down t he its special regulations, and directed the whole up more, Newport N~ws, and Norfolk, are compara­portal at vertical 1 and passes through the dia- and down traffic through the second opening under t ively favourably situated as regards the coalfields gonals of the first panel to the bearings. This the left arch. Fig. 102 illustrates the state of affairs of Virginia, West ·Virginia, Maryland,. and Ken­portallooks less heavy than that at Bono, as we at that period. As the old pontoon bridge ~as still tucky yet the price of coals at the P1t averaged recognise from Figs. 97 and 98, the latter being in existence, only 600 yards above the bridge, a from '3s. to 3s. 9d., while the price f. o.b. at these on our two-page plate. Figs. 99 and 100 give special signal service .. had to be establish~d t? avoid ports of lading was about 7s .. 3~ . , and is ~ow close further details of the girders and wind bracing. collisions. The traffic on the Lower Rhine Is con- on 12A. Notwithstanding this Inland carrtage r~te, We do not wish to t ire our readers by repeat- siderable, and the task was not an easy one. last year approximating to, and t his year exceeding, ing the descriptions which we gave on page 409 The architectural decorations are the work of 4s. per ton, Poca.hontas and other equally wel~­ante. That account will be found clearer when Professor Schill, of Diisseldorf, whose design had known coals from this district have made their consulting these figures while reading it. Fig. 97 obtained the first prize. The character of the stone way into the island and coast ports of t.he Central (below) refers to the upper member at verticals 1 structure is well shown on the upper part of and South American littoral. The Untted States and 2, Fig. 98 shows only the vertical!. In both Pier VI. (Dtisseldorf side) with its portal (Fig. 103 Navy report (1896-8) on t he efficiency of the various we see the portal; we further get a good idea of above). It is more modern in its general features coals used by warships, . contains two analyses vertical], of the upper girders of the diagonal wind than the architecture at Bonn, but less realistic and of Pocahontas coal, showmg fixed car~on 78.98 bracing situated in the plane of these girders, whose modern in decorative detail. The cen tral Pier V. and 80 per cent. of fixed carbon respectively, and cross-section tapers from the point of intersection, is crowned with the lion rampant of Diisseldorf. states that 117 out of 123 command.ers of naval and of the angular and lattice cross stiffening . In The iron structure has practically been left un- j vessels reported ~hat they preferred t~ns coal ab?ve Fig. 98 the diagonal of the second panel is the adorned ; the pleasing iron railings cost alone 4250l. any other Amertcan coal. Taken 1n connectiOn

• •

• • • • •

•

• • • • • •

• •

•

• t • •

•

•

•

• •

•

•

• •

•

• FIG. 97. A P ORTAL FROM THE BRI DGE • FIG. 103. A P ORTAL FROM THE BA.J.'lK.

most prominent feature, apart from the portal. In Fig. 100 we have the lower boom of t he girder, with vertical 1 and the lower wind-bracing; we further see half of vertical 0 and the end shoe of the lower girder. Fig. 99 5hows the lower end of vertical 2, with part of the false work. The cut in the roadway, where temperature varia.tions may exercise their influence, occurs at ver&ical 4-not at 3, as at Bonn. These are the chief differences between the arches of the two bridges ; the portal at Bonn coincides with vertical 2; it will be remem­bered at Dtisseldorf that it coincides with ver ­tical 1.

The erection of the left-bank main arch com­menced in July, 1897. By the beginning of Sep­tember the arch was almost closed, as ouT progres illustration , Fig. 101, demonstrates. In October the arch, with its suspended roadway, could be lowered on to the bearing. The process was con­ducted as at Bonn (compare page 546 ante). Level instruments had been secured on the piers; the accurate distance between Piers IV. and V. had further been determined. Pier V. yielded by 6 millimetres (0.25 in.), measured at the level of the roadway; Pier I V . gave a smaller reading. The de­flection increased by a. few millimetres in the course of the weeks following t he operation. These figures are very satisfactory . The erection of t he main arch on the right or Dusseldorf bank, was rendered more difficult, because a. clear waterway, about 50 yards wide, had to be left for t he down-river traffic, whilst the up-river boats steamed under t he left arch.

* The previous articles appeared in our issues of Feb­ruary 9, March 16, Maroh ~0, April 27, and 1viay 25.

The cost of the bridge proper, not reckoning the approach viaducts, amounted to 190, OOOl. The Gute H offnungshlitte was represented by the manager of their bridge department, Professor Krohn, the designer of the bridge. The su bstruc­ture was erected by Ph . H ofmann and Co., of Frankfort, represented by engineers Lauter and Wendehorst. The Rhenish Railway Company en­trusted the superintendence of the operations to Mr. Nakonz.

THE ALABAMA COALFIELD.

with the detailed reports of the tests, these state­ments may be held to demonstrate that these coals are equal as steam coals to the British Admu·alty coals.

If now it can be shown that steam coal , equal to P ocahontas, of proved adaptability for domestic purposes, of t ried capacity in the railway engine, in the sm.ith's shop, and in the coking oven, can be sent to tidewater at a nominal cost, it will follow that from that port will come the American competition that shall certainly capture certain markets. I t is the purpose of this article to demonstrate that the State of Alabama will, within

MANY considerations have combined during the the course of t he next two years, be in an economic past few years, and especially during the past few position, through the port of Mobile, to control months, to draw public attention to t he coal sup- the coal t rade of the West Indies and of the At ­plies of England, not only in their relation to lantic and Pacific por ts of South America. U lti­domestic consumption, but also to export. While mate developments may be expected greatly to one set of men has been declaiming against expand- transcend this modest outlook, especially after ing exports and propounding impracticable sugges- the construction of a canal to the Pacific but it is t ions for limit ing the right of producers to seek sufficient for the purpose to keep within the limits their markets where they will, another has been of early probable realisation. watching the beginnings of serious competition From time to time, attention has been drawn in from the United States, foreseeing that that corn- this country to the amazing growth of the coal and petition will be effective in certain markets from ~ron interests of Alabama. This State has leaped sheer weight of economic conditions. m the short span of one generation into front rank

A steady and growing trade is already established as an industrial State. Its coal production in the in American coala with the 'Vest Indies and certain year 1870 amounted to the nominal totAl of of the South American ports, and a few shipments 10,000 tons. I ts output for this present year have been made to Mediterranean ports, and this will bulk 1000 times that amount 10 000 000 notwithstanding one treme~dous handicap. ''The tons ; and its yield of iron ore h~s g~ow~ in great drawback of the Amertcan coalfields," observes like proportion. It is exceeded by only four Mr. F orster Browne, "and our chief safeguard in at most five of the States of t he Union m·

1·ts ' or

d to th · t 't· · h d ' ' pro-regar. . err compe I I.on , lS t e gre~t tstance duction of coal and iron ; and its industrial ea ital at wh1ch Important Amel~ican coalfields lie from the . -Birmingham-claims that, owing to cheapne~s of

•

• •

•

production, it fixes the price of pig iron for the world. At the present moment, owing to the ~bnormal demand for iron, t he State is actually an 1mporter of coal for coking, and its energies are concen trated on the manufacture of pig. Local energies have, in fact, up to the present been absorbed in supplying the always-O'rowing local de1na.nd, though sporadic exportatio~s have been made. The Mexican Central Rail way once a warded t~e contract to Alabama, and the coal was supplied ma New Orleans at a heavy charge for carriage. But a more profitable domestic market was found, and no f urther attempt was made to obtain Mexican business.

The development of the coalfields must, however, inevitably outstrip the development of the iron interests, and in the near future there will be a heavy surplus of coal for export.

These reserves will be apparent at the moment that a new waterway to Mobile will be open. This waterway, of which more will be Aaicl fur ther on in th~ cours~ of t his article, is the key to the position. W1thout 1t, t he fields would, in all probability, ~ever be a great factor in the world's supply. With 1t, they may perhaps, in the fulness of time, rival in renown the great deposits of South Wales.

Alabama has an area of 51,000 square miles, a populat ion exceeding a million and a half, a network of rail ways and rivers, a fine harbour in Mobile connecting with the Gulf of Mexico, a climate which never stops work, plenty of labour, not high­priced, light taxes, and liberal mining laws.

I ts coal lands belong geologically to the great coal basin of the Ohio, and exceed 5000 square miles in area in the Warrior field alone ; the other two fields- the Coosa and the Cahaba- being measured in hundreds of square miles only. The Warrior is one of the great coal deposits of the world, and the extent of its measures and the quality and dimensions of its seams have been exploited to a surprising degree, considering the size of the field, and the fact that it has been ~:;cien., tifically mined for fewer than 30 years. General knowledge of its resources is largely due to the ad­mirable efforts · of t he State Geological Bureau, whose scien tific experts are constantly investigating in mine and field.

The minimum estimate of measures is 2600 ft. , exceeding those of the great coal State of P ennsyl­vania by 500 ft., and greatly exceeding those of any other State. They include between 30 and 35 seams of coal, of which five have been extensively mined. About half the seams are at least 2! ft. in thickness, and there are six of 4ft. and over. Esti­mates of total quantities are at this early stage of development, of course, to a considerable extent guesswork ; but Mr. M'Calley, Assistant Geologist, who has reported on this field. estimates that if all the seams shall average throughout their whole extent a thickness equivalent to that of their most accurate and r eliable measurement, they will con­tain a sum total exceeding 1,000,000,000 tons of mineable coal.

Almost every variety of bituminous coal is to be found in the field, and experience has long demon­strated the special fitness of certain of the coals for special purposes. Some of the seams produce a coal which is used almost entirely for coking pur­poses, or for smelting iron ore, or for foundry and smiths' work. House and gas coals abound. Some of the seams produce a coal high in fixed carbon, with little ash or clinker. Actual tests of these as steam coals have been few in number, as lit tle of the coal has reached the shore; but where they have been tested by the Navy Department they have stood at, or near, the top, and private users have commanded them.

Some of the coals '' are soft and of a dull colour, while others are hard and bright, and bear trans­portation well ; some, in mining, break out as large lumps, which do not pulverise in handling, whilst others can be mined only as fine coal ; some, on weathering, crumble quickly, while others, to the naked eye, are not affected for years; some have a face and butt structure; some in form are cubical, while others are columnar and fiaggy, and others still have no regular forms at all; some con tain considerable mineral charcoal in thin sheets along the planes of stratification, while others are per­fectly solid and homogeneous throughout ; and some are dry and compact coals, though they hold considerable free gas, while others are highly bitu­minous and cake on burning, or coke well " (McCalley ).

Now this great co~lfield is cut iq two by the

E N G I N E E RI N G.

river from which it takes its name. The Warrior river makes its devious way into the Tombigbee r iver at Demopolis, and thence into the Alabama river, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, covering in its windings a distance of about 300 miles from the coalfield to tide water. The south-western boundary of the coalfield is found at Tuscaloosa, on the river; and this town is believed by a succession of geologists to stand on the greatest thickness of coal measures in the known world. The covered mea­sures at Tuscaloosa are believed to be over 3000 ft. in thickness, with nearly 50 seams of coal of an aggregate thickness of nearly 100ft. of coal. The general dip of the strata of the field is some few degrees to the south-west, and as this dip is greater than that of the inclination of the surface of the country, the measures thicken towards the south­west until they become covered with the drift. In addition to this small angle of dip, the strata of the north-west side of the field have a general dip to the south-east, and those of the south-east to the north-west, thus giving the basin character to the area. This basin is t raversed by the Warrior river, and the crucially important result of the formation is that the cre~m of the field lies along the- banks of the river and of its tributaries north of Tuscaloosa. The counties of Walker, J efferson, and Tuscaloosa, where lies the bulk of the coals, are intersected by a network of rivers and streams - flowing into the Warrior- which require little aid from the hand of man to make them as effective channels of transport as art itself could devise.

As the coal and iron interests of the State have developed pari passu, and as the iron deposits lie to the eastward, the large collieries lie some miles to the east and north-east of the river, and depend entirely on rail ways for transportation t o the neighbouring iron deposits. Hence the river por­tion of the basin has lain quiescent, waiting its turn, pending the time- now close at hand- when through Governmental efforts the Warrior river shall have become a highway of commerce. Little scientific mining has as yet been done along the river, and knowledge of the details of the deposits is not as accurate and clearly defined as i t is of the eastern part of the field. Considerable casual mining has been done, however; and there is ample evidence that the greatest thickness of coal in the entire fi eld is to be found contiguous to the river, and that a great deal of it is of a high quality. The physical structure is such that it has been found easy to identify the various seams, and those vf proved reputation towards the east are also found close to the river. Coal can be seen every­where, in the beds of the rivers and creeks; and in the steep banks of the Warrior it can be seon for distances, seam over seam, in many places 7ft. thick, in others thin, but seldom under 28 in.

A characteristic formation is to be seen near the mouth of the Lost Creek, where three seams outcrop in the bank, t wo above high water, one below. drainage level. The top seam was exten­sively mined up to 1860, when the Civil War stopped all colliery operations in the State. I t is 42 in . thick, has an inclination of 3 deg., is self­draining, and the coal was delivered by gravity to barges, which were perilously floated to Mobile on freshets. This coal is stated by the Mobile Gas Company to be the best it has had for gasmaking. Similar references might be made in .number, but this one is chosen, because it illustrates aptly the cheap conditions under which great quantities of coal for a long time can be extracted. Figures on t his point will be given further on, in connection with figures showing the cost of transportation to Mobile.

It may be advisable to mention some of the seams which have been extensively worked farlher to the eastward, the coals from which have estab­lished a reputation, .and which underlie, and are mineable in, t he river district.

The Pratt seam, running from 36 in. to 50 in. in thickness, averaging close to 4 ft ., is the principal source of supply for blast-furnace coke. About 12,000 tons per day are taken from this seam alone by t he Pratt ColliAries, near Birmingham, and four other mines towards the south-west and the river extract about 6000 tons per day between them. It averages about 4500 tons per acre, shows by analysis about 62 per cent. of fixed carbon, is cubical in structure, and bears transportation well.

The Newcastle or Corona seam, averaging 7ft. thick and 8000 t ons to the acre, is extensi~ely mined. It is a hard, bright, clean, cubical block co~l, free from impurities, ~nd bears transportation

(J UNE 8, I 9<)0.

and weather well. It mines out in coarse lumps, exhibiting on planes of its bedding lenses of mineral charcoal. It has a large percentage of hydrogenous matter and low ash.

The Black Creek seam covers over 3000 miles, and its coal has the highest reputation of any in the State. Its average analysis shows over 70 per cent. of fixed carbon, and low ash and sulphur. I ts seam runs about 30 in. thick, and hence is more expensive to mine than the usual run of the seams, but its tested reputation brings a higher price.

Further details are unnecessary. I t is sufficient to say t hat the immediate vicinity of the Warrior river is underlain by many mineable seams, carry­ing a fair average quality of bituminous coal in most cases, and a highly superior quality in some.

As has been stated, much of t he coal can be extracted at a minimum cost by drift mining. H ow great may be the saving in initial outlay will be illustrated by recording the capital expenditure of t wo collieries opened last year in the Warrior field . In one, heavy hoisting and pumping machinery was requisite, and the cost of opening the pit to a pro­duct ion of 1000 tons a. day was 21, OOOl., less the value of the coal extracted in the course of develop­ment . F or opening the other to the same capa­city-a drift mine in which which practically no machinery was necessary-only 5600l. was required. In selected places along the river it will be possible, with an expenditure of 10,000l. , t o open up drifts which shall produce within six months t ime 3000 tons per day for 300 days in the year. The cou11try is heavily timbered with a variety of beautiful and useful trees, and t imber is available at a minimum cost.

The cost of extraction of coal throughout the field averaged last year under 2s. 6d. per ton, in­cluding interest on capital and placing on rail. No doubt the figures are slightly higher now, as the general rise in prices and wages has affected Alabama as it has the rest of the world, and the abnormal demand for coal and iron has started a boom there unprecedented in the history of the State. Some of the small iron works established t here last year have had to shut down lately, as they have been absolutely unable to obtain sup­plies of coal.

If, however, the coal owners are paying out more to get their product to the surface, they are being well paid in their turn . The price of coal at the pit mouth averaged last year in excess of 4s. 6d. , and the net profit thus exceeded 2s. per ton. At present writing, colliery proprietors are receiving 5s. 10s. at the pit .

Now all this great field of bituminous coal, of such good quality, and so cheaply and easily mined, would have but little interest for England if it were to continue to be bottled up, so to speak, as it now is, by expensive land carriage. But the cork is about to be drawn ; and herein is the point of, and the excuse for, this article.

The United States Government, more than 15 years ago, began t he work of transforming the Warrior river into a safe navigable stream. It has slowly progressed with the work, entrusting details to the engineer corps of its army. The work has been done in a most substantial manner. A number of locks have been introduced into the riv~r, all of them 52 ft. wide, and 322 ft. long, with a depth on the cills of 6! ft., wit h dams of rock-fill type, and iron gates. These improvements have progressed so far that, at present writing, a. limited southern stretch of the Warrior field is already in water communication with Mobile. By the end of next year (1901), the head of open navi­gation will be some miles further up ill the heart of the coalfield, and further great stores of coal will be tapped. They will be transported to Mobile in barges drawing 6 ft., and carrying 500 tons.

The highest of the numberless estimates that have been made of the cost of t his water carriage is 1s. per ton. We may now assemble all the figures, and see at what price Alabama is going to be able to put coals f.o.b. at Mobile :

~. d. Mining, handling, screening, and placing

2 G on barges ... ... . .. . .. •••

Transportation to Mobile .. . • • • • •• 1 0 U nloading and storing • • • ... . .. 0 3~ Management ... • • • • • • • • • ... 0 3

Total • • • • •• ... ••• 4 Oi •

Even if the abnormal conditions now obtaining in the State continue for some time, and we should htwe to m~ke addit ions to th~ above ~orma~

•

JuNE 8, 1900.]

calculations, the amount would be t rifling. The result in any case is startling, and cannot be ap­proached by any other known coalfield in the world.

It is clear that, in the near future, Mobile will be exporting coals at a price with which no American or European port can hope t.o compete.

That thriving city, with its fine harbour, foresees its future, and is preparing for it.

THE COST OF ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCTION.

By PHILIP D AWSON.

(Continued f1·om page 704.)

E N G I N E E R I N G. T ABLE VIII. - Oost of Production of Power in Pence per

Unit in London and Provincial T owns (Albert Gay and 0. H . Yea1na-n) .

I' em s.

Fuel .. .. Oil and waste Wages .. Maintenance Rent and rates Managemen t

Tota.l cost ..

1896.

Average from

13 London Stations.

d. 1.04 0.19 0.67 0.41 0.31 0.80

3.32

Average from

68 Provincial Stations.

d. 0.81 0.18 0.76 0.34 0. 23 0. 7(3

3.08

18fl8.

Average from

17 J~ondon Stations.

d. 1.05 0.18 0.54 O. uO 0.34 0.03

8.24

Average from

83 Pa·ovincia.l Stations.

d. 0.78 0. 16 0.66 0.30 0.22 o.6p

2.78

•

739

T ABLE I X. - Average Cost of P?·o~uctio;t. of E_ectrjci6y in Pence per Boa1·d of Trade Url'l,t ~n Brtttsh Lighhng Sta­tions ( Jt' Garckc) . •

Number or Rents, Plants on Genera· Distri- Rntes, Mnnage- Various. Year. which tion. bution. and meu t. Averncf.e Taxes. Base .

-1396 60 2.45 0.3(3 0.36 0.81 0.10 189(3 61 2.13 0.20 0.28 0.62 0.08 1897 84 1.97 0.26 0. 2•1 0.57 0 06 .

1898 I 98 1.79 0. 25 0.22 0.49 0.0(3

' -never less than 10,000l. Supposing t hat the entire metropolitan system of 210 miles could ~ave been equipped on the best overhead system, mstead of the conduit, a saving of b.etw~en tw?-~J~d-a-half t? three million pounds sterhng 1n the m1t1al expend1-

TABLE XI.-A VERAGE OPERATING AND M AINTENANCE EXPENSES IN P ENCE, WITH VARIOUS T YPES OF PLANTS IN AbrERICA, BOARD Olt' T RADE UNIT G ENERATED.

Direct·Coupled Corliss Belted Cross-Compound Con· Bel ted T a.ndem Compound Non-Condensing High-Speed. •

densing High·Speed. Units Conde nser Plants. Units of Units of over 400 Horse· ovea· 1000 Horse-Power. of over 600 Horse·Power. Power. ITEMS.

-Ft·om To From To From To

Operation .Account. d. d. d . d . d . d.

THE Metropolitan Street Rail way Company of New York operates, in round figures, 210 miles of track, which are now made up of 127 track miles operated by horses, 60 by electricity (trolley or conduit), and 25 by cable. Six years ago, the ent ire system was operated by horses. During 1893, the Broadway cable (about 10 track miles) was started ; and in 1895, 15 more track miles of cable were put into operation. The Metropolitan Com­pany had made several attempts to int roduce the trolley into New York; but owing to the condition of a.ffa.irs which had previously prevailed there, when the electric-light, telegraph, and telephone companies had all their wires overhead, regardless of appearance, laws had been passed rendering s the use of even a t rolley wire impossible. The fear that any modification might pave the way for the general reintroduction of overhead cables and wires rendered repeal impossible. After careful investigation and expert advice, during which surface contact and accumulator systems had to

u pplies:

Coal • • •• • • • •

Wa.ter • • •• • • • •

Oil, g rease, and waste • •

Boilers, • and pumps, eng mes, lnneous • • • • • •

Electrical department, supplies

•• • • .01(34 .1377 .1150 .1643 .1756 .2509

• • • • .0078 .0112 .0099 .0142 .0139 .0199

• • • • .0061 .0087 .0093 .013S .0056 .0060 miscel·

• • • .0011 .0016 .0034 .0049 .0043 .0062

• • • .0017 .0024 .0042 .0060 .0063 .0090 abour: be rejected as unreliable or inefficient, it was L

resolved to put down a conduit system, and to build the culvert in such a way that, should electricity prove unsuccessful, the cable system could at once be installed without expensive

Engineers, oilers, and wipers

Firemen, miscellaneous • •

Electrical departm ent, labour

Maintenance Account.

•• • •

• • •

• • ..

.0325 .04 '6 .0683 .09i(} .0440 .0629

.0300 .0437 .0!29 .0614 .0263 .0376

.()17(3 .0252 .03t6 .0495 .0339 .0484 •

alteration. The success of the conduit is to be traced to the s upplies :

Buildings • • • • •• • • • • • • • • .0002 .0003 - · -r ABLE XII.-Cost of Fuel and Water Oonswmption in a Small English T1·action Plant.

Units ~reneratcd . . . . . . . . . . 12,261

Boilers • • • • • • • • •• • • .0003 .0004 .0029 .0042 .0021 .0030 Engines and pumps, sundries •• • • .0016 .0024 .0032 .004(3 .(0(19 .0014 Electrical department, supplies . . • • .0006 .0008 .0001(0) .0001(0) .0012 .0018 Avern.go cost per unit . . . . . . . . 1.055d.

Coal consumpt ion , pounds per kilowatt . . 8.35 lb. L Oil. s. d. gallons

abour:

Engine @ 2 3 . . .. .. .. 10~ Vacuum , 3 0 . . . . . . . . 5 Vnlsoliue , 5 0 .. .. .. .. 7 Water , 0 6! per 1000 gn.llons . . . . 102,000 Coni , 11 0 , ton . . . . . . 45 tons 14 cwt.

Waste 5 (I Wages £22 12 0

Week Ending Novcrnber 25, 1897: Units generated . . . . . . Total generating expenses .. Cost per Board of Trade unit .. Coal per unit . . . . . .

• •

• •

• •

• • Water , . . . . . . Wnges , .. .. ..

• •

• •

Week Ending November 12, 1897 : Units generated . . . . . . Totn.l generating expenses .. Cost of Board of Ta·nde unit .. Coni per uaai L . . . . . .

Water , • • • • • •

• •

• •

• •

••

• •

Rate of Wages.

Chief .. .. . .. Three A si tants . . Three Stokers . . Clerk.. .. .. Two Boys . . . . Man on elevator ..

Wt\'"'eS • 0 Oal .. Waste Water Coni ..

• • • • .. . . . • • • •

• • • • I I I I -

••

••

. . ••

••

••

• •

• •

••

..

. . . . • • • •

• •

• • ••

• • • . .

• • • •

• • • •

• • ••

. . • • • •

P c1·centages of Cost. Wages Oil .. Waste Water Coal ..

••

• •

• •

• •

• •

December, 1896:

• •

• •

• •

••

• •

Coal.. . .. Units genemLed ..

!If arch, l 897 :

Coal. . . . . . Units genet·nted . .

••

Snlurdar • • •

Unils generated .. Water .. .. ('Qal .. , , ,.

• • • • • •

•• • •

• • • • ••

• • • • ••

• • • • • •

. . • • ••

. . . . • •

• • •• • •

•• . . • •

• • • • . .

•• • • ..

• • • • ••

• • • • ••

t I I I ' I

. . • •

• • . . • •

3 qrs. 7 lb.

17,388 G9l. lls. 10d.

0.9605d. 9 lb.

7.8 gals. 23l. 10s. Od.

. . 18, '768 I b. . . 76l. Os. 1d. .. 0.072d. .. 0.42 lb. 79 tons

used 7.72 gnls. 14,500 gals.

used

• •

••

• • • •

••

• •

• • . . • •

• •

• •

£ s. d. 4 10 0 5 5 0 4 7 0 1 0 0 1 16 0 0 7 0

17 5 0 3 7 3~ 0 5 0 3 18 6'

44 9 3

. . 31.58 pea· cent.

. . 4.42 .32

.. 5.10

. . 58.51

, 11

"

. . 224 tons 14 cwt.

. . 48,402

Tons Owt. Qrs. .. 267 18 2 . . 53,423 . . 16 m otor cars in

the morning . . 20 motors 8 tmil·

ers from mid-day on.

• •

. . • •

2190 18,300 gals.

tons

Buildings • • • • •• •• • • .0006 .0008 .0008 .0012 Boilers • • • • • • •• • • • • .0029 .0042 .0088 .012(3 .0011 .0016 Engines and pumps, sundries •• • • .0043 .0062 .0108 .0155 .0017 .0025 ElecLricnl department, la.bour • • • • .0010 .0014 .0003 .0005 .0011 .0016

Rlsu.me. Cost of operation •• • • • • • • .1938 .2751 .2876 .4112 .3099 .4402

• , r eprurs .. •• • • • • • • 0112 .0162 .0271 .0390 .0081 .0110

Total cost of power • • • • .2050 .2013 .3147 .4502 .31 9 .4628

TABLE XIII.-CosT oF PRODUCTION AND C oAL, W ATER, AND OIL CoNSUMPTION AT PowER S1'AT£0N 01" METROPOLITAN ELEVA11ED, CHICAGO.

Mont hly COST OF ELECTRICAL OUTPUT J>ER. KlLOWA'I'T·HOUR.-P ENCE. Gallons of,Gnllons of Pounds Pounds Price Cylinder Lubricnt- of o f Ou tput of M'ONTil, Oil per ing Oil per Water Fuel per of Fuel 1899. 10,000 10,00Q per l{ilo. K1Jowntt Supp l ies, per R epnirs. Kilowatt· K:Iowatt· Pound watt-H ours. Fuel. La.bour. Oil, Waste, Water. Total. Ton. Hours. Hours. of Ooal. H our. &r. . • -

January •• 2,070,537 .16(3 .OO L .o 8 .012 .00~ .255 .8 6.32 3.84 1.76 February • • 1,605,472 .193 .081 .011 .012 .020 . ?.26 .664 .232 6.68 4.22 Mnrc h . . • • 1,088,885 .188 .113 .013 .013

I .016 .342 .72 .424 6.69 4.46 20 9}

September • • 1,538,109 .140 .075 .010 .010 .010 I .246 4.40 1.44 5.60 3.~0 7 11! November • • 1,852,026 .165 .067 .009 .009 .013 .263 4.08 1.76 4.62 3.83 82 - - -

Average for I I 6 months .. 1,G31 ,COG 0. 170 0.079 0.01 0.011 0.015 0.285 2.132 1.835 5.28 3.86 I l{ind of fuel - bituminous.

T ABLE X. - Cost of Generatilng Elect?·io Energy jo1· Tm.ction Purposes/or 10, 000-Kilowatt Plant ( Esti1n.ate of H. F. Parshall in One and Four Stations.

•

I tems.

Cost in Pence per Boa.rd of

Trade Unit, One Plant Four 2500 Kilowatt Units.

Coni, d elive ry and handling Water at 4d. per 1000 gals. Oil, wnste, nnd supplies .. J,abour . . . . . . Maintenance . . . . . • Depreciation, interest, in-

surance, rotes and taxes

Total • •• ••

0.124 1 0.0082 o.ooss 0.06l 0 0.0257

0.2081

0.4248

Cost in P ence per Donrd of

Trnde Unit, Five separate Stations

with 6CO l{i)o. watt and 800

Imowatt Units . 0.1660 0.0103 0.0110 0.2000 0.0350

0.3254

0. 7367

splendid way in which it was built, and which cost as much as 40~ OOOl. per mile of single track, and

ture would have been effected. Only in a case like the one which presents itself in New York, and where the traffic is so abnormally heavy, would such an expenditure have been possible. It m ust not be overlooked that the construction of a conduit besides at least doubling the total capital expendi~ ture, entails an enormous amount of annoyance to a city during its construction, as the people of Brussels, Berlin, and New York now know to their cost.. The New York results are of the utmost value in comparing horse, cable, and electric con­duit systems, as all three are owned and run by one company .

It must not be forgotten that conduit lines are new, while the cable lines have been running some years. The somewhat unexpected result is obtained that the electric car-mile only costs 62 per cent. of

•

•

•

•

740 •

= ENGINEERING . [JUNE 8, 1900.

THREE-PHASE ALTERNATING GENERAT.OR AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION. OONSTRlJCTED BY MESSRS. J(OLBEN AND CO., ENGINEERS, PRAGUE-VYSOCAN, BOHEMIA.

(For Desc/ription, see Page 746.)

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the cable cat·~ mile, although the cable in this instance is working under most favourable conditions. The chief items responsible for this result are repairs and maintenance of cable, greater cost of keeping rolling stock in repair, owing to jerks caused by grip, greater cost of power, the cable requiring nearly one­third more power than the electric system, greater damages due to accidents to people and property, greater cost of transportation (due, in one parti­cular, to car lighting, which, in the case of the electric cars, is included in the motive power) ; and finally, to the expense of keeping the various pulleys over which the cable runs oiled and in good working order, these all being moving parts, which in the case of an electric conduit, do not exist.

Table VIII. gives the cost of producing electric energy for lighting purposes, according to Mr. Yea man, in London and the provinces.

Table IX. is given by Mr. Garcke as represAnting the proportions of the various items of prime cost of power, so far as electric lighting stations are con­cerned ; and it will be noted that in all cases the cost of power is far higher than is the case where power is generated for traction purposes. I t will

•

• therefore, be of interest to examine the Tables on page 739, based on actual results obtained, and also to compare the estimates of some well-known traction engineers. Table X. gives the estimates of Mr. H. F. Parshall, as submitted by him to the tramways committee of Glasgow and its manager Mr. John Young. It shows the advantages which Mr. Par­shall expects to gain by the use of large stations and polyphase high-tension currents. The results given in the Tables, taken from actual pract ice, entirely confirm the views expressed by him.

Table XI. is of interest, and is the result of the comparison of a large number of American power stations; it gives the average range of all the various items which make up the Table cost of a Board of Trade unit. It is hardly nece&sary to call attention to the great economy of large slow-speed direct-connected units over all other ones as shown by this Table.

Table XII. gives the results obtained in a small recent British installation put jn by the author.

Table XIII. gives some very interesting figures realised at the power station of the Metropolitan Elevated Electric Railway at Ohicago. This station

• •

is by no means as economical as it might be, besides not being one of the most modern ones. The coal used is neither particularly good or cheap. Never­theless, comparing it to the data given in Table X., which refers to the most modern and to a neatly ideal plant, the results obtained are not far removed from those which it is expected will be obtained in the new Glasgow plant.

(To be continued.)

THE ENGINEERING LABORATORY OF THE BERLIN TECHNICAL RIG H SCJIOOL.

THE centenary celebration of the Technical High School at Berlin, to which we drew attention in our issue of October 27 last, was not only an occa­sion for grand speeches, the unveiling of busts, the bestowal of honours, and the creation of a new degree, - the doctor of engineering-a distinction which ap­plied science and technical colleges claimed as a right by the side of pure science and uni versi t i~ s. More stipends were founded, not as scholarships for intending students, but to enable student::i who have

,

} UNE 8, 1900.] : E N G I N E E R I N G.

74 I

THREE-PHASE ALTERNATING GENERATOR AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION. CONSTRUCTED BY l\IEccR . KOLBEN AND CO., ENGINEER

' PRAGUE-VYSOCAN, BOHEMIA. (For Description, see Page 746.)

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already shown ability and reliability to make special studies at technical centres inland and abroad, and a fund was started to be applied in the interests of industrial science; at the opening ceremonies the fund amounted already to 75, OOOl. Further, papers of general scope were read, and reports had been prepared. .Among the latter are two quarto volumes on the '' Engineering Laboratory of the Technical High School, and the Work done in it, " c"mpiled by the chief of that department, Pro­fessor E. J osse. We are greatly obliged to the author, who has sent us copies of these reports ; for the

matter which they contain is highly interesting, and the books are worthy of the occasion. The t wo volumes, together of 121 pages, which have been publi!:ihed by R. Oldenbourg, of Munich and Leipzig, are admirable specimens of typography, and are copiously illustrated by excellent engravings in the text.

THE ENGINEERING LABORATORY.

When the establishment of an engineering labo­ratory was resolved upon in 1895, there were-in Professor J ossa's opinion-none but modest models

Fig.4.

I •

I

800

--~

I •

to imitate and improve upon, as the physical char­act~r predomina~es P.ven in the engineering labora­tories of the Un1ted States. The aims of the ne'v institute were to be both instruction and research ·

' and the steam engine, particularly in its thermal relations, was to be the foremost subj ect of study. The large engines were not to be idle, and they have been coupled with dynamos, pumps, com­pressors, &c., rather than with brakes. In addi­tion to steam power, electric, hydraulic, and pneu­matic power are at the disposal of the students. Only the large engines are permanently mounted. The smaller engines, which can be replaced without i~cur~in~ high ~xpenses, come and go. The founda­twns are espectally arranged for this purpose, and the students learn how to mount and erect engines. The laboratory is, in fact, as much an erecting shop as a testing laboratory.

The original ~·ant would have sufficed only for a hall, 20 metres m length and 10 metres in width (66 ft. by 33ft.), situated in the park of the col­lege. The em banassing munificence of Professor A. Riedler, who presented the college with several large engines, for which there would not have been room in that hall, helped Professor J osse to a larger building. He proposed to make use of these engines for lighting the college, and found the authorities ready to increase the grant, as the whole scheme was now more promising, and to consent to a. building 56 metres (150 ft .) in length. The width could not be altered, but an annex, 26 ft. wide 69 ft . long, has been added to the fron t. y..,r e need liardly mention that Professor l~iedler is not the only benefactor. There is no railway siding, but the large trucks can pass through the gates on both sides of the building, and the heavy pieces are taken up by a travelling crane. The main entrance is in the annex, in whfch we also find the offices

742 •

-and rooms for the attendants, and the accumulator batteries in the basement, and the magazines on the upper floor. The steam-heater pipes are also in the basement; a separating wall has been built to keep off the vapours from the electric batteries. The hall proper has no basement. All the pipes are easily acces3ible. The foundations and flooring are in cement; in some parts, between the conduits, the cement is inlaid with laths, which makes a very substantial and firm flooring, on which the students mount their little portable tables.

The three boilers and repair shops are in the boiler-house of the college, about 250 ft. away. The Paucksch boiler has two internal furnaces, composed of sectional rings of varying diameters; the large Heine water-tube boiler, a gift of the firm of A. Borsig, is fitted with a Frohlich smoke­corn bustion device, the small Heine boiler with an Axdorfer gas pre-heater. The steam pressure can be raised to 256lb. per square inch. The water separator of the main steam pipe to the laboratory, is situated in the laboratory itself, with an expan­sion stuffing-box just before it. The superheater, system Schworer, is placed in the annex. The water is taken from the town mains, various wells, and a mammoth pump, to which we shall refer lower down.

The q uadruple-expa.nsion engine (two interme­diate pressure cylinders)of 220 horse-power and for a steam pressure of 18 kilogrammes (256 lb.) was built by the Stet tin Company'' V ulcan" in vertical marine engine fashion, to the design of Professor J ossa, and works with a surface condenser. The stuffing boxes were supplied by the Philadelphia Metallic Packing Company, the water separator by HoldenandBrooke. The slide-valve gear is of the Klug type, and an auxiliary slide feeds steam direct into the second in­termediate-pressure and the low-pressure cylinder-3. The automatic governor requires special power, for which purpose an hydraulic cylinder has been pro­vided, an electric motor having proved unsuitable; the governor can be replaced by a hand wheel. In testing, the engine is also worked with triple or double expansion, by cutting out the high-pressure or one of the intermediate-pressure cylinders, which can be done in several ways A report on these experiments is promised. The second engine, a 150 horse-power triple-expansion engine, from the Gorlitz Engine Works, is coupled with the Sch worer superheater, and fitted with different Collmann valve gears for the first two cylinders. The dead spaces f;an quickly be measured after re­moving the admission valves. The third, horizontal 60 horse-power engine, also built by the "V ulcan, Works, near Stettin, resembles the engines of the water works at Stralsund, but has be~n modified for experimental purposes. The laboratory further possesses a compound portable engine, pre­sented by Rudolf Wolf, of Buckau-Magdeburg, a 40 hor.3e-power high-speed vertical engine from the "V ulcan" Works, various smaller engines, a dou hie­acting feed pump from Klein, Schanzlin, and Becker, another feed-pump, the gift of Weise and Monski, of Halle, and other auxiliary machinery.

Among the pumps we notice a differential pump built by the Breslau Company, late Ruffer, to the desians of Professor J osse, with two sets of plu;gers to serve both as an ordinary ahd hydraulic pump, wit h windows in the barrel, exchangeable 1ing val ves, sume new rub~er valves, a;td set~ of steel rina plates for producmg a throttling resist­ance. There are also an electric centrifugal pump, the mam~oth pump to be mentioned later , and various small pumps. Further, a Riedler hy­draulic motor, a Pelton wheel, a Westinghouse com­pressor (steam power), a compound compressor, a blowing engine, a blower from Sulzer Brothers, but no pneumatic motors. The electric transmis­sion of power is entirely by con~inuous curren.ts, bec1use their measurements are stmpler than with triphase currents, which would otherwise have been preferred ; electricians are not to be trained in this department of the college.

Professor J osse, the chief of the laboratory, has under him one engineer, five stokers, four ma­chinists one electrician, and four men. The laborat~ry receives about 750l. annually for oil, repairs renewal of lamp carbons, and general renewals also of machinery ; in this respect the liberality of special firms is probably reckon~d upon. The chief expenses, coal, gas, water, salaries, &c., are borne by t he college. ':l'he cou~se of instruction comprises three years, .or In Contine~talla~guage, six semesters. Practical work begtns wtth the third semester and t he students work in groups of

E N G I N E E R I N G. five or six. The college has for some years been unable to accommouate all the young engineers who desire admission. The general plan is to set problems for practical solution. From the sum­mary of the course of studies, we gather that par­ticular attention is paid to the thermal aspect of engineering problems.

THERMAL E FFICIENCY OF STEAl\! ENGINES.

Among the researches carried on in the labora­tory, the successful experiments to increase the thermal efficiency of the steam engine command the highest interest. A great deal of the heat supplied to a steam engine is lost in the exhaust, or in the water of condensation. Many attempts have been made to utilise this latter heat by the help of some liquid of low boiling point whose vapours could afterwards perform additional work. Gott­lieb Behrend and Zimmermann have worked in this field for the last ten years, but had so far failed in their practical trials, much to the satisfaction of their numerous critics, who questioned the prin­ciple of the idea. Not discouraged, they induced Professor Josse to take up the problem; and the report which he now presents, after three months of experiments, is very remarkable and promising. He had a condensing engine built by the Berlin Engine Works. and Foundry, late J. 0. Freund. The steam passes from the low-pressure cylinder over a surface-condenser coil, in which liquid sul­phurous acid circulates. The steam is condensed, and the sulphurous acid heated to a temperature of 65 or 70 deg. Cent. (149 or 158 deg. Fahr.), and evaporated, the vapour pressure of the acid rising to 11 or 15 atmospheres (156 lb. or 210 lb. per square inch). These vapours do work in the cylinder of the "cold- vapour engine,, which they leave at a temperature of 15 deg. Cent. (59 deg. Fahr. ), and a pressure of 2.8 atmo­spheres ( 40 lb. ) We give round numbers ; the exact values can be seen in the descriptive account which is illustrated by diagrams. The escaping sulphurous acid is condensed again in a surface condenser, cooled with water, and pumped back into the coil of the first condenser, which therefore serves as evaporator for the second, the cold-vapour engine. Thus the process becomes continuous. The chief dimensions of the two

• engmes were :

Diameter of linder ...

Diameter of linder •••

Stroke • • •

Steam Engine. high-pressure cy-

... . . . . . 310 mm. ( 13.4 in. ) low-pressure cy-

. . . . . . . . 530 " ( 20. 9 , ) ... ... . .. 500 , (19.7 " )

Cold· V t£pOU1' Engine. Cylinder, diameter . . . . .. 200 ,, ( 7. 9 ,, ) Stroke ... ... ... . .. 500 , (19.7 ,, )

The speed of the former, 41.5; of the latter, 77 revolu­tions per minute.

The arrangement could certainly be improved upon in several respects. Yet the power developed by the new corn bination has already been increased by 56 per cent. of the original value. It is clear that the ad vantage will be the greater, the greater the steam consumption of the engine. The original engine consumed 8. 6 kilogrammes of steam per horse-power per hour, and the combination yielded one horse-power at the expense of 6.6 kilogrammes of steam. But it must not be thought that the im­portance of the experiments is confined to wasteful steam consumers, which we might cure in some other way, or simply avoid. Suppose a central station of 3000 horse-power capacity, in which the generation of 1 horse-power requires 7.5 kilo­grammes of steam per hour. The addition of that condenser and of the cold-vapour engine will help us to 0.5 horse-power for every 7.5 kilogrammes of steam, 1500 horse-power altogether. If we have a better-class engine which is satisfied with two-thirds the amount of steam, we should still have a gain of 1000 horse-power. But in mining districts the former figure might frequently be realised. The cold-vapour engine does not require any attendance, and special difficulties have not been experienced. Ammonia, and also acetone and benzene, might answer equally well as sulphurous acid. Prefer­ence was given to the latter, becauRe the cylinders in which it works do not need lubrication.

It must not be forgotten that Behrend and Zim­mermann enjoy patent rights for their system. Nobody will grudge them success, however, after many years of disappointments. And those disap­pointments may not be over yet ; for we mu.st wait for further investigation and experience.

•

[JUNE 8, 1900.

In any case, the experiments of Professor Josse deserve careful attention , as t hey appear to indicate t.hat under certain conditions a substantial advan­tage can be gained by adding a cold-vapour enaine to a central condensing plant. It must be b; rne in mind, however, t hat the proposal is by no means new, and further practical difficulties may yet present themselves. Single engines would not profit so much as large installations.

We pass over experiments on high-speed pumps and their behaviour at increased speeds, and on a high-speed air compressor supplied by A. Borsig> and fitted with new valves designed by A. Riedler and Stumpf, not becau~e these trials lack in interest, but because they cannot profitably be explained without entering into greater detail than we can afford space for here.

MAMMOTH ( P oHL'E) P mrPs. The mammoth pumps, to which we finally come,

are better known in this country as American P ohle pumps, and in France as emulseU?"S. Pro­fessor J osse traces them back to Loscher, who in 1797 already investigated and applied the method of raising liquids by feeding compressed air through a small pipe into the well pipe. The Pneumatic Engineering Company of New York, the Paris Compagnie de !'Air Comprime, and the Berlin­Tegel firm of A. Borsig, among others, make a speciality of this application of compressed air. The latter firm has already supplied more than 130 large mammoth pumps. An inquiry into their working and their efficiency, based upon experi­ments conducted at the college, and at various installations, will, therefore, have a general interest .

The pump requires a comparatively deep but by no means large well, into which the water-pipe dips. Along the latter runs the air-feed pipe, of smaller section, which in the Borsig pump ends at the bottom of the water pipe in a ring, so that the air enters radially from all sides. 'l'he shape of this nozzle is important. When the air-feed is turned on, which, in the ~tendal sugar works, where hot water has to be raised 14 ft., is done automatically by a float, the water rises in the pipe, being lifted up by large bubbles, occupying the whole section. After a while we find the column turned into an emulsion with large and small air bubbles, and the water discharge is, therefore, intermittent. To get over this feature, a German firm, not named, has introduced a corrugated well pipe, whose hori­zontal sections are circles of alternatingly small and large diameter. The corrugations are to prevent the sliding back of the water; when a large bubble escapes, the water column moves with a diminished speed, as if it were sliding down. ·

The acting force is really the water outside the pipe, which has a higher density than the mixture of air and water, and to raise the liquid to a certain height requires !:\ certain depth of immersion. Hence the necessity for deep wells. The advan­tages of t hese air-lifting pumps are that the pump proper has no valves at all ; so that sandy and muddy water, and also hot water and acids, can be dealt with, and great heights overcome, provided we have wells of sufficient depth. The great height of lift is one of their chief recommendations ; their great simplicity and low price another.

The well at the college has a depth of 30 metres (about 100 ft.), and a diameter of 166 millimetres (6.14 in.) only. The three well pipes experimented with had all the same height - 120 ft . The corru­gated pipe had major and minor diameters of 78 and 70 millimetres (2. 76 in. and 3. 07 in.) ; the two mammoth pumps had the same diameters, respec­tively. The corrugations did not appear to con­stitute an improvement. For whilst the smooth Borsig pipes yielded a maximum efficiency of 44.6 per cent., the others gave always lower values and did not exceed an efficiency of 25.6 per cent. It n1ust be pointed out, however, that in the corru­gated p.\Pe the air was introduced simply by a small pipe bent to the shape of a. J. In compara­tive tests it resulted that the Borsig pipe, without its ring nozzle, remained superior with the ordinary amount of air feed ; when more air was forced up, in order to raise more water, the efficiencies became equal.

The experiments conducted at the college, and, further, in Glogau, ~wickau, and at other places, are more easily expressed by curves than in words. The immersion depth of the well pipe should be about the same as the heigh t to which the water is to be raised, and the ratio should not exceed 3: 2. The

J UNE 8, I 900.]

greater the height, the more air we want, of course. But it is, in general, advisable to keep the air supply low : we do not profit much by trying to force the yield. When 265litres (58 gallons) of water are wanted per minute, we should supply 1.65litre (0.36 gallon) of air, reckoned at atmospheric pres­sure, per litre (0.22 gallon) of water ; when we want 400 litres per minute, we should increase the air feed to 2.5 litres. The speed of the water column should not go much beyond 6 ft. per second. Large-size w·ell pipes offer little ad vantage. The 78 ·millimetre pipe yielded only 1.2 per cen t. more water than the 70-millimetre pipe, although its section is by 20 per cent. greater. The com­pressed air pump realises, on the whole, perhaps, the s1me efficiency as t he pneumatic motor. But it is less expensive, simpler, and claims far less attention than pneumatic or electric insta1lations. Its popularity for many situations may hence be expected to spread.

In repeating our thanks to Professor J osse, we can only express the hope that we may soon have in this country an engineering laboratory in which such work and such instruction can be carried on. Meanwhile, the rising Ziirich engineering laboratory will further tempt our ambition.

THE W A VERLEY STATION, EDINBURGH.

(Concluded from page 248.) WE conclude this week our series of illust rations

of the new Waverley Station at Edinburgh, of the North British Railway Company, by reproducing on page 752 drawings of some of the interesting details of the footbridges across the sta~ion and of their connections with the roof principals, while on page 7 44 we give a general view of the station in course of reconstruction and of the magnificent booking hall on the main platform. There are four footbridges. Two of them extend right across the station from the old town or 1\{arket-street to the new town, one ending at Leith-street, and the other going prac­tically to Princes-street . One of these, t he J effrey­street bridge, is a public thoroughfare, and has no connection with the station. It is at the east end of the station, and is at a high level-about the height of the station roof. The other is under the main station roof, but extends also over the sub· urban platform verandahs, and has steps to each of the platforms, and while connecting the plat­forms, it constitutes addit ion11.l entrances and exits to and from the station. This bridge abuts on the station buildings on the main line platforms, and from this point there has been built over the bridge, a gangway communicating only with th e new hotel. The location of these bridges will be seen by reference to the plan given on page 248 ante, as well as the position of the shor b bridge from the mail-room in the station buildings to the post office.

The station footbridge, which affords communi­cation between all the plat forms and to the old Waverley steps leading direct to Princes-street, has a total length of about 560 fb., and is composed of lattice girders 11 ft. deep in spans ranging from 37 ft. to 161 ft . The girders are placed at 16 ft . 6 in. centres, and are carried on cast-iron columns. The flooring consists of Hobson'A curved plates, covered with concrete and granolithic paving. An ornamental wrought-iron railing is carried along­side each girder and forms a parapet or guard bebwcen the lattice bars.

The main roof of the station over this foot­bridge on the south side of t he station b uildings, is carried on the footbridge girders by hog-backed lattice cross - girders placed on the top of the bridge gli·ders, and on t hese rests the main roof girder at this point, and also the ends of t he roof principals. From there to the north corner of the station building, the west s ide of the hotel gangway forms the roof girders, on which the roof principals abut about two-thirds up . Wood and glass on the top and sides encloses the portion of the footbridge from the south station waJl to Market.street, cross­ing the suburban lines, over which the roof is of the verandah type and only covers the platform.

The gangway to the new hotel is carried on top of the station footbridge. The por tion adjoinin~ the office buildings is supported (on the west side) -that furthest from the walls-- on th e footbridge girders by Y-suppor ts, formed of double L 's. On these there is fastened a channel bar 12 in. deep, which carries Hobson's floor plates; at the side abutting on the walls the floor plat es arc carried

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

by a. channel bar bol ted and checked into the masonry. The sides of the bridge, or gangway, are framed with timber and glazed, but at intervals of 12 ft . double L's are carried up from the Y 's already mentioned, and on these rest the ends of H­beams, the other ends being let into the wall of the building. These H-beams form cross gutters of the roof of the g-3.ngway, and they also carry the ends of small principals, thus forming a ridge­and-furrow roof, which is glazed with H elliwell 's patent glazing. The fl oor is of steel p lating and oak. North of the station buildings the gangway is carried by side girders of the lattice type, of 100-ft. span by 11 ft. deep, with H-beams forming cross·girders, carrying joists and an oak floor. This por t ion of gangway (illustrated by Figs. 140 to 145) is also covered in by timber work and glass. North of the offices the roof principals abut at different levels, as shown in Figs. 140 and 141. N ear the n orth end of the hotel gangway the roof has a very fla.t slope against the hotel wall, as showu in F ig. 142.

J effrey-street footbridge-the high-level bridge for the use of the public, and without connection with the station platforms-has a total length of about 600 ft . in spans varying from 50 ft. to 90 f t., mostly 7 ft . deep. The portion at the n or th end is carried by stone piers until it reaches t he line of the north station w~ll, which, at this point, has a gap in it of 145 ft. in length. This gap is spanned by a he·wy lattice girder weighing about 80 tons, which carries the roof and footbridge girders. This girder can be. seen on the right side of the engraving (Fig. 149), and beyond it a part of the J effrey.street footbridge. The gra­dients in this north portion of the footbridge are about 1 in 7 and 1 in 11. The bridge then enters into the main station roof (Fig. 146), and is carried on lattice cross-girders between two of the main roof girders, which are strengthened for the pur­pose. The width of the bridge here is 13 fb., and it is en ti rely enclosed by t imber and glass. The por tion across the station is level. This extends to the south station wall, where the footbridge is again uncovered . This (the south) portion consists of four spans with three intermediate piers of steelwork. The girders are 7 ft . deep, lattice pattern, and are 14 ft. 6 in. cent res. The gradient here is 1 in 40. With t he exception of a port ion at the north end, which is of Hobson 's flooring, the whole length of the floor is formed of plain curved plates stiffened by T or L bars, and covered with granolithic pavement.

The station waJls, which, with the booking­offices, &c., were built by Messrs. G . and R . Cousin, Alloa, formed no inconsiderable part of the work . On the north side there is a retain ing wall along the back of t he Waverley Market, the new H otel, and the General Post Office, and beyond that, eastward, the ordinary panelled station wall, broken at one part for a loading bank. H ere the roof is carried on the large lattice girder previously men­tioned, which is 149 ft. long. This, as we have already said, is shown on t he engraving on page 744 (Fig. 149), which illustrates the whole station in course of reconstruction. This view shows the panelled walls nor th and south of the station, the roof in process of construc~ion, the North Bridge completed, with a corner of the station buildings showing through the span on the right, t he Generil-1 P ost Office is to the right ; and just over it the top point of the Scott monument in Princes-street, and in the distance th e histor ic castle over against the 'vestern gardens.

The wall on the south side divides the main and the suburban stations. It rises 27 ft. above rail level, including the parapet, which is 4ft. 6 in. high. The foundations are of concrete, and the walls at bottom are 2 ft. 6 in. t hick , stepping out to 3 ft. 6 in. at the pilasters, which form panels of 37 ft. 6 in. diviied by three semicircular smaller arched panels, as shown on the engraving. The panels are 18 in. t hick. There is an ornamental cornice on each side of the wall.

Where the pier of the North Bridge breaks the line of the south wall, as shown in t he engraving opportunity has been taken to construct on th~ top of the wall a water-storage tank which is 101 ft . 6 in. long, 20 ft. in width and 9 ft. 6 in. in depth. I t is built of cast-iron plates, with heavy flanges and strong bracing inside. A larae parb of the tank overhangs the wall, and is supported by three web ~irders and .rolled ~eams 4 ft. apart. The total he1ght from ra1llevelts 28ft. 4 in.

In the north wall a sign'\l cabin is carried by

743

brackets bolted on the face of the station wall; but on the south wall, owing to there being main line t raffic on one side and suburban traffic on t he other the signal cabin is carried through the walJ. In. ali cases the cabins have steel framework and wooden boarding. The brackets ~re of. cast iron, of 1!-in. metal, and the n orth cabin proJects 11 ft. from the face, being tied back with 2-in. bolts ex­tending through the wall.

We have in our introductory article referred to the water supply, signalling, &c., and to the goods department at the extreme east of the stati.on! for which Messrs. J ames Young and Sons, Ltmtted, Edinburgh, were contractors, as well as. for large street diversions, and to the other equ1pment of the station ; and may now conclude with a refer­ence to the station buildings.

These b uildings, designed by Mr. Raithby , chief architectural assistant to Messrs. Blyth and West­land, are sit.uated on the main platform and opposite the two cab ramps. They for m a rec­tangle of about 225 ft. by 160 ft. in width, and contain the main booking hall, with office in the centre, refreshment-rooms, general offices, &c. The booking hall is entered from the front through two large doorways; it has also 'fide passages from the north and the south, and two towards the east . The hall is illustrated by Fig. 150, page 744, which shows itt3 handsome appearance. The booking oilice in the centre is a splendid piece of cabinet work, and the mosaic floor, the ornamental stonework, oaken roof, and stained-glass dmne makes a tou,t ensemble not unwor thy of ''the modern Athens, " as Edin­burgh is fondly ec1.l1ed by its citizens. The build­ings beyond the hall are three storeys in height above the platforms, the waiting-rooms, &c., being on t he platform level, while the floors above are used for general offices, &c., connected with the traffic department. There are extensive stores in the basement floor below the platform level. The different floors, where necessary, have been con­nected by hydraulic hoists.

The station is ligh ted by about 210 arc-lamps, of which about one-third are 10-ampere, t he remainder being 7 -ampere. Besides these, there will be, when the works are entirely completed, an equiva­lent to about 3000 incandescent lamps of 8 candle­power. The conductors are on the three-wire system, the outer voltage being 460, while the in­candescent lamps are run at 230 vol ts. In the meantime the current is got from the Edinburgh Corporation's installation.

In concluding, we wish to express our indebted­ness to lHessrs. Blyth and vV estland for permission to illustrate the works, and to Mr . J. T. H arrison, resident engineer on the n orth bridge and roof, and especially to Mr. J. S . Pirie, of Messrs. Blyth and Westland, who was r esident engineer on t he whole works generally, for conduct ing our represen­tative over the works, on several occasions during the reconstruction of t he station and bridges.

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VICKERS ORDNANCE AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION.

VICKERS, SoN·, AND MAxrM, LIMITED, have an exhibit at Paris, which is at once worthy of the great international reputation of the firm and of the magnitude of the Exposition. I t is conceived on a liberal scale, and it embraces only that which is essen­tially modern, for the firm are progressive if any· thing; and, while varied in its interests it, offers in th e splendid example of ordnance a peculiar attrac­t~on to the professio_nal and lay mind at the pr~sent t uD:e. The r~s':llt. IS . that the special pavilion in which t he exh1b1t IS dtsplayed so advantageously is cont inuously crowded. This, indeed, has been the case since the opening day, for the Vickers exhibit was exceptional in being ready at the date ?f the ina~gural c~remonial , a unique r esult which ts but consistent With the prompt realisation of con­t ract conditions that is so characteristic of the com­pany. The pavilion is from the designs of M. Alphonse Richardiere, of P aris, and t he general scheme was to typify the important manufactures of the companY:. The lower part is built to represent a great for t . w1t~ dome-shaped roof, blending in fine­rounded ltnes m to the upper works of a great line­of-battleship, with barbe~t~s and casemates, guns and moun~s, masts and mihtary tops, and all gaily dressed wtth flags, the effecb, as seen from various points of the Exhibition, being strikingly success· ful. The area covered is 2500 square feet t he length of the pavilion, which is oval on plan beina 100 ft., and the width at the centre 33ft. On th;

744 E N G I N E E RI N G. [} UNE 8, 1900.

THE WAVERLEY ST TION OF THE NORTH BRITISH R AILWAY, AT EDINBURGH. l\l E1 \ R~ . BLYTR AND 'VJ~ TLAND, J~NGINEER. , EDINBURGH.

(For DescTiption, see Page 743.)

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FrG. 149. Gt<;NER~L V I EW OT!' THE TA.TION D u RING REco~ n wcnos.

ground floor there is a comprehen&i ve collec ~ion of modern artillery, while upon an inside gallery, around the pavilion, and reached by four spiral staircases, ar e arranged models of a number of ships built by the company.

'l'he collection of models, it may be said before tJ.king up the subject of ordnance, include every type in a modern tleet-battleships like H.M .. V engeance and the Japanes~ ship_ of 15,200 to~s, t he Mikasa; armour· clad crutsers, hke H. M. . Kmg Alfred, of 14,200 tons and 23-knot speed, and H. M. . R ogue and Euryalus ; first-class cruisers like th e Powerful, Niobe, Amphitrite; second­class cruisers of the J uno and Doris type ; third­cl...tss cruisers, gun boats, torpedo-boat destroyers, and submarine boats. The merchant shipbuilding works a very extensive department, is also r epre­sented. 'everal types of marine engines ar.e. illust rated, for it should be rem em be red that Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim, Limited, are the only firm in this country who can build, armour, arm, and engine a ship without outside help. Of their armour-plate, there are several splendid specimens on show, n otably a plate 1111. in . t hick, which shows the slight effects sus­tai~6ed by attack from a 12-in. gun firing 850-lb. project iles with. an energy ;>£. 17,300 fo?t-tons, the penetration bemg only 2~ m. to 2! m. Much interest is taken in this well-executed plaster cast from the ori<>'inal plate after trial. Crankshafts, locomotive a~d other axles, rail way tyres, steel tost-pieces, and other exhibits indicated that the company's great army of 15,000 to _16,000 ~en are engaged in peaceful arts as well as tn producmg some of the most destructive weapons of modern ti1nes . It is with these latter, however, that we are moro concerned for the pi.:esent.

'everal of the naval guns of the compcl.ny .are r epresented in the ~avilio.n, including the 12-lD., the 7.5-in., and the 6-111. qutek-firers. ..For all these guns Messrs. Vickers construct mountm~s, and the frequent working of tbe~e affords. great Interest to the visitors. The 7.5-m . gun IS a new weapon, and we therefor e give illustrations of it on page 7 ~ 5 , as fitted on the Yickers nan d mount. As to

FJo. 150. TaE BooKtN.o RALt,

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JUNE 8, 1900.] E N G I N E E R I N G. 745 •

7.5-IN. QUICK-FIRING GUN AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

CONSTRUCTED BY ~IES RS. VICKJi~RS , SON , AND MAXIM:, LIMITED, SHEFFIELD.

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FIG. 1.

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the gun itself, it is built up on the wire-wound system, so that it need only here be stated that it is 386.7 in. long, and that the weight of the gun with the breech mechanism is 16 tons 1 cwt. We give a list of principal dimensions and ballistics:

Principal Dimensions a11d Ballistics of 7!-In. Gun. Diameter of bore . .. ... ... 7.5 in. Length , . .. .. . . .. 375 in. = 50 cals. Total length of gun . . . . . . . . . 386.7 in. Diameter of chamber .. . .. 11 , Length of chamber ... ... ... 54.25 ,, Maximum pressure... .. . .. . 17 tons Muzzle energy ... . .. ... 11,825 ft.-tons. Nature of charge . . . . . . . . . Cordite Weight , .. . .. . ... 50 lb.

, of projectile... .. . .. . 200 , , gun and mechanism ... 16 tons 1 cwt. 0 qr. , mounting with shield ... 10 , 14 , 2 ,,

\~ ~ ...l.l. .t!l. J • "~ I ~~

Thickness of shield ... ... ... 3 in. Weight of shield ... ... ... 2 tons 1 cwt. Angle of elevation ... ... ... 16 deg.

, depression ... ... ... 10 , Rounds per minute ... ... .. . 6

I t will be seen from this Table that the gun developes a muzzle energy of 11,826 foot-tons, wJ1ich is equal to 730 foot-tons per ton of gun-a splendid result when taken in conjunction with the rapidity of fire -six rounds per minute. This power is largely due to the form of the breech­block associated with its mechanism, which is well shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The block and the mechanism is the standard Vickers type for guns of 12-in. and 9.2-in. bore, and is the same as that now adopted under the company's patents for all British service weapons. It will be seen

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that instead of being parallel with interrupted screw, the block is divided circumferentially into segmental portions in regular steps of varying radii. Thus the 7.5-in. gun has eight segments, and of these six are threaded so that three-fourths instead of one-half of the circumference is avail­able for resisting the pressure. This enables the breech-block to be shortened by something like one-third of its length, and the breech end of the gun, which is by far the he a vi est part, is corre­spondingly reduced. The weight thus saved at the breech, when added at the muzzle, greatly increases the period of the propulsive effect of the powder, an·d accelerates the speed and energy of the projectile, and thus enormously adds to the power of the gun.

The central pivot mounting illustrated, consists

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of a ~teel top carriage resting on a horizontal roller bearmg on a steel pivot. The cradle in which the gun is free to slide during r ecoil is cylindrical, and attache~ to the cradle .are three cylinders, one of the ordmary constructiOn to overcome the r ecoil, and the other two (one on each side of the recoil cylinder) c?~tain t~e. springs for running the gun up to the finng pos1t10n after the recoil. The con­nection between these three cylinders and the gun is ~ade by arms projecting from the breech ring, ~s 1s clearly shown. The whole weight of the tnov­Ing parts, gun, cradle, and carriage, is balanced on the roller b~aring which makes the training a very easy operat10n. The elevating and training of the gun are performed by the rotation of two hand­wheels conveniently placed with regard to the sho~ld~r-~iece ag~inst which the gunner leans. Ant1-fr1ct10n bearings. are used where most required, so that these operat10ns are easily performed by one man, notwithstanding the grent mass to be m oved. An electric contact is fixed on the cradle, an~ is so .a~an~ed that unless the gun is in the firmg pos1t10~ 1t cannot be fired. The sighting arrangement IS such that only a small aperture in ~he shield is necessary. In this design of mount Increased protection fron1 shell fire is obtained by the construction of the top carriage, which is of considerable thickness, while the general arrange­ment of the several parts is well disposed and are under exceptional protection. They are also in few parts, and easily kept in good repair, very little attention being necessary.

experts. In the old gun the recoil after each shot was utilised for performing a series of automatic o~eration~-extracting the cartridge, ejecting it, w1thdra w1ng a new bullet from a belt, ramming a new charge home in the chamber, and firing the g~. In the n ew gun the mechanism to perform th1s fivefold task for each round is operated dif­ferently. The explosive gas which has sped the bullet upon its way, passes through a small valve­controlled opening, near the muzzle end of the barrel into a tube, and this gas drives a piston which, acting through a connecting-rod, sets in motion the mechanism behind the breech. The change has made the gear most simple, with fewer parts than in the Maxim. This Vickers' gas gun will, it is stated, stand t he roughest usage even from untrained soldiers or sailors .

The loading gear is an interesting feature. It consists of a shot tray pivoted on a bar at one side of the cradle, as shown on the plan, so as to move with the gun when it is being elevated or depressed, or when it is swinging on its axis. It is arranged too so that the longitudinal axis of the tray is always parallel to the axis of the gun. The tray is con­trolled by a worm and wormwheel gear actuated by a handwheel suitably mounted near the breech on the left-hand side of the gun ; a clutch is pro­vided, so that the worm gear is put out of action. The tray is swung by hand only. The drawings reproduced show the tra.y alongside the g un, while on the engraving the tray is in position behind the breech, and the projectile is being driven home into the chamber.

Barbette mounting is also provided for this gun as well as for the 12-in. and 9.2-in. ; but as we hope later to illustrate the Vickers mounting which has given such splendid results, we n eed not h ere enter into any details. N or is it necessary to remind our readers that Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and ?rlaxim are also constructing garrisons and dis­appearing mountings for their various typas of ordnance. And h ere, before departing from the subject of naval guns, i t may be interesting to give a Table of the leading dimensions of the principal of these guns :

L eadir.g Particula·rs of Vickers' Naval Gwns.

Diameter of Bore.

I Muzzle i Wei2bt Muzzle Muzzle Eoer~y Rounds We gb~ of of Pro· Velo· E T per· Gun w1th j ectile. city. oergy. per on Minute Oarriog~

of Gun. · ---- ---1---------

in. lb. ft. -secs. 4 7 45 2600 6.0 lOO 2775 7.5 200 2920 9.2 380 27CO

12.0 850 2600

ft.-tons tons owt. 2,ll9 781.11 12 8 19 6,340 721.37 8 13 17

11,825 730 6 2~ 17 19,~{,9 685 - 28 1* 39,843 791 - 50 7

-- -* Weight of gun only. Weight of mounting depends on type used.

Even more interest is taken in the field ord.nance, by reason of the great success of Vickers' guns in the recent South African War ; our Legislature might do well to make itself acquainted with the groat improv~ment~ in_ fiel~ art~l~ery, so admirably shown In th1s Vtekers Pav1llon, for an investigation such as this would be invalu­able when considering the future needs of the artillery branch of the service. We have re­cently had a series . of articles on Vick~rs' field artillery when we Illustrated and descrtbed the guns made by the company. The rifle-calibre gun was described on page 370 c~nte, the !-pounder gun on page 277, the 75-millimetre gun on pages 310 and 339 the 12-pounder gun on page 412, the 12-pounder 'separable gun on page 433, the 15-pounder on page 468, and the 4. 7 -~. field. guns on page 503. It !Day, h owever, be :ntere.stmg to give a Table show tng some of the d1mens10ns and ballistics of these guns.

A new rifle-calibre gun, called Vickers' gas gun, is shown and examined with great interest by

Leading Pa1·ticulctrs of Sorne of Viokers' Field Guns.

Diameter of Bore.

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.303

1.457 1.85 2 44 2.958

3 3 3

4.7

Weight of

Projec­tile.

• grams. 215 lb. 1 3 6

12 5 12.6 14 15 45

Muzzle Velo· city.

ft.·seo. 2000

1800 1950 1870 1575 1560 2500 1850 1200

Muzzle I Weight Muzzle Energy Round~ of Gun Energy. per Ton M~e\e with

of Gun. 1 u · Carriage.

ft. -tons ft.-tons cwt. .85 31.73 600 -

22.47 122.7 300 11! 87 240 36 17! -146.6 396 30 19

214.8 70<1.4 12 17t 2 11 787.7 I 12 1St 606.7 5 l6.3 20 23!* 341.3 886.9 12 20

1011 674 - 51!

* Weight of gun only. Weight of mounting depends on type used.

The automatic principle formerly confined to guns of rifle calibre and !-pounder guns, has now been extended in a modified form by Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim to weapons firing 3- pound, 6- p ()und, and up to 14- pound pro­jectiles-all at great energy. Thus, guns of diffe­rent calibres now fire in a minute : Three hundred 1- pound projectiles, thirty-five 3- pound shots or shells, thirty 6-pounders, and twenty-five 14-pounders, ranging in velocity from 1870 ft. to 2500 ft. per second.

The automatic mechanism of these new Vickers guns, giving rapid fire, is strikingly simple, and great interest is excited by the frequent working of these weapons at the pavilion in Paris. We have in a previous iss ue illustrated this mechanism (see page 180 ante); but, it may be said here that instead of the block being screwed in the breech and swung laterally into and out of its place, it works in these g uns in a vertical plane be­tween guides and the recoil of the gun, when it is fired, is utilised for operat ing the block. Thus on recoil a spring placed under the gun is compressed, which, operating a lever attached to the bottom of the breech-block, pulls it down­wards; meanwhile a little clip moving with the block extracts the cartridge from the chamber. The putting in of the new projectile by the gunner sets the automatic mechanism in action again to reclose the breech and to lock the block in place for the next round. The rapidity of firing is thus only dependent on the service of the projectile, and three or four men can easily keep it going at a much greater rate even than that indicated in the Table above. The 14-pounder g un attains a velocity of 2500 ft. per second and a muzzle energy of 606 foot. t ons, notwithstanding its great lightness and quick fire.

As to mobility, the Maxim has always been made so that two mules take a complete field equipment. .The gun may be carried on a tripod or on the new quadripod system by a couple of men. The com­bination carriage and tripod is now a well-known adaptation. But this principle has also been ex­tended to larger guns, as, for example, to the 3-in. 12!·pounder landing or m ountain gun. 'l'his gun fires a 12!-lb. projectile with a muzzle velocity of 920 foot -seconds, and a rapidity of fire of seven rounds per minute has in many instances been obtained. The gun and its carriage are so con­estructed that they can quickly be taken to pieces for transport, and as quickly remounted. The g un and its mechanism form one load, while the carriage can be divided into three loads, i .e., t he trail, the cradle, and hydraulic buffers, and the wheels and axle, all of which are well within the limit of load allowed for mules.

It will thus be seen that Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and 'Maxim, Limited, have anticipated all the re­quirements which have been so pronouncedly brought home in recent field operations; and there

[JUNE 8, 1900. --

need . be no difficulty in equipping our Army with the most efficient ordnance. The exhibit at Paris, indeed, serves as a splendid object lesson, n ot only to t-his country but to foreign nations that we still hold our prominent position in respect of originality of design and superiority of manufacture in all the munitions of warfare on land and on sea.

THE PARIS EXHIBITION ELECTRIC POWER STATION.*

TrrE INSTAI.LATION oF ME RS. CARELS FRERES AND MEssRS. Kor.Bll~N AND Co.

THE first large electric generating unit at the electrical gallery of the Paris Exhibition, which was in a position to furnish electric current for lighting purposeea, was the three-phase steam alternator of the Elektricitats- Actien · Gesellschaft, formerly Messrs. Kolben and Co., of Prague· Vysoca.n, Austria. It was started on May 2, and both engine and dynamo bad been so well tested previously in the company's factory, and EO well fitted in place that from the first day's run the group was able to furnish current for the lighting of "Vieux Pd.ris." The group is situated in the 30· metre gallery, and is devoted to the electrical service of the Exhibition. It is placed at the foot of the large staircase leading from the Palais de l'Elec­tricite into the "galerie des machines., The engine, which was made by ~1essrs. Carels Freres, of Gand, is a horizontal tandem compound, making 94 revolutions per minute; it drives the flywheel three-phase alter­nator, made by Messrs. K olben and Co., of Prague. Thh alternator is designed to absorb 1100 etfec­tive horse-power for driving induction motors, fur­nishing 825 kilowatts at a compound pressure of 3000 volts. The rotor has 64 poles, thus generating

at 94 revolutions per minute, a periodicity of~ x ~ 2 60

= 50 cycles per second. The rotor is made in halves and consists of a heavy cast-iron flywheel carried by 10 double arms, in the rim of which are fitted the cast­steel cores. The weight of the rim is sufficient to reduce t he irregularity of the angular velocity to ~h having a moment of G D 2 = 600,000 metre-kilos, where G is the weight in kilos, and D the average diameters in metres of the revolving masses. The 64 steel cores have an oval cross-section wit h cylindrical projections which fit exactly in corresponding holes in the flywheel rim, thus reducing the magnetic re­luctance between steel and cast iron in proportion to the different magr:etic ratios of steel and cast iron. The poles of the cores are made of sheet iron oast into the steel cores. The core winding is made of copper strip of 5 by 25 millimet res ; the single layers are insulated from each other by means of parchment paper punchings. The wound cores are compressed hydraulically. The surface velocity of the wheel is 27 metres per second, the external diameter of the wheel being 5.55 metres. The sta.tor which carries t he high-pressure winding has a lami­nated iron core with deep slots, which are insulated by micanite troughs. The winding consists of 96 coils, which are laid in the slots and securely fastened. The whole is carried by a strong cast-iron frame, which can be shifted axially, so that single armature coils as well as magnet coils, can be easily replaced. The stator frame is also adjustable in a vertical direction by means of heavy adjusting bolts resting upon the cast­iron sole· plates. The magnetic proportions of the alternator, as well as the windings, are so calculated that at Yarying loads only very small pressure varia­tions are noticeab!e. The dyn1.mo is, therefore, de­signed with a high air-gap induction, strong iron sabu­rations, small armature leakage and reactance, having a good pre~sure characteristic at no load, and a favour­able short-circuit curve. The full-load current is reached with the short-circuited armature windings, at an excitation corresponding to one-third of t he normal voltage. The dynamo works very smoothly and quietly at full, and even at 25 per cent. over, load ; its total weight, excluding the exciter, is 63 tons.

The exciter for the alternator is a six-polar con-tinuous-current dynamo, the armature of which is keyed direct on to the main engine shaft, upon an extension beyond the outside bearing of the engine. It therefore makes only 94 revolutions per minute, and generates a current of lOO volt s and 80 to lOO an1peres. The whole energy required for the exciting is, therefore, only about 1 per cent. of the useful out­put.

From the terminals of the alternator three high-pressure main cables lead to the distribution switch­board, on which are mounted all necessary controlling safety and measuring apparatus. The high-pressure switches of the board are so designed that their manipulation is perfectly safe ; they are operated by the electrician standing upon an elevated plat· form.

The three-phase current generated by the Kolben

* See pages 647 and 712 ante.

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•

JUNE 8, I 900.]

alternator is used for feeding the high-pressure distri­bution cable system of t he Exhibition, consisting of two parallel three-wire armoured cables of 2 by 40 millimetres per section. The two mains feed t he transformer stations in the following parts of t he Exhibition :

l. The H orticultural Building. 2. The quai and the buildings on the Cours la Rei ne. 3. The "Palais des Congres." 4. One part of the " Quai De billy." 5. The footbrid?,e across the Seine. In " Old Paris ' there are installed seven K olben

three-phase t ransformers, which reduce the high pressure of 3000 volts down to 110 Yolts ; t his current is used for both arc and incandescent lighting.

I t may be rtmarked that the alternator exhibited by t he Kolben Company is the thousandth dyna mo manufactured by t his firm. Five alternato1s, of t-xactly the same size and out put as the one exhibited, are now working at the three-phase central station of Prague, where they are used for generating current for public and private lighting and power uses, and for the electric

• tramway serviCe.

SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH ENTERPRISE. AN important change has taken place during t he

last few months in one branch of British submarine telegraph enterprise, viz., a closer working union between t he Brazilian S ubmarine Telegraph Company, Limited, the Western and Brar.ilian Telegraph Com­pany, Limited, and the London-Platino Brazilian Telegraph Company, Limited. As a result of this closer working union, the Brazilian Submarine Tele­graph Company, Limited, is now known as the Western Telegraph Company, Limited. The change was, no doubt, judicious and advisable as it was neces­sary to strengthen British telegraph interests in the Western world, and especially in South America. In­cluding dividends on shares held by it in other tele­graph companies, the revenue of the Western Telegraph Company for the second half of last year was 139,596l. ; and after providing for all working charges (including 4790l. for the repair of cables), the profi t reali~ed for the six months was 109,284l. , increased to 114,317l. by a balance of 5063l. brought forward from June 30, 1899. Two quarterly dividends of 1! per cent. were paid for the second half of la&t year, 45,000l. was trans­ferred to the reserve fund, and 679ll. was carried forward. The reserve fund stood, at the commence­ment of June, at l,Ol5,853l. , and after taking from it 83,379l. in part payment of the cost of a new cable, the fund still stood, a.t the close of 1899, at 991, 938l. it will be seen that the fund was reduced during the half year to t he extent of 23,915l. But it still amounts to nearly one-third of the whole share and debenture capital of the company, and it is, no doubt, a precious asset. The reserve fund of 991,938l. at the close of December, 1899, had been invested at the same date to the extent of 706,275l. , the balance bting re­presented by spare cable, ca~h in hand, and shares in other telegraph companies.

The Submarine Cables Trust has just completed another financial year. The trust accounts are made up annually, April15, and in the 12 months ending Aprill5, 1900, the revenue collect ed by the trust was 24,870l. The expenses of the year were 1269l., and payment of the coupons maturing upon tho trust certi­ficates absorbed 20,286l., leaving a ba lance of 3315l., which was applied to the redemption of 27 certificates at 120l. per certificate, leaving a reliquat of 75l. t o be carried forward to the credit of 1900-l. The largest. investments of the t rust have been made in the stock and ehares of the Anglo-America.n Telegraph Corn· pany, Limited, the Eastern Telegraph Company, Limited, and the Eastern Extension, Australa.E>ia, and China Telegraph Company, Limited. These t hree investments amount altogether to 340,845l , out of a total nominal capital of 374,285l. The Submarine Cables Trust was formed in 1871, and the stocl{s and shares which it holds in the Anglo-American Tele­graph Company, the Eastern Telegraph Company, and the Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company were acquired a t prices much below those now current, so t hat the trus t is in a strong position. Since the formation of t he tru~t 54,242l. of surplus revenue has been applied in redemption of truE>t certificates : and the redemption of every certificate st rengthens, of course, the value of those rema.injng in circulation. When certificates are redeemed, their holders retain t he coupon of reversion attached to each certi ficat e. This coupon of reversion entitles its holders to a p1·o 1·ata share in the assets of the t rust when all the cer t ificates have been redeemed; and this may prove a source of considerable profit, especially as certificates of the nominal amount of 81,900l. were surrendered upon being purchased in the market in the earlier history of the trust below par, together with the coupons of reversion attached to them.

We called attention in E NGINEERING a few mont hs _since to the threatened Pacific competing cable, and we f ndeavcund to enforce upon the principal existing

E N G I N E E RI N G. companies the necessity of a reduction of rates, so a.s to preserve business connecLions which had been laboriously and successfully built up. The companies have acted substantially upon this policy, and the result has been that t he proposed official Pacific venture is receding into what appears now to be a very dim and distant fut ure. peaking in t he House of Commons, Mr. Hanbury called attention to t he reduction of rates, and the es tablishment of what were virtually strategic cables all over the world, and t he right honourable gentleman added that the public had really little to complain of in the existing cable system. That this is t he deliberate conclusion of the present GoYernment, at a ny rate, is shown by a furthur observation of :Nir. H anbury to the effect that be and his colleagues had gone into the su bject thoroughly. The House virtually decided to leave the whole matter in the hands of t he Government, and this would appear to mean that there is an end for t he present of a new competing Pacific cable.

1\iANCHESrER STEAM USERS' ASSOCIATION.

THE annual meeting of the members of this Association was held on Tuesday, ~lay 29, a.t the offices, 9, Mount­street, Manchester. In the absence of the president, Mr. Adam Dugdale, the chair was taken by the vice. president, Mr. Charles Heaton, Bolton.

The report of the committee of management was read by the secretary. It stated that at the close of 1899 the number of members wa3 2047, the number of works 3457, the number of boilers enrolled 6765, and the subscriptions and special service fees, &c., received amounted to 14,517l. During the past year there had been an increase in the constituency of 79 firms, 175 works, and 330 boilers. The financial position of the association was s tronger than at any previous period, and during the past twelve months, as compared with the preceding year, there bad been an increase in the sub .3criptions of 589l. , and a. surplus revenue over expenditure of 1141l. 19a. 2d. The reserve fund now stood at 21, 981t. The committEe also congratulated the members upon the continued immuni ty from boiler explosions which thAy experienced, no ~x­plosion having arisen from any boiler under the inspection of the Association during the past year. It was now 45 years since the Association insti tuted in this country the system of careful periodical inspection of boilers as a means for preventing the occurrence of boiler explosions, which at that time were very frequent and very terrible in their results ; and its long experience endorsed the wisdom of its founders and had established the conviction that by the universal application of such a. system of inspection as that so long carried out by the Association wa.s to be found the remedy for these disasters. Dllring the year the Association had recorded outside its ranks, ~5 explosions, killing 31 persons and injuring 51 othera. Of these, 15, killing 25 I?ersons and injuring 46 others, might be termed "explos1ons proper, " while the remaining 20, killing six persons and injuring- five others, might be termed "miscellaneous explosives," i.e , those arising from the bursting of steam pipes, stop valves, stills, kiers, &c. In addition to these explosiOns, two others arose from the bursting of hot water boilers, by which three persons were injured.

The report further stated that the working of the Boiler Explosions Acts had been most beneficial in promoting boiler inspection, and the inception and pa~ing of these Acts were due to the efforts of the Association. During the present session of Parliament several Bills seeking to make boiler inspection compulsory had been introduced. One Bill, originally introduced by Sir William Houldswortb, M.P., at the request of the Com­mittee of the Association, would secure the adoption of compulsory inspection without at all harassing tl:ie steam use r, and practically would not affect those who had {>laced their boilers under the inspection of the Aesociatlon or any of the insurance companies. It would simply compel careless steam users to adopt the precaution already volun­tarily adopted by careful steam users. To tbis Bill we have already made reference on several occasions in these columns. A Select Committee of the House of Commons, the rfport went on to say, bad been appointed "to consider and report. upon the advisability of legislation to insure the systematic and regular inspection and certi fica­tion of boilers, wjth the object of diminisLin~ the risk to life and property arising from boiler explosiOns." This Committee was now ~itting, and the Association's chief engineer, among other experts, had been examined. The proceedings of the Committee were being carefully watched in the interests of steam users.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, said it would be perceived that the Association continued to make steady progress. The fact that so many firms now joined it was proof that the principles upon which the Association was founded were sound. It was estab­lished forty·fi ve years ago simply and .purely to save life and propert.y. There were no shareholders and no divi­dends to pay, and they could, therefore, afford to spend a \'el'Y large prOJ?Ortion of their income upon their clients. Special attentiOn was being given to the question of boiler incrustation and methods for its removal and pre­vention. They were now setting up a chemical labora­tory where feed water and fuel could be anaJysed and their members advised accordingly. The Association's consultative work was constantly increasing. Last year they ins{>ected 236 boilers during construction, and be (the Chatrman) desired to call attention to that most importan t point. It was of great importance when a boiler was being constructed to have it carefully Examined during tbe procees of ccnstruction. The

747 Board of Trade returns showed that a very large pro­portion of the disastrous ex~lo~ions ~hat bad occurred outside the ranks of the Asso01at10n m~g~t have been ~re­vented by timely i.nspection, a?d t~e Of?ID~O~ was becommg general tba.t n0thmg but leg1Blat10n ms1stmg upon com­pulsory registration !lnd inspection. ~ould meet the cas~. Since the introductiOn of Str Wdhnm H ouldsworth s Bill, which, from the p oint of view of the ?Ommittee of the Association was most complete and effi01ent, and the least harassing' to steam users, the. Wor~me~'s Compen­sation Act bad come into force, wb10h, smce 1t made em­loyers liable for all accidents, naturally covered much of the ground of Sir Willi~m. Houldswor~h's Bi~l. All the Bills before the House 1nststed upon mspectlon by com­petent persons but no definition was given as to who were competen't. The Association'~ cb~ef engi_n~er ha? suggested that the Council of the In~t1t~t10n of C1vll EJ?gt· neera and the Council of the InstitutiOn of M echamcal Engineers should give certificate~ to such as wer~ c~>n­sidered by them to be fully qualified. The Asso01atton hoped that the Select Committee would be able to pro­mote such a Bill a.s should prevent, as far as human agency could do, the great sacrifice of life and property which now took place.

Mr. H enry H arrison (Blackburn) seconded the motion, which, after a. few remarks by some of the members present, was carried unanimously.

Upon the motion of Mr. R. H. Ainsworth (Bolton), seconded by Mr. C. Crossley (Halifax), the thanks of t~e Association were presented to the. Committee for t~e1r past services, and they were rea.ppomted for the ensumg year.

Votes of thanks to ~he Chairman, and also to the chief engineer and the staff, were unanimously passed, and the proceedings terminated.

NEw YORK SunwAYs.-Two additional sub-contracts have been awarded by the executive committee of the New York Rapid Transit Subway Construction Com­pany. The successful bidders were Messrs. Hayes Brothers, of Jonesville, Wisconsin. and the Terry and Tench Construction Company, of New York. The first­named contractor will build the subway between 82nd and 104th streets. The contract with the Terry and Tench Construction Company ca1ls for the erection of all the ste'el to be used on the viaduct section of the road between 125th and 133rd streets ; on the main line, between Hillside-avenue and Kingsbrid~e-road on the west side ; and between 140th-street and Bronx Park on the east side line. There will be three passenger stations included in the section, which will be built by Messrs. Hayes Brother3.

PERSONAL.- Messrs. R. H eathfield and Co., of 1, Leadenhall-street, London, E .C., announce that they have been appointed sole English agents for the iron and steel manufactures of the 'fennes2ee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, and sole L ondon agents for the sale of their pigs.-Messrs. W. T. Glover and Co., Limited, electrical wire and cable makers, announce that their address will be in future at Trafford Park, Manchester.­The Committee of the British Corporation for the Survey and Registry of ~hipping havf:l j ust appointed Mr. J. B. Clift, of Tacoma, Washington, and Mr. Samuel S. Welch, of Southampton, to represent the society at the ports named as non·exclusi ve surveyors.-Messrs. J ohnson and Pbillips' Electric Cable Works inform us that Mr. T. M. Harvey has rejoined their staff.

---CENTRAL ARGENTINE RAILWAY.- The gross receipts of

this undertaking last year were 1,286,655l., as compared wi tb 997, 032l. in 1898, showing an increa-se of 289, 623l., or 29.05 .Per cent. The length of line in operation was the same m each year, viz. , 845 miles. The working charges last year were 611,354l. or at the rate of 47.51 per cent. of the gross receipts. The corre8ponding charges in 1898 were 502,421l., or 50.39 per cent. of the gross revenue. The net revenue acquired last year was, accordingly, 675,30ll, as compared with 494,611l. in 1898. Tliese satisfactory results were largely attributable to a good harvest having been secured last year in the Argentine R epublic. The expenditure on capital account to the close of last year was 10,902,692l. The number of locomotives upon the sy~tem a.t the close of last year was 142; the number of vehicles in use in the coaching department was 241, and in the goods and live stock departments 3981.

CoAL IN THE UNITED STATE .-The production of coal in the Uni~ed States last year was 258,539,650 tons, as com­pared wtth 219,974,667 tons in 1898. The outP.ut of bitu­minous col\llast year was 198,219,255 tons, wh1le the out. put of anthracite was 60,320,395 tons. The corresponding total~ in 1898 were : Bitumin~ms, 166,592,023 tons; an­thraCite, 53,382,644 tons. It wlll be seen that the increase in the general production last year was 38,564,983 tons. The largest coal-producing States in the American union are Alabama., Ilhnois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and W est Vir· ginia. The output of Alabama in 1899 was 7,234 758 tons as compared with 6,535,283 tons in 1898 ; or' Illinois' 23,~35,445 tonll, as compared with 18,599,299 tons ; of Oh10. 16,679,88~ tons, as compared with 14,516,867 tons; of Pennsylvama, 75,591,554 tons, as compared with 65,165,133 ton~; and of West Virginia, 11,755,222 tons, as compared w1th 16,700,099 tons. The following States each produced upwards of 5,000,000 tons of coal last year . Colorado, 5,425,618 tons: Indiana, 6 529 826 ton· I owa.' 5,265,480 tons; KE?ntucky, 5, 120,3JO t~ns ~ and M~~y land: 5,516,363 tons. The coal productiOn of Kaneas Missouri T~nness~e, W ashin~ton , and Wyoming w~ also nob w1thcut Importance laet year.

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NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES. PHILADELPHIA, May 31.

IRON and steel markets are duller this week, if that be possible, than for months. The refusal of Bessemer pig and of billet manufacturers to reduce quotations about 20 per cent., is responsible for some of the dull­ness. Consumers refuse to buy these or any other products of furnaces or mills, except in the small way and to keep going. The present attitude of maker~ and consumers cannot continue indefinitely. There is a.~ enormous consumption in progress and buyers will stmply be forced to cover. Production is being gradu­ally reduced in most iron and steel mills. In some places mills are down to single turn, the great rush is over ... But this, it is claimed, i_s only temporary. The pos1t10n taken by good authorities that the pre­~ent extreme course of buying next to nothing IS ~ven more dangerous than last year's course of t rymg to buy too far ahead. Bar iron has been shaded 1 dol. within a week. Sheets are lower. Mer­chant. steel of all grades has dropped. Plate iron and steel 1s down, and at last structural material, which has stood at the top of the list all through the present storm, llas weakened and lost 2 dais. per ton since last week. Steel rails have gone off in W astern markets, and big orders are now hung up until a general drop is announced. Railroad requirements keep snap and life in the market. All equipment makers, from locomotive builders down, are crowded with work. There is no change in the general condi­tions. Wholesale trade is dull, but retail trade is active. The masses of the people are getting better paid than for 20 years, and commodities are low in price. New enterprises are crowding along, and the opinion is general that, as soon as the Presidential nominations are ~a.de, business will pick up an~ speculative activity set 1n. The summer stoppage w1ll soon begin. The iron and steel workers, in their national conven­t ion just closed, have asked for what amounts to a 20. per cent. advance. This, in the face of a drop in pnces, comes at an unfortunate time. Shipbuilding activity is increasing, and capacity is overtaxed. The projected yards, if started, will have a. capacity for about 12,000 men, according to plans laid. There is certainly an urgent need for more vessels, but this want will be largely met by t he termination of the South African war, which, by the way, American sentiment does not want to see brought to a close until t he Boers are a political nonentity.

BRAZILIAN TELEGRAPHY.-A· direct cable has been laid between Para and Pernambuco. A cable from Manaos to Para is working well.

TRE MEssAGXRIES MARITIMEs.-The dividend of this important French shippin~ company for 1899 has been fixed at 4~ per cent. A rehquat of 1320l. is carried to the credit of 1900.

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GAB AT RIO DE J ANEIRO.-The Rio de Janeiro Gas Com­pany returns its profits for 1899 at 91,431l. Of this sum, however, 78, 056l. was absorbed by interest and redemption of obligations, and after providing for loss on exchange and some other item~, the council of administration wa,g not in a position to propose any dividend upon the share capital of the company. The quantity of gas sold by the company last year was 17,920,907 cubic metres, showing an increase of 2.52 per oent as compared with 1898.

GERMAN CoAL MINI'~G.-The extraction effected in the four principal German coal-producing districts in the first quarter of this year amounted to 8,174,924 tons, as com­pared with 6, 699,928 tons in the corresponding period of 1899, showing an increase of 1,474,996 tons, or 22 per cent. Of the increase of 1,474,996 tons, the Breslau district contributed 38,255 tons; the Halle district, 1,043,804 tons; the Klausthal district, 16,034 tons ; and the Bonn district, 376,904 tons. The number of persons engaged in coal mining in the four districts in the first quarter of this year averaged 39,860, as compared with 36,226 in the corresponding period of 1899.

TRANS-SIBERIAN RAH.WAY.-The number of passengers carried over the Trans-Siberian Railway la.st year was 1,075,000, as compared with 1,049,000 in 1898, 600,000 in 1897, 417,000 in 1896, and 211,000 in 1895. The weight of goods carried last year was 40,759,000 poods, as com­pared with 43,371,000 poods in 1898, 27,485,000 poods in 1895, 11,433,000 poods in 1896, and 3,560,000 poods in 1895. Traffic was not commenced until 1895, and then in only a very imperfect fashion. Even now the great line is not in oomplete operation. When through traffic has been more fully organised, the speed of some of the trains is to be increa-sed. ---

FuEr,J IN RusSIA.-The scarcity of fuel in Russia has directed attention to the best means of turning to the best account the great quantities of turf w~ich Rus~ia contains. It has been calculated that turf 1s met With over an area of 135,000,000 deciatimes of land. The Russians are in the habit of burning the peat right off, or making it into briquettes. Turf can be made available for consumption ab about 16 copecks per pood. A copeck is one-hundredth part of a. rouble, which is equivalent to about 3s. English; and a pood is equivalent to 36 lb. English. The Russians consider that the calorific power of turf is at least double that of wood.

E N G I N E E R I N G. [JUNE 8, I 900 .

THE M'INNES-DOBBIE INDICATOR.

WE illustrate on this page a. steam engine indicator of a new type, which has recently been put on the market by Messrs. T. S. M 'Innes and Co., Limited, of 41 and 42, Clyde-place, Glasgow. The special feature of the new indicator lies in the fact that the springs are placed outside the cylinder of the instrument, and are thus prevented from attaining any high tempera­ture, which, in the case of the pressures now being used, might impair the accuracy of the indication. Our engraving shows very clearly the position of the spring in the new instrument. These springs can be easily changed, since by slackening two milled heads, made of ebonite, in order to facilitate handling, when the instrument is hot, the whole arrangement of piston-rod, spring, and straight-line motion can be removed. On unscrewing another and smaller milled head, the piston and its rod can be detached from the head gear, and the spring removed and replaced by another. It will be seen that the whole of that portion of the instrument likely to get hot is protected by ebonite sheathing, which is an immense convenience in handling t he instru­ment under difficult conditions, such as, for instance, on a trial trip with a. bit of sea on. The indicator will act efficiently up to speeds of 800 revolutions per minute, and the standard springs provided range up to pressures of 438 lb. per square inch. The intended Yertical travel of the pencil is If in., and the barrel is of sufficient diameter to give cards 3 in. long. The barrel is provided with two interchangeable springs, one intended for use in ordinary conditions, whilst the other, which is stiffer and shorter, should be used in indicating very fast· running engines. The two springs can be changed in a few seconds, it being only neces­sary to take out a couple of screws in order to enable the one spring to be removed and the other inserted. The clips for the paper are not of the usual construc­t ion, but are hinged, enabling a new card to be in­serted without risk of tearing it, as not infrequently happens with the ordinary spring clip.

NovA SooTIAN METALLUROY.-The Nova Scotia Iron and Steel Company will shortly commence the construc­tion of coke ovens and blast-furnaces at North Sydney.

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BOOTHMAN'S FEED-WATER FILTER. THE salient feature in Boothman's feed-water filter

is the use of separate solid-drawn brass casings, to enclose the filtering material. These cases fit into seats, as shown on the annexed engraving, being merely retained in place by the pressure of set-screws. When these screws are slackened, the casing can be withdrawn, and the material renewed without any loss of time. This is a matter of great importance, as t~e efficiency of a filter depends greatly on the atten­tiOn bestowed on the filtering material; and if this can only be got at by breaking and remaking one or more joints, it is not likely to be renewed oftener than can be helped. The makers state that in a filter of 3000 indicated horse-power, such as that illustrated, the entire operation of removing the old material and inserting the new can be performed in five minutes. These solid-drawn casings are, naturally, very light: a matter of some importance in ships of war, in which the weight of the machiuery must be reduced to the smallest possible amount.

The operation of the filter can be easily followed from the engravings. The water from the feed pumps enters at the bottom branch, Figs. 1 and 3, and has two paths open to it. Ordinarily, however, it traverses the right-hand passage (Fig. 3), and so into the filter, the incoming water surrounding the casings, which are perforated. The water passes through the filtering medium, down the casings into the lower part of t he filter, which communicates with the underside of the differential valves, A, C. If the valve C be open, there is a. direct passage through it to the boiler, as shown.

When the filter is working under normal conditions the bye-pass valve A will remain closed, as shown, because the area of the valve C, exposed to the boiler pressure, is greater than the ar~a of the valve A, exposed to the feed pressure, by the cross-section of the spindle B. The spindle B passes through the nut D, which is free to slide in the crosshead, but cannot rotate. When the feed pressure on the inlet side increases (owing to the filtering material getting foul) to an amount sufficient t o overcome the boiler pree•

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JuNE 8, 1900.} E N G I N E E RI N G. 749 •

THE BOOTHMAN FEED-WATER FILTER. •

Ft{J1.

...

0 Fig.8 .

oova <c

TO 80/LEA-

SLUDC£ VALV£ ,

OUTLET FROM FILTER

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•

-- ----... -- -----. -, ----- -----··-·· ·-··

Ft{j .2.

0

' • •

• • I I

sure acting on the lower side of t he valve C, the t wo valves and the valve spindle will move downwards, opening the vah-e A and allowing the feed water to pass direct to the outlet branch; the maximum pr~s­sure desirable ou t he filtering medium being about 25 lb. per square inch. Example : S uppose the boiler pressure to be 180 lb. per square inch, the diameter of the bye-pass valve A, 3~ in. , the diameter of the spindle B, 1:l in., then the area ex posed to the pre~sure on the inlet side = area of 3~ in . circle- area of 1! in. circle = 8. 4 square inches, and tha t on the underside of the valve A = the full area of 3! in. or 9.62 square inches. Therefore 9.62 x 180 = 1731.6 lb. pressure on the underside, tending to keep the valve closed. The area. of top or inlet sid e is 8.4 in. and therefore when the p ressure increases on the inlet side to 206 lb. on the square inch the bye-pass valve A will open and allow the water to pass direct to the boilers. The feed pressure and t he boiler pressure can alwa.ys be read on the pressure gauges. When it is

•

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desired t o close the outlet valve C the handwheel is turned in the ordinary way, the nut D being held by a feather in the crosshead.

The filtering material used is Turkish toweling, known as "brown t erry" cloth, or closely-woven flax made in the form of a stocking and drawn over the perforated tubes from the top. Both the filtering material and perforated tube are enclosed by the outer casing, which is held in place by the set screw on top, the set, viz., perforated tube, filtering medium, and outer casing forming an clement.

The filter can be cleaned by steam admitted at the cook shown in Fig. 1, at the bo~tom, and esca.ping at the sludging valve. It rises up all the casings, and passes through the filtering material in the opposite direction to the water. In some cases, two layers of material are used, as shown ; and space is then left for the dirt to run down between them, the dirt from the inner layer not having to be forced through the outer.

Au automatic sludge valve is shown at the bottom

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/ INL£T

710 F/LT£R I F===!

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of the element fitted for double filtration. '"' hen blowing through with steam this valve is lifted by the pressure between the inner and outer medium, and allows of the grease arrested by t he inner medium to be blown out through the screw-down sludge valve fitted on the outside of the chamber.

TheEe filters are tested hydraulically to 500 lb. per square inch by the makers, the Boothman Patent Filter Syndicate, of Fyfe Chambers, 105, West George­street, Glasgow.

THE V OLTA CONTACT FORCE : ERRATUM. -In the remarks on Hittorf's researches on the peculiar behaviour of chromium, in our issue of June 1, page 724, read: The passive state is not due, as in the case of iron, to the formation of any oxide layer on the surface. The word "not" was inadvertently omitted.

RoLLING STOCK FOR THE ORLEANS RAILWAY.-The Paris and Orleans Railway Company has the following additional rolling stock now in course of construction : 68 locomo­tives1 60 tenders, 171 passenger carriages, and 2200 trucks. Of the locomotives which· are now being built for the company, eight are electric engines. These are intended to be used on the Quai d'Orsay extension. At the close of last year the company owned 761 locomotives for~as­senge~ and ~ixed traffic, 553 goods engines, an 83 shuntmg engmes.

JAPAN SoCIETY OF MEcHANICAL ENGINEERS.-We have received a copy of the Proceedin~s of the Society of Mechanical Engineers in J apau, of wh1ch Mr. Sa-dakazu Sakata is President. The papers printed in the Proceed­ings include the following : "On Gas Engines," by Mr. J. Nakahara, M.E. ; " New Method of Approximating to Cycloidal Teeth of Wheels by Circular Arcs," by Mr. S. Kosaka., M .E . ; "An Oil Tank Wagon Suitable for Japanese Railways," by Mr. M. Crizukn, M.E.; and on "Friction Clutch," by Mr. A. Inokuty, M. E., Koga· kuhakushi. There are abstracts dealing with the follow­ing subjects : " Investigations of Earthquake Effects pn Cliimneys ;" '' Serpolleb's Self-Propellin~ Road Vehicles an~ L ocomotives ;' . "Patent Abstracts;' "Very Strong Wmd Observed m Japan." The Proceedings are printed in the picturesque Japanese characters, there­~ore we. have to confess ourselves unable to review them m detail .

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NOTES FROM THE NORTH. GLASGOW, Wednesday.

Glasgow Pig-Iron Market. -Business was quiet on Thursday forenoon, only some 10,000 tons changing hands. The tone was steady, and the S()le change was a drop of 1d. in Scotch iron, making the "back " on Scotch 9d. per ton. In the afternoon other 10,000 tons changed hands and prices were easier, Scotch closing 5d. per ton down o~ ~he day, and Cleveland also 5d. down, while hema.tite u on made 1d. per ton. The back on Scotch iron changed to 11d. ver ton. At the close the settlement prices were : Scotch uon, 67s. 4~d. per ton; Cleveland, 693. 1~d. ; Oumberland and Middlesbrough herna.tite iron respec­tively, 793. 3d. and 853. per ton. At the foreno~n meet­ing of the market on Friday some 10,000 tons changed hands. The tone was very steady, and Scotch iron made an advance of 2~d. per ton, and hema.tite iron ~d . per ton. The settlement prices in the afternoon were: 67s. 7~d. 69s. 4~d., 793. 7id. and 85s. per ton. The pig­iron warrant market, in company with the Stock ExchaWS'~ was closed on Monday, that being a holi­day ( h1t-Monday). The market at the o2ening on Tuesday forenoon was poor and inactive. Only 5000 tons were dealt in. Scotch fell lld. per ton Cleveland 6d., and hematite iron 8~d . per ton. Othe~ 5000 tons changed hands in the afternoon, and the market was very depressed. At one time Scotch iron was 1s. lld. down on the day, but the final close showed a loss of ~s. 6d. per ton. Cleveland was 2$. lower, and hematite non 23. O~d. per ton. The settlement prices were : 66s. 1~?· per ton, 67s. 3d., 77s. lid., and 85s. per ton. T o-days forenoon market opened weak, but afterwards steadied. Scotch, after being 5d. per ton down at 653. 8d. cash, rallied to 65a. 11d. buyers, or 65s. 10d. one month. Cleveland was nob dealt in. In the afternoon there was a sharp slump, Scotch closing down l s. ~d. on the day, and the turnover was ab?ub 10~000 tons as in the forenoon, the settlement prices bemg: 6-!s. ~d., 67s. 3d., 75s. lO!d., and 85.s. per ton. Tuesday's quotations for No. 1 makers' iron were : Clyde, 87s. per ton; Calder and Gartsherrie, 87s. 6d. ; Summerlee, 903. ; Coltness 9ls. 6d.-the foregoing all shiJ?ped at Glasgow.; Glengar~ock (shipped ab Ardros­san), 863.; Shotts (sh1pped at L eith), 90s.; Carron (shipped ab Grangemouth), 883. per ton. The following are the returns of the shipments for the week onding last Saturday: To Canada, 140 tons; to South America 275 tons ; to India, 193 tons; to Italy, 275 tons ; t~ Germany, 792 tons; to Holland, 475 tons ; lesser quantities to other countries and 2625 tons coast­wise, the whole shipments amounting to 5185 tons, a~ compared with 5147 tons in the corresponding week of last year. The stock of pig iron in Messrs. Connal and Co. 's public warrant stores stood at 129,050 tons yesterday afternoon, against 136,229 tons yesterday week, thus showing a reduction for last week amounting to 7179 tons. The special feature of the past week's pig­iron market has been the continued uneasines3 of dealers trying to adjust their settlements to the provisions of the new rule, and this factor is mostly responsible for the fluctuations that have taken place. Trade reports show no improvement on their recent retrograde movement, whether from America, the Continent, or the home in­dustries. Makers show more inclination in every dis­trict in this country to meet buyers' requirements, a<:J the dearth of fresh buying orders is being felt for the first time for some years. American competition, especially t o the Continent, is Lecoming very serious, and must prove a potent factor in ruling prices here; this mean­while applies more to manufactured iron and steel than to ~ig iron. The number of blast-furnaces in actual operation 1s still 85, against 83 at this time last year.

F inished Iron and Steel.-It is thought not unlikely that a number of the smaller iron and steel works may shut down durin~ July, as the difficulty on the fuel question is becoming etill more pronounced. The advance of another l a. per ton on the price of coal is a great hardship on the maker and the consumer. Some consumers are exceed­ingly wrath on the matter. They are not getting their proper requirements, and they allege that some of the coalmasters are shipping the coal in order to secure big prices in this country. The Coa.tbridge makers of malle­able iron feel the competition from America in hoops and strips. Tubema.kers are finding that new work is falling off, but they hope, however, to be busy on South African account as soon as the war is ended. A similar hope is being expressed by other consumers of finished iron and steel; indeed, they say that there will shortly be a great demand for their work.

The Late Mr. WiUialm W atson, Iron Merchant.-Genera.l regret was expreased on 'Change yesterday at the an­nouncement of the death of Mr. William Wilson, iron merchant, 28, Royal Excha.n~e-squa.re. Mr. Wilson, who was the secretary for the Scotch Pig Iron Trade Aasocia· tion since its institution, was connected with the pig-iron market for the long period of 40 years; in fact, he wn.s one of the gentlemen who were mainly instrumental in form­ing the Association. lVIr. Wilson1 who was 60 years of age, had been ailing for some months. He leaves a widow and grown-up family. At the close of the forenoon session of the pig-iron market yesterday ~Ir. Service rfl­ferred to the loss which the members had sustained through the death of their secreta ry, and as a mark of r espect it was unanimously resolved to close the market t o-morrow (Thursday) afternoon, the day of the funeral.

Glasgow Coppe1' .lliarket.-Another week has passed without any business being done in the Glasgow copper market. The price has been quite nominal all the week, and at the close to-day the settlement price was 71t. 15s. per ton.

Clyde Shipbuild ing Trade,· Launohes i n Map. -Thi3

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E N G I N E E RI N G. branch of the local trades has not made any improvement during the month just closed. Order3 remain a~ scarce as ever, and many shipbuilding firms report that they have had next to none. This is attributed to the high rates of wage3 prevailing, and to the prices of materials­iron, steel, and coal more particularly- being very high. It is felt that unless matters take a turn, and that very soon, there will bs many empty berths in the yards in the near future. Thirty vessels were put into the water during the month, making 56,800 tons of new shipping- war vessels, steamers, a. barque, and eight yachts-and making for the fiv~ months of the year 180,650 tons, an increase of six vessels, but a decrease of 13,012 tons, when compared with the corresponding period of last year. The new orders amount approximately to 10,000 tons, so far as are known. The following are a. few of the principal ve~sels in the month's output: H.M.S. Aboukir, first-class armoured cruiser of 12,000 tons, built at Fairfield for the British Admiralty; the screw steamer Rowan­more, 9200 tons, built for the J ohnstone Line, Liver­pool, by Messrs. Connell and Co., Scotstoun ; the screw steamer Ajax, 6800 tons, built by Messrs. Scott and Co., G reenock, for the Ocean Steamship Com­pany ; the screw steamer Itola, 5000 tons, builb for the British India Steam Navigation Company by Messrs. William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton; the screw steamer Onta.rian, 4500 tons, built by Messrs. Robert Dunca.n and Co., Port Glasgow, for the Allan Line ; the screw steamer Vermont, 4300 tons, built for the South American Steamship Company, Valpa.raiso, by Messrs. Ba.rclay, Curie, and Co.; the torpedo-boat destroyer Tiger, and sundry steam yachts and trawlers.

Price of Electn.'c Light in Edinburgh.- The Council of Edinburgh have decided, by a large majority, in favour of making the electr:c light current 3!d. per Board of Trade unit.

The Pr ice of Gas.-At H elensburgh, where the Town Council have had the opportunity of managin~ the gas affair3 of the burgh for the past year, the price of the town's gas is to be continued at 4-a. 7d. per 1000 cubic feet. The Montrose Ga..q Company have informed the Town Council that the price of gas is to be put up. At R oth­well and U ddington there is not to be any change in price. A very favourable annual report has just been submitted to the shareholders of the company. At Dundee it is expected that the rise in the price of gas will be raised 6d. per 1000 cubic feet, and at Perth in is probable that there will be a. rise in the price.

The Provan Gas Works : Large Contraot.-The Gas Committee of the Glasgow Corporation recommend that the con tract for the ex ea vating and building work required for the first section of the new Provan Gas Works be given to Messrs. R obert M'Alpine and Sons, 188, St. Vincent-street. Messrs. M'Alpine's contracb includes the excavation and concrete work for two gasholder~, each of which will contain 8,500,000 cubic feet of gas; also the erection of the retort house, the coal stores, the purifier house, the lime stores, the boiler house, the station meter house, the exhauster house, the offica..q, the workshops, the limekilns, the preparation of the rail way, &c. Messrs. M'Alpine bind themeelves to complete all this work within two years. Tho amount of the contract is 171,756l. 13s. 4d.; the ironwork, which will not be finished for another 18 months, has nob yet been contracted for. It will involve an expenditure of ab least another 150, OOOl. A ga-s-holder alone costs, roughly, about 53,000l., of which 23, OOOl. is for the tank and 30, OOOl. for the gasholder.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE. SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.

T ickhilt Light Railway Scheme.- An inquiry was held at Donoa.ster last week before the Light Railway Com­missionera into the scheme for the construc tion of a light rail way to 'fickhill and other parts of the district. It was explained that the proposed railway No. 1 would start from the Dearne Valley Railway, which had been authorised by Parliament, and pass near to the village of Wad worth to Tickhill. Railway No. 2 would pass from Tickhill eastwards to Bawtry. R ailway No. 3 would cro~s over the G reat Northern R ailway at Bawtry, and go by Mieson to H axey. The proposed light railway would form a continuous line from the Sou th Yorkshire coalfields to the river Tren t. The district through which it ran was agricultural, and one which had a good deal of land in it capable of growing market garden produce. The means of transit were, however, at present very primitive, and the introduction of a line would very largely increase the trade of the district. After c0nsider­a.ble discnssion, in which itl wa-s admitted that if the Dearne Valley Railway were not constructed, Railway No. 1 would not be much use, that part of the scheme was withdrawn. L ord Jersey, chairman of the Commissioners, in concluding the inquiry, intimated that the Commis­sioners took a favourable view of the scheme.

G?·eatc1· She,f)ield. - The exten<:Jions of boundary made by the Sheffield Corporation Bill, which has just passed the House of Lords Committee, will make that city the lar&'est municipality in the country outsid~ the Metro­polls. The area of the city before the Bill was promotAd was 19,651 acres. To this 4009! acres has been added, brioging tho total a rea up to 23,6GO~ acres. Bradford, with 22.843 acres, is the next largest county borough in England.

Grirnsby Dock Subsidy.- A resolution will be proposed at the ensuing meeting of the G rimsby Corporation that that body grant a subsidy of 500l. per annum for seven years towards the interest of a p ortion of the capital to be expended in connection with the making of new docks at Grimsby, so urgently needed to meet the requirements of the port.

[JUNE 8, 1900.

Iron and, Steel.-Most of the large works have been closed down during the pa.st week owing to the Whitsun­tide holidays, and, as owing to the long-continued pro­sperity in trade, most of the men are well off, the holi­day will be somewh:1.t prolonged. The further a{! vances which are threatened in coal, coke, rolling, and other materials is being viewed seriously by manufacturers. So long as the manufacturers of material in America and Germany were equally pressed no great harm was likely to ensue, but now the latter appear to have overtaken the demand and are beginning to look round the foreign markets. It is feared the day is not distant when their surplus stocks of iron and steel will be coming to Eng­land, to the advantage of the consumer, but the serious detriment of hotr.e makers.

South Yorkshire Coal Trade.-Although the Whitsun­tide holidays have interfered considerably with the work­ing of the pits, a. brisk trade continues to be done at ad­vancing rates in all qualities of fuel. The pressure im­mediately before the holiday was considerable, consumers being anxious to obtain stocks to tide them over the recess. H olders of expiring contracts have been doing their best to obtain full supplies, knowing that the con­tracts which will be made at the close of the existing ones will be at fully 5s. advance on their present rates. Export business is very brisk, and high price3 are being paid by foreign buyers. In house qualities a good trade continues to be done. Prices have been firmer, though the advance has not been sufficient to make any general alteration in the market.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND .AND THE NORTHERN COUNTIES.

MIDDLESBROUGH Wednesday. The Cleveland I rO"'l Trade.-Holidays have altogether

upset business. The market is very idle, and in the absence of transactions it is difficult to fix quotations. Yesterday there was no market here. To-day the Ex­change might almost as well have been closed for the amount of business that was done. There were plenty of sellers of No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron at 703. for prompt f.o.b. delivery, but that figure did not tempt buyers into the market. Some of the makers would nob quote at all. Reliable rates for the lower qualities were not obtainable. Middlesbrough warrants were stationary throughout the day at 67s. cash buyers. There was no east-coast hema.tite pig iron to be got. Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were 85s. to 87s. 6d., but quotations were quite nominal. Middlesbrough hematite warrants nob quoted. Rubio ore was still about 2ls. ex-ship Tees.

M anufactwred I ron and Steel. -Several firms closed their works for the holidays. A lot of orders are still in hand, Lut very little disposition is shown to enter into new contracts. Prices m some branches have an easy tendency, but they can hardly be said to be quotably changed.

Coal and Coke.-Fuel keeps steady and firm. Inquiries for coal for the Baltic ports are now pretty numerous. Gas coal is steady, and for the time of year stron~ prices, ranging from 15s. 6d. to 17s. f.o.b. Bunker coal IS selling at from 15s. 6d. to 17s. Coke continues in very good re­quest for home consumption, o.nd quotations are main­tained. The general market rate for average blast-fur­nace qualities is 29s., and several sellers adhere firmly to that rate for delivery over the rest of the year.

Messrs. Head, Wrightson, and Co., Limited.- Tbe reporb of the directors of Messrs. Head, Wrightson, and Uo., Limited, Thornaby-on-Tees, shows the gross profits of the company for the year ending April 2l last to have been 33, 489l. U s. 5d. to which has to be added the balance of the preceding year, 2122l. 6s. 7d., making a total of 35, 61ll. 183. The directors propose that this should be applied in payment as follows : Interest on debentures to April 21, 1900 6537l. 3s. 9d.; reserve account for depre­ciation of capitaf expenditure, 6500l.; reserve account for general purposes, 3500l.; a. dividend ab the rate of 7 per cen t . for the year free of income tax, 14,700/. ; directord' fees, including management salaries, 2500l.; balance to be carried forward, 1874l. 14s. 3d. The result of the year's trading, continues the report, had been satisfac­tory. The work in progress was very large, and the prospects for the current year were favourable. The policy of the board in acquiring the Eaglescliffe Foundry and the Stock ton Forge W orkea, in order to iticrease the productive capacity of the property of the company, and m adding new machinery, tools, and plant so as to reduce the cost of manufacture, had been abundantly justified.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST. Cardiff.- There have been numerous inquiries for steam

coal for early shipment, and an imp~sion prevails that, now that tho hohdays are over, a strong demand will be experienced. The best descriptions have made 23s. to 23s. 6d. per ton, while secondary qualities have broughb 20s. 6d. to 22-d. 6d. per ton. H ouse coal has ruled fi rm ; No. '3 Rhondda large ha~ realised 22s. 6d. to 23s. per ton. F oundry coke has brought 32s. 6d. to 33s. per ton, and furnace ditto 30s. to 3l s. 6d. per ton. As re· gards iron ore, the best ru bio has been making 20s. 6d. to 2ls.per ton.

Watc1· Supply of Du1·slcy.-Messrs. Taylor and Santo Crimp have reported to a committee at Dursley on a. six days' test of a well in Ca.swell Grounds. The test was sati::sfactory, 127,000 gallons per 24 hours having been pumped from the well. With regard to future motive power, a small committee has been appointed with a view to the adoption of two gas engines and a reservoir to hold 100,000 gallons.

The West and the Midlands.-An improvement in the

JUNE 8, I 900.] •

E N G I N E E R I N G. 75 1 ' .

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• railway service from the West to the ~!id lands, via the Severn Tunnel, will come into operation in July. In March the attention of Mr. H. Y. Adye, divisional super­intendent of the Gren.t Western Ra1lway at Plymouth, was drawn to the delay at Hereford to passengers travelling from the West by the 8.30 p.m. from Ply­mouth to Malvern, Worcester, and Birmingham. As a result of his action, a new train will, on and after J ul~ 2, leave Bristol at 12.20 for Pontypool-road, conneotmg there with the 12.45 from Cardiff. Passengers will by this train connect ab Hereford with the 2.20, thence to Malvern, Worcester, and Shrewsbury. Passengers from Torquay by the 9.0, from Exeter by the 10.15, and from North Devon, vid Ba.rusta.ple and Taunton, a~ 10.55, will share in this service, and have their journey shortened by one hour and forty minutes.

The traffic receipts for the week ending May 27 on 33 of the principal lines of the United Kingdom ~mounted to 1 806 791l. which was earned on 19,865! mlles. For the 'cor:espo~ding week in 1899 t~e receipts of. the same lines amounted to 1,810,50ll., Wlth 19,604~ miles open. There was thus a decrease of 3710l. in the rece1pts, and an increase of 261! in the mileage.

was made, and it was only by dint of continuous labour that the water could be k.epb ?own .. When she was docked the pumps were stLll dtsoha.r~mg water frb!D three outlets and darkness had sent m when the s 1p was shored rlp. She presented a very ba.t~red a:ppear­ance. The decks were torn. up and the s1des nddled, while above deck only the CLt~del .escaped absolute de­struction. A complete survey 1s bemg made.

Corridor Traim on the Great Western .Railway.-The general manager of the Great Western writes to the secretary of the British Chamber of Commerce.: " ~ ~m duly in receipt of your letter of May 28 mqUlnng whether it is the intention of the company to place cor­ridor trains of the latest type on the London and W.est of England service; and, in reply, I beg to say that m the event of a. new train now running OD; the South of Irela1;1d proving, as is confidently expected, m every respect satlS· factory it is possible that more trains of the same class may be' brought into use, in which event ~be requirements of the important West of England serVlce would natur­ally be taken into the careful consideration of the com­pany."

At the invitation of the President of the Meteorological Society a. meeting wa'3 held at the .rooms of the S?oiety on the 30th ult. to consider the guest10n of a. memonal of the late Mr. G. J . Symons, F.R.S., the dis~inguished ID:ete?ro­logist, and founder of the British Ramfall Or~amsatlon. Itl was resolved unanimously that the memonal sh~uld take the form of a gold medal, to be awarded . from t~me to time by the Council of the Royal Met~orolog10al Som~ty for distinguished work in connection Wlth meteorol?giO&l science. Contributions will be received by the assistant secretary, Mr. W. Ma.rriott, 70, Viotoria.·steet, West­minster.

'l'he decision of the Trinity House authorities to remove the wireless telegraphy installation between the Sou~h Goodwin JJightship and the South Foreland, was. d1S­cussed by the Dover Chamber ?f .Commer~ <?n Fnda.y last. It was decided to memona.hse the Trtwty Board and to request the Chamber of Commerce o~ the ports of the United Kingdom to support t.he me!Dorta.l, .as well as Lloyd's and other shipping bodies, Wl~h a ~tew to the establishment of a. connection between hghtsbtps and the shore on dangerous sands. It was urged that the numl:>er of lives and the quantity ~f v~luabl~ p~operty wh10h could have been saved from the Goodwms m recent vears bad there been such communication with the sh<;>re w.ould have been enormous. The im.portanc~ of fittmg light­ships with wireless telegraphy m.stall~t10ns so that they could a.ct as sentinels or scouts m ttme of war, and .as a centre for the conveyance of important commercu~l telegrams from vessels to the shore, was also put ~orward as of national importance. The chamber had: wntten. to the Trinity House pointing out the value .the 1~Rta.llat10n had been in reporting wrecks, and es.P._eOiall~ m the case where the l!ghtship itself was collided Wlth by the steamer R. F. Ma.tthews, an~ badly da.~aged, ~arrowly escaping disaster. The Trimty authont1es rephed th.at the installation was experimental and was remo~ed a.t .tts conclusion, the subject being now under the consJde.ration of a devartmenta.l committee. The o~amber considered that thiS installation, rather than bemg removed from sands so dangerous as the ~oodwins, shoul~ h~ve been retained w bile the comm1ttee were constdermg the matter.

Gas at Olevedon.-Owing to the rise in the price of coal the Clevedon Gas Company has been compelled to temporarily advance the charge for its gas from 33. 6d. to 4s. per 1000 cubic feet. The advance will take effect from July 1.

(JoaJ, and Railteays.-The increased cost of coa.~, iron, and other materials is telling upon the Welsh railways. Every possible effort is being made to economise, and coal stocks have been largely drawn upon. Thid is especially noticeable in the case of the Taff Vale Railway Company. Another policy adopted is to cut off all concessions granted in respect of rates. The London and North­Western, the Great Western, the Rhymney, the Brecon and Merthyr, the Ta.ff V ale, and the N eath and Brecon Railway Companies have advertised that the rebate of 6d. per ton allowed on the carriage of eo~ in own.erd' ~agons to Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port will be dtscontmued. This means that the rates will be increased by about 10 per cent.

Birmingham and South Wales.- At the annual meeting of the Patent Shaft Company, at Birmingham, it was stated that, owing to excessive rail way rates, the removal of the compa,ny 's works to South Wales was in contem­plation.

Taff Vale .Railway. -On Friday the Taff Vale Railway Company op~ened for traffic a new branch between Ponty­pridd and Nelson, with intermediate stations at Coed­penmaen and Cilfynyd~ . ';('hese districts hav~ hitherto had no railway commurucat10n for passengers Wlth Ponty­pridd, and a. service of seven regular trains daily, with an extra. late tmin on Thursdays and Saturdays, will now run to and from Pontypridd i.n connection ~th. the Cardiff and Rhondda valleys trams. The new line 1S an extellSion of the Ta.ff Vale Company's Pont- hon-Norton branch, which terminated at the Albion colliery. The course of the new line is between the canal and the river until it approaches the Dowla.is Abercynon Works, which ib joins by a. short branch. The line then turns no.rth­wards and joins the Taff Vale Company's Llanca.1ach branch.

N ew Dock for Barry.-An influential syndicate is stated to have been formed for the purpose of construct­ing at Barry a dry dock, capable of receiving and repair­ing the lar~est vessels afloat. The undertaking is sup­ported by mfiuential shipowners, and is not connected with the Ba.rry Railway Company. The dock will be constructed on land belonging to Lord Wimborne to the eastward of the present Barry docks. and about 350 yards from the entrance to those docks. Vessels will enter the dry dock free of dues to the Barry Railway Company. The site has been pronounced by eminent engineers to be an excellent one, there being a satisfactory depth of water at the contemplated dock entrance. The dock, if con­structed, will involve an outlay of between 250, OOOl. and 300,000l. The directors of the Barry Railway Company are also considering_ the question of additional dry dock accommodation at Ba.rry.

MISCELLANEA. LoRD RAYLEIGH has calculated that, to support himself

in the air by a vertical screw, and with the muscular power he is capable of exerting for any prolonged period, a. man would require a screw 295 ft. in diameter, even assuming that the latter was weightless and Wlthout friction.

The gold output of New ... outh Wales during May amounted to 17,636 oz., valued at 60, 757t., as compared with 14,641 oz., valued at 52,262l., in May, 1899. The yield for the last five months was 141,434 oz., valued at 494,257l., as compared with 144,408 oz., valued ab 497,890l. , in the corresponding period of last year.

The extension from Stookwell to Clapham Common of the City and South London Railwa.;v-the first under­ground rail way worked by electricity m the :Metropolis­was opened this week for public traffic. The extension north of Aioorga.te-streeb to Islington, near the Angel, with a station at the corner of Old-street and City-road, ia still in progress.

In his lecture at the Roval Institution on "Explo­sives " Sir Andrew Noble stated that were a mass of 500 lb. of gun-cotton "detonated," the time taken to turn the whole into gas would be less than

201000

of a second. I • •

Lyddite is also easily detonated, and the explosiOn ~s extraordinarily violent. In one of his experiments Str A.ndrew reduced a. cast·iron shell weighing about 10 lb., almost wholly to fine dust. Such fragments of the shell RS held together made indentations in the outer steel vessel in which the shell was exploded. The depth of these dents indicated a striking "elooity of about 1200 foot·seconds, which it should be remembered had been attained in a distance of under 2 in.

Messrs. Elder, Dempster, and Co., who have hitherto imported the bulk of the bananas sold in the English market from the Canary Islands, now intend to bring them over also from the West In dies in the new line of steamers which they will run there. West Indian bananas have hitherto been exported to America., as it has not been possible to bring them to this country in proper condition, but to overcome this difficulty, the cool air system, which ha.s proved so successful in the large White Star steamers, carrying fruit from Australia, will be fitted in these boats on a. very extensive scale. The owners have decided to place this work in the hands of Messrs. J. and E . Hall, Limited, of Da.rtford, who have fitted the White Star steamers above mentioned and all the ships for the Cape fruit trade.

The Queen Regent of Spain signed a decree on May 1~, in aecordance with which the following Spanish warships will be disarmed, and either sold or used as dep()ts for coal, for ammunition, and for the m.ateriil required in submari.ne defence : Alfonso XII. and Alfonso XIII., first-class cruisers; Conde de Venadito, Isabel II., and Marques de la. Ensenada., second-class cruisers; Teme­rario, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, Vioente Yaiiez Pinzon, Marques de Molins, and General Va.ldes, torpedo gun­boats ; Eulalia, Pilar, Condor, Aguila, Seguira., Cuervo, and Tarifa, gunboats ; Retamo..<uL, Rigel, Ejerci to, and Castor, torpedo. boats; and five coast-defence ships. The armoured cruisers N umancia and Vitoria, and the un­armoured cruiser, Infanta I sabel, will be treated in the same manner as the above a.s soon as their boilers require renewing or any other important repair is called for.

The fact that acetylene can be readily decomposed into its elements has long been known. When this is done, the carbon is liberated in an extremely finely­divided state, and being absolutely pure is superior to the best lampblack for the manufacture of lithographic ink, varnishes, and photographic eurposes. Commercial cal­cium carbide is, however, still too expensive to permit of acetylene black prepared from it competing with lampblack. In all carbtde works, however, there is a considerable quantity of material produced which is of such inferior guality a.s to be unsaleable, and Mr. Hubou, a. French engme~r, proposes to make use of this waste, for the production of the acetylene black. The process of manufaeture is simple. The acetylene is forced into an explosion vessel filled with hydrogen, until a. pre8sure of about 75lb. is attained. The explosion is then effected by raisin~ a coil of platinum wire inside the vessel to a white heat. Acetylene being an endothermic substance, a considerable quantity of heat is liberated on its decomposition, but owing to the gas having been diluted with hydrogen, as described, the highest pressure reached during the explosion does not exceed 370 lb. per square inch. Ona cub1c foot of acetylene yields 1 oz. of the black, and, in addition, 1 cubic foot of pure hydrogen, which itself may have a considerable commercial value.

The Belleisle, hulk, was docked at Portsmouth on Saturday evening for the purpose of investigating more fully the effects of the Majestic's gun fire. Operations were commenced at Selsey Bill as early a.s half-past four in the morning, when the work of pumpin~ was begun, and the ship rose with the tide. It has been unpossible to stop all the leaks, and the most it)lportant vunotures had been timbered over. Mr. J. A. Yates, ohtef constructor at Portsmouth, to whom the ship had been handed over for temporary repairs, was in charge, and he, finding that water was entering from the started ri , .. ets rather than from shot holes, decided that the trip to Ports­mouth could be safely uudertaken, provided the pumps were kept constantly going. For this purpose he had an adequate staff of men to work in relays. and as soon as the ship was clear of Medmery Bank three tugs took her in charge, one on the battered port side to hold her up, one ahead to tow, and one astern to be ready for any emergency. Soon after the trip commenced the Belleisle went down considerably by the head and the disposition of ~he tugs wn:s changed, one being placed on each side, while the leadmg tug was cast off. Very slow progress

Some interesting vartioul.a.rs CO!!Oe~ing the ~oun~a.in section of the Ca.na.d1an Pacific mam lme were g1ven 1n a. paper read before the Engineers' Club, Philadelphia., by Mr. W. S. Vaux, Jun. '£he line cro~ses four distinot mountain ranges, the most imp~rta.nt being the. Rooky Mountains prope~ an? the S~lkuk. The su!Dm1t level attained by the hne m crossrng the former 1s 5296 ft., whilst in the Selkirks a. height of 4303 ft. is reached. .In spite of its lower elevation and lesser snowfall, the line over the latter r~nge has proved muc~ the. more .difficult to maintain, owrng to the fact that m thiS seot10n ava­lanches are frequent, and to protect the line from these, it ha.s been necessary to construct 6 or 7 miles of snow sheds. The total snowfall in the Rookies has amounted to as much as 43 ft. in a. winter, and 57 fb. have fallen in one week. Nevertheless, the line here can be kept open by means of rotary shovels. Avalanches, however, bring down rooks a.nd trees with them, which the shovel is un­able to tackle, and resort has often to be made to blasting. It is found thnt in many cases avalanches rolling down one side of a valley may pass a. considerable distance up the other side, and thus several of the snow sheds are constructed to r~isb the impact of snow slides from either side. The2e shedsa.re constructed of heavy timbers, and to guard against fire, water is laid on from sources up the mountains above. Further, the sheds are not con­tinuous, but are divided up into lengths of about 200 fb. each. The free space between two consecutive sheds is protected by deflector fences, which are devised to turn an avalanche over the sheds and away from the open line. The heaviest gradients are on the west of the Rooky Mountain range, where the "temporary " line down the Kicking Horse Pass has inclines of 4.4 per cent. Four engines are often needed to take ea.at-bound trains up these gradients, whilst west. bound trains are only permitted to descend at but little over a walking pace. At intervals there are blind sidings running up the mountain. The points are norma.lly set for these sidings, so that a runaway car would be turned off the main line and brought to rest before it ha-d got very far. In the Selkirks the heaviest gradients are 2.2 per cent. Much temporary trestle-work was pub in a.t the original construction of the line. These trestles are now being filled in, and in some places, where the conditions are favourable, this is being accomplished by hydra.ulioing. The jet from the monitor washes the gravel into a sluice which takes it down the mountain side, and is arranged to dis­charge at the point desired. The water is allowed to flow off, leaving the gravel behind in a thoroughly consolidated condition. The point of discharge is shifted from time to time as the work proceeds. This plan has proved highly economical, even when the local conditions have not been altogether ideal.

THE ELEOTRIO LIGHT AT CAPE TowN.-We learn that 100 additional electric lamps are to be provided in Cape Town this year.

CANdDIAN BRlDOE·BUILDING. - The Phrenix Bridge C~mpa.ny has secured a. contract for a. gre&t cantilever bndge over the St. Lawrence a.t Quebec. The bridge will involve the use of about 27,000 tons of steel. The structure which will cost 900,000l., will be 150 ft. above the river' so tha.b ships with the tallest masts can pass under it and it will be 76ft. wide. It will be built in three spans, t~o of 600ft. each, and the centre span 1800 ft. The bridge will contai~ four rail~a.y tracks, a. drive-w~y, and walks on each side. It will take the Phrenix Bridge Company three years to turn out the structural material a.nd to erect the bridge. In order to ship the structural material from Phrenixville to Quebec, special cars will have to be ma-de to .hold the massi~e beams and girders which will be used tn the construot10n of the great work.

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752 E N G I N E E R I N G. [JUNE 8, 1900. ,

WAVERLEY STATION, EDI:N"BURGH; DETAILS OF FOOTBRIDGES. :MESSRS. BLYTH AND WESTLAND, EDINBURGH, ENGINEERS; MESSRS. P. AND W. MACLELLAN, LIMITED, CONTRACTORS.

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j UNE 8, 1900.]

AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING." AusTRIA, Vienna: Lehmann and Wentzel, K"rtneratrasse. 0APB TOWN : Gordon and Gotcb. EDINBURGH: John Menzies and Oo., 12, Han?ver:~reet. FRANOB, Paris: Boyveau and Obevillet, Librame Etrang~re, 22,

Rue de la Banque; M. Em. Terquem, 31bla, Boulevard Haussmann. Also for Advertisements, Agence Havas, 8, Place de la Bourse. (See next column.) .

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Advertisements). Leipzig : F . A. Brookbaus. Mulhouse : H. St uckelberger.

GLASGOW : William Love. INDIA Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, and Co.

' Bombay : Thacker and Oo., Limited.

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E N G I NEE RI N G.

NOTICE TO CONTINENTAL ADVERTISERS.

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Gade, 41 and 43. meeting on Monday, June 11, at 8 p.m .. The following .Pap~rs NEW SoUTH W ALRS, Sydney: Turner and Henderson, 16 and 18, will be r ead and discussed: 1 ... The Mamtenance of Ae~att,on

Hunter-street. Gordon and Gotch, Geo~e·street. as a Standard of Purity of Sewage Effluents," by Mr. W. J. Dtbbm, QUBB.NSLAND (SoUTn)), BTrisban~ll: GoTrdoWn.anll Gott tohd.Oo F.I.O. , F.O.S., and Mr. G. Thudichum, F.O.S. 2. " TFhedO~mk·

(NORTH , ownsVl e: · 1 me an · position and Determination of Cerium Oxalate," by Mr. re ertc RoTfBRDAM: H. A.AKdra1~edr an,~, S0on.R. b B. P ower, Ph.D., and Mr. F rank Shedden, B.So. 3. "The P ro· SoUTH AUSTRALIA, e a.J e : r' · · tg Y· duction of Nit rate of Soda in Chili," by Mr. F. G. Welch. UNITBD STATM, New York: W. H. Wiley, 48, East 19th-street. TliR INCORPORATED GAB INSTITUTE.-June 12 (10.30 a. m.) and 13

Chicago : H. V. Holmes, 1257·1268, Monadnock (10 a .m .), at the Royal United Sen ·ice Institution ,. London, t~e Block. President Mr. E. Her.bert Stevenson, M. Inst. C.E., m the chat~.

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TIILB6RAPBIO ADDRBSB-ENGINEERING, LONDON. TELEPHONB NUHBBR-8668 Gerrard. -

CONTENTS. PAGB PAGB

Arched Bridges over the The Mineral Wealth of the Rhine (lllmtrattd) ...... 737 World .. .. . . ......... ... 755

The Alabama. Coalfield . . . . 737 The Rating of Electric Light· The Oost of Electric Power ing Undertakings ...... 756

Production .. .. .... .... .. 739 Notes .... ...... .... . ..... 756 The Engineering Labora- The Training and Status of

tory of the Berlin Teoh· Engineer Officers . . . . . . 757 nical High School ...... '140 Naval Engineers .......... 758

The Waverley Station, Edin· The Maxim Multi-Perfo· burgh (Illmtratfd.) ...... 743 rated Powder .. ........ 768

Viokers' Ordnance at t he The Weights of American Paris Exhibition (nlus.) 743 Bridges . ... ....... .. ... 759

The Paris Exhibition Elec- Locomotives at the Pa ris trio Power Station (nlus- Exhibition (IUust1·ated) 769 trated) ....... .. . ........ 746 The War in South Afrioa. .. 769

Submarine Telegraph Enter- Lending Library for Engi-prise.. . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 747 neers .. .......... ...... 769

Manohester S team Users' Marine Eogine Governors Association .. .... .. : ..... 747 (Rlmtrated) ...... ...... 760

Notes from the United States 748 Diag rams of Three Mont hs' The .M'Innes-Dobbie lndioa.· Fluctuations in Prices

tor (nlu.strated) -· .. .. •• 748 of Metals ...... . ... ... ... 760 Boothman's Feed· Water Testing Machinery at the

Filter (nlmtrated) ...... 748 Pw Exhibition (Rltt.S· Notes from the ~orth .. .... 760 trated) ............ ...... 761 Notes from South Yorkshire 750 Industrial Notes .......... 761 Notes from Cleveland and Compression and Liquefa.o·

the Northern Counties .. 750 tion of Oases (lUmtrated) 762 Notes from the South-West 750 On Large Cargo Steamers Miscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701 (Rltutrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 The Patents »xamlnation Boiler Explosion neQr Bolton 766

Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753 Launches a nd Trial Trips . . 766 The Future Supply of Gutta· cc Engineering" Patent Re-

Percha . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • • 754 cord (IUmtrated). . . . . . • • 767

With a Tw<>·PaiJ~ :&VJrafJing of an ARCHED BRIDGE .ACROSS THE RHINE AT DUSSELDORF. -

Bmyon.

ENGINEERING. FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1900.

THE PATENTS EXAMINATION QUESTION.

IN our last issue we gave an account of the ques­tions lying before the Committee which has been appointed by the Board of Trade to consider what additional powers shall be given to the Patent Office in regard to the issue of Letters Patent. The matter turns principally on the examination ques­tion, and we propose now to briefly consider some alternative systems.

In the United States of America there are a number of officers, termed "Principal Examiners," each of whom has, in turn, a number of assistants. Each Principal Examiner has entrusted to him the examination of all inventions of certain classes. If the examiner's decision be favourable to the grant of a patent, it is practically final as regards the Patent Office; but if he rejects the applica­tion, the applicant is notified as to the reasons, and given such information and references as seem needful to enable him to judge whether to renew his application or alter his specification.

If the applicant persists in his claim, with or without altering his specification, the case is re­examined by the same officer, who is supposed to duly reconsider the case in connection with any amendment of the specification which the applicant may suggest, and any argument he may present to show that the patent should be granted, with or without amendment of the specification. Such a re-examination may be had as often as the examiner may reject the application upon new grounds. But if he twice refuses a patent upon the same grounds, alleging want of patentability of all or any of the claims made, the applicant may, by paying a fee, appeal to a Board consisting of three officers, and styled '' The Board of Examiners-in-Chief."

Should they sustain the adverse action of the examiner, in whole or in part, the applicant may, on paying a further fee, appeal to the Commis­sioner of Patents; and from the Commissioner, if necessary, he may carry the case to the Appeal Court of the District of Columbia. If any of these three tribunals should decide favourably to the applicant, either as to the whole or part of the matter in­volved in the appeal, and he acquiesce in the deci­sion, the case is remitted to the examiner for further action, in accordance with the terms of the decision. But even then, the examiner may allege some new ground of objection which had formerly escaped his attention, and may still refuse the patent, and on this new ground of objection an applicant might find it necessary to again resort to the higher tribunals. Notwithstanding all thie,

753 many United States patents are afterwards upset for want of novelty.

In the German Patent Office there are . four Application Departments, distinguished respectively as I., II., III., and IV. ~he Chancell<?r of the Empire decides what technical branch IS to be allotted to each department. There are two Appeal Departments, distin~ uished . as I. ~nd I I. The Appeal Department I., ~nte?· a ha, deci~es . on appeals against the decisions of the Apphcah.on Departments I. and II.; whilst amongst t.h~ duties of Appeal Department II. is that of de01d1~g ~he appeals aaainst the decisions of the ApplicatiOn Departme~ts III. and IV. T.he. applicatio~ fo~ a patent is subjected to a prehm1nary exammatwn by a member of the Application Department. If this examination is deemed to show that no patentable invention exists, the . ap~lic~nt is notified accordingly, the ground bemg 1n~Ic!'ted. If the applicant does not a~swer .the prelim1n!'ry notification within the prescribed time, the appli?a­tion is considered as withdrawn. If he rephes within the t ime, the Application D?partment ~omes to a decision in the matter. If It be considered that no patentable invention exists, the application is refused by the department. From such refusal the applicant may appeal to the proper Appeal Depart.ment, whose decision is final. The member of the Applica~ion Department who ~ave t he pre­liminary decision does not tak~ part 1n .the appeal proceedings. In Germany, as 1n the U ruted States, many patents, though granted after examination, are afterwards revoked for want of novelty.

The American and German systems are both open to serious objection. The decision in every case naturally depends upon the temperament. and the peculiar ideas of the examiner. One examiner, or board of examiners, will recognise the existence of novelty and patentable invention where another examiner, or board of examiners, will be clearly of opinion that there is nothing of the kind. And the fate of an application is, mostly, determined upon m~re documents ; and, necessarily, in the absence of such evidence respecting matters of fact as is usually produced to a Court of Law in the · United Kingdom, when it is called upon to pronounce as to validity or invalidity of Letters Patent. It results -as is inevitable-that in the United States and in Germany, whilst many patents are granted that cannot be upheld, many are refused without really adequate reason. Injustice follows. Deserving in­ventors are deprived of well merited reward. And the public are misled by the granting of patents in respect of inventions actually old, but which (owing to the official investigation, with power of refusal) they are wrongly led to regard as new. Every patent, be it valid or not, goes forth to the world with a. kind of "Hall-Mark.', If the patent be in reality bad, as it frequently is, then the "Hall-Mark 11 is misleading. It is all very well to say that there is no official guar~ntee. The fact remains that a large section of the public entirely overrate the reliability and value of the official examination, and act accordingly. It is quite common to hear United States a.nd German patents alluded to as indefeasible.

It is true that, in the case of a United States patent, inspection of the records will show what alleged anticipations have been cited. But that cuts two ways. For it may be wrongly inferred that, as the patent was nevertheless granted, it has been authoritatively decided that the speci­fication on which it has issued discloses a new and patentable invention; or, equally without ample warrant, it may be assumed that the very fact of the prior patents or publications having been cited implies doubt as to the validity of the patent, though granted.

In Germany the applicant is, in practice, required to recast his specification to accord with the official notion as to what is new, and examiners' reports &c., are not, as a rule, accessible to the public: although, under exceptional circumstances, inte· rested parties are enlightened as to the facts.

In Switzerland, if, in the course of the examina­tion, the examiner thinks he can see that the in· vention is not patentable, either by reason of want of novelty, or for any other reason, he gives pre­!iminary and secret notice of this to the applicant, In order t hat the latter may, at his own option maintain, alter, or abandon his application. Thi~ plan is open to objection, because it fails to insure for t he public guidance either that the patentee shall limit his claims to what is new or shall indicate what is old sufticient1y to inf~rm

754 others as to what, if anything, is new. It follows that an applicant n1ight elect to ignore what the examiner had pointed out, and might mislead the public into the belief t hat he possessed rights which had no existence in fact.

The late Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, F.R.S.-to whom this country owes so much in respect of patent indices, abridgements and so forth-recom­mended that the applicant for Letters Patent, or his agent, or both, should be required to notify on each provisional or complete specification that they had examined all previous specifications on the same sub­ject, and that they believed the application was for a new invention; also that the applicant be made to say which of one, two, or three previous patents approached the nearest to his own. Thus, said Mr. Woodcroft, the most able persons to make a search would be a.t once employed on that duty, without causing cost to the country and confusion in the Patent Office. We do not regard this as a workable scheme nowadays. The expense of a separate search on the lines indicated would, in many cases, be prohibitive; and compulsory references to prior patents (especially to patents still in force) might well be, in many cases, un­duly prejudicial to the applicant who was required to make them, without being essential to the safe­guarding of t he public. This is well understood by persons familiar with the existing practice in cases of opposition.

Many years ago, a sub-committee appointed by the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science recommended that patents should be granted only after the examination and report of competent examining officers as to the novelty of the invention, as to its being the subject-matter for Letters Patent, and as to the sufficiency of the provisional specification ; but that where the report was adverse, the applicant should be, nevertheless, entitled to obtain his patent, subject to the follow­ing conditions :

(a) That the adverse report should be recorded, and printed with the specification.

(b) That in any proceedings, on or against the patent, the patentee should give security for costs.

(c) That in any such proceedings the patentee should be liable to the payment of costs of the opposing party, as between attorney and client, in case he should be defeated on any of the grounds stated in the examining officer's reporh. The con­ditions as to giving security for costs and payment of costs, as between attorney and client, to be satisfied upon a certificate of a judge upon the trial of any cause, that the validity of the patent had been affirmed at the trial.

This scheme would not work well. Novelty and patentability of subject-matter, being questions of degree ; questions as to which wide differences of opinion are not uncommon ; it follows that, in many cases, serious injustice would be likely to flow from the attempt to carry out such a scheme. Of what commercial value would a patent be, with such an adverse report even r~oor~ed against i~, not. to men­tion the printing of It mth the spemficatwn, and the onerous condition~ If infallible examiners were obtainable, the case might be different. But it is only needful. to ~ecall the pr~ctical workin~ of preliminary exammatwn systems m other countnes, and some of the proceedings in our own Courts, to demonstrate how dangerous it would be to place inventors in the manner suggested at the mercy of any set of officials having to deal, in a necessarily perfunctory manner, with a very large number of cases. The plan might suit a few wealthy persons (including some who have made money out of doubt­ful patents) on the principle that might is right.

But, surely, it will not be den~ed that a meri­torious invention at least occaswnally emanates from the brain of a person of limited means. And what possible chance would such an one have of turning his officially-condeJ?ned paten~ to oo~­mercial account ~ Even w1th a s~em1ngly vahd patent it is somet~me~ ex~remel~ difficult to make a start with a meritonous 1nventwn. Under such a. system as proposed, what would have been the prospects of . the. patentees of so~e of ~hose inventions which, In the past, have prov~d highly successful, both practically and commei·m.ally, and which, though seemingly on the border hne, were ultimately held to have been patentable 1 .

Let us not be misunderstood. We do not des1re to overstate the case. But we conceive the ques­tion to be one of the utmost imp?rtance i~ its be~r­ing upon our commercial vrospenty as an Industnal people.

E N G I N E E R I N G. Even in Germany, where a patent was once

upon a time refused for the Siemens regenera­t ive furnace, they now commonly grant patents for trifling things, even for so-called inventions that many persons might be disposed to re­gard as frivolous. Such patents offer encourage­ment and lead to beneficial results. But it does not follow that a new and meritorious invention will be recognised as such by the particular examiner, or body of examiners, with whom it may rest to decide whether a patent for it shall, or shall not, be granted. That is where the German system is open to serious objection, and sometimes operates unjustly.

In our own country the aim should be to encou­rage to the utmost, by a liberal system, the intro­duction and publication of numerous improve­ments, each of a minor character, but the sum of which, to adopt the language of the Select Com­mi~tee of 1872, contributes greatly to the progress of Industry.

To this end it is desirable, as far as practicable, to afford to applicants for patents (in order that they may not waste time and money in the dark) and to the public (so that t hey may not be deceived by unscrupulous patentees) full information con­cerning the novelty of inventions in respect of which Letters Patent are sought.

But inasmuch as patents have sometimes been ultimately supported in respect of inventions which even eminent judges have regarded as not patent­able, it is not advisable, in any unopposed case, that Letters Patent should be refused on the ground that the invent ion, or alleged invention, is obviously old, or has been previously patented in this country, provided the applicant (if required) so amends his specification as to indicate to all who may read it how much of what it describes was previously known.

Lastly, it is not advisable either to make it publicly known that the specification has been amended at the instance of. the Patent Office authorities, or to give publicity to any official notification of any kind (whether by endorsement on the specification or otherwise) implying doubt as to the novelty of the subject-matter in respect of which Letters Patent are granted-because such publicity would obviously create prejudice against the patent, and where based upon erroneous opinion, would operate unjustly.

Capitalists would be averse to interesting them­selves in a patent as to the validity of which even a remote implication of official doubt existed ; whilst manufacturers would equally hesitate to take licences, since t hey would be likely to believe themselves entitled to use the invention without the patentee's consent, and, consequently, without payment.

It is of the utmost importance to remember that these are considerations such as are likely in these days (and even more in the future) to affect a very large proportion of the patents granted in respect of inventions of great utility, not previously in the market, yet very near what is sometimes called the border line between patentability and non­patentability.

Should the Committee's report unfortunately ignore these practical considerations, and should the Government be so ill-advisea as to act accord­ingly, then it is to be feared that a practice may arise in regard to the granting and withholding of patents which will be the reverse of beneficial in its consequences.

[J U~E 8, 1900.

parties of india-rubber and gutta-percha, and that in the majority of purposes to which they are put, ~h~y can~ot replac~ one ~nother. This being so, it IS Impossible to VIew without some alarm the in­increasing rise in the price of gutta-percha, a rise which has been of steady growth of late years, and all the circumstances of which point to its further acceleration. It should be understood that, whereas the various trees yielding the india-rubber of com­merce are found growing pretty well over all the tropical parts of the globe, the area of the distribu­tion of the gutta-percha tree is much more circum­scribed, the trees, of which there are several species, being found only in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Archipelago generally. Even this restricted degree of occurrence would not be so important a matter were the best possible means taken to collect the product without destroying the tree or muti­lating it to an extent to render it non-productive in the future. It is, however, the regrettable fact that the careless and destructive method of collection adopted by the natives who commenced the busi­ness is being followed with hardly any limitation by their successors of the present day. It may be asked, why cannot prompt steps be taken to combat what is regarded on all hands as an evil, which may have serious consequences. The answer to this is, that such efforts have been made in the past, and more recently with greater promin~nce, though the useful result has been but very small. It is all very well issuing proclama­tions, such as that recently made by the Governor of British Borneo, the difficulty arises in enforcing them. There is practically no supervision over the gutta-perch a collectors of the Borneo jungles, and it would need an immense police system if each native were to be followed and have his actions reported upon. The present system of collection has other drawbacks besides that of the destruc­tion of the trees, because it leaves the collector at full liberty to increase his yield of milk by mixing the better class with commoner, and in some cases worthless, sorts. The milk, which the natives in Borneo call '' su-su " is not coagulated in the forest, but is sold to the merchants and traders who bar­gain for it. The buyer then sets to work to coagu­late the milk, and it is not until this process is complete that it can be ascertained whether the gutta is of good or low quality-a circumstance which is all in favour of the wily native. This coagulation, it may be said, is brought about by pouring the milk into boiling water, and it is not customary to call in any adventitious aid such as wood-smoke or chemicals, as in the processes of coagulating india-rubber milk. This promiscuous blending of the various juices obtained in the forest cannot but be regarded as unfortunate; and if any satisfactory means of supervision could be effected, so that the milk of various qualities could be kept separate, it would certainly prove of benefit to the manufacturers of gutta-percha goods, besides sim­plifying the business from the merchant's point of view. As we have said, the merchant is rather buying a pig in a poke when bargaining with the collector for gutta milk ; and although we do not at all wish to adopt a didactic position towards those who are on the spot, and are naturally more conversant with the position of affairs than we can be at this distance, yet it is permissible to point out where improvement is desirable, even if it is difficult to effect.

•

As regards the acclimatisation of the important gutta-percha tree, the Ironandra gutta, in other parts of the globe, there does not seem to have

THE FUTURE SUPPLY OF been any more success attained than in the case of GUTTA-PERCHA. india-rubber. The French have taken a forward

ALTHOUGH there are still many people to be part in the transplanting of the gutta tree ; but one met with who fancy that india-rubber and gutta- of their authorities, in reporting on the recent suc­percha are practically one and the same body, and cess attained, adds that the peculiar climatic condi· think therefore that any deficiency of the latter can tion which the tree requires are mostly absent in be met by the employment of the former in its the French colonies. Nor have matters progressed place, yet, of course, such a survival of ignorance ' far enough to say anything definite with regard to is not general, and it would seem to savour rather the new gutta-peroha plant which has been dis­of impertinence were we to occupy our present covered in Northern China, and which is now under space by tabulating the important differences be- cultivation at the Colonial Gardens, Paris. The tween the properties of the two bodies. Certainly, fruit of this tree is said to contain 27.34 per cent. chemically speaking, pure gutta-perch~ is very of gutta of excellent quality, though this can hardly closely allied to india-rubber ; but then, to quote a be the only part of the plant yielding the substance. well-known instance, charcoal and the diamond are It seems clear then, that for the immediate future also chemically identical. Not that we wish this we are not likely to have any contributions to the comparison to be read too literally, because there supply other than what comes in the ordinary way are also certain physical properties which india- from Singapore or other Malay ports ; and it car­rubber and gutta-percha enjoy in common ; but tainly behoves both sellers and buyers to discoun~­our main point is to en~phasise the fact that there nance. to the ut~ost an! methods of proced~re with exists a considerable dtfference between the pro- . regard to collectwn whiCh threaten the contmuance

-

JUNE 8, I 900.] -

of the supply. Although much has been heard about the extraction of gutta from the leaves and twigs of the trees, so far this has certainly not been a commercial success. Without expressing an opinion on the details of the prospectus of the Gutta.-Percha Corporation, Limited, which has recently gone into liquidation preparatory to recon­struction, it may be permissible to express some surprise that the process of extracting the substance from leaves by means of volatile solvents should have been considered of so much value, seeing that M. Serullas had entirely failed to make a fortune out of hiR patent. We write without any special knowledge as to whether the failure was due to im­perfection in the product, or whether the process could not be made to pay in face of the competition with the ordinary supply. But whatever may have been wrong with the London company-and its flotation has been severely criticised by practical men in Atnerica- its object to get at t he product without destroying the tree is certainly a commend­able one, and one which may yet be attained with financial success. One thing is certain, any process such as this, involving the use of hydro­carbons, cannot be carried on in the Malay Archi­pelago; and the matter of the collection and trans­port of the leaves is one that must necessarily prove of some difficulty.

It is said, though we do not vouch for the accuracy of the statement, that the available gutta. supply has practically been cornered, in view of the rise in price which must necessarily ensue when the Transpacific cable scheme comes to maturity. The somewhat languid interest which we in England, both politicians and populace, take in the matter of this cable, is proving a source of irritation in Canada and Australia; but there is every reason to suppose that the scheme will be carried out at no distant date. As regards the insulation to be employed, it is to be noted that the American advocacy of rubber-covered cables for deep·sea work finds very little support in England. Certainly, we want no experimenting in a cable where one span- that from Vancouver to Fanning I sland- would be 3561 nautical miles in length. The shor t length deep-sea rubber­cables, that have recently been made in America by the seamless process, are giving every satisfac­tion; but European experts say that it is impos­sible to put on the seamless rubber insulation without destroying the best properties of the rubber, and rendering it liable to early decay. The matter is clearly one where difference of opinion exists, and it would seem that the advo­cates of gutta.-percha are likely to hold the field in cases of long distances and great depths. This means that a constant supply of gutta-percha, and that of the best quality, will be absolutely neces­sary for the furtherance of cable enterprise ; and the price may rise to a figure which will cause the golf-players, and the few other users of gutta.­perch goods, to declaim loudly on their gr:evances.

Gutta-percha, it may be said, contains from 20 to 40 per cent. of res ins, which, when present at the lower figure do not interfere with its properties as au insulator, but which have to be entirely extracted for the golf-ball manufacture. As the commercial gutta contains dirt, both organic and inorganic, water, and varying quantities of the resins just mentioned, the yield of pure material of which the golf ball is made, and which is available for submarine c~bles and subterranean telephone cables, is very much less than the fi gures which represent our annual imports of the substance from Singapore. This figure has varied a good deal year by year; but statistics which are available demonstrate that while the export to different countries has shown great variations, the total annual export has shown an increase from 1844, its commencement, to the present day, when it is somewhere about 52,000 cwt.; of this quantity England has taken the bulk, though Germany has, of recent years, become a much larger consumer than formerly. The difference in the amount of our imports is strikingly shown by a glance at the figures for 1890 and 1896, which arc 64,686 cwt. and 29,722 cwt. respectively; though it should be mentioned that the total export from Singapore for the former year was 90,250 cwt., and not the average figure of 52,000 cwt. as mentioned above.

The amount of gutta used varies largely as the makers of deep-sea cables are busy or other­wise an important cable necessitating the pur­ohas~ of a large quantity of the insulator. Thus the French cable from Brest to New York

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

used up 550 tons of the best quality, a figure which will probably be exceeded by the Pacific cable. As at the present time the best crude gutta is over 6s. per pound, it is not surprising that there is a growing disposition to utili..c;e rubber in its place, wherever this is at all possible ; but, as we have already said, this raises certain points of great prac­tical importance, which we do not care to discuss at this juncture. " We might as well insulate with 5l. notes as with gutta-percha,, said the managing director of a cable works the other day; and no doubt his feeling of irritation is shared by many of his corn petitors.

As regards the use of rubber for deep-sea cables, there should be plenty of it to spare, seeing how the vulcanised rubber electric light cables are being replaced at the present day by the paper insulated cable. As long as the paper cables can be protected from damp they can be made to give the highest insulation resistance which is required, and they are not subject t o decay as is rubber. There does not seem any possibility, however, of using such cables for deep-sea work, for many reasons which need not detain us here, so the advocates of gutta-percha need fear no com­petition except from rubber. Although the various factors that go to determine the span of life of vulcanised rubber cables are, as yet, but imperfectly understood, no such uncertainty exists with regard to gutta-percha. Of this body it may be said, on the strength of careful observations extending over many years, that it retains its properties intact when kept under water, or otherwise screened from sun­light. Broadly speaking, we may take it that vulca­nised rubber insulation is subject to deterioration by the chemical action of its own constituents, although in most cases of decay the part that heat and light have played has, no doubt, been not at all unimportant. The matter of rubber 1Je1·sus gutta­percha for deep sea insulation, as we have already said, has lately given rise to some exchanges of opinion between .America and Europe; America championing the cause of the former, while Eng­land and Germany have spoken in favour of the latter. .Apropos of this, we may say that the India­Rubber World of New York has recently an­nounced the intention of publishing some original articles on this subject, a11d we have no doubt that they will be read with interest on this side by those who are concerned with the manufacture and use of cables.

The action of sunlight, already referred to, results in a. rapid oxidation of the gutta-percha, a dark brown resinous body being produced which is quite distinct from the light yellow resins which naturally occur in the sound material; in some cases, the oxidation may have proceeded so far t hat but very little of the hydrocarbon is left. Some of the old gutta-percha which is, at certain times, advertised for sale by the Post Office or Admiralty, consists very largely of oxidised material, and ha-s but very little value in the market. Gutta-percha, it may be mentioned, has but very few applications com­pared with india-rubber. In the latter case, there are always a number of cheap goods being made into which many substances, and among them old rubber articles, can enter ; but in the case of gutta­percha the goods, such as telegraph cables and golf-balls, which absorb the great bulk of our imports, require new first-class material, and there is no market for third-rate goods into which decayed material could enter. It has been stated that 500 tons of gutta-percha are used in England annually in the golf-ball manufacture ; and even if this figure savours somewhat of exaggeration, there is no need to insist upon the fact that a large and increasing amount is used. So far there are no signs of a sub­stitute for gutta-percha as regards golf-balls, and there seems every reason to predict a further rise in the price. With the growing anxiety of France and Germany to possess their own cables inde­pendent of London, there can be no doubt that many important deep-sea cables will yet be laid to make demands upon the supply of gutta-percha. L Joking at the facts then generally, although we do not say that there is any present necessity for writing in an alarming vein, it must be admitted that if tho future supply of the material is to be assured in sufficient quantity for our needs, every effort should bo made to p revent the wasteful cut­ting down of the trees. If, as we are credibly in­formed, the proclamation of the governor of North Borneo has proved of no avail to stem the evil, then the gravity of the case seems to call for further action of a more stringent nature.

• 755

THE MINERAL WEALTH OF THE WORLD.

'l1HE workers busily burrowing far into the crust of the earth, day after day, to recover the great riches stored by Nature in all countries, almost equal in number the teeming population of London, while in Great Britain alone there are as many miners as there are inhabitants in Glasgow, the second city of the Empire. In other words, the number of persons employed at mines, quarries, and mineral workings throughout the world is 4,355,204, while in the United Kingdom there are 875,603. Small as is the area of these isles, no country excels in this respect, and, moreover, our colonial possessions double this number of mineral workers, Ceylon contributing 310,210, and India 310,888. Germany takes second place to Britain, with 498,569, the United States coming third with 444,678 ; then our great dependencies already named, and next in order France, with 292,821 ; Russia, 239,434 ; Austria - Hungary, 219,227 ; Belgium, 160,150 ; Japan, 118,617; followed by the South African Republics and other countries of less importance. The finan­cial results are not in direct ratio to the number of workers engaged, however, for the ''black diamonds ,, of Northumberland are not reckoned of the same value as the other species got at Kimber­ley, although the volume of labour and the ultimate industrial influence are probably greater. Thus a miner's labour at K imberley yields in the year an average of 336l. worth of diamonds; about four times the average worth of the year's labour of the mineral worker of England. A com­parison between the conditions in Cey Ion and the Cape Colony is still more striking. Thus, in the pear -shaped isle of the Indian Ocean, 310,210 men toil and moil for a whole year, winning only two million sterling of the earth's treasures principally made up of plumbago; while, in the Cape Colony, 17,065 men are rewarded by 4,610,587l., eight­ninths of which is due to diamonds. With India it is not possible to make the same comparison, as the value is not given in the case of many of the products.

The mineral wealth of the United Kingdom yielded for the latest year for which Government figures are available- 1898-77,415,063l., of which 64,169,382l. was due to coal; 3,406,628l. to iron ore ; while the output of clay, limestone, sandstone, and slate alone of the other products of Nature exceed in value a million sterling. As such mineral wealth is the foundation of industry and com­mercial greatness, it becomes interesting to glance at the figures for some of our great friendly rivals, and here naturally the United States comes first to mind. The total for the same year is 143,453,468l., or nearly double the amount for the United Kingdom. The proportion of coal to the aggregate, however, is less, for only 41 million sterling was coal : petroleum accounts for nine millions, and natural gas for three millions. Iron ore mined and converted into iron accounts for 24 million sterling, as compared with our 3,406,628l. But all told, and excluding agricultural produce, the mineral wealth of the United States per head of the population does not much exceed that in this country, where it is about 39s., in the States it is just over 2l., the excess being due largely to the working of gold and silver, which yielded in all 27 million sterling. Of our great Continental rivals Belgium alone approaches this ratio of mineral production pett· capita. That '' black , country rivals us in mineral wealth per head, but does not exceed us. France only secures about 1~s. in this way ; the German Empire about 18s. 6d. per capita ; the great ore-producing Spain about 7s. ; and Austria-Hungary about 9s.; while Russia, owing to her great peasant population, comes out at only about 4s. 6d. In some countries there is greater weal th pe'r capita, as, for instance, in the great nitrate-producing republic of Chili, where it amounts to over 50s. per head, but in ani ving at the actual wealth of the popula­tion it is necessary to take into consideration other facts, and thus, although our investigation is interesting, it is necessarily of limited importance. It may, however, be worth giving the totals as taken from the recently issued Home Office re­turns. The United States tops the list in the value of the mineral, &c., productions -1~3,453,468l. ; then comes the United Kingdom wtth 77,415,063l.; the German Empire third with 48,755, 595l., principally brown coal and iron and

756 copper ore ; Russia, largely due to petroleum, 29, 749,243l. ; France, with brown coal, iron ore, cement, lime, slate, stone, &c., 25,624, 240l. ; Belgium, 11,909,344l. ; and Austria- Hungary, 11,400, OOOl. The South African Republic, it is in­teresting to note, produce 16,955, 006l., due mostly to the Randt gold mines.

It is pleasant to note that the Australasian colonies reach a total of about 18,000,000l. sterling, the gold countries naturally taking first place with New South Wales at the top with 4,824, 748l.; then W estralia, 3, 998, 037l. ; Victoria, 3, 482, 337l.; Queens­land, 2,981,347l. ; New Zealand, 2,181,875l. As the colonial census has not recently been taken, it is scarcely worth while working out the result per capi ta ; but it excels any of the results given, being in some cases far over 3l. Canada wins about 10,000, OOOl., which is also equal to a large return per capita.

As to the nature of this mineral wealth, it is not to be wondered at that coal bulks most largely. Of this most useful product <:>f Nature 663,820,472 tons are returned as the year's output, and it is gratifying to note that of this one-third was got in the British Empire, the remaining two-thirds being got from foreign countries. The United States contribution is 199,557,797 tons, that of the United Kingdom 205,297,000 tons. The difference -6! millions- is probably being fast wiped out, if, indeed, the United States is not now building up an excess against this country. The German Empire output, consisting largely of lignite, is re­turned as 127,928,490 tons. Thus the three countries, so often bracketed from the industrial point of view, provide 80 per cent. of the world's coal. In industries, iron occupies the next place, and we find that the iron made from British ores totals just under five millions, whereas the United States makes 12 million tons from home ore. This latter total is equal to one­third of the world's make, which is 34,076,233 tons. SpaniRh ore accounts for 3, 958,376 tons, German ore for 3,795,946, French for 1,679,300 tons, and Swedish for 1,427,807 tons. Several of these figures have been ''estimated " by Mr. C. Le Neve Foster, who has prepared the Home Office return under review. As regards the other products it may be said that they include 441,869 tons of copper, 449,073 kilogrammes of fine gold, 789,983 tons of lead, 15,771,631 tons of petroleum, 11,353,173 tons of salt, 5, 695,968 kilo­grammes of fine silver, 77,523 tons of tin, and 470,994 tons of zinc. We commend Mr. Foster for adopting the metric system of weights throughout his report.

The British Empire, it may be said, yields 33 per cent. of the world's coal ; 14! per cent. of the iron ore ; 33i per cent. of the gold ; 27 per cent. of the salt ; 16 per cent. of the tin ; 11~ per cent.. of the silver ; and 8i per cent. of the copper. Again, as regards safety, the collieries of the United King­dom occupy a high place compared with those of other countries ; our death-rate from accidents being 1.23 per 1000, whereas in Germany, for instance, it is 2.53. In coal mines alone our death­rat e is about half the average for all foreign coun­tries. The total rate for the world is, however, only 1.68 per 1000 ; which itself is distinctly satis-factory.

•

THE RATING OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING UNDERTAKINGS.

ELECTRIC lighting undertakings being of com­paratively recent date, it is somewhat difficult to lay down any very exact rule~ whereby their ~a~ua­tion for assessment can be estimated. No de01s10ns of the High Court can be referred to for t?e _PUr­pose. So far as we can see, however, the principles which apply to gas works also apply to electric supply works. As yet, howe\~~r_, ueithe! the u~d.er­takers nor the rating authonties are In a positl~n to say how far initial outlay and money spent m renewals and experiments can .b~ taken ~nto con­sideration for the purpose of arnvmg at a JUS~ con­clusion. A further difficulty also presents Itself. By virtue of the Electric Lighting Act, 1888, sec-

. tion 2, the local authority has power, aft~r the lapse of a certain number of years, and subJect to the conditions specified in that section, .to take over the undertaking upon terms of paymg the then value of all lands, buildings, works, materials, and plant ... such value to be in case of difference determined by arbitration. As yet there has not been the expression of judicial opinion as to

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

the true measure of the value. In the case of the London Street Tramways Company v. the London County Council [(1894) A. C., 489], the interpreta­tion of a somewhat similar expression affords us considerable assistance. By Section 43 of the Tramways Act, 1870 (33 and 34: V., cap. 78) the Metropolitan Board of Works were empowered, under certain conditions, to purchase tramways " upon the terms of paying the then value ( exclu­sive of any allowance for past or future profits of the undertaking, or any compensation for com­pulsory sale, or other consideration whatsoever) of the tramway, and all lands, buildings, works, material, and plant of the company suitable to and used by them for the purposes of their under­taking." It was decided that the arbitrator was right in rejecting all evidence of past and future profits, including evidence of the rental value of the tramways considered as let or capable of being let to a tenant, and in awarding that" the then value of the tramway and all lands, buildings, works, &c.," must be measured by what it would cost to establish the tramway if it did not then exist, sub­ject to a proper deduction in respect of depreciation.

The question arises, Is the company entitled to any deduction from their gross revenue, in order to provide against this loss1 Where a tenant takes property, the life of which it can be foreseen will be determined within a limited period, when the tenant's stock-in-trade must be disposed of at a loss on its cost ; the tenant will require under such cir­cumstances to make provision against the deprecia­tion his capital would suffer in this way. We have seen that under the two Acts above referred to the authorities must purchase as between outgoing and incoming tenants, the rolling stock and other effects at a valuation. Upon general principles of rating, a tenant is entitled either (1) to actual cost of main­tenance when the property is kept up to its prime cost and value, or (2) to a sinking fund to provide for the depreciation. From this it appears that no further allowance can be made in respect of compulsory purchase.

Experience has already shown that the pro­motors of electric lighting undertakings may rely on a great and progressive increase in the demand for their current. It is therefore a wise economy on their part in erecting the works and laying t he mains, to make provision for this increa~ed de­mand, by putting down plant far in excess of their immediate requirements. Thus, suppose a corpo­ration were to construct a lighting station, laying out a sum of 200, OOOl. in order to render it large enough to cope with the future needs of a rapidly expanding district. Assume that the site. for works, buildings, and the necessary landlords plant cost 120,000l., and the Inains 80,000l. After the works have been completed and in full working order for a period of three years, the accounts will show an annual but decreasing loss. What, under such circumstances should be the proper method of assessing the property 1 While, on the one side, the outlay may be pointed to, and the structural value, or contractor's theory, may be brought forward to support an assessment which would only be justifiable if the whole property were fully utilised ; on the other hand, it may also be unreasonably asserted that as no profit is being made, no tenant would give any rent for the property upon an annual tenancy.

The latter contention is probably fallacious, because the part of the plant which is lying idle is not contributing to the rate profits; moreover, if that part was to be abandoned, and the plant economically used, it would be quite possible to make a profit which would justify the rate. Further, it has been repeatedly shown that a pro­perly and economically equipped lighting installa­tion usually does show a profit.

To rate the property on the capital value of 200,000l. would clearly involve the rating of pro­spective profits, because, no present profits being made, it is only out of the future profits the rent and rates could be paid.

To put the whole matter in a nutshell, the occupier of the installation must be looked upon as representing both landlord and tenant. To find a tenant for a concern which showed an annual, albeit a decreasing, loss would be impossible. To find an enterprising company willing to undergo the risk of loss for a few years, in the hope of in­creasing its turnover when customers began to be plentiful, would not be difficult. The capital sunk and losses made during this period must rather be looked upon as a charge upon the capital

[JUNE 8, I 900.

account than the profit and loss account, and go, perhaps, to make up what is often called ''good will." If the business is prudently conducted during this period, the capital so sunk will pro­bably prove to have been judiciously laid out, and will become remunerative in the future. ..

The following extract from a judgment of Lord Esher, M.R., in the case of R. v. South Stafford .. shire Water Oompany (16 Q.B.D., 359), is of im­portance in this connection. In referring to the rating of a water works which comprised certain reservoirs and plant not in actual use, but which were intended to meet future requirements, his lordship said: "There might be works of the undertaking which had not become part of the actual system, as, for instance, a reservoir, or second lot of engines not yet used at all, but con­structed with a view of becoming part of the works in the future; such would be no part of the exist­ing system of works, but would be intended for another system, and would, of course, be rejected in making the calculation. But that is not this case, for here every part of the works is in actual use, though they are too large for the supply of water at present required. Therefore, in answer to the first question raised by the special case, namely, whether in calculating the value of the works in this parish, allowance is to be made for all the works of the undertaking now in use, or only for such of them as are required for the present supply, I say that all works which are now in use are to be taken into the account, and not such only of the works as are necessary for the present supply. Then, further, I think that the value of the whole, which is found by the arbitrator to be 462, OOOl., has been arrived at upon a right theory. As the works in use are in excess of the present requirement, a tenant taking the whole or part of the property in a particular parish ought not in justice be asked to pay the same rate of rent as he would if all the works were earning profit. , . . I am of opinion that it has, since all the works must be taken into account, as they are all in existence and being used. "

The following scheme will serve to show, in a general way, the principles upon which electrical undertakers are assessed at the present day:

VALUATION OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING WORK.

GROSS RECEIPTS. £ s. d. £ s. d. For the year ending... .. . Sale of current .. . .. .

,, , under con~ tract... . . . . . . . ..

Public lighting .. . .. . Rental of meters ... . .. Discounts ... ... . .. Sale of materials, stores, &c.

Deduct ... .. . . .. WORKING EXPENSES.

Generating and Dist'ribution of Electricity :

Coals and other fuel ... Oil, waste, water,. and

... engine-room stores Salaries of engineers and

officers ... . .. ... Wages at generating and

distributing stations .. . Miscellaneous expenses .. .

Management Expenses : Directors' remuneration ... Salaries of secretary, clerks,

&c. . . . . . . . .. Stationery and printing ... General establishment

charges ... . .. .. . Auditors ... ... .. . Law charges . .. . . . .. . Rates in the £ on £ rateable

value . . . . . . . ..

£ s. d.

£ s. d. O oouPIER's SHARE (Tenant's Capital).

£schedule (A) ... . .. Interest on capital employed Trade profits... . .. .. . Risks and casualties . .. Income tax on tenant's pro-

fits ab thereon .. . . .. Repair and maintenance of

tenant's chattels .. . . ..

Gross value ... ... STATUTABLE DEDUOT10N8. Maintenance and renewal of

mains and works . . . . .. Insurance ... ... ... Allowance for depreciation

Rateable value o It

-----£ s. d.

ea e>

•

£ s. d.

•

• •

£ s. d.

£ ~ . d.

•

•

JUNE 8, 1900.]

N 0 T ES. •

RESULTS oF EuROPEAN RAILWAY SYSTEMS. The United Kingdom earns the largest sum from

each mile of its railways of any European country, and the ratio of the expenses to the 1·evenue is about an average. An official German return shows that the State rail ways of Holland yield 1100l. per kilometre (equal to about two-thirds of a British mile), the Austria-Hungarian, 1073l. ; the Swiss, 1344l.; the French, 1436l.; the German, 1840l.; the Belgian, 2040l.; and the British, 2720l. On the other hand, France works her railways most cheaply; we do not include in this remark any allowance for relative efficiency. Her expenses absorb 62 per

' cent. of the receipts, Germany comes next with 65. 7, Austria-Hungary56.6, Britain 57, Belgiumo9.9, Switzerland 60.7, and Holland 65.6 per cent. Three­fourths of the Austria-Hungarian receipts are from merchandise, and so are two-thirds of the German and Belgian receipts ; while in the other countries from 60 to 56i per cent. only is got from goods traffic. It is interesting to note further, as an indication of the tra veiling facilities afforded, that for every 100 kilometres, or every 62 miles, there are in Britain 65 locomotives, compact Belgium alone excelling with 69. Austria-Hungary has 22, Holland and France each 27, Switzerland 28, and Germany 36. Of passenger carriages, Britain has 130, Belgium 135, Austria-Hungary 48, Holland 69, Switzerland 70, France 71, and Germany 72. Of goods wagons Britain has more per 100 kilometres than Germany, France, and Austria-Hungary united.

. THE NAPHTHA INDUSTRY OF THE TEREK DISTRICT.

The naphtha industry of the Terek district is not attracting the attention it deserves, nor has it been developed to the degree one might have ex­pected. It has been in existence close upon 70 years, but it is only during the last six or seven years that any real progress has been made. A number of small works have existed some 30 years, but very little is known about them, and their capacity has not been ascertained. Still there is every reason to expect a good future for them, for the natural conditions are similar to those of some of the best and richest petroleum districts in Europe. The naphtha appears very regularly, and there is nothing casual or incidental about it. One of the reasons that the Terek naphtha deposits have been less noticed lies in the fact that the escape of gas is not nearly so extensive as, for instance, in the Apscheron district, but this only tends to prove that the naphtha at Terek is more closed in. In the Terek district naphtha was discovered in the year 1833 at Grosny. Up till1894 the naphtha was col­lected in wells, varying greatly in depth ; the naphtha was raised in leather buckets by hand winches ; the aggregate production rose from an annual average of 65 tons to one of 2400 tons. In the year 1893 a rational naphtha industry with boreholes was commenced, and from that date the naphtha industry of Grosny has made rapid strides. There is no occasion to doubt that a similar development is in store for other hitherto obscure and unnoticed parts of the Terek district.

AMERICAN TIN-PLATES.

While the English tin-plate industry is threatened with further labour troubles it is interesting to find that the American trust is strengthening its posi­tion. To-day, it is estimated the American Tin­Plate Company does 90 per cent. of the tinning that is done in that country. It controls 282 mills in 35 works. There are but five independent manufacturers and but 16 independent dippers, and nearly all of these are bound up with or de­pendent upon the American Tin-Plate Company, simply for their own existence and because the trust is able to keep up prices. But it is generally allowed that the trust can kill them off when it feels disposed, and that in due course it will. An illustra­tion of the treatment of the "jobbers" is afforded by the matter of brands. Before the Tin-Plate Com­pany was formed individual jobbers carried their own particular brands, many of which had become established, and owed their hold upon the trade largely to the reputation that had slowly accrued. They were held to be as much the property of the individual jobber as were his store fixtures. But with the advent of the trust, it became evident that the status of brands was to be changed. ''We will be pleased to furnish to you tin of your par­ticular brand," said the trust, "but before we deliver a pound to you it will be necessary that you

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

make over to us for a term of fifteen years your. rights in the brand. Had there been no duty, the trust might have been defied, and particular brands made abroad. But with the duty there was no remedy but to submit, and make the best of a very indifferent job. The jobber is not the only indi­vidual who has to suffer; the jobber is at best a parasite, and if there can be direct trade between the producer and the consumer, on any basis short of absolute dictation on the part of the first-named, that condition is much to be preferred. But here it is the consumer who suffers most. Two years ago the price of 100-lb. coke tin was 2. 75 dols. a hundred, and at that price the mills were able t0 continue business, though in many instances, it is stated, at a loss. To-day the same grade 9f finished tin sells for 4.83 dols. a hundred. These prices permitted the American Tin-Plate Company in the first year it was in busi­ness, and notwithstanding it was hampered by old contracts, to make more than 2, 500,000 dols. That does not, of course, take account of the profits made by the other big corporations that came in for a share. It is a truism that the removal of the duty would not lead to any resumption of imports on the large scale of six years ago. But the re­moval of the duty would stop the oppression of the people by the trust, which would be obliged to re­duce the present exorbitant prices for fear that American users would buy from Welsh manufac­turers. Yet, even then, with prices decreased suffi­ciently to keep out foreign plate, the trust would reap large profits, and b~ able to pay more than fair dividends, even in its present capitalisation.

AN ENGLISH PNEUMATIC TOOL FACTORY.

Whilst a number of English firms manufacture pneumatic tools of various types no single firm, so far as we are a ware, has, up to the present, under taken the manufacture of a complete line of these goods, ranging from air hoists up to pneumatic hammers and portable air drills. Recently, how­ever, the International Pneumatic Tool Company, Limited, of Palace Chambers, Westminster, having purchased the British patents for the Little Giant series of pneumatic tools, have made arrangements with Messrs. Evans, O'Donnell, and Co., Limited, the well-known signal engineers, of Chippenham, for the lea.qe of a portion of that company's works for the manufacture of the tools aforesaid, on a large scale. Many of the parts of these tools are peculiarly suited to production on automatic ma­chines, and of these a number, built by Messrs. Alfred Herbert and Co., of Coventry, have been laid down. The same firm have also supplied the turret lathes with which practically all the heavier turning and boring needed is accomplished. The Little Giant hammer has already heen de­scribed in our columns on more than one occasion, and engravings representing sections through the tool will be found on page 426 of the present volume. The ham mer is of the valve type, and has, there­fore, a comparatively long stroke. The capabilities of the tool are well shown by the fact that with it a chip ! in. thick, i in. wide, and 18 in. long, has been cut from a !-in. steel plate. It would probably be impossible to take such a heavy cut from a !-in. plate by a pressure tool, such as a planing machine, without buckling the plate, and in any case much more time would be needed to secure the work in place than is required with the pneumatic hammer. N a.turally, to take a cut of such a character n. certain amount of practice is necessary in the use of the tool. A beginner always suffers from the vibration which arises, in the main, from a neglect to keep the tool well up to the work. In addition to the hammers the company also make the Little Giant drills, the con­struction of which was fully described in the paper recently read by Mr. Am os before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. When used for wood boring, these drills are provided with a special valve, enabling the direction of rotation to be reversed. This is a great convenience, as it much facilitates the withdrawal of an auger bit fron1 its hole. These drills are remarkably light for their power ; the small size capable of drilling !-in. holes in steel weighing but 8 lb. The castings are beautiful specimens of the founder's art, and we regret to learn that the company have found no English firm willing to un­dertake their production, and are therefore com­pelled to obtain their supply from America. As ex­plained in the paper by Mr. Amos,there are four cy­linders. At Chippenham these are bored on a turret

757 lathe, the work being held in a jig, which in~ures that all are interchangeable. All holes are finlShed by standard reamers. Pistons and valves are turned over-size, hardened, and finished by grind ing to a working fit. The reversing drill ?as ~lso been modified so as to serve as a pneumatlC ho1st, which is particularly useful where head room is limited. In place of a drill socket the spindle in this instance terminates in a worm driving a chain­wheel. One on view at Ohippenham on the occasion of our visit there weighed but 26 lb. complete, yet was capable of lifting 2000 lb. at the rate of 6 ft. per minute. In another application the spindle is fitted with a wire brush which Messrs. Evans, O'Donnell, and Co. find extremely useful and effi­cient for cleaning castings.

THE TRAINING AND STATUS OF ENGINEER OFFICERS.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING. Sm,-As you have been kind enough to devote some

space in your columns lately to a discussion on the organi­sation and position of naval engineers and of the steam branch generally, I should be glad if you would allow me to add a few remarks on the same question, as it is one of the deepest public concern. It wtll be at once conceded by every one who is competent to hold any opinion at all on naval matters that, however perfect in other respects our naval material, pelf'SO'YVMZ, and organisation may be, the efficiency of the whole as a fighting machine must depend absolutely on the efficiency of the boilers and machinery of our warships. Considenng the complicated and delicate nature of modern machinery and boilers, it is also evident that this efficiency for prolonged stress in action will de· pend entirely on the capacity and resource of the engi· nearing pM'sontnel. From this it follows that it is of the very highest importance, we may say without exa.g~era.­tion, of vital concern to the country, that the engmeer officers of our Navy should be even J>(>SSessed of the very highest qualifications for their profession, and that the whole of their training should be designed to fit them to perform the tryin~ duties of the department which they will have to ma.mtain in efficiency, and control in action with the enemy. The truth of the latter state· ment, and the force of the above reasoning, was prac­tically admitted by the .Admiralty when the present trainmg college [for engineer students at Key ham, was founded.

.Admitting that the system of training then laid down was a good one, and from an engineering point of view fairly met the needs of the Navy at that time, has the system been properly modified and developed to meet the demands wh1ch an almost revolutionised modern Navy makes on the varied branches of engineering know­ledge required in the engineer officer of the present ? The majority of the senior engineer officers now serving, who have to judge of tne quality of the young officers sup· plied to the Navy from the present training college, will say No; they will agree with the opinion expressed by Chief Inspector of Machinery Charles M. J ohnson, R.N., "that the _present system of training engineer students for the N a.vy is not calculated to make them thoroughly practical, re.sourceful engineers." Mr. John­son's proposed remedy is to give the students a thorough sea-going engineering training, in ships specially selected for the ~urpose, after they have left college, and before considermg their education finished. There is no doubt, however, that the present system mi&"ht be so modified and exi,>anded as to meet all the requirements, and it is high trme that the .Admiralty were roused to a due sense of their responsibilities to the country in this mat~r. T.h~ Admiralty having built a SJ?le~did engi­neermg trammg college at one of our prmetpal naval ports, with splendid facilities, and at great cost to the country, ~h.en practically ignored its existence. On their annual V1Slts to the Dockyards '' My Lords" consider nearlr ev~ry other e'!t:lb!i~hcnenil. out this college of s~ffi.CJen~ iWportance to clatm the1r personal inspection. They put a naval officer of the rank of commander in C?mma.nd of it, selected .no~ for any special qua.lifica­~lo~s he may have for thts. 1~porta.nt post, but making 1~ s1mply a means of provtdmg a co~forta.ble shelving bille_t for an officer physically, or otherWlse, unfit for active serv1ce afloat. A very able professor who, doubtless, would be an e~celle~t head master of a public school, is m~e the practlCal duecto! of the college, and is aided by ordmary schoolmaster ass1stan~, the senior of whom alone has had any engineering training whatever.

The theoretical engineering training is a courae of lee· tures, about one a month, given by a fleet engineer R.N. for the students under three years, and a. more ad va.nced course by the naval engineer assistant to the chief engi­neer of the dockyard, for the students of the fourth and fifth years ; these latter lectures are very valuable and are htghly appreciated, but there are not enough of them. The commander, su.pposed to be responsible for the good order .an? ~ell. bemg of the students, is rarely visible, and d1Sc1phne 1s largely left to the students themselves under a young engineer officer R.N. In fact the whole .. concern wants. waking up and thoroughiy re : ?rgamsmg; the pra.ct1ca.l result of the present system 18 ~. ma~e the students on the one hand mathe­matlCl&~s m the narrowest sense of the term, and on the ot~er: fatr~y com~tent engine fitters from their workshop tra1~mg, m w~:uch more than. half of their time is spent. Th~tr success m the colle~e IS made to depend almost ~ntuely on the math~matlCal part of their training. Is 1b any wonder that wtth the present system and more especially with the present indifference to th~ establish-

•

ment shown by the .Admiralty, the students are not so q_ualified for their important duties as the country has a. nght to demand ? What is wanted to make the Naval Engineering College a success? I~. the first place, .the Admiralty must consider the

trammg of naval engmeer officers in the college of Key­ham of the same importance as the training of the execu­tive officers in the Bri ta.nnia. The staff for the former com. prises a. commander R. N. and eight other officers; the latter ~ post:captain, commander, . and eighteen oth'er officers, 1nclud1~g professors of vartous languages and sciences. A speCially selected ~ost.captain R.N. must be placed in command of the Engmeers' Training College, he must be able. to count his s~rvice as sea time and in every way as serviCe for promot10n to flag rank. The scientific head of the college should be a professor of engineering of the highest attainmen~, and his assistants should also be engine.ering professors, specialists in physical and chemi­~al sme!lce, hy~ra.ulics, elect!ic~l engineering, &c., the mstruct10n to m clude the prm01ples of the design and construction of boilers and maohinerv, guns armour h~lls ?f ships, and of all implements and app~ra.tus meb w1th m the Navy. Laboratory practice in chemistry metallurgy, _physics, electricity, &c., should be greatly extended. The attempt to make the students senior wranglers in pure mathematics should be discontinued, and only those who show special aptitude for this special branch of study should be allowed to devote so ml}ch of. their time to it. As Admiral Melville, Engi­neer-m-Chief of the United State Navy, said in his recent report : " One of the most important duties under my bureau, and one which the Personnel Bill has made more important, if possible, than heretofore, is that connected with engineering at the Naval Academy, This special instruction must never be left to the control of others than engineers of great practical experience as well as high theoretical atttainments." Durmg the last year or two of their college course facilities should be given the students to visit the ~hipyards and workshops of the best shipbuilders and enginee111, gun and armour factories, electric light, and other specialists on the Admiralty list of firms. The education gained through the eye in this way supplemented by proper book-work instruction would be of the greatest value, and leave a life-long im­pression on the memory. The first year after leaving the college should be pas~ed in the Reserve and should be considered a. vital part of the training; every facility should be given the young officers to gain varied practical experience in different ships under steam, for courses of Whitehead torpedo in the torpedo depots, electric light, and gunnery in the schools, &c., for all of which they would have been prepared theoreti­cally in the~r ~allege course of not less than five years.

The French and German languages should also be taught in the college ; it is unfair to include the former language in the examinations and to provide no facilities for study­ing it. I am aware that the programme I have sketched is a.n extensive one, but if every effort is made to give the students a distinctly naval engineering training, one which includes all branches of mechanical engineering, I a. m satisfied it can be carried oub. All the elements of success in the general arrangements of the col­lege itself and its surroundings already exist, reor­ganisation on the lines indicated will attain it. With such a. high ideal as the one we have set before us, it is necessary that the very best youths should be attracted to the engineering department of the Navy, but the present treatment of the naval engineer prevents the most desirable candidates from coming forward. As the grievances of naval engineers have been before the public now for some time in their pu blisbed statement, and in various letters in the public Press, I need not enlarge upon them, but their wants are all summed up in one word, "Recognition." They want to be made really part and parcel of the Navy, not treated as civilians and hirelings, but fairly given all the privileges and honours which executive officers of the same rank enjoy.

There is one aspect of the Admiralty policy designed to subordinate and degrade the naval engineering pro­fession which affects the whole body of engineers in and out of the service, and that is the attempt to set up an independent set of artificers for work outside the engine department, under the control of executi~e officers. This is altogether unneceesary, and does not m any way con­duce to the efficiency of the service. All mechanical ratings in the ship should be under the engineer officer, who should be responsible for maintaining the efficiency of all apparatus and mechanism for whatever purpose it may be fitted on board. The fi~hting officer should be able to devote the whole of his attention to the best methods of using all the weapons, guns, torpedoes, searchlights, &c., in action., and a go?d acqua.mtance with their gener~l construct10n and wor~u~g s~ould alone be acquired of him. The system of spe01a.bsts m gunnery, torpedo, navigation, &c., should not be. necessarr, every lieutenant should have a. thorough practiCal acquamtance with these subjects. To ~ridea.vour to make a.m~teur engineers of these o~cers. IS a. ~~te .of valuable t1me; besides w hicb an engmeermg tra.1~:nng 1s by no means the best suited to give an officer that 1mpetuous br~very, l}n­disturbed intensity of thought, and reckless danng whtch characterised the naval hero of the past; but, on the con­trary, tends to make hi~ anxious a.~d preoccupied about various complicated details. from wh~cb the mm~ e~oul.d be entirely free. As Admual Melvllle says agam, m hts admirable report : "Various outcrol>pings. i~ ~he s?ape of electrical hydraulic, and pneumatic spe01a.httes d1vert the thoughtless into considering thes~ fiel~s fund~men­ta.lly separate from that of steam engmeer.mg, while th.e fact remains that the man educated fully m steam engi­neering is in tb.e.very front r~n~ of the a.dva.l?ced workers in sucl:i specialities .. :rhe pnnmples o~ the s1de bran~hes are of extremesimpli01ty, those govermng the mecbanl8ms

E N G I N E E R I N G. bein~ essentially the same as in good mechanical engi­neermg."

The engineers do not contend for in~rcha.n~eability with the fighting line in our Navy; they constder that engineering in all the va.rions branches represented in the Navy is their special domain, and is quite sufficient to absorb the whole of their talents and energies; but although their sphere of action is a. different one, they consider that they are entitled all the same to equal honour and authority in their own line, and the same recognition from their country, the safety of which it so largely rests upon them to defend. Hoping you may be able to lend your powerful aid towards improving and perfecting both the training and position of the naval engineering personnel, a. work for which your journal is so eminently qualified,

I am, very truly yours, FLEET ENGINEER, R.N.

NAVAL ENGINEERS. To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

SIB,-It is not a.l ways a. wise plan to reply to an anonymous correspondent, and, as a. rule, I refrain from doing so, but as " Fa.irplay," in your last week's issue, charges me with giving an incorrect statement I must, for the s!l'ke of the issues involved, break from my usual practiCe.

" Fairpla.y" states that I am incorrect when I state that chief engine-room artificers have sole and absolute charge of the machinery of vessels whose engines are 2000 indicated borse·power. He says that be has stndied the Nav;v List, and can find no such case in its pa.ges. "Fa.uplay" ought to know that there are more ships upon the sea than those whose names appear in the Na~y List; those I had in my mind when I wrote the letter to which he takes exception, were the first-class torpedo-boats Nos. 94, 95, 96, all three of which have engines which are of the power stated. There are five others of 1750 indicated horse-power. All these boats are in charge of chief or engine-room artificers. So much for the correctness of my statements, which disposes of point number one. Point number two is: Chief engine­room ·artificers have been sent out as as~ista.nt Admiralty overseers. This, "Fairpla.y " states, is stretching the case with a vengeance. Does "Fairplay" imply that I have overstated what actually has taken place? If so, let me state it again, only more clearly. Chief engine­room artificers are out at the works of private con­tractors assisting engineer officers. The enfPneer officer is at these said works to oversee Admiralty work, to watch all tests, and take notes of all trials, &c., but, not being ubiquitous, he cannot be in all places at once, so he sends his assistant, the chief engine-room artificer, who watches these tests, sees the Admiralty mark pub upon the particular work, and takes all notes which are the basis of the official memoranda. of the work in question. If this is not being what I de­scribed him to be, will "Fairplay" tell those of your readers who are not quite capable of appreciating the difference between this position of an "assistant Admi­rruty overseer" and one who only 11 assists" an Admiralty overseer. It is too profound for me, so I give it up.

"Fairpla.y " quotes what he is pleased to call a. "well­known" clause of the Queen's Regulations, which states that all engineer officerd below the rank of chief engineer are, in addition to any special duties apportioned to them, to keep eight hours' watch per day when under steam, to insure the watches being pla.ced in charge of officers (the italics are "Fairplay's "). What object your correspondent could have had in quoting the foregoing I cannot imagine. What does be want to prove? Does he mean your readers to infer that engine-room artificers do not keep watch in ships where engineer officers are carried ? If so-and now I am about to open the Navy List at random, and am prepared to quote any ship whose names I find on the pages I have opened indiscriminately -what about the Hermione, twin cruiser, second class? I find she carries a ftet:t engineer and one assistant engi­neer of two years' standing. Now even allowing that the engineer keeps watch, which senior engineers as a. rule never do, they have far too many other duties for watch keeping to carry out the regulation "Fairplay " quotes­there would still be eight hours to be kept by somebody. "Fairplay" does not understand the subject or he would never have given himself away so cheaply. In con­clusion, Sir, I may also state that I have no desire to enter into a controversy with your anonymous correspondent, but I have a. real desire to witness the subject of Naval Engineers being fullv and properly dis­cussed in your pages. I, too, like ': Fairplay," am a lay­man, but I have a wide and extenstve knowledge of the Navy, and am keenly interested in the qnestion of per­sonnel. In the engine-room department the Navy is woe­fully undermanned, but this will not be remedied by re­fusing to aP.portion the engine-room artificer his due meed of reAponstbility in the very trying and onerous duties which are performed there.

I am, Sir, yours truly, A. MARSHALL.

THE MAXIM MULTI-PERFORATED POWDER.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINE.&UING. SIR,-In your issue of February 9 last appears a long

letter relating to multi-perforated smokeless powders, by a person signing himself Thomas A. Hill. The letter contains such extraordinary statements in view of the actual facts in the case that I trust you will allow me to answer the same in your columns.

I enclose vou copies of my U nited States patents re­ferred to by.Mr. Hill in his letter, Nos. 538,618, 540,326, 540,327, and 540,328, and which Mr. Hill says were not

(j UNi 8, 1900.

applied for until after 1895. You will see by looking ab the dates of application on these patents that one of them was filed December 14, 1893, and the other three were filed J anua.ry 31, 1894, while the English patent of Mr. Hiram S. Maxim for multi-perforated powder grains illustra.te_d in Mr. ~ill's letter, No. 17,994 of 1894, was not a.pphed for until September 21, 1894, nearly eighb months after the last of mine was applied for; and still Mr. Hill makes the statement that none of my above patents was applied for until after 1895.

I also send you a. copy of my United States Patenb No. 428,3llt applied for September 24, 1889, and which shows a. tuoular powder ~rain such as was claimed by Mr. Hiram S. Maxim in hiB English patent just five years later lacking three days.

It should be noted that United States patents bear the year of issuance and not of application, while British patents bear the date of application.

Mr. Hill starts out by making reference to a.n article in ENGINEERING wherein it is said that "the distinguish­ing feature of the gunpowder invented by Mr. Hudson Maxim and Dr. Schupphaus is its form." That is to say, that it is in the form of multi. perforated cylinde~. Mr. Hill adds: "All of the foregoing subject matter, so far as form of powder is concerned, was disclosed in Mr. Hiram S. Maxim's British patent, No. 17,994, of 1894, in which tubular and other forms of powder which permit of internal cavities are described." It is true tha.b the distinguishing feature of the Ma.xim-Schupphaus powder is its form, because this was the first multi·perfora.ted smokeless powder ever made; but as black powder grains had been made in the same form long before the advent of smokeless powder, there was no novelty in the form, and I have never claimed any novelty for the simple multi-perforated cylinder, and I have never patented such a powder grain anywhere in the world. Three of my above patents mentioned by Mr. Hill are for improve­ments in cartridges and cartridge charges, wherein multi­perforated grains are employed; while the other is for a die for making multi-perforated powder grains, and all smokeless powder now made for the United States Government is made with this same die.

Mr. Hill accuses me of not ha.vinR mentioned in my writings and lectures the above Bnti.qh patent of Mr. Hiram S. Maxim of 1894, and also one for a grain having a single central perforation patented by him in 1886. lb ma.y be sufficient for me to explain that I preferred to mention those who had done the same thing a. long time prior to Mr. Hira.m S. Maxim, and done it much better.

I inclose for your inspection a. sketch showing an accele­rating powder charge built up of multi-perforated grains made by General Rodman, then Captain Rodma.n, in 1857, and which is illustrated in his book, "Experiments on Metals for Cannon and Gunpowder," ~ublisbed in 1861. This invention of General Rodma.n dtd not leave much opvortunity for his successors to make valid claims for multi-perforated powder grains. About the only im­provements possible m the form of perforated grains in­vented by Rodman are those of transversely perforated rods invented and patented by me, and angular forms of perforations laid out with mathematical accuracy for securing equal burning thicknesses between multi-perfora­tions, according to the Maxim-Schupphaus patents. It is noteworthy that each of the forms illustrated in

Mr. Hira.m S. Maxim's patent above mentioned, taken forty years later, is far inferior to the form invented by Rod man.

Black powder, however, did nob have the tensile strength necessary to enable the advantages at firsb ex­pected by General Rod man to be derived from the form mentioned. He therefore tried other forms of grain, and finally abandoned them for a grain with a. single perfora­tion, which was in general use until the advent of smoke­less powder, which possessed the necessary qualities for the attainment of accelerating combustion with the multi­perforations of Rodman. But as smokeless powder re­quired entirely new processes and &J?paratus for its manu­facture, I invented the form of dte illustrated by you June 10, 1898, for the purpose of making General Rod­man's multi-perforated grams.

I believe General Rodman never patented his inven­tions in gunpowder, but a. United States Patent was taken in 1883, by Norman Ward, applied for March 2, 1882, a copy of which I enclose, which illustrates tubular and other forms of powder grains, including multi-per­forated cylinderfl, three years ahead of the earliest of Mr. Hiram S. Maxim's patents on the subject.

It may be well for me to add, for the benefit of those who are not familiar with the patent laws of different countries, that it is not necessary for a. device to have the least novelty in order to get a British p~a.tent, for no 2earch for novelty is made in the British Patent Office, and a thin~ without a single new feature may be patented. In the Umted States, however a careful search is made for pre·existing patents, and although mistakes sometimes occur, an American patent is some guarantee of novelty, while a. British patent is none whatever. It is note­worthy that each of the above patents of Mr. Hira.m S. Maxim are British. They could not have been patented in the United States.

The suggestion that has been made about my change of name, the enclosed facsvmile copies of documents in my possession will prove to you that I had assumed the name of Hudson in 1875, since when I have discarded that of Isa.ac.

As Mr. Hill is a. patent expert and must have ba<i all the patents be~ore him, it would be an injustice to ~is professional skill to presume that he made these mlS­sta.tements through ignorance.

Very respectfully, HUDSON MAXIM.

891, Sterling-place, Brooklyn, New York, April 6, !BOO.

•

j UNE 8, 1900.] •

THE WEIGHTS OF AMERICAN BRIDGES. To THE E DITOR oF ENGINEERING.

SIR - Enclosed you will find some formulre for the weight of American bridges, which may be interesting to English engineers :

Formulcejo?' the Weight of Ame1-ican R ail1·oad Bridges: All weights are per line&l foot of single-track bridge.

Steel only. Live loads = two engines, 100 tons each, and 4000 lb.

per lineal foot of tra.ck, limits 10,000 lb, and 12,000 lb. per square inch.

Deok pla.t~-girder bridge . . . . .. , lattice , . .. . ..

Half through plate girder bridge Half through plate girder bridge

ties on shelf angle . . . . .. Half through plate girder bridge

with solid steel floor . . . . .. Pivoted through truss bridge. . ..

, deck " ties on top chord . . . . .. . . . . ..

Through pin bridge ... . .. Deck pin bridge with shingers . ..

, , ties of top chord

Railroad Trestles : Loads as a. hove.

100 + 9 l 100 + 8 l 300 + 12 l

200 + H~ l

600 + 10 l 400 + G t

200 + 400 + 400 + 300 +

7 l 5~ l 6 l 6 l

W eight of spans as above. , bents and bracing = 9 lb. per square foot

of side profile, from ground to base of rail.

Eleotrio Railroad Bridges: To carry 25-ton oars, or 2000 lb. per lineal foot of

track, limits 10,000 lb. and 12,000 lb. per square inch.

W eight of steel per lineal foot of single-track bridge are for

Beam bridges . . . . .. Deck-plate girder bridges ... Pony truss bridges . . . . .. Through trues bridges ...

Elcct1·ic Railro-zd Trestles :

• • •

• • •

• • • ...

30 + 5~ l 30 + 5 l

200 + 1.8 l 200 + 1.6l

Weight of spans as above. , bents and bracing = 6 lb. per square foot

of side profile, from ground to base of rail.

H ighway Bridges, 'with W ood Floors: Dead weight of floor= 40 lb. per square foot . Live

loads, 100 lb. per square foot, and units 10,000 lb. and 12,000 lb. per square inch.

Weights are per square foot of floor, and include steel only, without joists.

Girder bridge with sidewalks ...

" " without sidewalks

Truss "

with sidewalks • • •

" " without s idewalks ...

High'way Bridges, with Solid Floors :

3 + Ppan 4.4

3 + soan 3.4

3 + ~oan H

5 + span 7

Dead weight of floor = 150 lb. per ~quare foot.

Deck·plate girder bridges ... ... 3 + ~an .6

H alf through

Truss bridge .. .

Boston, May 12, 1900.

••• • ••

• • • •• • • • •

3 +span 2.1

3 +span 4

Very truly yours, H. G. TYRRELL,

Designing_ Engineer for Boston Bridge Works.

[The formulas given above are of a. type very common in the U nited Stat~, a.nd we need only add that the letter l denotes the span in feet, so that from the first formula given the wetght of a. deck plate-girder bridge, 100 ft. long, would be 100 + 900 = 1000 lb. per foot run. -Ed. E.]

LOCOMOTIVES AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

T o THE EDITOR ·oF ENGINEERING. SIR1- The express engine of the Midland Railway

Company will prove to be one of the most attractive of the exhibits at Vincennes, but its unique features are by no means confined to a graceful outline alone.

The Midland Rail way route is hea. vier than the majority of our ~reat trunk lines, and the wei~ht and speed of the main hne trains little, if at all, infenor to any, yet it has been found possible to work this excellent service with individual heating surfaces of only 1216 square feet; the engines of another line having distinctly easier gradients, and which have an equal amount of surface and cylinders 19 in. in diameter, usually finish their runs with express trains equal to 14 coaches with hot smokeboxes and with doors frequently bulged so badly as to drop red-hot ashes on the cylinder fall plates. In this case the ratio of heat­ing surface to grate area is 58 to 1, and the new engines by which they are being replaood have 25 per cent. more surface, and the ratio is m creased to 77 to 1 ; on the other hand, the Midland boilers have the smallest ratio, viz., 49.6 to 1, of any en~nes doing fast main line work in any country on bitummous coa.l.

A competing line which continues to use large numbers of older engines having about 1100 square feet of heating

E N G I N E E R I N G. surface, is said to get only five months' service out of a. single set of tubes, a.nd it is notorious that the repairs and renewals of the small fireboxes of certain engines which were much admired, and which have only recently been superseded, were both frequen t and costly. Presuming that the repair bill is normal, the Midland boiler is the lightest and least expensive generator in use for SD;pplying steam to 19l-in. by 26-in. cyli nders at express speed.

As only 36 per cent. of the weight of the engine is available for adhesion and for braking, the engines are comparatively slow in starting and stopping1 and have therefore to attain a high maximum speed m order to keep time; that they do so with the exceptionally low coal consumption claimed is evidence of their free run­ning at high speed and of the Pxcellent work of the S mith type of piston valve.

Outside bearings are usually objected to because of the serious addition necessitated to the cost and weight of the framing, and on account of the bi~her stresses on the axles which they involve in conjunctton with lateral pres­sures at the flanges, and with the resistance to steam thrust when the inner boxes become slightly worn ; it must be admitted that nearly all classes of outside frame engines have a bad record in the matter of broken and " flawed 11 cranks, but doubtless some sacrifice of simpli­city and of economy in first cost in favour of the reathetics of the composition of the handsome brass axlebox and the graceful curves of the frame and splasher will meet with popular approval.

Yours, &c., QoE'QU'UN.

THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA. To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

Sm,-The t ide of war rolls on, and the sands of inde­pendent Boer life are being submerged. If, Sir, you have ever observed the advance of an incoming tide over a somewhat irregular flat, you will have noticed that which in many respects illustrates the advance of an overwhelm­ing force over a country weakly held by opposing forces. The higher patches of sand which, for a. t ime, stand proudly above the water are soon surrounded, and are even tually submerged.

So with the enemy, he is en abled to show a bold front in certain localities favourable for defence; but the very force of our numbers flowing steadtly eastwards in the Orange River State has speedily converted these positions into trav.s from which the Boars cannot hope to escape, except as d isorganised forces. L ooking back over the work of the past few weeks, the wost striking fact is the energy of the British advance. The celerity of movement, the brilliant initiative of the Commander, the elan of the troops, and the fine spirit of all, have combined not only to astonish the Boers, but to utterly destroy, as with a whirlwind, their powers of resistance.

L ord Robert8 must indeed be a. wonderful commander, to be able, at his age, to d irect such far-reaching move­ments in such a. dashing manner. Of course, a great superiority of men, guns, \and organisation facilitates good strategy. U nder such circumstances a man can hardly go wrong. But the s trategy of this advance from Kroonstadt, good as it was, is less remarkable than the impetuosity and celerity of the ad va.nce. The penetration of a. projectile may be said to vary as the square of i ts velocity; and in a similar manner the v is viva of an army of invasion to overcome resistance is immensely increased by rapid movement. The molecules in the one case, and the groups of armed men in the other, are similarly dri ven aside because they have no time to arrange for a combined resistance.

The question of supply must have been one of great diffi­culty to solve satisfactorily, because there were so many columns advancing quickly and simultaneouily, and on different routes. Some time ago a corre3pondent of the T imes drew attention to our transport and supply as one of "the things we have done well."

Another thing which seems to have been well executed is the repair of damaged communications, and especially tha t of the rail way bridges.

As a rule, the actual permanent bridge has been left in its damaged condition to be dealt with at some future time, and a crossing of a temporary nature has been made at some point a little removed from the permanent bridge as p ossible, b ut at a much lower level, a deviation line being simultaneously formed to the said lower crossing. In this way the impetus imparted to the train running down one deviation line to the crossing at a lower level, helps to take the train up the other deviation line on the far side of the crossing.

The supply of an army during such a rapid adva.nc& must have failed, unless the arterial line afforded by the railway had been very promptly put into working order.

To the things which have been done well must now be added the embodiment of our Yeomanry into so effective a war force.

Wherever they have gone they have earned golden opinions for their dash and ~:ffi01ency. The Y eomanry have for many a year been the butt for undeserved joking and tomfooling by journals such as P unoh, which should be able to discern latent merit wi th more perspicuity. In future willing men who can ride and shoot are likely to be treated with more consideration.

So we have arrived at the Golden City, and the mines and buildings are unhurb. The deliberate destruction of mining maohinery could do the Boer cause nothing but harm. The reef could not be destroyed, and the machinery would have been rep aired at a certain cost by people who, in numerous cases, bave been symp athisers with the Boers.

We are told that Mr. Kruger and the more bellicose of tbe Boers intend to make a stand in the Lydenburg dis­triob. This must be a. very doubtful p olicy on their part,

•

759 and I cannot believe thatJ it will produce any impm;t~ntJ complications. The Celts in the W elsh .mounta.ms during the Heptarohy might be a lmost a fair parallel. Kruger, the would-be leader ot a n A~rikander South A frica, from Cape Town to the ~am best, and ~ruger, a refugee, with 10,000 malcon tents m the mountatns round L ydenbnrg, are very different personages. Surely he ca.n, as a sensible man, see that the game is played outJ, and the board stands at checkmate.

An attempt will, no doubt, be made by L oud R oberts to induce htm to surrender, and it certainly seems very desirable to attract him, and other Boer leaders, by offers of clemency. W e must bear in mind that the Orange J3'ree State was actually independent prior to the war; and thab the Transvaal was practically independent. Consequently, the burghers of these two Republics are in a category very distinct and different from that of the rebel Boars in Cape Colony. The distinction appears to be well understood at the front, if one may judge by the difference in treatment meted out to the above two classes ; and why should Kruger, Steyn, a nd other leaders be exempted ? '\Vhy should there be a ta lk uf sending Kruger to St. Helena ? Surely that is enourh of i tself to make a man irreconcilable. He is old, very old, and has shot his bolt. His private fortune, and the estates of the other leaders form a mere fleabite in the cost of the war, and are not worth regarding, Kruger, Steyn, Cronje, &c. , should be offered clemency and amnesty and retention of their worldly effects. In exchange, they would, of course, be required to announce to their followers that the inevit­able must be accepted, and that the yoke of the cursed R oinek borne with fortitude. In time, perhaps, the yoke will be found to be an easy one.

Now is the time for the Queen's Government to show its statesmanship, but this should not be permitted to encroa,cb upon the military question of security for South Africa, as a whole. L ord Robert~ should be sole arbiter on that matter, and we should enforce his requirements even if Cape Colony winces at them. A p ermanent South African army is a sine qud non, and South Africa, as a whole, must pay for that army .

Federation is therefore absolutely necessary unless we people in E ngland are so foolish as to permit ourselves to be saddled with the annual cost of the said army; in addition to the annual interest and sinking fund on the capital which the war will have cost us when finished.

This would be rather more than a fair "white man's burden," and should be strenuously resisted by the British taxpayer.

An excellent opportunity of enforcing his views upon the Govern men b will soon be at ba nd. The man in the st 1 eet can, if he will, ab the coming General Election, insist upon each candidate pledging himself to promote the organisation of a permanent South African Army on the same lines as our Indian Army, i.e., a force offic.ered by Britishers, but paid for locally. It is the payment of the future South African Army which the British tax­payer and voter has to consider.

The military correspondent of the W estminster Gazette is very emphatic upon the necessity of finishing the war quickly, and eeems to me rather unduly anxious to get the army home again.

For what purpose? Like a ship, to be paid off out of Commission? He seems anxious about the return of the army by sea,

if war were in the meantime declared with a naval Power. But the only troubles which seem to be breaking are Cbinawa.rds, and it is scarcely necessary to point out to so intelligent a writer that our soldiers in South Africa are very well ~itioned should it be necessary in the near future to send an ex_pedition to the Far East. If Russia send 40,000 men to Pekin, we must send 50,000.

The advisability of finishing the Boer War quickly is equally pressing- but the reason assigned is very dif­ferent.

S ince writing the above, we now hear of the occupation of Pretoria by Lord Roberts. This concludes the war so far as a war on the two Republics is concerned. W~ may probably be compelled to continue hostilities against a greatly reduced number of the enemy, who may b old rough portions of t he country of small v.alue, and still defy the Britisher . . . but their resources must soon come to an end when the railway to Delagoa. Bay falls in to our hands.

Practically the war is now over; so much so that L ord Roberts could easily sps.re 50,000 or 60,000 men should the Government consider it n ecessary to send a strong force to the Far East.

Faithfully yours, J one 6, 1900. FIELD OF~~IOER IN '84.

LENDING LIBRARY FOR ENGINEERS. To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.

SrR,-I may advisA your readers that the library of the ~orth of England Institute?£ Mining and Mechanical Engmeers has always been avallable as a lending library for ~he use <;>f the members ; those r~iding at a distance paymg carriage, no other charge hems- made.

. I have the pleasure. of enclosing { l ) a copy of the hbrary catalogue, showmg that the books are suitable for nearly all classes o~ ~ngine~rs ; and (2) a copy of the am.nual1·eport, contammg a bst of the periodicalR which are also available for perusal by the members. "' ~ ca~d catalogue of periodic~! literature is constantly

mamtamed up to .date., ena~ling members to refer to pal?ers on any sub]ecb m wh10b they may be interested. Tht~ car<;l catalogue. cou!d be extended to all classes of engmeermg papers, If smtably suppor~d by engineers.

Yours faithfully, M. w AL'l'ON B ROWN.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, June 6, 1900.

MARINE ENGINE GOVERNORS. To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING .

. S~a,-~he use .of t~e gimbal for keeping a body freely mclu~ed m all dU'ect10ns whatever is not new, and the con~r1vance can be used for the anti-racing of the marine engines.

The. rough sk~toh accompanying this letter shows som.e 1dea. of ~h1s schem~. It is drawn for the port engm~ of a t~-screw s~1p. The pendulum will move the shde valve m every duection of rolling and pitching,

Fi-g 1

~- ·--

sue~ UIJI

ALi- holes with~ ferl'orll1J!AJJ Plate tJJ keep d tl.6b out .

l

•

. Fig .2.

! f I r. I ' I

o I

: I .t '-, i ~ Jltrorrl .1 r.u -~-~---~-----· ·· ~. . --. • ~-··•• ! I •-••-• • •• • --~ / 11 . I : : " 0 I

o I I

rJPe 0 I s 1/ ... , l£al1l/

'

:ve

l

A

Se-c. tlrro. A.B .

except in the cases when she inclines to the port side, or has her after end immersed in waves. It will also not act within a certain limit of angles, as ib will be seen from the sketch.

Recently so many of the Japanese destroy era sailing home by their own steam from here have had terrible ex­periences, owin~ to the racing of the en~ines. I think a little considerat10n of the scheme will gtve some light for the prevention of racing.

As I ha.ve not exhaustively examined previous methods of anti-racing, I may be pardoned if the same means have been applied before. I enclose my card.

Yollrs truly, London, May 28, 1900. E. ODAGIRI.

COAL ON THE NoRTHERN OF FRANOE.-The quantity of coal and coke carried over the Northern of France Rail way las t year was 13,358,160 tons, as compared with 12,878,850 t ons in 1898. Of the 13,358,160 tons carried last year, 11,328,105 tons came from the basin of the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, w bile 1, 729,710 tons were Belgian coal, 192,020 tons English coal, and 108,325 tons German coal.

BELGIAN BLAST-FURNAOES.-The number of blast-fur­naces in activtty in Belgium at the commencement of June was 34, while 5 furnaces were out of blast at the same date. The total of 34 representing the furnaces in blast in Bel­gium at the commencement of June was made up as follows: Charleroi group, 14; Liege grou~, 14; Luxem­bourg, 6-total, 34. The output of pig m Belgium in May was 99,820 tons, as compared with 97,030 tons in May, 1899. The aggregate output of pig in Belgium in the first five months of this year was 489,020 tons, as com­pared with 498,080 tons in the corresponding period of 1899.

NEW SoUTH WALES RAILWAYS.-The Government report for the quarter ending with March shows that the earnings for the past quarter, totalling 816, 755l. for lihe 2771 miles open, show an increase of 63,039l. over the corresponding quarter of last year. The expenditure totalling 430, 904l., shows an increase of 20,848l. , the result being an improvement in net revenue of 42,19ll. for three months for an increased mileage of 66 miles. With few exceptions all classes of traffic contributed to the increase, viz. : First-class passengers, 9079l.; second­class 7927l.; parcels, &c., 4341l.; general mercandise, 15, 124l. ; grain, flour, &c .• 25,887 t.; minerals (other than co9-l and coke), 433ll.; coal and coke, 894l. Wool shows a, decrease of 830l.;. a.nd live stock, 3714l. The passenger

E N G I N E E R I N G. [] UNE 8, 1900.

DIAGRAMS OF THREE MONTHS' FLUCTUATIONS IN PRICES OF M~TALS.

(Specially compiled from Official Reports of London Metal e»ld Scotch Pig-Iron W ~·ant M01rkets.)

MAROH. APRIL. M . AY • •

. .f.. • •

ltJ~

156 IN \

~ ' 146

/AA jilt ,. . 142

/40 ~ -l 138

rt\ /36 _J. ' 134

~-f>'{; I ·

130 • . • I

• 1 • t

... . '

-. ..,.. • • .

30

28

26

?A

"""

20 • I ' •: , - • ~. .~ - "' .... . I

18 . .

I

16

14

12

10

6

~

V • • ·~· . 0 0 . ....

~~++~~~~~rr+++++4+4

~1H~~++~++~~~~+ ~

.....;

... ~ ~ I'll .......

• •' I -

• ··-.. . ...-._ ... . -~ ..

•

. .. . . .......

.

~ " "' '

10 lA

. • .

~ r. r •

{) ... ~ . ... ' ....

:~l .if ,, PIA 'Ei !!t lfl r

. . . . . ~ • • ··- . .. I '

. ..

. . . •

- -

I

...

I

. • .. .. ~ .. .

IN the accompanying diagrams each vertical line represents a market day, and each horizontal line represents l s. in the case of hematite, Scotch, and Cleveland iron, and ll. in all other cases. The price of quicksilver is per bottle, the contents of which vary in weight from '70 lb. to 80 lb. The metal prices are per ton. Heavy 2teel rails are to Middlesbrough quotations.

traffic shows an increase of 604,646 j)a.Bsenger journeys; similar works between Gresbam and Blayney. The first and the goods traffic, 154,386 tons. The grade improve- section of the "pioneer " line, Moree to Inverell, a dis· menta between Harden and Oootamundra are approaching tanoe of 35 miles, Morae to Gravesend, was opened for completion, an~ satisfactory progress has been made with . traffic on February 1la.st.

•

j UNE 8, I 900.] E N G I N E E R I N G. •

50 -TON TESTING MACHINE AT THE PARIS EX H I B I T I 0 N. CONSTRUCTED BY THE VALERE MABILLE COMPANY, ~IARIEMONT, BELGIUM.

•

.li l li

X

s

A'

1"1 ~

I I 11 ! I

•

•

I U

I"\ I 11

A

"" ,.,.

l : I I I I

.... -----------------------------------------~--------~----------------------~-----~~-L----------------------------------

W E illustrate, above, a. 50-ton t esting machine shown at the Paris Exhibition by the Valere Mabille Works, at Ma.riemont, Belgium ; we are informed that this ma.ohine is largely employed in Belgium. In the engraving A is the cast-iron frame in which the hy­draulic cylinder is placed, the piston P of which is in ooe piece with the rod Tat the end of which is the head ~1 to which the testing apparatus is attached. Water is forced into the hydraulic cylinder by a small three­cylinder double-acting puxnp, the constant delivery from which forces t he piston in t he direction of the arrow, when the valve V is opened and the valve VI c:osed. To bring the piston back to its normal posi­t ion, the valve VI is opened and V is closed. On the fume A1 are attached all t he levers of the balance m3chanism which rests on the supports S ; the piece t.> be tested is secured to the head M1, and the system of levers L, x , t, xl, t1, x2, t2, x3 transmit the load. When the machine is not in opera tion the sliding piece 0 is at the point I, and 0 1 is at the point P, on the bar X 3 on which the divisions corresponding to tons are engraved, those of kilogrammes or other units being on the bar X 3• The piece to be tested being in place, it is fixed either direct to the heads ~1 M1, or, if it is too short, by means of an auxiliary rod with an adjusting screw, the attachment being made by grip­ping pieces or other suitable devices, varying with the form of t he piece and the nature of the test. If water is then forced into the cylinder in front of the piston P, the latter is forced in the direction of t he arrow and draws upon the tes t-piece, the equilibrium of the lever system is disturbed, and, to restore it, it is necessary to move the sliding weight 0 along the en­graved lever X 2 and 0 1 along X 3 in order that the two points b, b1 may remain at the same height; at the moment of rupturing the test-piece, the balance of the system is destroyed, and the breaking strain is indicated at the point when the pointer of the sliding weight has stopped. The length of the ma­chine is about 13ft.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES. TnE forty-ninth Annual Report of t he Amalgamated

Society of Engineers is, from the trade union point of view, most encouraging, though there were no events in the history of this union which call for special remark, as of absorbing importance. Indeed, that is from one st andpoint, a pleasing feature, as even a strong union, like t hat of the Engineers, could not easily at an early date risk another dispute like that of 1897-8. "Happily there was peace within our bor­ders/' says the report, and " as a result of this, as well as of the good trade which has obtained during the year, we have added just on 100,000l. to our balance, and finished the year with more money to our credit than at t he end of any previous year in our history." There is the greater rejoicing at this,

· because of the gloomy predictions of a year or two ago, when the strike and lock-out bad been so prolonged. It was felt, indeed, even by the great employers engaged in the contest on the other side, that to cripple such a union in respect of fund s would be a social and industrial disaster, because of the enormous provident benefits which the union guarantees to its members. To fight on a. question of policy, to resist this or that demand is one thing ; to crush a great institu­tion is another; the latter is not now desired, as it was many years ago, even by the stoutest foes to trade unions, for it is recognised tha t they are, on the whole, a. steadying force. The question of extending the union's influence by increasing the number of members

is well put in the report. After calling a ttention to the fact that a great number of men are still outside its ranks, and pointing out that " strengthening t heir posit ion is in the interests of all," it adds : "It should be put to the non-union workmen that our benefits are more liberal than in any other trade society , and that our numbers and position are such that we can only speak and act in a collective sense for engineering operatives. " This is the true spirit in which to act. The benefits are large; not only th~ largest in any trade union, but larger than are to be found in any other society of any kind. Then, the power to speak and act in a collective sense is of importance to em­ployers, and will, in future, t end towards peace.

The report regards the legislation of 1899 as almost barren from a labour point of view, only in one point was there an advance, raising the age of factory workers to 12 years. Old-age pensions made no pro­gress, except that there was anot her inquiry, and the question of railway couplings did not get beyond t he debating stage. In the present year, however, a little more progress has been made as regards two of those subjects, as the next annual report will probably show. But it is stated that considerable progress was made in 1899 in respect of loca l bodies, as regards a standard rate of wages, and in other ways. Workmen are mtJre and more represented on such bodies, and their influence, if prudently exerted, will be, to them, advantageous. The report gives a rather full abstract of the Board of Trade returns, and Lloyd's returns respecting engineering, shipbuilding, and the exports of machinery being given for three years- 1897-8 and 1899- and the launches also for the same periods. Those returns are of an educational value. They show t he men what the trend of t rade is, and may influence them in some of their demands, if the figures are read aright.

The year 1899 ended with a total membership of 84,957, showing a net increase during the year of 1393 members after allowing for deaths and exclusions. The deaths alone numbered 1140. Attention is called to the fact that there has been some weeding out of undesirable members, and that greater care is now exercised as to admissions, '' of only duly qualified and reputable men." A high standard of character, and of skill will advance the reputation of the union.

The total income of the society, in 1899, was 324,112l. 17s. 6d. This was 126,000l. less than in 1898, in which year the contributions and levies were more by 66,000l., and the voluntary contributions t o the lock-out fund reached 40,000l. In the income of last year is the sum of 3000l. repaid by the Mar hine Workers' Societ y. The contributions and levies in 1899 amounted to 312,419l. 5s. 10cl. Interest on cash balances and investments reached 3359l. 7s. 4d. It is expected that t he latter sum will this year, be nearly double, as a large sum is now let out at 5 per cent . interest. Hitherto this source of income has been neglected by trade unions.

The aggregate expenditure for the year 1899 was 225,066l. 2s. 5d. It is the mode of expenditure of this large sum that chiefly interest s the general public, and here very little exception can be taken to the several i terns. Donation and travelling beonefi t cost 46, 797l. 10s. 5d., and sending some to sit uations 517l. 17s. 3d. This is a very large amount consider­ing the prosperous state of trade in 1899, and it causes some misgivings with respect to the regularity of work, even when trade is good. On the other band, only 666l. 4s. 8d. was spent out of the '' con­tingent fund '' for labour disputes, which is an ex-

cellent record for so large a society wit h 607 branches, in the Unit ed Kingdom and ot her parts of the world. Sick benefit , stewards, and beds cost 46,464l. 16s. 7d., and surgeons' certificates 135l. 13s. 10d. Accident benefit, and loss of tools by fire cost 1407t. 93. 2d.; all of these three items relate to illness or injury of mem­bers. F uneral benefit cost 13,950l. 7s. 6d.; then comes superannuation, 79,252l. 19s. 10d. This is a source of anxiety, but some sectu·ity is now guaranteed by the reserve fund. Benevolent grants absorbed2226l. 3s. 10d., and emergency and local levies, 1439l. 13s. 2d. Then there is the further sum of 3969l. 11s. 11d., grants "to our own " and other trades. These amounts represent benefits, in some form or another, paid during the year.

The cost of management is necessarily large, remem­bering that there are 607 branches, besidee t he general office, the district committees' councils in Canada and America, and in Australia. Branch and district com­mittees cost 2092l. 6s. 6d. ; secretaries and general office salaries, 9855l. 5s. 3d. ; treasurers' salaries, 1070l. 5s. 3d. ; special and branch auditors, 837l. 7s. 11d. ; banking expenses, 663l. 3s. 10d. ; lost time of officers, 42l. 12s. 6q. ; organiser s' salaries and ex­penses, 1079l. 12s. 10d. ; full wages in certain cases, 109l. 6s. 2d . Then there are federation fees to the National Federation of Trades, 2076l. 7s. 6d . ; Trades Congress and the P arliamentary Committee, ll4l. 1s. 8d.; and to t rades councils, &c., 655l. Os. 7d.

Printing and stationery cost 3503l. Ss. 6d.; postages, telegrams, parcels, &c., 1497l. 16s. 2d.; rents, fuel, t axes, &c., 2823l. 11s. 4d.; legal expenses, 163l. 6s. 2d. The remainder is made up of various i tems incidental to a large society. The engineers are no longer so parsimonious in ealaries t o officers as they were. Branch officers are paid by scale, in proportion to numbers, but in the general office the ealaries are more liberal, as they should be.

The aggregate cost is thus summarised- Benefits in 1899 : 197,774l. 19s., or 2l. 6s . 6~d. per member; management, 27,291l., or 6s. 5d. per member for the year. The balance, cash, reserve fund, and securities amounted to 307,168l. 2s. 8d.; of which 205,286l. 5s. 3d. was in cash in the branches and general office ; 85,128t. 17s. 7d. , superannuation reserve fund, and 16, 752l. 19s. 10d. general fund, stock, &e. Though the superannuation reserve fund is only given as 85, 128l. 17s. 7d. as above in the summary, its total worth at the end of 1899 was 106,859l. 17s. 9d.

The aggregate cost of the va rious benefits duriug the 49 years of t he existence of the societ y t o the end of last year was :

Donation benefit ... Sick benefit .. . . .. Superannuation benefit Accident benefit . . . Annual benefit .. . Benevolent grants ... Grants to own and

other trades... .. .

£ £ s. d . 2, 619,846 53 6 9i 1,106,891 24 5 10~ 1, 069, 685 68 6 10~

75,492 1 16 11 336,209 7 7 Si 105,088 2 4 2

315,273 4 15 10£ ----

Total cost, 49 years · 5,514,804 116 19 6i The heavy expenditure in 1851-2 employer d' lock­

out, the cost of the nine hours' strike in the north of England, and t he eight-hours dispute and lock-out in 1897-8, are included in the above.

A portion of the superannuation reserve fund is now used in loans upon house property to the members 25,142l. 17s. 9d. being so far advanced; this is ex: pected to produce at leas t 5 per cent. per annum. The other portion, invested in stock, &c., is

59,986l. Os. ld., besides which there is available cash 21,73ll. Os. 2d. for further investment or advances. Of the general fund ll,952l. 19s. lOd. are in stock, lOOt. cash in the Leicester and General Co-operative Engineers' Societies, and lOOl. in the Co-Operative Printing Society, and lOOOl. in the Manchester Office proparty. As things look now, the Jubilee of the society will see it in a. flourishing condition, numeri­cally and financially , and it is hoped by the officials that as regards trade prosperity it will not fall behind the two last years. 'rhe report is a valuable contribu­tion to current economical history.

The position of tho engineering industries through­out Lancashire remains pretty much as recently re­ported. All the leading branches continue to be fully employed with work on hand, and will be for some time. In the locomotive department, builders are re­ceiving numerous inquiries, involving a large weight of work, from various railway companies, so that the indications point to great activity and full employment for a considerable time ahead. In the other chief de­partments there is no lack of work, though in some instances the work in hand is being completed faster than new orders are received. This, however, may not mean that orders in hand will be com­pleted without being replaced in time; it merely means that a goocl. deal of new work is being kept in abeyance, simply because there is no guaran­tee of early delivery, or by reason of the dearness of material, and consequently the enhanced price of the manufactured article. So long as there appears to be a chance of easier terms customers will hold back, especially as in doing so they do not really delay de­liveries of goods to their order. On the whole, the position is fairly good, and the outlook favourable. In the iron t rade there seems to be a feeling indicative of slackening down, a lessening of the volume of business, and of weakening prices. This is due to a feeling of uncertainty as to the future, as shown by an advance of inquiry either for raw or finished material. The statement of the barmakers to the Midlands' Association does not warrant any depression in tone in the Lancashire districts, and doubtless it will be found that a firmer tone will prevail when work is again in full swing . There is a general absence of hbour disputes of any serious kind.

Reports from the Wolverhampton district indicated an easier tone, as regards prices in some departments of the iron trade, towards t he close of last week. Pro­ducers of pig iron were showing a willingness to reduce quotations for forge iron , and it is· said that ordera were accepted for immediate supplies in some instances at from l s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. per ton lees than previously. But these concessions were by no means general. Quarter-day quotations for the better quali­ties of pig iron have been firmly maintained, as also have been those for the better qualities of finished iron. Marked bars continue to be in large demand, and makers are pressed for deliveries of orders given out on quarter-day. Under these circumstances, and with the probability of a further advance in iron­workers' wages, makers of best bars, plate, and cable iron resist the tempting offers of speculating dealers at a reduction off the current rates. Unmarked iron has been changing hands at lOl. 10s. per ton, but some of the leading firms still remain firm for lOl. 15s. per ton. There have been regular inquiries for tank and boiler plates, and manufacturers of strip and small sizes have a good demand, as there is generally for other descriptions of iron. Steel continues to be in active request, and there appears to be little busi­ness done with American agents, though they have been active in pushing for orders. British production is , it seems, generally preferred. The iron and steel­using industries continue to be well employed as a rule. Engineers, ironfounders, boilermakers, tank­makers, gasholder erectors, bridge and girder con­structors, smiths and strikers, and the workers in the railway sheds have been well employed, and there does not seem to be any serious indications of a decline as regards employment.

• In the Birmingham district, on the last market day

before the holida}S, prices were firmly maintained, but very little was done in the w~y of bu~iness t~a~s· actions. Ba.r makers found no drfficulty ID obtammg full association rates, and pig-iron rates were un­changed. The increased firmness in tone was no doubt due to the fact tha t the accountants' certificate, made known at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Midland Wages Board, anllounced an increase in the average selling price of iron, by the twelve selected firms of lls. lld. per too, from 8l. l4s. 7d. ~o 9l. 6s. 6d. per ton. This advances wages to the Ironworkers from 10s. 3d. to lOa. 9d. per ton. The figures quoted do not indicate any prospect of r educed rates at pre­sent, and they may lead to an access of orders whi~h have been kept back in . the hope of . a fall In prices. The general comllllttee of the M1dland Un­marked Bar Association held a meeting and agreed to

E N G I N E E RI N G.

hold firmly to the basis of lOl. l5s. per ton ; it was stated that the Consultative Council at Man­chester had agreed to the sa.me course. It was also stated that no m em her of the association had been doing businees below the fixed rates The marked bar houses stand firm to their rates of lll. lOs. per ton, and report a steady business. It is reported that some Belgian iron was being sent into the district, and also American bars under those rates. Galvanisers have been doing a steady business, but black -sheet makers are somewhat quiet. Steelmakers continue busy, and prices are well maintained. There are anticipations of a large influx of orders for South Africa, now that the war seems to be nearing its termination. The iron, steel, and other metal-using industries are mostly busy; but there is slackness in some branches-not of a serious character, but sufficient to cause complaints. Engineers, ironfounders, boiler­makers, smiths, and strikers are fairly well employed, and so also are most of the other heavier branches. The high price of material and of fuel is being felt by some of the manufacturers, as prices do not in all instances advance pro ~rata. On the whole, however, the position is fairly good, and the outlook continues to be favourable. There are no eerious labour disputes pending in the district.

--The dispute in the potteries has been settled by a

compromise, the employers having conceded 5 per cent. advance in wages to date from October l next. The other matters in dispute are to be referred to a conciliation board for adjustment. It may be that in this instance good will arise from the strike, though the men suffered severely while t he strike lasted.

There was a strike of bricklayers also in the same district, and this has been s&ttled by a compromise. The employers offered an advance of !d. per hour, which the men accepted with an agreement binding on both parties for three years. This will secure peace for that period in that branch of the building trades.

I t appears that labour troubles will arise on the nOith-east coast over the wages question. Following on the lines of t he engineering branches, the ship re­pairers made a demand for an advance of I s. per" eek, upon the refusal of which the men, to the number of about 600 it is said, gave in their notices. The river­side workers Eeem to generally agree with the action, and will act in sympathy with t hem. But it is not yet too late to avert a strike of magnitude in this busy district.

The strike of about 300 platelayers on t he North British Railway is causing some uneasiness in Edin­burgh a.nd Glasgow, and between those citie3, it is alleged, that some mischief may be done to the permanent way. It is, let us hope, but an idle rumour, for such action would bring discredit and dieaster on the cause of labour. The men are but poorly paid, only 19s. per week ; they ask for 22s. per week, a n advance of 3s. The work is dangerous, and it is of a respon~ible character, so that the men deserve consideration at the bands of the directors.

The dispute with the colliery enginemen and stokers in parts of South Wales eventuated badly last week. The colliery owners made concessions to the engine­men but not to the stokers, with the result that the stokers ceased work on Friday last. It could not be expected that giving an advance to one section would satisfy t he other. The result is that thousands of .men will be involved, as other matters in dispute have arisen-as to the employment of non-union men, as well as the wages question in those districts. At the Merthyr and Dowlais collieries work was resumed a.t the close of the week. The coal t rade of South Wales is excessively busy.

The dispute in t he building trades at Macclesfield· has been settled by a.n advance of !d. per hour from t he 2nd inst. , and another !d. in September, making the wages 8d. per hour. --

The strike of cotton spinners at Mossley has been settled, after lasting a month, the stoppage affecting 1000 operatives.

It seems that the Lanarkshire miners are standing firm by the eight hours' day. The ow~ers do not like it, but t he system appears to be workmg well for all concerned.

CoAL IN FRANOE.-The imports of coal into France in the first three months of this year amounted to 3,170,070 tons. as compared with 2,559,800 tons i!l the correspond~ng t:eriod of 1899, and 2, 154,4.80 tons m the correspon?n?g period of 1898. Coal was Imported from Great Bn tam m the firsb three months of this year to the extenb of 1 882 890 tons, as compared with 1,473,690 tons a.nd 1' 273' 880 tons, and from Belgium to the extenb of 1' 092' 750 tonfl, a.s compared with 913,500 tons in the c~rre~ponding period of 1899, and 716, 330 tons in the corresponding period of 1898.

[JUNE 8, I 900.

COMPRESSION AND LIQUEFACTION OF GASER*

By ARTHUR L. RroR, Brooklyn, N. Y. {Concluded from page 733.}

THE physical constants which have been determined with regard to the liquefied gases are given in the Table opposite, which wa.s prepared . by Mr. Waiter Dicker­son. It will be noted thab the order of the liquefaction of the ~ases historically is almost exactly that of the descendmg critical temperatures; it is the attaining of a. low temperature limit that has taken all the time and study that have been devoted to this matter. Somo of the gas~, when in the liquid form, are lighter, and some heavier, than water, as shown by the values of ~pecific gravity; of the constituents of air, nitrogen is lighter and oxygen is heavier; the mixture, containing four-fifths nitrogen and one-fifth oxygen, is a little lighter than water.

Professor Jacobus and 1vir. Dickeraon have found tbe Jacent heat of air at atmospheric pressure to be about 140 British thermal units, but this figure is stated as only a rough approximation. This is about the only vR.lue which has been determined with regard to air in the interme· diate or vaporous state.

Any calculations a~ to the efficiency of liqnid air as a. fluid for a prime mover must necessarily be only approxi­mate. The approximations can, however, be made on the right side, and the air given the benefit of the doubt.

Professor Henry Morton has recently made some cal­culations regarding the maximum amount of power which could be obtained by the expansion of 1lb. of liquid a.ir under certain circqmstances. The same hypothesis which be used will be assumed and his figures adopted.

Suppose 1lb. of liquid air to be confined in a cylinder and heated to 70 deg. Fa.hr., then let it expand a.t 70 deg. to atmospheric pressl1re, the expansion to be hyperbolic. It is not known what the volume of the air will be at 70 deg. before expanding, but it is certain that its ratio of expansion will be less than it would be if expanding from the volume of the liquid at - 312 deg. to the volume of the gas at 70 deg. and atmospheric pressure ; this ratio is something le88 than 800, hence we will caJl the ratio of expansion 800. The volume of 1 lb. of air at 70 deg. Fahr. and atmospheric pressure is 13.36 cubic feet.

The work done in a hyperbolic expansion is, W = P-l x v~ x logo R .

whenp2 =final pressure per square foot= 2,117 lb. v2 = final pressure volume= 13.36 cubic feet.

R = v2 = ratio of exp~nsion. t ll

W = 2117 x 13.36 x 6.685 = 188,000 foot-pounds.

•

•

188,000 09~ h d f . d 6:::-:::0-x-33,000 = . o = orae-power per poun o a.1r use

per hour, and .ok = 10.55 lb. of air per horse-power per

hour, if the terminal pressure equals the back pressure, no compress ion and no clearance being considered.

This result cannot, of course, be realif'ed, for there are many sources of loss which cannot be avoided, and which will make this figure for the weight of air per horse-.Power hour much higher. However, even if it could be reahsed in actual practice, it is only just inside of the figure which has been obtained in our best steam engine3 under prac­tical workinl! conditions.

In these figures the liquid is considered simply as a. storage medium for energy, and no account is taken of the amount of heat necessary to develop or store the energy.

In order to get a comparative idea as to the relative values of liquid air and water for power storage, two similar cycles for water will be calculated, and compara­tive figures obtained.

The range of temperature in the cycle taken for air i3 from - 312 deg. to 70 deg. or 382 deg.

Starting with water and heating it to 504 deg. under 700 lb. pressure absolute, and expanding it to 2lb. pres­sure absolute and 126 deg. Fabr., gives a range of tempera­ture slightly less1 viz., 378 deg. The ratio of exl?ansion will be 25i. Tb1s final volume of llb. is 172 cub1c feet, a.nd considering the expansion to be hyperbolic, we have

W = 288 x 173 x 5. 59=~80,000 foot-pound~; 6;~03°~~0 = .1415 horse-power per pound of water used per hour,

and .1!

15 = 7.08lb. of water per horse-power per hour.

By heating the water to 546 de~. under 1000 lb. pres­l.iUre and expanding to a.tmospher1c pressure the range of temperature would be still less, or about 334 deg •

The final volume would be 26.3 cubic feet.

R . f . 26.3 55 at10 o expa.ns10n As = .

W = 2117 x 26.3 x 4.04 = 225,000 foot-pounds.

60 2;53~~~00 = .1139 horse-power per pound of water

used per hour.

.1J39

=- 8.8lb. water per horse-power per hour.

From these figures it will be seen that under the con­ditions assumed, water will give off from 20 per cent. to 50 per cent. more energy than liquid air, during ~xv.~u­sion through equal temperature ranges. The poss1b1hty

* Read a.t the New York December meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineera.

•

•

} UNE 8, 1900.] E N G I N E E R I N G . •

TABLE I. must be neither unduly increased nor unduly decreased.

PuvstCAL CONS'rANTS.

• I ~ • • Q) ()....:~"'e c. ... c :l ·- c Ql • ·- CD ..t:l ·- 0 l1l

~ Cl)

Temperature or ~ o ·- aS - Substance. Q) ~~ e <:!) Den&ity of IJiquid 0 Critical ...

Saturated Vapour ... Colour of P-c Freezing Point. cS t.t Q) - at Temperature ... • Temperatures at Atmospheric IUs;::"" 0 Liquid. Q) - - Given . 0 ~

.. . _A E .0 ..0 Pressure . O N E E ·- ~~rn )i 'li) ...., 0 1>,

..... Q) a.. aS 0 z ... a..~;s:;;E Q)

f/) 0 ~ A - - - - -deg. C. deg. 1''· atmo. deg. 0. deg. F. deg. C. deg. F. 1 Water . . H .• o 865 689 200 HO 212 0 82 760 1 at 4 deg. 0. Colourle'3S. -2 llydride ••

selenide .. H .. Se 185 365 9l - 41 - 41.8 - 68 1- 90.4 40 N-B-.~ •• • • " 3 Ammonia .. 130 266 115 - 83 - 27 -77 - 107 8.5 0. 6364 at 0 deg. C. • • " 4 Propane .. C3HG {)7 2~6. 6 44 - 45 - ~9 r Still liquid at} 20 95

sl A~etyleoe . . 1 - 161 deg. 0. • • •• " c., H., 37 98.6 - 85 - 12l - 81 1- 113.8 950 12.97 - - • • •• , 6 Nttrous

oxide N.,O 35 06 75 89 ·- 128 760 21.99 - - 115 - 175 • • - •• " 7 ELhane C2HG 31 93.2 50.2 - 93 - 135.4 { Still liquid nt} 19.07 • • - 151 d('g. c. •• • • " fs C.ubon di· I I oxide C02 31 88 75 - 80 - 112 - 66 - Gt> 760 21 .94 0.83 nt 0 de~. 0. • •

" 0 Ozone • • OJ • • • • 93 - - 135.4 . .

10 Ethylene C2Hoo~ 10 50 51.7 - 102 - 150 • • 11 ~rethnne • • OH4 - 8l. 8 - 115.2 5L9 - 161 - 263.4 12 Nitric oxide NO - 93. f) - 135 712 - 163.6 - 264 13 Oxygen • • 0 2 -118.8 - 182 50.8 - 18 l.4 - 29-!.5

• • • • • • 23.89

- 169 - 272 • • 13.9i - 185. s - 302.4 80 7.98 - 167 - 869 138 14.98

• • • • • • 15.96

• •

• • 0.415 at - 164 deg. 0 .

• •

r 1.124 at - 181.4 ' deg. 0 .

Dark easily

blu ex

It will be shown later that G . M. approximately varies as the depth of a. ship, when the ratios of breadth, draught, and depth are unal tared. This will involve an increase in total weight of cargo in approximately the ratio of the product of the breadth and depth; a.nd1 as the weight­carrying on a. given draught will only mcrease as the breadth, we must, to carry a full cargo of thesa.medensity, increase the draught of the ship approximately in the same ratio a.s the increase of depth. If this is nob done, we must either carry cargoes of less density, or have empty Apaces in the ship. If the less dense cargoes pay in­creased freight per ton in proportion to their reduced density, the commercial result may be at least as good. lb is probable that in progressive increase of size there would soon be reached a. point where this condition would nob be fulfilled, and it would be necessary to find increased weight-carrying in propor t ion to capacity. This can only be done by increasing draught. If existing ships have the most profitable ratio of capacity to weight·ca.rry­ing, it is evidPnt that with increase of depth and breadth must be associated a. proportional increase of draught. If they have not, then the most profitable ratio can be obtained by increasing beam and depth until they have. Further increase must then be accompanied by increase of draught. It seems reasonable, however, to assume

ploded.

e that experience has ta.ugho shipowners what is the most - profitable ratio, and that they have long since adopted it;

and that, in consequence the further increase of beam and depth is dependent on the possibility of obtaining suffi­cient draught of water in the ports anri docks to which they trade.

Colourless .

" " Blue .

' 14 Argon A -121 - 185.8 50.6 - 187 - 30-!.6 - 189.6 - 30Z).3 19.9 . About 1.6 at Colourless. • • • • -187 deg. 0 .

Onrbonm· n. '- • 16 oxide •• CO - 139. 6 - 219.1 35.5 - 190 - 310 -207 - 310.6 • 10;) l 8.96

r 0.933 at· - 191.4 } " 1- 220 16 Air .. -140 39 -- 191.4 - 312.6 Light blue • • •• • • • • • • •• deg. 0 . li Nitrogen N .) -146 - 23 l 35 - 194.4 - 3l8 - 214 - 353.2 60 14.01 0.885 at - 194.4 } Colourless. • • - deg. 0 .

Hydrogen . . H2 -234 - 389 20 - 243 - 405 ' 18 • • •• • • 1 • • " 19 Uelium He . . { Below } - 443.2 2.02 • • •• • • -264 • • • • • •

•

of the use of liquid air in a. prime mover comes from the f (while open a.t both ends) of a small amount of cotton fact that the upper temperJ\.ture limit for the range waste dipped in oil and air. assumPd is so low as compared with that for the steam. The retarding effect of extreme cold upon chemical The upper limit for the air is at 70 deg. Fa.hr., or 531 deg. action was shown by the reluctance of sodium to burn in absolute, and the possible thermal efficiency is i H = . 72 ; water, after immersion in the liquid air; when it lost for the water the upper limit is 504 deg. F ahr., or 965 deg. the chill, combustion took place. ab3olute, and the {>Ossible efficiency is H~ = .39. If the The fact that below the critical temperature mere cold efficiency of the hquid is in any way comparable with would liquefy air, wa-s demonstrated by putting a small t hat which can be gotten from steam in the steam amount of liquid air in a. long-necked bulb, to the end of enginfi>, the efficiency of the a.ir engine should be good. which was connected a. toy balloon. The balloon ex­T he cost of production of a pound of air would be pa.nded till all the liquid in the bulb was evaporated, much greater than that of a pound of steam, so that to thus leaving nothing but gaseous air at practically atmo­be a commercial factor, the efficiency of the air engine S{>heric pressure. The bulb was then immersed in liquid would have to be much greater than thab of the steam air, and gradually the balloon contracted till the liquid engine. \Vhether this can be accomplished, the future put in the bulb again appeared and was poured out on alone must decide. to the floor.

As to other uses, re~rigera.tion,. medical cautery, pre- The me~ns of m_easurii:~g this degree of .ex~r~me cold vcmtion of chemical actiOn, explosive COI!lJ?Ounds, reduc- were menttoned, Wlth t~etr probable unr~liabtlity. The tion of resistance of conductors for electn c1ty and use for hydrogen thermometer mtroduced a. posstble element of prevention of the ill effects of anresthetics have be~n sug- C?ns~de!a.ble error in _that, at th.e. temperature of liquid gested, and others will dou?tl~ss develop as expenments a1r 1t JS used near 1t.s o.w~ orttJOal temperature. .In are tried. I t is on1y Wlthin a few months that the the use of the thermopile It 18 assumed that the law which liquid could ~e obtained at a. co~t th.a.t allowed of trial governs its temperature curve at nor.mal temperatures, of its propert1es for any excep t s01ent1fic purposes where hol~s good ~hroughout, and exterpola.~IOn thus mn.de may no possible financial return was to b~ expected, and cost be In constd_era.ble error. The pla.tmum the~mome.ter was a secondary consideration. W1th a large supply usually use~ 18 pro~ably most ~early. correct,. as Its resiSt­available, rapid development may be looked for, and new a.nce curve IS practtca.ll~ ~ stratght h~e, which extende.d uses wi1l be constantly discovered. passes through the or1~m of co-ordma.tes, and there 18

T he historical and scien tific paper of Mr. ~ice was little reason to supp.ose.It does not actually do so .. supplemented at the time of i ts fi rst oral presen tatiOn by an Whenever the hqmd was exposed to the a.u, dense exhibition of the physical properties of ligu~d air and clouds of congealed va.po~r f?rmed and .fell to t?e floor, i ts effects upon substances. A can contatnmg a. con- and small bul.ks of ~be hqmd thrown m the. air or on siderable quantity had been procured for the purpos~. table or fioor_ 1mrn~:ha.tely evaporated, though m a. Dewar It was encased in thick fel t, with loose cover, as the hqUld bulb a. quan t tty w~l k_eep . fo~ hour~. If a.ll?wed to .rest could not be contained in a closed vesael. . o~ the fte~h, the ~1qU1d a.tr .Immediately ra.Jses a bhster

Some of the air was filtered into a. Dewar bulb, whtch Wlth the sharp pa.m of burnmg. was circulated among those present, so tha.~ the colourless slightly blue limpid liquid could be ~as1ly seen_. The object of filtering wa-s to remove mmute particles of solid C02 which would otherwise dull the perfect trans-parency. .

Chemic:..lly pure alcohol, freezmg ab ~bout - ~02 ~eg. or 203 deg. Fabr. , was solidified, and while ~roppmg m a. thick viscous mass from the end of a. glass stiCk was frozen into rigid icicles by pouring the air over it. Merc~ry freezing at 39 deg. was also turned to ~ fibrous sol~d, being frozen into a rectang ular block .1! m. square with an eye screw in either en~ . . Ropes.bemg run through the eyes, it carried 170 I ~ . swm~mg on It. . . .

Rubber immersed m the a1r was made br1ttlA hke chma., paraffin crumbled in the hand like chalk, meat ~u~ned to stone and a. rose dipped into it shattered on stnkmg the ta.bte'like delicate glass. . .

Pieces of iron and tin were rendered bnttle by lmmer­sion, so that they broke in the fingers or under.the ham.~er like glass. Copper, however, did not loose 1ts ductth ty (so also with the "rOY,&l " metals}.

ON LARGE CARGO S1'EA.MERS.* By Professor J. H. BILES, Member of Council.

I T is hoped tha.b the importance of th~ s~bje~t makes it unnecessary to offer any excuse for brmgmg 1b before this Institution. Mr. Hunter, in his paper read at New­castle before the summer meeting last year, dealt with the historical side of this subject, and placed before us his views of the type of the large ste~mers of to-~ay . . In this paper ib is J?roposed to deal wtth the subJect 10 a. ~eneral way, With a. view to considering the ~ffect of mcrease of size upon some of the elements of destgn.

Experience has shown that increase of size of cargo steamer has been accompanied by reduction in cost of carrying 1 ton a nautical mi~o, sometimes c~lled t_?e "cost per ton-mile." T he wor1nng expenses, moludmg coal, wages and upkeep, are less per ton carried in the large than in the small steamer.

It is an interesting question to consider what will be the effect of further increase of size upon these working expenses. Size may be increased by adding to one or more of the dimensions- length, breadth, and depth of ship. The effort of such increases must be coneid~red in relation to stability, strength (and consequent wetght of strncture), resistance (and consequently increased horse­power). Stability may be considered as depending in large ships, u~on the rela tive position of the C. G., and the metacentre-10 other words, upon the G. M . The stability

Liquid air poured m water at first floated .• but as the nitrogen, being the fi~t to evaporate, bo~led off~ t~e heavier oxygen sank m glob?les. Practically hq~1d oxygen being gotten by all?wmg a. beaker filled w1th air to stand some time, a pi~ce C?f f_elt that would not burn of itself, even thou~h fa.uly 1gn~ted over a. J3unsen burner, was d ipped in It , after which. combust10n was complete and immediate. Cotton so Immersed bur':ed with almost expl~i ve violence. 4 s~el watch . sprmg R.nd an arc light carbon burned Wlth m tense bnlltancy * P aper read before the Institution of Naval Arohi­in it. A wrought-iron tube was shC?wn. bent and tor.n in to ribbons by the explosive combustiOn In one end of 1t beets.

The question resolvea i tself into the one: What is the ad vantage of increased draught upon the working ex­penses of steamers of in~rea-sed dimensi0ns, and what are the losses involved in these large sizes, if draught is not increased ?

Increase of length does not affect either stability or ratio of cs.paoity to dea.dweight, but is dominated by strength considerations and by facilities of docks and wharves. It has been the practice in determining the soant1ings of large ships to find the stresses to which they would be subjected if placed in equilibrium on the crest of a wave in which every particle is momentarily at rest, the length of the wave being the same as that of the ship ; and the height being one-twentieth of the wave in length. The maximum stress permissible in such conditions is de­termined by experience. If it is considered desirable not tto increase this stress with increase of dimension~, then it has been shown by the late Mr. \Villiam Froude that the scantlinga which are dett\rmined by the above con­sideration must be increased in the ratio of the square of the increase of dimensions, if all dimensions are increased in the same propertions. It is interesting however, to considar the effect of increase of individual dimensions sepa.ra.tely. Suppose Lis the length1 B the breadth, and D the depth moulded of a. ship, the oasis of strength cat-calculations is the formula p = ~ Y, p being stress, y the

distance from the neutral axis of the point whose stress is p, M the bending moment to which the ship is sub­jected, and I the moment of inertia about the neutral axis of the section under consideration. If length of ship only be increased, y will be unaltered. and M will vary as L 2 • If the sca.ntlinga vary as L 2 , I will increase as L2, and ~ Y and stress will be unaltered. H ence, for

unaltered stress, sca.ntlings must vary as L2. If breadth of ship only be increased, !YI will increase as

B, and y will be unaltered. I will increase as B, if all horizontal measurements of scantlings increase as B. Hence~ Y and, therefore, stresses wi11 be unaltered, if

thicknesses of horizontal plating be unal tered, and that of vertical plating vary as B, and all thicknesses other than horizontal plating vary as a. ratio between unity and that of the increase of breadth depending on the angle of the plate to the horizon tal.

If depth only be increased, y will increase as D ; ~I will vary as D, if d raught vary as D ; and I will vary as D3, if all vertical measurements of scantlings vary as D .

H ence !Yi Y will vary as B-· Hence, if all thicknesses

of ver tical plating vary as ~ , and all horizontal plating

have an unaltered thickness, the s tress will be unaltered. P lating between the vertical and horizontal wi ll vary in a. similar manner to the preceding case. F rom the two preceding cases it is evident that for constan t lensth no change in B or D affects the thickness of honzonta.l plating if the ratio of draught to depth be maintained.

If B be constant, and L and D vary in the same ratio,

so that ~ is constant, the sca.ntlinga of horizontal plat-

ing should vary as L2, and vertical plf\Jting should vary L 2 h . L as D , t at 1s, a.s .

If Lis constant, and ~ is unaltered, horizon tal pla.t·

ing should be unaltered in thickness and vertical plat ing

should vary as ~' that is it, should be unaltered. If D is

unaltered, and i is constant, the scan tlings of horizontal

plating should vary as L 2 and vertica.l plating should vary as L2 B, that is as LB.

F rom these deductions ib is eviden t tba.b the most ex­pensive way of increasing size is that in which D is un­altered, and the least expensive is that in whioh length is unaltered. The above remarks apply only t,o longi-

•

LARGE CARGO STEAMERS. (For Description, see Page 763.)

Fig.1. CONSTANT CRAUGHT

~ C.Ft!1Wi~l":-l--l--l--l=~=i==;--,---,--~---~r;i; rvoo.~ rn-1 '

000 '~A • •

[M. _tXJQ()()(W~ • • ·-• '

• •

800/XJ eo !J ' • .. . ~ no~~ ~zrA ·•

• •

tm.aJdz. :. •

.i·

80 'j;()(]OOt...,.,.,A ~ oF icf4~Go V ~ ro"' rC E£T pf.

sob'""'OOt w , - cu•• ' .~u0

. ( f Ci

7C lfJ(){)()fX 'rl7$() • r)~ · r._rr _ B~EAOT~Is

ro s. V '

SOiT1lX).- ''""' WEIGHT C F c AR GO -:;,;- l E.PTHS

oowoaa V I / •"•c"'"'" 30 .v.ooon.sOG V wEt61'4r oF t4tJ,_,_

/ 20~ 0' ./ DRAU6H, ~DNSTANTi

'iCb700(X)() "'"' I · H. P. .,:.; '

CAMCnY~~ t;(J()lJOjJt ..., WE GHT OF C AL

SSSB.A ~00 520 SBO GOO 620 GBO 640 6CO SW 6CO

L~NGTHS

p t c F~ fH':.~ Fig.3. CONSTANT DRAUGH~ 11/0 ZIXXJfXJO:JS.OUO

100

I ,----I;J() 'IJJOOOQ_£ m,

~,----v---' '!!2 18{J()OOO rJQOO

• ~;'

1/0 11700.a:J£ ~~ ~ >F

~ jnt: 11,&00000 FE.~r J f ....

90 t'S()O()()t .,. c!.J ~JC ~

~

L ~40(10l ""

I' -70 .:JOOOO pf?EAD 'rHS (l.Go ~ E~l' -c,fl- p.cH• of

t4lJL &M

CO 12/}()0

~ . ~1 oF •

c,l G

10000 ~ ~ D PTHS zwA IGHT OF ARGO

~

40 'rJOOOOO£ 10LU.. / t . H . P. "

30 3000 'Jj()() V OR ~UGHTS(( ONSTANT) .;

1/} BOO C(J()() V V J! 100000 'J5(X) .

~ OF COAL ~ ~ WE.JGH

t ~APACJTY "':i V t>oo.o~ ~ er ,.-

'~<V .soo $20 SQO • 560 .S80 GOO 620 G40 6GO 680 100 -0 5QO.OOO o 1<358 c LEN GTHS

•

-·· VARYING DRAUGHT

fl

15()

I1..~L-~r~

I~ •

~

.t:tril

-

I / I ,_,GfJ, . ~

lJ(J

' { (J

"' bo ifl'[,.j < - _p--

b-76 v - BRt:l'~;~:IC F£! T PER TOt OF r.a:J 1!1'1

l..----.svu~

.wpogoa-J I

5JSI6 $00 .S!UJ 540

•

1bn.8 ~ 7:!. 4 Ff- C.F t LH.P ~.:1.fj.

12()7JIO(J(}(JO :JQ 000

.100 ,

~

...,.Y DEPTHS

~O.IGHf Of HULL & NlfoCH!Nj,I'V

ORAUGHlS

1)4 P.

EIGHT F COAL

660 580 coo 620

LENGTHS

f

VARYING ORAUGHT.

.

•

64() 660 680 700

.

1tXJ 'GOO.OOG '/..5.00 (J

~ SOO.(XJ() ~ £-/X) ~

180

~ .L. 10 ~ ry;q, C•JBIC ~ E T PER ON o,: C.! RGO ..... --DR£A01 iHs f Ci !-"' 60 ,,200.00 .00

~ -,_p.GO ~~ 50 b70000(J

wEtGt41 bf c GP.

DEPTHS

2 / . ~ - p. /U'I ()()(J.OO t.L & MA <;.l

IHEFt'f .

oF t4 ./_ ~ nRA tu:~ W£1 H'f

30~ 71ifl!l.

l/ V

20 .000 l.:.

V ~ 700.0W~'O ~ WEIGH lr OF COA

~. CA,.,Ciri ~ ,.,..v ~OlXJ o" ~ ~ 5()0 $ ... '.(} S4C 560 $80 GOO G:W (i4(} cco 680 - 700

6lJO.nfV: LENGTHS. 5358.0. .

'-.,)

0\ ~

t:z:j

z .. G)

11

•

I t

........

z tx1 tx1 iO ........

z C) •

I

• c:: z t%j

00 ... .....

\()

8 •

j U E 8, 1900.] E N G I N E E R I N G. tudinal scantlings, and can only be made use of wi tb the as.qumptions in view upon which they are based.

M r. Hunter took as his type of Atlan t ic cargo steamer a. vessel 500 ft. long between perpendiculars, 60ft. breadth moulded, 36 ft. de.E_th moulded to upper deck, and 44 ft. to shelter deck. Draught of water loa.d..,d 27 fb. 6 in. D ead weight 12,000 tons; oa.paoity 20,000 cubic feet at 40ft. {>er ton, and 1000 tons of coal space. The coal con­sumption. of su~h a vessel eteaming at 12 knots, judged by figures g1ven m Mr. Hunter's paper, may be taken at 56 tons per day, which, assumin~ the consumption to be 1.6 lb. per horse-power, would glVe 3500 indicated horse­power.

The other end of the G.M., the metacentre, can be determined absolutely accurately. For similar forms, such as the ships of all dimensions here considered, are a.s~umed to be

Accepting these figures as being properly correlated, we may make use of them to determine the corresponding figures for vessels of enlarged dimensions. In order to d o this we must examine the relations between dimensions and the principal elemen ts of design which vary with dimensions. These elements may be taken to be : (1) W eight of bull; (2) weight of machinery; (3) weight of coal ; ( 4) capacity ; (5) weight of cargo.

The elements wh10h are assumed to be constant are: (1) General character of form; (2) speed; (3) coal con­sumption per indioa.ted horse-power; (4) distance which cargo has to be oa.rried ; (5) stability as measured by G .M. The last assumption is made in the belief that a satis­factory ship can be produced of dimensions very much greater than those of the tyPe ship, but with the same G.M. From what follows 1t will be easy to modify dimensions, so as to give any required G .M., and those who wish to make a different assumption may-, by using the same met hod, see what the effect of makmg such an assumption will be upon a design. The mea-sure vf G . M. taken is that which the ship would have if stowed with a homogeneous cargo; nob that such ships would neces­sarily cany such a oa.rgo, but that the variations from such stowage may reasonably be a-ssumed to be propor­tionately the same for all variations of dimensions. F or instance, it is found in some trades that a satisfactory ship is one tha t, if stowed with a homogeneous cargo, has its C. G. coincident with its metacentre ; its G . M. is nothing. S uch a ship J.>robably never goes to sea with G.M. = 0; but the variation of the cargo from home­geneity is such a.s to give a satisfactory amount of actual G.M., and in the same trade i t would be reasonable to assume that the satisfaction would be the same in a ship of larger dimensions worked under the same trade condi­tions. In the particular type under consideration, it is assumed that the ship, whatever the dimensions may be, will be as satisfactory a sea-going vessel, if her G. ~l. with a homogeneous cargo be the same as that of 1\1r. Hunter's ship. '£ he G.M. assumed for the type ship is 1.4 ft .

To simplify the work, it is further a..qsumed that the C.G. of the fully equipped ship, with cargo and coals on board, will vary in he1ght in the ship in direct proportion to the variation of depth moulded . This involves the assumption that: (1) the hull, (2) the machinery, (3) the coals, and (4) the ca~go ~hi~ the ~ggregate, have their common e.G. varymg m eight d1rectly as the depth moulded. T he fi rst will probably be accepted without much question~ but i t is desirabl~ to have fuller infor~a­tion on the pomt. The second mvolves the assumption that the stroke of the engines and the diameter of the boilers vary as the depth. .These assumptions are n~t likely to very closely agree With th~ facts, but they. Will approximate to them, and, as the weight of the machinery is small compared with the total displacement, probably not exceeding 4 per cen t., no large error can be involved in the assumption. .

With reference to oeals, we make the assumption that the arrangement of bu?kers will remai~ the same,, and that there will be an m orease of capac1ty proportional to the increase of the product of the dimensions of the ship. . .

As the indicated horse-power var1es as the two-thirds power of the displacement, it will approximat~ly va~y as the two·thirds power of the product of the dtmeDSJons, if draught and depth a re increased in the same propor­tion. Consequen tly the coal oapacit7, whet;t the bunkers are increa-sed directly as the dimens10ns, Will be enlarged

in the ratio of the .£. power of the indicated horse-power, 2

while it is only necessary to increase i~ directly as the indicated horse-power. This unduly m crea.sed bunker capacity may, therefore, be changed to cargo ~pace, a.nd there will be an addition to the cargo capaCity, wb10h will make it slightly larger than that obtained by the direct increase of dimensions.

In Mr. H un ter's design the bunker ca.pa{)ity is about 5 per cent. of the cargo capacity. If H be the bunker capacity and C the cargo oap&.?ity o~ Mr .. Hun~er's de­sign and l b d be t he ratios m wh10h dimensions are incr~ed, (H' + C) x (l b d) will b.e the total bunker and cargo capacity of the en1a!'ged sb1p. If H =: .05 C, the total capacity will be 1.05 C l b d. If the requued bunker capacity be H (t b d)n = .05 C (t b d) ,, then 1:05 .c (l b cl) - .05 C (l b cl)i will be the actual. c~rgo. capacity m the enlarged ship, after sufficient proviSIOn IS made for bunker S{>ace.

Assumtng values of products oft b d to .b~ 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8. 2.0, we get the result that the capa01ttes are respec­tively: 1.211, 1.41~, 1.614, 1.816_, and 2.016, the cargo capa­city of the type sh1p. These differences only amount r~­spectively to 226, 250, 272, 296, and 318 tons at. 40 cub1c feet but they are appreciable. The effeob of th1s oha.n~e fro~ coal to cargo upon the vertical position of e.G., Will not be worth taking account of, as generaJ~y the C. G . of cargo space and that of the fully laden sh1p, are so near that the sm~ll addition to the weight of the cargo (less than 1 per cent.) wiJl produce no appreciable effect upon the vertical O.G. It may therefore be assumed tha:t the vertical height of C.G. above keel, o~ ~ull,. II?achmery, Q\rgo, and coal varies as the depth of sh1p m Simllar types.

BM = !_ = a L na = m ~. V b LB d cl

Where I = Moment of inflrtia of the water plane.

V = Volume of displacement. L = L ength between perpendiculars. B = Breadth moulded. d =Draught. a , b, and m are constants for similar forms.

If K B be the height of the O.B., and KG the height of the C.G. above keel, then G.M. = K B + BM - KG. K B will vary direct ly as d, if the vertical ordinates of form be expanded vertically from the type form in the rat io that the draught, 27 fb. 6 in. is to d. K G will vary a.s D, the depth, so t hat we may write

B2 G.:rvr. = cd +m- - k D, d

c, m, and k being the constants for the type ship. From this it may be seen that G. M. varies as D, if the ratios of B.D. and d remain unaltered.

If G . M . is to be constant, sayS

D = - S d + c d2 + m B2

k cl • • (1)

T his equation gives us a rela tion between B, D, and d, which must be satisfied for constant G.:tti. \Ve may solve this by assuming either that: (1) d is constant, or (2) D has a fixed ratio to d. The former is generally im­posed by harbour and dock authorities; the latter, approximately, is imposed by the Board of Trade's free­board tables.

T aking the first, we have

D = ~ B2 + ~ = ~, kd k "'

which is a parabola. If we give the values of a cargo ship form having a block coeffi cient of .77. and a G. M. of 1.4 ft. the equation is

D = 00562 B2 + 23. 82,

Band D being in feet. So far, we see that length has no effect on the value of

G .M . It must, however, be taken into account for strength purposes, and ~robably the simplest assumption to make 1s that length 1s a. constant times the depth. T aking a series of va.lues of B, beginning at 60 ft. (that of the type), and maintaining a constant ratio of L to D, we have, ~y substitution, in the above formula, the results shown ID F ig. 1 in the curves marked breadth and depth, which are plotted to a length base. On assumptions already enu­merated, curves of weight of hull and machinery, weight ef coal, weight of cargo, capacity of cargo, and cubic feet of space per ton of weight of cargo a re drawn.

F rom the curves in Fig. 1, the following T able has been produced:

TABLE I.- FIG. I.-Constant .D1·au(jht, 27Ft. 6 In.

•

- "0 t> - - ...:> 0c:1Q) 0 0 • ., • • .t> Q)c:1 • <I) • .c:1 ~tO] ~ ...:> • ~ 0

~ ...:> ~.; .c:10 ... • .C · (.) (.) ~ .c:1 ~ ~ ...:> -= t:IJ- (.) bo- bO~ aS .... ...

Q, ~Q) ... ::I aS ... CIS ·- aS ~ .Ocu c:1 Q) cul:d ::;;t Q) 8 Q)o aS =='s:lo Q) ... Cl) ·- 8

~ j:Q A A ~ !:'! ~ 0 0 -. ft. ft . ft. tons tons tons tons cubic feet 600 60.0 44.0 18,050 6,050 1000 11,000 800,000 72.7 560 66.2 ~.6 21,900 7,960 1140 12,800 1,072,000 83.7 600 71.8 62.7 26,920 10,060 1270 14,690 1,400,000 96.6 650 77.0 67.0 30,110 12,510 1410 16,190 1,764,000 109.0 700 82.0 61.6 34,630 15,320 1540 17,670 2,192,300 124. 0

-Taking the second assumption D = w d, ~ being a. con stant, substituting in equation (1), and solving for cl, we have

._ J m. B2 { S } 2 S d = 'V k ?.IJ - C + 2 (k 1V - 0) -2 ( k 1.U - C)'

which resolves into cl = ,._1.241 B2 + 4.0 - 2,

--

when the values of the constants are substituted. Apply ing this formula in the sa!De V!ay as in the. first case, we obtain the results shown m F1g. 2, from wh10h the follow ing Table has been produced:

TABLE 11.- F IG. 2. Va1·ying Draught.

•

• -"CS • .... -Q) O c: t' 0 0 (.) CISQ) • tO c:1 ...:> • .t> ., .... ~ ...... • .c:1 .c:1 .c:10 . .... t;l. .. .c:1· ~ Cl)= .~:a~ t:.o<a btbO ·- ... s:l. Q) ... 0 Q;)CIS .... 8 Q) ~::a Q) o

~0 aS A !:'! !:'! 0

• • ., • :a .Q :S •

~ ,Q br

bO ...:> ~ c:1 Q, Q) ... Q) ... ~ j:Q A A -

7 0 6 0 7

ft. ft. ft. tons 500 60.0 44.0 27.5 560 66.6 48.4 30.25 600 71.0 62.8 33.0 650 76.6 67.2 35.76 700 81.5 61.6 38.5

tons tons tons tons oubio feet 18,050 6,150 lOOO 11,000 800,000 72. 22,830 7,900 1200 14,730 1,061,000 72. 30,680 10,080 1420 19 ,180 1,373,000 71. 38,800 12,650 L660 24,490 1,740,000 71. 48,000 15,640 1920!30,640 2,159,000 70.

-0

The resulting differences between these two assump tions may be seen in the draught c_olumns of th~ tw T ables. The comparison of results 1s b~st seen m th columns "Weight of cargo , and " Cub1o feet per to

e n

weight of cargo.,, -Corresponding cur ves for a 15·knot cargo and J>a.8

senger ~teamer, havin~ a block coefficient of . 73 are glVe n in Figs . 3 and 4, and m Tables Ill. and IV.

•

T ABLE 111.-FIG. 3. Constant Draught, 28 Ft. •

-"CS ~ - - ...:>

Oc:1Q) 0 0 • Q) • ' » Q) •

• :S Q) ., <15,9 .. ~g .c () . ., ., . • .co . ....

...:> ~ ..Q aS...:> .c ..... .c .C· () 0 ~ bO aS ...:> -= bD_, 0 bo~ bOt:.o aS . .... c:1 Q) Q, g.cu ·- ::.3 aS ... 0 ·~ :;; Q, .O "" Q> ... Q) ..... 8 ~~:a Q)o

>-0 d ::s<D ~ j:Q A A ~ 0 Os:lo ...... -ft. ft. ft. tons tone tons tons oubic feet 500 60.0 41.6 17,600 7,670 1600 8,330 633,000 76.0 550 67.0 45.8 21,500 10,140 1880 9,540 867,800 90.8 600 73.0 60.0 25,500 12,860 2150 10,490 1,119,700 107.0 650 78.8 64.1 30,000 15,930 2270 11,800 1,422,700 128.0 700 84.0 58.3 34,40~ 19,360 2500 12,650 1, 760,800 140.0

I

T ABLE IV.-FrG. 4. Varying Draughts.

• .Q .. "CS aS Q) ...

j:Q

ft. ft. 600 69.0 660 64.7 600 70.8 650 76.2 700 81.8

•

I I I l o • -~ . -Q) Oc:1;>, 0 (.) aS ...

• Q) ...:> d .Q ., ~ ~ ., .

• ...... • ·- ,.e O .c ~ ~~ .c _.c:1 .c:1 · .. ::s ~0 bD~ bD~ ~ aS IDQ) ·- ::.3 aS ·- 0 ·~ aS Q) ... ..... e ~~::a Q)o

b: o A A A ~

ft. tons tons tons tons tons 41.7 29.2 18,000 7,460 1620 8,920 46.8 32.06 23,850 9,880 1950 12,020 50.0 35.0 30,800 12,650 2300 15,850

58.33 40.8 48,800 19,650 3160 26,100

' I ., Q) cu

• rx.c: £ 0 . ... 0~ 0

aS ...... Q. ,!:JQ) aS ::I Q,

0 0

oubio feet 630,000 70.7 834,400 69.5

1,090,400 68.5 1.393,000 67.2 1,743,000 66.6

I

Whether we assume constan t or varying draught with ncrea-se of size, the actual dimensions work out p rac­ically the same. It is obvious that the vessels whose raught can be increased with increase of size will carry

t d

s more deadweight than those of the same si~e but of con­tant draught. But there a re two important questions

which arise in relation to these considerations. The first s : With constant draught, is the larger vessel more profitable than the small ?

• 1

r On what would probably be admitted as reasonable

assumptions as to first cost, cost of coal, wages, victual­mg, repairs, interest, depreciation, and insurance charges,

&c., the following comparative costs for carrying a ton f cargo oOOO nautical miles, ab 12 knots, have been stimated for the ships of constant draught given in

T able I.

0 e

TABLE V. L ength of ship in feet 500 550 600 650 700 Cost in shillings per

ton of cargo ... 8.6 9.0 9.6 10.4 11.12

From this Table ibis seen that for dead weight cargoes, unless draught of water be increRsed with increase of dimensions, the cost of carrying a ton of cargo increases with increase of dimensions. '£he second question is, if draught be increased proportionately to the other dimen­ions, is the large vessel more profi table than the small ? s

Applying the same system of estimating to the ships of varying draught given in T able II. the following Table has been prepared :

TABLE VI. L ength of ship in feet 500 550 600 650 700 Cost in shillings per

ton of cargo .. . 8.6 8.0 7.6 7.2 7.0

From this Table it is seen that, if draught be increased proportionately to increase of dimensions, the cargo can be carried at a steadily decreasing cost as size increases. The 700.ft. ship will carry 12 tons for the same cost as the 500-ft. ship carries 10 tons. lb draught remains con­stant, the 700-h. ship will carry 7. 7 tons for the same cost that the 500-ft. carries 10 tons.

Tables V . and V I. give comparative figures, which measure efficiency on the assumption that earning power depends on weight carried. If we assuume that the total capacity of the ship is the measure of earning power, then we must relate the respective total working expenses in the two cases to their respective capacities. The follow­• 1 ng T able gives these comparisons :

L ength of ship ...

Cost per cubic foot of :

Ft. 600

Ft. 650

Fb. 600

Ft. 650

1ft. 700

£ £ £ £ £ Ships in Table I. ... 6912 5430 5000 4773 4621

, , , , II. . . . 5912 5660 5380 5072 4936

From these figures it is seen that cost of carrying 1,000,00& cu hie feet of cargo decreases with increase of size, pro­vided that its density is not sufficient to loa.d the ship below the practicable limits of draughts of the harbour or the ship. In the harbour whose draught does nob allow ships to load to more than 27 ft. 6 in., the 700-ft. ship must fill up with cargo not exceeding a density of 124 cubic feet to the ton ; while in a harbour whose drau~ht admits of loading to 38 ft. a cargo of anything of denstty not exceeding 70. 9 cubic feet to the ton may be carried. In all cargoes of mean density between 71 and 124 cubic feet, the harbour having onlr 27ft. 6 in., would be unable to fully load the 700-ft. sh1p. These who are familiar with the densities of cargoes in different trades will be able to j udge from thes~ fi.gu~e~ of the importance of increased draught of water m md1V1dual cases.

Summarising, it has been shown that : (1) Increase of size of the type ship is profitable, if in a trade where deadweight cargoes of 70ft. per ton &re carried, draught be increased proportionately with the other dimensions. (2) Increase of stze is unprofita.ble in such t rades unless accomp&nied by increase of draught of water. (3) Increase of size, without increase of draught, is profitable in trades where cargo is of a density gradually reducing with in­crease of size.

It is hoped that others competent to more fully discuss

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766

this qu~stion may. be in.duced . by .this paper to take up ~be su~Jec~, and g1ve this Institutwn the benefit of their mvest1gatwns at some future time.

BOILER EXPLOSION NEAR BOLTON. A FORMAT~ investigation under the Boiler Explosions

Act has been conducted by the Board of Trade relative t o an explosion which occurred on January 26, at Football Farm, Farnwortb, near Bolton, owned by Mr. Thomas R~dyard, and br which the former owner, Mr. John Ridya~d, . was killed, and another man injured. The CommlSSIOners were Mr. Howard Smith barrister-at-law and Mr. F . J. Pilcher, consulting engin~er. Mr. K. E . x: Gough appeared for the Board of Trade, and Mr. Burgess (of Messra. J. Phetbean, M onks, and Co., solic-itors) for Mr. Thomas Ridyard. '

¥r. Goug~, in opening t~e proceedings, described the bOiler a-s bemg of the vert10al type, made of iron and measuring 6 fb. 9 in. in beighb by 2ft. i in. in dian{eter. H appeared to have been made about 1886, by a person na~ed Scholes, who was now dead. In 1887, Mr. Hall, a m1neral water manufacturer, of Bradsbaw near Bolton bought it for 17l. from Mr. Rothwell, also a 'mineral wate~ manufacturer in the district, who had worked it at a :pressure of .40 lb. In 1890, 1\IIr. Hall, who was then work­mg the boiler at the same pressure, insured it with the Vu!ca~ Insurance Company, an.d abou t three years later their mspector reported that 1t was getting worn and adviEed its repa:ir or renewal. Mr. Hall t~erefor~ put down a new boiler, and the old one remamed on his premises until1895, when be sold ib as old iron for 35s. ~o ¥r. Wrigh.t, brewer, LittleH~lton. Mr. Wright found 1t, 1t ~as ~aid, to~ small for hlS purpose, and without unloadmg 1t, sold 1t for 2l. to Mr. J obn Rid yard, who then kept the Football Farm at Farnworth, where it was subsequently fixed for driving a hay·chopping machine &c. Mr. John Ridyard and his son, Thomas, the present owner of the farm, had had some experience in colliery engines and boilers, and apparently considered themselves competent to examine the boiler and determine the pressure at which it might safely be worked. They jointly made an examination, and came to the conclusion that it wa-s fit to stand a pressure of 30 lb. on the square inch. Four years ago, Mr. John Rid yard made over the farm to Mr. Thomas Ridyard, who continued to occa­sionally work the boiler. Both of these men had appa­rently full confidence in the boiler, and attended to it themselves. About 11 o'clock on the morning of Friday, January 26, it was at work at a pressure, as indicated by the gauge, of 25 lb. Mr. Thomas had occasion to leave the boiler on some other business, and stopped the engine, the father meantime being employed close by in sharpening the knives of the hay·chopper. At half-past 11 the son returned, and the safety-valve was then blowing off. He was just about to start the engine when the boiler exploded, giving way in the firebox and severely scalding ~Ir. John Ridyard and a man named Ashton. They were removed to the infirmary, where, a few days after, Mr. Ridyard died.

Several witnesses were then called by Mr. Gough. Mr. J ames Rothwell deposed to buying the boiler,

stating that he paid 18l. for it, and subsequently sold it to Mr. Hall for 16l. or 17l.

Mr. William Hall, of Patricroft, said that when living at the Royal Oak, Bra.dsbaw, he purchased the boiler, a fter having it examined by Mr. Scholes, the maker, who said ib could safely be worked at 50 lb. pressure. He used ib from May, 1887, down to 1895, when he got a new one, and sold the old one as scrap iron for ll. 15s.

Mr. Inskip, inspector to the Vuloan Boiler Insurance Company, deposed to having frequently examined the boiler when on Mr. Hall's premises at Bradshaw, the last time he did so being- in April, 1894, when he considered it safe to work at 30 lb. pressure, but not to continue long in work withoub repairs. He was nob surprised at the boiler exploding at that pressure six years afterwards.

M r. W right, brewer, Little Hulton, in his evidence, said he purchased the boiler from Mr. Hall in 1895, when he wanted one to work at a pre.~ure of 60 lb. for a brewery he was starting. He had had no ex­perience with boilers, but he did not take anyone with him to examine this one before buying it, and no infor­mation was given him by Mr. Hall as to its condition . He did not remember whether or not the boiler was sold to him as old iron, but he thought it very cheap. The boiler, however, he found was not large enough for the purpose for which he required it, so he sold it to Mr. :Ridyard. If it had been sufficient for his purpose, he should have employed a boilermaker to do the needful

• repau s. By Mr. Burgess : W~tness did not tell.either ¥ r. Rid­

yard or his son anythm g about the bmler havmg been bought for old iron.

Mr. Thomas Ridyard, farmer, of Football Farm, said his father, who bought the boiler .and ~ad been kille~ by the explosion, was formerly an. engme-Winder at a col.hery, and often assisted the mechamc employed there. W1tness himself before taking over the farm, was also an engine­winder 'at a colliery, but I?revious to thab was engag~d at the pit as a fireman, and m that wp.,y got some experience of boilers. The exploded boiler was the ~rat they ha.d ust>d at the farm and it was boughb and paid for by hlB father. His fatber, before buying the boiler from Mr. Wright, sounded it with a hammer, and came to the conclusion that it will suib his purposE:\. I t was only used at a pressure of 30 lb. for hay-chopping, and worked about every seven weeks. It was kept in a ~ry place, a~d ~t­ness depended entirely upon the occas10nal exammatwns made of it by his father.

By Mr. Burgess : The reason they did not call.in an ex­pert to make an inspection was that be thought his father, who had bad 30 years' experience, was a. sufficient autho-

E N G I N E E R I N G. rity. The boiler was only used at a. low pressure for chopping bay for their own purposes.

Mr. G. M. Gray, engineer-surveyor to the Board of ~rade, presented a repor t, ~ith sketches, of an examina­twn he had made of the boiler after the explosion. The fi rebox had collapsed and ruptured, the cause being the thinning of the plates through corrosion. In fact, the fire­box was quite worn out, and the explosion was simply due to the absolute old age of the boiler.

This concluded the taking of evidence, and Mr. Gougb then .addressed .the Cour~ and submitted the following questwns on whiCh he desu ed judgment :

What was the condition of the boiler in June, 1893? Was it sold as old iron in 1895 ? Has i t been repaired since 1895?

H as Mr. Thomas Ridyard the lrnowledge and experi­ence necessary to enable him to examine a boiler, and to determine the pr~sure at which i t could safely be worked ?

Was a competent person employed to examine the boiler either before it was purchased by Mr. J ohn Rid yard or at any time thereafter ?

Were proper measures taken by Mr. Thomas Ridyard to insure that the boiler was worked under safe condi-t . ?

l On S. What was the cause of the explosion ? Was the explosion caused by the neglect of Mr. Thomas

Ridyard? Mr. Burgess, addressing the Court on behalf of Mr.

Thomas Ridyard, thanked Mr. Gough for the fair way in which he bad presented the case. The chief facb that he (Mr. Burgess) wished to impress upon the Commis­sioners was that, whether rightly or wrongly, his client relied upon his father as being competent to decide as to the safety of the boiler, and, therefore, on the question, " Was the explosion caused by the neglect of Mr. Thomas Rid yard ? " be asked the Court to return an answer in the negative. The whole of the circumstances showed the confidence of the father in the safety of the boiler.

In giving jud~ment, ;rv.fr. ~oward Smith revie~ed the facts and the eVldence m detail, and dealt fully w1tb the various questions submitted by Mr. Gough on behalf of the Board of Trade. The Court, he said, had no doubt whatever that the explosion was caused by over-pressure of steam, the firebox being quite worn out. Proper mea­sures bad nob been taken by Mr. Thomas Ridyard to insure that the boiler was worked under safe conditions, and the Court', therefore, held that he was to blame for the explosion.

Mr. Gough, on his finding of the Court. asked that Mr. Ridyard be ordered to pay a portion of the costs and expenses of that investigation.

Mr. Burgess made an appeal to the Court for leniency, as Mr. Rid yard had losb his father and had been a serious sufferer from a pecuniary point of view by the explosion.

Mr. Howard Smith, recognising the various points urged in favour of lenient treatment towards Mr. Thomas Ridyard, said the decision of the Court was that he be ordered to pay the sum of 5l. only to the Board of Trade towards the cost and expenses of the investigation.

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS. THE Dutch torpedo-boat Hydra wa-s successfully

launched at Poplar on Saturday, the 12th ult. This vessel is the first of five improved first.cla~s torpedo­boats being built by Messrs. Yarrow for the RoyaJ Dutch Government.

M essrs. Ropner and Son, Stockton-on-Tees, launched, on the 15th ult., a steel·screw steamer, named Daleby, of the following dimensions, viz. : L ength between perpen­diculars, 330 fb. 6 in.; breadth extreme, 46ft. 6 in.; depth moulded, 27 fb. The steamer will carry about 5600 tons dead weight on Lloyd's freeboard. She will be fitted with a set of triple·expansion engines by Messrs. Blair & Co., Limited, of about 1200 indicated horse-power, steam being supplied by two steam boilers 15 ft . 3 in. by 10 ftJ. 6 in., with a working pressure of 160 lb.

The China, which has been built by Messrs. Wigha.m Richard son and Co., Limited, to the order of the Austrian Lloyd's Steam Navigation Company, of Trieste, for their China and Japan trade, went for a very successful trial trip on Tuesday, the 15th ult. This steamer is 416 ft. in length by 52' ft. beam, and is fitted with quadruple.ex­pansion engmes balanced on th~ Yarrow, Schlick, and Tweedy system, which, together with the forced-draught boilers on t he Howden system, have also been constructed by Messrs. Wigham Richardson and Co., Limited. The sizes of cylinders are 24 in. and 34 in. and 51 in. and 74 in. in diameter by 54 in. stroke. The boiler pressure is 210 lb. The results of the trial were mosb satisfactory, the mean speed obtained on a six hours' run with 8000 tons dead­weight on board being 12~ knots.

---On the 16th ult. the screw steamer Glenby, built by

Messrs. R opnerand Son, of Stockton-on-Tees, to the order of Messrs. R . Ropner and Co., West Hartlepool, made her official trial trip. She will carry about 3100 tons dead­weight on Lloyd's freeboard, and her engines are of the triple-expansion type, supplied by Messrs. Blair and Co., Limited, and indicate about 800 horae· power. A speed of about 11 knots was maintained on the run.

The Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, Glasgow, on the 16th ult. launched the first·cla.ss armoured cruiser Aboukir. She is of Crossy type and an improvement on the D iadem class, and t he type has been fully described in ENGINEERING. Her dimensions are : Length, 440ft.; beam, 69~ fb.; displae;ement, 12,000 tons. Her engines will deveJop 21,000 horse-power, giving a. speed of 21 ~nota. Her o.rmour is 6 in, tbick1 and steam will be sup-

[] UNE 8, I 900.

plied by 30 water-tube Belleville boilers in four groups. The armamen~ con~ists of two 9.2.in. guns, 12. 6.in., and 17 smaller qu10k-firmg guns. Her complement is 760 men.

?-'h~ s.s. Boltonhall, recently built by Irvine's Ship. bU1ldmg and Dry Docks Company, Limited, West Hartlepool, to the order of the West Hartlepool Steam Navigation Company, Limited, proceeded to Barry Dock on May 17, where she will load a cargo of coals for Aden. She is of the following dimensions: L ength, 352 ft. ; breadth, 48 ft.; depth, 27! ft. ; with a measurement cargo capacity of 8000 tons. E ngines of the triple­expansion type have been supplied by Messrs. William Allll.n and Co., Limited, Sunderland, with cylinders 25 in., 40 in., and 66 in. in diameter by 45 in. stroke, steam being supplied by two single·ended boilers con­structed to work at a pressure of 160 lb. After t he adjustment of the compMses the vessel ran her trial, when i t was ascertained that a speed of 11~ knots had been maintained, the engines working smoothly through­out, and the ship giving evexy satisfaction.

Messrs. William Denny and Brothers, launched, from their yard at Dumbarton, on May 17, a. steel-screw steamer of large '3arryin~ capacity, named the Itola, that they have built for the Eastern trade of the British India. Steam Navigation Company. The dimensions are 410ft. by 50 ft. 6 in. by 32ft., the gross register tonnage being 5300 tons. The machinery will be supplied by Messrs. Denny and Co., and will consist of a set of single-ended boilers and triple-expansion engines.

The Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, launched, on the 17th ult., the s.s. F ern, which they have built for the Gla-sgow, Dublin, and L ondonderry Steam Packet Com­pany, L imited. The dimensions are: L ength, 188 ft. ; breadth, 28ft. 10 in. ; and depth, 12ft. 9 in. The engines, which are of the triple-expansion type, are being supplied by Messrs. Dunsmuir and J a.ckson, Govan.

The large side ballast tank steamer Llansannor, which Messrs. William Gray and Co., Limited, have built for the Llansannor Steamship Company, Limited (Mr. Thoma,g Morel, managing owner), Cardiff, had her official trial trip in Hartlepool Bay on May 25. The Llansannor has been built to Lloyd's highest class. Her principal dimensions are : Length over all, 350 ft. ; breadth, 51 fb. ; depth, 27 ft. ; and her deadweight capacity, 6200 tonE~, with large measurement capacity and deck area for cattle or timber, &c. The machinery consists of a. set of triple­expansion engines from the Central Marine Engine Works of the builders, having cylinders 25i in., 40! in., and 67 in. in diameter by 45 in. stroke, these enginel:l being supplied with steam by three main boilers, working at a pressure of 160 lb. per square inch. The trial was satisfactory, the sp€ed being 10~ knots.

T ilE MAY-0TAWAY FIRE ALAR;\1.-An ingenious form of. automatic fire alarm is now being introduced into th1s country by the May·Otaway Syndicate, Limited, of 4, Broad-street Buildings, Liverpool·street, E .C. The device is of New Zealand origin, and ha~, we are informed, been adapted there to the protection of many important buildings. The heat detector used is of a very simple character, being merely a fine wire of copper stretched along one wall of a room near the ceiling, and the existence of which can be easily concealed by the mouldings where desired. This wire has suspbnded from its centre a small COJ?ical block of carbon, which fits loosely into a vertical gUide tube of gla-ss, at the bottom of which is a platinum contact piece. Normally the platinum and carbon con­tacts are separated by a considerable air space, but should the temperature of the span wire rise, its dip increases, and finally the two contacts touch, closing an electric circuit, which by means of an automatic transmitter, indicates in the fire station the exact site of the fire, · according to a prearranged code. At the same time a. bell annunciator of the usual kind indicates in the dwell­ing in question the particular room attacked by the flames. The usud means are provided for testing the state of the eleotrical circuits from time to time. The electrical arrangements differ in no essential feature from those adopted in similar cases by other designers . The automatic transmitter consists of an ebonite wheel provided with contact pieces round i ts rim, and mounted on the main arbor of a clockwork mechanism. The closing of the heat detector circuit releases the clockwork ~ear, causing the ebonite wheel .to rotate, and the oontacb p1eces thereon complete the circuit to the fire station in succes­sion, and the currents passed are there recorded on an ordinary Morae type. The arrangement of the contact pieces is different for every transmitter, so that no ques­tion can arise as to the seat of the fi re. When the trans­mitting disc has completed a revolution it is automatically locked, and is out off from the station circuit. The essen­tial feature of the alarm is, however, the beat detector, which is of very great delicacy. Thus, if a wire werA strung between two points, 17 ft. apar t, and bad a. dip of 1 in. at its centre. this dip would be increased to nearly 1~ in. by the wire lengthening_but -(tr in. The ma~nifica­tion is, therefore, enormous. Further, t he wire being fine it very quickly acquires the temperature of the surround­ing air. Thus a pan of spirits being set on fire at one side of a room and the heat detector being arranged at the ceiling line of the wall opposite, the contact block is seen to move almost instantaneously. The magnification of motion varies with the initial dip, and in practice this is fixed so that whilst contact will be made when the temperature attains some 20 deg. or 30 deg. above the highest summer temperature, the grea~est <;old of winter will Qot overstraiq the wire,

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J UN E 8, I 900.]

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT RECORD.

COMPILED BY w. LLOYD WISE. IBI.lWI""'KD"" ABBTRAOTS OF B.EOENT PUBLI.SHED BPBOIFIOATIONB

UNDER THB AOTB 1888-1888. Tht. number of views give-tl in th6 Specification Dratoings is stated

i'l each ca8e ; where none are mentioned, the Specification is not illustrated.

Where inventions are communicated {Tom a-broad, the Names d:c. of tM OommunicatO"rs are given in italics. • •

Oopw of Specifu;ations may be obtained at the Pateflt 0 {ftce Salt Bra'nch, 16, Southampton Buildings, Ohancery-lcvne, W.O., at the uniform price of Bd.

The dau of the advertisement of the acceptance OJ a complete Specification is, in each ca8e, given alter the abstract, unless the PaUnt has been sealed, wht'tl the date of sealing is given.

Any person may at any time tQithin two months from the d.au of tM advertisement of the a.ccept.ance of a complete Speci fication, give notiu at the Patent Office oj opposition to the gram.t of a Paunt O"n atn'V of the ground:s mentioned in the .Act.

AGRICULTURAL APPLIANCES.

11,987. J. B. Lamprey Brockley, Kent. Plant Washing Appliance. [3 Plgs. ) June 8, 1890.- A bowl is provided for holding or catching the liquid with which plants are douched to avoid waste of liquid. I t is formed with a channel from its periphery to its centre, and has a smaller vessel, which

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may be placed in position over t he outer portion of the channel through the uncovered centre of which the stem of the plant passes when the bowl is in posiLion. The plant can be t reated liberally with liquid, as that which runs off t he foliage is not wasted, but is caugh t by the bowl. (Accepted .May 2, 1900.)

7499. W. B. Sleep and R. B. Sleep, Plymouth, and w. Parkin, Sheffield. lm~lement Points. [8 Pigs. ] April 10, 1899.-The ol.>ject of thts invention is to provide for fixing shares, points, or the like by means of single bolts, and without the necessit y for using sockets, and to this end each sbue or point i3 provided with two or mo1·e studs or projeC'tions between

. .1.

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0

74 ')9

Fig.3

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or against w~icb, when the share or poin~ is in. po~iti<?n upon the leg or tine, the end of the leg or tme w1l1 he m such manner t hat when a bolt is passed through the share or poiut and the leg, and is tightened, ~he share or point will be r!gi~ly held, the said studs or project tons preventing lateral or tw1shng movement of the share or point upon the tine. (.Accepted May 2, 1900.)

EI.ECTRICAI. APPARATUS.

8223. w. c. Fraser, Portsmouth, and G. K. B. Elphtnstone, London. Testing Galvanometer. [2 Pigs.] October 19, 1899. - Tbis galvanometer is arranged so tbat it may be used for t he purpose of testing firing primers to determine the actual current required to fl re them, and also whether t hey are in proper condition , and further for facilitating the testing of battertes to ascer tain if they are i!l a proper s.tate of efficiency. A dead beat ammeter movement 18 mounted m a

E N G I N E E R I N G. safet.Y when testing explosive fuses are provided. (Accepted .lipnl 25, 1900.)

3731. E. Sander, Berltn, Germany. Incandes­cence L~mps. Febru~ry 2~. 1900.- To produce material for non-metalhc t\laments wbtch w1ll conduct electric current when cold in suflicient quantity to beat them, oxides of the groups of ear th all<aline metals, or magnesium, or aluminium or t he rare earths thorium and zirconium, are mixed with th~ oxides salts, or sulpb.u r combinations of the iron, chromium, or platinun~ group~ (or \Vttb the metals of t~ose groups) and exposed in an electncal furnace or other smeltmg app:n atus to bi~h tempera· ture so lhat the mixture melts, and when cold furmshes a firm substance. The way in which the materials should be combined is outlined, as wen as the process of manufacturing the fused conducting body. (Accepted April 26, 1900.)

2356. Siemens Brothers and Co., London. (S iemens and Balske, Berlin. ) Stage Ltght Regulator. [3 F igs. ] February 6, 1900.- The degree of li~ebt from any number of dis­t r ibuted lamp groups can, by this invention, be regulated from o.ne central point, so that single groups or several, or ar· , can be Btmultaneously lit up and extinguished. The regulat~ •g appa­ratus consists of a number of sector levers mounted upon a common abaft ndapted to be I'Oto.t ed by a hand wheel ana toothed gear. The sector levers are not mounted direct ly upon the abaft, but are loose upon the hubs of ratchet wheels fixed to the abaft, and are coupled with the sbafL when two pawls arranged one above t he other on a common pivot, lil<e t he limbs of a pair of sbeara, are made to engage with the ratchet wheels, which en· ga~ement can be effected by drawing out a spring·pressed bolt, and giving it a turn so as to bring a p in fixed to t he bolt, over an abutment which then holds the bolt in the withdrawn position. A regulating device so constructed is provided in front of each group of lamps, the contact slide of the " resishnce " of which

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23~S

can be moved by means of cords which pass round the sector levers. If a number of the sector levera coupled with the shaft be moved simultaneously, t hey can occupy various relative posi­t ions in consequence of t heir previous separate movements, so that while some are arriving at the end of tbE'ir motion, others may be at some distance tberefrom. In order not to prevent further motion of the abaft, the levers are autcmaticalJy dis· connected from the abaft when they arrive at the end of their motion, and are automatically recoup1ed with t he abaft on the return motion, for which purpose the pawls are each provided with a projection which bears against a fixed stop in either end position, so arranged that when the pin on the one lever of a pair bears against t he stop, fur ther rotation causes the corresponding pawl to disengage from the ratchet wheel ; on t he return motion, however, t he other pawl of the pair, in engaging with the ratcbeli wheel, effects t he coupling up of the lever again. An index on each sector lerer indicates upo11 a scale t he number of resistance sections included in the circuit. (Accepted ...4pril26, 1900.)

10,248. L. M. Ericsson. Stockholm. Portable Telephone. [6 Figs.] May 15, 1&99 -A por table tele.phone, according to this invention, is so constructed that the dtstance between t he t ransmitter and the receiver may be varied without interrupting the elect rical connections. For this purpose the t ransmitter and the receiver are reepectively attached to tubes or

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O&Se and provided with n pointer moving over a scale, and one end • of the ammeter coil 1s joined to an adjustable rheostat, so rods arranged to telescopically slide within t he handle of the in-that by means of a plug switch the coil and the rhe~stat may be strument. The receiver terminals in t he t ransmitter bead are connected in series to the terminals. The rheostat 18 capable of connected to t he coil terminals of the receiver by extensible con­being var ied throu~hout a rang.e. of about 5q ohD?B, and valnes ductors, such as two insulated wires coiled in a double-threaded are assigned to the different pos1~1ons along this reBIB~nce, so t~at spiral arranged with~n the. telescopic t1;1bes and the handl.e. A rod the curren t which any battery g1ves through a particular ! es1st- in elect rical connection w1th one termmal of t he t ransmttter and nnce oan ea ' ily Le read off on the ecale. ~rrangemeots to lnsure wi~b one oontnot of the switch works in a metallio (f\lide tu~e

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secured in the handle of t he telephone, and a further rod in elect rical connection with t he other contact of the switch and with the diaphragm works in a similar manner in a second metallic guide tube, also secured in the handle of the instrument, the two guide tubes being insulated from each other. When the transmitter and receiver tubes are pushed as far as possible into the handle, the apparatus is rendered compact, and may be carried in the pocket. (.d ccepted .April 25, 1900.)

GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, HOLDERS, &c.

7474. G. E. Stevenson, Cheshire. Gas Scrubbers. [3 Fi:JS. ] April 10, 1899.-Accordiog to t his invent ion, coal gas scrubbers of the "tower " type are provided with perforated metal trays, arr~nged horizontally in the tower, one above the other and stopped oft shor t of the opposite walls of the tower alternately. These metal t rays carry boards est on edge or on canvas screens. Water, ammoniacal liquor, or other purifying

agent, is fed from the top of the tower in a shower, the arrange­ment being such that the gas in rising up the tower travels to and fro over the trays in a zigzag manner from side to side, be­tween the wetted surfaces of the boards or screens, and is pre­vented from rising up through the perforations in the trays Ly the liquid which is falling through the perforations. (Accepted May 2, 1900.)

20,494. E. N. Mazza, Turin, Italy. Separating Gases. [4 Figs.] October 12, 1899.- The inventor proposes to separate ga<Jes by means of cent rifugal appliances in t he same way as liquids are now separated by such means. A drum re­volves ver tically on a shaft to which it is rigidly fixed by means of several dia.pbragms, it is closed at the bottom, leaving a central inlet for the gaseous mixture to be separated, and is divided into several compar tments by these diaphragms. The drum has one or more other compar tments at its upper end, according as two or more constituents have to be separated from the mixture. l t !B stated that " if the abaft, an~ the drum a~d di.aphragms with tt, are made to revolve at a BUttaLle speed, tt wtJl cause in the middle a rarefaction, which wilJ cau~e the gaseous mixture to rise through the central fiue. The diaphragms violently force the mixture towards the drum, and at the same time it ascends ; when it arrives at the upper part, t he separation wi11 be complete and the gases of the mixture can be distr ibuted in concentric riog~ according to their different densities." What might be ex­pected to prove a " suitable speed " is not stated, nor is there any tndication of the material of which the drum might be safely con­structed. Various uses for such an appar11tus, one of which is to skim the atmosphere of i~ oxygen, are outlined. (.Acce-pted A.pril25, 1900.)

12,012. C. Elliott. G. Damp, and J. McDade, Leyland, Lancs. Cleaning Retort Pipes. [3 Figs.] J une 9, 1899 - An apparatus is provided for cleaning and scrap­ing the interiors of retor t ascension pipes. The interior of each pipe has a revolvable cutter or scraping appliance mounted on a shaft which passes through a packed gland in t he end of the pipe. Means to rotate the cutters and traverse the san::.e within

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the pipes are provided so that scale and other accumulations may be removed. All the cutter shafts are in bearings in a bracket and the shafts are driven by ~earing. The bracket carrsing the cutter shafts and the gearing tberefor is t raversed vertically by means of screwed shafts operated by worm gear ing or the like. If desired the revolving cutters may be arranged to act only in one direction of t raverse, means being provided for a quick return stroke. (.Accepted b!ay 2, 1900.)

GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.

11,526. A. T. Da.wson and G. T. Buckham, London. Separable Guns. [6 Flgs. ] June 2, 1899.- Mountnin, boat, and light field g uns are, according to this invention, made in sec­tions easily separable for t ranspor t. The barrel, which may con· $ist of an inner tube reinforced by outer tulles or wire, comprises

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one . section. The jacket, on which are formed the trunnions lockmg lugs, and sight bracket, is divided in halves on a verticai plan~ an~ so comprises two sections. The breech·piece and lockmg r~ng complete the number of separable parts that to· gather mak~ a comP,lete gun. Keys are provided to prevent the ~arrel turmng r~latively to the jacket. When wire is employed ID the construct1on of the gun barrel it is enclosed by a sheath to protect it when the jacket is removed. The front and rear ends of the jacket are screw-threaded, and its two halves are secured together on the ~arrel by means of the looking rin~ on the front and the breeoh-p1eoe on the rear, stops being proVlded to insure

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the breech-piece and locking ring always occupying the same re­lative positions when screwed home. The breech-piece projects to the rear of the jao'ket and barrel and ·is internally screwed at this projecting part to receive the breech screw, lUi:S for hinging the breech mechanism, as well as lugs for attaching the elevating gear, being formed on the breech-piece. The looking ring is kept from turning by a spring bolt, and the breech-piece is locked to the jacket by an oblique setting screw. The halves of the jacket, instead of being held by the breech-piece and looking ring, may be secured together by bolts or by a hinge on one side and bolts on the other. (.Accepted .Ap?'il25, 1900.)

13,754. J. W. Ottley, London. Covers for Rifle Barrels. [4 Figs.) July 3, 1899.- Tbe inventor provides a lacing cover of heat-proof textile for rifle barrels. The covering is for use in bot climates where the beat of the sun would make the

barrel inconveniently bot to handle ; and tor use in shooting when it is desired to suppress the air currents which cause that most inconvenient mira~e which arises from a heated barrel, and renders accurate sighting difficult. (.Accepted .Ap'ril25, 1900.)

3366. G. Ehrhardt, Eisenach, Germany. Gun Trunnion Bearings. [6 F igs.] February 20, 1900.­According to this invention the shield t runnion forks are cut away at the back, and in the recesses so formed blocks are fitted which, when in position, retain the t runnions in position. To keep the blocks in their proper place, pivoted plates are pro\·ided, adapted to be held in position by nuts on swing bolts. To dis­mount a gun whose t runnions are carried in a bearing constructed

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according to this invention, the nuts on the swing bolts are first loosened, the swing bolts are then swung back and the pivoted plates turned do\vn, whereupon t he blocks may be withdrawn, so leavinlt the trunnions free to come out. To remoun t the gun the operation is reversed. A modification is represented wherein the blocks are held in position in the recesses of the trunnion forks by securing plates having projections which are arranged to work in vertical grooves formed in the trunnion forks. (Ac­cepted April25, 1900.)

1567. F. R. von Mannlicher and o. Schonauer, Vienna, Austria. Repeating Firearms. [11 Figs.] January 24, 1900.-Repeatin~ firearms with cylinder majlazines and revolving car tridge carriers are constructed according to this invention with breech casings having at both ends of the cartridge slot projections formed with arc-shaped hollows which ~terve to support and guide the cartridge rim and the tip of the

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bullet respectively, the middle of the cartridge being unsupported. The feed spring of the cartridge carrier is so arranged as to effect the rotation of the carrier until the last cartridge has been raised out of the magazine ; it also serves as an axis fot· the carrier. The bottom closure of the magazine consists of a removable t ray eecured in the magazine by a rotatable locking plate, retained in its locked position by a spring on the bottom of the tray. (.Ac· cepted May 2, 1900.)

MACHINE AND OTHER TOOLS, SHAFTING, &c.

4613. Siemens Brothers and Co., Limited, London. (Siemens and Hal8ke, A ctien-Gessel8chajt, Berlin.) Rock· DrUUng Machine. [3 Figs.) March 10, 1900.-Tbis invention relates to a construction of rook-drilling machine operating witb rotary motion of the drill spindle and differential forward feed, wherein the mechanical withdrawal of the feed spindle while the driving shaft continues running without requirmg to move the differential wheels out of gear is affected by such an arran~ement of the differential gear that the feed-nut is rotated at a greater apeed than the drill spindle for the forward feed. With this

E N G I N E E R I N G. arrangement, if the feed-nut be either held stationary by any means or have its rotation retarded so as to revolve slower than the drill spindle, the latter, instead of advancin~, will be made to trav~l backward tbrou.gh the nut, although 1t is still being rotated ID the same direct10n as for the forward feed. The speed of such backwar.d motion will, of course, be greatest if the feed­nut be held s~t1o~ary. In the arrangement here illustrated the fee?·m~t has Jts nght·hand end formed ne a boss or shaft, on wh1ob 1s mounted one of the differential gear wheels. On the feed-nut slides a clutch rin~ with teeth on both faces, one set of

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teeth being adapted to engage a ring of teeth fixed to the framing of the machine, and the other set of teeth adapted to engage a ring of teeth fixed to the wheel whiob runs on the boss of the feed-nut. The arrangement is such that when the clutch is moved so as to cause its teeth on one side to engage with the teeth fixed on the wheel mounted on the feed-nut boss, the feed-nut is rotated ~y th~ differen.tial gear for effeotin~ the forward moti~n of the dr1ll spmdle, wblle when the clutch ts moved to cause tts other set of teeth to engage wi tb the ring of teeth fixed to the framing, the feed-nut is either retarded or stopped for effecting the baokward motion of the drill spindle. (Accepted Jfay 2, 1900.)

10,559. W. E. Hipkins, Birmingham. Weighing Machines. [2 Figs.] May 19, 1899.-Tbis invention relates to steelyard weighio~ machines which are arranged to print a record of each weigbmg operation, and according thereto such machines are arranged to print the weight in two or more stan·

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. dards instead of as heretofore in one standard only. The figures relating to the different standards are arranged in different planes, and means are provided for causing either standard to come into operation at will. The improvements also relate to the steelyard, poises, and attachments. (.Accepted .April 25, 1900.)

11,935. J. Brown and T. Haddock Bolton, Lancs. Boring Bar. [8 Figs.) June 8, 1899.- This invention refers to a boring bar and apparatus connected therewith, and is aJ?plic­able to lathes, hot·izontal and vertical boring machines, dr11ling machines, and the like, and consists in providing means whereby the adjustable metallic cutters may be re2Ulated accurately with a minimum of labour. The bat· is providea with openings or slots

in which are disposed cutters which can be adjusted or reg-ulated and expanded, as desired, by means of o. cone on the end of an operating screw, the latter being l?rovided with means for looking. The cutters are provided with pms or projections which fit in slots to prevent them from turning, and to maintain them in a uniform moving posit ion. Springs move the cutters in an inward direction. (.Accepted Jfay 2, 1900.)

MISCELLANEOUS. 11,722. J. A. Saner, Northwich, Chester. Bolt·

Fastening Device. [4 Figs. ) June 6, 1899.-This invention has reference to bolts, suob as may be used for coupling driving

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and driven machines. The bolt shank is eccentric between the cer,tre ~ine of the threadedl.art of the ~olt and its sh~ft ~r Rhank, which 1s preferably tapere . The comcal shaft flts wttbm a bush or sleeve, the bole through which is also eccentric to its exterior

[JUNE 8, I 900.

surface, wh}cb fits in one of the parte to be fastened. By turnin the eccentno p~rts .round, t.he centre line of the bolt may be J. justed and . vaned m. any dn·eotion. It is stated that such lati­tude for. adJustment ~~ the coupling of various machines, or parts of machmes together, 1s of value. (Accepted April25, 1900.)

10,925. W. J. Orr, London, and J. Thomas, South Wales. I.ife·Saving Appliance. [2 Pigs.] May 25 1899 -The figures rep~esent. the appliance when in the wa~r, th~ lower figure. showmg it 10 plan. It will be seen that the ap . ratus comprises a centre beam provided at its forward end ~b a cross-piece ~nd shaped bead, and cigar-shaped arms hinged to t~e oros~·p1ece. Through the centre beam extends a shaft prov1ded at 1ts rear end with a screw propeller, and at its forward

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end with a bevel pinion that gears with a bevel wheel fixed to a cross-shaft provided with crank handles adapted to be operated by. a. pe~aon who li~;9 face downward. alon$' the centre beam, gr1ppmg 1t between h1s knees and placmg h1s feet against pegs that project from each side of the beam near its rear end. The apparatus may be formed of hollow metallic structures, or of wood, cork, or <?t~er buoy~nt material cover~d with waterproof substance, and 1t 1S stated 18 made of such etze as will allow of its being stowed away. (Accepted .Ap?'il25, 1900.)

9893. T. Whltaker. Borsforth, Leeds. Exoa· v~tC?rs. {5 Figs.) . May 10, 1899.- In excavators, according to th1s 1~vent10n, t~e j1b extends out a considerable distance beyond the p1voted upr1ght, at whose lower end is a driven pullev or drum. On the jib " is pivoted a swinging or oscillating cradle "

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provided with two pulleys, one of which receives a rope from the pulley or drum on the upright, and the other a rope attaohed at both ends to the bucket arm. The cradle is proVided with two or more guide rollers between which the bucket arm slides. The operation of the apparatus is sufficiently indicated by the draw­ings. (.Accepted Jzay 2, 1900.)

762!S. D. Wiokham, Ware, Herts. Filter for Liquld.s. [2 Pigs.] Aprilll, 1899.-For the purpose of filtering beer and other liquids apparatus according to this invention com­prises a cylindrical vessel having a dished bottom, and an upper edge recessed for the reception of a rubber packing ring, on to whtch the cover is tightly pressed by bolts passing through a flange. The interior of the cylinder has a depending screen or shield from near the top to near the bottom, and has one or more bottom lipa

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or which crossbars can rest for supportin~r perforated trays or meshed wirework partitions, on which the filtering media can be placed, there being triangular-shaped rings near the edges which retain the filtering ~edia i'?- oo~paot c~nditlon and prevent un· necessary side swagmg yet msurtng a sat1sfaot.ory olosmg between the edges of the t rays or partitions and the cylinder. Certain modifications and alternatives are described. (.Accepted Ma'V 2, 1900.)

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PBAOTIOE. Descriptions with illustrations of inventions patented in the

United States of America from 1847 to the present time, and reports of trials of patent law oases in the United States, may be consulted, gratis, at the offices of ENOINBlUUNO, S5 and 36, Bedford· street, S~r~md.

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